Job Hunting in San Francisco (WetFeet in the City) - 2007 Edition

Job Hunting in San Francisco

WetFeet in the City 2007 Edition

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Job Hunting in San Francisco 2007 Edition

WetFeet Insider Guide

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Job Hunting in San Francisco 2007 Edition ISBN: 978-1-58207-691-1 Photocopying Is Prohibited Copyright 2006 WetFeet, Inc. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by the copyright laws of the United States of America. No copying in any form is permitted. It may not be reproduced, distributed, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, in part or in whole, without the express written permission of WetFeet, Inc. The publisher, author, and any other party involved in creation, production, delivery, or sale of this WetFeet Insider Guide make no warranty, express or implied, about the accuracy or reliability of the information found herein. To the degree you use this guide or other materials referenced herein, you do so at your own risk. The materials contained herein are general in nature and may not apply to particular factual or legal circumstances. Under no circumstances shall the publisher, author, or any other party involved in creation, production or delivery of this guide be liable to you or any other person for damages of any kind arising from access to, or use of, its content.

Table of Contents Job Hunting in San Francisco at a Glance . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 The San Francisco Bay Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Geographic Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Major Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Employment Trends and Outlook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Where the Jobs Are . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Getting Your Bearings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Major Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Major Careers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Employer Rankings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Help Wanted? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Job Postings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 Recruiters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138 Job Fairs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 Staffing Agencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Networking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

Landing a Job . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 First Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 Your Resume and Cover Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162 Searching from Out of Town . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167 Put Your Best Foot Forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170 Follow Up Effectively . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 Salary Concerns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181 After You Land the Job . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

For Your Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187 Job Search Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188 Career Research Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188 Unemployment Offices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189 WetFeet Insider Guides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

Job Hunting in San Francisco At a G l a n c e

Job Hunting in San Francisco at a Glance The San Francisco Job Market •

Seven million people live in the San Francisco Bay Area, which covers nine counties and includes three distinct metropolitan areas: San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. Nearly 750,000 Bay Area residents live in the City of San Francisco.

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Approximately 2.9 million people are employed in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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Compared to the United States as a whole, the Bay Area job market is volatile and subject to large swings in the rates of job growth and losses due to its sensitivity to economic cycles, successive waves of technology innovation, and a high turnover rate for new businesses.

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The local economy depends heavily on companies in the high-tech, manufacturing, and service industries. The technology sector is showing signs of recovery after dramatic job losses between 2001 and 2004; in addition, the region possesses competitive strengths as an international financial center, an appealing setting for companies’ headquarters, and a popular tourist destination.

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Despite the fact that it was hit harder than any other region by the early-2000s recession, indicators suggest that a recovery—though modest—is underway. Now employers are more selective than ever. They specifically seek those with industryspecific knowledge, precise matches to their job specifications, and what they perceive as a cultural fit with their organizations.

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The unemployment rate in San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area counties improved steadily between mid-2004 and mid-2006.

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A high proportion of Bay Area employment is with smaller companies: More than two-thirds of the region’s employees work for organizations with fewer than 500 employees.



Job Hunting in San Francisco At a G l a n c e

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Research, marketing, and headquarters functions, which are the region’s strengths, are expected to see increased job growth in the next few years. Manufacturing and administrative functions, where the Bay Area is less competitive, are vulnerable to continuing job losses.

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Experts predict that demand for R&D professionals in IT, biotech, and nanotechnology will increase rapidly over the next few years, as will demand for computer and software engineers with specific expertise. Strategic sales and marketing managers—particularly those with global management experience—will also increasingly be in demand, as will many types of health-care professionals.

Doing Your Homework •

As is the situation anywhere, the best jobs are found through personal referrals.

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Be proactive about what you want and where you want to work; don’t be shy about making your desires known.

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Look for information on company websites, general classified advertising (online or in print), industry or association publications and websites, and the career offices of colleges and universities.

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Keep your job search organized. Create a targeted list of potential employers.

According to Bay Area Job Seekers “Networking and initiative are absolutely critical to a successful Bay Area job search. Of course, these two things are important when you’re looking for a job anywhere, but when the job market is a little bit slower—like it is in the Bay Area at the moment— it’s just not enough to reply to job postings on a company website and wait for the phone to ring.” “An all-or-nothing approach isn’t necessarily the best way to land your dream job here. Things don’t happen overnight; sometimes, it takes a series of smaller steps to get what you want. If you can’t get a full-time job, try to get part-time or contract work with the company you’re most interested in. If your dream employer isn’t hiring at the moment, request an informational interview anyway. It might take a little bit longer, but if you’ve got patience and persistence, it will work out.”



Job Hunting in San Francisco At a G l a n c e

“Don’t abandon more mainstream job-seeking techniques altogether when you’re using off-the-beaten-path strategies for pursuing the job you want. The key is to use every tactic you can in a coordinated way: applying for jobs through the company website, asking for informational interviews, talking to friends of friends who work at the company, and working with recruiters.”

Landing Your Dream Job •

Patience and persistence are key. Plan to search for one to two months for every $10,000 in salary.

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A resume alone won’t get you a job; nor will an interview. A successful job search requires attention to each step of the effort: conducting research, developing contacts, presenting a strong resume, interviewing, and following up effectively.

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Market yourself the way you would a product. Ask yourself, “What’s in it for the buyer?”

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Declare yourself! Don’t leave an interview without establishing your interest in the job.

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Assess potential employers in the same way they assess you, but be discreet about it.

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Connect the dots in your interviews and your cover letters. Don’t just tell a reader or interviewer what you did; explain how it applies to the target company and the position you are interviewing for.

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Know your value in the marketplace.

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Be prepared for unexpected opportunities: Keep your resume up to date—even when you’re not looking for work.



Job Hunting in San Francisco

The San Francisco Bay Area Overview Geographic Considerations Major Industries Employment Trends and Outlook



Job Hunting in San Francisco T h e S a n F r a n c i s co B ay A r e a

Overview The San Francisco Bay Area has a long history as a center for business and commerce. The Gold Rush of 1849 gave San Francisco the reputation of being a place where people come hoping to strike it rich. As the City grew in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it became the West Coast’s financial capital. More recently, the Bay Area has been home to an extended high-tech industry expansion, which started in Silicon Valley in the 1970s and was brought to a crescendo with the Internet boom of the 1990s (which many have called the region’s most recent “gold rush”). But the Bay Area has long been known for its countercultural ways as well as its business opportunities. In the 19th century, the City’s Barbary Coast district was notorious for its gambling, prostitution, and crime. More recently, in the 1950s, the Bay Area was the West Coast headquarters for the beat movement; today, eclectic bookstores and cafes frequented by Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsburg are a regular part of tours of North Beach. In the 1960s the Bay Area—especially San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district—became a Mecca for hippies and others looking to “tune in, turn on, and drop out,” and the University of California at Berkeley was pivotal to the anti-Vietnam War effort. At the same time, San Francisco, and especially the Castro district, became a center of gay culture. The 1980s saw the birth of a still-thriving Bay Area punk scene. The Bay Area also played a defining role in the development of hip-hop culture. A few years later, in the 1990s, San Francisco became one of the capitals of rave culture; indeed, Burning Man, the art festival/rave/temporary city that takes place during a latesummer week in the desert of Nevada each year, first took place at San Francisco’s Baker Beach. The Bay Area also has a long history as a first home to immigrants in America. From the 1800s, when Chinese immigrants arrived in the region in droves, to more recent decades, which have seen an influx of Latino immigrants, the Bay Area has been a cultural melting pot—the West Coast’s equivalent of New York City.



Job Hunting in San Francisco T h e S a n F r a n c i s co B ay A r e a

The Bay Area has also long had a special place in the hearts of many people who have never called it home. The beauty of the San Francisco Bay; the majesty of the Golden Gate Bridge; the mystery suggested by the thick fog that rolls regularly through many parts of the Bay Area—all these things and more have made the region a favorite of visitors from all over the globe. It’s no wonder that Tony Bennett left his heart in San Francisco. Today, no other region is so strongly associated with innovation and technology than the birthplace of Intel, Hewlett-Packard, Cisco, Yahoo, and Google, among many others. As one area insider says, “What oil is to Saudi Arabia, intellectual property is to the Bay Area.” Even if technology doesn’t float your career boat, the Bay Area will likely mesmerize you with the opportunities—both professional and personal—that abound here. The nine-county region boasts one of the world’s most innovative, competitive, and diverse regional economies—and, with a gross regional product of about $350 billion, one of the largest. Indeed, the Bay Area’s economy is the 29th largest in the world, just after Saudi Arabia’s (“Bay Area Economy Has Roared Back,” San Francisco Chronicle, 3/24/06). The Bay Area counts among its assets: •

The country’s largest concentration of corporate and independent research laboratories, national laboratories, and leading research universities.

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The nation’s largest number of top-ten-ranked graduate programs in business, law, medicine, and engineering.

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The highest density of venture capital firms in the world, with 32 percent of total U.S. venture capital funding invested in the region.

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More Fortune 500 companies than any region outside the New York area.

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More Internet use per capita than any other U.S. region.

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The highest level of patent generation in the nation, with more patents generated per employee than any other major metropolitan area.

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The most highly educated workforce in the nation, with the highest percentage of residents with graduate and professional degrees.



Job Hunting in San Francisco T h e S a n F r a n c i s co B ay A r e a

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A leading position in global trade, with exports larger than all but two U.S. states: Texas and, of course, California.

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The highest economic productivity in the nation—almost twice the U.S. average.

Source: Bay Area Economic Forum (www.bayeconfor.org).

Only in San Francisco San Francisco is not a typical American city, if there is such a thing; indeed, many claim that San Francisco is the most European of American cities. Foreign-born residents make up 36.8 percent of the City’s population, and the City’s culture reflects a diversity not often seen in other parts of the country, or the world for that matter. The City is home to large Mexican, Chinese, and Russian populations, and visitors and residents need only walk down a busy city street for half an hour to overhear conversations in several languages. The economic history of San Francisco is one of vast swings of fortune. The City seems to be forever in flux, either on the giddy ascent or plummeting into the trough. These literally and figuratively seismic shifts have been precipitated by traumatic natural events, such as the earthquake and fire of 1906, and by commercial events such as the introduction of the Internet. Whatever the cause, the City seems to embrace these rollercoaster rides, taking the bad with the good, and always managing to pull itself out of the trough (knock on wood). One result of the City’s most recent boom-and-bust cycle has been a perceived shift in San Francisco’s cultural personality. Characterized in the 1960s as substantially more progressive, liberal, and relaxed than notoriously competitive cities like New York, San Francisco has become noticeably more hurried, frenetic, aggressive, and, well, much more New York in recent years. While there’s still plenty of talk about chakras and auras among Bay Area residents, as well as plenty of interest in progressive politics and green ways of living, there’s no denying that the outrageously high cost of living has forced out a significant number of the residents who once imbued the City with its funky, counterculture appeal.



Job Hunting in San Francisco T h e S a n F r a n c i s co B ay A r e a

When You’re Not at Work … Despite all the ups and downs—all the rebuilding and innovating that goes on—when you’re not working (or looking for work), there’s a staggering number of recreational options here to choose from. Whether you’re a die-hard urbanite in search of cultural enrichment, a lover of the outdoors in search of adventure, or someone who falls in between the two extremes, you need never be bored in the Bay Area. The diversity of things to see and do in the Bay Area contribute to its number-two ranking, after Honolulu (among U.S. cities; ranked 28th worldwide), in Mercer’s 2006 Worldwide Quality of Life Survey, beating out Seattle, Los Angeles, Boston, New York, and Chicago as the nation’s most livable metropolitan area.

Entertain Me! Bay Area visitors and residents alike enjoy an active local music scene, as well as Broadway shows, improvisational comedy, musical revues, and theater. TIX Bay Area, in San Francisco’s Union Square (the center of downtown San Francisco’s largest shopping and hotel district), is a half-price ticket booth that offers day-of-performance tickets to many of the City’s theaters. The City is also home to a lively arts scene. San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Gardens, located in the rapidly developing SoMa district (so named because it is SOuth of MArket Street), is at the center of a bustling nexus of arts, culture, entertainment, and more. The gardens are a welcome bit of greenery in one of the City’s more urban neighborhoods; on warm days many opt to eat their lunch there, and in the summer, outdoor performances of nearly every stripe are offered. Innovative public art and fountains include the affecting Martin Luther King Memorial waterfall and a beautifully restored carousel that brought joy to the throngs at San Francisco’s Playland-at-the-Beach from 1912–1972. The Yerba Buena Gardens are also home to the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, which offers contemporary visual arts exhibits; dance, music, and theater performances and film and video screenings; The Zeum, a kids’ art and technology museum; a bowling alley; and an ice-skating rink.



Job Hunting in San Francisco T h e S a n F r a n c i s co B ay A r e a

Just across the street from Yerba Buena Gardens is the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the first museum on the West Coast devoted exclusively to 20th-century art. Also nearby are the Moscone Convention Center; the Museum of the African Diaspora; the California Historical Society; the Ansel Adams Center for Photography; the Cartoon Art Museum; and the Contemporary Jewish Museum. And that’s just one tiny part of the City and the Bay Area as a whole.

The Great Outdoors If you’d rather spend your free time in less urban surroundings, however, you need not even leave the City. If you enjoy running, walking, bicycling, Frisbee-flying, boating, fly fishing, soccer, tennis, horseback riding, volleyball, softball, rollerblading, or just daydreaming for that matter, the City’s 1,017-acre Golden Gate Park is a remarkably calm slice of nature. On Sundays, part of the park’s main drag is closed to car traffic, and the street is taken over by kids learning to ride bikes, an informal group of rollerskaters and -bladers who perform choreographed routines to disco tracks, and frequently a group of swing dancers—complete with swing music, of course. Other activities for outdoor enthusiasts within San Francisco include hiking at Fort Funston; surfing at Ocean Beach on the City’s western edge, or beneath the Golden Gate Bridge at Fort Point; windsurfing on the Bay off Crissy Field; and golfing with a spectacular view of the Golden Gate Bridge in the Presidio. For those who want to get out of the City, the breadth and wealth of outdoor activities within driving distance far surpasses that of any other American city its size. Within a drive of just an hour or two, you can find yourself hiking through a redwood forest in Muir Woods; enjoying an afternoon of whale-watching (or at least beachcombing) at Stinson Beach or Point Reyes National Seashore; paddling into waves at one of Santa Cruz’s world-class surf breaks; or drinking in the famously stunning scenery—and wines—of the Napa and Sonoma valleys. The Bay Area offers something for all outdoors types, from kite surfing, sea kayaking, and sailing to mountain biking, road bik-

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Job Hunting in San Francisco T h e S a n F r a n c i s co B ay A r e a

ing, and hiking. Not to mention the region’s proximity to Lake Tahoe’s many ski resorts—just a four-hour drive from the City.

Foodie Heaven Many gourmands visit the Bay Area specifically to sample its overwhelming array of culinary delights. Luckily for the rest of us, many world-renowned chefs have opted to pursue their professional passions here, taking advantage of California’s cornucopia of fresh produce, seafood, organic and free-range meats, and—of course—Northern California wines. The City’s cultural diversity makes it possible to enjoy fare from all over the globe. If you’ve never tried Moroccan, Filipino, Korean, Cantonese, Cambodian, or Afghan food, this is the perfect place to start, with a dizzying array of choices to tempt even the most sophisticated palate. Julia Child herself once asked, “Who could help but feel ravenous in such a place?” Given the area’s liberal population, it’s not surprising that vegetarians who live here find their culinary options much wider than in other parts of the country. The majority of restaurants in the Bay Area (including many small ethnic restaurants) offer more than a few vegetarian entrees—not just the steamed vegetable plate that some restaurants in less left-leaning locales proudly offer the meat-intolerant. In fact, some Bay Area restaurants serve exclusively vegetarian meals; there are even a handful of vegan-only restaurants—some of them upscale and not inexpensive—and one or two that are not only vegan but serve only raw food. While housing prices are much, much higher than nearly everywhere else in the nation, San Franciscans enjoy an unusually extensive selection of reasonably-priced restaurants. (Price is no indicator of quality here.) And when you go grocery shopping, you’ll notice that Californians enjoy better quality and a greater variety of produce than many other Americans, because of the state’s favorable climate and thriving agricultural sector. What’s more, the produce is cheaper in California than in many other parts of the country. Enjoy it, because Bay Area residents pay more for just about everything else compared to the rest of the nation.

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Job Hunting in San Francisco T h e S a n F r a n c i s co B ay A r e a

And, Now for the Bad News While the expression “It’s all good” was first made popular in California, it certainly isn’t true of the Bay Area. The region’s abundance of professional, cultural, and recreational opportunities comes at a price. The perceived desirability of San Francisco and its surrounding areas as a place to live and work means that even the threat of earthquakes and skyrocketing housing prices can’t keep people away. Despite the nearly incapacitating reality check dealt to the region by the shakeout following the Internet boom-and-bust just a few years ago, the Bay Area is still densely populated, putting upward pressure on both housing prices and average commute times. Commuter traffic in and out of the City is painful, especially if you drive to work and have to cross one of the Bay Area’s bridges. To do so, you can count on a taxing and congested commute regardless of the direction in which you’re headed. If you’re driving into the City, once you arrive at your destination, you’ll almost certainly find that parking is at best tricky, at worst impossible—whether you’re arriving in the morning for work or going out to a late dinner. In the City, parking is a major hassle in residential and commercial neighborhoods alike, with few exceptions. Parking is one of San Francisco’s most lamented shortcomings, but fortunately most of the Bay Area’s nine counties are well connected by an extensive network of public transit options that includes ferries, buses, trains, and subways. Many commuters find that public transit is in fact faster than personal transportation, especially when you factor in the inevitable traffic and time spent looking for parking. For most Bay Area residents, the work commute is a factor when considering job offers. Indeed, according to a recent survey, two out of five Bay Area residents have given serious thought to moving away from the region—and more than a third of those who have done so cite transportation as their top gripe with the region (“Cost of Housing among Area’s Top Woes,” San Francisco Chronicle, 2/27/06). Other big-city problems persist here, too: Homelessness and panhandling are rampant, as the area’s year-round mild weather and liberal social and political climate make it a more hospitable region than many for the homeless.

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Job Hunting in San Francisco T h e S a n F r a n c i s co B ay A r e a

The very high cost of living in the Bay Area is probably the most-cited complaint of local residents. It’s also one of the City’s most enduring characteristics—think of it as a refreshing constant in otherwise uncertain times. Many new residents experience sticker shock. One local insider who moved to San Francisco from the East Coast reports that the cost-of-living disparity was more severe than expected: “When I decided to move, I had done my research and I knew that I’d be paying about four times the rent I paid back east (and that I wouldn’t be making four times as much salary); I knew my car insurance would go up, and I wasn’t surprised that gas was so much more expensive. But it wasn’t until I made my first trip to Safeway that I realized that everything was going to be more expensive, and not by just a little.” Wh e r e your d o ll ar d o e sn ’ t g o v e ry far

Sure, Bay Area residents make more than folks do in most other parts of the country. But because the cost of living is much higher here than it is elsewhere, that doesn’t necessarily translate into extra cash for savings or investments. Why? The cost of living and the median professional salary in the Bay Area are identical, at $70,000 per year. Compare that to Austin, where the median salary is $58,000 but the annual cost of living is just $39,000, or Denver, where the median salary is $62,000 but the annual cost of living is just $40,000. (Source: “Bay Area Economy Has Roared Back,” San Francisco Chronicle, 3/24/06)

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Job Hunting in San Francisco T h e S a n F r a n c i s co B ay A r e a

A Quick Geography Primer When people refer to the San Francisco Bay Area (or, more commonly, just the Bay Area), they’re generally referring to a broad geographic region that includes nine separate counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma. By this definition, the Bay Area has a population of more than 7 million people. The population distribution of the Bay Area is generally divided into several smaller subregions:

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San Francisco: The city proper is separated from the rest of the Bay Area by water on the north and east and by county lines to the south. Locals avoid the term Frisco, calling it simply The City instead.

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The North Bay: This region, north of the Golden Gate Bridge, encompasses Marin County and extends northward into the Napa and Sonoma Valley wine regions. With some exceptions, this region is relatively affluent and is generally the least urban part of the Bay Area, with many areas of undeveloped parkland and farmland. It is the only section of the Bay Area that is not served by a commuter rail transit service.

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The East Bay: This region on the eastern side of the bay is dominated by the city of Oakland and includes Berkeley, Richmond, and a number of smaller cities. In part due to the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) rail service to this region, the East Bay now extends beyond the East Bay hills into suburban communities such as Walnut Creek, Concord, and Antioch. The weather on the eastern side of the hills is markedly warmer during the summer months—and conversely, much colder during the winter months—than in the City itself, which tends to enjoy a rather moderate climate year-round.

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The Peninsula: The area west of the bay between the South Bay and San Francisco is known as the San Francisco Peninsula, known locally as just the Peninsula. It’s made up of a series of small cities and suburban communities along the bay, as well as various towns along the Pacific coast.

Job Hunting in San Francisco T h e S a n F r a n c i s co B ay A r e a

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The South Bay: This region consists of the communities along the southern edge of the bay, and is synonymous with Silicon Valley. It includes the cities of San Jose, Fremont, and the high-tech hub of Santa Clara, as well as many smaller communities. Technically, counties to the south of the Santa Clara/San Mateo county borders (namely, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties) are not part of the nine-country San Francisco Bay Area; however, Silicon Valley is generally considered to extend well south of Santa Clara, all the way down to Gilroy, one of the fastest-growing cities in Silicon Valley—and the garlic capital of the world!

The City of San Francisco (home to 744,230 of the Bay Area’s 7 million residents as of 2004) occupies about 49 square miles on the tip of the 32-mile peninsula that separates the San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. Though the City’s downtown streets are arranged in a grid pattern (or at least something vaguely resembling a grid pattern), the prevalence of one-way streets and preposterously steep hills has been known to cause some confusion among newcomers. Market Street is the City’s main thoroughfare, running east to west and connecting the Financial District to the outer neighborhoods to the west and south. Market Street originates at the recently restored Ferry Building: the street’s address numbers begin there and increase as it makes its way toward the Pacific Ocean (though in true San Francisco fashion, it never quite gets there). The Embarcadero traces its path around the perimeter of the City bordered by the San Francisco Bay, starting just south of the Bay Bridge and continuing to the touristy Fisherman’s Wharf area. South Van Ness originates at the southernmost part of the City and crosses Market Street, where it becomes Van Ness Avenue and continues to the north until it terminates at Fort Mason, a former military base that is now primarily used to house nonprofit organizations, just west of Ghirardelli Square. Interstate 80 connects the City of San Francisco with the East Bay, originating between Piers 26 and 28 along the Embarcadero and crossing the Bay Bridge into Oakland. Route 101 runs north-to-south, up through the Peninsula from San Jose and across the Golden Gate Bridge to points north. Route 101 (along with Interstate 280, its more scenic and less frenetic cousin to the west) connects the City to Silicon Valley, south of

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Job Hunting in San Francisco T h e S a n F r a n c i s co B ay A r e a

San Francisco, where many of the Bay Area’s technology companies reside. Drive along the 101 corridor during rush hour (in either direction, since there really isn’t a reverse commute here), and you’ll quickly realize that the urban congestion isn’t limited to San Francisco itself; it definitely spreads well out into the ’burbs. One Santa Clara County resident sums it up this way: “You’re definitely in suburbia, but with all of the traffic and astronomical prices of living in a big city.”

The Working Rich Bay Area residents make more than folks do in most other parts of the country. But because the cost of living is much higher here than it is elsewhere, that doesn’t necessarily translate into extra cash for savings or investments. Why? The cost of living and the median professional salary in the Bay Area are identical, at $70,000 per year. Compare that to Austin, where the median salary is $58,000 but the annual cost of living is just $39,000, or to Denver, where the median salary is $62,000 but the annual cost of living is just $40,000 (“Bay Area Economy Has Roared Back,” San Francisco Chronicle, 3/24/06). Indeed, the cost of living in the Bay Area is among the highest in the nation, nearly 50 percent above the national average, according to a study conducted by A.T. Kearney (“The Future of Bay Area Jobs”). High housing costs and an inadequate housing supply are the primary culprits; in the fourth quarter of 2005, a median-priced home in the Bay Area cost $650,000 (“Frustrated by higher costs, Bay Area investors are sending their real estate dollars out of state,” San Francisco Chronicle, 3/26/06), which translates to a typical monthly mortgage payment of about $2,900 (“Housing—Just Cool or Going Cold?” San Francisco Chronicle, 2/19/06). Indeed, the median cost of a home in the Bay Area is about triple the national average (“Cost of Housing among Area’s Top Woes,” San Francisco Chronicle, 2/27/06). Thinking of renting instead? Start saving up. As of April 2006, the average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco was a whopping $1,848 (www. rent-sf.com). Rents are lower in the East Bay and the South Bay; but you can still

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expect to pay more for your rental unit, no matter where you are in the Bay Area, than you would in almost any other part of the country. And when you move into that 300-square-foot studio, remember to turn off the lights when you leave: Electricity costs are higher here than anywhere else in the nation.

Help Wanted…Again There’s no sugarcoating it: The Bay Area job market was decimated by the tech bust of the early 2000s. Between 2001 and 2003, the Bay Area lost about 400,000 jobs, or one of every nine jobs—the largest regional decline in post–World War II history (“Job Losses Slow to a Trickle: Bay Area Firms Expected to Start Hiring This Year,” San Francisco Chronicle, 5/3/2004). Today, though, the Bay Area employment picture seems to be growing steadily more positive. Anecdotal reports suggest that hiring activity has been on the upswing of late, and unemployment has been dropping across the region. This is still very much an employer’s market, however, and those responsible for hiring can afford to be choosier than ever. According to one local magazine reporter, “Personal skills that were virtually irrelevant during the boom times have grown into something of critical importance.” According to the California Employment Development Department, nearly 2.9 million people hold jobs in the Bay Area. Roughly, another 140,000 are unemployed and actively looking for work. (Figures are as of March 2006.) Add in the number of people who are dissatisfied with their jobs and waiting for the right moment to start looking and you have a sense of the competition you face each time you respond to a job posting or apply for a position on a company’s website. To be successful, your job search must be targeted, efficient, and well planned. This WetFeet in the City Guide is designed to help you land a job in one of the most exciting and competitive job markets in the United States: Welcome to the San Francisco Bay Area.

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The Bottom Line In the Bay Area, like anywhere, a job search requires patience and persistence. Understand that it can take one to two months for every $10,000 you want to make in annual salary to find the right job (according to popular wisdom). No matter where you conduct your job search, the importance of networking cannot be overstated. This is especially true in very competitive job markets. “You really can’t rely on job boards, company websites, and advertised job listings,” advises one successful Bay Area job seeker. “People occasionally secure offers through those sources, but it really helps to leverage any contacts you have inside the organizations that you’re hoping to work with.” You may not personally know someone who works at these companies, but someone you know may know someone who does. That’s why it’s important to keep your friends and former colleagues informed about your job search. If you ask enough people, you’ll eventually get the leads you need. A passive, primarily reactive approach simply won’t work in this job market. Though there’s really no substitute for good old-fashioned pavement pounding, there is some upbeat news for those looking to make career inroads here. We’re not sure whether to attribute it to the Bay Area’s high quality of life or to the mild climate, but Bay Area folk are generally fairly responsive to requests for help, gladly lending their assistance and insights regardless of the depth of their acquaintance with you. If you’re new here, take this observation to heart. Be proactive (but of course polite) about what you’re looking for and where you want to work, and don’t hesitate to ask for help. We all survive on the kindness of others.

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Geographic Considerations With a diversified regional economy and a geographic reach that spans nine counties on three sides of the San Francisco Bay, the Bay Area certainly presents a challenge to job seekers determined to keep their commuting times (and discomfort) to a minimum. “That was one of the big concerns we had about moving back to the Bay Area,” says one former Bay Area resident hoping to return after business school on the East Coast. “It’s definitely easier to look for a job when you already live here,” she explains, “but you can’t move to the Bay Area without knowing where you’re going to work. What if you move to the City but end up finding a job in San Jose? Or what if you move to the Peninsula but end up working in the East Bay? It definitely makes it difficult to coordinate your job search with your housing search, because you don’t want to end up driving two hours each way to and from work—or having to move again once you get out there.”

Geographic Concentration of Jobs While there are jobs to be had across industries in each of the Bay Area’s nine counties, some industries are represented more heavily in certain parts of the region (as is the case with virtually any major metropolitan area). Many of the region’s major financial institutions reside—not surprisingly—in San Francisco’s Financial District, which stretches several blocks north of Market Street, from Union Square to the Embarcadero and the Ferry Building. Many large financial institutions also maintain offices in Silicon Valley, approximately 30 miles south of San Francisco. If you’re looking to work at one of the Bay Area’s venture capital firms, you’ll find many on the peninsula in Menlo Park or Palo Alto. Like New York’s Wall Street, Menlo Park’s Sand Hill Road is both a physical address and a figurative one, referring to the concentration of venture capital firms that have set up shop close to Silicon Valley’s many fledgling technology firms in need of VC funding.

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Southwest of the financial district, SoMa encompasses the southern half of downtown, from the Embarcadero all the way to Eleventh Street, between Market and Townsend. This neighborhood is home base for many of the tenacious Internet and media companies that survived the tech market collapse in the early part of the decade. These days, most of the business activity can be found in three general areas: around the tiny Victorian South Park and the Giants ballpark, near the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) and Yerba Buena Gardens, and over by Folsom and Eleventh streets. Union Square—between the Financial District and SoMa—is San Francisco’s retail capital. This neighborhood—in particular, Post, Stockton, Geary, Powell, and Sutter streets—houses every major department store in the area. Macy’s West on O’Farrell Street is one of San Francisco’s largest employers, with almost 2,500 individuals on the payroll. The area is also the epicenter of exclusive couture and the highest quality fashions, with names like Dior, Armani, Marc Jacobs, and Yves Saint Laurent all maintaining boutiques in the area. Even though Union Square is considered the nexus of San Francisco’s retail trade, it’s worth pointing out that several major retailers headquartered in the City—namely, the Gap, Williams-Sonoma, and Levi’s—reside in other neighborhoods. Given the prevalence of the technology industry in the Silicon Valley, it’s not surprising that many of the Bay Area’s largest public companies—and employers—are based well south of San Francisco in the South Bay, dotting the Route 101 corridor between San Francisco and San Jose. Oracle is headquartered in Redwood City, HP and Agilent in Palo Alto, Intel and Sun Microsystems in Santa Clara, Cisco in San Jose, and Apple Computer in Cupertino. While the majority of commuters in this pocket of the Bay Area drive to and from work, Caltrain connects San Francisco to San Jose. In June 2004, the addition of Caltrain’s Baby Bullet service shaved off 30 minutes and 21 stops (each way) between San Francisco and San Jose; on the Baby Bullet, it takes about an hour to get from one city to the other, and even less time to reach the City from stops at Millbrae, Hillsdale, Palo Alto, and Mountain View.

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In contrast to tech-heavy Silicon Valley, in the East Bay (which includes the cities of Oakland, Berkeley, and Emeryville), employment is less concentrated around a single industry cluster. The largest employers in this area include the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan in Oakland, SBC Communications, and Chevron in San Ramon, the University of California, Berkeley (UCB), and the Safeway supermarket chain, which is headquartered in Pleasanton. In addition, state and local governments and public services— including the state of California, Alameda and Contra Costa counties, the city of Oakland, and the Oakland district of the U.S. Postal Service—are among the region’s largest employers. For commuters, BART connects the City of San Francisco to the East Bay.

D o t h e M at h

So, you think Caltrain is expensive? If you’re commuting from the South Bay into the City (or vice versa) and think that the $179 monthly pass is railway robbery, pause to consider the hidden costs of driving to work. Gas prices are higher in California than they are anywhere else in the continental United States. As of April 2006, a gallon of regular gasoline cost an average of $3.32 in the Bay Area. Unless you want to pump all your disposable earnings into your car, consider how much that will cost you. And don’t forget the amount of gas you’ll need to circle the neighborhood to find a parking space, or the $20 a day it’ll cost you to give up and park in a public garage. Then there’s car insurance, which is higher in the Bay Area than in many other parts of the country, and of course, car maintenance and repairs. This could dampen anyone’s drive.

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In the North Bay, Napa, Sonoma, and Marin counties offer some of the most spectacular scenery and enjoyable recreational opportunities, but relatively few of the Bay Area’s major employers are headquartered here (although many Bay Area companies maintain offices in Santa Rosa or in other North Bay communities). Among the three-county area’s largest employers are Agilent Technologies, State Farm Insurance, Advanced Fibre Communications, Pacific Bell, Kaiser Permanente, and Pacific Gas & Electric. Because public transportation options are more limited here than elsewhere in the Bay Area, living in the North Bay and commuting into downtown San Francisco (and certainly to the Peninsula) is a haul. The Baylink Ferry connects the northern part of the East Bay to San Francisco, but the ferry trip alone takes 50 minutes; once you add your travel time from Vallejo to your North Bay destination—and from the Ferry Building to your San Francisco destination—you’ve got a killer commute on your hands. However, many people put up with the substantially longer commute in order to enjoy the benefits of living outside the more densely populated (and more expensive) communities to the south.

On the Bus (or Train, or Highway) Whether you’re determined to drive to work solo, or you’re happier to leave the driving to the professionals while you read a book or listen to your iPod, keep one thing in mind: The distance and anticipated stress of the commute is an important consideration for those evaluating job offers in the Bay Area. “I would definitely turn down a job—no matter how attractive an opportunity—if the commute would be too long or too stressful,” says one Bay Area resident. “If it’s the right job for you, the long commute can be worth it,” says another, who currently commutes to San Francisco from Menlo Park via the hour-long Caltrain ride. “But it’s definitely exhausting. I’m always acutely aware of how much of my time is getting sucked up by the commute.” If you’re new to the area, be sure to give adequate consideration to whether it makes the most sense to find a job based on where you’d like to live, or whether you’d rather choose a place to live based on where you’re likely to work. Time spent consulting friends and

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acquaintances familiar with the area—and a map, for that matter—is time that won’t be spent driving the 50-mile stretch between San Jose and Emeryville each day (a trek that can take an hour and a half—at least—during peak travel times). Though the congestion on the region’s freeways might lead visitors to think otherwise, there are plenty of public transportation options available in the Bay Area—and relatively comfortable ones at that. Yet despite the many alternatives, most commuters (63 percent, according to RIDES for Bay Area Commuters) still travel to work alone by car. According to findings from the organization’s most recent study, the average commuting distance is 17 miles each way and takes an average of 30 minutes to travel.

Insider Tip

Feeling a little bit lost when it comes to planning your commute? Before you leave, consult the 511 TakeTransit Trip Planner at www.transitinfo.org for door-to-door directions and fare information.

The Bay Area’s most widely used public transportation options are described briefly in the sections that follow. There are many more public transit organizations that serve the Bay Area: Check out www.511.org to learn about the full range of options. The 511 website is also a great source of information for Bay Area bicyclists (extensive Bay Area bicycle maps and bike-to-transit information), motorists (current traffic conditions), and commuters interested in carpooling. (All prices cited here were correct as of press time, but fares are subject to change.)

BART In 2004, the American Public Transportation Association named BART the numberone public transit system in America. This above- and below-ground train system connects San Francisco, much of the East Bay, and portions of the Peninsula. In 2003, BART added an airport extension and three additional stops (all on the Peninsula), finally offering San Francisco International Airport (SFO; located on the northeast cor-

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ner of the Peninsula) travelers an easy way to take public transportation into the city (or Oakland, Berkeley, or any other city that BART serves). A one-way BART trip costs a minimum of $1.40, with a one-way maximum fare of $7.65. For more information, go to www.bart.gov.

Caltrain For commuters traveling along the 101 corridor between San Francisco and San Jose, Caltrain offers a relatively reliable, efficient, and comfortable alternative to 101’s rushhour gridlock. If your impressions of public transportation have been shaped primarily by mass transit in other cities, try Caltrain before you rule it out. One Bay Area newcomer was surprised to find that she felt “like a queen” sitting in the train’s upper level on the way to San Francisco from the Peninsula. “It’s pretty quiet, too. You could actually use the long commute to get work done,” she said. If you can tolerate the idea of abiding by someone else’s schedule, Caltrain might be an attractive commuting option. In addition, the relatively new Baby Bullet train—Caltrain’s version of an express service—makes it possible to travel between San Francisco and San Jose in less than an hour during the work week. At press time, there were 11 Baby Bullet trains in going in each direction every workday. For more information, go to www.caltrain.com.

Muni Once you’re in the City, hop on the San Francisco Municipal Railway (which is always referred to as Muni), the seventh-largest public transit system in the United States. On an average workday, approximately 700,000 people rely on Muni to get from point A to point B in San Francisco. The system’s fleet of approximately 1,000 vehicles (over half of which are electric) consists of subway-surface light-rail vehicles (Metro streetcars), electric trolley buses, diesel buses, the world-famous cable cars (the only ones in the world still operating), and a unique international collection of historic streetcars. Together, these buses, trolleys, streetcars, and cable cars traverse the entire city. One of the best deals around is an Official San Francisco Street & Transit Map, which provides

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comprehensive San Francisco street listings and information about Muni lines: descriptions of each, timetables, and maps of all 80-plus lines, including the “Owl” lines, which run all night. If you’re planning to take Muni home in the early morning hours, it’s important to remember that most Muni lines do not run after 1 a.m. At $3, the Muni map is well worth the price. Most Muni stops include transit area maps, but not all of them, and even experienced Muni riders consult their maps regularly. Street & Transit Maps are available for purchase at most retail stores that sell maps, in addition to the following locations: •

Muni Revenue Department: 949 Presidio Avenue at Geary, Room 103.

•

City Payment Center: 400 North Van Ness Avenue at Grove, Room 140. (Info about the City Payment Center is available at www.sfgov.org.)

•

Cable car ticket booths: intersections of Powell and Market Streets, Hyde and Beach Streets.

Muni fares are $1.50 for buses, historic streetcars, and Metro streetcars; monthly Muni passes are also available for $45. Riding one of the famed cable cars (which, incidentally, are usually packed with tourists) costs $5. The three cable car routes only serve the Northwest section of the City, which includes the Financial District, Nob Hill, North Beach, and Fisherman’s Wharf neighborhoods, so cable cars are not a viable commuter option for most who work in the city. Unless you’ve got a monthly pass, you’ll need exact fares for Muni travel, so keep change and dollar bills handy. For more information, go to www.sfmuni.com.

Ferry In San Francisco, several ferry operators shuttle commuters and tourists alike across the Bay, enabling cross-county travelers to avoid the coronary-inducing traffic on the bridges leading to and from the City while enjoying some of the best views the Bay Area has to offer. The longest ferry route is the 26-mile journey between Vallejo and San Francisco, which departs from San Francisco’s Ferry Building 15 times daily and provides relatively

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comfortable and convenient access to the East Bay. Once you’ve completed the hourlong trip from the city, the Vallejo Ferry Terminal offers excellent transit connections to other destinations through Vallejo Transit, Napa Valley Transit, and Amtrak. A oneway trip costs $10 ($5 for seniors and children). Commuters can purchase a monthly pass for $215. Visit www.baylinkferry.com for details, and be prepared to forge lasting friendships with your fellow commuters during the long journey. In addition, two operators run ferries that travel from San Francisco to Alameda, also in the East Bay. The Harbor Bay Ferry operates only during the week; the 25-minute trip costs $6 one way. Check www.harborbayferry.com for updated fare and schedule information. The Blue & Gold Fleet offers service from Fisherman’s Wharf to Alameda via the Ferry Building and Oakland; the one-way fare for this journey (35 minutes to Oakland, 45 minutes to Alameda) is $5.50. Check out www.blueandgoldfleet.com for more information. If you’re looking to travel to and from the North Bay, the Golden Gate Ferry travels from San Francisco to Larkspur daily. Once you arrive in Larkspur (the trip takes 30 to 45 minutes), you’ll have access not only to the shops and restaurants on Larkspur Landing, but various buses that connect to other towns in Marin County. A one-way trip costs $6.45 during the week ($3.45 for frequent travelers). Also in the North Bay, Tiburon can be reached by way of Blue & Gold Fleet, whose ferries depart from both Pier 41 (Fisherman’s Wharf ) and the Ferry Building. The trip takes about 20 minutes from the Ferry Building and anywhere from 35 to 50 minutes from Pier 41. From both the Ferry Building and the Pier, the one-way trip to Tiburon costs $7.50.

Casual Carpooling Another way to avoid lengthy delays on Bay Area bridges, highways, and byways is to take advantage of “casual carpooling”—an informal (but surprisingly effective) system by which drivers and passengers meet at designated locations. Most of these meeting points are in the East Bay (in Oakland, Vallejo, Berkeley, and Emeryville, specifically).

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Once drivers and passengers connect, they’re on their way, zooming past the long delays at the Bay Bridge toll plaza and zipping down the carpool-only lanes on I-80 and I-880 into the city. And it’s a free ride, literally—casual carpoolers do not pay tolls on either the Bay Bridge or the Carquinez Bridge during commute hours. Drivers drop passengers off at Fremont and Mission Streets (or nearby) in downtown San Francisco. Sometimes the driver will indicate where they are going after that (north of Market, for example, or even to the Civic Center) and offer to take passengers further. Those who have used the casual carpool system report that it’s convenient, efficient, and significantly more comfortable than taking public transportation the whole way. You don’t need to make any advance arrangements to get or give a ride, and there’s no fixed schedule. Many pickup points are located near public transit stops, and there are usually sufficient numbers of drivers and riders, which keeps waiting times to a minimum. If the casual carpool system seems like an only slightly more sophisticated form of hitchhiking, keep in mind that the practice is substantially safer—and more reliable— than thumbing it. Improbable though it may seem, there have been remarkably few reports of any unseemly behavior on the part of either drivers or passengers, thanks at least in part to the three-person minimum that applies to the high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes. There have been reports of eccentric but innocuous behavior: The San Francisco Chronicle reported that one woman regularly uses carpool pickup points as a forum to express her environmental concerns—she’ll approach SUVs, acting as though she’s going to get in, only to berate their owners for driving gas guzzlers before slamming the door and moving on to the next car. For most riders and drivers, however, an implicit code of etiquette has evolved over the course of casual carpool’s history: no conversation (unless initiated by the driver), no talking on cell phones, no smoking, and no food or drink in the car. If it’s an environment-friendly commute you’re seeking—and if neither protracted silences nor chatty drivers are likely to make you uncomfortable—then this option may be for you. Check out www.ridenow.org/carpool for more information and for a list of designated meeting places.

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Major Industries Most people think of technology when they think of Bay Area businesses, and with good reason: The area’s economic base is concentrated in high-tech manufacturing, certain components of the information sector (specifically software publishing, telecommunications, and Internet service providers), and professional and business services (dominated in the Bay Area by computer systems design, company management, employment services, and architectural and engineering services). Though technology rules the roost, the region boasts a diversified economic base. Just over half of the area’s employment is in nontechnology sectors: in particular, wholesale; retail; transportation and logistics; health and social services; hospitality; finance, insurance, and real estate; and resources, utilities, and construction.

San Francisco Bay Area Employment by Sector, April 2006* Sector

Employees

Professional and business services

498,900

Educational and health services

324,600

Retail trade

287,900

Leisure and hospitality

275,800

Financial activities

197,700

Information

104,900

*Note: For Bay Area counties: San Francisco, Marin, San Mateo, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Benito, and Santa Clara. Source: California Employment Development Department, Labor Market Information Division. May 19, 2006.

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Advertising and Public Relations Like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., San Francisco is a hub for the advertising and public relations industries. Recent years have been difficult for some advertising and PR shops, as hundreds of dotcoms folded and bigger companies saw poor financial results during the dotcom bust and the recession that followed. Nonetheless, the word on the street is that the market for advertising and PR services has recovered to a large degree, though it’s unlikely that firms will see the kind of profit they enjoyed during the 1990s again any time soon. Many of the heavy hitters of New York’s advertising and PR markets—including Grey Worldwide, Young & Rubicam, and McCann Erickson—maintain a strong presence in the Bay Area.

Biotechnology The Bay Area is a haven for biotechnology, and the industry’s birthplace; the first biotech company, Genentech, which started in 1976, is a Bay Area company. Broadly speaking, biotech includes biopharmaceuticals, medical devices, and research and development in life science. More than 50 percent of all U.S. biotech companies reside here, and the industry accounts for about 80,000 jobs (2.4 percent of employment and 4.0 percent of payroll) in the region (“The Future of Bay Area Jobs,” a study conducted by A.T. Kearney), with the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) and Stanford University acting as drivers of further innovation, development, and employment growth in this sector. Major Bay Area employers in this segment include Genentech, Chiron, Applied Biosystems, Roche, and Bayer HealthCare.

Consulting Virtually all of the major strategy consulting firms maintain one or more offices in the Bay Area, as do all of the Big Four consulting firms and a host of smaller, specialized boutique consulting firms. Not surprisingly, the preponderance of information technology, biotechnology, and medical device companies in the Bay Area means that consult-

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ing services for these types of clients drives much of the revenue generated by these regional offices. The slowdown in Information Technology (IT) spending during the early part of the decade hit Bay Area IT consulting practices hard. Health-care consulting, on the other hand, proved resilient in spite of the economic downturn that characterized the early part of the decade.

Education According to the California Employment Development Department, about 75,000 individuals in the Bay Area are employed in educational services. Higher education is particularly critical to the economic vitality of the Bay Area; the region boasts the highest percentage of residents with graduate and professional degrees, and the largest number of top-ten-ranked graduate programs in business, law, medicine, and engineering in the nation. Leading educational institutions such as Stanford University and UCB not only employ thousands of Bay Area residents, but spur innovation (particularly in science and engineering) in other critical segments of the regional economy.

Financial Services and Insurance The success of San Francisco as a financial center is often overlooked in the glare of the Bay Area’s luminescent technology industries. However, San Francisco boasts a Federal Reserve Bank, a U.S. Mint, the Home Loan Bank, and the Pacific Stock Exchange. Roughly 30 international financial institutions call the City home, and the core finance and banking industry is located downtown. Major Bay Area employers in this segment include Wells Fargo, Charles Schwab, Union Bank of California, and a host of small investment and securities firms—including the West Coast headquarters of many Wall Street firms. In addition, many top-tier hedge funds and private-equity firms are located in the Bay Area.

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Health Care Health care is a business these days—and in the Bay Area (like everywhere else), it’s a big business at that. The United States spends more than a trillion dollars a year on health care. Some of the Bay Area’s highly regarded medical institutions include the University of California at San Francisco Medical Center; Stanford University Medical Center, St. Mary’s Medical Center, Kaiser Hospital, and California Pacific Medical Center. San Francisco boasts the highest doctor-to-resident ratio of any urban area in the United States with more than 4,000 doctors in San Francisco County. An area within the research sector of the Bay Area health care sector that’s particularly hot these days is stem cell research; indeed, San Francisco is home to the headquarters of California’s $3 billion stem cell research program (the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine), and Bay Area research centers like the University of California, San Francisco are actively bulking up their efforts in this field, which holds so much medical promise (“Stem Cell Panel Picks S.F.,” San Francisco Chronicle, 3/5/05;” Stem Cell Research on the Rise,” San Francisco Chronicle, 2/3/06).

Information Technology From the perspective of the worldwide technology industry, the Bay Area is the center of the universe, with Silicon Valley—about 30 miles south of San Francisco—at the epicenter. This region is home to leading global companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Advanced Microdevices, Sun Microsystems, Adobe, and Apple; in addition, companies such as IBM, Hitachi, Lockheed Martin, and Microsoft have established advanced research centers here.

Law Sure, recent years have seen some firms (Clifford Chance) close their San Francisco offices and others (Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison) close up shop entirely. But with so

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much need for corporate legal services from the tech, biotech, and other industries, the Bay Area legal market remains extraordinarily competitive. In all, about 30,000 people are employed in legal services in the Bay Area. And some two dozen firms have offices in both San Francisco and Palo Alto (Silicon Valley). Major players include Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati; Morrison & Foerster; Heller Ehrman; and Cooley Godward.

Manufacturing The Bay Area is well known for its high-tech manufacturing companies (many of which are discussed in the information technology section of this chapter), but the region boasts a significant nontechnology manufacturing base as well. The diversified manufacturing segment (which excludes high-tech manufacturing) includes apparel, beverage and tobacco products, chemicals (excluding pharmaceuticals), machinery, printing, fabricated metal products, and the catchall “miscellaneous manufacturing” category. Together, jobs in these types of manufacturing accounted for 308,700 Bay Area jobs in February 2006. In the Bay Area, some of the largest employers in this diversified segment are manufacturers of consumer goods—specifically, companies such as Clorox, Del Monte Foods, Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, Robert Mondavi, and Peet’s Coffee and Tea in the nondurable consumer goods category, and companies such as LeapFrog Enterprises and Electronic Arts in the consumer durables category.

Real Estate The Bay Area real estate market—its residential real estate market, in particular—is one of the few regional industries that appears to be immune to higher unemployment, falling wages, and economic uncertainty—factors that usually keep real estate prices in check for decades. As with the rest of California, the limited supply of useable land for new construction projects means that demand for real estate far outstrips supply, which keeps real estate prices sky-high regardless of what’s going on with the rest of the economy—bad news if you’re looking to purchase property here, but great news if you’re

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particularly adept at selling it. Scores of displaced technology workers turned to real estate as a second career when their tech firms went bust, which means that agents and brokers have to work that much harder to earn their three percent. Major Bay Area employers in this segment include Prudential California Realty, Coldwell Banker, RE/MAX, Pacific Union, and Alain Pinel.

Insider Tip

San Francisco boasts the highest doctor-to-resident ratio of any urban area in the United States with more than 4,000 doctors in San Francisco County.

Retail Trade According to the California Employment Development Department, the Bay Area’s retail industry supports nearly 300,000 jobs. The industry certainly benefits from tourist spending, but the department stores and world-class boutiques clustered around Union Square also make downtown San Francisco a shopping hub for the entire Bay Area. Union Square isn’t the only place to shop. Other retail districts range from the Stonestown Galleria in the Sunset District to the tiny shops bunched together in Hayes Valley to the funky blocks of Mission Street between 16th and Cesar Chavez Streets, where stores are crammed with cheap goods of every description and the atmosphere is reminiscent of an underdeveloped nation. It should surprise no one that San Francisco is a shopping metropolis. After all, it’s the birthplace of both Levi’s and Gap. WilliamsSonoma, Restoration Hardware, Cost Plus World Market, and Bebe are other prominent Bay Area–based retailers.

Tourism and Hospitality Tourism is the City’s number-one industry. More than 15 million visitors spend $6.5 billion a year in San Francisco, and the industry sustains more than 150,000 jobs. Tourist attractions are as diverse as the people who visit, but the most popular include

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Job Hunting in San Francisco T h e S a n F r a n c i s co B ay A r e a

Fisherman’s Wharf, Chinatown, the Golden Gate Bridge, Union Square, and Golden Gate Park. In addition, San Francisco boasts more than 9,000 restaurants and 800 bars within a 30-mile radius. The restaurant and hotel businesses together bring in some 20 percent of the City’s sales tax revenues.

Venture Capital Sand Hill Road, a sedate four-lane suburban byway, climbs from the Stanford University Golf Course into the coastal hills. On either side, low office buildings cluster behind signs that read The Mayfield Fund, Sequoia Capital, Kleiner Perkins & Byers, and so on. These inconspicuous offices are the heart of the venture capital industry, where companies such as Apple, eBay, Sun Microsystems, and Yahoo! got the startup money and advice that made them Silicon Valley legends. The industry is a major shaker in the U.S. economy, funding companies developing technological and service innovations long before they become mainstream. In 2005, according to the most recent PricewaterhouseCoopers MoneyTree report, venture capitalists poured $21.7 billion into fledgling companies around the country, up very slightly from $21.6 billion in 2004 (which saw the first annual increase in venture investment since the tech bubble burst in 2000).

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Employment Trends and Outlook Employment Trends In 2004, the Bay Area labor market finally saw a long-awaited reversal of fortune, marking the end of a precipitous decline between 2001 and 2003 that resulted in the loss of approximately 400,000 jobs. “Overall, we’re finally emerging,” says one expert. “We’ve hit the trough, and now things are really, really starting to go.” Indeed, in a recent survey, Silicon Valley executives expressed “cautious optimism” about employment in 2006 and beyond, with 56 percent reporting that they plan to increase their companies’ workforces in 2006, compared to just 8 percent planning to cut jobs (“Silicon Valley Job Outlook Improving,” San Francisco Chronicle, 2/17/06). And since its inauspicious rise to 7 percent a few years back, the unemployment level has been falling continuously in recent years. The jobless rate in the San Francisco metropolitan area clocked in at 4.3 percent in January 2006, down from 5 percent in January 2005. The story is similar in the Oakland and San Jose metropolitan areas, which showed jobless rates of 4.7 and 5.2 percent in January 2006, respectively, down from 5.5 percent in both regions in January 2005. The good news is tempered only slightly by the fact that much of the improvement in the Bay Area’s jobless picture came from employment in the construction industry, which may soften in coming months due to a cool-down in the Bay Area real estate market (“Jobless Rate Falls in State,” San Francisco Chronicle, 3/4/06). That said, hiring in some industries is robust—biotechnology, health care, and technology, in particular. Talented accountants and human resources professionals are in especially high demand across all industries. Economic data for the Bay Area mirrors trends that characterize

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the U.S. economy as a whole: a trend toward a service- rather than manufacturing-based economy. Bay Area manufacturing industries contribute 17 percent to real regional GDP, while service industries contribute 29 percent (compared to 14 percent and 22 percent, respectively, for the United States as a whole). If you haven’t looked for work since the tech bubble burst, be prepared for some changes since your last entry into the job market. Layoffs, tight budgets, and work redistribution have changed the Bay Area employment marketplace in several key ways.

Greater Specificity As recently as 2000, the thousands of startups that blanketed the Bay Area like a swarm of locusts—along with multitudes of established firms that expanded their local presence—simply couldn’t hire people fast enough. In fact, companies started after 1990 accounted for nearly all of the Silicon Valley’s job growth between 1990 and 2001. By the end of the 1990s, scores of management-consulting and Wall Street types looking to strike it rich at a young age moved to the Bay Area to try to cash in on the dotcom gold rush. Analysts with barely two years of work experience were hired as vice presidents of business development for budding technology companies. As long as you were bright and motivated, you could transition easily from one function or industry to a different one. Those days are over. In today’s job market, you’re less likely to encounter hiring managers who are willing to take a leap of faith when making hiring decisions. Hiring managers are more focused than ever on finding candidates whose skill set and work experience are exact matches to those outlined in open job requisitions. “In financial services, it’s not enough to know about finance. You have to know derivatives or mortgages,” says a job seeker. “There are jobs out there, but they want you to have very specific experience,” says an art director. There are so many candidates that employers can afford to be choosy. They can also afford to be more discriminating when evaluating candidates’ perceived cultural fit with the company.

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Risk Aversion Forced to trim the payroll fat again and again in recent years, hiring managers have learned a painful lesson and are now playing it safe. Many companies are continuing to outsource new staffing needs rather than increase headcounts and pay the additional overhead. And when organizations do add staff, they tend to stick with people they know. Rather than placing job requisitions with search firms or posting openings on job boards, they might opt to recruit known talent from competitors or offer temporary or part-time positions, as a sort of trial period.

Less Room for Negotiation In the dotcom heyday, many candidates became accustomed to negotiating significant increases in compensation and benefits. Today, you shouldn’t expect the same flexibility. Bay Area staffing experts maintain that salary negotiations are rare in today’s job market. According to one Bay Area tech recruiter, “Employers don’t need to offer a sign-up bonus, even for top-notch engineers. These days, expectations are real, attitudes have changed. Employees are happy to work for a great company offering a career path, a challenging job, and a fair salary. Even performance bonuses are rare.” This isn’t to say that you should accept whatever is offered. It is still appropriate to discuss employment terms before accepting them. Many companies are still willing to negotiate with the right candidates. Just be aware that they may not have as much flexibility as they did a few years ago.

Today, the skill set is a given. We typically receive plenty of resumes that fit the bill. Our first question now is, “Will we enjoy having this person on the team?”

If you’re contemplating a lateral move within the same industry, you may have to accept a salary that’s lower than your current one (depending on how your current salary compares to the current market rate)—unless you’re lucky enough to work in a high-demand industry or occupation.

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Employment Outlook Experts predict that 2006 will bring a slow climb for the Bay Area job market, with a total of about 40,000 new jobs created during the year, compared to the 22,000 jobs created in 2005 (“No Boom Time, but Bay Area Economy Growing,” San Francisco Chronicle, 1/27/06). In 2007, the region is expected to continue to grow, with the creation of 55,000 new jobs throughout the year. Recent job growth in the region has come largely in the construction, financial services, and education and health services sectors, with growth strongest in the East Bay counties of Alameda and Contra Costa. As interest rates rise and the Bay Area real estate market softens, though, it’s unlikely that the construction and financial services sectors will continue the kind of growth they’ve seen lately. The tech sector, meanwhile, has been adding temporary employees of late, but has not seen notable full-time job creation. Specific industries and career areas expected to be hot for job seekers in 2006 include nursing, search technology, biotechnology, medicine, international trade and marketing, and energy (“Happy New Year…Now What?”, San Francisco Chronicle, 1/1/06).

Sources of Job Growth Certain jobs are expected to produce greater demand than others over the next six or seven years. Opportunities in professional and business services—the largest major industry sector in the Bay Area—is projected to account for 248,100 added jobs by 2012, nearly 30 percent of the region’s projected overall job growth. Some experts predict that higher demand in certain fields—for internal auditors, litigation professionals, biotech scientists, and lending experts—will lead to increased salary and hiring levels within those fields. Some experts predict that the Bay Area’s tech sector—the biggest contributor to the area’s unprecedented job losses in the last few years—may, ironically, also be the sector

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that ushers in the Bay Area’s recovery and eventual expansion. In August 2004, Wells Fargo’s chief economist predicted that ongoing research and development in consumer electronics applications, defense electronics and avionics, nanotechnology, and biotechnology will fuel Bay Area growth over the next several years. High-tech manufacturing job levels are likely to recover from their current levels, but the Bay Area’s direct manufacturing sector is not expected to grow. Instead, high-techrelated job growth will come in the professional and business services, information, and wholesale trade and transportation sectors.

Additional Factors Not all regions within the Bay Area are recovering at the same rate. Santa Clara County, the seat of the region’s technology empire, lost 18 percent of its private workforce between June 2001 and June 2004; during that same period, the East Bay (comprising Alameda and Contra Costa counties) lost only 4 percent of its work force. So it’s no surprise that the Silicon Valley job market isn’t recovering to previous employment and job-creation levels as quickly as other Bay Area job markets. The nationwide trend toward more temporary, contract, or hourly hires (usually without benefits) has been embraced by Bay Area businesses perhaps to a disproportionately large degree, as the pool of available skilled workers is so great.

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25 Fastest-Growing Occupations, San Francisco Metropolitan Statistical Area Rank

Occupation

Projected growth 2002–2012 (%)

1

Chemists

53.8

2

Biochemists and biophysicists

35.6

3

Chemical technicians

34.9

4

Environment engineers

32.7

5

Network systems and data communications analysts

32.7

6

Medical assistants

32.1

7

Respiratory therapists

30.6

8

Social and human services assistants

28.8

9

Biological technicians

25.7

10

Personal financial advisors

25.1

11

Pharmacists

24.5

12

Surgical technologists

24.4

13

Computer software engineers, systems software

24.2

14

Mental health and substance abuse social workers

23.6

15

Refuse and recyclable materials collectors

23.3

16

Management analysts

22.3

17

Drywall and ceiling tile installers

21.7

18

Database administrators

21.5

19

Medical records and health information technicians

21.3

20

Occupational therapists

20.0

21

Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers

19.2

22

Veterinary technologists and technicians

18.8

23

Dental hygienists

18.6

24

Pharmacy technicians

18.6

25

Plasterers and stucco masons

18.2

Source: California Employment Development Department: Marin/San Francisco/San Mateo Counties, 2002–2012.

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Job Hunting in San Francisco T h e S a n F r a n c i s co B ay A r e a

25 Fastest-Growing Occupations, Oakland Metropolitan Statistical Area Rank

Occupation

Projected growth 2002–2012 (%)

1

Hazardous materials removal workers

45.1

2

Respiratory therapists

37.3

3

Veterinary technologists and technicians

37.2

4

Social and human service assistants

35.8

5

Fitness trainers and aerobics instructors

33.4

6

Environmental engineers

31.8

7

Architects, except landscape and naval

30.9

8

Medical assistants

30.8

9

Self-enrichment education teachers

30.5

10

Insurance sales agents

29.8

11

Medical records and health information technicians

28.6

12

Home health aides

27.7

13

Mental health and substance abuse social workers

27.5

14

Medical scientists, except epidemiologists

27.4

15

Surveying and mapping technicians

26.8

16

Surgical technologists

26.2

17

Pharmacists

25.8

18

Tapers

25.5

19

Paralegals and legal assistants

25.0

20

Pharmacy technicians

24.8

21

Veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers

24.4

22

Drywall and ceiling tile installers

24.1

23

Computer software engineers, systems software

23.7

24

Registered nurses

23.4

25

Health specialties teachers, postsecondary

23.1

Source: California Employment Development Department: Alameda/Contra Costa Counties, 2002–2012.

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Job Hunting in San Francisco T h e S a n F r a n c i s co B ay A r e a

25 Fastest-Growing Occupations, San Jose Metropolitan Statistical Area Rank

Occupation

Projected growth 2002–2012 (%)

1

Personal financial advisors

68.9

2

Dental hygienists

50.5

3

Dental assistants

48.5

4

Refuse and recyclable materials collectors

47.1

5

Biochemists and biophysicists

43.8

6

Architects, except landscape and naval

40.0

7

Network systems and data communications analysts

37.3

8

Respiratory therapists

34.8

9

Medical records and health information technicians

34.7

10

Medical assistants

34.6

11

Self-enrichment education teachers

33.7

12

Home health aides

33.6

13

Social and human service assistants

33.3

14

Medical scientists, except epidemiologists

32.8

15

Mental health and substance abuse social workers

31.7

16

Personal and home care aides

31.3

17

Law teachers, postsecondary

30.9

18

Art, drama, and music teachers, postsecondary

30.6

19

Surgical technologists

30.0

20

Communications teachers, postsecondary

29.1

21

Business teachers, postsecondary

28.6

22

Health specialties teachers, postsecondary

27.8

23

Paralegals and legal assistants

27.2

24

Database administrators

26.8

25

Vocational education teachers, postsecondary

26.2

Source: California Employment Development Department: San Benito/Santa Clara Counties, 2002–2012.

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Job Hunting in San Francisco

Where the Jobs Are Getting Your Bearings Major Industries Major Careers Employer Rankings

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Job Hunting in San Francisco W h e r e t h e J o bs A r e

Getting Your Bearings Assessing the array of job opportunities in a metropolitan area the size of the Bay Area is no easy task. In this chapter, to help you get the lay of the land, we profile the region’s most promising industries and careers.

How We Arrived Here Bear with us for a moment as we explain what may at first appear to be arbitrary distinctions. In this chapter, career has a very specific definition: It refers to any functional occupation that spans unrelated industries, such as accounting, human resources, and marketing. The careers profiled in the “Major Careers” section are those that are more or less consistent across industries and thus tend to allow greater cross-industry job mobility for those employed in these ubiquitous fields. For example, a human resources (HR) manager with insurance industry experience need not limit his job search to opportunities with other insurance companies. He is just as likely to land an equivalent or better HR position in an altogether different industry. Why? Because his skill set and professional experience are assumed to be on a par with that of HR managers in other industries. Industry-specific knowledge and experience are not as valued in these professions as they are in others. Naturally, there are exceptions, but our insiders concur that this is generally the case. It’s worth noting that there are many careers other than those profiled in the “Major Careers” section, but few are as industry-independent. For example, “Analyst” and “Customer Service Representative” are job titles common to many industries, but the work for each varies considerably depending on the industry. For any occupation that relies heavily on industry-specific expertise, the candidate’s job search is better limited to the industry in question (and perhaps related industries).

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What does all this mean to you? As you review the information in this chapter and use it to target your own job search, you will need to answer the question: “Is the kind of work I hope to find specific to a few industries, or does it span many disparate ones?”

From Point A to B : How to Use this Chapter To get the most out of this chapter, find the job-seeker description that best matches your own preferences and follow the recommendations in that section.

Not a Clue What You Want to Do? If you aren’t sure what you want to do, don’t panic! Take a little time to enjoy the freedom of having so many options. We recommend that you read all of the profiles in this chapter and think seriously about which sound like a good match for your interests, strengths, education, and experience. As you think about which industries and careers might interest you, remember that it’s important to keep your focus neither too narrow nor too broad. In other words, don’t feel that you must narrow your selection to a single career or industry, but do force yourself to eliminate some options. Don’t allow yourself to be paralyzed by indecision: To ensure that your current vocational confusion doesn’t derail your job search before it starts, you should select at least two or three potential paths initially, so you can move forward and become accustomed to the process. Don’t worry! Your decisions aren’t final, and you are welcome—nay, encouraged—to reconsider your path should you find that it isn’t what you hoped for.

Know Where You Want to Go, But Not Sure How to Get There? If you have a general idea of the kind of work you’d like to pursue and have the appropriate educational background, some relevant experience, or both, your task is a little easier. You probably fit one of these two descriptions:

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Job Hunting in San Francisco W h e r e t h e J o bs A r e

You have a specific industry (or two) in mind but are unsure of the role you’d like to play within that industry. If this sounds like you, we recommend that you

review the industry profiles that match your interest first and then read the entire “Major Careers” section. While reading the industry and career profiles, think about which roles are consistent with your strengths, education, and experience. You may need to do some additional research online to learn about the positions that interest you. WetFeet.com provides dozens of career and industry profiles that, though not specific to the Bay Area, include job descriptions and much more that doesn’t appear in this book. You can also read WetFeet’s Real People Profiles online to learn how real people working in these fields describe what they do. Your goal is to identify several potential positions you want to target in your job search. Then you can use the relevant list of major industry players to get you thinking about the companies you want to consider. WetFeet also publishes Insider Guides to careers in a variety of industries; see the back of this book or go to www.wetfeet.com to learn more about them. These go deep into the information you’ll need to know to decide on the right career and find the right job. You are drawn to a specific career but unsure of which industries to target. If

this describes you, we recommend that you start out by flipping to the “Major Careers” section first and determining whether your desired career is profiled there. If it is, read that profile and then flip back to the “Major Industries” section. Read through the industry profiles and focus on those that interest you. You can target your job search across several industries if appropriate. To learn even more, do your own research online with WetFeet.com’s career and industry profiles. And don’t forget to check out the additional resources included at the end of each profile in this chapter.

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Don’t despair if your career of choice is not profiled in the “Major Careers” section. That just means you’ll be targeting a smaller set of potential industries. You will need to read the “Major Industries” profiles to find out which industries are appropriate targets for your job search. Keep in mind that these profiles are not exhaustive: If your career isn’t mentioned in an industry profile that otherwise interests you, use your own judgment and understanding of the career to consider whether it’s likely to be a role prevalent in that industry. If you’re still not sure, you can easily check the “Careers” section of the largest industry players’ websites to see whether they fill positions that are comparable to your hopedfor career. And be sure to check out WetFeet’s Insider Guide series to see if there’s an in-depth guide covering the career you’re interested in.

So, You’ve Always Wanted to Be a…? If you have your heart set on a career in the biotech industry, for example, by all means, go directly to that profile. But, after you’ve finished reading that profile, spend some time reading the “Major Careers” section, because most of those profiles will also be relevant to the industry nearest and dearest to your heart. Once you’ve done some thinking about the specific types of positions you will look for, you can start by targeting the major industry players listed for your dream industry. Perhaps your clarity of purpose, professionally speaking, is the result of hard-earned experience. You have worked in your target career, industry, or both for at least a few years and you bought this book already armed with a clear idea of the kind of work you will be pursuing. If this describes you, go ahead and skip to the industry and career profiles that are relevant to your job search. There you’ll find specific information about what distinguishes this industry as it’s represented in the Bay Area, including average salaries and leading Bay Area companies.

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Major Industries The thirteen Bay Area industries profiled here dominate the region’s employment landscape: They are the top hirers and employers, and they generate the most interest among job seekers. These profiles are not intended to provide in-depth information about the nationwide state of these industries or other detailed information that is not unique or specific to the San Francisco Bay Area market. That information is readily available elsewhere, and including it here would only result in a tome of phone-book proportions. Instead, we have included general industry information only as it relates to hiring, recent trends, and where otherwise needed for context. Each industry profile describes the current state of the industry in the Bay Area, relevant national trends, job prospects for the near future, average Bay Area salaries for key jobs, a list of top industry players that have their U.S. headquarters in the Bay Area or have a presence in the region that represents a significant portion of the company’s total U.S. business. Each profile concludes with a list of additional resources that readers are encouraged to consult. The following industries are profiled in this section:

48

•

Advertising and public relations

•

Biotechnology

•

Consulting

•

Education

•

Financial services and insurance

•

Health care

Job Hunting in San Francisco W h e r e t h e J o bs A r e

•

Information technology

•

Law

•

Manufacturing

•

Real estate

•

Retail trade

•

Tourism and hospitality

•

Venture capital

Advertising and Public Relations Like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., San Francisco is a hub for the advertising and public relations industries. In the past few years, these industries have been decimated in the Bay Area, as hundreds of dotcoms folded and bigger companies saw poor financial results. (Remember all those expensive dotcom Super Bowl ads from a few years back? A lot of those companies are no longer in business— and, like their more traditional, brick-and-mortar corporate America cousins, those that have survived are much less willing to plunk down millions of dollars on advertis-

F a m i l y - F r i e n d l y Em p l o y e r s

Working Mother magazine named four Bay Area employers to its 2005 list of the “100 Best Companies for Working Mothers”:

Cisco Genentech Hewlett-Packard Intel

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ing or PR.) For a few years, many advertising and PR agencies were forced to lay off employees, close offices, and cut or freeze salaries. This industry-wide trend hit hard in the Bay Area; indeed, in recent years, some major industry players—including Arnold Worldwide and Saatchi & Saatchi—closed their San Francisco offices altogether. Nonetheless, advertising and public relations in the Bay Area—like anywhere else—remain attractive industries to many job seekers. And the good news is that companies have started to spend again, though not at the levels of the late 1990s. Today, according to the California Employment Development Department, the advertising industry employs slightly more than 7,000 people in San Francisco.

Job Prospects Fortunately for those in the industry (and those looking to get into it), things are looking up; as advertising and PR spending increases, agencies are finally beginning to add a trickle of new jobs. As one insider says, “It’s not a great time in the history of advertising to get employment, but the employment climate does seem to be picking up.” Though this is good news for job seekers, keep in mind that you’ll still face stiff competition if you want a career in advertising or PR. Add that it’s exceedingly difficult to start in this industry in anything but an entry-level position, and you have a whole lot of competition for relatively few low-paying jobs. So, if you want to work in advertising, be prepared to start at the bottom and work your contacts to get interviews. Although some of the bigger agencies do recruit on campus for entry-level accountmanagement hires, most entry-level hires are not recruited. The easiest routes into the marketing and business side of advertising are entry-level media positions and administrative assistant positions. They don’t pay that well, and they involve lots of grunt work, but you’ll get a chance to show your stuff and get promoted. If you’re a creative, you can’t get a job in advertising without a book of your work. For entry-level copywriting or art-direction positions, this means designing and producing mock advertisements.

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Key Advertising & PR Jobs Key Job Account executive, advertising Advertising manager Art director Copywriter

Median San Francisco Salary ($) 73,561 95,550 117,117 46,298–87,684*

Creative director

102,843

Graphic designer

53,158

Public relations specialist Senior account executive, advertising

46,953–92,719* 94,543

Note: Figures do not include bonuses, which can vary widely. *Depending on skill set and seniority. Sources: Salary.com; WetFeet analysis.

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Key Bay Area Advertising Firms Firm

Employees Bay Area

Total

McCann Worldgroup

560

20,000

Goodby, Silverstein & Partners

280

300

www.goodbysilverstein.com

Publicis & Hal Riney

205

205

www.hrp.com

Foote Cone & Belding

165

n/a

www.fcb.com

DDB San Francisco

130

15,000

Publicis Dialog

125

125

www.publicis-usa.com

AKQA

115

332

www.akqa.com

www.mccann.com

www.caratfusion.com

www.ddbsf.com

Carat Fusion

98

160

Y&R San Francisco

90

12,700

www.yr.com

Euro RSCG San Francisco

70

11,000

www.eurorscg.com

Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners

70

70

www.bsands.com

Real Branding

55

55

www.realbranding.com

BBDO West

50

17,200

Maiden Lane

49

49

www.maidenlane.com

Hoffman/Lewis

48

58

www.hoffmanlewis.com

Venables Bell & Partners

48

48

www.venablesbell.com

Gyro International

48

350

www.gyrogroup.com

TBWA/Chiat/Day, San Francisco

47

795

www.tbwachiat.com

Pickett Advertising

35

35

www.pickett-sf.com

BuderEngel and Friends

35

35

www.buderengel.com

Wirestone

30

150

www.wirestone.com

Collaborate

27

51

www.collaboratesf.com

Gauger & Associates

25

25

www.gauger-associates.com

Amazon Advertising

24

24

www.amazonadv.com

Grant, Scott & Hurley

24

24

www.gshsf.com

Source: San Francisco Business Times Book of Lists, 2006; Hoover’s.

52

Website

www.bbdo.com

Job Hunting in San Francisco W h e r e t h e J o bs A r e

Key Privately Held Bay Area PR Firms Firm

Employees

Website

Bay Area

Total

A&R Partners

70

85

Text 100

60

475

www.text100.com

Schwartz Communications

45

164

www.schwartz-pr.com

Access Communications

39

45

www.accesspr.com

Neale-May & Partners

32

44

www.nealemay.com

Voce Communications

30

30

www.vocecomm.com

Edelman

24

1,800

Horn Group

23

50

www.horngroup.com

Ruder Finn

17

646

www.ruderfinn.com

Singer Associates

15

15

www.singersf.com

Atomic Public Relations

14

14

www.atomicpr.com

Landis Communications

14

14

www.landispr.com

SHIFT Communications

14

51

LEWIS Communications

12

158

www.lewispr.com

Torme Lauricella

12

12

www.torme.com

Allison | Blattel Professional Services Group

11

11

www.blattel.com

MacKenzie Communications

10

10

www.mackenziesf.com

LaunchSquad

10

10

www.launchsquad.com

Solem & Associates

www.arpartners.com

www.edelman.com

www.shiftcomm.com

10

10

www.solem.com

Connect Public Relations

9

22

www.connectpr.com

Brown Miller Communications

7

7

Gibbs & Soell

6

108

www.gibbs-soell.com

EVC Group

5

10

www.evcgroup.com

HighTech Connect

4

4

www.htconnect.com

Gallen.Neilly & Associates

4

4

www.gallen.com

www.brownmillerpr.com

Source: San Francisco Business Times Book of Lists, 2006.

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Resources Aaaagencysearch.com (www.aaaagencysearch.com) Ad+ Silicon Valley (www.adclubsv.org) Advertising Age (www.adage.com) Advertising Media Internet Center (www.amic.com) Advertising Research Foundation (www.arfsite.org) Adweek (www.adweek.com) American Association of Advertising Agencies (www.aaaa.org) Association of National Advertisers (www.ana.net) Careers in Advertising & Public Relations (WetFeet Insider Guide, available from www.wetfeet.com) New York Times Media & Advertising section (www.nytimes.com/pages/business/media) PRWeek (www.prweek.com) Public Relations Society of America: San Francisco Bay Area Chapter (www.prsasf.org) Public Relations Society of America: Silicon Valley Chapter (www.siliconprsa.org) San Francisco Bay Area Publicity Club (www.sfpublicityclub.org) San Francisco Public Relations Roundtable (www.prinsite.com/prinsite/nr/default.asp?page=main&siteid=36) SF Advertising (www.sfadclub.com)

Biotechnology Without a doubt, the Bay Area is the biotechnology capital of the world. It’s also the birthplace of the industry itself: Industry giant Genentech, the first biotechnology firm, was founded in the Bay Area in 1976. Now, the Bay Area boasts the biggest concentration of biotech firms in the world. It’s still home to Genentech, as well as other industry giants such as Chiron, Gilead Sciences, Bayer, Berlex, Applied Biosystems, Exelixis, and Genencor. Not only are more bioscience companies located in northern California than anywhere else in the world, but an average of 30 additional companies are founded each year in this region, according to BayBio.

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A number of factors contribute to the region’s appeal to biotech companies. The Bay Area offers a wealth of first-tier life science research and medical care institutions: five major research universities and three medical schools. In addition, the industry’s longstanding presence in the Bay Area ensures that both new and established biotech firms have access to a pool of qualified managers, employees, and consultants who are experienced in the life science field, as well as an existing infrastructure of bio-specific financial, legal, and accounting services. Equally important is the proximity of venture capitalists, who provide funding to sustain ongoing research and development in the industry. In the second quarter of 2004, VC investment activity in biotech exceeded VC investment in the software industry for the first time ever. All told, the 800-plus life science firms in the Bay Area employ more than 85,000 people directly. The industry employs a wide range of workers, from animal handlers and greenhouse assistants to scientists and bioinformatics specialists. Education requirements—not surprisingly—reflect the diversity of available jobs. Some jobs require only a high school diploma, whereas others require a doctorate degree. However, many biotech jobs pay quite well.

Job Prospects Employment in the biotech sector is increasing across the state of California, with the Bay Area leading the charge. Over the next ten years, annual job growth in the industry is expected to average 5 to 9 percent, according to an A.T. Kearney study. Some experts suggest that the research and product development function will drive the majority— almost 60 percent—of this growth. Jobs in regulatory functions will drive another 10 to 15 percent, as will business functions. Other functions will account for the remainder of biotech job growth. Job opportunities in biotech aren’t limited to those with related professional experience or scientific backgrounds. The biotech explosion in the Bay Area has created a range of positions, even for individuals without industry experience or multiple academic degrees

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in the sciences. Even if you’re not currently employed in biotech, there are ample opportunities to transfer the skills you’ve learned in other industries and disciplines: marketing, technology, and administrative positions, for example. One factor that will have an impact—not only on the number of people working in the industry but on what jobs they will be doing: the industry’s move into manufacturing. In the past, most drug and biotech manufacturing has been contracted out; this trend appears to be changing. As manufacturing jobs become more prevalent in this field, there is likely to be an increased interest on the part of job applicants with two-year degrees. In addition, biotech career opportunities extend well beyond the research firms themselves: A variety of third-party vendors that cater to biotech companies are also expanding as the industry continues to grow (“New Therapies Are Creating a Job Explosion in the Bay Area,” San Francisco Chronicle, 1/16/2005).

Key Biotech Jobs Key Job

Median San Francisco Salary ($)

Biochemist Biomedical engineer

55,257–104,945*

Biostatistician

73,224–145,897*

Business development manager

110,157

Business development director

144,380

Chemist Clinical research associate Clinical research manager Laboratory assistant Quality assurance engineer

51,046–108,618* 60,379–86,670* 111,524 41,137 57,667–105,466*

Quality assurance specialist

53,541–98,829*

Regulatory affairs specialist

57,511–104,862*

Sales representative

64,329

Senior sales representative

76,952

Note: Figures do not include bonuses, which can vary widely. *Depending on skill set and seniority. Sources: Salary.com; WetFeet analysis.

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49,221–67,702*

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Top Bay Area Biotech Companies Organization

2005 Revenue ($M)

Genentech

6,633

Chiron

Employees Bay Area 6,500

Total 8,000

Website www.gene.com

1,920

2,250

5,400

www.chiron.com

Roche Palo Alto

643

1,500

5,000

http://paloalto.roche.com

Gilead Sciences

2,028

750

1,600

www.gilead.com

ALZA

n/a

600

600

1,700

490

3,500

Affymetrix

368

468

900

PDL Biopharma

Roche Molecular Systems

www.alza.com www.rochediagnostics.com www.affymetrix.com

280

460

800

www.pdl.com

Exelixis

76

436

517

www.exelixis.com

Scios

n/a

427

427

www.sciosinc.com

380

2,350

350

627

Berlex

1,324*

www.berlex.com

CV Therapeutics

19

IMPAX Laboratories

n/a

350

500

www.impaxlabs.com

5

305

377

www.cellgenesys.com

12,430

300

14,000

BioMarin

26

300

370

www.biomarinpharm.com

Theravance

12

280

280

www.theravance.com

410*

258

1,271

Cepheid

85

245

264

www.cepheid.com

Monogram Biosciences

48

225

250

www.monogrambio.com

Thoratec

202

225

914

www.thoratec.com

InterMune

111

215

326

www.intermune.com

31

200

530

www.celera.com

184

182

312

www.connectics.com

Cell Genesys Amgen

Genencor International

Celera Genomics Connetics

www.cvt.com

www.amgen.com

www.genencor.com

*2004 figure. **Acquired Abgenix in early 2006; employee and revenue numbers not reflected here. Sources: San Francisco Business Times Book of Lists, 2006; Hoover’s.

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Resources American Chemical Society (www.chemistry.org) BayBio (Northern California’s Biosciences Association) (www.baybio.org) Biotechnology Industry Organization (www.bio.org) Biotechnology Knowledge Center (www.biotechknowledge.com) California Healthcare Institute (www.chi.org) Careers in Biotech & Pharmaceuticals (WetFeet Insider Guide, available from www.wetfeet.com) Glossary of Biotechnology Terms (www.biotechterms.org)

Consulting Virtually all of the major strategy consulting firms—McKinsey, Bain, the Boston Consulting Group, and Booz Allen Hamilton—maintain one or more offices in the Bay Area, as do all of the Big Four consulting firms (Deloitte, Capgemini, BearingPoint, IBM) and a host of smaller, specialized boutique consulting firms. Not surprisingly, the preponderance of information technology, biotech, and medical device companies in the Bay Area means that consulting services for these types of clients drives much of the revenue generated by these regional offices. The slowdown in IT spending during the early part of the decade hit Bay Area IT consulting practices hard; even now, the IT consulting industry is very much in recovery mode. Instead of engaging consultants reactively (and sometimes impulsively), clients are now much more selective about importing IT expertise, insisting that consultants offer a significant and measurable return on investment to their enterprises. According to one insider, clients are becoming “more savvy and more mature…and much, much more specific about what they want to buy.” Companies are still shy on IT investments—and thus enlist the help of external consultants less frequently than they once did—and are taking longer than ever to make IT investment decisions.

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Health-care consulting, on the other hand, has proved to be remarkably resilient in spite of the economic downturn that characterized the early part of the decade. In 2002 (when revenues in other areas of consulting were flat), health-care consulting revenues actually posted modest growth. According to Kennedy Information, this trend is likely to continue over the next several years, as growth in health-care consulting will far outpace revenue growth in all other consulting sectors. This growth bodes well for Bay Area consulting firms whose health-care practices cater to the life science segment— particularly the biotech firms headquartered in the region. In the life science segment, the search for “blockbuster” drugs (those that generate more than $1 billion in annual revenue) is propelling demand for consulting services, as is the increasingly complex regulatory environment that firms must navigate to bring products to market. Large consulting firms hire undergraduates and MBAs from top business schools or recruit specialists directly from the competition, or from industry. Opportunities also exist with small firms, boutiques, and sole proprietorships composed of technical specialists such as information technologists or marketing consultants. The fastest-growing segments of this market are systems analysis and administrative services managers.

Job Prospects Consulting has, again, become a hot ticket for undergraduates and MBAs. Although the general mood among recruiters would be better described as cautious optimism rather than carefree exuberance, insiders report that recruiting was up significantly in the 2005–06 season at the larger firms and stable at boutique shops. These days, most consulting firms are looking for more experienced hires. “For the preMBA, it would be advantageous to make sure they’re getting some serious, substantial experience for the type of client engagements they want to work in post-MBA,” an insider says. “Some MBAs will look at the summer associate program as an opportunity to try something completely different. But if they’re trying something for variety, and they want to work in a post-MBA position in a field different than their summer position, they’re putting themselves at a disadvantage.”

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Although the competition at top firms is especially intense, the qualities sought by recruiters from firms of all sizes are similar. Besides outstanding academic records, firms want people who are problem solvers, creative thinkers, and good communicators; who have a keen understanding of and interest in business. Top candidates will also have previous experience in the business world (consulting internships are impressive but not required) and a record of extracurricular achievement. Firms specializing in IT consulting or e-business may require relevant technical skills and experience. Most firms offer internships to highly qualified undergraduates. Competition for internships can be even more intense than for permanent positions, but a successful internship can dramatically increase a candidate’s chances of getting an offer after graduation.

Key Consulting Jobs Key Job Education consultant

95,905

Entry-level management consulting analyst (BA/BS)

48,200

Entry-level management consulting associate (MBA)

105,000

Information services consultant

112,404

Organizational development consultant

102,454

Note: Figures do not include bonuses, which can vary widely. *Depending on skill set and seniority. Sources: Salary.com; WetFeet research and analysis.

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Median San Francisco Salary ($)

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Largest Bay Area Management Consulting Firms Bay Area Consultants

Firmwide Consultants

1,393

123,000

www.accenture.com

Capgemini

250

59,324

www.capgemini.com

Deloitte Consulting

244

n/a

www.deloitte.com

M Squared Consulting

210

320

www.msquared.com

Triage Consulting Group

161

161

www.triageconsulting.com

Booz Allen Hamilton

140

17,000

Watson Wyatt

140

6,000

www.watsonwyatt.com

Navigant Consulting

121

1,504

www.navigantconsulting.com

SageGroup Strategies

95

715

www.sagegroupstrategies.com

Protiviti

80

1,000

www.protiviti.com

Mercer Human Resource Consulting

75

18,900

www.mercerhr.com

A.T. Kearney Inc.

60

2,000

www.atkearney.com

HFS Consultants

60

n/a

www.hfsconsultants.com

Compensation Design Group

57

454

www.cdgworldwide.com

Aon Consulting

52

7,540

Hewitt Assoc.

48

17,000

Kurt Salmon Assoc.

40

600

www.kurtsalmon.com

Milliman

35

875

www.milliman.com

Regent Pacific Management Corp.

35

35

www.regent-pacific.com

De Candia International

33

42

www.decandia.com

Strategic Decisions Group

30

80

www.sdg.com

Armanino McKenna

28

28

www.amllp.com

Archstone Consulting

21

100

Right Management Consultants

20

1,500

Advantage Performance Group

9

31

Firm Accenture

Website

www.boozallen.com

www.aon.com www.hewitt.com

www.archstoneconsulting.com www.right.com www.advantageperformance.com

Source: San Francisco Business Times Book of Lists, 2006.

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Resources Ace Your Case!® series of case interview guides* Careers in Management Consulting* Consulting Central (www.consultingcentral.com) Consulting Magazine (www.consultingmag.com) Institute of Management Consultants USA (www.imcusa.org) Institute of Management Consultants, Northern California Chapter (www.imcnorcal.org) Killer Consulting Resumes* McKinsey Quarterly (www.mckinseyquarterly.com) Specialized Consulting Careers: Health Care, Human Resources, and Information Technology* 25 Top Consulting Firms* WetFeet Insider Guides to Accenture, Bain & Company, The Boston Consulting Group, Deloitte Consulting, and McKinsey & Company* *WetFeet Insider Guides are available online at www.wetfeet.com.

Education According to the California Employment Development Department, about 75,000 individuals in the Bay Area are employed in educational services. This sector encompasses everything from jobs with public school districts and private elementary and secondary schools, to jobs with the region’s many institutions of higher education, to jobs in adult education and at for-profit education-focused organizations, such as the expanding number of education-focused Internet startups in the Bay Area. During the 2002–03 academic year, average teacher salaries were higher in California than they were anywhere else in the country—almost $56,000 per year, according to the American Federation of Teachers. (These figures are the most recently available as of press time.) Unfortunately, the Bay Area’s sky-high cost of living chips away at teachers’ income quickly, and many teachers find they can’t afford to live in the communities where they teach.

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Job Prospects Overall, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the number of people employed in elementary and secondary education is expected to grow at the same rate as the average for all other occupations—but because many teachers are reaching retirement age, aspiring educators will have excellent job prospects. In the state of California, 10 of the 50 occupations with the fastest expected job growth are in education: At the postsecondary level, demand for teachers in art, drama, music, health, and English language and literature will increase rapidly between 2002 and 2012. During this same period, demand for vocational teachers and graduate teaching assistants will increase as well. Opportunities in special education—at all grade levels—are also on the rise. In San Francisco County, the education-related occupations experiencing the most rapid job growth include special education teachers, secondary school teachers, graduate teaching assistants, and postsecondary health and vocational education. Professional opportunities in education aren’t limited to teaching positions, however. Higher education in particular provides a host of opportunities for positions rarely found in the K–12 segment: investment manager, alumni fundraiser, financial-aid officer, admissions officer, buildings and grounds manager, and the like. The number of colleges and universities in the area—including UC Berkeley, Stanford, and UCSF (just to name a few)—are among the region’s largest employers, offering numerous job opportunities in both teaching and administration. In most cases, if you want to teach K–12, you’ll have to get certification; for collegelevel positions, a master’s, at least, is necessary. If you don’t have the credentials, though, don’t despair. Lots of recent college grads find positions at education-oriented businesses to get a taste of teaching before moving on to more traditional paths. Others go on to make a career out of educational services work. Such organizations prefer experienced hires, but many will train new employees or expect them to learn on the job. Positions with these organizations can offer opportunities for international travel and business experience. Downsides for job seekers include low pay, little job security, and few chances for advancement.

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Key Education Jobs Key Job

48,328

Assistant professor, business administration

86,701

Assistant professor, liberal arts

55,688

Assistant professor, physics

63,123

Associate professor, business administration

93,540

Associate professor, liberal arts

66,910

Associate professor, physics

74,943

College/university admissions representative

39,768

College/university chief admissions officer

90,042

College/university chief development officer

144,573

District superintendent

85,231

Elementary school teacher

55,629

Financial aid counselor

40,564

Financial aid director

79,655

High school teacher

58,005

Principal Professor, business administration Professor, liberal arts Professor, physics Note: Figures do not include bonuses, which can vary widely. *Depending on skill set and seniority. Sources: Salary.com; WetFeet analysis.

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Median San Francisco Salary ($)

Adult education teacher

83,866 118,567 86,341 107,181

Job Hunting in San Francisco W h e r e t h e J o bs A r e

Key Bay Area Educational Organizations Organization

Location

Employees

University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley

21,035

Website www.berkeley.edu

University of California, San Francisco

San Francisco

18,600

www.ucsf.edu

Stanford University

Palo Alto

10,537

www.stanford.edu

San Francisco Unified School District

San Francisco

7,241

www.sfusd.edu

Oakland Unified School District

Oakland

5,641

www.ousd.k12.ca.us

Mount Diablo Unified School District

Concord

3,561

www.mdusd.k12.ca.us

San Jose State University

San Jose

3,200

www.sjsu.edu

San Francisco State University

San Francisco

3,072

www.sfsu.edu

City College of San Francisco

San Francisco

2,763

www.ccsf.edu

Fremont Unified School District

Fremont

2,570

www.fremont.k12.us

California State University, East Bay

Hayward

1,805

www.csuhayward.com

Chabot-Las Positas Community College District

Pleasanton

1,500

www.chabotcollege.edu

Santa Clara University

Santa Clara

1,431

www.scu.edu

University of San Francisco

San Francisco

1,200

www.usfca.edu

Novato Unified School District

Novato

789

www.nusd.org

Dominican University of California

San Rafael

425

www.dominican.edu

Tamalpais Union High School District

Larkspur

412

www.tamdistrict.org

Mills College

Oakland

350

www.mills.edu

College of Marin

Kentfield

340

www.marin.cc.ca.us

San Rafael City HS District

San Rafael

261

www.srcs.org

Sources: San Francisco Business Times Book of Lists, 2006; Hoover’s.

Resources American Federation of Teachers (www.aft.org) American Teacher (www.aft.org/pubs-reports/american_teacher) Association of California School Administrators (www.acsa.org) Association of Career and Technical Education (www.acteonline.org)

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California Association of Independent Schools (www.caisca.org) California Teachers Association (www.cta.org) The Chronicle of Higher Education (chronicle.com) Education Week (www.edweek.org) National Education Association (www.nea.org) Northern California’s Higher Education Recruitment Consortium (www.norcalherc.org/ikorb.php) San Francisco Early Childhood Professional Development Project (www.childrenscouncil.org/providers/career-resource.aspx) WetFeet’s Education Career Profile (www.wetfeet.com/content/careers.aspx)

Financial Services and Insurance The U.S. financial market is the largest in the world, but it is gradually losing ground to global competition. In particular, retail savings and investment have experienced low growth. Many industry employers downsized dramatically between 2001 and 2004 and are just beginning to replenish headcounts. Additional streamlining of services and profitability will continue to be a focus in this sector. Mergers and consolidations have caused a massive reshuffling in competitive rankings and resulted in mass layoffs at a number of institutions. As of February 2006, the financial services and insurance sectors accounted for approximately 140,000 jobs in the Bay Area. One of the highest-paying (and hardest-working) industries, finance offers jobs for recent undergraduate and business school graduates. In addition to traditional jobs in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt sales and trading, and asset management, this industry hires a range of supporting functions such as human resources, IT, and operations.

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U.S. insurance companies offer personal and commercial product lines that include basic health/life and property/casualty protection as well as a long list of other coverage types ranging from automobiles to mortgages to insurance for insurance companies (known as reinsurance). These products protect customers from losses resulting from illegal actions, medical needs, theft, earthquakes, hurricanes, and a variety of other causes. Insurance companies also function as financiers, deriving a large part of their revenue from investments. Insurance companies must maintain enormous reserves of capital to back up potential claims obligations. They invest those reserves in stocks, bonds, and real estate in the United States and overseas, providing an enormous amount of liquidity to financial markets and making the industry’s influence on the national economy far out of proportion to its size.

Consumer Banking According to an Employment Development Department (EDD) report, commercial banks in San Francisco, Marin, and San Mateo counties employ about 20,000 individuals. Office and administrative support workers constitute nearly seven in ten jobs; tellers account for more than one in four jobs. Bank tellers handle customers’ deposits and withdrawals, change money, sell money orders and traveler’s checks, and accept payment for loans and utility bills. Increasingly, tellers also are selling bank services to customers. In addition to tellers, consumer banks also employ large numbers of new accounts clerks and customer service representatives, who answer questions from customers, resolve customer complaints, and help clients to open and close accounts, apply for various banking services, and complete routine transactions. Banks also hire loan and credit clerks to assemble and prepare paperwork, process applications, and complete the documentation after a loan or line of credit has been approved. In an effort to attract and retain banking clients, consumer banks are taking a cue from the retail industry and are focusing unrelentingly on customer service, adding bank branches and ATM locations that improve their visibility and accessibility to consumers.

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Slowly but surely, the trend toward consolidation in the banking industry is creating a handful of large, powerful megabanks that must compete fiercely to attract and retain customers. Banking firms of all sizes—from tiny community-based savings associations to vast national bank holding companies, are continuing to merge, seeking marketing opportunities and operating efficiencies through consolidation. These megamergers lead not only to the creation of national and international bank chains such as Wells Fargo and Chase, but the consolidation of back-office staff (read: job losses) as well. When Bank of America (the nation’s third-largest bank and a major Bay Area employer) acquired Fleet Financial Group in 2004, for example, BofA announced that it would cut approximately 17,000 jobs to improve operating efficiencies within the postmerger company. Back-office employees were affected most severely by these cuts. The largest Bay Area consumer banks include Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Union Bank of California, Greater Bay Bancorp, and Washington Mutual.

Retail Brokerage With the tremendous proliferation of 401(k)s, IRAs, and other types of retirement plans during the 1990s, more people than ever before can now be classified as investors, either directly or indirectly. The choices for the small-time investor have never been greater, and they include stocks, bonds, mutual funds, real estate trusts, individually managed accounts, and various alternative investments. There’s also a range of investment vehicle options available should one have an itch to invest, which include traditional full-service firms, discount brokerages, and do-it-yourself online trading. In the Bay Area, Charles Schwab is the largest single employer in the retail brokerage category. But Schwab has undergone a number of painful rounds of layoffs in recent years.

Securities and Investments Historically, the field of securities and investments has been the domain of a few Wall Street firms, and San Francisco has been considered the center for smaller, niche players

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(otherwise known as boutique investment banks). Indeed, industry powerhouses such as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley dominate the market for U.S. securities offerings; nonetheless, a small group of San Francisco investment banks—most notably WR Hambrecht and Thomas Weisel Partners—have fared well in recent years in the industry league tables for both initial public offerings (IPOs) and total equity offerings. In addition, smaller regional investment firms such as Pacific Growth Equities, ThinkEquity Partners, and WR Hambrecht are also making a legitimate play for investment banking business. With their emphasis on growth-stock research and their proximity to Silicon Valley’s tech and biotech firms, boutique banks like these are in many ways better positioned than the larger New York securities firms to identify small growth companies. In addition to these regional investment banking and securities firms, virtually all of the major investment banks—Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley, and J.P. Morgan Chase—maintain regional offices in the Bay Area: typically either in the City or on the Peninsula in Menlo Park or Palo Alto.

Insurance According to the EDD, approximately 20,000 people are employed in the insurance business in the San Francisco metropolitan area; these jobs are typically in one of three major capacities: insurers, buyers, and the brokers who sit in between the two, distributing products. Over the past few years, many of the trends that have characterized the consumer banking landscape have altered the insurance industry as well. Insurance company mergers occurred at a particularly rapid pace between 2001 and 2004, and industry experts predict continued consolidation over the next few years, which will ultimately limit job growth in the field. According to the BLS, the medical services and health insurance sectors are growing, and the industry continues to expand into the broader financial services field.

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The insurance industry has also been under intense scrutiny since October 2004, when New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer sued Marsh & McLennan for allegedly rigging bids and accepting payments in return for steering business to favored insurers. Industry experts still don’t know exactly how the investigation will affect the industry in the long term, but many suggest that it could change everything from the way policies are sold to how the business is regulated. Major insurance companies with a presence in the Bay Area include Zurich North America, State Farm, American International Group, Allstate Insurance, California State Automobile Association (AAA), and Allianz.

Job Prospects Consumer banking. As consolidation and automation make banks more efficient,

employment in the consumer banking segment is projected to grow more slowly than in other segments of the financial services industry. The combined effects of technology, deregulation, and mergers will continue to affect total employment growth and the mix of occupations in the banking industry. Overall declines in office and administrative support occupations will be offset by growth in professional, managerial, and sales occupations: in particular, customer service representatives, and securities and financial services sales professionals. Retail brokerage. Companies in this sector catering to lower-end investors, the dis-

count brokers, are still smarting from their past wild exuberance. In general, though, the downward spiral seems to have stopped, and some insiders feel that the industry can’t continue to grow without doing some substantial hiring. Additionally, top-tier firms always have open slots for new talent. Securities and investment. The securities and investment segment of the financial

services industry is still recovering from the technology shakeout of the early 2000s as well, and while all signs seem to be pointing in the right direction, experts advise that

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a full recovery won’t happen overnight. When the dotcom bubble burst a few years back, securities and brokerage firms in San Francisco, San Mateo, and Marin counties slashed 20 percent of head count—totaling 6,000 jobs—between January 2001 and May 2003, according to the Employment Development Department (EDD) (“Return of the Bankers: New Firms Begin Gearing Up to Catch the Growing Wave of Technology IPOs,” San Francisco Chronicle, 1/25/2004). Regional employment levels in the securities industry have remained significantly lower than their all-time highs (i.e., 30,300 in 2001), and thanks to the trend toward consolidation in the financial services industry, truly regional investment banks in the Bay Area are a rarity. Nonetheless, hiring activity in the industry seems to be picking up, thanks in part to a recovery currently underway in the technology IPO market. Larger, New York–based securities firms will continue to hire recent grads from both undergraduate and MBA programs for their Bay Area offices; however, recruiting for these firms’ investment banking divisions is almost always handled centrally through their headquarters in New York. Insurance. While no industry offers genuine job security in today’s economy, insur-

ance offers more security than most. Ongoing industry consolidation and technological advances, however, mean that many of the industry’s traditional roles are not likely to see significant job growth. Insurance agent and underwriter positions are expected to experience the most job losses due to increased use of technology. However, job opportunities in some functional roles are expected to grow. For instance, adjusters will not be replaced by technology—face-to-face interaction with the customer is key to this job function, so this area should see solid employment growth. And agents who can sell a variety of insurance types or financial services will face much better prospects than traditional insurance agents.

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Key Finance and Insurance Jobs Key Job

Median San Francisco Salary

Actuary

$57,410–129,929*

Bank teller

$25,831–31,450*

Branch manager

$54,647–69,717*

Commercial credit analyst

$44,504–91,910*

Commercial loan officer

$64,578–122,784*

Consumer credit analyst

$43,059–68,066*

Consumer loan officer

$41,001–51,925*

Discount brokerage sales rep

$47,578

Insurance claims adjuster

$52,738

Insurance claims analyst

$33,389

Insurance claims examiner

$40,278

Insurance sales agent

$42,296

Investment specialist Private banker Securities analyst

$88,946

Senior insurance claims examiner

$52,955

Stock broker

$59,650

Note: Figures do not include bonuses, which can vary widely. *Depending on skill set and seniority. Sources: Salary.com; WetFeet analysis.

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$79,982 $63,484–119,582*

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Largest Banks in the Bay Area 2004 Bay Area Branch Deposits ($million)

2005 Total Employees

Bank of America

43,865

176,638

www.bankofamerica.com

Wells Fargo

26,081

153,500

www.wellsfargo.com

Citibank (West) FSB

15,116

173,378*

www.citibank.com

Union Bank of California

11,893

9,848

www.uboc.com

Washington Mutual

11,272

60,798

www.wamu.com

7,029

11,604

www.worldsavings.com

Company

World Savings

Website

Bank of the West

6,175

7,336*

www.bankofthewest.com

Comerica Bank

5,804

11,343

www.comerica.com

U.S. Bank

2,968

49,684

www.usbank.com

United Commercial Bank

2,472

925

www.ibankunited.com

*2004 figure. Sources: San Francisco Business Times Book of Lists, 2006; Hoover’s.

Key Investment Banking Firms in the Bay Area 2005 Revenue ($ millions)

2005 Total Employees

JPMorgan Chase

79,902

168,847

www.jpmorganchase.com

Morgan Stanley

51,770

53,218

www.morganstanley.com

Merrill Lynch

47,783

54,600

www.ml.com

Goldman Sachs

43,391

31,005

www.gs.com

Company

Website

Lehman Brothers

32,420

22,900

www.lehman.com

Citigroup Global Markets

23,065*

40,000*

www.citigroupcib.com

1,380

2,191

www.lazard.com www.bofa.com

Lazard Banc of America Securities

414

4,200

UBS Investment Bank

4,500*

16,000*

www.ibb.ubs.com

Credit Suisse (USA)

7,025

10,899

www.credit-suisse.com

*2004 figure. Sources: San Francisco Business Times Book of Lists, 2006; Hoover’s.

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Largest Securities Firms in the Bay Area Bay Area Registered Securities Brokers

Bay Area Employees

Charles Schwab

1,100

3,400

www.schwab.com

Morgan Stanley

583

1,764

www.morganstanley.com

Bank of America

550

n/a

www.bofa.com

Merrill Lynch

530

900

www.ml.com

Smith Barney

386

n/a

www.smithbarney.com

Thomas Weisel Partners

205

352

www.tweisel.com

UBS Financial Services

202

355

financialservicesinc.ubs.com

Wells Fargo

187

15,400

Wachovia Securities

135

204

www.wachoviasec.com

99

n/a

www.lfasagemark-pacific.com

Company

Lincoln Financial Advisors

Website

www.wellsfargo.com

Sources: San Francisco Business Times Book of Lists, 2006; Hoover’s.

Largest Property and Casualty Insurers in the Bay Area Company

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2003 Premiums Written in California ($M)

2004 Total Employees

Website

California State Compensation Insurance Fund

7,800

n/a

www.scif.com

California State Automobile Association (AAA)

1,800

n/a

www.csaa.com

Fireman’s Fund Insurance

1,400

4,500

www.firemansfund.com

Norcal Mutual Insurance

187

200

www.norcalmutual.com

California Casualty Indemnity Exchange

146

1,000

Pacific Specialty Insurance

134

54

Old Republic Title Holding

www.calcas.com www.psic-onespot.com

132

600

Majestic Insurance

94

45

www.ortc.com

CSE Insurance Group

90

175

www.cseinsurance.com

Argonaut Insurance

61

990

www.argonautgroup.com

www.majesticinsurance.com

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Largest Money Managers in the Bay Area Company Barclays Global Investors

9/04 total assets managed ($M)

Number of portfolio managers

Website

1,199,073

264

www.barclaysglobal.com

Franklin Templeton Investments

361,900

172

www.franklintempleton.com

Dodge & Cox

128,068

15

www.dodgeandcox.com

Wells Capital Management

122,100

48

www.wellscap.com

Mellon Capital Management

120,330

52

www.mcm.com

U.S. Trust

103,000

n/a

www.ustrust.com

RCM

www.rcm.com

101,374

20

Mellon Private Wealth Management

47,343

321

AXA Rosenberg

46,015

23

Fisher Investments

22,484

3

http://mpam.mellon.com www.axarosenberg.com www.fi.com

Sources: San Francisco Business Times Book of Lists, 2006.

Resources American Academy of Actuaries (www.actuary.org) American Bankers Association (www.aba.com) Beat the Street® series of investment banking interview guides* California Bankers Association (www.calbankers.com) Careers in Asset Management & Retail Brokerage* Careers in Investment Banking* eFinancialCareers (www.efinancialcareers.com) Insurance Journal (www.insurancejournal.com) Killer Investment Banking Resumes* Top 25 Financial Services Firms* WetFeet Insider Guides to The Goldman Sachs Group, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Merrill Lynch & Co., and Morgan Stanley* WetFeet’s Commercial Banking and Insurance Industry Profiles (www.wetfeet.com/ content/industries.aspx) *WetFeet Insider Guides are available online from www.wetfeet.com.

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Health Care Strictly speaking, health care isn’t really an industry. Instead, the health-care segment comprises large, private-sector suppliers—such as pharmaceutical companies, biotech companies (which are discussed separately in this book), and medical device companies (also not discussed here)—as well as regional-provider health systems and government entities. San Francisco’s highly regarded medical institutions include the University of California at San Francisco Medical Center, St. Mary’s Medical Center, Kaiser Hospital, and California Pacific Medical Center. The City boasts the highest doctor-to-resident ratio of any urban area in the United States with more than 4,000 doctors in San Francisco County, and in the Bay Area as a whole, about 250,000 people are employed in the health-care sector. The individual physician is the industry’s first line of contact with consumers. However, the health-care organization—the hospital or health management organization (HMO)— is the conduit for insurance payments, which form the majority of the industry’s (and the physician’s) revenues. The lion’s share of these revenues comes from employee health insurance plans, Medicare (health insurance for Americans over the age of 65), and Medicaid (health insurance for Americans on welfare). The industry is marked by rapidly rising costs, and as the U.S. population ages, growing shortages of qualified workers are predicted. Hospitals have the highest unfilled job rates in this industry. Pharmacists, radiological technologists, billing coders, laboratory technologists, registered nurses, and housekeeping and maintenance workers are in demand. Part of the hospital workforce shortage is due to an increase in the range of employment options (and higher salaries) in health care outside hospitals. Because of the diversity of the region’s population, Bay Area health-care workers are often required to speak more than one language.

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Job Prospects The California Employment Development Department projects that health-care job growth will be much stronger than overall job growth in the Bay Area in coming years. In San Francisco, assistant respiratory therapist, pharmacist, surgical technologist, mental health or substance abuse counselor, medical records or health information technician, occupational therapist, dental hygienist, and pharmacy technician are expected to rank among the county’s 25 fastest-growing occupations between 2002 and 2012. Employment in health services will continue to grow. The principal reason is that the baby boom generation is entering retirement age, which means increasing demand for a wide range of health services. In addition, advances in medical technology will continue to improve the survival rate of severely ill and injured patients, who will then need extensive therapy and care. New technologies will enable conditions not previously treatable to be identified and treated. Medical group practices and integrated health systems are becoming larger and more complex, increasing the need for office and administrative support workers. Another factor will be the shift from inpatient care to less expensive outpatient care, made possible by technological improvements and consumers’ increasing awareness of, and emphasis on, all aspects of health. All these factors will ensure robust growth in this massive, diverse industry. Although specialized training is required for most medical professions, there is demand for health-care administrators with master’s degrees as well as patient services coordinators with bachelor’s degrees who ensure quality patient care while protecting institutions from liability. Technical and administrative support positions are in high demand as the health-care industry evolves in a competitive market. Health-care IT is a steadily growing sector, due to the industry’s relative lack of IT investment thus far.

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Key Health-Care Jobs Key Job

39,932

Certified nurse midwife

97,100

EKG technician

33,096

Emergency medical technician

29,501

Home care caseworker

49,138

Licensed practical nurse

42,873

MD, anesthesiology

320,423

MD, family practice

177,494

MD, obstetrics/gynecology

261,014

MD, psychiatry

192,599

Medical records administrator

62,985

Member services representative

33,628

MRI technologist

64,069

Nurse practitioner

88,454

Pharmacist

113,893

Phlebotomist

31,282

Physical therapist

71,701

Psychologist

87,458

Radiological technologist

52,938

Registered nurse

68,907

Ultrasound technologist

67,669

Note: Figures do not include bonuses, which can vary widely. Sources: Salary.com; WetFeet analysis.

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Median San Francisco Salary ($)

Admitting/discharge clerk

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Largest HMOs in the Greater Bay Area Organization

Local Enrollment, 2004

Headquarters

Website

Kaiser Permanente

1,724,749

Oakland

www.kaiserpermanente.org

Health Net of California

366,495

Oakland

www.healthnet.com

Blue Cross of California

265,758

Walnut Creek

www.bluecrossca.com

Blue Shield of California

189,871

San Francisco

www.mylifepath.com

PacifiCare of California

173,652

Cypress

www.pacificare.com

CIGNA Healthcare of California

90,494

Oakland

www.cigna.com

Alameda Alliance for Health

87,183

Alameda

www.alamedaalliance.com

Santa Clara Family Health Plan

83,178

Campbell

www.scfhp.com

Contra Costa Health Plan

57,310

Martinez

www.cchealth.org

Aetna

54,974

San Ramon

www.aetna.com

Source: San Francisco Business Times Book of Lists, 2006.

Busiest Hospitals in the Bay Area Total Patient Days, 2004

Location

Website

Alta Bates Summit Medical Center

240,116

Oakland

www.altabatessummit.org

California Pacific Medical Center

176,049

San Francisco

www.cpmc.org

UCSF Medical Center

164,380

San Francisco

www.ucsfhealth.org

San Francisco General Hospital

143,631

San Francisco

www.dph.sf.ca.us

San Mateo Medical Center

121,961

San Mateo

www.sanmateomedicalcenter.org

Stanford Hospital and Clinics

119,981

Stanford

www.med.stanford.edu

Alameda County Medical Center

110,843

Oakland

www.acmedctr.org

John Muir Medical Center

90,276

Walnut Creek

www.johnmuirhealth.com

Peninsula Medical Center

86,357

Burlingame

www.mills-peninsula.org

Seton Medical Center

83,544

Daly City

www.setonmedicalcenter.com

Organization

Source: San Francisco Business Times Book of Lists, 2006.

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Resources American Medical Association (www.ama-assn.org) California Hospital Association (www.calhealth.org) California Medical Association (www.cmanet.org) California Nurses Association (www.calnurses.org) California Primary Care Association (www.cpca.org) Health News Digest (www.healthnewsdigest.com) San Francisco Community Clinic Consortium (www.sfccc.org) WetFeet’s Health Care Industry Profile (www.wetfeet.com/content/industries.aspx)

Information Technology Using its broadest definition, information technology is an umbrella term that describes all fields that relate to the organization and dissemination of information: from the worker who lays cable wires to the telephone switchboard operator to the engineer who designs the circuits in your computer. In this book, information technology refers to computer-related fields: hardware, software, and the people who support and use those products. No matter how you define or measure it, the IT sector is critical to the Bay Area economy. Areas of particular strength in the region include computer hardware, enterprise software, Internet search and e-commerce, telecommunication and networking equipment, semiconductors, and biomedical (which includes biotechnology, discussed separately earlier in this chapter). To give you an idea of how important the technology industry is to the Bay Area, consider the following: Nine in every 100 high-tech industry employees in the United States are based in the Bay Area. As of February 2006, according to the California Employment Development Department, some 153,600 people in the Bay Area work in computer-related manufacturing, down from a high of 245,900 in 2000. Most of this industry segment is located in

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Santa Clara County, although recent trends have pushed more high-tech manufacturing into the East Bay. New industries such as nanotechnology, advanced telecommunications, and the application of technology to domestic and defense security are being added to the region’s base in computers, semiconductors, and instruments. But hardware is only part of the Bay Area jobs-in-technology picture. The softwarepublishing and Internet industries account for a whole slew of IT jobs as well. For example, some 86,000 people work in the system-design sector; about 25,000 people work at ISPs, Web-search portals, and related businesses; and around 15,000 people work in software publishing. Within the high-tech manufacturing sector, the Bay Area remains the preferred location for the creation of new semiconductor and software businesses in the United States. Increased automation of the design process is driving a convergence of these industries, playing to Bay Area strengths and fueling growth in software industry segments such as electronic design automation. Not only does the Bay Area possess an enviable track record of developing new technologies, it has also been extraordinarily successful at marketing new products, as demonstrated by the success of Apple’s iTunes, eBay’s online auctions, Google’s search engine, and TiVo’s digital video recorders. Thus, it is no surprise that the concentration of employment in high-wage tech products and services has been a double-edged sword for the Bay Area over the past decade. It propelled the regional economy ahead in the 1990s, but the effects of the subsequent economic downturn were more severe here than in any other region in the country in terms of job losses and falling wages.

Job Prospects In the Bay Area, job prospects vary according to industry segment. The semiconductor (and semiconductor equipment) segment, for example, is expected to lose jobs in com-

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ing years, thanks to both outsourcing and productivity increases. In contrast, the software sector in the Bay Area is expected to see job growth in coming years. In addition to talented software developers, project managers who can relate technical issues to marketing and business folks are in demand. Marketing is critical to the success of any computer software product, partly because there are so many companies competing in the software market and partly because computers are still new to a lot of people. In fact, in most companies that produce computer software, the marketing department calls the shots. At the other end of the spectrum, most computer software companies employ technical writers to write user documentation, either for publication in the form of manuals or, increasingly, for online help. The industry also employs (listed here in descending order of technical expertise) software testers, customer service reps, sales personnel, and staff for the usual variety of business functions, from HR to accounting to marketing.

P r e s t i g i o u s B a y A r e a Em p l o y e r s

Four Bay Area employers were named to Fortune’s 2004 list of the “50 Most Desirable MBA Employers”:

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Intel, in Santa Clara (20th) eBay, in San Jose (24th) Apple Computer, in Cupertino (31st) Hewlett-Packard, in Palo Alto (39th)

Job Hunting in San Francisco W h e r e t h e J o bs A r e

Key Technology Jobs Key Job Business development associate Database administrator E-commerce marketing director Network administrator Programmer Project manager Senior technology sales representative

Median San Francisco Salary ($) 60,485–81,366* 99,727 158,676 54,355–98,709* 59,985–108,358* 80,872–97,522* 90,032

Software engineer

62,213–114,078*

Software quality assurance specialist

70,972–101,324*

Technical writer

49,415–88,701*

Web producer

57,293–101,911*

Web product manager

74,701–145,281*

Note: Figures do not include bonuses, which can vary widely. *Depending on skill set and seniority. Sources: Salary.com; WetFeet analysis.

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Key Bay Area Technology Firms 2005 Revenue ($M)

Employees

Hewlett-Packard

86,696

150,000

Intel

38,826

85,000

www.intel.com

Cisco Systems

24,801

38,413

www.cisco.com

Apple Computer

13,931

16,820

www.apple.com

Sanmina-SCI

11,735

48,621

www.sanmina-sci.com

Sun Microsystems

11,071

31,000

www.sun.com

Solectron

Firm

www.hp.com

10,441

53,000

www.solectron.com

Applied Materials

6,992

12,576

www.appliedmaterials.com

Google

6,139

5,680

Advanced Micro Devices

5,848

15,900

Yahoo!

5,258

7,603

www.yahoo.com

Agilent

5,139

21,000

www.agilent.com

eBay

4,552

11,600

www.ebay.com

Maxtor

3,890

15,085

www.maxtor.com

UTStarcom

2,929

6,300

www.utstar.com

Sources: San Francisco Business Times Book of Lists, 2005; Hoover’s.

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Website

www.google.com www.amd.com

Job Hunting in San Francisco W h e r e t h e J o bs A r e

Key Bay Area Software Firms Firm Oracle

2005 Revenue ($M)

Employees

11,799

60,198

Website www.oracle.com

Symantec

4,143*

6,500

www.symantec.com

Electronic Arts

2,951*

6,100

www.ea.com

Intuit

2,038

7,000

www.intuit.com

VeriSign

1,610

4,076

www.verisign.com

Autodesk

1,523*

4,813*

www.autodesk.com

Synopsys

992

4,756

www.synopsys.com

McAfee

987

3,290

www.mcafee.com

Sybase

819

3,568

www.sybase.com

Mercury

686**

2,659**

www.mercury.com

Electronics for Imaging

469

1,424

www.efi.com

TIBCO Software

446

1,360

www.tibco.com

Macromedia***

436

1,213

www.macromedia.com

Openwave Systems

384

1,265

www.openwave.com

Informatica

267

1,010

www.informatica.com

Wind River Systems

266*

1,112

www.windriver.com

Serena Software

256*

744

www.serena.com

Macrovision

203

692

www.macrovision.com

Konami Digital Entertainment

200

100

www.konami-digitalentertainment.com

Advent Software

169

736

www.advent.com

*2006 figure. **2004 figure. ***Acquired by Adobe in Dec. 2005. Sources: San Francisco Business Times Book of Lists, 2006; Hoover’s.

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Resources Bay Area chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery (BayCHI), a society for IT professionals (www.baychi.org) Careers in Information Technology (WetFeet Insider Guide, available from www.wetfeet.com) East Bay IT Network (www.ebig.org) The Industry Standard (www.thestandard.com) North Bay Software & Information Technology Association (www.softech.org) Red Herring (www.redherring.com) Santa Clara Valley Software Quality Association (www.ventanatech.com/ssqa) SDForum (www.sdforum.org) Semiconductor Industry Association (www.sia-online.org) Software & Information Industry Association (www.siia.net) Wired magazine (www.wired.com)

Law The Bay Area legal market has changed substantially over the past several years. Yes, a number of law firms cut back on staff—or simply shut down their Bay Area operations entirely in the wake of the market collapse of the early 2000s. For instance, Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison, one of San Francisco’s largest law firms, collapsed in January 2003, leaving 1,100 lawyers and support staff without jobs. And in June 2004, Clifford Chance (the world’s largest law firm) revealed that it would close its S.F. offices. But a number of big firms have also opened or expanded their Bay Area offices in recent years—even during the economic downturn of the early 2000s. Perhaps more remarkably, 17 of the 24 largest U.S. law firms opened offices in the Bay Area during 2001–02: the steepest economic downturn in Northern California history. In fact, the Bay Area legal market has become highly competitive, with more than six dozen national firms now competing in a market once occupied by a dozen or so local firms.

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Perhaps in response to that increase in competition, San Francisco–based Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman announced in 2005 that it is merging with Washington, D.C.-based Shaw Pittman, forming a 900-lawyer national firm. Currently, more than 20 firms have offices in both San Francisco and Palo Alto (in Silicon Valley). In all, about 30,000 people in the Bay Area work in the legal services industry.

Job Prospects In San Francisco, employment levels among lawyers are expected to increase by 7.2 percent between 2002 and 2008; in San Mateo county, the growth rate over the same period is expected to be about 14 percent, and in Santa Clara, almost 20 percent. Experts report that many Bay Area law firms are looking to increase headcounts over the next several years. Between 2001 and 2003, conservative hiring practices, downsizing efforts triggered by a struggling local economy, and normal attrition led to a shortage of junior associates at many law firms; now that work is starting to pick up again, many firms have been caught short and are looking to increase staff.

Key Law Jobs Key Job

Median San Francisco Salary ($)

Attorney

96,696–167,997*

Court reporter

54,725

Judge/magistrate

158,078

Legal secretary

37,349–50,247*

Paralegal

48,650–81,149*

Note: Figures do not include bonuses or profit sharing, which can vary widely. *Depending on skill set and seniority. Sources: Salary.com; WetFeet analysis.

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Largest Bay Area Law Firms Firm

2005 Lawyers Firmwide

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

465

591

www.wsgr.com

Morrison & Foerster

398

985

www.mofo.com

Heller Ehrman

307

730

www.hewm.com

Cooley Godward

260

420

www.cooley.com

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe

251

725

www.orrick.com

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman

244

696

www.pillsburywinthrop.com

Bingham McCutchen

242

866

www.bingham.com

Fenwick & West

230

232

www.fenwick.com

Latham & Watkins

189

1,653

www.lw.com

DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary

181

2,879

www.dlapiper.com

Thelen Reid & Priest

180

462

www.thelenreid.com

Gordon & Rees

148

279

www.gordonrees.com

Morgan Lewis

146

1,237

Reed Smith

143

969

www.reedsmith.com

Townsend and Townsend and Crew

134

164

www.townsend.com

Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk & Rabkin

130

130

www.howardrice.com

www.morganlewis.com

Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold

124

350

www.sdma.com

Farella Braun & Martel

123

123

www.fbm.com

Hanson, Bridgett, Marcus, Vlahos & Rudy

113

125

www.hansonbridgett.com

99

910

www.omm.com

O’Melveny & Myers

Source: San Francisco Business Times Book of Lists, 2006.

Resources American Bar Association (www.abanet.org) FindLaw (www.findlaw.com) Law.com Martindale Hubbell (www.martindale.com)

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Website

Bay Area

Job Hunting in San Francisco W h e r e t h e J o bs A r e

Cal Law (www.law.com/jsp/ca/index.jsp) San Francisco Bar Association (www.sfbar.org) WetFeet’s Law Industry profile (www.wetfeet.com/content/industries/law.aspx)

Manufacturing Manufacturing is a broad term. Virtually any process that turns raw material into finished goods through use of a machine can be considered manufacturing, and major segments of the industry include aerospace and defense, automobile and transportation, chemicals and metals, consumer goods, electronics and high-tech, industrial and farm equipment, and medical and biotech. Generally, less mature sectors that involve technology—especially biotech and medical manufacturing—offer high-growth opportunities, whereas those that have reached maturity—chemicals and metals, for instance—are waning and have seen much of their growth exported overseas. The Bay Area is well known for its computer-equipment manufacturing companies (many of which were mentioned in the “Information Technology” section earlier in this chapter), accounting collectively for 153,600 jobs as of February 2006, according to the California Employment Development Department. Within technology manufacturing, semiconductors and electronic component manufacturing is the largest job center. Though employment in high-tech manufacturing represents a substantial component of the Bay Area job market, these employment levels are significantly south of their 2000 highs. Between 2000 and early 2004, the Bay Area lost 28.5 percent of its manufacturing job base. Luckily, the Bay Area has a diversified economic base outside of high-tech manufacturing. Indeed, about 165,000 people are employed in non-high-tech-sector Bay Area jobs (as of February 2006). Some of the largest employers in this diversified segment are manufacturers of consumer goods—companies such as Clorox, Del Monte Foods, Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, Robert Mondavi, and Peet’s Coffee and Tea that belong to an industry subcategory called nondurable consumer goods. Others, such as LeapFrog

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Enterprises (which creates interactive toys and games for children) and Electronic Arts (which publishes interactive entertainment software), belong to the consumer durables category.

Job Prospects The manufacturing industry as a whole is shrinking. It’s no secret that companies have been moving factories overseas for many years, and this trend constitutes a major liability for Bay Area–based manufacturing jobs. While a significant amount of manufacturing still takes place in the Bay Area, it is increasingly under pressure from lower-cost areas, both domestically and overseas. The Bay Area’s high cost structure—particularly in light of companies’ increasing ability to perform manufacturing functions elsewhere— raises concerns about the region’s future ability to compete in processes that follow product development on the value chain, such as product and process enhancement. As more and more manufacturing is moved to lower-cost areas, incremental product improvement may also be pulled to these locations. As a result, experts predict that jobs in the entire manufacturing industry—including high-tech manufacturing—will only increase by about 6 percent between 2003 and 2012. Professional job opportunities exist in finance, accounting, real estate management, sales, customer service, and market research and development. And constantly emerging new products and increasing competition promise to provide positions for brand managers and marketers from now until the end of time. Senior management positions in marketing, operations, research and development (R&D), and other departments tend to be filled from within (the company itself, or at least from within the industry). Manufacturing tends to be a hierarchical business and though merit and hard work count for a lot, even the wunderkinds have to do time before they’re promoted. The mammoth companies often recruit on campus and boast strong training programs for recent college grads, but they’re also known to pull experienced people from other firms into their industry. If you choose to remain in manufacturing for a long time— and many people do—you can spend time overseas, try out new products and categories, and ultimately move into general management.

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Key Manufacturing Jobs Key Jobs

Median San Francisco Salary ($)

Design engineer

66,642–113,042*

Plant manager

130,226

Production engineer

61,625–100,796*

Product marketing analyst

56,815–124,267*

Quality control analyst

46,764–88,192*

Safety technician

43,052–79,579*

Note: Figures do not include bonuses, which can vary widely. *Depending on skill set and seniority. Sources: Salary.com; WetFeet analysis.

Key Bay Area Manufacturing Firms Firm Gap Inc.*

2005 Revenue ($M)

Employees

Website

16,023

152,000

Clorox Company

4,388

7,600

www.clorox.com

Levi Strauss

4,125

9,635

www.levistrauss.com

Del Monte Foods

3,181

8,600

www.delmonte.com

KLA-Tencor

2,085

5,500

www.kla-tencor.com

LifeScan**

1,701

2,500

www.lifescan.com

Marvell Technology *

1,670

2,500

www.marvell.com

Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream**

1,588

5,979

www.dreyersinc.com

Varian Medical Systems

1,383

3,600

LeapFrog

650

837

See’s Candies**

325

2,300

Kyphon

306

706

Dionex Corporation

279

1,064

Peet’s Coffee & Tea

175

2,813

Ghirardelli Chocolate

150

650

www.gap.com

www.varian.com www.leapfrog.com www.sees.com www.kyphon.com www.dionex.com www.peets.com www.ghirardelli.com

*2006 figures. **2004 figures. Note: Many of the Bay Area’s largest manufacturers are high-tech manufacturers (including semiconductor and software companies). Sources: Hoover’s; WetFeet analysis.

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Resources American Society for Quality (www.asq.org) Careers in Consumer Products* Careers in Manufacturing* Careers in Supply Chain Management* Manufacturing.net National Association of Manufacturers (www.nam.org) Pacific Industrial and Business Association (www.piba.org) Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (www.phrma.org) Product Development & Management Association: Northern California Chapter (www.norcalpdma.org) Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group (www.svmg.org) Silicon Valley Product Management Association (www.svpma.org) *WetFeet Insider Guides are available online from www.wetfeet.com.

Real Estate 2004 was a record-breaking year for Bay Area real estate, but starting in 2005, at least partly due to rising interest rates, the Bay Area real estate market began softening. Indeed, in February 2006, Bay Area home sales fell for the 11th straight month (“Bay Area Housing Market Cools,” San Francisco Chronicle, 3/17/06). Meanwhile, improving employment levels in the financial services, legal services, and technology industries have resulted in a stronger commercial real estate market in the Bay Area. The San Francisco commercial vacancy rate was about 17 percent in the fourth quarter of 2005, down from a high of 24 percent in 2003. Average office rent of $27.08 per square foot was up from $24.45 in 2004. And office properties sold for $412 per square foot in early 2006, an increase of nearly 40 percent from a year earlier (“San Francisco Bay Area Bulks Up As the Tech Bust Still Lingers,” Wall Street Journal Online, 4/13/06).

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In all, according to the California Employment Development Department, as of February 2006, some 56,000 were employed in the real estate industry in the Bay Area.

Job Prospects For many, real estate is a second career; particularly among those who lost their jobs as a result of the Internet fallout. The buoyancy of the regional real estate market in the early 2000s proved to be a compelling reason to switch careers. According to the California Association of Realtors, the number of Bay Area realtors surged 44 percent—from 21,700 to 31,200—between 1999 and 2004 (probably a conservative estimate, since the trade association only represents about one-third of the agents in the state). In the same period, the number of home sales in the nine-county area only increased about 10 percent, meaning that every agent in the region scores an average of just four transactions a year. And now that the residential real estate market is cooling off, with so many agents competing to sell fewer homes, competition among real estate professionals is more intense than ever. Add in the ease with which prospective buyers can research everything online—from commission percentages to floor plans to interactive home tours—before they even speak to an agent, and you’ve got a pool of real estate professionals who are working hard for their money. And while we’re on the subject of money, many real estate agents are feeling the pinch: Though a handful of agents make $1 million a year or more, the Bay Area average annual income for agents is just about $40,000, according to Salary.com. Prospective agents have to invest relatively little to try their hand at the real estate game. The state of California requires candidates to complete a 45-hour class before taking the state real estate license exam. Within 18 months of passing the test, an agent must also complete two additional classes at 45 hours each. All told, the 135-hour commitment isn’t significant enough to keep the hordes of prospective real estate professionals at bay.

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In addition to agent and broker positions, there are also opportunities for property managers. If this is your interest, you’ll find the best pay working for a large corporation rather than for a property management company. Pharmaceutical companies, religious organizations, telecommunications firms, and scientific research organizations are all landlords.

Key Real Estate Jobs Key Jobs

Median San Francisco Salary

Commercial real estate appraiser

$90,997

Leasing manager

$42,003

Property manager

$93,585

Residential real estate appraiser

$48,943

Real estate sales agent

$39,298

Note: Figures do not include bonuses, which can vary widely. Sources: Salary.com; WetFeet analysis.

Largest Bay Area Property Management Firms Location

CB Richard Ellis

San Francisco

34,000,000

www.cbre.com

Jones Lang LaSalle

San Francisco

25,600,000

www.joneslanglasalle.com

Cushman & Wakefield

San Francisco

17,031,556

www.cushwake.com

Legacy Partners

Foster City

17,030,964

www.legacypartners.com

Equity Office Properties Trust

San Francisco

16,662,693

www.equityoffice.com

Woodmont Real Estate Services

Belmont

15,200,000

www.wres.com

Prometheus Real Estate Group

Redwood City

11,811,839

www.prometheusreg.com

Trammell Crow

San Francisco

10,648,000

www.trammellcrow.com

Kennedy-Wilson Properties

San Francisco

9,188,182

www.kennedywilson.com

Ventana Property Services

Menlo Park

8,950,000

www.ventanaps.com

Sources: San Francisco Business Times Book of Lists, 2006.

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Sq. Footage Managed in Bay Website Area, 2004

Firm

Job Hunting in San Francisco W h e r e t h e J o bs A r e

Top Commercial Real Estate Brokers in San Francisco SF commercial agents

Commercial transactions, 2004

CB Richard Ellis

53

329

www.cbre.com

Grubb & Ellis

44

257

www.grubb-ellis.com

Colliers International

41

349

www.colliers.com

Marcus & Millichap

41

n/a

www.marcusmillichap.com

NAI BT Commercial

40

165

www.btcommercial.com

Firm

Website

Sources: San Francisco Business Times Book of Lists, 2006.

Largest Bay Area Residential Real Estate Brokers 2004 gross sales ($M)

2004 Number of Bay Area properties sold

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage

13,024

15,528

www.camoves.com

RE/MAX of California and Hawaii

8,662

14,601

www.remax-california.com

Pacific Union GMAC Real Estate

4,759

4,914

www.pacunion.com

Prudential California Realty

4,517

8,445

www.prurealty.com

Alain Pinel Realtors

4,111

3,928

www.apr.com

Firm

Website

Sources: San Francisco Business Times Book of Lists, 2006.

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Most Active Commercial Developers in the Bay Area Firm

Sq. feet under development, 2004

Website

TMG Partners

1,125,000

www.tmgpartners.com

Catellus Development*

1,013,400

www.catellus.com

Westfield Group

953,600

www.westfield.com

Bridge Housing

936,770

www.bridgehousing.com

Millennium Partners

900,000

www.millenniumptrs.com

*Acquired by ProLogis in 2005. Sources: San Francisco Business Times Book of Lists, 2006.

Largest Bay Area Residential Developers Firm

2004 Bay Area homes sold

Bay Area headquarters

Website

Toll Brothers Inc.

898

San Ramon

www.tollbrothers.com

Western Pacific Housing

640

Pleasanton

www.wphi.com

Signature Properties

516

Pleasanton

www.sigprop.com

Shapell Homes

438

Milpitas

www.shapellnc.com

Standard Pacific Homes

395

Pleasanton

www.standardpacifichomes.com

Sources: San Francisco Business Times Book of Lists, 2006.

Resources California Association of Realtors (www.car.org) Careers in Real Estate (WetFeet Insider Guide, available from www.wetfeet.com) Foundation of Real Estate Appraisers (www.frea.com) Institute of Real Estate Management (www.irem.org) National Association of Real Estate Property Managers (www.narpm.org) National Association of Realtors (www.realtor.org)

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RealEstateJournal (www.realestatejournal.com) Real Trends (www.realtrends.com) Realty Times (realtytimes.com) San Francisco Association of Realtors (www.sfrealtors.com)

Retail Trade Consumer money drives the economy, and retail is where consumers spend most of that money. Retail goods are traditionally divided into durable goods—like furniture, cars, and large appliances, which are expected to last at least 5 years or so—and nondurable goods, which include food, clothing, and apparel. The Bay Area retail industry— like so many other sectors critical to the regional economy—is recovering. “The tourists are back, people are spending, and the market is much better than a couple of years ago,” says one local retail expert. More European and East Coast retailers are renting space, and “big box” retailers (a category that includes such industry big guns as Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Barnes & Noble, and Target) are looking for space as well. While a recovering tourism industry is a major economic driver of this retail renaissance, population growth and new residential development are also pushing San Francisco’s retail market. Perhaps the most exciting development in the Bay Area is on the waterfront in San Francisco, where a number of development projects in the pipeline promise more retail growth in the City. Of these initiatives, one of the most significant is The Bryant Street Project, which is expected to revitalize the City’s underused waterfront in the South Beach neighborhood. The development will include 180,000 square feet of retail space, most of which will be open for business by 2008. As of February 2006, according to the California Employment Development Department, the retail industry accounts for about 300,000 jobs in the Bay Area.

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Job Prospects Retail is a high-turnover industry—there will always be job openings. And in the Bay Area, according to the BLS, demand for retail salespeople is expected to be particularly strong in coming years. The number of jobs in this sector in the Bay Area is projected to increase 12 percent between 2001 and 2008. Consolidation among big retailers means layoffs rather than increased opportunities at newly combined retailing operations. Competition from nontraditional types of retailers such as those focused on e-commerce means even more downward pressure on job growth, as well as the increasing use of the Web to do business among traditional retailers. Most of the jobs in this sector are for cashiers, sales associates, and administrative support. There are opportunities in areas such as marketing and advertising, loss prevention, human resources, store operations, store management, finance, technology, distribution, and merchandise buying—but line positions represent the vast majority of opportunities in this sector. Computer technology has reduced some positions in bookkeeping and inventory control, and e-commerce has replaced some of the personal over-the-counter interaction that marks this industry.

Key Retail Jobs Key Jobs Buyer

48,206–85,763*

Cashier

21,207

Fashion designer

48,777

Product marketing analyst

56,815–124,267*

Sales analyst

51,068–101,057*

Salesperson

29,045

Store manager

51,690

Visual merchandiser

60,552

Note: Figures do not include bonuses, which can vary widely. *Depending on skill set and seniority. Sources: Salary.com; WetFeet analysis.

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Median San Francisco Salary ($)

Job Hunting in San Francisco W h e r e t h e J o bs A r e

Key Bay Area Retailers Company

2005 Revenue ($M)

Employees

Safeway

38,416

201,000

Gap

Website www.safeway.com

16,023*

152,000*

Ross Stores

4,944*

33,200*

www.rossstores.com

www.gap.com

Longs Drugs

4,670*

22,000*

www.longs.com

Williams-Sonoma

3,539*

37,200*

www.williams-sonoma.com

Building Materials Holding

2,912

11,000

www.bmhc.com

Mervyn’s

2,156

33,000

www.mervyns.com

Central Garden & Pet

1,381

4,800

www.central.com www.worldmarket.com

Cost Plus World Market

970*

6,170*

West Marine

692

4,897

www.westmarine.com

Gymboree

679*

9,600*

www.gymboree.com

The Sharper Image

669*

2,500

www.sharperimage.com

Restoration Hardware

582*

3,800*

www.restorationhardware.com

Fry’s Electronics

n/a

n/a

www.frys.com

Macy’s West

n/a

n/a

www.macys.com

*2006 figure. **2004 figure. Source: Hoover’s.

Resources Association for Retailers Online (www.shop.org) California Retailers Association (www.calretailers.com) Careers in Retail (WetFeet Insider Guide, available May 2005 from www.wetfeet.com) David F. Miller Center for Retailing Education and Research (http://www.cba.ufl.edu/mkt/crer/) National Retail Federation (www.nrf.com) WetFeet’s Retail Industry profile (www.wetfeet.com/content/industries.aspx)

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Tourism and Hospitality The Bay Area consistently ranks as one of the top tourist destinations in the world. According to the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau, more than 15 million people visit San Francisco each year, pumping some $6.73 billion into the local economy. On any given day, there are more than 100,000 tourists in the City (and if you’re a local, it can seem like you’re navigating through all 100,000 of them as you’re trying to get to work). This massive injection of visitor dollars directly supports local hotels, restaurants, shops, and attractions. It also indirectly bolsters practically every segment of the City’s economy through its income generation, which spills over into a broad, positive influence on government finances. In terms of job creation, the travel and tourism industry generates employment in six primary areas: accommodations and food service; arts, entertainment, and recreation; retail (which includes motor fuel); air transportation; travel arrangement services; and auto and other ground transportation services. According to the California Employment Development Department, as of February 2006, 168,000 people work in the leisure and hospitality sector in the Bay Area.

Job Prospects Within San Francisco itself, demand for hotel, motel, and desk clerks is projected to increase by more than 20 percent between 2002 and 2008; comparable growth rates are expected in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties. In Marin County, the demand for hotel staff will be even greater: It’s expected to grow by more than 36 percent over the same period. Job growth in the industry isn’t limited to hotel clerk positions, however; related occupations tied to the vitality of the tourism industry—namely, food- and retail-related positions—are also on the rise. In addition, you’ll find the usual array of corporate positions within the hospitality and tourism industry: marketing executives, salespeople, accountants, HR specialists, and the like. But the majority of career opportunities in the industry are in customer service–oriented jobs, similar to those outlined above.

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For travel agents, the outlook isn’t nearly as bright, due to the growing popularity of travel websites for planning trips and making reservations among both individual and corporate travelers.

Key Tourism and Hospitality Jobs Key Job

Median San Francisco Salary

Catering manager

$42,670

Concierge

$30,835

Cook

$37,964

Executive chef

$89,402

Food and beverage buyer

$47,850

Front desk supervisor

$40,944

Housekeeper

$23,612

Head of housekeeping

$75,894

Meeting/event planner

$63,004

Meeting/event manager

$83,500

Restaurant manager

$55,857

Room reservations manager

$57,405

Sous-chef

$46,550

Note: Figures do not include bonuses, which can vary widely. *Depending on skill set and seniority. Sources: Salary.com; WetFeet analysis.

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Largest Hotels in the Bay Area Hotel

Rooms

Staff

Hilton San Francisco

1,908

1,000

San Francisco Marriott

1,500

1,200

Westin St. Francis

1,195

800

www.westin.com

Renaissance Parc 55 Hotel

1,010

550

www.renaissancehotels.com

Hyatt Regency San Francisco

802

n/a

www.sanfranciscoregency.hyatt.com

Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport

793

350

www.sanfranciscoairport.hyatt.com

Grand Hyatt San Francisco

685

n/a

www.grandsanfrancisco.hyatt.com

San Francisco Airport Marriott

684

n/a

www.marriotthotels.com

Argent Hotel

667

400

www.argenthotel.com

Fairmont San Francisco

591

525

www.fairmont.com

Holiday Inn Fisherman’s Wharf

585

250

www.holiday-inn.com

Holiday Inn Select Downtown

565

250

www.hiselect.com

Palace Hotel

552

480

www.sfpalace.com

Hotel Nikko San Francisco

532

n/a

www.hotelnikkosf.com

Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf

529

250

www.sheratonatthewharf.com

Source: San Francisco Business Times Book of Lists, 2006.

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Website www.sanfrancisco.hilton.com www.marriott.com

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Largest Paid Tourist Attractions in the Bay Area Paid visitors in 2004

Organization/site

Location

San Francisco Cable Cars

San Francisco

San Francisco Giants

San Francisco

3,486,558

www.sfgiants.com

Oakland Athletics

Oakland

2,201,516

www.oaklandathletics.com

Alcatraz Island

San Francisco

1,300,000

www.nps.gov/alcatraz

Oakland Raiders

Oakland

1,130,046

www.raiders.com

Golden State Warriors

Oakland

838,500

www.warriors.com

San Francisco 49ers

San Francisco

642,159

www.49ers.com

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

San Francisco

594,000

www.sfmoma.org

San Francisco Symphony

San Francisco

500,000

www.sfsymphony.org

Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

San Francisco

485,333

www.thinker.org

San Francisco Zoo

San Francisco

469,253

www.sfzoo.org

Aquarium of the Bay

San Francisco

461,230

www.aquariumofthebay.com

Oakland Zoo

Oakland

410,637

www.oaklandzoo.org

Exploratorium

San Francisco

389,943

www.exploratorium.edu

Asian Art Museum

San Francisco

377,816

www.asianart.org

San Francisco Ballet Association

San Francisco

230,000

www.sfballet.org

The Wax Museum at Fisherman’s Wharf

San Francisco

220,000

www.waxmuseum.com

Paramount Theatre

Oakland

220,000

www.paramounttheatre.com

Half Moon Bay Art and Pumpkin Festival

Half Moon Bay

211,446

www.miramarevents.com/ pumpkinfest/

Mountain View Art and Wine Festival

Mountain View

165,929

www.miramarevents.com/ mountainview/

7,869,197

Website www.sfmuni.com

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts San Francisco

164,910

www.ybca.org

Chabot Space & Science Center Oakland

158,000

www.chabotspace.org

Oakland Museum of California

Oakland

124,085

www.museumca.org

Millbrae Art and Wine Festival

Millbrae

103,621

www.miramarevents.com/ millbrae/

UC Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive

Berkeley

100,000

www.bampfa.berkeley.edu

Source: San Francisco Business Times Book of Lists, 2006.

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Resources California Division of Tourism (www.gocalif.ca.gov) Hospitality Net (www.hospitalitynet.org) San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau (www.sfvisitor.org) Travel Industry Association of America (www.tia.org)

Venture Capital No discussion of finance in the Bay Area would be complete without a mention of the region’s dominance of U.S.-based venture capital (otherwise known as VC) business. In a nutshell, a VC firm acts as a broker for institutional or “limited partner” investors such as pension funds, universities, and high-net-worth individuals, all of whom pay annual management fees to have their money invested in high-risk, high-potential-yield startup companies. In 2004, VCs poured roughly $20 billion into fledgling companies around the country, up 7 percent from 2003. This is the first time venture investment rose since the tech bubble burst in 2000. 2005 saw VC investments at about the same level as 2004. What New York’s Wall Street is to investment banking and securities trading, the Bay Area’s Sand Hill Road is to venture capital: This four-lane suburban highway is home to the industry’s A-list, which includes Mayfield Fund, Sequoia Capital, and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Though the industry is a major shaker in the U.S. economy, it’s not a major employer; even the largest VC firms rarely have more than eight or ten partners on staff, and there are few professional positions below the partner level. As a consequence, VC firms are not major recruiters, and breaking into the industry is notoriously difficult. As one industry insider put it, “The only way to get a job in this business is to literally beg for one.”

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Job Prospects Finding a job in VC isn’t hopeless, but it will be hard. “It’s hard to target. There isn’t a formula you can control. It’s more ambiguous than getting a job at Procter & Gamble or in management consulting,” says an insider. Firms are selective, and finding a job requires good luck. “The way to gain access to this industry is to do something great that is visible to people in this industry,” says an insider. “There’s not a lot on your resume that will tell whether you’ll do well in venture capital.” Operating experience at a technology company is a must in today’s environment. “Go somewhere where you can build a base of judgment and behavior in business, and excel in some capacity,” says an insider. “Be the product manager of the best, newest PDA. It doesn’t have to be a small company. Interact with thought leaders, take risks, and succeed where there is something to be gained.” Finally, if you’re hell-bent on a career in VC, don’t give up. “If you strategize—are smart about looking for the opportunities—there will be some amount of opportunity for you to get in there,” says an insider.

Key Venture Capital Jobs Key Job

Average Bay Area Compensation*

General partner

$500,000–800,000

Junior partner

$150,000–300,000

VP/associate

$75,000–250,000

Analyst

$55,000–150,000

*Compensation includes deal bonuses and profit sharing. Source: WetFeet research.

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Largest VC Firms in the Bay Area Firm

Capital Managed as of 1/1/05 ($ millions)

Location

Website

TA Associates

6,000

Menlo Park

www.ta.com

Summit Partners

5,500

Palo Alto

www.summitpartners.com

Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers

3,500

Menlo Park

www.kpcb.com

Draper Fisher Jurvetson

3,345

Menlo Park

www.dfj.com

Benchmark Capital

3,099

Menlo Park

www.benchmark.com

VantagePoint Venture Partners

2,800

San Bruno

www.vpvp.com

U.S. Venture Partners

2,750

Menlo Park

www.usvp.com

Menlo Ventures

2,700

Menlo Park

www.menloventures.com

Lightspeed Venture Partners

2,300

Menlo Park

www.lightspeedvp.com

Mobius Venture Capital

2,211

Palo Alto

www.mobiusvc.com

InterWest Partners

2,112

Menlo Park

www.interwest.com

Battery Ventures

2,100

San Mateo

www.battery.com

Norwest Venture Partners

1,800

Palo Alto

www.nvp.com

Walden International

1,600

San Francisco

www.waldenintl.com

Alta Partners

1,500

San Francisco

www.altapartners.com

Source: San Francisco Business Times Book of Lists, 2006.

Resources Careers in Venture Capital (WetFeet Insider Guide, available from www.wetfeet.com) Pratt’s Guide to Venture Capital Sources National Association for Seed and Venture Funds (www.nasvf.org) National Venture Capital Association (www.nvca.org) Venture Capital Journal (www.venturecapitaljournal.net) VentureOne (www.ventureone.com)

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Major Careers Opportunities for professionals in certain occupations such as accounting, design, human resources, information technology, and sales and marketing are available broadly across a number of industries. Although companies now value more and more specialized industry knowledge, there exists a foundation of training and skills that is the same regardless of the industry in which they are applied. According to a pharmaceutical company employment representative, “What people may not understand is that you don’t have to be a scientist to work here. There’s great demand in our industry for talented people with backgrounds in marketing, sales, and other nonscientific areas.”

Accounting and Finance Accounting concerns itself with the day-to-day operations of bookkeeping. Accountants balance the books, track expenses and revenue, execute payroll, and pay the bills. They also compile all of the financial data needed to issue a company’s financial statements in accordance with government regulations. When most people think of accounting, they imagine a public accountant who has passed an exam to become a state-licensed certified public accountant (CPA). Public accountants work at independent public accounting firms, file a client’s taxes, and audit a client’s financial information. Finance professionals are typically more concerned with planning and projecting their organizations’ financial performance, as well as with raising capital and related activities. These days, accountants are taking a step away from the ledger sheets and becoming essential to every successful business team. They’re the ones who understand the language of money and can parse a company’s complex financial situation. Consequently, accountants are increasingly being called on to offer advice and even make business decisions.

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Accounting and finance jobs require critical, detail-oriented thinking. If you have a knack for using numbers to understand patterns that influence business, you’re going to be valuable to a company. If you can’t crunch numbers and analyze the data, these aren’t going to be the right jobs for you. You should also enjoy, and be good at, solving problems and be able to think critically about the numbers you’re working with. Companies large and small generally have their own staff accountants and finance professionals to advise management and perform internal audits and day-to-day bookkeeping. In addition to the private sector, city, county, state, and federal bureaucracies also employ numerous accounting and finance professionals.

Job Prospects The recently passed Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires companies to tighten their accounting practices and has consequently increased demand for entry-level accountants. So, despite all the recent accounting scandals, now is not a bad time to be looking for an entrylevel job in accounting. Clients need accountants in bad times as well as good, and the Big Four accounting firms—Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young, KPMG, and PricewaterhouseCoopers—always need bodies to do the lower-level grunt work; in return, employees get a wealth of exposure to accounting issues, as well as a Big Four name on their resumes, which helps them in a variety of business careers. Far and away, the most positions available in public accounting are in auditing, with tax coming in second. The need for forensic accountants—specialized accountants who focus on digging through clients’ balance sheets looking for red flags—is growing as the industry and its clients look to rebuild their reputations. Demand for in-house accounting employees is expected to be strongest in the health-care and manufacturing industries, though companies in every industry will always need accountants to handle their financial matters.

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Key Accounting Jobs Key Job

Median San Francisco Salary ($)

Accountant

$47,392–81,927*

Accounting clerk

$33,939–43,893*

Accounts payable supervisor

$50,832–75,642*

Auditing project lead Budget analyst

$93,510 $53,345–93,282*

Chief financial officer (CFO)

$330,796

Controller

$200,469

Cost accountant

$50,450–90,228*

Financial analyst

$51,877–94,960*

Internal auditor

$52,748–95,243*

Payroll supervisor

$58,480–84,595*

Tax accountant

$51,583–95,855*

Treasurer Accountant

$199,645 $47,392–81,927*

Note: Figures do not include bonuses or profit-sharing, which can vary widely. *Depending on skill set and seniority. Sources: Salary.com; WetFeet analysis.

Resources AccountingWEB (www.accountingweb.com) American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (www.aicpa.org) Careers in Accounting (WetFeet Insider Guide, available from www.wetfeet.com) California Society of Certified Public Accountants (www.calcpaweb.org) CPA Exam (www.cpa-exam.org) Institute of Internal Auditors (www.theiia.org) Institute of Internal Auditors: Northern California East Bay Chapter (www.theiia.org/chapters/index.cfm/home.page/cid/216) Institute of Management Accountants (www.imanet.org) International Federation of Accountants (www.ifac.org) Society of California Accountants (www.gosca.com)

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Design Designers design everything from airplanes (industrial design) to fabric patterns (textile design) to this book (publication/graphic design) and have a hand in virtually every industry. Even your groceries are designed: The labels and packages on your local supermarket’s shelves—from the package shapes to the printing on them—are the products of designers. Design encompasses a wide range of fields. Interior designers concern themselves with the spaces inside buildings and vehicles; fashion designers determine the look and function of our clothes. Graphic designers convey ideas through type and images. The ubiquitous logo for Coca-Cola, for instance, is the work of a graphic designer, while Levi’s 501 jeans are the work of a fashion designer. Designers often specialize. For instance, industrial designers—those who design objects and machines—might specialize in kitchen equipment, including the shape and function of food processors, electric can openers, and blenders.

Job Prospects The BLS expects the number of design jobs to rise about as fast as the average for all jobs through 2012. Job growth will be especially strong in areas such as graphic design and industrial design. There’s an increasing need for interior designers as well. And talented video game designers will find themselves in great demand as that industry moves forward; right now, demand for video game designers peaks with the release of new versions of gaming platforms, but as gaming moves onto the Web, we can expect demand to be more steady. Competition for these jobs is still fierce: Design is a very popular field and employers seek only the most talented people. Illustrators are suffering tremendously in the current market; many art directors who would have hired these folks in the past are increasingly using stock imagery purchased swiftly on the Web rather than pay artists to render original artwork. However, illustrators and other artists may find an outlet for their talents in electronic art or animation.

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Key Design Jobs Key Job Advertising art director

Median San Francisco Salary ($) 117,117

Cartoonist/animator

66,658

Graphic designer

53,158

Illustrator

40,296

Industrial designer

53,692–79,617*

Interior designer

41,635–79,327*

Packaging design manager

118,865

Web art director

115,418

Web creative/design director

142,735

Web designer Web production artist

57,915–85,964* 47,076

Note: Figures do not include bonuses, which can vary widely. *Depending on skill set and seniority. Sources: Salary.com; WetFeet analysis.

Resources American Institute of Graphic Arts (www.aiga.org) Art Directors Club (www.adcglobal.org) Communication Arts (www.commarts.com) Graphic Artists Guild: Northern California Chapter (norcal.gag.org) Graphic Arts Information Network (www.gain.org) Industrial Designers Society of America (www.idsa.org) International Interior Design Association (www.iida.org) Media Alliance (www.media-alliance.org) Society of Publication Designers (www.spd.org) Webguild Silicon Valley (www.webguild.org) WetFeet’s Design Career profile (www.wetfeet.com/content/careers.aspx)

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Human Resources The role of human resources (HR) in business has evolved from an exclusively in-house function to become its own industry providing a complete range of HR services. The need for HR professionals with a strong grounding in business, accounting, statistics, and legal issues is growing. Many in the field have master’s degrees and certifications. Top HR officers in corporations are often key members of the executive team, sitting alongside their counterparts in research, finance, operations, sales, and marketing. While job requirements may vary from one type of business to another, HR generalists are responsible for attracting and retaining employees, arranging and overseeing training, designing compensation plans, selecting and managing benefits programs, and advising management on employment law. Other HR roles include recruiters, trainers, outplacement specialists, and HR specialists, who provide advice on compensation, benefits administration, and HR information systems.

Job Prospects The outlook for HR jobs is about the same as for average job growth overall. The BLS projects that 39,000 new HR jobs will be created between 2002 and 2012, an increase of 19.4 percent. Some sectors will likely see greater growth and, with it, a greater demand for HR professionals. Computer and data processing services represent the area of fastest growth; the BLS expects HR jobs in the computer industry to grow by 66 percent. Opportunities in residential care and home health care are also expected to grow rapidly: The BLS considers these the second-best growth areas for HR. This reflects a general truism within HR: Changes in lifestyle and population trends are reflected in HR opportunities. One such example, related to the aging U.S. population, is the need for more HR workers in hospitals and health allied services. Hospitals ranked eighth in overall projected HR employment for 2010, and allied health ranked eighth in percentage change from 2000 to 2010.

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Key Human Resources Jobs Key Job Benefits administrator Benefits analyst Employee relations specialist Executive recruiter Human resources director Organizational development specialist Training specialist

Median San Francisco Salary ($) 47,158–68,571* 50,262–102,308* 50,867–98,123* 83,802 144,365 73,568 50,622–89,730*

Note: Figures do not include bonuses, which can vary widely. *Depending on skill set and seniority. Sources: Salary.com; WetFeet analysis.

Resources American Society for Training and Development (www.astd.org) Bay Area Compensation Association (www.baca-online.org) Careers in Human Resources (WetFeet Insider Guide, available from www.wetfeet.com) Electronic Recruiting Exchange (www.erexchange.com) Employee Benefit Research Institute (www.ebri.org) HR.com HR Magazine (www.shrm.org/hrmagazine) Society for Human Resource Management (www.shrm.org) Staffing Industry Analysts (www.sireview.com) Workforce Management (www.workforce.com)

Information Technology Email, personal computers, and the Internet: These products of the information age have become common currency among working professionals. They make your life simpler by enabling faster communication, providing tools for more effective work, and

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giving you access to vast information with the click of a mouse. But they also introduce a risk factor that isn’t totally within your control: If your computer fails or the network connection goes down, you lose time and often money. That’s where information technology (IT) specialists come in. IT brings you the information and applications such as word-processing, spreadsheet, and presentation software that office workers everywhere rely on to do their jobs. IT specialists create these products, and set up and maintain these systems. Their work varies widely. They upgrade your computer software; get your office computer network, or your computer, up and running again after it crashes; set up and maintain the servers on which your company’s internal applications run; create and customize the software products you use; build websites—and build and maintain the databases that you rely on to gather information to serve your customers. The range of IT jobs is vast. The skills needed to set up, say, an office network—installing the cables, configuring the computers to keep them running—are quite different from those required to set up and customize an automated-payroll software system. A database specialist needs yet other skills to administer the ever-changing complex of information generated by enterprise software applications and the company website, including files on visitors who have signed on as members, or purchased something. Each of these jobs requires different skills and in-depth technical knowledge. As a result, many IT jobs are highly specialized, focusing on a small aspect within the grand design of a company’s network. But no matter what job they do, all IT professionals focus on improving the usability and efficiency of technological systems and processes. Their goal is a smoothly functioning computer network—free of bugs, glitches, and interruptions—that provides an effective flow of information so the company can keep improving its work processes, customer retention and acquisition, and other aspects of its business.

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Job Prospects Recent layoffs and the economic downturn have had a tremendous effect on the IT workforce. Contractors grumble about falling rates, employees worry about their job security. It’s an employer’s job market now. You can’t show up for an interview unprepared or expect to see the swanky deals that made headlines a couple of years ago. Today’s hiring packages for IT workers are more consistent with those for other occupations: Relocation expenses, extra vacations, and perks such as free food and soda are no longer necessarily a part of the deal. The competition can be tough, and it’s important to differentiate yourself. Unpaid or underpaid internships can make a huge difference on your resume. Good references and work history are necessities. “The industry is becoming more consolidated,” a seasoned insider says. “People who don’t want to be in the industry have left. In some ways, it’s a nicer place to be. People aren’t in it for the money the way they used to be.”

Key Information Technology Jobs Key Job Database administrator Network administrator Programmer Project manager Software engineer Technical writer

Median San Francisco Salary ($) 99,737 54,355–98,709* 59,985–108,358* 80,872–97,522* 62,213–114,078* 49,415–88,701*

Note: Figures do not include bonuses, which can vary widely. *Depending on skill set and seniority. Sources: Salary.com; WetFeet analysis.

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Resources Bay Area chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery (www.baychi.org) Careers in Information Technology (WetFeet Insider Guide, available from www.wetfeet.com) East Bay IT Network (www.ebig.org) The Industry Standard (www.thestandard.com) North Bay Software & Information Technology Association (www.softech.org) Red Herring (www.redherring.com) Santa Clara Valley Software Quality Association (www.ventanatech.com/ssqa) SDForum (www.sdforum.org) Semiconductor Industry Association (http://www.sia-online.org/home.cfm) Software & Information Industry Association (www.siia.net) Wired magazine (www.wired.com)

Sales and Marketing A salesperson must become an expert in the field—be it telecommunications equipment, retail, real estate, or pharmaceuticals—supplying answers and information as much as goods or services. The contemporary salesperson is more a listener than a talker, and tailors the sale to fit the customer’s needs. Establishing and maintaining a broad customer base is the salesperson’s primary responsibility. Maintaining the client base is the key to success; most industries depend on repeat business for survival. To ensure client satisfaction, duties traditionally associated with customer service have become significant elements of the sales function. Salespeople are often expected to handle paperwork, address client problems and grievances, and manage special circumstances (for example, supervising unusual delivery conditions or alternative payment plans).

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Wages vary greatly. Base pay may be literally $0 per year for those confident (or desperate) enough to take a commission-only position. But salaries fall all along the income spectrum, and earnings at the high end can be in the six-figure range. Most sales positions offer a small base salary and pay a commission on each deal. Management positions generally command a reasonable base salary and don’t earn commissions because managers usually aren’t directly responsible for sales. Broadly speaking, marketing is the intermediary function between product development and sales. In a nutshell, it’s the marketer’s job to ensure that consumers look beyond price and functionality when they’re weighing their consumer options. Marketers create, manage, and enhance brands. (A brand can be thought of as the way consumers perceive a particular company or its products, and how a company reinforces or enhances those perceptions through its overall communications—its logo, advertising, packaging, etc.) Marketing is a function at every company in every industry. In the consumer products industry, marketing (called brand management) is the lead function. In other industries, marketing may play a supporting role to another function. At a high-tech company, for instance, marketing may play a supporting role to research and development. And in advertising, market research, and public relations, a specialized marketing function is what the industry is all about.

Job Prospects Sales opportunities vary by industry sector. High-growth industries, such as business services, are generating more sales roles than are slower-growth or more mature industries, such as manufacturing. Those looking for sales opportunities should look at sectors where recent trends are creating strong demand for a product or service, and avoid taking jobs in areas of high unemployment.

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Insurance agents and real estate agents can expect slower than average employment growth. Retail opportunities are expected to grow as fast as average for all occupations through 2012, with abundant opportunities for part-time work. The brightest sector for sales is projected to be sales manager and account representative opportunities in advertising, marketing, promotions, and public relations, according to the BLS. According to the BLS, employment in the field of marketing overall is expected to increase faster than average between 2002 and 2012. The BLS says that this sustained job growth will be supported by increasingly intense domestic and global competition in consumer products and services. However, budding marketers should expect intensified competition for full-time corporate marketing positions as marketing projects (including brand management) are increasingly outsourced to ad agencies and contract specialists. Corporations seem to be maintaining their wait-and-see attitude toward new marketing hires as they monitor their economic recovery.

Key Sales and Marketing Jobs Key Job Account executive Business development associate Channel sales rep Director of sales and marketing District retail sales manager

73,285 60,485–81,366* 55,222–119,052* 152,275 80,069

Divisional merchandising manager

187,010

E-commerce marketing manager

100,560

Marketing communications specialist

67,168

Pharmaceutical sales rep

64,329

Pricing analyst

57,160

Product marketing analyst

56,815–124,267*

Sales analyst

51,068–101,157*

Sales engineer

62,661–114,549*

Sales rep

61,306–131,851*

Note: Figures do not include bonuses, which can vary widely. *Depending on industry, skill set, and seniority. Sources: Salary.com; WetFeet analysis.

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Resources American Marketing Association (www.marketingpower.com) Brandweek (www.brandweek.com) Business Marketing Association (www.marketing.org) Careers in Brand Management* Careers in Marketing & Market Research* Justsell.com Marketing Sherpa (www.marketingsherpa.com) Silicon Valley American Marketing Association (svama.org) Society for Marketing Professional Services: San Francisco Chapter (www.smpssf.org) WetFeet’s Sales Career profile (www.wetfeet.com/content/careers.aspx) *WetFeet Insider Guides are available online from www.wetfeet.com.

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Employer Rankings The Bay Area’s Largest Employers Employer

Bay Area Employees

Kaiser Permanente

34,529

Health care

City & County of San Francisco

28,220

Municipal government

University of California, San Francisco

19,138

Education

State of California

18,247

State government

United States Postal Service

16,305

Postal service

University of California, Berkeley

13,429*

Education

Wells Fargo

13,230

Financial services

Safeway

12,638

Retail

Stanford University

10,686

Education

United Airlines

10,328

Transportation

Hewlett-Packard

9,500

Computer hardware and services

Alameda County

9,066

County government

Contra Costa County

9,000

County government

Oracle

9,000

Software

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

8,730

Research and development

PG&E

8,256

Energy and utilities

Macy’s West

7,460

Retail

San Francisco Unified School District

7,241

Education

Gap

7,240

Retail

Chevron

6,000

Energy and utilities

Genentech

5,763

Biotechnology

New United Motor Manufacturing

5,700

Auto manufacturing

Oakland Unified School District

5,614

Education

County of San Mateo

5,288

County government

*Full-time equivalent. Source: San Francisco Business Times Book of Lists, 2006; WetFeet analysis.

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Bay Area Companies Among the “100 Fastest-Growing Tech Companies” 3-Year Annual Industry Growth Rate (%)

Rank

Company

11

Packeteer

23.2

Software

14

eBay

67.2

Retail

16

Apple Computer

14.1

Electronics

24

Network Appliance

16.1

Electronics

27

OmniVision Technologies

115.4

Electronics

31

Genentech

25.8

Medical

34

Sonic Solutions

62.9

Software

37

Autodesk

6.6

Software

44

Adobe Systems

10.9

Software

46

WebEx Communications

51.4

Software

48

Symantec

32.4

Software

54

McAfee

7.7

Software

60

Logitech

16.7

Electronics

62

Fair Isaac

32.3

Business services

80

Symyx Technologies

10.9

Manufacturing

89

ArthroCare

22.7

Medical

Source: “100 Fastest-Growing Companies,” Fortune, 2005.

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Bay Area Employers Among “100 Best Companies to Work For” Rank

Industry

Headquarters

Genentech

Biotech

South San Francisco

25

Cisco Systems

Network/communications equipment

San Jose

27

Network Appliance

Net hardware

Sunnyvale

43

Intuit

Computer software

Mountain View

1

Company

73

Yahoo!

E-companies

Sunnyvale

81

Autodesk

Computer software

San Rafael

88

Morrison & Foerster

Legal

San Francisco

92

Men’s Wearhouse

Retail

Fremont

97

Intel

Semiconductors/electrical components

Santa Clara

Source: “100 Best Companies to Work For,” Fortune, 2006.

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Help Wanted? Job Postings Recruiters Job Fairs Staffing Agencies Networking

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You’re new in town. You need a job. How do you get past that I’m-not-in-Kansas-anymore mixture of excitement and fear, and get down to work? A job search in the Bay Area can be intimidating, even for natives. Prime positions are filled quickly, and competition is fierce. To make this unwieldy goal more manageable, break it down into simple steps. In the last chapter you gathered information about potential employers and the jobs they need to fill. The next step is to target your search and identify what positions are available and where.

Be a Name Dropper

Once you identify a job opening, don’t rely exclusively on submitting your resume in response, whether by mail, email, or an online application. Literally hundreds of people are applying for the same position, and it’s easy for your perfect qualifications to be overlooked. A better strategy is to find someone you know who works in the organization and ask whether you can use his or her name in your cover letter. Better yet, ask for a referral or personal introduction to the appropriate hiring manager.

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Job Postings Gone are the days of sitting in the coffee shop circling promising want ads with a pen. The Internet has made it easier than ever to learn about available jobs, assess the culture and benefits of a potential employer, read the latest annual report, check discussion boards to see what other job seekers have to say, search for representative salary ranges, and submit your resume—all without getting out of your pajamas. Job postings can be found on company websites, in general classified advertising (either online or in print), industry or association publications and websites, and through the career offices of colleges and universities.

Company Websites Most large companies maintain sophisticated websites with a wealth of information for job seekers. In the career section, you can often find job openings, descriptions of how the company is organized, and sometimes profiles of employees who hold representative positions. But don’t stop there. You can learn valuable information by reviewing the investor relations, press information, and company history sections. Employers often use online application systems Don’t abandon more to solicit resumes. These systems are usually mainstream job-seeking easy and convenient to use, and many successtechniques altogether when ful Bay Area job seekers have landed their you’re using “off-the-beatendream jobs by applying online. “If anyone tells path” strategies for pursuing you that you’ll never get a job just by applying the job you want. through the company website, don’t believe them,” says one Bay Area local who found the perfect position with a Sunnyvale-based Internet company, soon after launching an out-of-town job search from Washington,

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D.C. While success stories like these should provide you with a glimmer of hope as you hit the “submit application now” button, we generally advise against relying exclusively on Web-based application technology to get your resume noticed. In many cases (unless you’ve included the perfect keywords to match a hiring manager’s search elements), your set of perfect qualifications will be a needle in a huge electronic haystack.

D o n ’ t Fall I nto th e I nte r n e t B l ack H o le

It’s easy to get distracted while online. You start out on Craigslist (www.craigslist.org), where a job posting for a nonprofit management position catches your eye. Before you settle into your chair to tailor your resume and cover letter for the position, you decide to check out the rental listings because your former college roommate is moving to the Bay Area. One thing leads to another and soon you’re checking out the “casual encounters” section because a recent episode of Oprah sparked your curiosity about what goes on in the suburbs. To stay on target, set limits for the amount of time you’ll stay online, and ask yourself before you start: What are my goals for this session?

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Use company websites to look for available jobs, but also for clues to their corporate culture: •

Is it for-profit or nonprofit?

•

What is the company’s size, number of employees, annual revenue, growth rate?

•

What is the pace of work? Dynamic and always changing? Or more routine?

•

Does the company support family-friendly policies and benefits?

•

What opportunities exist for women and minorities? How many women and minorities are represented in upper management?

•

Is the company environmentally conscious?

•

Are people who work at the company in it for the money? Or are they more interested in quality—to offer the best product or service in their industry?

•

What kind of recognition or awards has the company received?

M u l t i t a sk i n g

Searching job postings can result in more than a list of job openings. You can also: 1. Discover industry keywords to use in your resume. 2. Assess the demand for your skills in a particular industry or geographic area. 3. Benchmark your salary expectations.

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Classified Ads The want ads still exist, of course, but the San Francisco Chronicle, for example, also maintains a searchable online version of the print ads. In addition, there are a number of Internet job boards such as Monster.com that encourage you to post your resume as well as search jobs in the profession, industry, and geographic region of your choice. Understand that for every job listed, literally Ask any relative newcomhundreds of resumes are submitted. For certain er to the Bay Area how jobs, your chances might be better if you use a they found their job and their smaller, local Bay Area job board because an apartment. I guarantee you employer seeking a local hire (without relocathat the answer to at least one tion issues) may want to limit responses to a of those questions is Craigslist. manageable number.

General Job Posting Websites Career Builder (www.careerbuilder.com) Career Mole (www.careermole.com) NowHiring.com Monster (www.monster.com) Wall Street Journal’s Career Journal (www.careerjournal.com) Yahoo! HotJobs (www.hotjobs.com)

Bay Area Job Posting Websites BAJobs.com Bay Area Job Finder (www.bayareajobfinder.com) California Job Journal (www.jobjournal.com)

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CAJobs.com (www.cajobs.com) CalJOBS—California Employment Development Department (www.caljobs.ca.gov) Craigslist (www.craigslist.org) JobStar San Francisco (jobstar.org/adjobs/hotline) San Francisco Careers—HomeTown Careers Network (www.sanfranciscocareers.com)

Meet Craig: A Man and his List

To the uninitiated, it might seem implausible that the no-frills website Craigslist (www.craigslist.org) is actually a job seeker’s treasure trove. In fact, the unassuming online bulletin board seems a little too low-tech and a little too all-inclusive to be a legitimate resource for the serious job seeker—with its understated blue-on-white font quietly directing visitors to everything from garage sales to vacation rentals. If you didn’t know any better, you might cruise right by Craigslist en route to a splashier job posting website with elaborate search engines, fancy graphics, and flashy animation. But just as you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, you shouldn’t discount the quality of a website because of its plain-Jane appearance. For many Bay Area residents, Craigslist is more than a website—it’s a way of life. “Ask any relative newcomer to the Bay Area how they found their job and their apartment,” advises one Indianapolis transplant. “I guarantee you that the answer to at least one of those questions is Craigslist.”

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M e e t C r a i g : A M a n a n d h i s L i s t, co n t ’ d

Craigslist (named after the site’s founder, Craig Newmark) operates scores of local online bulletin boards around the globe—cities including New York, Boston, Los Angeles, and Seattle have their own Craigslists—but the website was born in the Bay Area, and has attracted a sizeable and dedicated following here (primarily through word-of-mouth) since its inception in 1995. Locals who are in the market for everything from apartment rentals to antiques to used cars trawl through the listings, and in-the-know job seekers check it out regularly, too. “For the longest time, I had no idea that Craigslist included job postings,” admits one longtime Bay Area resident, who made contact with her current employer after spotting a job posting on the popular website. “I had found my car off of Craigslist, but I had no idea that so many employers post jobs there before they’ll post them anywhere else.” Local employers and job seekers aren’t the only ones who rely on Craigslist. Pick up any respected local news publication— from the Palo Alto Weekly to the San Francisco Chronicle— and look for articles describing the Bay Area job market. Sure, these articles will mention statistics generated by esteemed regional and national think tanks, but most will also mention the number of job listings on Craigslist over a given period. “It’s almost as though Bay Area residents view Craigslist as a sort of barometer for how the economy as a whole is doing,” observes one Bay Area local. “We don’t care about statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor. We want to know if the number of job postings on Craigslist is going up or down.”

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Meet Craig: A Man and his List

The size and scope of its Bay Area audience makes Craigslist an extraordinarily powerful research tool for anyone investigating the regional job market. Though the site itself is short on bells and whistles, the job listings are user-friendly. Jobs are organized into 23 industry- and function-specific subcategories, and listed according to the date posted (most recent first). You can either search the entire Bay Area, or you can limit your search to one of five specific regions (San Francisco, North Bay, East Bay, the Peninsula, or South Bay). If you see a posting that sounds like a perfect match, be prepared to move quickly: Jobs posted on Craigslist can disappear quickly since so many qualified job seekers are checking in regularly, ready to pounce on your dream job. “I waited one day to respond to a posting for a journalist position with a local paper,” says one job seeker. “By the time I was ready to send my cover letter and writing samples, the job was gone—the initial response they received was so great, they decided not to accept any additional applications.” Once you’ve landed your dream job, the site can help you with the rest of your Bay Area move, too. You can secure a car, an apartment, used furniture, a sitter for Fido, a new best friend, and—if you’re feeling adventurous—that special someone you’ve been waiting a lifetime to meet. How’s that for onestop shopping?

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Industry- and Career-Specific Job Posting Websites Accounting

Accountemps (www.accountemps.com) CareerBank.com CPA Career Center (www.cpa2biz.com/career/default.htm) Jobs in the Money (www.jobsinthemoney.com/accounting-jobs.cfm) Advertising and Public Relations

Advertising Media Internet Company (www.amic.com) Advertising Research Foundation (www.arfsite.org) Bay Area STAR Jobs Directory (www.bayareastar.org/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=33&item=108) Talent Zoo (www.talentzoo.com) Biotechnology

Bio.com Career Center (www.bio.com) BioSpace Career Center (www.biospace.com/jobs) Bioview (www.bioview.com) JobScience (www.jobscience.com) Laboratory Network Career Center (www.laboratorynetwork.com) Northstar Recruiting (www.northstarcorp.com/) Sciencejobs (www.sciencejobs.com/splash.action) ScienceCareers.org (http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org) Consulting

eFinancialCareers (jobs.efinancialcareers.com/consultancy.htm)

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Design

24 Seven Talent (www.24seventalent.com) Coroflot (www.coroflot.com) Creative Hotlist (www.creativehotlist.com) Artist Resource (www.artistresource.org/jobs.htm) Education

Bay Area Private Schools job listings (www.baprivateschools.com/employment.htm) Ed-join.org (www.edjoin.org) Education Week (www.edweek.org) Edutech Online (www.edutech-1.com) HigherEdJobs.com k12jobs.com Financial Services and Insurance

American Academy of Actuaries (www.contingencies.org) American Bankers Association (aba.careerbank.com) BankJobs.com CareerBank.com eFinancial Careers (www.efinancialcareers.com) GreatInsuranceJobs.com Jobs in the Money (www.jobsinthemoney.com) SF Gate (www.sfgate.com/jobs; open the “Financial Services” link under “Top Bay Area Industries”) Health Care

Abiliti Healthcare Recruiters (www.abiliti.com) CampusRN.com Comprehensive Health Care Staffing (www.comphealth.com)

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Job Hunting in San Francisco Help Wanted?

HEALTHeCAREERS Network (www.healthecareers.com) Hospitalsoup.com JobScience (www.jobscience.com) MedCAREERS (www.medcareers.com) MedHunters.com MedJump.com Medzilla.com SF Gate (www.sfgate.com/jobs; open the “Healthcare” link under “Top Bay Area Industries”) Human Resources

Bay Area Compensation Association (http://baca-online.org) Electronic Recruiting Exchange’s Job Board (www.erexchange.com/jobboard) HR Hub (www.hrhub.com) I Hire HR (www.ihirehr.com) Jobs4HR.com My HR Jobs (www.myhrjobs.com) Information Technology

Bay Area Computer Work (bayarea.computerwork.com) ComputerJobs.com Dice (www.dice.com) Eric Robert Staffing Solutions (www.ericrobert.com) JobsNetWORK (jobsnetwork.siia.net) JustTechJobs.com Techies.com (www.techies.com/jobs.html) Law

EmpLawyerNet (www.emplawyernet.com; paid subscription required) FindLaw Career Center (careers.findlaw.com)

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Law Info Career Center (jobs.lawinfo.com) Lawjobs.com Legalstaff.com Legal Marketing Association: Bay Area Chapter (www.lmabayarea.org) Manufacturing

ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) Career Center (www.asme.org/jobs) ChemicalEngineer.com ChemJobs.net DNAjobs.com Real Estate

RealEstateJobs.com Real-Jobs.com Retail Trade

AllRetailJobs.com Hcareers.com (www.retailjobs.hcareers.com) iHireRetail.com Retailology.com SF Gate (www.sfgate.com/jobs; open the “Retail” link under “Top Bay Area Industries”) Style Careers (www.stylecareers.com) Sales and Marketing

Advertising Research Foundation (www.arfsite.org) American Marketing Association’s Career Center (www.marketingpower.com/content966.php) Association of National Advertisers (www.ana.net/hr/hr.htm)

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Jobs4Sales.com MarketingJobs.com SalesHeads.com SalesJobs.com Tourism and Hospitality

Hcareers.com Hospitality Jobs Online (www.hospitalityonline.com) restaurantrecruit.com WineandHospitalityJobs.com Venture Capital

Glocap Search (www.glocap.com)

Industry or Professional Publications Often you can successfully hone your search by reviewing newsletters and job boards sponsored by professional associations or other industry-specific sources. These tend to be viewed by a smaller audience, decreasing the competition for posted openings. You’ll want to conduct some research to find a list of publications for your particular career or industry. See the “Resources” sections of the industry and career profiles in the previous chapter for examples of industry publications.

Career Resource Centers If you’re a college student, take advantage of your campus career center. Not only do recruiters from major employers regularly visit certain colleges and universities, but you can also learn about alumni who work for the employers on your interest list. San Francisco’s three One-Stop Career Link Centers offer a variety of free resources for San Francisco job seekers and employers: educational and career and occupational

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assessment; individual and group counseling, including educational, career, and jobrelated personal counseling services; and referrals to appropriate agencies, training programs, and educational facilities. The following are among the organization’s San Francisco locations: 801 Turk Street, San Francisco (at Franklin Street; open M–F 8–5 p.m.) 415-749-7503 3120 Mission Street, San Francisco (at Cesar Chavez Street; open M–W 8–4:30 p.m., Th 8–7:45 p.m., and F 8–4:30 p.m.) 415-401-4800 1800 Oakdale Avenue, San Francisco (City College of San Francisco; open M–F 8–5 p.m.) 415-970-7762 For a complete listing of One-Stop Career Link Centers throughout California— including locations, hours, and services—go to www.edd.ca.gov/ONE-STOP/osfile.pdf.

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Recruiters The mere mention of the word recruiters makes some job seekers run screaming. Sometimes called headhunters, they can be slick and hard-selling, and they’ll drop you in a flash in favor of a more qualified candidate. But they can also get you exactly the kind of access to a hiring manager that you want. “If you’re going to consult a staffing agency,” says one Bay Area HR coordinator, “it’s important to keep both an open mind and a firm idea about what you want. Don’t be afraid to let them know the salary range you’re looking for or the type of company you’re interested in, regardless of your background. They normally have quite a few jobs that they are recruiting for and more than likely will have something that fits both your background and your professional goals.” If you find you’re not getting interviews based on your own efforts or that you need to expand your contacts beyond your current network, consider using the services of a professional recruiter. Also, if you’re searching at the executive level, where jobs may not be publicly posted, a recruiter can be even more helpful. Recruiters come in a variety of flavors: •

Corporate recruiters are the HR folks who are employed by a company to find and qualify new employees for the organization. For the purposes of this discussion, however, we use recruiters to refer to third-party recruiters.

•

Third-party recruiters are subcontracted and paid for by a company. They work in one of two ways:

- Retained recruiters have an exclusive contract with the company and are primarily used for executive-level positions.

- Contingency recruiters are paid a fee only if the company hires a candidate discovered through their efforts.

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If you find yourself on the phone with a recruiter who says she has the perfect job for you, keep in mind: she gets her paycheck from the hiring employer. Third-party recruiters generally receive 20 to 30 percent of a placed candidate’s first-year salary. The recruiter may do a fine job presenting your skills and helping you negotiate the best deal possible. But don’t hold it against her if, when it comes to the bottom line, her primary allegiance is not with you.

How Recruiters Work Recruiting firms are employment agencies. Companies hire executive recruiters to find and bring in candidates for management positions—anyone with two years of professional work experience or more. The corporation is the recruiter’s client, and the job candidate is the product. Thus, recruiters normally find a person for the job, not a job for the person. This is an important distinction. Most firms specialize either regionally, by profession (e.g., accounting, legal, advertising, marketing), or by industry—such as high-tech or pharmaceutical. Some firms have exclusive contracts to do all of a company’s outsourced hiring.

Grilling your Recruiter

Some questions to ask if you are contacted by a recruiter and asked to send your resume: Do you have a specific job in mind for me? Once you receive my resume, when can I expect to hear from you again? Will you seek my consent before sending my resume to one of your clients?

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Finding a Recruiter Step one is finding a recruiting firm that works in your field. Begin by asking people you know. If your dream job is at a specific company, find out who handles its recruiting. If you belong to a professional association, ask colleagues for the names of recruiters who specialize in your industry. You can find contact information for recruiters online, but it’s best to ask for references from those who have worked with them. Once you’ve found a firm, choose an individual recruiter with whom you can develop a good relationship. “Above all, find a person you trust,” says Howard Hegwer, a managing partner of Management Recruiters International, in Seattle. “If there is not a bond of trust, then the relationship will be unproductive and disappointing.” Put the recruiter to the test. How established is this firm? How long has this person been recruiting? Does she have a solid working knowledge of your field? Years of experience are great, but not absolutely essential. Someone who spent 20 years in accounting can probably step right in and act as an excellent recruiter for accounting jobs. Be certain you understand how the recruiting process will work. If you are currently employed—and hope to stay that way until you decide otherwise—discretion is a must. Insist on pre-approving your resume’s travel itinerary, so it doesn’t show up in the hands of your boss’s golf partner. However, the more initial information you give to the recruiter, the easier it’ll be for her to find the right fit for you. If you can find two or three recruiters you trust and with whom you want to work, so much the better. Recruiters rely heavily on their personal contacts and arrangements with certain companies, so each recruiter widens your circle. But be careful not to make the circles so wide that they overlap. Recruiters’ enthusiastic pursuit of your job search may suddenly wane if they send your resume to a company, only to find that another recruiter has also done so. Tell your recruiters about one another so they have that information to work with.

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“I make sure that I’ve introduced myself to those recruiting firms that do work in my field. I find out who they are by asking my target companies which recruiters they use. I register on the recruiter’s website. I might even send a blind letter to introduce myself,” says one job seeker. “If a recruiter sends around a query about a position that isn’t right for me, I will try to find a way to help them identify a candidate who will be appropriate.”

Working with Recruiters How can you best help the recruiter help you? The more you put into the process, the more you’ll get out of it. Be honest and clear about your career goals. Describe the type of position you want, your salary requirements, where you want to work, and anything that is prima facie unacceptable. “The more I know about a candidate and what they are looking for,” says one recruiter, “the more likely it is that I can make a great presentation about that person to a company.” Remember that you’re the product the recruiter is selling. “Listen to the recruiter when it comes to interview techniques and negotiation,” says David Gomez, CEO of David Gomez and Associates, a Chicago-based recruiting agency specializing in marketing, advertising, accounting, finance, and diversity recruiting. Recruiters send people out to interview all the time, and they get feedback from both sides on what worked and what didn’t. A good recruiter may be able to tell you the interviewing style of the person you’ll be meeting, and perhaps even some of his or her trick questions. Even if you’ve spent a number of years in your field and know who you are and what you’re worth, a recruiter can point out key details that will make your skills more enticing to a potential employer.

National Recruiter Networks BankStaffers.com (www.bankstaffers.com) National Association of Executive Recruiters (www.naer.org) Oya’s Directory of Recruiters (www.i-recruit.com) Recruiters Online Network (www.recruitersonline.com)

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Top San Francisco Bay Area Staffing Agencies Rank

Agency

Website

Specialties

1

Volt Services Group

www.volt.com

Administrative, light industrial, engineering/technical, customer service, accounting, finance

2

ATR International

www.atr1.com

Technology/biotech

3

All Star Consulting

www.all-stars.com

IT contingent staffing

4

Remedy Intelligent Staffing

www.remedytemp.com

Banking, financial, legal, real estate, mortgage, insurance, manufacturing, distribution

5

MindSource

www.mindsource.com

IT; security

6

Dynamic Office & Accounting Solutions

www.dynamicplacements.com

All industries

7

Wollborg/Michelson Personnel www.wmjobs.com Service

All industries

8

TeamPersona Computing

www.teampersona.com

Utilities, health care, financial services, government, IT

9

Technical Temps

www.technicaltemps.com

Municipals, electronics, logistic companies, accounting

10

Aunt Ann’s Agency

www.auntanns.com

Homecare staffing

11

Palo Alto Staffing

www.wehire.com

Venture capital, legal, financial services, medical devices, biotech

12

Josephine’s Personnel Services

www.jps-inc.com

Manufacturing, biotech, private practice

13

DM Stone

www.dmstone.com

Banking, stock brokerage, credit/processing, investment management

14

McCall Staffing Services

www.mccallstaffing.com

All industries; nonprofit

15

Foundation Systems

www.foundationsys.com

IT, technical, sales, and marketing

Source: San Francisco Business Times Book of Lists, 2004; WetFeet analysis.

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Job Fairs If you’ve ever been to a professional or industry conference, you can visualize the scene: rows of booths at which representatives of various employers are available to meet you, answer your questions, and accept your resume. Job fairs can be a useful way to make a personal contact within the companies on your interest list, but these meetings are not real interviews. Keep in mind that these representatives may speak with hundreds of job seekers while the fair is in session. You’ll have only a brief opportunity to make an impression, so dress professionally and have a two-minute elevator pitch prepared about who you are and what you want. Get a business card and follow up immediately afterward with an email, phone call, or written note reminding the recruiter of who you are. Your goal is to get a personal referral to the right hiring manager or, better yet, an interview. Beware, though: The people who staff job fair booths for a company are typically from the HR office. Your goal is to get to the hiring manager.

Be Enthusiastic

Whether you’re making contact at a job fair, a networking session, or during an interview, one of the most effective things you can do to make a good impression is to show positive interest. Make eye contact, but avoid a stare-down; ask good questions, but know when to listen as well; sit up straight toward the edge of your chair; and if you like what you hear, say so.

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Where to Find Job Fairs

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•

Check out the Job Fairs link on the California Job Journal website (www.jobjournal.com), which lists not only job fairs, but other career-related events such as resume and interviewing workshops by region.

•

Visit the San Francisco Chronicle’s online resource center for job seekers: www.sfgate.com/jobs/events.

•

Visit the California Economic Development Department website and follow the link to job seeker resources, where you’ll find a list of upcoming job fairs: www.edd.ca.gov/eddjobfairevents.asp.

•

You should also check the websites of the employers you’re interested in working for, as they’ll often contain information about job fairs and other recruiting events in which they’ll be taking part.

Job Hunting in San Francisco Help Wanted?

Staffing Agencies An employment agency can help place you in a job for a fee (sometimes that fee is paid by the employer). A temporary staffing agency helps companies fill short-term employment needs: filling in for vacations, leaves of absence, or for special projects. Some firms combine these functions by placing staff with employers for trial periods. If things work out, you convert to full-time employment after Insider Tip a specified period (and the employer pays a fee). If either you or the employer decides the job is not a good fit, you move on. Let your temp agency rep Look at is this way: You can earn a little money while you search for a job. You may even find a full-time job as the result of a temp assignment. What better way to get the real story on working conditions and job responsibilities?

know you’re looking for fulltime work. With advance notice, you can schedule your assignments around job interviews.

A true temporary job (rather than a trial run for a full-time position) can provide the kind of flexibility you need when conducting a job search. Let your temp agency rep know you’re looking for full-time work. With advance notice, you can schedule your assignments around job interviews.

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Bay Area Employment and Temp Agencies Advanced Employment Services 760 Market Street, Suite 1046 San Francisco, CA 94102 415-989-1188 www.advancedemployment.com Advanced Technical Resources (ATR) 1230 Oakmead Parkway, Suite 110 Sunnyvale, CA 94085 408-328-8000 www.atr1.com

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Certified Employment Group San Francisco: 111 Pine Street, Suite 1200 San Francisco, CA 94111 415-433-3600 www.certifiedemployment.com South Bay: 260 South Sunnyvale Avenue Sunnyvale, CA 94086 (408) 749-1570

Alan J. Blair 100 Bush Street, Suite 2180 San Francisco, CA 94104 415-391-5777 www.alanjblair.com

Hermanson’s Employment Services 742 14th Street San Francisco, CA 94114 415-255-9494 www.hermansons.com

ArtLinks Staffing 1450 Fourth Street, Suite #10 Berkeley, CA 94710 510-528-2668 www.artlinks-staffing.com

Incline, Inc. 5201 Great America Parkway, Suite 320 Santa Clara, CA 95054 408-562-6371 www.inclineinc.com

AtWork Personnel Services 3135 Clayton Road, Suite 202 Concord, CA 94519 925-671-4077 www.atworkpersonnel.com

Manpower San Jose 3180 Newberry Drive San Jose, CA 95118 408-264-5200 www.manpowersj.com

Job Hunting in San Francisco Help Wanted?

Palo Alto Staffing Services 2471 E. Bayshore Road, Suite 525 Palo Alto, CA 94303 650-493-0223 or 1-800-275-2236 www.wehire.com Smith Hampton & Devlin Personnel Services 369 Pine Street, Suite 506 San Francisco, CA 94104 415-986-4844 www.shdevlin.com Technical Temps Inc. 1096 Pecten Court, 2nd Floor Milpitas, CA 95030 408-956-8254 www.technicaltemps.com

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Networking If you’re an accountant, why not simply go to Monster.com and search for accounting/ auditing jobs in the San Francisco Bay Area? Of the resulting 1,367 positions posted, you ought to land at least one job offer, right? Wrong. A few hundred other accountants are also looking at those same postings. The minute a posting goes live, the hiring manager will be deluged with resumes. “I was amazed at the response,” says a hiring manager who posted a temporary graphic design position on the popular publishing industry website, Media Bistro. “The emails began within minutes. We got more than 200 resumes, and this was for a job that would last two months! I had to find someone fast. I picked the first 20 that looked qualified and called 5 to interview. There was no way I could review 200 resumes.” No matter how qualified you are, the odds are low that, even if you spend time crafting a compelling cover letter and tweaking the focus of your resume for each, your qualifications will stand out in the crowd. A better way to target your search is by talking to people working in your industry to find those job opportunities before they hit the classifieds. “The biggest thing is to tell everybody you’re job hunting,” says one job seeker who recently landed an IT job after a four-month search. “You really need the inside track to find a good job. If you know the market is tight, keep your mind open and spread the word.”

Relationships Matter The adage, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know, couldn’t possibly be more relevant than when it comes to a job search. We heard over and over that the way people learned about the job they landed was from a personal contact: former colleagues, friends of friends, the guy who sat next to them on a bus…

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Networking can happen in a variety of ways. One job seeker said that when she learned her employer was relocating to another state, she called everyone she knew and told them she was searching. “I’ve kept in touch with old colleagues from previous jobs, and one of them had heard about this job. He told me who the key players were,” she said. “He said I could use his name, and then after the first interview, they spoke to him to see what his work experience was with me.” She got the job. Networking also includes aggressively pursuing people you’ve never met. Are there prominent members of a professional association that you admire? Seek them out and ask for an informational interview. Read professional journals and industry news articles. Contact the authors and let them know how their articles were helpful. Just because there isn’t a posted opening doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ask for a meeting. If you can get to know people on a professional level, they’re more likely to think of you when a job becomes available or when a recruiter calls asking for a referral.

Networking and initiative are absolutely critical to a successful Bay Area job search. Of course, these two things are important when you’re looking for a job anywhere, but when the job market is a little bit slower—like it is in the Bay Area at the moment—it’s just not enough to reply to job postings on a company website and wait for the phone to ring. The Golden Rule Remember that what comes around, goes around. “It’s important not only to ask how a person can help me, but also to do what I can to help someone else,” says one job seeker. “If you ask for a favor, you certainly should be willing to return it at some point in time.” One PR professional regularly attends press briefings and sends a summary of the key points to her network of PR representatives who may not have had time to

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attend. Not only do her busy colleagues who need to keep up with their industry appreciate the service, it’s also an opportunity to get her name in front of people who are most likely to know about jobs coming available.

Informational Interviewing The networking process, properly executed, proceeds primarily through a series of information and referral meetings. Information refers to the premise of the meeting, which is to exchange information and obtain advice—not, ostensibly, to interview for a specific job. By defusing the meeting in this way, you make it much easier for people to agree to meet with you. Informational interviews are especially useful when you are changing careers and trying to break into a new industry. Informational interviews are not to be confused with job interviews. Rather they are where you gather valuable information that can lead you to some great referrals to people who are hiring or new resources for your current or future job searches. When it comes to setting up informational interviews, find someone with whom to talk based on your interests and goals. This could be specific industries, companies, or a particular job function. Use your networking skills to request that someone agree to be “interviewed” by you for information. This can be done in person, by phone, or even by instant-messaging (IM). Prepare questions you will want to ask in advance and keep three or four objectives in mind. Try to connect with the person you are interviewing—research the field, industry, job function—in order to gain advice about your job search.

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Informational Interview Etiquette Keep the following points in mind during an informational interview: •

Keep your conversation targeted.

•

Specifically ask for the information you want.

•

Get names of contacts.

•

Be brief; don’t overstay your visit.

Sample Informational Interview Questions Here are some questions to consider asking during an informational interview: •

Can you tell me a bit about your background?

•

How did you get started in this industry?

•

What’s the company culture really like?

•

Can you describe a typical day or week?

•

What advice would you offer to someone trying to break into this industry?

•

What do you like the most and least about the industry? About the job? About the company?

•

How would you approach a job search for this organization or industry?

•

Could you recommend other colleagues with whom I can speak? Can I use your name when I contact them?

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Networking Events Networking events are a great way to kick off your job search and begin generating a circle of contacts. Not just for job seekers, networking events also provide a forum for generating new business and even making social contacts. There is typically an entry fee ranging from $10 to $35, depending on the forum. To get the most out of one of these events, attend not just as a job seeker, but rather with the simple intention of meeting new people. You may very well meet someone who works at, or knows someone who works at, one of your targeted employers. Maybe you’ll even get a date. Don’t go into an organized networking event unprepared. It may not always be appropriate to deliver your two-minute presentation, but you should have it ready, just in case. It also helps to set goals, such as introducing yourself to at least three people or making one contact with a live lead. You’ll be surprised at how often you’ll meet your goals without seeming to make much effort at all. It helps to be clear about the outcome you’d like. Working a room is all about body language. Hold yourself with confidence, make eye contact, and shake hands. Take it easy on the alcohol, and don’t ramble on in conversations—the ability to listen makes a great first impression. Follow through promptly on any promises you make to email information or make phone calls. Remember, if you provide a favor to someone, it’s easier to call him when you need the favor returned.

Finding Bay Area Networking Events Alliance of Technology and Women, Silicon Valley Chapter (www.atwinternational.com/chapters/silicon_valley) American Institute for Graphic Arts, San Francisco Chapter (http://aigasf.org) Bay Area Business Woman (www.babwnews.com)

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Bay Area Career Center: Job Search Club (www.bayareacareercenter.com) California Job Journal: Events Calendar (sfcalendar.chamberbusinesssuite.com) The Churchill Club (www.churchillclub.org) The Commonwealth Club (www.commonwealthclub.org) East Bay Happy Hour—monthly networking event for technology professionals in the East Bay (www.eastbaytechhub.com) Entrepreneur Center (www.ecenteronline.org) Financial Women’s Association of San Francisco (www.fwasf.org) Forum for Women Entrepreneurs and Executives, Bay Area (www.fwe.org) Graphic Artist’s Guild, Northern California Chapter (http://norcal.gag.org) Media Alliance (http://media-alliance.org) San Francisco Chamber of Commerce (www.sfchamber.com/programs_business_after_hours.htm) San Francisco Women on the Web (www.sfwow.org) Silicon Valley Association of Startup Entrepreneurs (www.svase.org) Silicon Valley Fellowship (www.svfellowship.org) Silicon Valley Round Table (www.svrt.org) Silicon Valley World Internet Center (www.worldinternetcenter.com) Tri-Valley Happy Hour (www.trivalleytechhub.com)

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Landing a Job First Steps Your Resume and Cover Letter Searching from Out of Town Put Your Best Foot Forward Follow Up Effectively Salary Concerns After You Land the Job

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First Steps Now that you know where to look for jobs, you can concentrate on how to present yourself in the best light. Finding a job in the Bay Area is fundamentally no different from finding a job anywhere else. The process simply has a broader scope. (Take a job search in almost any other city and multiply by ten.) Some would also say the stakes are higher; the competition is stiff; the cost of living is through the ceiling. How long can you live on your savings or severance pay? You have to work smart, set priorities, be persistent, and stay positive. And this means developing a thorough job-search plan and sticking to it.

Get Organized Just as you would for a class or any major project, record your goals and track your progress in a dedicated notebook or in a folder on your computer that’s just for your job search. As your search evolves, it will be very helpful to be able to refer to your notes to see what you’ve done, what worked, what didn’t, and so on. When conducting online research, organize the sites you review regularly in your Internet browser’s “favorites” or “bookmarks” list, so that you don’t waste time trying to find information you’ve already located. How much time should you spend on your job search each week?

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•

If you’re in school, plan to devote as much time to your job search as you would to a single course.

•

If you’re looking for a job while employed, plan to spend 15 hours per week on your search.

•

If you’re unemployed, treat your search as if it were a full-time job. Devote 35 hours per week to the effort.

Job Hunting in San Francisco La n d i n g a J o b

Assess Yourself Any good job search begins with a thorough self-assessment. Looking for a new job is a great opportunity to realign your goals—and it’s up to you to articulate exactly what those goals are. Start by asking yourself these questions, and spend some time reflecting on the answers: •

What are my values? Deep down, what guides me as I make my decisions? Is it a need to make a difference, make big bucks, be admired, or to help others?

•

What are my priorities and objectives for the next few years? What about five years from now?

•

What are my core strengths?

•

What provides meaning in my life? What is my purpose?

•

Where does work fit into my vision of life?

To really get the most out of this exercise, and those that follow, write out or type up your thoughts in a notebook or computer document. Doing so will force you to crystallize your ideas and make it possible for you to refer to them later. Finding the answers to these questions now will make the next steps of your job search much easier, and the final result a greater success—by landing you in a position that is as closely aligned as possible with your goals.

Define Your Goals Maybe you know exactly what type of job you want, but don’t know which employers are looking for your skills? Or maybe you’re interested in a particular industry because you want to make a difference—or make a lot of money—but don’t know where to look for employers. (To follow our example, pharmaceutical companies and investment banks employ a range of people with nonscientific and non-financial backgrounds. Or

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maybe you want to make new use of your experience (a manufacturing executive who moves into consulting, for example). Getting a grip on your priorities will help you focus your search and avoid wasting time pursuing irrelevant leads. Let’s say you’re an MBA interested in management consulting. Will you be looking at the elite firms? Those affiliated with the Big Four Midcareer job seekers should accounting firms? Or will you consider smaller expect to spend one to two boutique firms? Or perhaps you’re an HR genmonths searching for every eralist. In which industry will you search? What $10,000 of salary. For example, size company? (Remember that small compaa job paying $80,000 could nies—those with fewer than 500 employees— take 8 to 16 months to find. account for more than two-thirds of all jobs in the Bay Area. Are you comfortable without an established organizational structure or even a clearly defined job description, or does such ambiguity make you break out in hives?) Would you prefer to work for one of the region’s many startups, or do you envision yourself within a more mature, established enterprise? (Startups are not for the faint of heart; the uncertainty of securing funding or achieving profitability means that only those who thrive on adventure and risk— and those who are comfortable wearing many professional hats—are likely to succeed in such an environment.) Are you determined to conduct a self-directed job search, or would you prefer the assistance of a staffing agency or an executive search firm? The answers to these questions will help you define your search in a way that can make it more manageable. Insider Tip

Consider this: It typically takes a field of 200 possible positions to produce one job offer. You may have a particular company in mind that you’d like to work for, but to generate three good offers (a reasonable goal), you will need to define your search more broadly. A former Bay Area job seeker offers this advice: “An all-or-nothing approach isn’t necessarily the best way to land your dream job here. Things don’t happen overnight; sometimes it takes a series of smaller steps to get what you want. If you can’t get

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a full-time job, try to get part-time or contract work with the company you’re most interested in. If your dream employer isn’t hiring at the moment, request an informational interview anyway. Ask people to make introductions. Make face-to-face connections with the people in a position to hire you. It might take a little bit longer, but if you’ve got patience and persistence, it will work out.” To broaden your target, consider how your background in one industry might be relevant in another. For instance, publishers of educational books and materials often look for individuals with teaching experience. An HR professional with experience in financial services and a specialty in employee benefits who wants to find a job in San Francisco may consider several targets based on her skills and experience: •

Employee benefits manager at a top-tier investment bank (an advancement consistent with professional and industry experience)

•

Employee benefits manager for a health services organization (to explore using professional qualifications in a new industry)

•

Account representative for a consulting firm specializing in employee benefits (a different use of professional skills and experience)

•

Group insurance sales representative for a health insurance company (to develop new skills in a related industry)

Research Your Target Industries and Companies Make a list of your job options (similar to the list above) based on how you fit into the industries, organizations, and roles that interest you. Focus on a maximum of two or three industries and select ten to twenty organizations for your top priority list. Choose another ten organizations for your backup plan. Consider these questions as you research careers and industries: •

What product or service does this industry offer?

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Who are the major players and up-and-comers?

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•

What are the critical success factors for a company in this industry?

•

What is the outlook and hiring potential for this industry?

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What type of talent does the industry attract and hire?

While researching companies, ask yourself: •

What differentiates this company from others in the industry?

•

What are this company’s culture, values, and priorities?

•

Who are its leaders (CEO, CFO, and COO), and for what values do they seem to stand?

•

How does this company treat its employees?

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What is the company’s reputation?

•

What would it be like to work there?

Based on what you learned in the second chapter and the additional research you’ve done, start with the list of targets you made from the two or three industries and 20 or so organizations that interest you, and sketch out your plan of attack. Where will you look for job postings and how often? How will you tap your network to find industry and company contacts? Contacts can provide information and other contacts. They can help you decide whether your goals are reasonable. The Bay Area may not be the best place for an aspiring actor to find a job, for instance. Or maybe on further investigation, you decide you don’t want to work for Google after all, especially if it means that you’d have to live in the ’burbs instead of the City or face a 90-minute commute each way to work. Con­ tacts can also get you closer to your goal of targeting an available job. “One of my contacts at my first-choice prospective employer let me know that the company really preferred to hire from within,” says one Bay Area job seeker. “To some extent, I think that’s true anywhere, but her advice made me reconsider taking a part-time gig at the

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company if I really wanted to make inroads into a longer-term position. I had ruled out part-time work and focused exclusively on fulltime jobs, but I soon realized I’d have a better chance if people within the company got to know me.”

C a r e e r Ch a n g e r s

To build a resume in a new field, try working in a temporary capacity, or at a nonprofit.

Develop a Self-Marketing Strategy When it comes down to it, what is a job search, really? You’re essentially trying to develop a business relationship with an employer, to sell them your services: the skills and experience that you bring to a job. Services and products need to be promoted to sell. Think about your job search as a marketing campaign to sell your number-one product…you! To help plan your marketing strategy, think of yourself in terms of the classic marketing five Ps: Product: What do you I have to offer? What key skills and attributes can you I offer

my “customers” (potential employers)? Price: What is my value in the marketplace? Do my education, experience, and

strengths qualify me as a premium product—something elite—or will I need to be “discounted” to get my foot in the door of your target industry? Promotion: What themes or messages convey what I have to offer professionally? Place (distribution): How will I distribute myself on the market? (Consider using

multiple means of “delivering” yourself to potential employers. This could include oncampus recruiting events, job ads, career fairs, company websites, executive recruiters, and referrals from your network.)

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Positioning: What differentiates me from other candidates? What is unique about my

skills, background, or interests? Use your answers to these questions to help create your resume and cover letters and to fashion your pitches to contacts and potential employers. If you know exactly how your product meets an employer’s needs, the sell will be much easier. You’d be surprised at how effective a well-targeted job marketing campaign can be.

Your Resume and Cover Letter Your resume and cover letter are tools that will help you get an interview. A strong, well-constructed document is the baseline: the minimum requirement for a job search. A poorly prepared document can and will work against you. In the Bay Area’s competitive employment market, busy managers and others who might screen your resume are looking for a way to narrow the list of choices. Something as seemingly insignificant as a single typo can get your resume tossed into the trash. Before you begin writing your resume you must scrutinize yourself. Which elements of your years of wisdom, experience, and accomplishment belong on a single sheet of paper, and which don’t? What kind of candidate does your target firm usually hire? This is where all of your previous self-assessment and prioritizing will really be put to use. A complete discussion of how to prepare winning cover letters and resumes is beyond the scope of this book. Consider supplementing the advice here with one of WetFeet’s resume guides: Killer Cover Letters and Resumes!, Killer Consulting Resumes!, or Killer Investment Banking Resumes!

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Resume Tips Know Thy Audience We can’t stress enough the need to research the firms you’re targeting. Almost every firm will ask the question, “Why us?” Make sure you can give an informed answer to this question. Think about what, specifically, might appeal to the recruiting team at your chosen firm. You may choose to include a reference in the cover letter. Look into the firm’s noted areas of strength and, find out in which industries or product areas it excels. All of this information should influence your resume and cover letter, and especially the way in which you pursue an interview. Most firms have a website you can quickly check for some basic information. “With the Internet making it easy to access information, there’s no reason to go to an interview without having an incredible amount of knowledge,” says a recruiter. Because resumes must be tailored to your audience to be successful, you will often need to prepare different versions of your resume for different positions and companies. It is well worth your time to do so. After all, you have only one chance to make a first impression. If you are applying for positions in several industries, it may make sense to have several versions of your resume (one tailored to each industry) ready to go.

N e ws F l a sh : A R e s u m e W o n ’ t G e t Y o u a J o b

At best, a resume will get you an interview. At worst, it will get you eliminated from consideration. So make sure your resume is flawless, and see it for what it really is: a marketing tool to present your qualifications to potential employers, in consideration of a future business relationship.

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Know Thyself In addition to knowing all the factual information about yourself—grades, test scores, and so on—you need to think about how to portray yourself in a positive, confident light while telling the true story of who you are and what you’ve accomplished. You must have a good deal of insight into your experience, strengths, and weaknesses to create a compelling resume. The sources of inspiration for this can come from a variety of resources: •

Academic records

•

Employment history

•

Performance reviews

•

Recommendations

•

Top accomplishments

A Note About Contact Information Your name and contact information are the most important things to supply to an employer, and they should head the pages of all resumes. This seems straightforward enough, but many people make the mistake of sending resumes with old contact information or omitting telephone numbers and email addresses. Be sure to include the name you use professionally, a home address, the telephone number or numbers where you are most easily reached, and a professional-sounding email address (no “gothgirl81@ yahoo.com”—don’t laugh, we’ve seen email addresses like this one on many resumes).

Cover Letters The cover letter should be short and to the point, and never more than one page. Don’t rely on your cover letter to fill in the gaps or to put a customized spin on your experience. It’s important that all critical information be in your resume, because there’s a

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good chance your cover letter won’t be read. The cover letter should explain why you are interested in the company and highlight a few reasons you are the right candidate for them. If you have a contact at the company, mention that person. Avoid “canned” letters! Recruiters and hiring managers tell us that formulaic letters often end up in the no pile. The applicant who customizes his words is more appealing and will be given preference over others. One insider puts it this way: “The cover letter is the one opportunity they have to talk to me.” Employers don’t want to waste their time on a candidate who is not genuinely interested in the position and their company. And finally, put the same care into preparing your cover letter when submitting your resume via email. The ease and informality of email can be deceiving, so don’t forget to include a cover letter.

C o mm o n G r o u n d

Resume reviewers look favorably on candidates with backgrounds similar to their own. Read the employee profiles included in many firms’ recruiting materials and websites and find someone who worked in the same company or attended the same school you did. You’ll have a better chance of getting a favorable review. Keeping It All Organized Be sure to keep a copy of every resume and cover letter you send out on your computer, clearly labeled with the company and job title. When you are asked to come in for an interview, you will need to bring copies of your resume with you. You’ll also want to review your cover letter and resume before the interview to ensure that your interview presentation is consistent with your application.

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Because online job postings often disappear as quickly as they appear, we recommend copying and pasting the postings into a document on your computer. If you are called in for an interview, you will certainly want to refresh your memory. And sometimes, those calls may come a month or more after you submitted a resume, making it very difficult to recall the details of an individual job opening.

Getting Specific

Smart job seekers create multiple resumes in order to more specifically target the jobs they’re interested in. Using multiple resumes makes sense if you’re considering more than one career field for your next job; even if that’s not your situation, it can be a good move to edit your resume for each specific position you’re applying for, tailoring your presentation of your skills and experiences to match the particular requirements for each job.

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Searching from Out of Town Landing a job in the Bay Area isn’t impossible for those who don’t yet live here. It is more difficult, however, and it will require even more organization and tenacity than a local job search. The from-a-distance job search is somewhat easier for recent and soonto-be graduates (as opposed to those currently employed in another city), since recruiters know that many students relocate after graduation. If you are currently or were recently employed in another city you will have the burden of proof—you will have to convince hirers that you are serious about moving to the Bay Area. Recruiting is a timeconsuming and expensive undertaking, and recruiters are wary of wasting time on applicants who aren’t serious. You mustn’t appear to be testing the waters. Be sure to highlight any evidence of your commitment to moving to the Bay Area: If you have ties to the City (family) or you have lived there in the past, say so! A letter-writing campaign can be particularly effective for an out-of-town search. Indicate that you are planning a trip to the City on certain dates and call back to set up interviews during these dates. Try to group your meetings into a two- or three-day schedule and plan several such visits to the City. In this way, you’ll maximize your time until you can develop a lead willing to pay for your interview trip. With adequate thought and advance planning, these short trips can also be a good chance to explore the City and decide whether this is really somewhere you want to live.

Relocation Concerns According to Mercer Human Resource Consulting, which publishes a list of the world’s most expensive cities each year, San Francisco was the fourth most expensive city in the United States in 2005 (behind New York, Los Angeles, and White Plains, NY) and ranked 50th in the world. Of course, Bay Area employees are among the best compensated, too: According to the Center for the Continuing Study of the California Economy

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(CCSCE), the average household income in the Bay Area was $123,503 in 2003, a healthy 47 percent above the national average. The CCSCE predicts that the region will remain the nation’s wealthiest area of more than one million people throughout the next decade. Unfortunately, higher salaries aren’t quite high enough to compensate for the high cost of living here. According to Salary.com, which analyzed both the cost of living and the wages in 317 metropolitan areas in the United States, San Francisco and San Jose are two of the five worst cities in which to spend your paycheck. Because the cost of living is so high, Bay Area employers often have a tough time recruiting and retaining the best and the brightest. “I would love to stay in the Bay Area after graduation,” says one Stanford MBA candidate, “but it’s too expensive. I don’t want to start a family in a

Insider Tip

Depending on whether or not you’re hoping to keep your impending move close to the vest, you may find it helpful to network with current colleagues and managers who may have industry contacts in the Bay Area. “I had to relocate to the Bay Area for family reasons,” explains one successful job seeker, “so I wasn’t keeping my move to the Bay Area a secret from my former employer. Over the past few years, I had developed solid working relationships with my managers, so they were willing to help me with my out-of-town job search, putting me in touch with Bay Area contacts and former associates. Not only did I have an easier time identifying potential employers, but they immediately heard that I had done a solid job for my previous employer. I found that leveraging the contacts that my boss had was an extremely effective out-of-town job search tactic.”

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place where I won’t be able to realistically afford a home.” To compare the cost-of-living differential between your city and the Bay Area, use the Cost-of-Living Wizard on Salary.com (in the “What are you worth?” column). Whether you can expect your prospective employer to pay for your move to the City depends primarily on the relative scarcity of your skill set and secondarily on the industry and company in question. The higher the demand for your skills, the higher the likelihood that a company will consider offering you a relocation bonus. The average relocation bonus ranges from $3,000 to $8,000. Relocation allowances are more common for MBAs and other advanced-degree holders in the investment banking and management consulting industries and for management professionals with industry experience—especially those who are being recruited away from a competitor.

Co m pa r i n g A ppl e s to O r a n g e s

If you’re relocating from another notoriously pricey metropolitan area (for example, New York, which consistently tops the list of U.S. cities in Mercer’s annual study), remember that cost of living represents more than just your monthly rent (or if you’re lucky, your mortgage payment). “My rent in New York City was $2,700 per month,” says one Bay Area transplant from New York City. “Here, I ‘only’ pay $2,100 and have a bit more space and a yard, but in Manhattan, I didn’t need a car. Out here, you need at least one car to get around. Tack on a car payment, car insurance, and gas, and your monthly cost of living rapidly approaches what you’d be spending in a city like New York.”

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Put Your Best Foot Forward Getting to the Interview…on Time Congratulations! You got the meeting. You’ve done a Mapquest search to learn the exact location, and you’ll be there on the dot at the appointed time. Sounds easy. But remember that this is the Bay Area: Like any major metropolitan area teeming with more people than it can comfortably accommodate, it requires a little planning— and healthy reserves of common sense—to get from point A to point B on time, with your personal presentation (and your sanity) fully intact. Job interviews are inherently stressful to one degree or another; interviewing in an unfamiliar city quickly ratchets up the anxiety factor. Once you’ve secured an interview slot, be sure to give your trip into the office its due attention to minimize the chances of arriving late—or flustered. It may sound obvious enough, but it bears repeating: Regardless of whether you’re traveling by plane, train, automobile, or hovercraft, make sure that you plan your trip in advance to avoid any possible unpleasant surprises. Pad your schedule with plenty—and we really do mean plenty—of time to allow for every possible contingency. If you do decide to drive to your interview, you’ll have to leave sufficient time to ensure that you arrive at your interview destination on time. And if you’re unfamiliar with the City, printing out directions from any Web-based service that generates driving directions may not be enough to get you from here to there. The City’s confusing traffic patterns and multitude of one-way streets have been known to throw even Google Maps (maps.google.com) for a loop from time to time. If you’ve used Mapquest to obtain directions to your destination, be sure to take the accompanying map (or better yet, a detailed city or regional map available at virtually any bookstore) to consult in case you

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get turned around. (And if you’re unfamiliar with the City, you should plan on getting turned around at least once, despite your best intentions and assiduous planning.) “Once, on my way to an interview in SoMa, I somehow ended up on an on-ramp to I-80,” says one former out-of-town job seeker. “By the time I realized I was in the wrong lane, it was too late to get out. Twenty minutes before my 10:30 interview, I was crossing the Bay Bridge into Oakland. In retrospect, a detailed map would have definitely been a good investment.” If you’re interviewing in the City, your journey won’t end when you reach your intended address; there’s also parking to contend with. There’s nothing worse than identifying the office building where you’re supposed to be, only to circle the block 18 times looking for a parking place. One Bay Area job seeker we talked to recommends addressing the parking issue proactively: “Whenever possible, I’ll call the main number of the office where I’m interviewing the day before my interview. I’ll explain to the receptionist that I have a meeting in the office the following day, and I’ll ask about the availability of parking nearby. If it sounds like parking is scarce—which is almost always the case—then I’ll generally decide not to drive my own car.” By the same token, keep in mind that even the best public transportation systems are inherently unpredictable, so in situations when you absolutely cannot be late—and that definitely includes job interviews—be sure to allow yourself plenty of breathing room. “When I’d interview in the City,” recalls one former Bay Area job seeker, “I’d always aim to arrive at the office at least an hour in advance of my interview. If there were no public transport delays and I actually arrived an hour before my interview, I’d just pick out the closest cafe or coffee shop near the office, and I’d use the hour to review the company information I had collected through my research, or compile a list of questions that I hoped to ask my interviewer. That strategy was really effective: I was never late for an interview, even when I’d get a little bit lost or when there were delays on Muni, and I wouldn’t spend the entire journey to the interview stressing about whether I’d be late. It also forced me to devote the last hour before my interview to focused

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preparation time. Not only would I arrive on time, but I’d arrive stress-free and prepared to talk about my qualifications for the job.” This job seeker’s strategy also leaves plenty of time for tidying up before your interview—particularly important since blustery San Francisco days can tousle even the most impeccably coiffed head. While we’re on the subject of appearance, keep in mind that it may be worth shelling out a few extra bucks for your trip to preserve your pristine interview countenance. Though temperatures in San Francisco proper rarely soar above a comfy 72, temperatures on the Muni are a whole different story. Unless you want to arrive at your interview looking a little more Survivor than The Apprentice, you may want to think twice about taking the train on a balmy summer afternoon. However, if you’re thinking of taking a taxi to your interview, remember that taxis here aren’t quite as plentiful as they are in some other big cities, such as New York. Allow plenty of time for hailing a cab, especially if you’re traveling during rush hour—or when it’s raining. There are taxi stations at most downtown business hotels and at the train station at 4th and King streets (where Caltrain terminates in San Francisco). Provided that you leave enough time to hail one, taxis are one way to avoid the stress of San Francisco traffic and the hassle of city parking; trips within the City rarely cost more than $10–15. When you’re en route to an interview, your peace of mind is worth at least a buck or two. Whether you decide to drive or take public transportation, you’ll have a better chance at a smooth journey if your interview time doesn’t require traveling during peak commuting hours. “Whenever I’m given a choice regarding my interview time, I always try to get a time spot between 11 a.m and 3 p.m.,” advises one job seeker. “Of course, there are times when I have to interview at 9 a.m., but if I have the chance to avoid rush hour—both on the way to and from my interview—I definitely will.”

What to Wear As a general rule, office environments—including company dress codes—are more relaxed and informal in San Francisco and the surrounding counties than they are in

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other major metropolitan areas, including New York, Boston, and Chicago. Of course, certain industries—and certain companies—are still bastions of conservatism, even in the Bay Area; you’re far more likely to encounter a formal dress code in finance or law than in technology or academia, for instance. While chances are good that you’ll be able to ditch your suits in favor of more casual threads once you’ve actually started working here, keep in mind that interviews follow a slightly different set of rules. It’s never a bad idea to call the front desk in advance of your interview to ask how employees typically dress, or to ask friends and acquaintances currently employed at the company to advise you. However, we recommend that you always err on the side of conservatism with this one—unless, of course, you’ve been told specifically not to dress formally, in which case, we advise that you follow suit (no pun intended). As a general rule, be wary of taking your fashion cues directly from current employees until you actually are one; at the interview stage, you’re a job candidate—not an employee—so different rules and expectations apply. One individual that we interviewed who works at a Bay Area–based retail company advised that her company expects candidates to dress professionally—meaning business attire, not business casual—when they interview, despite the company’s more lax policy for its existing employees. “We have a casual dress policy in the office, but people who come into the office to interview are still expected to arrive dressed in business attire. In fact, the first item on the candidate evaluation sheet is a yes or no question asking whether the interviewee was dressed in business attire.” If you’re concerned about being overdressed, keep in mind that your contact is unlikely to penalize you for asking about the dress code in advance of your appointment. In fact, the person who calls you to schedule your interview is often not the same person who will eventually interview you, so go ahead and test the apparel waters with your first point of contact. If you feel too awkward asking what you should wear, remember that a suit is relatively easy to dress down—especially for women. If you’re wearing a pantsuit with a knit shell underneath, your suit becomes business casual without the

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jacket. For men, a suit sans jacket and tie is still more formal than khakis and a casual button-down, but it works if you’ve got to dress down in a pinch. This layering strategy allows you to be prepared for anything: You can add or subtract layers to ensure that your attire will always be seasonally appropriate, weather-appropriate—in San Francisco this can mean a wool jacket in August—and fitting for any place of business.

D r e ss C o mm e n s u r a t e w i t h E x p e r i e n c e

Your experience and the level of the job you are applying for will also affect your ideal mode of dress. For an entrylevel candidate, the objective is to come across as capable and mature. A mid-career candidate, on the other hand, may want to accentuate his adaptability to a new office culture by forgoing the generic corporate uniform. The Basics Always a lady. Recruiters of all stripes seem to agree that a candidate can’t go wrong

with a well-tailored suit in a neutral color (black, navy, and gray are your best bets). At more conservative companies—such as investment banks, consulting firms, and law firms—a suit is de rigueur, and anything other than plain nude hose and heels is pushing the envelope of what’s acceptable. Otherwise, a tasteful pantsuit with mediumheeled leather loafers will look put-together and professional. If ironing stresses you out, a nice sweater shell can replace a button-down shirt and remain wrinkle-free under a suit. Oh, and minimal makeup and no flashy jewelry, please. The Bay Area’s casual aesthetic often means that what passes for business attire is pretty open. At the very least, be sure you’re neat and pressed and not showing off any of your natural assets between the neck and knees, please.

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For the guys. For men, a suit in a dark, neutral color, a white or blue dress shirt, and a

silk tie in a conservative pattern should do just fine for most interviews at more conservative institutions. Stick to natural fabrics, like wool and cotton. For those interviewing with startup or tech companies, a more relaxed approach is encouraged. Nice pants with a pressed button-down shirt will do nicely. “Well-heeled” generally implies a pair of polished, not ground-down-at-the-heels, leather shoes in black. Beyond that, wingtips send a more conservative signal, while shoes with lug or platform soles are more funky than professional. Don’t fall victim to the white-socks-with-dress shoes syndrome that plagues many unfortunate men (hint: the rule is to match the color of your socks to that of your pants), and be sure that your trouser socks pass the elasticity test, so that they don’t sag around your ankles midway through your interview (along with your chances of landing the job).

Keep it Positive

Again and again, hiring managers have told us that one of the surest ways for a job candidate to turn off his or her interviewer is to “go negative.” Remember: The interview is not a place for you to complain about your lot in life, or how unfairly you’ve been treated in your professional life. If your ex-boss was a jerk, and that’s why you left your last job, keep that information to yourself, and come up with a more positive reason for leaving that job. One potential tack you might take: “I was looking to grow professionally, and that’s why I’m interested in the position I’m interviewing for now.”

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A N o t e o n t h e W e at h e r

San Francisco’s temperate, marine climate usually means relatively mild weather year-round. In fact, temperaturewise, it’s hard to tell the difference between summer and winter. San Francisco averages only two days per year above 90 degrees, and less than one morning per year below 32 degrees. During the summer, a chilling and persistent fog rolls in most mornings and evenings, cooling things off significantly. San Francisco is often blustery in the morning and warm in the early afternoon when the fog burns off; in the late afternoon it will cool down considerably. A local myth holds that Mark Twain once remarked that “the coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.” While this may be an overstatement, many newcomers to the Bay Area who have long associated San Francisco with the “sunny California” of which they’ve been dreaming are surprised when they encounter a significantly cooler climate than the one they expected. Daytime temperatures are generally in the 60s in the summer, and the warmest time of year is usually in October, with temperatures in the 70s, sometimes up into the 80s. Even when autumn’s heat occasionally stretches into the 80s and 90s, the temperature still dips significantly by nightfall, so it’s always advisable to dress in layers.

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A N o t e o n t h e W e at h e r

Even though San Francisco’s climate is relatively consistent, it’s important to note that points inland are, in fact, not San Francisco. Temperatures inland tend to be warmer than temperatures along the water, and it’s not uncommon for a 20-degree temperature differential to exist between San Francisco and Palo Alto, just 30 miles south of the City. What does all of this mean to you? If you’re traveling to interviews from out of town and you’re checking the weather forecast before you leave, make sure you’re checking the appropriate forecast: If you’re interviewing in the aptly named Sunnyvale or Santa Clara, don’t rely on San Francisco weather forecasts to help you decide what to pack. If you’re interviewing both inside the City and further inland in the suburbs on the same day, it’s imperative that you dress in layers for your interviews. “I had a morning interview in Palo Alto and an afternoon interview in the City,” recalls one former Bay Area job seeker. “It was so hot on the Peninsula that I couldn’t even bear to wear my suit jacket. I took the Caltrain into San Francisco and thought I’d freeze to death when I got off the train. I had no idea the temperature difference was so great.”

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In the Interview Companies use interviews to get to know candidates and to see how they might fit into the workplace. Although better than relying on resumes alone, interviews are an inexact process, carried out differently in different organizations and groups within organizations. There are, however, several basic approaches that you are likely to encounter. Understanding these approaches will help you devise effective interview strategies, increase your confidence, and make a better impression on your interviewers. In general, you can expect to be asked about items on your resume that may be unclear or in which the interviewer is particularly interested. This type of questioning, along with questions about your career goals and expectations of your employer, fall under the category we call clarification interviewing. A few interviewers will ask only these kinds of questions—indicating, perhaps, inexperience, lack of interest in learning much about you, or fear of turning you off with more challenging questions. Usually, however, you will also be asked doubt-resolving questions, which might address why you left your last job, what you see as your greatest weaknesses, and why the job appeals to you. Many interviewers will limit themselves to just clarification and doubt-resolving questions—but some will not. Interviewers may also use techniques designed to determine how you would operate on the job—such as questioning you about how you have responded to certain types of situations in the past (behavioral interviewing) or how you think you would respond to a given hypothetical situation or set of facts (hypothetical situations and case analysis); putting you into a simulated or real on-the-job situation (audition interviewing); making you uncomfortable to test your reaction to pressure (stress interviewing); or having a psychologist delve into your past experiences, motivations, and influences (psychological interviewing). The following interview approaches are common:

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•

Clarification questions aim to achieve greater understanding of what you claim in your resume as your education, experience, or accomplishments, as well as your goals and expectations of your manager or the company.

•

Doubt-resolving questions aim to resolve possible concerns or doubts about your judgment, veracity, behavior, or achievements.

•

Behavioral questions aim to test whether you have encountered challenges similar to those anticipated and how you handled them.

•

Hypothetical questions aim to test whether your thinking and judgment are likely to be appropriate for the on-the-job challenges you might encounter.

•

Case analysis aims to test whether you can comprehend a complex set of facts, create a framework for analyzing them, and arrive at logical and useful conclusions.

•

Auditioning aims to witness your actual performance in a simulated or real onthe-job situation.

•

Stress interviews aim to test your reactions to pressure to see whether you keep your cool or lose it.

•

Psychological interviews aim to determine the major influences on your reasoning and your emotions, in order to predict how you might perform under a variety of circumstances or management approaches.

For in-depth advice on handling these kinds of questions and more, check out WetFeet’s Ace Your Interview!

N e ws F l a sh : Y o u ’ r e a n I n t e r v i e w e r , T o o

The goal of an interview is not to get a job offer, but to gather information. You should be assessing potential employers in the same way they’re assessing you. Not only does asking intelligent questions about the job give you a better picture of what you’re stepping into, it makes a great impression by showing that you’re serious about the job.

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Follow Up Effectively Remember, the purpose of an interview is to gather information. The job offer itself is made during follow-up. It’s customary to send a brief and personal thank-you note (email is fine) after an interview. Don’t be shy about phoning or emailing at the agreed-on time. But follow-up is also more than simply a status check. In fact, it could be the most important step in the entire job search process. If you’ve ever had sales training, it can really pay off at this stage of your job search. What you may not understand is that the hiring manager uses the interview process to sharpen his concept of what he is looking for. (He may not understand this either, but it happens, nevertheless.) Thus, each candidate he meets with will change the job description somewhat. In your follow-up, it’s smart to ask if the definition of the job has changed since you spoke. You can also ask about other candidates he is considering and what they have to offer that you don’t. Or, simply ask: What kind of person is the ideal candidate and how do I compare? During this stage, you are a salesperson. That means you must seek out every objection and address it. Your goal is to show the hiring manager that you can fill this newly defined need better than your competition.

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Salary Concerns In the Bay Area, big numbers get thrown around a lot—the average price of a new home, the amount of cash that VCs throw at fledgling software and biotech companies, the price of a gallon of gas. There’s a time and a place to throw out numbers, but your job interview is not one of them. As one renowned recruiter once put it, “The rule of the salary game is the first to name a figure loses.” As she points out, the right time to talk salary is when you’re certain the company wants to offer you a job. If you bring it up too early, you may appear to be more interested in money than in what you can offer the company. However, if you wait too long, you might waste valuable time pursuing an offer from a company whose salary range is below your expectations.

Know Your Worth in the Bay Area Job Market There are several ways to research salary levels. Some representative salaries are included in this book, but you’ll want to supplement this information with your own research, since company size and job descriptions influence salary levels. You can find salaries and job descriptions at Salary.com, SalaryExpert.com, and other career and job information sites. The California EDD also maintains a database of representative salary data for a range of industries and occupations. If you’re asked to provide your salary history, be prepared to provide it, along with any relevant information about your expectations. For example, if your last salary was much lower than you’re expecting to earn in the Bay Area, note that the cost of living was much lower and that you expect your new salary to reflect that difference.

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Negotiation Basics Many people see negotiation as a process of each party trying to get the most for what they have to give. And that’s a reasonable way to look at it when you’re buying or selling a car, a computer, or a carpet. It’s tempting to look at job negotiations in the same way—but not advisable. We offer a quick gloss on the compensation negotiation here, but for the full story, check out the WetFeet Insider Guide to Negotiating Your Salary & Perks.

Im p r o v i n g a L o w - B a l l Off e r

One way to deal with a low salary is to upgrade the job. In your discussion, try to convince the hiring manager that your experience and knowledge can accommodate extra responsibilities. Cover this before talking about salary. You’ll know if the job duties are below your level. Shoot for Fair When you’re negotiating an employment contract, you’re negotiating the basis for a relationship, and you want to live happily together. This doesn’t mean that you have to arrive at a compromise, but that you should come to an agreement that both parties feel is fair. There are at least four factors that can increase your perceived worth. All of them fit into the context of networking and interviewing, and all of them can be turned to your advantage without alienating potential employers.

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1. How you see and present yourself. Are you confident? Do you speak convinc-

ingly about your accomplishments? Do you have a clear and credible objective? Do you understand and seem to fit in with the company’s culture? You will generate more buyer enthusiasm if the company sees you as a long-term asset than if it sees you only as right for this particular job. 2. How the company values the work to be done. This is your opportunity to put

the work in a broader context than the company may see. Instead of talking about providing good customer service, for example, you might discuss retaining valued customers and increasing business activity. If you present some convincing illustrations, the job might seem worthy of a higher valuation—including, perhaps, a bonus for achieving objectives that you help define. 3. The company’s perception of your appropriateness for the job. You want to

demonstrate that what you’ve learned and achieved in the past, along with your understanding of the company’s needs, makes you more qualified than other candidates. 4. Your discussion of compensation and benefits. Your attention to the first three

factors should already have raised the company’s estimation of your value. The direct discussion—often mistakenly thought of as the whole of negotiation—is where you apply your skills at recapitulation, listening, and politely asserting the value you have established.

Benefits The range of benefits you can expect from a Bay Area employer varies greatly depending primarily on industry practices and company size. At a minimum, for a full-time position, you should expect to be offered health insurance (although you may be asked to contribute as much as half the cost) and a vacation package. A 401(k) retirement plan is also common, but your employer may or may not make a contribution on your behalf. Family leave is a federally mandated benefit, but it may be unpaid.

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Other benefits that may be included:

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Tuition assistance

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Adoption assistance

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Health club membership

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Dental insurance

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Life insurance

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Vision insurance

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Child and elder care assistance

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Sabbatical leaves of absence

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Matching charitable contributions

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Flexible spending account

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Employee assistance plan

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After You Land the Job The trend now is for people to hold a job for an average of only four years. Career experts say you should constantly be on the outlook for shifts in direction that your company or industry might make as well as changes in your own personal goals. This means always have an updated resume in your bottom drawer. It means keeping the shine on your skills and giving your contacts a good polish now and then. Don’t wait for your employer to tell you things are going in a different direction. Be proactive. Know where the jobs are in your industry, how the staffing needs of companies are changing, and most importantly, where you fit into it all.

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For Your Reference Job Search Assistance Career Research Resources Unemployment Offices WetFeet Insider Guides

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The other chapters in this book are chock full of job-search resources, but we’ve collected some additional resources here for your convenience.

Job Search Assistance California Labor Market Info (www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov) California Job Journal (www.jobjournal.com)

Career Research Resources Jobs and Careers Center San Francisco Public Library, 4th Floor 100 Larkin Street San Francisco, CA 94102 415-557-4400 http://sfpl.lib.ca.us/librarylocations/main/jobs.htm

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Unemployment Offices You can apply for unemployment benefits via the EDD website or by phone. There is typically no need to visit the office (although we’ve included a list of local offices below). Unemployment insurance filing and related information is available at the State of California EDD website (www.edd.cahwnet.gov/uirep/uiappind.htm). San Francisco City & County Offices 3120 Mission Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415-695-6505 801 Turk Street San Francisco, CA 94102 415-557-3038 South San Francisco Office  230 South Spruce Avenue South San Francisco, CA 94080 415-588-4200     Oakland Office 1225 4th Avenue Oakland, CA 94606 510-464-0684 Sunnyvale Office 420 South Pastoria Sunnyvale, CA 94088 408-736-9031   

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Fremont Office 39155 Liberty Street, Suite 116 Fremont, CA 94537 510-794-3810 San Jose Office 50 South King Road San Jose, CA 95116  408-928-1300    San Mateo County Office 3520 South El Camino Real San Mateo, CA 94403 415-341-6111 Berkeley Office 1375 University Avenue Berkeley, CA 94702 510-540-2833

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WetFeet Insider Guides Job Search Guides Job Hunting A to Z: Landing the Job You Want A comprehensive job search guide covering networking, interviewing, and negotiating, for the job seeker who needs to start from the beginning. Negotiating Your Salary & Perks An in-depth guide to the subtle art of negotiating, complete with sample scripts, example negotiating scenarios, and trouble-shooting tips. Networking Works! Networking is the most important job-seeking skill. This in-depth guide delves into the many forms of networking and how they will help you find a job faster.

Resume Guides Killer Consulting Resumes! Written by real consulting recruiters, this Insider Guide provides consulting hopefuls with everything they need to know to get their foot in the door of top consulting firms. Killer Cover Letters & Resumes! Suitable for all job seekers, this guide provides all the basics for creating effective cover letters and resumes. Killer Investment Banking Resumes! Investment banking is one of the most competitive hiring markets in the nation. This guide addresses the specific needs of job seekers hoping to get noticed by top investment banking firms.

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Interview Guides Ace Your Case!® series for consulting interviews The Ace Your Case!® series is designed to whip consulting job seekers into shape for facing the dreaded case interview. Each of the five Ace Your Case! editions provides 15 sample case questions, along with examples of good, mediocre, and bad answers to them. Ace Your Interview! All job seekers must have strong interviewing skills to improve their chances of landing the job they want. This guide provides the fundamentals of interviewing success, sample interview scripts and workbooks, tips from recruiting insiders, and strategies to help you shine at every stage of the recruiting process. Beat the Street® series for investment banking interviews Interviewing on Wall Street is not for the faint of heart. Job seekers who have direct advice from others who have been there and done that have a distinct advantage. This pair of guides provides insider information on what’s going on behind recruiters’ questions, along with sample interviewing questions and answers, and more.

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WETFEET’S INSIDER GUIDE SERIES Job Search Guides Be Your Own Boss Changing Course, Changing Careers Finding the Right Career Path Getting Your Ideal Internship International MBA Student’s Guide to the U.S. Job Search Job Hunting A to Z: Landing the Job You Want Killer Consulting Resumes! Killer Cover Letters & Resumes! Killer Investment Banking Resumes! Negotiating Your Salary & Perks Networking Works!

Interview Guides Ace Your Case®: Consulting Interviews Ace Your Case® II: 15 More Consulting Cases Ace Your Case® III: Practice Makes Perfect Ace Your Case® IV: The Latest & Greatest Ace Your Case® V: Return to the Case Interview Ace Your Case® VI: Mastering the Case Interview Ace Your Interview! Beat the Street®: Investment Banking Interviews Beat the Street® II: I-Banking Interview Practice Guide

Career & Industry Guides Careers in Accounting Careers in Advertising & Public Relations Careers in Asset Management & Retail Brokerage Careers in Biotech & Pharmaceuticals Careers in Brand Management Careers in Consumer Products Careers in Entertainment & Sports Careers in Health Care Careers in Human Resources

Careers in Information Technology Careers in Investment Banking Careers in Management Consulting Careers in Marketing & Market Research Careers in Nonprofits & Government Agencies Careers in Real Estate Careers in Retail Careers in Sales Careers in Supply Chain Management Careers in Venture Capital Industries & Careers for MBAs Industries & Careers for Undergrads Million-Dollar Careers Specialized Consulting Careers: Health Care, Human Resources, and Information Technology

Company Guides 25 Top Consulting Firms 25 Top Financial Services Firms Accenture Bain & Company Booz Allen Hamilton Boston Consulting Group Credit Suisse First Boston Deloitte Consulting Deutsche Bank The Goldman Sachs Group J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. McKinsey & Company Merrill Lynch & Co. Morgan Stanley

WetFeet in the City Guides Job Hunting in New York City Job Hunting in San Francisco

Who We Are WetFeet is the trusted destination for job seekers to research companies and industries, and manage their careers. WetFeet Insider Guides provide you with inside information for a successful job search. At WetFeet, we do the work for you and present our results in an informative, credible, and entertaining way. Think of us as your own private research company whose primary mission is to assist you in making more informed career decisions. WetFeet was founded in 1994 by Stanford MBAs Gary Alpert and Steve Pollock. While exploring our next career moves, we needed products like the WetFeet Insider Guides to help us through the research and interviewing game. But they didn’t exist. So we started writing. Today, WetFeet serves more than a million job candidates each month by helping them nail their interviews, avoid illfated career decisions, and add thousands of dollars to their compensation packages. The quality of our work and knowledge of the job-seeking world have also allowed us to develop an extensive corporate and university membership. In addition, WetFeet’s services include two award-winning websites (WetFeet.com and InternshipPrograms.com), Web-based recruiting technologies, consulting services, and our exclusive research studies, such as the annual WetFeet Student Recruitment Survey. Our team members, who come from diverse backgrounds, share a passion about the job-search process and a commitment to delivering the highest quality products and customer service.

About Our Name One of the most frequent questions we receive is, “So, what’s the story behind your name?” The short story is that the inspiration for our name comes from a popular business school case study about L.L. Bean, the successful mail-order company. Leon Leonwood Bean got his start because he quite simply, and very literally, had a case of wet feet. Every time he went hunting in the Maine woods, his shoes leaked, and he returned with soaked feet. So, one day, he decided to make a better hunting shoe. And he did. And he told his friends, and they lined up to buy their own pairs of Bean boots. And L.L. Bean, the company, was born . . . all because a man who had wet feet decided to make boots. The lesson we took from the Bean case? Lots of people get wet feet, but entrepreneurs make boots. And that’s exactly what we’re doing at WetFeet.

Careers/Job Search

People leave their hearts in San Francisco for many reasons: In addition to offering a vibrant and varied culture, unparalleled quality of life, and

superb natural beauty, the entire Bay Area is a thriving metropolis of industry and innovation, where the career possibilities are only as limited as your entrepreneurial spirit. Regardless of where you are in your career cycle, from unemployed to happily engaged, and whether you’re new to the city or a native, this WetFeet in the City Guide will help you understand the Bay Area job market. We consulted local hiring managers, recruiters, career counselors, and job seekers to learn which job-search strategies work best in the City by the Bay.

Turn to this WetFeet in the City Guide to learn About special considerations for the San Francisco job seeker. About recent developments in the Bay Area employment landscape. Which local industries have the most to offer those looking for work. How to target your San Francisco job search effectively. Where to find local job listings. Who the top recruiters are. Where to turn when you need additional help.

WetFeet has earned a strong reputation among college graduates and career professionals for its series of highly credible, noholds-barred Insider Guides. WetFeet’s investigative writers get behind the annual reports and corporate PR to tell the real story of what it’s like to work at specific companies and in different industries. www.WetFeet.com