Indicators for the technology job market and the overall economic health of the United States are all over the map as 2005 nears its end. Even though the overall high-tech job market has been booming, some key economic indicators demand caution.

World trade has shifted from the U.S., partly due to a weakened dollar. In addition, foreign trade in China had risen by about 25 percent the first 11 months to $1.2 trillion. China companies such as Lenovo, a China computer maker, have made U.S. investments by buyout of IBM's personal computing business. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development states China has overtaken the U.S. as the top exporter of high-tech goods such as computers, cellular phones and cameras.

China is also making moves on the Japanese domination of the electronics industry. As mid-December nears, the Bank of Japan is deciding how to reverse a course of deflation. As reported in the Copier Careers newsletter in November 2005, many indicators favor Japan's economic recovery, vital to U.S. electronic and imaging interests.

In the United States, leaner companies such as Xerox and HP have posted growing 2005 profits following layoffs in both companies. Companies such as Toshiba, IKON and Danka have joined in laying off workers in 2005.

Trade deficits, growing Federal deficits, high consumer debt, zero consumer savings and fluctuating energy prices are making forecasters hedge on the 2006 U.S. economy. Outsourcing Euler Hermes of France, which sells credit insurance to businesses, forecasts rising business failures in the U.S. in 2006 - at 3 percent and for China, zero. Contrary to popular belief, business failures resulting in bankruptcies decreased in recent years in the U.S.

Yet as the year nears an end, recruiting is said to be as active as before the dot-com busts of the late '90s. In fact, hiring by not only larger Silicon Valley companies, but also smaller high-tech companies, appears to be at pre-2001 levels. And real earnings, on the average, are increasing at a faster rate for workers.

As workers, recruiters and job seekers look into the crystal ball for next year, all are hoping to build on a very positive November. High-tech hiring was up in November. Forecasters predict a good field of jobs for those in the high-tech industries that include copiers and reprographics. Economy.com reports this sector will grow by 167,000 jobs in 2006. As reported in previous issues of the Copier Careers newsletter, there is a scarcity of fully qualified applicants for positions in the tech industries.

Keep tabs on professional trends: High-tech training and an increased need for information-technology expertise among copier professionals are apparent in recent surveys by Copier Careers. Each year, Copier Careers conducts a series of surveys to poll salary, benefits, hours and other components of the copier industry among the sales, technical and managerial staff. See the 2005 surveys in an easy-downloadable PDF format at: http://www.copiercareers.com/salary_surveys.shtml

Canon is banking on the continued need for mid-sector black-and-white devices with a December model introduction as the industry turns more toward color.

Canon USA, Lake Success, N.Y., followed the introduction earlier in 2005 of the imageRUNNER 6570 and imageRUNNER 5570 with the imageRUNNER 5070, due out this month. The imageRUNNER 6570 and imageRUNNER 5570 received Buyers Lab's "Pick-of-the-Year Award."

The imageRUNNER 5570 is classed as a multifunction black-and-white device that copies and prints at 50 pages per minute. The suggested retail price of the imageRUNNER 5070 is $15,500.

The imageRUNNER 5070 is "Internet-ready" and integrates well with Web-based information systems, as do the other two introductions. The device acts as an information kiosk to access and print from the Web. Users can access Internet or intranet data on the user panel with the Canon's Web Access option.

Several other features of the imageRUNNER 5070 model make it have lengthier wear and tear and less maintenance. Those features include Canon's Amorphous Silicon (A-Si) Drum technology, plus Canon's new IH (Induction Heating) fusing technology, allowing a first-print/copy time of 3.3 seconds. Canon also has supplies and consumables with higher yield to lower operating costs.

It's natural for everyone to want to put their best foot forward when applying for a job, and a good impression is doubly important when the field of applicants is tough.

But applicants risk being disqualified immediately if they lie in this day of background checks and information being available instantly.

Here are some of the more common lies told by applicants.

• Saying they had a higher position than they really had or giving a fictional job title. This is more common - and checked more thoroughly - than people realize.

• Not explaining gaps in employment. Employers may think that unexplained gaps show an applicant was incarcerated. Be sure to explain gaps in employment and don't stretch the dates.
• Claiming to have a degree when the person doesn't have one. There are some fairly authentic-looking degree mills that provide degrees for a fee from the Internet. Also, tell the truth about the degree. If it was an associate degree, don't inflate it to a bachelor's.
• Lying about a criminal record. It's your call. If you explain a minor infraction of the law before the employer finds it out in a background check, you may have a better chance for the job than if caught in a lie. Employers are required to know.

Every day, we hear slogans in advertising that make a point to express our needs and to voice what we are thinking - the nature of good selling.

If you sometimes get some blank stares during a pitch for a maintenance contract, for example, it may be because you aren't trying to relate to the true needs of your audience. Try to explain the needs for the office workplace in ways that speak for the needs of the customer and identify with how he or she thinks.

For example, as long as a copier-printer is working, as human beings, we tend to forget those things that are working and be more concerned about those that aren't.

Ask him or her why he/she changes the oil and filter on a car every 3,000 miles. You'll get points for understanding how they think. Explain a copier-printer has the same type of needs as a car and that a periodic-maintenance contract is a good, cost-effective way of keeping the copier-printer running.

Tim Lance, a former professional football player, twice All-American, is still part of a fast-moving team as president of Digital Copy Systems, Peoria, Ill.

Lance started in copier sales in the early '90s. The path to becoming president of a copier company began when talking about leasing copiers to his friend and business colleague, Russ Adams, at a motor shop. Adams was interested in getting into the copier business.

Adams bought an existing Canon dealership in Quincy, Ill. He later opened Digital Copy Systems in Peoria, a Canon, Gestetner, and RISO dealer and Adams, the CEO, made Lance president of the Peoria office-equipment dealership.

Adams has now expanded by buying existing office-equipment dealerships in Bloomington and Macomb. The staff totals about 30 people in all branches.

Lance is used to hard work and a busy schedule. Said he: "There for one year, I was playing arena football in 1999, I coached in 2000 and 2001 and we won the AFL2 championship and I was racing in the summer, coaching in the winter and doing the copiers, all at the same time. Plus, my wife and I had newborn children."

The Environmental Protection Agency has given Canon USA, the 2005 WasteWise Large Business Partner of the Year Award for its waste-reduction program and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has recognized Panasonic, Secaucus, NJ, for outstanding achievement in recycling.

In addition, Ricoh, West Caldwell, NJ, hosted a "One Day Employee Electronics Recycle Program" on Tuesday, November 15, to support the America Recycles Day mission. Panasonic has also worked with New Jersey electronics manufacturers, governments, organizations and recycling companies to encourage awareness campaigns and host public recycling of electronics products.

This is the fourth consecutive time Canon has won the EPA WasteWise award for four years and five times in the last six years. WasteWise guides and recognizes participating organizations to find reduce municipal solid waste with practical methods and enhance their operations financially.

In all, Panasonic's Secaucus facility recycled a total of 2990.2 tons of material. Panasonic, in winning the award, achieved in excess of a 72 percent recycling rate in 2004 for materials including construction debris, carpeting, cardboard and paper, batteries, metal, wood pallets, wire, stone, furniture, ceiling tile, kitchen waste, cans, bottles, soil and organic debris, electronic equipment, fuel oil, fluorescent light bulbs and copier/printer toner.

Think your privacy is being invaded by having every purchase catalogued and noted? So did the Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering organization, which staged a protest at a Dallas Wal-Mart several months ago.

RFID (radio frequency identification) will be more a part of the retail buzz in coming months. One of the companies most involved in the practice is Hewlett Packard, Palo Alto, Calif., which has teamed with other companies such as Philips Electronics to have a worldwide standard for the RFID systems tracking more consumer behavior daily. The idea is to have a standard for reading tags with most readers worldwide. It also squelches interference between readers in a small area and will encrypt the information from non-authorized people.

HP is placing RFID tags on pallets, cases and boxes of PCs, printers, scanners, ink-jet cartridges and other products before shipping to Wal-Mart. HP has teamed up with Sun Microsystems, which opened a 17,000-square-foot RFID Test Center in Carrollton, Texas, for testing and evaluate equipment in a warehouse-simulating environment.

Expect more and more public relations about the concept to try to lower consumer fear and protests such as those in Dallas. HP has launched a RFID Center of Excellence in Palo Alto, Calif., where customers can learn more about HP's RFID vision and how it will be integrated into their lives.

Sales Representatives San Jose, Santa Clara, San Benito, Oakland, San Francisco

Technicians needed in the Santa Rosa area.
Any OEM trained technician.

Canon Technician - Central California

Technician - Konica/Minolta - Washington DC/Northern VA

Technician/Sales - Panhandle of FLorida

Toshiba Technician - Phoenix, AZ

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