“New York has the nation’s fastest-growing tech sector, and has surpassed Boston as the No. 2 hub, behind Silicon Valley, for internet and mobile technologies,” according to a report by the Center for an Urban Future.

In the last 5 years, information-technology jobs in the city have increased by 29% to 52,900 from 41,100.

The article explains that New York is drawing tech companies because much of the innovation happening now is connected to industries that are centered in New York:  advertising, fashion, financial services and media.  Another big draw:  Google’s 2010 purchase of a former freight warehouse in Chelsea; a move that signaled the tech world was taking New York seriously and has acted as a magnet, pulling other digital companies to the city.

To read the piece, written by Jennifer Maloney, in its entirety, click here.

The topic of discussion was: Letting creative execution drive success in the omni-channel era. Scott Ellis, VP Client Solutions at Adworthy, served as the moderator. The panelists were Nick Moore, EVP/COO of Wunderman, and Patrick Fultz, President of DM Creative Group.

Both panelists expressed that there is so much information available to us . . . Fultz said that he spends 2-3 hours a day reading, and Moore said that we can spend “too much” time worrying about achieving perfection; that it’s better to use the information we have. In fact, he said that we need to change how companies are organized, so that we can react more quickly. “You need people whose job it is to react in real time as people comment/respond/react to your product.

There was agreement that testing has become more “informal”. Said Moore, “We used to plan a campaign and find out months later that ‘back in February’, something happened.” We can test, and learn, and react, so much more quickly now.

Said Fultz, “Content is a leveler between large and small companies; especially regionally. Providing free information; free content, is key to winning over your customer. “Teach them something without trying to sell them”.

Overall, an enjoyable and informative presentation!

The first thing I do is ask the candidates to attach dates to each position listed.

The dates of employment are important, and even if some of the tenures are short, leaving the dates off is even more damaging than showing some short stints of employment.  A resume is an overview of your experience, and it “is what it is”.  Although I completely understand the desire to show one’s background in the best possible light, it is important to honestly outline your experience.

If there are extenuating circumstances that have resulted in several short terms of employment, or gaps between employment, let’s address it and I will do my best to communicate that to a prospective employer in my presentation.  But one of the things that employers want to see – and I want to see – is whether a candidate stays in each position long enough to make a reasonable contribution to their employer…whether they stay long enough to be promoted…and whether there is a pattern of short tenures.

On more than one occasion I have advised a candidate to stay put, and not pursue the “next great opportunity” until they have spent another year with their current employer.  Sometimes the best thing you can do for your career is make a difference in your current position!

We are not talking about elite business travel, but middle-income individuals for whom affordable housing near the workplace is out of reach…or homeowners who are unable to sell real estate acquired before the recession.

According to Mitchell Moss, a co-author of a study titled The Emergence of the Super-Commuter, “this is a trend that’s only going to intensify, because Americans are much more able to become mobile in terms of their jobs than they can be in terms of housing.”

With 50% of the vote, the most popular response was…attitude!

Constance Korol moderated the discussion, beginning with a video that she felt utilized social media brilliantly:

The rest of the panel, which consisted of Sueanne Shirzay, Beth Granger, and Paul Biedermann, shared their thoughts about how social media is making an impact.

I was introduced to the term “ROR”, meaning return on (social) relationship.  The group consensus was that ROR is difficult to measure.  That, of course, makes it difficult for companies to justify an executive-level investment.  However, they were unanimous in their sentiment that putting an intern in charge of social media is like making an intern CEO of your company.  Social Media is responsible for PR, goodwill, customer service, and the overall relationship a company has with its customer.  It must be in the hands of someone well versed in social media.

(This was created by “The Ladders”, an online job search service.)

The one on the right was looked at more thoroughly than the one of the left because of its clear and concise format.

The lesson? Make your resume comfortable to read, allowing some “white space”…and unless you have been working for only a few years, don’t try to squeeze it all onto one page.

Entitled 20 Big Ideas for Small Nonprofits: Actionable Direct Response Strategies to Make the Most of Your File, it is filled with relevant, sensible tips for effective fundraising. They are: