Crappy News

[naomikritzer]

Ed found out on Friday that he's going to be laid off at the end of the year.

He has worked for his employer for over ten years.

If anyone has any job leads -- Ed is a tech geek who has done a lot of different stuff. He works for one of the big HMOs, so he knows a lot about the specialized applications used in clinics and hospitals. He's worked in several different departments, and has wound up as the team lead in every one -- he is really good at managing tech people and tech projects.

Alternately, I was a very good technical writer five years ago. Now my technical skills are five years out of date, but I trust I could bring them up to speed and remember how to write computer manuals if anyone knows someone who would consider hiring me.

In the "small mercies" department -- that minivan I talked about buying, I had not yet gotten around to buying. I will need to take my car to a mechanic next week and get new tires for it, because it looks like I will be driving it for a while.

Comments

Well...

[romsfuulynn.livejournal.com]

phooey.

Ben (my husband) was laid off after 12 and it is always a shock.

Job hunting has *really* changed a lot since the last time he was in the market it the most immediate thought I have.

Monster and similar places to post resumes, and he should be sure to include any and all esoteric stuff he can do. (e.g. my husband is an estimator scheduler and is very skilled in a software called Primavera...

[matociquala.livejournal.com]

I have no helpful leads, but you have my profoundest sympathies.

[dsgood.livejournal.com]

One suggestion: If he would ordinarily not look for government jobs (all levels of government), he should consider them.

[lilisonna.livejournal.com]

Assuming you're still in Minnesota (which I think you are?), I know someone in the tech industry there who may have some leads. Let me know if I should poke him.

[naomikritzer]

Sure. FYI, here is a nice pithy summary of what Ed does:

In his current position, Ed has supervised a team responsible for supporting Exchange, Rightfax, GoodLink (wireless access to Exchange), Peregrine ServiceCenter, and HP OpenView Service Desk. In previous positions he has also done VMS system administration and has supervised a help desk. He is most interested in doing project management (which he has a lot of experience with) although he notes he also wouldn't mind managing a help desk again. Ed has strong technical skills, but what really makes him stand out in the IS field are his communication skills (he's a good writer: clear, concise, diplomatic, and grammatical) and his ability to manage other tech geeks.

[porphyrin.livejournal.com]

I am so sorry. :(

Is he checking with the big hospitals? With Abbott in the middle of rolling out the EMR (and don't get me started on that)-- they may be in need of more support people than ever.

[naomikritzer]

There's a job at either Abbott or Allina that he's definitely going to apply for -- they want someone to do pharmaceutical system support. Ed did that at HealthPartners -- the same system, I think. I think he was even been on the team that implemented it.

[pbray.livejournal.com]

This sucks, to use the technical term.

Sending good thoughts & your way.

[allochthon.livejournal.com]

Oh, man. I'm so sorry. I'll keep my ear to the ground.

Does he get the TCSA (http://www.tcsa.org/) and TCLUG (http://www.mn-linux.org/) e-mail?

They both have job postings (and in the case of one, a specific job list). Most are below his skill level, but it's a good place to start.

[naomikritzer]

I don't think he does. I'll pass those links along to him.

[haddayr.livejournal.com]

Oh, no! I will keep an eye out.

[mcohenmn.livejournal.com]

Does Ed have an online resume?

[naomikritzer]

Not yet.

[joxn.livejournal.com]

I second this implicit request for an online resumé. At least my mother, and possibly also my father, have enough overview of what's going on in their jobsites to be able to refer jobs to him.