Author: paulryburn

About a week ago, I had a guy approach me at a bar and ask for some job-hunting advice.  He told me he reads my blog, and he’s noticed I always manage to find much-better-than-average jobs in IT.  He is just breaking into the field, having graduated from college recently, and he wanted some tips.  I asked if I could think about it for a little while and get back to him.  I realized later that other people in IT might want to hear this too, so I’m using a blog post to respond.

1) Put a copy of your resume online. I don’t mean on Monster or CareerBuilder or any of those. I mean, create an HTML version of your resume, find a place to put it online (search for “free web hosting” if you don’t know where to go), upload it, and request that Google “spider” (index) it. This seems like really basic advice, but I’d bet 90% of your competition hasn’t done it. I get e-mails almost weekly from managers or recruiters that have seen my resume on the web. I used to program for the City Schools, and this is how that job found me.

A few notes on your online resume: Remove all your contact info except your e-mail address. You don’t want stalkers finding out your address or phone number. If a company wants to talk to you, they’ll e-mail. Also, don’t use your current work e-mail address as your contact address on your resume – this is a good way to get fired. If you don’t already have a personal e-mail address, go sign up for Gmail. Pick an account name that sounds professional (e.g. not something like skat3rd00d69).

2) Network. IT people tend to spend too much time studying for certifications, and not enough time out meeting people. I’d estimate that one hour connecting with people is worth 25 studying for certs, as far as long-term effect on how much money you’ll eventually make.

2a) Network within your field. If your field is IT, search for IT-related events around town. Go to them, mingle, and meet your peers. Be genuinely interested in other people and the projects they are working on, but don’t be shy about telling people who you are and what you’re looking for. You never know when you may be talking to someone who knows someone who can help you.

2b) Network within activities you enjoy. If you enjoy running, join a runners’ club and mingle with the other members; a certain percentage of them will be in IT, and even those that are not may have friends or relatives who are. If you enjoy reading, join a book club and a certain percentage of the people you meet will be in IT. Me personally, my hobby is going to bars and drinking. A certain percentage of people I meet in bars are in IT. Hanging out in bars has never led me directly to a job, but I’ve been able to hook up some of my drinking buddies with interviews for positions I knew about. (Note: If your hobby is the same as mine, be prepared to come up with a creative answer to “how did you learn about this position?”)

3) Get LinkedIn. LinkedIn is the professional version of MySpace or Facebook. You still sign up and fill out a profile, but the profile is more about past work and education, and the people you befriend tend to be professional contacts. Managers and recruiters browse their contacts’ contacts when looking to hire. This is how I found my current position.

For that matter, don’t totally dismiss MySpace and Facebook as job-hunting tools either. One of my best recruiter contacts found me on MySpace.

4) Make contacts with recruiters on your own. Even if you’re not actively looking, it’s good to have established relationships with them – maybe you can send someone their way and get a referral fee. Don’t be afraid to contact more than one recruiter – nothing wrong with that, although if one recruiter presents you for a particular position, you should not let other recruiters present you again for that same position. Locally, I like JD Resources (who found me my current job), Vaco Technologies, and TEKsystems.

5) Offer to do small consulting projects at bargain-basement prices to gain experience. Want to program in PHP but have never done it? Put the word out that you’ll do it for a ridiculously low rate (say, 10 bucks an hour) just to get experience and get your name out there. Don’t offer to do it for free, because you want to be able to claim it as professional experience – therefore, you need to get paid. You could also search for contract work on sites like eLance.com to get experience.

6) Identify companies in the area for which you seem like a good fit, and start making contacts with people within those companies. Doesn’t even matter if they’re in IT.  They are people who can help you get your foot in the door, and they can also provide you with more information about the internal culture of the company.

7) Be picky. Part of finding a good job is recognizing that there are a lot of jobs out there that suck. I have no problem saying “thanks, but I don’t think this is going to work out” if I interview for a position, and come to find out that some of its requirements are utterly ridiculous. You have to come up with a definition of “utterly ridiculous” that works for you, but for me, “wearing a tie every day” would be right up there at the top of the list.

… And there you have it.  I hope this helps.

Finally feeling better after being sick all weekend.  And now it’s Monday.  Yay.

Coming soon (probably the lunchtime post):  My BFF of the Month decision.

Tonight: Pint Nite, of course.

My blogging the past 5 days has not been up to par.  For those of you who just tuned in due to the Memphis Flyer award thing, I hope you’ll come back a few days more and give me a chance.  Wed-Fri nights after work I had too many events to attend and was dead tired throughout.   Then Friday day at work I could feel myself coming down sick.  I already had stuff lined up for Friday night, so I attempted to make it, but it was not pretty.  Spent almost all day in bed Saturday, got out today for a little while but still feel far from normal.  Give me a few more days to get this blog back up to my usual low standards.

I did make it out for a little while today.  Notes:

– I missed brunch at Calhoun’s yesterday because I was sick.  The main reason why was, I was afraid Lauren would put on her Tennessee Vols shirt and I’d puke brunch back up.

– By the way, a decision on the BFF of the Month for October matter will come TOMORROW.  Monday, September 29.  Yes I realize that’s two days early but I’m tired of debating this.

– Went to the Saucer tonight, where bartenders Brittney and Jennifer were behind the bar.  Meaning, Jennifer was unloading freshly-washed glasses, putting used glasses in the container for the next dishwasher load, getting the servers drinks, and getting her bar patrons drinks; meanwhile Brittney was at the far end of the bar standing there and talking to people.  Anyway, Jennifer had a BRILLIANT idea for my Halloween costume this year.  Not 100% sure it’ll happen, because it’s a costume that would have to be done with another person.  But it’s brilliant.

– I also had an idea how to run the bums out of Downtown, or at least make life harder on them.  It involves lamp posts.  Details to come.

– I have a post typed up giving advice to people applying for jobs in IT.  This one’s been done for a couple days, just wanted to wait for a weekday to post it.

– Oh and I found out where the Nuh-Uh Girl eats lunch.

Again, if you’re new, please bear with me and one of these days I’ll post useful stuff.  I’ve just got to get to feeling like myself again.

According to an article in the CA this morning, the nation financial crisis has changed the One Beale project, to be built at the foot of Beale at Riverside.  The project was slated to be a high-rise hotel, condos, and office space, with condo owners enjoying the same concierge service hotel residents would receive.  However, the recent financial downtown, that project now appears to be much riskier, without much promise of additional return.  Therefore, the developers had no choice to scale the project back.

The project will be instead built in phases, with a low-rise, limited-service hotel as the first phase – developers are confident there’s demand for it now.  Phases two and three will be the fully-realized Hyatt Regency Memphis, with amenities such as a 10th floor pool and sundeck; and almost 30,000 sf of office space.  Although 25 of the 66 condo units pre-sold, the residential units won’t be built until Phase 4, and it is unknown at this time whether they will be condo or rental units.

Apologies to everyone I barely spoke to last night at Trolley Tour and at the South Main Dirty Dozen party.  I didn’t realize it until I got home, but apparently I had food poisoning or some kind of stomach virus… had 102 fever when I got home.  Feeling better today – still a fever though.  If I go out it won’t be until 9:30 when Funk DeVille plays the Saucer.  If anyone knows the Fire Sale, e-mail or text it to me and I’ll update.

I did recover for a little while last night, for the Mpact Memphis debate watch party at the Red Rooster.  I got a great seat right in front of one of the TVs, and more importantly, at the bar.  Special thanks to Sam (my vote for Memphian of the Year in the Flyer’s poll) for keeping me well supplied with water as well as booze.  I re-joined Mpact last night.  I don’t expect to get actively involved in their event planning as I was in the ’02-’05 period, but I do plan to attend more of their events.  You can check out their calendar on their website.

The debate:  I don’t think either candidate got a decisive win.  I think Obama did slightly better, but that could be my bias because I plan to vote for him.  Going into the debate he was at +4.2% in the RealClearPolitics national average, and I think he’ll improve to +5.0% by the end of the weekend as a result of the debate.

Afterward I watched Aquanet play for a little while.  Then I headed to South Main for the Dirty Dozen party at E&H… unfortunately I was starting to feel ill again and only stayed for one drink.  Wandered home, took my temperature, realized I was sick, went to bed.

Probably not going out tonight.  Need to stay home and rest.

Looks like the debate is back on for tonight… that means I’ll be at the Mpact Memphis watch party at the Red Rooster.  I need to renew my membership while there… I let it lapse this year.  The debate itself does not start until 8, so I’ll probably hit Trolley Tour from 6:00 to 7:20ish, then head to the Rooster in plenty of time to get a good seat.

Bardog Tavern is doing happy hour from 5 to 7 with $1 off all bottles and drafts.  That means PBR costs only $1.50 during happy hour.

Calhoun’s is doing their brunch again tomorrow.  Price is $8 a plate this week – at $5 last week, it was clear that they underpriced it.  Last week’s brunch was OUT-FREAKIN-STANDING, so come on down if you’re hungry tomorrow morning.  Not sure if the menu will be the same or if they’ll change it up, but I’m sure it will be good.

September 26, 2008… my grandmother who helped raise me as I grew up would’ve turned 100 today.

It’s Friday morning and I don’t know what my plans are for the evening. If there’s a debate, I’ll be at the Red Rooster to watch it. If it’s called off, I’ll be at the South Main Trolley Tour. Weather looks to be perfect this month. In either case, I’ll be in the South Main area later in the evening for a private party.

Hmmm… the Red Rooster… the Blue Monkey… the Flying Fish… Bardog Tavern… the soon-to-be-open Silly Goose… the Pig on Beale… Spindini, the best Cougar Bar as voted by Memphis Flyer readers… quite a nice little Downtown zoo we’ve got going on.

The election is barely more than a month away… I’m addicted to RealClearPolitics. I check it throughout the day to see if any states have flipped from red to blue or vice versa. The last day to register to vote in time to vote in the November elections is October 6. Early voting is October 15-30.

I’ve been asked to let everyone know to check out the empty lot next to Earnestine & Hazel’s tonight for Trolley Tour. There’s an art park initiative going on for the new Downtown promenade, and they’ll have an exhibit in the lot tonight. Come see Architecture Inc.’s plans for the park, watch 7 artists perform live to the tunes of a funky jazz band, and most importantly, drink some Ghost River beer!

I’ve also been told that personal trainer Shannon Lazek has opened a space in the old Durden art gallery at 408 S. Front #107, and she will have an open house tonight during Trolley Tour. I’ve never met Shannon but she comes highly recommended from a client to tell me how awesome she is. Check her out if you’re into fitness, or want to be.

The South Main Association will have free food and beer for members tonight from 6 to 8. Non-members can get a beer for a $2 donation (although, note two paragraphs above that the art park people will be serving beer too).

Since I hung out with Michelle and Jenny this week, in the interest of equal time, I guess I’ll have to stop by Calhoun’s either Saturday or Sunday day and see Lauren. The October BFF race is dead even. Michelle and Jenny had pulled out to a slight lead, then undid it with that “barmaid” comment. That comment was as bad a foul as Lauren’s horrible Tennessee shirt. So I’d say the race is as even as Obama-McCain, except I don’t want to insult any of my potential BFFs by likening them to John McCain.

All right, outta here for now.  I had an IT guy ask me for job-hunting tips last weekend, and it occurred to me that the tips might be useful to others, so I’m working on a post about them.  Don’t know if it’ll be done today, but soon.  See you at either the debate or Trolley Tour tonight, if you’re out.

If you’ve heard about all the fun that happens at Hollywood Disco (formerly Raiford’s) at 2 or 3 AM, but you just can’t stay up that late, tonight is your chance to experience it at a much earlier hour.  The Travel Channel will be there to film tonight, and they need a packed house at 6 PM.  There’s no cover until 9, so put on your boogie shoes and come on down.

I’m pleading with everyone who loves the Disco to come out and support the new owners and make the place look like a million dollars.  A little over a year ago, we thought the Disco was gone forever when Raiford retired and closed the club.  The new owners gave it back to us.  This is our chance to say “thank you” by making the place look great on TV.

I’ll be there in my “Disco Paul” persona by 6 PM.  Come on down and join me!

Kudos to the Memphis Flyer on an outstanding Best of Memphis party, held last night on the grounds of the Metal Museum.  Great food from the BOM restaurant winners, talented band, fun party space.  Since it’s not really accessible from the rest of Downtown I drove the car, and the engine got an extra workout when I took the wrong exit on the way back and had to go 4 miles into Arkansas and turn around.  Last time I bought gas was the last week of August.  Total miles on the car since then, counting last night: 14.

After the party I hit the Saucer for a beer, then remembered that the St. Jude scientists/October BFF candidates Jenny and Michelle had said they’d be at Blues City watching the Dempseys.  So I headed down there.  Many pictures were taken – although none with my camera, so I don’t have any to post.  “Come on Paul, pose with your new BFFs,” they said, and I reminded them they are BFF candidates for October and have not won.  English Jenny denigrated the competition.  “Really, Paul,” she said.  “Don’t you think you should stop choosing barmaids as your BFFs?”  “Barmaids.”  You gotta love the British.  Not really a strong argument, though, considering I spend more time in bars than I do sleeping or at work.  Seems like a “barmaid” would be a natural pick.  What they should have done was to try to draw comparisons between BFF candidate Lauren and former BFF Meghan, who was a total disaster.

So, Rick Springfield was in the audience, and trying to keep a low profile, but the Dempseys coaxed him up on stage to play a song on Brad’s guitar, and he totally rocked the place.  After that the Dempseys said, “We’re taking a break, there’s no way we can follow that,” and the Blues City people put “Jesse’s Girl” on the PA.

After that I stopped by Bardog Tavern to join John Bragg and his employees for a drink to celebrate their “Best Restaurant” win.  The place is coming together.  They’ll be open for lunch next week, and since it’s a block from work I’ll probably be in there quite a bit.

Back to work.  Today’s meeting day.  Yay meetings.  Actually I’m looking forward to this one because I have something cool to demo.  After work I’ll stop by the Saucer for a happy hour Dos Equis Lager, then head to the Disco.

Oh – one more thing – probably not gonna get by the Saucer until after work, so if anyone knows the Fire Sale e-mail or text it to me and I’ll post it.

So, yesterday I never got around to my post about the menu at On the River, the new seafood place opening soon at 51 S. Main, between Monroe and Union on the Main Street Mall.

They have seafood entrees that you can purchase as a dinner, or in half pound, 3/4 pound, and 1 pound sizes.  Dinners come with two sides of your choice and huspuppies.  Entrees include 8 piece regular shrimp, 6 piece jumbo shrimp, fish and chips, lake perch, 4 piece catfish, buffalo, smelt, 2 piece whiting, red snapper, crawfish tails, and frog legs.  The frog legs are only available as a dinner, not by weight.  Dinner prices range from $6.99 (smelt) up to $10.99 (jumbo shrimp).

Sides include pasta salad, french fries, mixed vegetables, spaghetti, slaw, and chips.

They also have chicken and shrimp alfredo, which, judging by prices, look to be meals in themselves, although they apparently don’t come with sides.  They also have sandwiches, salads, desserts, and appetizer items like crab cakes and fried green tomatoes.

The menu says they’ll open for lunch and will be open ’til 8 PM Monday-Thursday and 10 PM Friday-Saturday.  Closed Sunday.

Wonder if this place will give the Flying Fish a run for its money… it’ll surely be a lunch hotspot for those who work on or near the Main Street Mall.

From Blues City tonight.

Time for my weekly look through the Memphis Flyer, for stuff relevant to Downtowners. Because it’s the Best of Memphis issue, this one’s going to be long.

p.6: State Place at South End ad: “Down here we don’t measure convenience in Applebee’s drive times.” Heh. That’s a shot at East Bumblefuck if I ever heard one. I like these people.

p.9: Good article about the push for Downtown to become dumpster-free. They’re right, the dumpsters attract vagrants and homeless who dig through them, and then leave garbage strewn about everywhere, which in turn attracts rats and pigeons. The article notes that vagrants also tend to go behind dumpsters to do their ‘business,’ making conditions even more unsanitary.

All right, on to the Best of Memphis awards.

Best Burger: Note that all three winners are Downtown restaurants (although #1 Huey’s is all over the city).

Best Brunch: I knew the bigger, more well-known brunches would win, but only the Majestic Grille has the “John D Breakfast” on the menu, so it got my vote.

Best Service: Chick-Fil-A? Really? This was another Majestic vote for me. Second-place Texas de Brazil certainly deserved to be in the top three.

Best Waiter/Waitress: Michelle from Calhoun’s won!!! Cool! Although, I must admit, I never thought of voting for her in this category, because I always sit at the bar when she serves me. But she works the tables too. Glad to see Calhoun’s in the awards. My vote went to Melissa from the Flying Saucer, although she’s been promoted to bartender since voting ended.

Best place for people-watching: The Flying Saucer. The Flyer lists the hot waitresses in miniskirts, and the tourists passing by the window, as reasons why. But they forgot one more reason – the BUMS!!! No place better for watching bums do their “tour guide” and “flower man” gimmicks than the Saucer’s garage windows. Even more fun now that I can call the Downtown safety patrol on them.

Best restaurant: This was a hard call for me to vote on. There are four or five I could have gone with. Circa and the Majestic were certainly on that list. I don’t really hang out at McEwen’s much, but I have no doubt it deserves its spot too. Great choices, although I’m sad to see Big Foot didn’t get a share of the Reader’s Choice award this year.

Best local band: Congrats to the Dempseys for sharing in the award again this year. They were my vote.

Best bartender: Michelle from Calhoun’s wins again!!! Nice! I left this category blank because I couldn’t decide. In my mind, it was a many-way tie between Max, Michelle, and Lauren from Calhoun’s; Karen and Nate from E&H; Melissa from Itta Bena; the entire Saucer; Troy from Big Foot; Hoop from Hoop’s Bar; and I know I’m leaving a couple more out. No way I could’ve picked one out of all those. We have some great bartenders Downtown.

Best after-hours club: Hollywood Disco! Damn right!

Best “cougar” bar: I never thought I’d use the words “best” and “Spindini” in the same breath, but the Flyer found a way for me to do it. Spindini got “BOM” status, meaning they won by a margin of more than three to one.

Best beer selection: Flying Saucer! Damn right!

Best happy hour: I love the Saucer but wouldn’t have voted for it here. 7 extra ounces of beer is nice but not enough to be called “best in town.” Right now I’d go with Circa as the best happy hour Downtown. As much as I hate East Bumblefuck chain restaurants, I can’t deny the appeal of “2-for-1 all day” at Chili’s.

Best dance club: SO glad to see Hollywood Disco/Raiford’s beat Senses this year. Memphians are starting to appreciate quality. If Atlas had won I would’ve started looking for another city to move to, but they weren’t in the top three.

Best jukebox: E&H! Damn right!

Best new bar: Even though it’s not Downtown, I have absolutely no problem with The Cove winning – with great ambience and hand-crafted drinks, it’s outstanding. Glad Calhoun’s made #2, although technically I wasn’t sure it was eligible, since it opened December 31, 2007. My vote, the Red Rooster, tied with the Downtown Monkey for third.

Best sports team: Memphis Tigers basketball! Damn right! Go Tigers!

Best local athlete: Joey Dorsey! Damn right!

Best local radio talk show: I voted for Thaddeus since I couldn’t vote for him for Best Blogger. He didn’t win though.

Best local blogger: Pleased to be sharing the top three with Thaddeus and MPD Enforcer 2.0. Again, genuine thanks to everyone who voted for me.

Best local place for men’s clothing: Glad to see my choice, Shelton Clothiers, made it to the top 3. I have several nice shirts and a great new wallet from Shelton.

Best local health club: Glad to see Downtown YMCA won, although, how would I know who the best is? I’m too busy drinking at bars to have time to work out.

Best Memphis failure: KING WILLIE!!!!!!!!!!!! DAMN RIGHT!

Best Memphis success: I voted for the new Downtown safety patrol, although I agree Steve Cohen’s defeat of Nikki Tinker deserves the award too.

Best Memphian: I voted for Sam from the Red Rooster using “why the hell not” as my reasoning. I’m quite happy with the actual winner, Steve Cohen, though.

All right, back to the rest of the Flyer.

p. 67: Blues Ball is this Saturday. I never go to the ball itself but it’s fun to hang out at Earnestine & Hazel’s afterward and watch the party-goers come in. I’ll probably catch the first hour of Funk de Ville at the Saucer Saturday, then head to E&H.

Back page: Not only is Mpact Memphis having a debate watch party at the Red Rooster Friday night, but afterward Aquanet plays! I have a party to go to that night elsewhere, but this is where I would otherwise be.

Off to the BOM party… see you later.