CAREERS NOW 01-17-07

Companies Laying Off May Have Jobs To Fill

DEAR JOYCE: A career coach suggested I apply at a company known to be laying people off. I don't want to waste my time if the company is downsizing. Do you agree? - R.O.G.

The coach is referring to "churn" - jargon for hiring people while laying others off. Usually churn is ascribed to the efforts made by a company to be more competitive by changing the mix of employees to cope with technological innovation and global competition.

Churn was not widespread in your parents' world when "commitment companies" dealt with hard times by spreading financial sacrifices among all employees and by training their workers with new skills. In contrast, today's workers are thrown overboard quicker than you can say "slippery deck."

Laid-off employees often, in reality, are terminated - not called back when times improve, as once was normal. The churn business model replaces expensive workforces in the United States and Western Europe with lower-paid employees in such geographies as Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America.

Sometimes the churn of two companies is loosely opposite. To cite examples happening right now, Company A thinks it has too many workers in information technology, human resources and finance positions but not enough in revenue-generating jobs, such as sales. Company B thinks it has too many expensive positions in field sales and has ditched that workforce for a telesales staff.

Despite a company's layoffs, go ahead and apply at the churn-loving company named by the career coach. Just don't be surprised if you're treated as a disposable employee at any time, even when the company shows record profits.

DEAR JOYCE: As a pharmacist, I am a professional in a field where it is extremely difficult to fill positions. Most of the companies now recruiting offer significant signing bonuses - usually $30,000 for a three-year commitment.

But the latest offer, from a company I intended to work for, words the contract as a loan, for which no credit will be given if I should leave before the three years are satisfied. Also, they want to tack on 8 percent interest; the so-called loan is forgiven at the end of three years. (The other companies making me offers give credit for any time spent working for them without interest.) I have a funny feeling about this latest deal. Your thoughts? - S.O.S.

When that little voice in your head says something is wrong, there probably is. Ask the company for a restructured offer, one without interest charges and with credit for time worked, and if the answer is no, I'd pass. In the sense of a classic aphorism, I'd prefer a workplace labeled "No Entry" to one labeled "No Exit."

DEAR JOYCE: A woman I work with chews gum loudly all the time. I haven't got the guts to complain but her habit is nerve-wrenching. Ideas? - J.Z.

Complain quietly: Anonymously leave a strong hint on the gum lady's desk - a copy of "New Rules @ Work: 79 Etiquette Tips, Tools, and Techniques to Get Ahead and Stay Ahead" by Barbara Pachter with Ellen Schneid Coleman (Prentice Hall Press/Penguin; www.penguin.com).

The business etiquette guru doesn't rank gum-cracking as one of her "Top Ten Career Killers" but she does say it's a blunder when you want to be considered classy.

DEAR JOYCE: I seek an engineering job in the nanotechnology industry. Do you know of a good niche job board for this industry? - J.G.

A new employment service for engineers launched late last year: PennTechJobs.com. The site is operated by the PennWell Corporation, a technical publisher, and is aimed at engineers in communications, electronics, photonics, optoelectronics, military aerospace, nanotechnology and semiconductor manufacturing.

Additionally, check for nanotechnology jobs on www.indeed.com, which is a vertical job search engine.

DEAR JOYCE: How often does a college student's internship turn into a job offer after graduation? - D.R.T.

More often than I thought. A recent study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that employers made job offers to more than 70 percent of their interns. A related survey indicated that nearly three-quarters of their job offers to interns were accepted. Upshot: Some 53 percent of interns actually become full-time hires. Clear message: Don't leave college without one or more internship experiences.

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