Job Hunting - Member Advice
Advice from HPAA members on
job searching -- inside or outside HP.
(Updated Feb 17, 2018.)
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Members recommend
spending most of your time searching outside the company -- you are
a stronger candidate while still employed. Very few members report
finding an internal job during their "redeployment period." Many
report losing critical time and wasting valuable energy on
discussions about internal jobs that ended abruptly without
explanation
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Use the HPAA's
Career Checkup -- hard-earned advice from members on
evaluating your career situation.
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Advice and info on
returning to HPInc, HPE, DXC, or Micro Focus -- including
informal and formal restrictions.
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Use
LinkedIn to reconnect with
people you worked with in the past. You will be surprised at the
help some will give. "Don't be shy about contacting each and every
manager and friend you know and asking them if they know anyone who
might be hiring. I know that's obvious, but hey, some techies are
introverted and sort of reclusive. This is no time for that."
CBS News
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"Job
Searching for the Mature Worker" HPAA video. Pat Richards from
nonprofit NOVA Workforce Services, Sunnyvale, California. Pragmatic,
actionable advice. (Not the usual motivational fluff.) Questions and
discussion.
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Be sure to take advantage of any transition services provided by the
company. Members consistently report that the Lee Hecht Harrison
classes are excellent. Typical comment: "LHH was crucial in coaching
me in how to find a job in today's market." (LHH is helpful
even if actually retiring from the workforce: "They
had some really interesting self-reflection sessions about
considering what to do in retirement.")
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Check into local job-networking groups (often hosted by churches but
not limited to parishioners.) The meetings may be primarily
motivational -- but there is often a bulletin board or email
distribution list with local opportunities.
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Working through an agency is very different from direct employment.
For legal reasons, you are treated differently -- for example, not
included in staff meetings or celebrations. People's attitude toward
you is different. Easy to get into a situation where, due to what
the agency is charging for your services, you are expected to work
at a much higher level than you are being paid for. When comparing alternatives, be
sure to factor in the reduced benefits.
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You will be approached about "business opportunities" -- such as
franchises, businesses for sale, work-at-home schemes, network
marketing, commission sales, etc. Good articles:
Federal Trade Commission
AARP
"When the neighborhood is turned into a marketplace, something
precious is lost... which is not easily regained."
Multi-Level Marketing
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There are bona fide alternatives to huge corporations:
- One member joined a startup at low-but-steady-pay to learn a new
technology. He was not surprised that the startup failed -- but his
practical experience in the new technology helped him get a much
better position than his previous HP job.
- "You will find others who left HP have started their own little
companies and may want your help in making it work. There you'll
find the companionship you thought you'd miss, the dreams you
thought you'd dropped, and the enthusiasm you thought you left back
in your youth." --another member
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Regardless of whether you left HP voluntarily or otherwise, this
pragmatic discussion by Jane Bryant Quinn is very helpful in
thinking about your future: "The
Golden Boot."
For additional career
and job information: Professional networking, LinkedIn, "What I wish I had known
before I left," Employment and Salary Verification, HPAA Job Posts, and
more -- see the main HPAA page on
Career and Job Issues.
Contact the HPAA
volunteers:
info@hpalumni.org
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employees who volunteer their time. Not officially endorsed or supported
by any company.
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If you were formerly a regular, direct employee of HP, HPInc, or
HPE
-- or are in the process of leaving --
join the HP Alumni
Association.
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