Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Tuesday, March 13th, 2012
It’s time again to recognize another Chameleon All-Star, and for this first quarter of 2012, we are proud to honor two individuals: Wade Yamauchi and Brian Engle!
Here is what Wade and Brian’s manager had to say about their excellent work:
“Wade Yamauchi and Brian Engle are important members of the writing team in the Microsoft Security Response Center group. Both of them contribute to the everyday tasks of managing, scheduling, writing, revising, and localizing advisories and bulletins.
Recently, they went above and beyond to help out on the MBAS SharePoint Library and bulletin search projects to improve the process of gathering data from many product teams, creating automated bulletin drafts that are closer to the final product, enabling better and earlier tech reviews for accuracy and reduction in localization costs, and ensuring data accuracy for past and future bulletins. A little bit of work goes a long way in shipping better bulletins, improving efficiency, and reducing costs. Thank you to Brian and Wade for helping to create an excellent and productive team.”
Congratulations to Wade and Brian on receiving the first Chameleon All-Star Awards of 2012! We’re glad to have you both on the team!
Tuesday, October 4th, 2011
Here at Chameleon Technologies, we take pride in being able to place highly-qualified candidates with successful businesses in the Pacific Northwest. We have a refined method that allows us to find just the right fit for employers and job-seekers alike. How do we do it? Well, we can’t give away all of our secrets, but here is a little insight into the general process.
Clients
The first thing we need is a job to fill. Our business development team is responsible for creating and maintaining relationships with hiring managers from around the region. They assess every detail of the client’s needs and monitor open positions throughout every step of the process.
Candidates
Once a job order is open, our recruiting team takes on the task of finding eligible candidates. They use many different tools and resources – both internal and external – to review potential applicants. They make a point of meeting each candidate in person and only after thorough screening do they submit someone for a position.
Placement
When a candidate has passed our screening process, the account manager submits their information to the client. At this point, the client’s hiring manager will decide whether or not to request an interview, and should the interview process go well, they will submit an offer back to us. If the candidate accepts the offer, the placement is made and the job is filled. Throughout all of this, both the recruiter and the account manager are involved in making sure everyone’s needs are met.
Thursday, August 4th, 2011
The world is changing and so is our workforce. Are you considering telecommuting as an option for your employees? As with any major business decision, you want to think this through clearly. Before you dive head first into the world of telecommuting there are some key things to consider.
What is your goal?
This is by far the most important question. It dictates all of the questions to follow. Do you want to save money? Are you trying to improve your employee’s quality of life? Are you trying to make your company more attractive to future employees?
Once you have decided on your goal it’s time to consider cost versus savings. Can your company afford to make the move? These are a few potential cost and savings ideas to consider:
Cost Considerations
Tangible Cost: There is a tangible cost to an employee telecommuting. An agent working at home needs a computer and software licenses. Potentially they need office furniture, supplies, and technical support.
Face-to-Face Interaction with Colleagues: There are mixed feelings about this. Some companies have found telecommuting cuts down on collaborative work and makes it harder for employees to jump into projects mid-stream.
IT Help: Employers have little to no control over the at-home work environment of their employees. Not all workers are technically savvy and as problems arise a significant amount of time can be devoted to problem solving technical difficulties over the phone.
Savings Potential
Less Office Space: If your employee will be a 100% telecommuter your office space cost could be significantly reduced, if not eliminated. This can result in serious savings for companies.
Employee Morale: Allowing employees to work at home can improve their overall quality of life and general morale, creating a more productive member of your team.
Lower Salary: Telecommuting reduces or potentially eliminates the cost of commuting. Some employers have found this as a successful way to reduce employee salaries, by saving their employees money in other venues.
Attracting New Employees: The job market is fierce for both employees and employers. As telecommuting becomes more and more attractive to future employees, it will become a more useful recruitment tool.
Monday, May 16th, 2011
We’re not asking you to revert back to grade school when your teacher gave you checks and minuses on a long list of skills, but in order to improve ourselves, everyone needs to obtain periodic feedback. These are our tips for how to get the feedback you need to improve yourself professionally.
Ask, Don’t Expect Unsolicited Feedback
Managers will typically give feedback through intermittent touch-base meetings with their staff, but usually, clients or employees won’t offer feedback unless they are prompted to do so. The number one tip on getting important feedback on your performance at work is to ASK FOR IT! It doesn’t have to be formal; you can ask to take a boss or peer out for coffee and tell them that you’d like to garner their candid feedback on what you are doing well and what you could be doing better. (Note: if you ask, you should buy).
Keep Lines of Communication Open
It’s easiest to ask for honest feedback when all parties are comfortable with communication. Chameleon keeps our lines of communication open and flowing by making sure we get face-time with all clients and employees on at least a monthly or bi-monthly basis. Employ the same strategy of an ‘open door’ policy with peers and bosses.
Get Feedback in a Variety of Ways
Feedback doesn’t always need to be in a specific format, like asking for answers to a set list of questions. While we send out a quarterly survey for in-depth responses, we also use platforms like LinkedIn so we can get quick, informal feedback as well.
Ask for Continual Feedback
When you do request feedback, whether it’s through surveys, LinkedIn or a face-to-face meeting, make it a point to ask to say that you’ll be checking back in on a continual basis (if that’s alight with them). It’s a great time to relay how important their feedback is to you. You can also ask for ongoing feedback by saying, “I’d love to continue to get your ongoing opinion, so feel free to share it at your convenience.”
Monday, March 7th, 2011
Welcome! And A Look at What’s in Store for 2011: Hot Hiring Trends
Chameleon is joining the blogosphere with its own recruiting, job, career, hiring focused blog. We’ll be posting weekly entries on important topics to help you learn more about us, our open positions, job and recruiting trends in the Northwest, interviews with Chameleon candidates and clients, and other related discussions. Interested in a specific topic? Send us a note at sales@chamtechinc.com and we’ll be sure to cover it.
For our first entry, here’s a little insight into what we’re seeing for 2011.
Technical Positions Stay Safe!
It’s difficult to predict trends in the job market, but technical professionals in the Seattle job market are expected to remain safe with even more job opportunities to consider in 2011. Google recently announced 2011 will be its biggest hiring year and plans to have at least 100 new positions at its Seattle area sites.
Startups Starting Up
There has been an influx of new startups in the area, which offers great opportunity for those who are willing to take a chance with a newly established company. Investments from U.S. venture-capital funds increased 19 percent in 2010, investing $21.8 billion in startup companies. .
Chameleon Careers
While Chameleon felt the ramifications of the recent recession, we are seeing an increase in job openings for seasoned technical professions. In fact, recently, we received over 15 new opening to start working on immediately. These positions are both contract and permanent.
