I used to work in Hartford, CT, lo those decades ago. At the time, people would jump from insurance company to insurance company in order to get a raise or a promotion. The had bought their house and settled down and wanted a good career. But another non-insurance employer in Hartford (allegedly) wouldn’t hire people who worked for insurance companies, because they were insular and not interested in new technologies.

That perception was a consideration of why I moved out of Hartford to another city. I didn’t want to be pegged and then put in the insurance category, never to get out. A lot of the brightest people (who were new at their careers, who hadn’t bought a house and settled down) also left Hartford for that reason.

I bet Ebay and Intuit are digging their own holes with the brightest people. Because the brightest want to work for any employer who raises people up, rather than imposes a cap on their capabilities.

OK. I seem to miss the benefit of purposely creating (even the perception of) Talent shortages. Without Talent your company dies. That strategy makes no sense to me. It was suggested that this could result in keeping salary levels down (a cost savings I presume), however if the perception is a talent shortage, would that not actually raise the Talent market price (lack of supply and high demand)???

I have heard of “what business needs in a rapidly changing economy is critical thinking skills” on multiple occasions over the past number of years. This makes me a bit incredulous. Or what business say they need and really want are not the same thing.

I have an engineering degree and have changed career paths three times, continued education plus have a proven record of creative and utilitarian problem solving. And yet over nearly the past decade I have been without a pay check over 45% of the time. I have looked nationally (US/Can) for new opportunities.

I have long said “The best way to get a good raise is to leave and come back.” The problem is I’ve only come back once, as a contractor. Companies almost universally misunderstand the value of internal skills vs. outside expertise, and the high costs in errors and efficiency when people leave for a relatively small salary increase.

I have read a couple of articles as well as heard in a management seminar that some companies/recruiters will not hire applicants that have a degree from the University of Phoenix. Although I cannot vouch for what the school’s practices are today, between 1998 and 2001, I worked my tail off going to classes, presenting award winning presentations, and maintaining a 4.0 GPA, all while working full-time, traveling for work, andraising children. How dare any employer/recruiter think my degree (which is a duel degree in Business and Information Systems) discount my education/degree because of some preceived notion that the school is not creditable!