As the economy worsens and more tech companies are forced to lay off workers, I’ve been growing increasingly distraught with the growing number of friends who have lost their jobs or are struggling to find new contracts.  I hear about cool jobs on a fairly regular basis, so today I started brainstorming for a way to help.  An intense sixty seconds later, @sdjobs was born.

What is @sdjobs?
@sdjobs is a Twitter account that publicizes Internet technology jobs in the San Diego area, keeps the community updated on the job market and layoff announcements, and offers general job hunting tips.  I’ll also provide some much needed sanity checks by pointing out how unreasonable some job descriptions are.  Searching for a new job is never easy,  and I want to help keep San Diego’s spirits up and let people know that they’re not alone.

Why Twitter?  Why not just start a mailing list?
Because Twitter is a notification system built inside a social network.  With Twitter, users have more options for where and when they receive updates.  A casual job hunter may only want to check the web page every once in a while, but someone trying to get an interview for a competitive position may want to be updated as soon as possible.  Mailing lists only send email, requiring the user to search for third party tools to get this kind of flexibility.

How you can help
Even if you’re not looking for a new job, one of your friends probably is or will be in the near future.  The best way you can help is to be prepared with leads and advice…and let me tell ya, it’s way hella cool to watch someone’s face light up when you send them a job lead.  And I am but a cat herder, so I can only do so much without you cats sending in job openings at your company and relevant content that you stumble upon.

I picked Rosie the Riveter as my icon to communicate a very specific message.  As the global economy begins it’s death spiral, local communities will have to band together tighter than ever before to support ourselves during the impending collapse.  No government bailouts can help us more than we can help each other.

We can do it, San Diego.