As you blissfully use social media, a growing army of security professionals protects you (and their employers) from harm.  Defcon and BlackHat conventions are attended by participants eager to learn the “hacker mindset.”

RSA, Security Division of EMC, labeled 2011 as “The Year of Phishing,” as it occurred in 1 out of 300 emails and netted an average of $4,500 for each attack. In 2011 more than 1,000 cases of malware were discovered in Google’s Android products. Apple, considered more secure, found its iPhone hacked in 2011 by a 19-year old Brown University student. An Apple fan, his motive was the challenge of code breaking, not theft. … Read more

As a follow-on to my last post on the impact of cloud computing on the IT jobs landscape, here are a list of jobs predicted to emerge as one aspect of the cloud - software-as-a-service or SaaS - becomes even more widely adopted. If you work currently as a traditional software programmer or support back-end systems under the leadership of a CIO, take note of the opportunities emerging as discussed in CIO Magazine's article on: "What SaaS Means for the Future of the IT Department." Programmers: Less demand for ... Read more

Guest post by  Kat Krull:

 Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest…if you’re not a savvy social networker, it can be overwhelming to continually hear that you should hop on the social networking bandwagon in order to land your next job. Which tools are really worth your time, and which ones might not be so beneficial to your career? ... Read more

Daily I see new blogs, webinars and seminars dedicated to tapping social media for recruiting and talent identification. So in the world of recruiting so-called social media seems to be spreading like wildfire. Companies like Facebook and Google already know more about “candidates” or people than you probably think they may know. Millions of people voluntarily adding new pictures, content, information, bios and personal information into these sites helps recruiters get the kind of DNA matches their companies now require in hiring talent. According to a survey done by TweetMyJobs.com, they did a survey to find what job seekers and employers think about using social media during their job search. After surveying over 2,000 job seekers and 400 company representatives, they found: ... Read more

A recent poll of CIOs conducted by Gartner has identified revenue growth as the primary driver of the technology organization. This represents a noticeable shift from the past several years in which cost containment or cost reduction has been the main goal. See the full post by me here (ITtechExec) to learn more about it and to understand how this trend impacts communication of the CIO or CTO personal brand and their resume documents. ... Read more

... Read more

A “war for talent” in social media has arisen due to critical skill shortages, according to Dr. John Sullivan, labeled the “Michael Jordan of Hiring” by Fast Company magazine.

Are you a problem solver who never quits until the challenge is met? Can you deal with chaos and ambiguity, unleashing creativity on demand? Can you spot new and emerging trends, acquire the combination of skills that few people possess, and become “The Rare Find” described by author George Anders? … Read more

Just last week I helped author, edit and develop a new Linked In biography for a client. Within 24 hours he lined up two phone screen interviews and is already into a third, in person interview with one company. Not all career services clients get those kind of results but the fact is recruiting has now become a game of keywords, positioning, timing and is now front and center in what Linked In and people like Daniel Shapero call the talent economy. Here are some facts that we know and what you need to know based on Linked In’s view:         ... Read more

Originally posted on ERE:  Is Monster becoming a Mini-ster? That’s the kind of question that’s really meant to be a statement. No matter how you answer it, the predicate already tells us it’s going to be bad for the subject. No surprise, then, that Jason Buss posed it last week in the midst of offering “7 Warning Signs For Monster.com.” It’s a sad litany of the ills that have befallen the once-mighty job board. The company that is synonymous with digital recruiting, is up for sale, or in the Wall Street speak used by CEO Sal Iannuzzi, it’s exploring “strategic alternatives.” ... Read more

641 votes and counting… That’s how many have been received in response to a survey that began a month ago on ExecuNet’s LinkedIn group, "Executive Suite," asking if anyone in the group has landed a job through LinkedIn. The answer seems to be a qualified “Yes,” a goodly number of people have landed jobs through LinkedIn, although there are also many who have been disappointed in that regard... ... Read more