The Cyber Scene in Los Angeles ~ by Krysten Johnson

This month out, the Layoff Lounge moved east to Pasadena. It was a great night for it, and the venue was in the 'basement bar and lounge' of Domenico's near Old Town. When I entered (a little late!), all eyes were on the speaker. The crowd was smaller than their other events, so I could quickly locate the driving team behind the Layoff Lounge, Kelly Perdew and Jeremy Grocke, and asked them how things were going so far. They told me the smaller crowd was to be expected on this side of the city, but enough people had asked for an event out here, so they kindly obliged. They also told me that the Layoff Lounge has expanded well beyond California, and now they have monthly events in eight cities across the country, with hopes of launching three or four more during summer. They were both leaving for events the next day, and already had 500 RSVPs in anticipation of Thursday's San Jose event! I gave them my congratulations and attempted to give an ear to the speaker at the back of the room.

The speaker was Adam Miller, president of CyberU. He provided some very practical career-search advice to the crowd. He spoke briefly about how the industry got to this (low) point in the economy, where we could go from here, and how to look for the right job. He recommended that people find a career they really enjoy, not just'a job.' He also gave some sound advice on how to get an interview at a firm, how to research that firm and some salary-negotiation tips.