Google is calling the offer an “experimental new incentive” designed to ensure that its Chrome browser is in fighting form to compete with Mozilla’s Firefox. Google is not only competing with Mozilla, it’s copying their Mozilla Security Bug Bounty Program. But, in true Google form, the Chromium security incentive one-ups Mozilla’s by more than doubling the bounty (Mozilla pays $500).

To qualify for the incentive, you need only be clever enough to find the bug and report it to Google. If it’s a bonafide bug, and one that hasn’t already been identified, you’ll qualify for $500-$1337. To get the $1337 bounty, you’ll need to find particularly well-hidden bugs.

To learn more about Google’s incentive, visit http://blog.chromium.org/2010/01/encouraging-more-chromium-security.html.

To learn more about Mozilla’s Bug Bounty Program, visit http://www.mozilla.org/security/bug-bounty.html.

Would You Kill a Bug for $1337? is a post from: Careersthatdontsuck.com

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In fact, 18.4M people currently work part-time jobs, either because they can’t find full-time work or because they prefer it.  13.2 percent of all workers work fewer than 35 hours, 7.4% are independent contractors, and 2.9% are temp workers.  Depending on where you stand on part-time jobs–frustrated but coping or loving the flexibility–you’ll either love or hate this emerging trend.

Rise of the Permanent Temp

Due to economic and political conditions, many employers are inventing and embracing a new category of workers, permanent temps, or perma-temps.  The category cuts across a wide swath of career fields and industries, and the perma-temp status is not limited to entry-level workers.  Many companies have begun to hire temporary executives–CFOs, VPs of Marketing, even CEOs in small organizations.

No, hiring temp executives is not new; companies have often made interim hires or hires to cover absences.  But, this is something different.  A quick review of any online job board will demonstrate that employers are entering new frontiers in terms of the way they hire, pay and relate to executives.  One recent job listing read “Director of HR”.  The job description seemed like standard fare until the end.  At the bottom of the job description where you might expect to see a list of benefits and maybe pay information, the employer states “The compensation is dependent upon experience and commensurate with overall success of the growth of our firm. The hours are flexible and will vary from week to week dependent on the volume of business”.

What?  Not so long ago, an HR Director could expect to be sitting pretty with a good salary, a flexible work arrangement, and the knowledge that, if the company bottomed out, s/he would likely be one of the last to go (someone’s got to hand out the pink slips, send COBRA forms and respond to unemployment claims).

Another job listing sought a VP, Marketing to work on a project-by-project basis.  And, still another sought a case manager to “affiliate with the firm…as a member of it’s network of designers, case managers and operations managers“.

Factoring in job descriptions from these and other job listings, a perma-temp is a contract or contingent worker whose compensation, hours and duration of employment depend on the business needs and financial performance of their employer.

Welcome to a brave new world of work.

Life in the Land of the Perma-Temps

So, is being a perma-temp a bad thing?  Only if you care about having an annual (predictable) salary, health benefits or a modicum of job security.  The shaky state of the recovery, new state and local legislation requiring employers to provide benefits to more workers, and the possibility of federal healthcare legislation,  some employers are getting creative with their staffing.  The recession taught them that workers desperate to keep or land a job will accept a menagerie of work arrangements to stay employed.  During the thick of the recession, full-time, regular workers agreed (voluntarily or involuntarily) to reduced pay, shorter workweeks, job-sharing, longer holidays, unpaid personal days, part-time, contract and freelance arrangements.  These arrangements made it possible for employers to flex staff up and down depending on their weekly/monthly/quarterly fortunes.

Now that employers have drank from this spring, don’t expect them to dive back into the ocean willingly.  Creating perma-temps affords companies access to highly skilled professionals and laborers alike.  Employers pay highly-skilled professionals will earn higher fees than unskilled laborers, but they, too, must pay for their own benefits and, depending on the arrangement, taxes.

Not unlike the old world of work, highly-skilled professionals with the most sought after skills will earn the highest fees and be able to jump from assignment to assignment.  They will also likely find plenty of temp agencies and professional staffing firms willing to help them find their next assignment, for a fee.  Low-skilled or unskilled workers will have to acquire new skills, not the least of which will be business development or selling skills to line up their next assignments and money management skills to budget their money through feast-famine cycles.

Workers in all fields will have to learn to think and live like freelancers–always looking for their next gig–as employers like Boeing, Sutter Health, Macy’s, Wal-Mart (Corporate), and state governments, colleges, and advertising firms hire more perma-temps.

What else can perma-temps expect?  Here’s a quick list.

A PERMA-TEMP’S LIFE

• Unpredictable compensation
• Offer letters replaced by contracts (with end dates, scope of work and “you are not an employee of…”)
• Everything’s Negotiable (pay, hours, scope of work)
• Need for top-notch marketing and sales skills (Gecko: “Always be closing”)
• Flexibility
• Variety/Challenge
• Paying for his/her own benefits
• Paying for his/her own vacation, sick days
• Changing work environments (clients’ office today, home office tomorrow)
• Constantly updating resumes, certifications, portfolios

A New Class of Worker: Permanent Temps is a post from: Careersthatdontsuck.com

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These scrappy folks drafted externship proposals, networked with purpose, and convinced leery employers to take them on as paid/unpaid interns who would trade their expertise, experience and labor for the opportunity to learn new skills and be first in line when better-paying jobs open up.  Many employers, chiefly startups, have taken them up on their offers–low-cost talent in exchange for new skills.  But, is this arrangement working for externs?  What can you expect if you are considering an externship?

5 THINGS ADULT INTERNS SHOULD KNOW

1. This is not your old job.  Don’t expect to be treated with the same reverence you were afforded by your old job title and status.  That’s not to say that you’ll be mistreated or disrespected, but getting used to not being the boss will take time, courage, and healthy self-esteem.
2. Pay is low but expectations are high. Don’t expect to be treated like an undergrad intern.  Yes, you are working for little or nothing, but, by proposing an externship, you are saying/implying that you are a star worthy of an exceptional business arrangement–a portion of your assets for a portion of theirs.  Expect to hunt down and ask for your own opportunities and assignments.
3. This is uncharted territory. Like you, most employers are new to externships.  Expect to work hard at shaping your arrangement into something mutually beneficial.  You and your new employer must iron out the details–shifts, duration, projects or responsibilities, rewards–from the start, and you’ll likely have to manage the process throughout.
4. Profit takes planning. Don’t expect every externship to end in a job with the employer.  Some will not, and that’s not always a bad thing.  To ensure that you get something of value from the experience even if you don’t land a job, draft a set of requirements, or things you must get out of the externship in order to consider it a success.  Examples might include work samples to add to your portfolio, recommendation letters, connections or job referrals, cash incentives for completing a high-priority project during your externship, training, access to employee perks (gym memberships, free meals, flu shots, or reimbursement for certifications/membership to professional organizations).  Share and negotiate these requirements with your employer at the start.
5. You’ll still need to ask for the job. Don’t assume that your good work is being noted.  You will still need to actively monitor your employer’s hiring activities and job opportunities, and beat your own drum to be considered for upcoming opportunities.  But, via your externship, you have the advantage of being able to demonstrate your value and effectiveness, and of having existing relationships with hiring managers and co-workers.  Work them!

5 Things Adult Interns Should Know is a post from: Careersthatdontsuck.com

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I know it’s hard to set your fears of foreclosure, debt and financial ruin aside, but for the sake of your job hunt, you must.  That’s the only way you will be able to focus your energy and time on finding a new job.  When we are desperate we tend to run around grasping at a million straws.  With fewer resources, fewer jobs and more competition, we don’t have that luxury now.  Focus on the task at hand: Focus on one or two types of jobs (max), then prepare for the hunt.

Resume: The Series

By now, everyone has cobbled together something that functions as a resume.  Next step is to tailor that resume to the jobs that you want.  Since most of us are looking for at least two types of jobs–a dream job and a workable job–it makes sense that we have at least two editions of our resumes.  Yes, you have only one work history, but there are many ways to present that experience such that recruiters or employers take note of how your experience might benefit them in the position for which you are applying.  Draw the recruiter/employer’s eye by creating a “Relevant Work Experience” section, and finding ways to highlight relevant projects, education or accomplishments.  For instance, if you’ve spent the last 10 years as a recruiter and now want to become a financial planner, you might highlight your sales experience, your extensive list of contacts and your ability to maintain lasting relationships with people and organizations.

Let a Professional Tailor Your Resume

Get Your Tailored Resumes Into the Hands of Top Recruiters/Employers

Networking: Take 80,117

I’m as tired of saying it as you are of hearing it, but I can’t stop.  Networking is the single most reliable way to find a new job.  It’s better than simply blasting resumes into cyberspace.  It provides you an opportunity to make an impression and build a relationship that may get your resume to the top of the pile or get you the job outright.  Networking’s gotten a lot more complicated due to the fact that everybody’s doing it and everybody’s doing it in the same places and ways (LinkedIn, Facebook, meetups).  Now, you’ve got to become a bit of a maven or master networker to out-manuever your 10 million fellow jobseekers.  To save yourself time, money and that pain you get in your face when you’re tired of fake-smiling, break out your iCal and plot out a plan.

Freelance It Till You Make It

Freelancing–being a solo contractor/small business owner–is not for everyone.  It’s hard work and it requires that you have business skills (marketing, management, accounting, etc.), in addition to your real area of expertise (assuming it’s not business).  That said, freelancing is a great way to stay current in your current career field or break into a new one.  And, since recruiters/employers prefer to hire people who are currently employed, freelancing is an excellent way to stay employed and thereby more desirable.  There are plenty of websites willing to help you tip-toe into the world of freelancing, so jump right in.

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Keep a Finger in the Wind

Now more than ever, it’s important that you keep abreast of what’s happening in your industry, your field, your local job market.  That means watching the news, paying attention to local trends, keeping an eye on your mayor or governor’s pet projects, even listening to family members complain about their jobs.  The more you know, the more opportunity you have to adjust your job-hunting strategy or seize a hot opportunity.

Five Things You Must Do to Get Hired in 2009 is a post from: Careersthatdontsuck.com

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Guru gigs are not new, but they’ve certainly taken off of late (check out the graph below).  Not sure why, but I am curious.

If you’re an expert in anything, you may be guru material.

Find your Guru gigs now.

The Curious Growth of Guru Gigs is a post from: Careersthatdontsuck.com

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