Move to KC if you want to be happy. I'm Serious.

Kansas City ranked Number Two on Glassdoor's 25 Best Cities for Jobs.

Cities ranking LOWER than KC on the list:

Austin (4th)
Seattle (5th)
San Jose (7th)
San Francisco (12th)
Los Angeles (No where to be found, this shocks no one in KC)

"A key takeaway for job seekers is that a bigger city doesn’t always mean better when it comes to finding a job, being satisfied in that job and affording a mortgage."

We're gunning for you Raleigh!

You Should Move to Kansas City

I grew up in West Des Moines, Iowa, but I've lived all over the place. I've hung my hat in places from Denver to LA and Seattle. Fun fact: the summer between my junior and senior year in high school I spent time out in timber country in central Oregon at an old hippie commune owned by Lenny Lipton. You've never heard of him but he wrote a poem about a Magic Dragon and Land of Honalee which Peter, Paul, and Mary immortalized in song.

I've traveled all over the country visiting nearly every major city from coast to coast - New York, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Phoenix, Memphis, New Orleans, Miami... the list goes on. I've tasted the food, seen the sights, enjoyed the culture and history, and experienced much of what this great land has to offer. 

Living in and visiting all these places has given me a great appreciation as to why so many people are choosing to leave the interstate parking lots, crowded trains, and sky high cost of living to settle here in KC.

If you don't know much about Kansas City let me start by talking tech. We sit on top of several major carrier telecom backbones giving us a long history of being a tech hub. Western Bell (now AT&T) and our hometown telecom Sprint drove much of the early technical innovation. 

When the telecom backbone started carrying data instead of voice, that innovation shifted. Innovative technical hometown firms like Garmin, DST, and Cerner took advantage of what our community had to offer and have thrived. 

By 2011 the Wall Street Journal recognized Kansas City as a tech "hot spot" and that recognition certainly has not cooled down. We were the first city selected for Google Fiber. (You really should try a 1G up/down pipe - its like driving a Ferrari). We're also at the forefront of the "Internet of Everything" and spent $15 million dollars to stay there. 

Cerner just broke ground on a new campus and plans on hiring 16,000 people to fill the space. SIXTEEN THOUSAND jobs are on the horizon - most of them technical in nature.

I'm telling you - Kansas City loves technology. We have one of the largest local IT communities in the country (13,000 members and growing). We even have a group dedicated to convincing you this is the place to be if you're in tech.

We've had our fair share of famous residents. Rob Riggle is from KC. So are Paul Rudd and Jason Sudakis. Harry Truman grew up here. Satchel Paige pitched here. Charlie "Bird" Parker lived, played, and is buried here. 

One famous KC native you may not have heard of is Marian Kauffman, but you may recognize Marian Merrill Dow. Kauffman not only brought Major League Baseball to KC, he left a legacy and spirit of entrepreneurship that develops leaders and launches many new businesses each year, many of them in the tech space. 

We're also the hometown of mutual fund giants American Century & Waddell & Reed, Hallmark, Applebee's, H&R Block, and YRC Freight to name a few. Our history in pharma collided with our history in mutual funds when American Century Founder Jim Stowers opened one of the largest Bio-Med Research Institutes in the country.

Our vibrant marketplace has caused an issue being felt across the country - demand for talented technical people far outweighs supply. 

We want you to know about us and apparently you're listening - many people are coming from California, Florida, New York, Chicago, and from all corners of the globe to live and work our beautiful city. 

The New York Times is taking notice.

The Huff Post thinks you should live here. 

Even the Yelpers like us.

We have a rich cultural heritage with amazing food, music, and museums. 

Our schools are some of the best in the nation. 

You can own a 2500 square foot house for less than an efficiency in Palo Alto. With a yard and everything.

You can root for the American League Champions.

You can be anywhere in Kansas City within 30 minutes. If you live in the core you can take the new streetcar to work. If not call Uber - we have them too.

We may not have Google or Amazon, but that doesn't mean we don't have opportunities at a vibrant career in technology at a world-class shop. Who knows - the next Amazon might be down in Start-Up Village today. 

You should move here. You have no idea what you're missing.

Handling a Loss

Hall of Fame coach Rick Patino and his very good Louisville squad ended another chapter of UNI basketball yesterday. It’s always disappointing to lose, but looking back there’s a lot of positives to the past season and some great things to look forward to in coming seasons.

·         They won 30 games (THIRTY!) gaining them the highest NCAA tournament seed in school history.

·         They split the season with arch-rival (and new KU nemesis) Wichita State and finished just one game behind the Shockers in the regular season.

·         They won the Valley tournament on a 20+ point come from behind victory over a very tough Illinois State team.

·         They won another NCAA tournament game – convincingly.

·         Senior Seth Tuttle earned a spot on the All American team, the first Panther in history to be selected.

·         Matt Bohanan, Jeremy Morgan, and Wes Washpun will anchor a new starting five that will include several strong forwards to replace Seniors Tuttle & Buss.

·         There’s six years left on Coach Jake’s contract.

You just walked out of your interview and nailed it. The job is right up your alley. You answered all their questions effortlessly and had some great questions of your own. They were exhibiting all the “buying signs.” The job is yours – all you’re doing is waiting for the call. Two days later you find out you’re the bridesmaid.

It’s always disappointing to lose, but rather than focus on the loss focus on the positives.

·         You beat out a lot of qualified candidates to get to the final stage – obviously you know how to stand out in the marketplace and demonstrate value to an employer.

·         You have a new contact that knows you well inside a company that will have other jobs. Take advantage of that situation.

·         You have more experience to draw from in your next interview.

·         You have 3 other appointments and a list of 8 people to call this week.

·         There are 4 networking events before the end of the month that sound interesting.

·         There is another interview with feedback still pending.

If those last 3 bullets ring a little hollow be a little more engaged with the community. Look to your right and find a networking event, a workshop, and a job club to visit this week. Join one of the webinars listed.

Unlike the NCAA Tournament, your job search is not a “one and done” situation. Look toward the future and build on the success of getting the interview, regardless of the outcome.

Should Human Resources be Recruiting?

No doubt you've heard about "The War for Talent." The economy is rebounding and organizations are scrambling to find people to help keep up with a growing business. Some of you reading this may be wondering why these organizations aren't fighting to find you. My answer is simple: they are, they just have broken mechanisms to find you.

In most organizations the responsibility for finding people falls on Human Resources. This is the department that is in charge of ensuring that the company is compliant with federal, state, county, and municipal law; researching, negotiating, and administering increasingly complex benefit programs; developing programs to maximize return on employee investment; making sure employees are properly trained, that leaders are following prescribed procedures for managing & promoting people on their teams, that existing employees are happy, and that no one is being sexually harassed or discriminated against. They make sure the workplace is safe and (while they're at it) they're charged with attracting, screening, vetting, and on-boarding new talent (seeing as how they have so much spare time).

Job seekers generally give HR a bad rap. Some of this reputation is earned - when I see job descriptions that include requirements such as "While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear" it makes me question their understanding of how to attract talent. I'm fairly certain silly requirements like that come from legal, but just as bad is "must have excellent communication skills" which I'm pretty sure was included in a description 20 years ago and the HR team has never bothered to take it out.

The big reason they have a bad rap isn't their fault. People educated and/or trained in Human Resources have a LOT on their plate. Take a look at the required courses for a Masters Degree in HR Management at one of the top schools in the area for HR (Ottawa). One class in recruiting. ONE. It's not a priority. They have too many other pieces of the organizational puzzle to manage to be effective at talent acquisition. 

HR professionals are simply too busy to dedicate 100% of their time to recruiting. Frankly, I'd be shocked if they have 20% of their time available to recruit. They aren't effective recruiters because they simply aren't given the time necessary.

Here's the rub - to say recruiting is a full time job is an understatement. 

Recruiting is the only job I've had where I could work 24x7 and not run out of things to accomplish. Organizations that are effective at talent acquisition usually have two strategies. The most effective is a great referral program. Happy employees make great recruiters. They other strategy is having dedicated Talent Acquisition teams. These may or may not be people trained & educated in Human Resources, but their time is 100% dedicated to recruiting. Without one (or both) of those programs I have to question how much priority the company puts on hiring great people.

If it was up to me, recruiting would be a separate department under sales and marketing. They're already out there promoting the company brand, they know how to get the audience's attention and get them to act. Good customers like your company and trust you enough to earn their business. 

I'm sure some of them would like to be on your team.

Resume Missing Something?

People agonize over resumes – writing, editing, re-writing, proofreading, and starting all over again yet it seems like once or twice a month I get a resume that falls short in the critical information department. When I saw critical information I’m not talking about great content, or compelling copy – I mean CRITICAL INFORMATION.

This may or may not come as a surprise, but the most common critical information missing is a way to contact the person.  I’ve had applicants send me a great resume and I have no way of connecting to them. I’ve received resumes with a phone number where the voice mail isn’t set up. I’ve had emails kicked back. Folks, if it’s on your resume make sure you know we’re trying to connect with you!

Another piece of missing information is dates of employment. I’ve seen resumes that don’t include any date information. I can’t work with no date information – if there’s no date information at all I move on to other resumes. However, there is another common piece of date information missing: months of employment. Most of us want to see the start and end month of your employment (for me going back 5 years is fine) because 2013 – 2014 can mean you worked there a month, or two years. I immediately thing “hiding a gap” when I don’t see months listed on recent employment.

Another common piece of critical information is missing names. I get a LOT of resumes with just the first name – very commonly from people who are originally from India. Not sure why this is so common, but I have 1,000 Kumar’s in my database and adding another one doesn’t do anyone any good. I also see resumes with just the initial of the person. I’ve even seen a resume where the person used a pseudonym. Don’t send me a resume without your first and last name because it’s not going to get read.

Finally, I have seen resumes with absolutely no employment information whatsoever. I see the role and responsibilities but they neglected to list WHERE they worked. I can understand if you’re posting the resume to a public board putting “Confidential” if you don’t want your current employer to stumble across your resume, but it’s ALWAYS a red flag when I see that listed on a submitted resume. If a candidate isn’t willing to disclose where they work I can’t help them.

Missing information always makes me ask myself “What else are they hiding?”

I want your full name, a way to contact you, where you’ve worked, and the dates of employment. If my initial six second scan doesn’t hit those points I’ll find someone who does.

Your Role in the "War for Talent"

Employers are worried about their employees. The increasing competitive landscape for recruiting and retaining talented employees is causing quite a bit of turmoil at all levels of management. Global Management Consulting firm Hay Group estimates that 160 million people worldwide will switch jobs this year.

Some experts have said as much as 25% of the US workforce will change employers this year. Today’s Department of Labor report stated that the number of people who voluntarily left positions vs being laid off or discharged was 1.5 in July – more than double the pre-recession level of .7 in Dec 2007.

Trust me, employers are worried about losing you and the “quick fix” to stop the exodus is an old fallback position  – the counter offer.

Here’s your problem – a counter offer is nearly always made to serve the best interests of the employer, not the employee. The National Employment Association estimates that 80% of the people who accept a counter offer either leave voluntarily or are discharged within 6 months of acceptance. Why such a high number?

Accepting a counter-offer is a bad idea.

There's a reason you started job-searching in the first place and chances are money is not the only reason. More money will not change other motivations that caused you to look. You may not be a huge fan of management, difficult co-workers, there may not be any coherent business strategy, you might be bored or stagnant, you don’t get deserved recognition, you’re working with insane deadlines, the commute or parking situation, the crazy hours – those factors aren't going change with a few hundred extra dollars in your pocket each month.

You have now made your employer aware that you are unhappy. From this day on, your loyalty will always be in question.

Once the word gets out, the relationship that you now enjoy with your co-workers will never be the same. What did you do to deserve a raise besides threaten to leave?

What makes you worth more today than yesterday in the employer’s eyes? The answer is nothing. Do you really want to work for an organization where you need to threaten to leave before getting a fair shake on your compensation?

Put the shoe on the other foot for a second. What if a company extended an offer to you, only to rescind the offer a few days later because they had “found someone better”? How do you feel about breaching your agreement to join a new company because of a counter-offer?

Counter-Offers are in the Employer's best interests, not yours.

Employers know counter-offers are not a long-term solution. They’re often made in a moment of panic. You need to finish this project or that. They’re running lean and losing you means they fall further behind.

They know the odds of you sticking around long term are slim so they’ll immediately start looking for your replacement. It’s only a matter of time before the panic wears off and you are more “disposable.”

Thinking long term is in YOUR best interests.

The Hays Study pointed at five factors areas organizations should address to attract and retain top talent.

• Confidence in the organization and leadership.
• Placing the right people in the right roles, creating efficient work processes, enabling collaboration, and providing a supportive working environment.
• Opportunities to learn, grow and progress.
• A fair exchange between contributions employees make and the rewards they receive.
• Authority to do their jobs and influence how work is done.

If your employer was hitting on all cylinders you wouldn’t have been looking in the first place. Chances are pretty good the new employer shows more promise in these areas than your current employer, otherwise you probably would not have accepted their offer.

When considering a counter-offer you need to seriously think about your experience with your company on these points and decide what's in your best interests long term.

It's unlikely they will make sweeping organizational changes simply because you accepted a counter-offer. As a matter of fact, I’m 80% certain they won’t and you’ll be somewhere else in 180 days.

Exciting News in the KC Business World today

You probably have heard Sprint CEO Dan Hesse is stepping down and being replaced by the CEO of a 10.6 billion dollar global wireless distribution and services company called Brightstar. Its no coincidence that as of October of last year Brightstar is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sprint majority owner Softbank.

It's also no coincidence that piggy-backed with the CEO change, Sprint / Softbank announced they no longer are interested in pursuing a Sprint / TMobile merger. In related news T Mobile decided to reject a bid from French Telecom to acquire the company. In the immortal words of George Costanza "You're giving me the 'It's not you, it's me?' I invented that!!"

What does this mean for KC? First and foremost I think a merged TMobile / Sprint has the potential to adversly effect the local job market so the break-up is a good thing for KC. If history is any indication, we know how the Sprint / Nextel merger worked out for us.

Beyond that I think a merged company would look to consolidate operations which gives Sprint HQ a 50/50 chance of moving to Bellevue, WA. Given telecom is a technology driven industry, and the perception that the West Coast is much more "tech heavy", I'm happy the merger is off.

And if "As the Sprint World Turns" isn't enough for you, Cerner just announced a 1.3 Billion dollar CASH acquisition of Siemans Healthcare Systems. Forbes has a great article on the benefits of the acquisition and as you read you'll know the benefits to the KC market. Cerner still plans on adding 16,000 jobs in the coming years outside this partnership and I suspect this partnership is part of the reason those jobs are coming to our community. 

I'm optimistic for another reason - demand for our services is as high (if not higher) than the peak days in 2001 & 2007. We currently have a dozen openings for development resources on all platforms and roles from basic team members to highly placed technical strategists. I've never seen competition for hands-on technical people this fierce. 

We also are seeing plenty of activity in SDLC related roles: Business Analysts, Quality Testers, and Project / Product Managers. In short, if you're in the software development world and considering a move you will find plenty of firms interested in speaking with you. Including me. :)