[OT] Re: How do hiring companies view TW resumes?

["McLauchlan, Kevin" <Kevin -dot- McLauchlan -at- safenet-inc -dot- com>]

Gene Kim-Eng
> 
> Sign of the times.  If you think tech writer salaries are 
> down, talk to someone looking for a job - any job - in home 
> construction or the auto industry.
> 
> Gene Kim-Eng

If you know some GOOD ones, send 'em up here! 

There's still a shortage. 

Managers and general contractors are pulling their hair 
because of the amount of time they must devote to 
baby-sitting and [re-]training the dregs they've had 
to hire. 

We had a government stimulus program that gave a 
one-time tax break for renovation projects. It 
ended a few weeks ago, but in the months leading 
up to that, you simply could not hire anybody. 
They were all booked, even the poorest excuses, 
as all those home-owners tried to get their projects 
done in time to qualify. 

We ordered a new front door at my house (the old 
place) in June of 2009 and didn't get it 'til 
the last week of November... in time to enjoy it 
for 2 weeks before the house up for sale. 
Credit the delay to backlog at the factory, and 
backlog with the installers.

Nope, the construction trades didn't suddenly go 
idle after the third week in February (when the 
government's simulus project closed). 

Well, not in the province of Ontario, anyway. 

Our beloved goobermint is introducing a so-called 
harmonized goods-and-services tax. There have been 
separate Federal and Provincial taxes until now, 
and that has certainly been an administrative 
burden on business. 

Streamlining and harmonizing absolutely makes 
sense. But... there was not 100% overlap. A lot 
of things were not taxed under one or the other 
regime. Combining them will now cause a bunch 
of basic items to be taxed 'fully' that were 
formerly taxed by one level of government but 
not the other. Neither level of government is 
budging enough to make the change truly "revenue 
neutral". But apparently, it's been calculated 
that we sheep will just grumble for a while and 
then accept it. 

The house I just bought would have cost me another 
$30K after June.

Anyway, a lot of construction and renovation 
projects are being scrambled in order to get 
'em done before the new tax hits. Again/still, 
there are not enough skilled trades peope to 
go around. 

Nothing like that happening for techwriters, though. 

Not sure what would create a hiring frenzy for 
techwriters, other than another bogus tech 
bubble, that is. 

 - Kevin


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