On Sat, 04 Aug 2012 23:04:47 +0100, Orchid Win7 v1 wrote:

>>> ...right... so given that I don't know anybody, I should just give up
>>> now?
>>> Is that what you're saying?
>>
>> You know people here.
> 
> Sure. But I don't see any way that's going to help me get a job. 

It's a question of knowing people and networking.  Not just that, of 
course, but those things help.

> Only a
> tiny fraction of the people here live in the same country. 

That doesn't matter.  How many of the people you interact with work for 
companies with offices in the UK?  I'm contracting to a company now that 
has an office in Bracknell.

> And it's not
> like just because you work for company X, that means you can hire
> somebody.

That's certainly true.  The company I'm contracting to actually would 
like to hire me, but the CEO has to approve every new hire, so it takes 
time to do that. The engineering manager I'm working with said if it were 
up to him, he'd have hired me months ago.

He and a few others managed to get me a contract position with them 
through the end of the year, so I'm hoping that's a sign that they're 
trying to get a full-time permanent position.  In the meantime, I'm 
working with products that are relevant to being a valuable member of the 
team (this company eats their own dog food, so to speak), and they 
recognise the value of hiring someone who doesn't have a steep learning 
curve to learn the products.

>> You know coworkers that you work with - coworkers who are all in the
>> same boat as you are.
>>
>> That actually gives you a leg up in finding jobs in other companies
>> together.  When I was laid off from Novell (and my former coworkers at
>> Albertsons are learning this now as well as they've all just been made
>> redundant), those of us who were laid off looked out for each other.
>>
>> Take some time and talk with some of your soon-to-be former coworkers.
>> Ask them what they are looking for, tell them what you're looking for.
>> If you see something that looks like it might be a good fit for them,
>> tell them - they'll do the same for you.
>>
>> They are in a position to empathize with your situation because you
>> share it.  That's something that you all can benefit from.
> 
> That's a nice idea. But remember:
> 
> - I'm the one and only computer guy in a company full of lab guys.
> 
> - I live in a different city.
> 
> - I'm at a different life stage. (They're all married with children, for
> example.)
> 
> I've never really fitted in at work.

None of those things matter.  *None* of them.  In fact, not fitting in 
but still helping them might just show them what they missed out on.  
Help one of them, even in a small way, find a new job - and they'll 
realize they underestimated you.

Not that you should spend your time looking for jobs for them - but if 
you see something that's a good fit for someone you worked with, let them 
know about it.

Especially as they have a family, that you'd have taken the time out of 
your own needs and said "hey, Joe would be a good fit for this" - that's  
a kind of selflessness that can be useful.  Plus it's the right thing to 
do.

Jim

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