Metro byte with Bobby Rivers "Getting a job in Silicon Alley"

The train I've been taking to court duty— yeah, I'm still on jury duty. I think I've been on jury duty for about 59 years now. That's the same train that can get you to Silicon Alley. It's the N and the R line. I'm Bobby Rivers, and this is Metro at Large. We're— no, I'm sorry, it's Metro Careers, and we're talking about Silicon Alley and the jobs you can find there. You want to join in the conversation? You can. Call us up at 1- 1-877-MSG-METROFAX, that's 1-877-METROFAX, and email me at the address on your screen. I'm here with the lovely and talented Courtney Pulitzer, who is the head of the newsletter @NewYork, and joining us is the equally lovely and talented Alex Santek, who is the Silicon Alley Connections headhunter. How are you doing, Alex?

I'm doing well, thank you.

It is so cool to have you here, and you rock in glasses.

Thank you.

See, you can always trust a guy who wears glasses. There you go. Alright, you're one of the first headhunters to specialize in placing people and jobs in the new media industry.

As far as I know, I'm the first.

Okay, now how did you know to attach yourself to that booming job market?

Well, I was a technologist before I became a headhunter. Uh-huh. So I was stuck working with all the traditional industries in New York— financial, insurance, whatever— placing technical people. And I was watching the developments with the internet and the web, and I thought, that's exciting, that's what I want to specialize in.

How many years ago was that?

That was in 1994.

You two knew each other?

We did a few years ago, about 3 years ago, I guess.

Yeah, I think we met in '96.

I think we just pulled up your page at the end of the previous segment, didn't we?

We did.

I interviewed Courtney in my living room when my business was first starting.

Oh, Sookie, Sookie, now!

Alex!

No, no, no.

Yo, yo, Sookie, stop all that joke business. Listen, a headhunter's job is sort of twofold. I mean, you're working for a company to put people in there, then you're working with the people who want to find a job. Who essentially are you working for? Which side?

The fees are paid by the client companies that hire the people. To do it well, really you have to treat both sides of the employment equation as a client, but the companies pay the fees. For the candidate, it's a free service.

Okay, I think we have a candidate for a phone call on the line right now. Steve? Yes, sir, Bobby. You calling in from Hoboken? That I am. I love Hoboken. I was there a couple of days ago. How are you doing tonight? Well, I can't complain. Oh, that's good. You have a question for Courtney and Alex?

Well, I have a question for Alex. It's about my girlfriend.

She's worked for a number of years as a computer programmer, and how could she benefit from an agency like Alex has? What would she do to benefit from that?

Well, the way she would benefit is that when you go to a recruiting firm, we already have contacts at many different companies in the industry that might be of interest to you. So, you know, depending on her skills and qualifications, if we can identify needs amongst our client companies, you know, we could basically directly represent her, you know, for these positions and actually promote her candidacy.

Alright, Mr. Hoboken, thank you for calling us up, okay? Thank you, Bobby. Sure. Now, when people are looking for jobs on Silicon Alley, do they need a headhunter or can they approach the companies themselves?

They can most certainly approach the companies themselves.

You agree, Courtney?

Um, yes, they can, but it's— it makes it a much longer haul, and it's sort of, um, you know, shooting in the dark, so to speak. It's, um, it's very, very much more helpful when you have someone who's— who knows the right people to contact, who can guide you and steer you and work your resume over if you might need that assistance. Um, I mean, there's— Thousands of stories and cases where someone can just, you know, their first email out, they get a job. And sometimes people will be looking for 6 months. So a headhunter and a recruiting firm really, really can help you.

So Alex, what are the advantages of using your service, Silicon Alley Connections?

Well, the advantage is that in many cases we have a lot of information about the companies that we're working with. And by having in-depth discussions with the job candidates and trying to understand what their skills are, what their objectives are, and even what their personalities are, we might be able to better identify the places they'd most like to work.

Cool.

And at those places, we can also specifically draw attention to them because all these companies are getting piles of resumes all the time.

What are the hot jobs right now on the alley?

Well, there's a big need for technical people right now. Someone that can do actual, like, programming, which makes— it would make a website dynamic where you could interact with it. You can get it You could personalize your website where you can get specific information that you're interested in. Sometimes there's a database collecting information behind a website, and so there's a real need for people that have that kind of knowledge. Also because electronic commerce, which is money exchanging hands over the internet, is another big area.

We've got a big call. Dolores?

Yes.

Dolores, are you calling from Yonkers?

Yes, I am.

I love ya for calling in from Yonkers. Thank you for watching Metro Careers. Okay, what's your question? Question for Alex and Courtney.

Okay, um, I currently, uh, work for an insurance company and I enjoy computers, but I'm thinking about making a career change and I'd like to know, uh, would it be worth my while to go back to technical school to become a CNA or CNE?

Well, what these are are certifications that indicate that you're trained in supporting certain kinds of computer networks. And the certifications can often be helpful. They at least indicate that you've done a certain amount of study and passed certain tests and, and whatnot. Those two are fairly useful. I would also suggest maybe considering a Microsoft certification. It's called an MSCE, a Microsoft Certified Engineer.

MSCE.

Right.

Okay, you got that, Dolores?

Thank you.

You're jotting it down?

Yes.

Alright, you are good to go, and good luck to you, alright?

Thank you.

Thank you for watching Metro Careers.

Alright.

We're gonna take a short break, and when we come back, are we gonna be joined by somebody you hooked up with a job?

Yes, we are.

Oh, I'm lovin' this show tonight.

Yeah, you like it.

And this show is talking about Silicon Alley and the jobs you may find there. The numbers again are 1-877-MSGMETRO, 1-877-METRO-FAX is the fax number, and you can email us at the address on your screen. Courtney Pulitzer and Alex Santek will be in here for more discussion on the Alley. After we take a short break.

Okay.

Great!

My guests look like the cast of a really cool independent film. All we need now is Parker Posey sitting right here going, "All right, first." Who are they? Alex Santic is of Silicon Alley Connections. He's a headhunter there. Over here we got Courtney Pulitzer, who is the newsletter lady of @NewYork. And joining us is Karen Mui of Nicholson New York. That is the company you work for, isn't it?

Yes, it is.

Now, did Alex hook you up with that company?

Yes, he did.

And doesn't Courtney feel that it's a good company? Yes, I did. Why don't we all join hands and say kū mai ʻāina right now? Okay, now tell me, how did you wind up being hooked up with Nicholson New York? Tell me about this.

Uh, that's actually a pretty long story.

Well, just shorten it up for us.

Okay, okay. Well, um, basically Alex, when I first met him, he kind of like showed me around New York City and the whole scene of Silicon Alley. I had interviewed with a lot of different companies, but he just worked with Nickelodeon New York, and it was a perfect match. It was great.

It was pashare, as my parents never said. Yeah. There we go. All right, now, when you go to a Silicon Alley interview, how do you dress up? Like, when I got out of college, I was told, "This is how you go to a job interview." I never wore a suit. I never wore a suit.

That's the cool thing.

Okay.

No, because it's a different atmosphere there, you know? It's like, I don't know. I mean, I wouldn't go in, like, a T-shirt. But I would definitely go on something that's like—

Yeah, you're shaking your head. Yeah, Courtney.

Yeah, every— what's great is that it's a very casual and independent kind of atmosphere when you're working in this industry with the internet and the web. It's so new that there's a lot of individuality, and it's also very relaxed, so you don't have to dress up in a suit.

Man, I'm 20 years too late. Ah, I wish that applied for me. Now, what are interviewers looking for looking for in attitude and aptitude? Alex?

They're looking for a good sense of direction. They're looking for a dynamic personality and a positive attitude. And obviously a solid focus skill set for whatever the job might be.

You concur with that, Courtney?

I concur.

All right.

Courtney concurs.

I feel better.

When you're helping job seekers, do you help them with their interview skills, or you just send them out there?

Very often we do give them advice. Extremely often with their resumes, and sometimes also with interview technique.

Were you good at the interview, Karen?

I don't know, I just went as myself. Yeah.

Yeah, you were?

I think I was pretty good. I think I was pretty good. I was more just very relaxed, I think, the whole time.

That's half of it. Being relaxed is half of it. Listen, we got a fax. This is a fax from Mark from from Long Island. I'm a 48-year-old male. Am I too old to work in the Alley? Good question.

Absolutely not. He's prime for the industry. I mean, he has experience from all the things he's been doing before he wants to transition into the internet industry.

So skills that our viewers may have now are transferable to Silicon Alley?

Completely. And there's a real need for people who have, for instance, managerial experience, who've worked in offices and know how to run a business because —what happens so typically is that it's a young company with a lot of young 25-year-olds right out of college who don't necessarily have the wisdom of seeing businesses over the years. So that can really serve him well.

So baby boomers should not be intimidated by, by the young market? Not at all.

All right.

And what do you say about that, Alex?

Well, we've been seeing a trend recently, as Courtney pointed out, in companies hiring experienced executives. It's a very entrepreneurial field, but these companies are growing fast and the business is serious and they need people with experience to run various aspects of the business. So I would agree.

Before I get to the email, Karen, I want to ask you, how did you find Alex?

I was living in Seattle when I found them, actually. I found them over the internet.

You found him over the internet?

Yeah, very, very new age. Yeah, it's really great actually because you can go to like different Search engines, you can go to Yahoo and find me on different, like, New York City agencies, and that's how I found them, so.

All right, Max found us. Max sent us an email. This is, I think, one of the few emails I've received, and what a perfect night to get an email. Max is in the Bronx. He is a 40-year-old freelance writer. What kind of job can he get in the alley?

It's, um, I'd answer the same way, basically. That you did to the 48-year-old guy? Yes, um, there's There's such a need for experienced writers and for people who can write well and bring that experience to whatever they're doing. And there's a real need for quality writing on the websites because so often people aren't familiar or they don't know yet how to transition something that's well written into this new medium.

We've got a couple of minutes left. Why don't we sum up the best way to hit Silicon Alley? And to find a job. Check out somebody like you at Silicon Alley Connections with a headhunter. Headhunters do work. Yes. And what else?

Well, you can check with any trade magazine, your local newspaper, the back of any newspaper or magazine that you see that's computer related will generally have some websites or places that you can call and look into.

Definitely search the net as you did, Karen. Definitely. You never regretted that move, did you?

No, it was the first time ever.

And people could check out your newsletter. Does your newsletter have employment information in it?

Yes, the @NewYork newsletter has the website SiliconAlleyJobs.com where you can also go for job listings.

Okay, and jobs, are there, what is the job market like right now?

It's extremely hot. The industry is growing very fast.

So people can hook in and probably get jobs on Silicon Alley?

Well, companies are desperate to hire people now.

All right, and keep this in mind, and I just want to stress this, I know we just talked about it, but you can be 40-plus and be part of the Alley. Yes. All right, this sounds good to me. Courtney Pulitzer of Ad New York, thank you very much. Alex Santik of Silicon Alley Connections Headhunter, thank you. And Karen Marie, thanks for— are you living here now from Seattle?

I am living here now.

New York is lucky to have you. Thank you very much. This has been a very special sneak preview of Metro Careers. I'm Bobby Rivers. Hopefully the next time you see me, you'll have a job in Silicon Alley. Thank you for watching us. You made my night. Let's get some pizza.