Employment Resources for BDPA Stakeholders

The national Black unemployment rate is now 15.4% with no plan to reduce it in the near future. The economic crisis in America hit hard for many African Americans in the information technology (IT) industry over the past few years. Many are worried about being laid off.

I share these insights on ways that BDPA can help those members that are unemployed or under-employed.

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1. BDPA Career Coaches - Career coaching service is provided through a collaraborative effort between Blacks Gone Geek (Milt Haynes) and other career coaches such as Linwood Bailey, Deborah Chambers Chima, Tanya Hinton, Franne McNeal and Pat Perkins
2. BDPA Career Fair - BDPA provides a live, face-to-face opportunity for anyone seeking a career in the IT industry at the BDPA career fair held during the 32nd annual BDPA Technology Conference in Philadelphia, PA on July 28-31, 2010.
3. BDPA-Jobs YahooGroup - This online community is open to any employer that wants to post IT job opportunities or contracts and anyone (particularly BDPA members) may retrieve and apply for employment. Currently, there are over 2000 subscribers. Last month there were over 170 IT-based career postings.
4. BDPA Groupsite Career Center - There are over 2340 subscribers to our BDPA Groupsite. One of the most active discussion areas is the 'Career Center'
5. BDPA LinkedIn Jobs Networks - Career opportunities and other discussions about employment.
6. BDPA Talent Management System (part of BDPA Career Center) - This is the primary source of employment opportunities for BDPA members and supporters. BDPA corporate sponsors post IT career opportunities on a regular basis. There are currently 58 job postings ready for your immediate consideration. You should ensure that your current resume is posted in this system as these same sponsors often mine the resume database for private one-on-one interviews.
7. Small Business Development Centers - Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) provide management assistance to current and prospective small business owners. SBDCs offer one-stop assistance to individuals and small businesses by providing a wide variety of information and guidance in central and easily accessible branch locations. The services provided by SBDC are free and available in your city.
8. Who's Hiring Now - The Who’s Hiring Initiative is all about connecting people with jobs. The Who's Hiring Team uses “word of mouth” to find out who’s hiring and social networking tools to pass the word on hot job opportunities.

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Please let me know if you have other resources that you think should be added to this list. Also, feel free to share your experience with any of these employment resources.

5 Tips to Help the African American Job Seeker in the Information Technology Industry

I recently gave a cautiously optimistic view of the upcoming job market to a reporter. I think that these are times for talented, creative and motivated people of African descent in the IT industry to be fully prepared for upward mobility opportunity and new career opportunity. We need to take full advantage of all employment resources.

I understand that unemployment is high ... especially in the Black community. However, I also sense that the IT industry is uniquely poised to have great opportunities in the coming weeks for those BDPA members and supporters with good IT skill-sets.

There are many people looking for jobs in the IT industry. College students getting ready to graduate in the next year and those who graduated in the past year are highly motivated to find a job NOW so they can pay back all the bills they accumulated in college. Also, there are experienced IT professionals obtaining certifications and picking up continuing professional education credits so that they can re-enter or advance in the IT industry -- they need access to hot jobs NOW.

BDPA provides simple advice to IT job seekers of African descent -- look for online communities where IT Job Seekers or Corporate Recruiters go. Connect with career counselors at colleges who have a vested interested in getting their students placed. Make sure that you network with student unions, fraternities, sororities and alumni groups too.

Here are three (3) easy steps for BDPA members to take in their quest for a job in the IT industry:

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1. Attend the 2010 BDPA Technology Career Fair - You will meet face-to-face with recruiters and hiring managers. There is no cost to attend this 2-day career fair. You need to be there! It is important that you lose national or regional events to increase your visibility to others.
2. It's Best to Get Your Next Job While You Are Employed - It's important to start networking when you are still happily in your current position!
3. Join the online communities where recruiters are looking for you - You can find them on Facebook, Groupsite, LinkedIn Network or Twitter. Are you networking in these places?
4. Load your resume into the BDPA Talent Management System -- Last time I looked there were 75 job openings advertised in the BDPA Talent Management System. These job openings are all across the nation - Arizona, Connecticut, DC, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin. These jobs are in various IT categories - accounting, administrative support, advertising, aerospace, airlines, architectural services, banking, biotechnology, computer hardware, computer services, computer software, construction, consulting, consumer products, customer service, education, electronics, engineering, environmental services, executive management, finance, government, healthcare, hospitality, human resources, insurance, law enforcement, legal, manufacturing, military, nonprofit, operations management, product management, project management, publishing, purchasing, real estate, research & development, restaurant, retail, sales, sports, science, supply chain, telecommunications, textiles, transportation, quality assuance and waste management. What are you waiting for?
5. Update Your Resume - A recruiter for a large corporation suggested that job seekers list membership in associations on their resume, including BDPA - because recruiters want to hire people from well-known, credible associations, and will search for an association name + technical skill (i.e. "BDPA" and "business analyst").

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I may have been optimistic when talking with that reporter ... but, we make our own luck and good fortune when we take proactive steps in our preparation. I hope you find these 3 easy steps useful. In fact, I hope you will let me know your thoughts on the employment prospects for people of African descent who want to grow a career in the IT industry.

What say u?

Experiencing a Career Transition?

In a career flux, need a change, looking for a new opportunity? Post your resume to the BDPA Talent Management System.

The BDPA Talent Management System provides members with a way to post resumes and Corporate Sponsors with a way to post jobs.

Corporate Sponsors, your investment in BDPA creates positive exposure to technically diverse membership of African American information technology professionals and students. Our system is designed to offer corporations an opportunity to partner with BDPA to meet corporate goals and objectives for recruiting. BDPA programs are open to all corporations with a sincere interest in the vision, mission, objectives and goals of BDPA.

Click here to submit your resume now.

Recruiters, if you would like to take advantage of the BDPA Talent Management System, please contact us by email or phone (800.727-2372) for more information.

Technology Student Intern Program Registration Now Open

Milt Haynes (Blacks Gone Geek) is focused very much on identifying career opportunities for African American students and IT professionals. Milt recently issued this message to all aspiring technology students:

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Do you love working with computers? Would you like to get paid for doing something you love to do?

The following companies are looking for interns for their 2010 program: Abbott Laboratories, ADP, Allstate Insurance, AmericanEagle.com, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Kraft Foods, NASA, Steelcase and the U.S. State Department. They are waiting to hear from you!

Register for the program
We have volunteer career coaches available to help you with your responses. Let us know if you want help.

Positions are limited, so act fast!

Please share this information with your friends, co-workers and church members so that they can help us pass the word. The key is that we must share what we know with others so we can all grow and prosper.

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The internships that Milt brings to us are primarily in the metro Chicago area. Other internship opportunities are available on the BDPA Talent Management System.