Join us on Thursday, September 25th in Davie as we learn how virtualization can help you save time and money while achieving more. Industry thought leaders will come together to share their insight so that you can learn how to address key business objectives.
Join us on Thursday, September 25th in Ft.
Lauderdale as Lisa Gibbs, Executive Business Editor for the Miami
Herald, moderates a panel of CEOs of South Florida based companies that have one thing in common: Growth. They
will share their biggest challenges and opportunities and most
importantly, how they are accelerating the growth of their companies in
a difficult economic environment.
Join us on Thursday, September 25th at Nova Southeastern University in Davie as Saritha Bollineni talks about Preventing SQL Injections and best practices for application development.
Greetings Software Enthusiasts! Join us on Thursday, September 25th in Orlando as Zemian Dengpresents
an "Introduction to Scala", a talk session geared toward Java
developers. The introduction will let the audience get a feel for what
Scala programming is like and explore some coding styles.
If you ever thought about getting into Scala, this is meeting for you!
The
South
Florida chapter of PMI is pleased to have Angelo A. Gasparri,
J.D., PMP from KPMG Advisory Services for our October Dinner Meetings.
Angelo’s topic, “Transforming Enterprise Accomplishment: Enlightened
Project Management” will look at the unexplored dimension of project
management that has little to do with the PMBOK, and yet everything to
do with applying its principles successfully.
Join
us on Thursday, October 2nd in Ft. Lauderdale and/or Wednesday, October
8th in Miami for two great nights of networking with peers and industry
leaders. This is an event you can't afford to miss!
Join us on Tuesday, October 7th in Miami as the IT Management Summit's World Tour stops in South Florida. From presentations to IT Executives and networking, this is an event you can't afford to miss!
Every day, more companies are using SOA to improve margins, shorten
time to market, and eliminate inefficiencies. They're applying SOA
smartly, and across a spectrum -- from basic projects all the way
through sophisticated, mission-critical systems. In all cases, they've
realized how SOA creates smarter business outcomes.
Get the answers to all of your SOA questions at Computerworld's IT Management Summit on Smart SOA practices.
Join us on Thursday, October 16th in Deerfield Beach as The Assoc. of QuickBooks Technologists (AQBT) - (a
division of Accounting Directors Inc.) is pleased to
welcome innovative business leaders to this one-of-a-kind technology event.
Over 40 exhibitors from all over the US and Canada, will be present
to show you some of the 400+ solutions that integrate with
QuickBooks. Attendees will be able to see applications that
offer functionality of $50,000 alternatives, but at one-fifth of
the price.
Come and hear from expert advisors,
participate in panel discussions, and explore tools that:
*
Synchronize data from the field to the office
* Allow you to communicate effectively with customers, vendors,
subcontractors and managers
* Cut
Duplication Costs by $ 30,000 or more
* Increase
Revenue by 30% (without adding staff)
* Synchronize and Expand upon QuickBooks
If you are a CEO, CFO, IT
Director, or Management Consultant who would like to streamline your business processes and save 50-70% on technology costs, this is the event for you!
Join us on Saturday, October 11th on the FSU Campus for the 2008 Tallahassee Code Camp! This FREE event will feature speakers from 8am-6pm and will feature some of Florida's Microsoft Developers and MVPs. It also provides training for local speakers to become the next rockstar in .net
They are starting at some of South Florida’s
top companies such as Carnival Cruise Lines, Burger King, and Sherlock
Technology, but they didn’t graduate from the University of Miami,
NovaSoutheastern, or FIU. They haven’t
even graduated from High School. Thanks
to the Academy of Information Technology (AOIT), today’s best and brightest are
getting a head start at some of Miami-Dade County’s Fortune 500 Companies.
And their on-the-job training is something
that even the best Information Technology (IT) schools can’t provide.
“I personally think this is a good experience
for my future career,” said Cristopher Jimenez, AOIT student and intern at
Carnival Cruise Lines in Miami, “and it really helped me figure out that this
is what I want to do.”
Jimenez, a Senior at Miami Central Senior
High School, has been in his school’s AOIT program since the ninth grade. The AOIT is a program that is being picked up
by more and more schools around the country to help High School students decide
what aspect of IT they would like to get into.
“Unless we make inroads early on in student
IT education, students aren’t going to understand what IT jobs exist for them
with employers and how to decide on a career path to achieve success ,” said
Andrew Tabone, Manager of Information Systems and Recruitment & Career
Development for Carnival and AOIT Chairman. “Internships are an opportunity for high school students to gain insight
into how IT is being used to drive business decisions and draw from this
on-the-job experience to journey from high school to college and into
industry.”
This is the third year that Carnival has
participated in the AOIT’s Summer Internship Program and with companies such as
Carnival, Burger King, Ryder, and Sherlock Technology leading the way, the AOIT
has made significant progress toward placing senior high school students at
companies throughout South Florida and both interns and companies alike are
feeling the benefits.
“We are very pleased with our interns and it
energizes our employees, too, because it brings a different kind of enthusiasm
to our IT department and it’s contagious,” said Tabone. “This may be the first time that high school
students even see the inside of a Fortune 500 company in action. They’re
already majoring in IT, so internships show them what to expect before going on
to college and entering the IT job market.”
“Having worked with over 120,000 IT
professionals worldwide, this is the kind of experience that anyone would have
jumped at the chance for,” claimed Alex Funkhouser, President of Sherlock
Technology. “The students that are
working with me have had the chance to speak with close to 2,000 IT
professionals in the State of Florida and they gained valuable insight into
their future profession. All the while,
they have helped improve the overall effectiveness and productivity of our
company.”
The three-year-old internship program has
given the students an unparalleled insight into the various fields within the
IT industry from Project Management to system development to programming to
telecommunications. It also gives them
the opportunity to meet with people who are in various jobs within Fortune 500
companies and find out how and why they are there and understand the path they
took to get here.
“I saw how their systems work and they even
took me out to one of their ships to see how [the on-board] systems
worked. It was really interesting and
something I would like to get into,” said Jimenez. “I personally think this is a good experience
for my future career and it really helped me figure out that [networking] is
what I really want to do.”
The AOIT is part of the National Academy
Foundation and was created in 1978 by Sanford Weill, who is the former chairman
of Citigroup and has continued to be a big part of the program on the national
level. The program is essentially a
school within a school where a student who knows that they want to get into the
IT field can get a head start on their education at their local high
school.
For more information on the AOIT, you can
visit their national website at www.naf.org.
Get Involved With INETA - Further Your IT Career
INETA provides structured, peer-based
organizational, educational, and promotional support to the growing
worldwide community of Microsoft® .NET user groups. Our mission is to
offer assistance and resources to community groups that promote and
educate their membership in Microsoft's .NET technologies. INETA
welcomes all facets of the .NET user community, from developers and
architects to project managers and IT professionals. Members can be
user groups or special interest groups that focus on a single aspect of
.NET, such as C#, target the entire .NET platform or concentrate on
other development technologies but are also interested in .NET. INETA
is the next evolution in user group communities a non-profit,
independent organization, chartered with supporting all user groups
interested in the Microsoft .NET platform. INETA is run by a board of
user group leaders, elected by their peers, and supported by Microsoft
Corporation and other sponsors.
There
are 21 different User Groups in Florida involved with INETA. For the
User Group closest to you and your specialty, please visit:
You
may have seen those videos on the internets of crazy Japanese style
rube goldberg contraptions that run for 10 minutes and include
everything from dominoes to toasters. Now, thanks to ThinkGeek, you can
bring all that wacky fun home with you. The Cological Marble Run
Construction Set is imported from Japan and allows you to create
challenging custom courses for your marbles. Everything from zig-zag
tracks, to a mini rolling car to whacking mallets until your reach the
end and pop up the flag with a little song. You get 23 different types
of mechanisms for moving marbles with 97 parts total. Rather than
explaining exactly how to build a certain configuration, the included
manual teaches you to use each mechanism and lets you figure out how to
join them together in fantastic ways. A lot of tweaking is required,
but the parts allow for some pretty precision adjustments. When your
monstrous marble contraption works perfectly it's pretty satisfying.
Hewitt Associates said today U.S. employer costs for healthcare will rise 6.4% on average in 2009. The Lincolnshire IL-based human resources consulting and outsourcing firm said healthcare costs for U.S. companies rose 6.0% in 2008, compared with a 5.3% increase in 2007.
Hewitt said the average health cost per person for major companies will rise to $8,863 in 2009 from $8,331 this year. Employees will be asked to contribute $1,946 of that amount in 2009.
In addition, out-of-pocket costs for workers are expected to increase to $1,880 in 2009 from $1,707 in 2008, according to Hewitt.
Hewitt's data on health plans comes from a database of more than 1,800 health plans throughout the U.S. that include 400 major employers and more than 13 million health plan participants, according to the company.
Source: Staffing Analysts Daily News
Expert Advice
Sherlock Helps You Enhance Your Professional Career
Work Etiquette
Worst Things to Say at Work
By Anthony BalderramaCareerBuilder.com
Over time, you've probably learned what not to say in a
relationship. "Are you losing your hair?" "Yes, you do look fat in that
dress." "I should give my old boyfriend a call." "You're just like your
mother."
Experience has taught you just how much trouble you can get into
with a few words. When it comes to the workplace, however, you might
not realize there are plenty of things you can say to damage your work
relationships or even your own career. An off-the-cuff remark that you
think went unnoticed, for example, might be the first thing your boss
remembers when he thinks about you.
"During my 23 years in management, I heard many comments from
colleagues that reduced their credibility and damaged morale," says
Bill Lampton, Ph.D., author of "The Complete Communicator: Change Your
Communication, Change Your Life!"
Remember: Just because you don't end up sleeping on the couch, it
doesn't mean your mouth can't still get you in trouble. For the sake of
your career, we've put together a list of things you should avoid
saying at work.
"That's not my job."
If somebody comes to you with an issue, there's probably a reason.
It might be your responsibility or they might just value your input.
Either way, use the situation to prove you're a team player and a
problem solver. Plus, it pays to earn some good office karma because
you never know when you'll need help from other colleagues.
"Yeah, no problem." (If you don't mean it.)
If you take on a task with a smile but have no intention of actually
completing it, you're going to earn a reputation as an unreliable
person. If you know you can't or won't complete the project, be honest
about it. Your colleagues are relying on you, so your decision not to
follow through impacts their jobs, too.
"Don't tell anyone I said this, but ... "
If it's really a secret, keep it to yourself. Whether you know
someone's about to get fired or what the boss' salary is, you're going
to get credit for spreading the news. You're not exempt from being the
subject of office chatter, either. Don't expect your gossip-loving
co-worker to suddenly have tight lips when it comes to divulging your
secrets.
"I haven't had a raise in four years."
"Most savvy supervisors don't think longevity merits a raise - only
high productivity does," Lampton states. Asking for a raise because of
how long it's been since your last one will only tell your boss that
you want more money, not that you deserve it. Instead, highlight the
accomplishments you've made in the last four years, Lampton suggests.
Prove the raise is merited.
"It's not my fault."
When your boss comes to you with a problem, the last thing you want
to do is to deflect blame to someone else. Maybe it isn't your fault,
but remember that you're not in a courtroom and nobody's really looking
for the culprit right now. All that matters is making sure the problem
is solved and doesn't happen again. You can deal with the real issue
later, but you'll just make yourself look worse if you spend more time
finger-pointing than problem solving.
"To be honest with you ... "
First, any time this phrase is used, you know something negative is
going to follow. More important is the message it sends to others.
"Does this colleague have to identify when he or she is being honest
with you? When that phrase is not used, should you then doubt the
integrity of the statement?" Lampton asks. Instead, without being rude,
say what you need to say in a straightforward manner.
"Whom did you vote for?"
The old adage that you shouldn't discuss politics is as true today
as ever before. While it's great that you're an active citizen
performing your civic duty, save the politics for your personal blog.
Even if the conversation doesn't result in an argument, you never know
whom you're making uncomfortable or who will hold your views against
you. In a sea of cubicles, there are more people listening to your
conversation than you think.
"I got so trashed last night ... "
You're probably not the only person in the office to indulge in a
drink (or a keg) now and then, but you're probably the only one
bragging about it to your boss. Although your night of binge drinking
didn't force you to call in sick this morning, it can create the image
of an unreliable partier who forgot to leave the beer bong in the dorm
room.
"I just didn't have enough time for that."
In case you didn't realize, everybody's pretty busy these days. When
your boss asks you to do something, chances are it's not really an
option. If your main concern is accomplishing the task on time, Lampton
suggests you explain the situation. Mention how busy your schedule is
but that you can accommodate the request if some other projects are
moved around. You'll show that you take each assignment seriously and
only want to turn in your best work
". . . or else."
Giving anyone in the office an ultimatum rarely ends in success.
Whether you say it to a colleague or your new intern, you'll only gain
enemies and earn a reputation for being difficult. If cordial requests
don't work and threats are the only way to get things done in the
office, you need to re-evaluate your work environment.
Anthony Balderrama is a writer and blogger for CareerBuilder.com.
He researches and writes about job search strategy, career management,
hiring trends and workplace issues.
Look for more tips in our next newsletter.
Our Sponsors & Friends
The most User Friendly Web/Email Hosting company, with the fastest customer service we've ever known! Click here for more information: http://www.appliedi.net/?AA-6512
You receive this invitation as a friend of the South Florida Association of Internet Professionals, Sherlock Technology Recruiting, and Computer Careers Staffing, Inc.
Please use the options at the bottom of the page if you'd like to opt-out on future invitations, or call Alex Funkhouser 305-458-5579 or email alex@sherstaff.com
We care about your
preferences!
RECEIVE A FREE BLACKBERRY FROM SHERLOCK TECHNOLOGY!
