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RB | April 16, 2014

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Non-Compete Clauses Hurt Worker Productivity

Jeff John Roberts at GigaOM writes about research published in Harvard Business Review that says non-compete clauses, which limit workers’ ability to move from one firm to another, may do more harm than good. The research suggests that workers are less motivated and perform worse when subjected to terms that limit their job mobility.

The study paid online participants to search matrices for numbers that add up to ten. The article explains that a sub-group of people subjected to a mock non-compete clause, 61 percent decided to drop out and forgo the money compared to 41 percent in a control group. The non-compete group also performed much worse at the task, making mistakes at twice the rate as the others. According to the authors of the study:

We believe that limits on future employment not only dim workers’ external prospects but also decrease their perceived ownership of their jobs, sapping their desire to exert themselves and develop their skills. The resulting drop in performance may be more damaging to companies than the actual loss of the employees would be.

Mr. Roberts concludes that the findings could carry big implications for the American workforce, where more than half of engineers and 70 percent of executives are reportedly subject to non-compete clauses.

The study authors also say that existing research shows higher levels of innovation and productivity in regions that outlaw limits on worker mobility.

Silicon Valley and California stand out in this area. Courts there have explicitly banned non-compete clauses on public policy grounds, a situation that makes it easy for companies to poach each others’ employees.

rb-

I’m not a lawyer, so get your own legal counsel, but I can google and it seems that enforcing or challenging the enforceability of a non-compete agreement under Michigan law invariably boils down to four issues:

Do the non-compete clauses protect a legitimate business interest?
Is the duration reasonable?
Is the geographical restriction reasonable?
Is the type of employment or line of work restriction reasonable?

Non-competes hurt tech growth– hope in MA for changes to law (usv.com)

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: 2014, Employment, Harvard Business Review, Jobs, Non-compete clause

RB | January 23, 2014

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Twesume is Resume on Twitter

Sean Weinberg, COO, and co-founder of RezScore, a free web application that reads, analyzes, and grades resumes instantly, says that a 140-character Twitter resume could land your next job. He calls it a Twesume.

Just like it sounds, “Twesume” unifies Twitter and your resume. The RezScore COO explains that a Twesume is a short bio or resume condensed into 140 characters or less. Sometimes paired with the #twesume hashtag, the Twesume can be tweeted, messaged or emailed to potential employers.

Mr. Weinberg told Mashable the great thing about the Twesume is that it’s a completely flexible, living document. Did you get promoted? No problem, just tweet the addition to your resume. Relocate? Totally fine.

Twesumes help job seekers get noticed by companies who use social recruiting. With the Twesume, a job seeker can introduce himself and engage with an employer in less time (and space) than a traditional resume and cover letter could ever manage.

If you’re interested in jumping on the Twesume bandwagon, all you need is a Twitter account and something to say. Once you have your Twitter account squared away (be sure to have a picture, bio, and some followers/followees), write your very own Twesume. While the Twesume can be anything you like, try to include this information: what you do, an accomplishment, a goal, skills, and/or a link to a detailed profile or website.

Santa Claus: World traveler and toy expert. 300+ years of management experience. Looking for a position in the entertainment industry. http://tinyurl.com/c9ursdp #twesume

Tweet this to your followers, DM to a specific employer, or use it as your Twitter bio. It really is as simple as that.

New resume trends (snagajob.com)

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: 2014, Facebook, FB, Jobs, Media, Recruiting, Résumé, Santa Claus, Social, Social media, Social recruiting, Twitter, TWTR

RB | August 9, 2012

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Detroit Among Best US Cities for Tech Jobs

If you’re looking for a job in technology, come to Detroit. According to a report from VentureBeat Baltimore, Detroit and Pittsburgh have the best prospects for tech jobs. This comes from the Simply Hired July 2012 employment outlook.

Simply Hired’s Nathan Beers sliced the data and told VentureBeat that when you compare the number of available jobs and the number of currently employed technology workers, the best places in the U.S to be looking for a job are Baltimore, Detroit, Charlotte, and Portland. By this measuring stick, the Silicon Valley area ranks only eighth.

Simply Hired which bills itself as the world’s largest job search engine, has over eight million job listings. 30 million users check the service monthly from 24 countries, and Simply Hired powers the job search functionality on sites like LinkedIn and The Washington Post.

Here are all the details on the best markets for technology workers, according to Simply Hired:

Baltimore – Towson, MD
Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, MI
Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA
Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA
Pittsburgh, PA
Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI
Richmond, VA
Raleigh – Cary, NC
New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ

Forbes recently called Detroit a potential up-and-comer for tech jobs in the next decade. The article says even though the Motor City area lost 20% of its tech jobs in the past decade, it still boasts one of the nation’s largest concentrations of tech workers, nearly 50% above the national average. In the past two years, the region has experienced a solid 7.7% increase in technology jobs, the second-highest rate of any metro area.

The Forbes article says the Motor City region seems to have some real high-tech mojo. According to the website Dice.com, Detroit has led the nation with the fastest growth in technology job offerings since February — at 101%. This can be traced to the rejuvenated auto industry, which is increasingly dependent on high-tech skills. Manufacturing is the increasingly prodigious driver of tech jobs; games and dot-coms are not the only path to technical employment growth.

Simply Hired - July 2012	Forbes - May 2012
Baltimore, MD area	Seattle, WA area
Detroit, MI area	Washington DC-area
Charlotte, NC area	San Diego, CA area
Portland, OR area	Salt Lake City, UT
Seattle, WA area	Baltimore, MD area
Pittsburgh, PA	Jacksonville, FL
Milwaukee, WI area	San Jose, CA area
Richmond, VA	Columbus, OH
Raleigh-Cary, NC	Raleigh-Cary, NC
New York, NY area	Nashville, TN area

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Umm- I’ve covered this phenomenon for a while here. here and here. On one hand, this seems to be true, it is nearly impossible to hire good tech staff, I know I’ve tried. On the other hand, I am still looking for a new gig.

Anybody hiring? Who wants to prove to me that Detroit Michigan is among the best US cities to find a tech job?

Five Stories About Jobs in Detroit (news.dice.com)

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: 2012, Detroit, F, Ford Motor Company, Jobs, Michigan, Simply Hired, Unemployment

RB | February 21, 2012

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Michigan H1-B Visas

The Michigan Department of Management, Labor, and Technology reports that the December 2011 unemployment rate was 9.3%. This equated to 431,490 known people without a job. Despite nearly half a million people looking for work, the website MyVisaJobs.com reports that Michigan icons like the University of Michigan, Wayne State University, Michigan State University, General Motors (GM), and Henry Ford Health Systems filed for nearly 8,300 H1-B visas with an average wage of $74,964

Rank	H1B Visa Sponsor	H1B Visa Petitions	Average Salary
1	University of Michigan	375	$61,708
2	Wayne State University	152	$63,743
3	Michigan State University	125	$61,521
4	General Motors	93	$87,037
5	Henry Ford Health System	74	$79,582
6	DMC Education & Research	66	$63,154
7	Jawood Business Process Solutions, Llc	50	$75,564
8	HCL Systems, Inc	47	$62,415
9	The Dow Chemical	45	$97,600
10	Chrysler Group Llc	35	$84,353
11	Michigan Technological University	34	$66,405
12	Whirlpool	32	$91,028
13	Altair Product Design, Inc	32	$76,441
14	Kyyba, Inc.	30	$56,563
15	Engineering Technology Associates, Inc	28	$61,074

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As a Michigan Alumni, I often wonder about U of M’s commitment to Michigan under President Coleman.

I wrote about the record-setting pace business is shaping up H-1B visas here.

Apparently, Michigan firms are on the same track. Even Obama is now talking about American’s taking care of Americans, so the opposition must be against that, so even more outsourcing?

Immigration Attorneys Make Immigration Law & Employment Visas Easier for Foreign Workers, U.S. Employers, Corporations and Corporate Counsel (prweb.com)

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: 2012, Business, General Motors, GM, H-1B visa, Jobs, Michigan, Michigan State University, Outsourcing, Unemployment, University of Michigan, Wayne State University

RB | August 11, 2011

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Detroit is Growth Leader in Tech Jobs

Most of the things I read in the Bach Seat about Detroit are negative at best, so good news about jobs in Detroit is always welcome. Detroit has seen a 66% growth in tech jobs which BussinessWeek says second-best in the U.S., behind Cleveland.

The article says that Detroit employers are looking for technology workers as automakers create cars with increasingly sophisticated Internet services (a trend I wrote about here) and lithium-ion batteries. Skills needed in Motor City are project management and experience with Oracle software. The tech top employers in Motown are Computer Sciences and General Electric.