In This Issue Local Economy and Employment Trends  IT Job Growth Rate Interviews: Turn Your Weaknesses Into Strengths Are You Being Paid Competitively? Professional Organization Links When Can Loyalty Be Viewed as a Red Flag? Holiday Picture of Our Staff Contact Us

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Local Economy and Employment Trends

The Texas economy continues to expand strongly, propelled by robust energy and construction industries. Texas’ job growth has been twice as fast as the nation’s for slightly over a year. Most major sectors of the state’s economy are adding workers, including manufacturing. So far this year, Texas employment has increased an annualized 3.2 percent.

Reports suggest job growth is being restrained by a shortage of workers The labor market remains very tight, and wages were rising in many industries.. In September, Texas’ unemployment rate fell to 4.8 percent, the lowest since May 2001. Seasonally adjusted nonagricultural employment in Texas increased by almost 28,000 jobs in October, the second largest gain this year. The Texas economy grew by over 215,00 jobs over the last 12 months. Texas employers now have added jobs for 25 consecutive months and 38 of the last 39 months. October’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained steady at 4.8 percent from September and is down from 5.4 percent in October 2005.

“The Texas labor market continues to gain momentum, bringing more good news for employers and job seekers as we approach the end of the year,” said Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) Chair Diane Rath. “Jobs grew again this month, and the unemployment rate at 4.8 percent remains at its lowest point in five years.”

The Construction industry gained more ground in October, contributing to 17 consecutive months of growth. The industry has grown by 7.8 percent since October 2005.  Manufacturing rose to its highest level in more than three years. This month’s gain in Manufacturing represents nearly half of the industry’s added since October 2005. Natural Resources and Mining posted its fifth consecutive month of gains.

“Texas employers again demonstrated strong job growth in many areas of the state and many industries,” said TWC Commissioner Representing Employers Ron Lehman. “Ten of 11 major industries had gains over the past 12 months.”

Seasonally adjusted initial claims for unemployment insurance declined to almost 56,000 in September, a level not seen since January 1982.  Initial claims for unemployment compensation in October 2006 were down 24 percent from October 2005, when hurricane-related claims jumped significantly.

Sources: Texas Workforce Commission, Dallas Federal Reserve Bank  

IT Job Growth Rate

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, five of the top ten fastest growing jobs between now and 2014 – across any industry – will be tech jobs:

Interviews: Turn Your Weaknesses Into Strengths

Sometimes, interviewers will pelt you with questions that require you to analyze your weaker traits. The types of questions you are likely to encounter in this style of interviewing include:

• "Do you find it difficult to work with some people?"
  Indicate that you get along well with people and work hard to understand other points of view. You can name one or two traits that disturb you, but make sure they're not overly broad, and give preference to those that a manager would also find hard to accept—such as dishonesty, incessant talking, or unreliability.
  
  
• "What are your weaknesses?"
  You can say you don't know of any that would prevent you from doing an excellent job in the position you are discussing. If pressed, you can turn this into an opportunity to talk about the kind of workplace you hope to enter. You might say that you prefer not to work in an environment where there's no teamwork or where you don't have a sense of why your work matters. Another good answer along those lines, which turns your "weaknesses" into strengths: "I work better in a team environment, despite the fact that I'm a self-starter and think well independently."
  
  If you're asked to name your strengths as well as weaknesses, follow the same principles:
  
  Good answer: "I think my strengths are in my ability to understand the intent of a project, master the details, and organize and pursue a well-developed project plan. My weakness might be that I can be a little impatient with people who don't keep their commitments, although I'm learning that I get better results by being tactful and persistent in asking questions, rather than making demands." (Shows coherence and a learning attitude; turns a weakness into another strength.)
  
  Pretty good answer: "I'm a good detail person. I do what needs to be done, and I get it done on time. I don't know of anything that would prevent my doing a good job." (Less compelling, but fairly believable.)
  
  Bad answer: "I'm good at numbers, as long as I'm left alone to get the work done. I can't think of any weaknesses." (Turns a strength into a weakness! Refuses to think about weaknesses or opportunities to learn.)
  

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Source: WetFeet.com

Are You Being Paid Competitively? 

As a value-added service to our clients, Q&A Recruiting offers a free local Salary Survey. This data is specifically compiled for the Dallas/Fort Worth area in the disciplines of information technology, accounting, finance, tax and human resources. The Q&A Salary Survey is calculated through a combination of information gathered from local job searches and market input from clients and candidates.

The 2007 Salary Survey will be updated by year-end. Click here to receive the latest version as soon as it becomes available. You can view the 2006 survey immediately by clicking here.

Professional Organizations in DFW

Information Technology:
North Dallas.net Users Group
Dallas.net Users Group
Java Metroplex Users Group
BEA Metroplex Users Group
North Texas PC Users Group
North Texas MS Developer's SIGs
NTLUG - North Texas Linux Users Group
Metro Midrange Systems Association
Dallas Oracle User Group
Dallas / Fort Worth Cisco Users Group
Dallas / Fort Worth UNIX Users Group
Mid-Cities PC Users Group
North Texas SQL Server Users Group
Technology Executives Networking Group (TENG)

When Can Loyalty Be Viewed as a Red Flag? 

When you've worked at only one employer for your whole career, writing a resume that wins interviews may be no easy task. The reason: Some hiring managers and recruiters may take a dim view of your single-company job history. While you might see signs of loyalty or job security, they may wonder why you haven't moved to a better opportunity or been recruited, among other questions.

If you have been with one company, it's important to quickly defuse any qualms a hiring manager might have about your job history.

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Source: Wall Street Journal Online

Holiday Picture of Our Staff

Thank you for all you've done to contribute to the growth and success of Q&A in 2006! Click here to view the Q&A group picture.

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