HP announces 24,600 layoffs in wake of EDS acquisition

On the same day the stock market nose-dived, a major investment bank failed and the financial services industry appeared set to shed jobs by the tens of thousands,Hewlett-Packard Co. contributed to the gloom, saying it would add 24,600 people to the unemployment lines as part of a restructuring in the wake of its acquisition of EDS.

The workforce reduction will be spread over three years and affect about 7.5% of the combined companies' workforce, HP officials said.

Half of the workforce reduction HP will be making will affect workers in the U.S. The plan follows its $13.9 billion acquisition of Electronic Data Systems Corp. in May, which was completed late last month.

HP is now working quickly to integrate EDS, and Mark Hurd, the company's president and CEO, was business-like about the news at a briefing today for financial and industry analysts.

"That was a tough day on Wall Street," said Hurd, who worked to assure financial analysts that HP will act quickly to integrate EDS.

"We will be a bigger, stronger company by the time we get EDS integrated," said Hurd.

When the merger was announced, EDS said it had 137,000 employees, with about 47,000 of its employees in the U.S. EDS has been shrinking its domestic workforce, moving more work overseas in part to stay competitive with larger Indian IT providers. It was unclear from today's announcement exactly how many of the employees losing their jobs are from EDS or HP.

But one thing seemed clear from the conference: Hurd is looking for more ways to improve the efficiency of HP's operations, and it seemed, based on what he said, that more reductions are possible. He said that there are "other synergies" that HP is looking at related to the acquisition. Hurd said having efficient operations is critical to growth.

"Having the most efficient cost structure is directly related to your ability to scale and grow," said Hurd.

HP officials, during the briefing -- its most extensive yet since it announced plans to take over Plano, Texas-based EDS -- argued that EDS's expertise and services are complementary to HP's.

The company said it believes more companies will turn to service providers for help because of business demands. Ann Livermore, vice president of HP's technology solutions group, said that its own surveys showed that 51% of CIOs "say it is urgent for them today to transform the data center."

HP is also investing heavily in automation and believes that it -- not offshoring -- is what reduces cost the most. Livermore told analysts that a lights-out, fully automated data center is "what people want."

source:  Patrick Thibodeau

One in five employers uses social networks in hiring process

 More than one in five employers search social networking sites to screen job candidates, according to a survey of more than 31,000 employers released by CareerBuilder.com this week.

Of the hiring managers who use social networks, one-third said they found information on such sites that caused them to toss the candidate out of consideration for a job, the survey said.

The study found that the number of hiring managers that are turning to social networks like MySpace and Facebook to delve into candidates' online behavior is increasing quickly: Some 22% of employers said they already peruse social networks to screen candidates, while an additional 9% said they are planning to do so. Only 11% of managers used the technology in 2006.

The top areas of concern found on social networking sites include:

• Information about alcohol or drug use (41% of managers said this was a top concern)
• Inappropriate photos or information posted on a candidate's page (40%)
• Poor communication skills (29%)
• Bad-mouthing of former employers or fellow employees (28%)
• Inaccurate qualifications (27%)
• Unprofessional screen names (22%)
• Notes showing links to criminal behavior (21%)
• Confidential information about past employers (19%)

The study did find that 24% of hiring managers found content on social networks that helped convince them to hire a candidate. Hiring managers said that profiles showing a professional image and solid references can boost a candidate's chances for a job.

"Hiring managers are using the Internet to get a more well-rounded view of job candidates in terms of their skills, accomplishments and overall fit within the company," said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder.com, in a statement. "As a result, more job seekers are taking action to make their social networking profiles employer-friendly. Sixteen percent of workers who have social networking pages said they modified the content on their profile to convey a more professional image to potential employers."

CareerBuilder recommends that job seekers:

• Remove pictures, content and links that can send the wrong message to potential employers.
• Update social networking profiles regularly to highlight latest accomplishments.
• Consider blocking comments to avoid questionable posts; avoid joining groups whose names could turn off potential employers.
• Consider setting profile to private so only designated friends can view it.

source: Heather Havenstein

Project Management - Project your job search

 Project management skillsproduce results. As a former project manager, Joe Ruck knows that. And he knows that those same skills that produce corporate results are also personal assets.

The discipline that brings in a major IT project on time can also guide personal projects such as the search for a new job.

"Project management is going to improve your odds at getting a better job at better pay," says Ruck, who is now CEO of BoardVantage Inc., a Menlo Park, Calif.-based provider of secure portals and communications for boards and executives.

In fact, Ruck says a colleague who recently launched a job search landed a better position using project management skills that helped him to stay on track and avoid jumping at early offers.

Here are some tips gleaned from project management to help you successfully bring in that all important job project:

1. Set project objectives.

One of the key concepts from project management is to define what success looks like. So start by articulating your vision of the job you want.

"Sit down in an organized way and examine where you've been. Think through the kinds of work you've done in the past five to 10 years, what you enjoy most and get the most meaning from, and why. That's a great way to make decisions about where you want to go next," says John A. Challenger, CEO of outplacement consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. in Chicago.

As in any project, lean on your team. Get input from those close to you who can give you objective insights to those questions.

2. Establish a project timeline and milestones.

Every IT project has an implementation schedule and a delivery date. Your job search should have those too, says Karyl K. Innis, chairman and CEO of The Innis Co., a Dallas consulting firm.

Granted, you can't guarantee the start date of a yet-to-be-found job, but Innis says most people have a target date in mind. For example, you may want to land a new position in advance of expected changes at your current job or before your severance money runs out.

Once you commit to that time frame, establish some milestones. Schedule dates for tasks such as finishing your résumé and researching companies.

"You can build a schedule that will give you a sense of whether you're on track or not," Ruck says.

3. Plan for changes.

All project managers encounter obstacles, so it's better to think early on, when you're objective, about which exigencies would make you revise your plan, says Dave Van De Voort, the Chicago-based principal consultant of IT functional effectiveness at global consulting firm Mercer LLC. For example, determine whether you'll compromise on location or pay demands if you don't get any offers. And figure out how long into the job search you'll wait before making those changes.

4. Prepare, then implement.

Consider your most valuable skills and your place in the current market. Spruce up your résumé and write cover letters. Make a list of the recruiters, search firms, colleagues and personal networks -- including on LinkedIn and other online social networks -- that can help you reach your goal. Determine which Web sites and job banks you'll search for leads. Compile lists of companies where you might want to work and the roles you would seek, then narrow them down, focusing on those that would fit best.

Then move into the next phase: implementation. Make those calls and line up those meetings, confident that you're on the right track.

"You place the phone calls to those on your target list, and you'll know what you'll say because you've prepared that script," says Innis, who has managed large-scale and global projects for tech companies such as Motorola Inc.

5. Document progress.

Successful project managers document their plans and their progress. You should be just as diligent in your job-search project, says Van De Voort, who has taught project- management-related courses at Ohio State University and the Graduate School of Business at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio.

Documenting your work helps you keep track of what you've done, what you're committed to and what you need to follow up on -- important points that can easily get lost in the shuffle when you're already working a full-time job or, conversely, unemployed and out of your regular daily routine.

Documenting your steps also helps you measure your progress against your timeline, Van De Voort says.

Adds Challenger, "Documentation is so important, because you can use it to hold yourself accountable. It makes you do the work."

Job search slip-ups to avoid

Here are six slip-ups to avoid in your job search project:

• Setting unrealistic expectations -- on anything from how quickly contacts will return your calls to how big a salary you can command.
• Being too narrow in your search. Don't target only U.S. companies and overlook foreign businesses with U.S. operations.
• Working too few regular hours on the job search project. Cruising the Internet and networking at lunch every now and then just isn't enough.
• Failing to get an honest, objective review of your résumé. Everyone needs an editor.
• Stalling at the initial steps. Don't spend too much time on introspection. It can lead to analysis paralysis.
• Taking too long to respond to potential leads. Employers aren't going to wait for your phone call.

6. Review and manage change.

Review your progress regularly, says Scott McMillan, the New York-based chief people officer at Capgemini in North America, who as a former IT consultant managed various projects. Look at what you've done, prepare for the next steps, and ask whether you're still on track or need toadjust your plans or objectives.

Don't be surprised if you sometimes find yourself off track; all projects have at least some slippage. When your project slips, figure out why, Innis says.

Good documentation helps you do that: You can track trends, like lots of first interviews but no callbacks. When you see a negative trend, ask your team of trusted advisers to help you determine why it's happening.

Adjust your project plans, timeline or objective based on what you learn, using the criteria for change management that you established at the onset of the project.

7. Perform a postmortem.

Your work on your job search isn't done when you land that dream job. "When all is said and done, it's good to evaluate how it all went and prepare yourself for the next time around," Van De Voort says, "because in the reality of today's world, there will likely be a next time."

source:Mary K. Pratt