Using Your Resume' To Turn Inquiries Into Interviews

A couple of quick items to help your resume' turn inquiries into interviews.

Catherine Lang-Cline and Kristen Harris at Portfolio Creative shared with me an old saying in the newspaper business: "Above the fold". In newspaper terms, this means that to get the reader to open up the paper and read it, it has to attract attention on the top half of the page.

Think about it. We pick up a newspaper, and thumb through the (ever decreasing!) sections glancing at the top half of the page. If we see something we like, we stop, open up the paper, and read it.

Your resume' has to work in much the same way. When the HR person or hiring manager picks it up, the top half has to grab their attention. The resume' has to convince the reader that you are the kind of person that warrants a closer look. If the skills, knowledge, and experience of interest to the employer are at the bottom of page 1 or buried in page 2, they may never be seen.

For as much as we painstakingly choose our words to describe ourselves, if the hiring manager doesn't see what they are looking for in the first few paragraphs, odds are your work of artistic expression is headed for the reject pile. This is yet another reason for tailoring your resume' for specific positions, particularly those where you have direct access to the hiring manager.

In today's digital world, the corallary to "above the fold" is "on the first screen". Most resume's are distributed electronically. The employer is going to click on the the document and pull it up in MS Word or Adobe. What they see on "on the first screen" is going to conciously or subconciously make an impression and guide whether they continue to consider you as a candidate.

For example, I just posted an ad for an IT Project Manager with strong experience in application development projects, financial services background, and large enterprise experience. One resume' I received read more or less as follows:

SUMMARY

Accomplished professional with strong track record of delivering projects on time and within budget. Over twenty years of experience in a variety of environments and technologies with unparalleled customer satisfaction. Familiar with current project management techniques and certified in Project Management from PMI.

EXPERIENCE

XYZ Consulting Company 2007 - 2009
Project Manager
Data Center Updgrade Project

As Project Manager, established and led the project team from inception to completion. Developed scope for the effort and managed to this scope to ensure project was completed as scheduled and to desired quality.

• Upgraded hardware and software from a variety of Windows and Unix boxes to a VMWare environment.
• etc.

Reading "above the fold" results in this candidate being set aside. Why? Even though the candidate had 17 years of application development experience in large enterprises, there was nothing said about it "above the fold" or "on the first screen". Looking at the rest of her resume', she appeared to be eminently qualified, but the typical reviewer never would have known as the relevant skills and experience began towards the bottom of the page.

("set aside". What a pleasant euphenism for "rejected")

My recommendation: Look at the last several job inquiries you've made, and compare your resume' "above the fold" to the job description. Does it line up with the top three or four skills / experiences for that position?

If it doesn't, you have work to do.

What Candidates Should Expect From IT Staffing Firms - Part II

At the beginning of the summer, I had Part I of this post where I asked the question "What do you look for when working with IT staffing firms?". My original topic was "What Candidates Should Expect from IT Staffing Firms" which has morphed into "What do you look for when working with these firms?"


Though I used to be a Project Manager, scope management was never a strength! However, I promise I will answer the "what you should expect" question at the end of this multi-post topic. Similarly, there are dozens of questions one might ask when choosing to deal with one firm vs. another. I will provide the "laundry list" in another post; the questions I have here are those I feel are most important.


Now, more than ever, a large number of folks are finding themselves working as part of the contingent work force, and are in unfamiliar territory. There are things that a traditional staff employee takes for granted when working as an full time employee (FTE) that don't always hold true when working for a staffing firm.


I polled my network of folks and consulted a few other sources and came up with a number of things. I will attempt to group related comments together:


ABOUT YOU:


Time to do some self assessment. Is it tough for you to walk into unfamiliar situations, or do you like the challenge of a new situation? Do you work best in a structured work environment in cubes, or are you happier in an open office environment in an old building somewhere downtown?


Think about yourself and your aptitudes to help structure your selection criteria:


What am I looking for in my next opportunity? How well does the staffing firm and this particular engagement align with what I want out of this experience?


Think about your goals for your next move. Are you just trying to get back working and generate income? Are you looking to get a foot in the door at the end client so you can hire on full time? Or, are you looking to extend and grow your career as a consultant?


In a soft economy like this one many folks are just looking to generate income, and are less concerned about career growth. Still, think about it and ask the relevant questions:

• "What is your policy for converting to FTE with the client?"
• "How can you help me grow my skills by working with your firm?"

If you are the type of individual that is selective about the nature of the work and the environment, the consulting world may not be for you. A large part of the success for an individual working in a consulting / staff augmentation position is their ability to work effectively within the client environment, to mold themselves into the work and the culture.


I found when I was consulting that I could learn something from every engagement. Even the most difficult environment, or the most mundane engagement also came with the opportunity to learn how to deal with a difficult manager, or how to effect change in an environment that was not receptive. At the very least, I found ways to lend value to the client organization regardless of the constraints and difficulties I faced.


I suggest you think about this as you move into consulting and staffing positions.


ABOUT THE FIRM:


There are hundreds of firms out there with all sorts of different opportunities. Go to Monster.com or DICE.com, and most of the positions will be from staffing firms. You will likely see multiple firms advertising the same position. Which one do you choose to work with?



Does the firm specialize in my area of expertise, or do they provide more general staffing? Regardless, how many engagements do they currently have doing what it is I do?


There are pros and con's associated with boutique or niche firms, and general IT staffing companies. A niche firm certainly is more familiar with individual market spaces and clients, and may be better equipped to get you into that perfect assignment. On the flip side, chances are a general IT staffing firm will have a broader reach and larger client base, and be able to reach areas that a niche firm can't.


The key is to ascertain how well the firm understands what you have to offer a potential client. The better the recruiter and sales person understands what you do, the more effectively they can look at opportunities and needs in the market place. Ask:

• "Can you describe the type of engagements you have today that are similar to what I am looking for?"
• "Can you connect me with one of your consultants who is doing this type of thing today?"

It's not so much what the answer is but how the company answers that will tell you a lot about the firm. Read between the lines: are you hearing the truth or fluff?


What is the firm's reputation in the market place with both clients and with consultants?


This is a key question. In central Ohio, there are probably at least one hundred IT staffing and consulting firms. Some are widely known, large national companies. Some are small firms that focus on a couple of clients or in a specific niche or industry. Most are reputable; some have questionable practices.


Regardless, ask people for recommendations and ideas on firms that are good to work with. If you are approached by a firm, do a little homework before committing to work with them. How can you check out the reputation of a particular firm?

• Leverage social networking tools such as LinkedIn and others to find people who have worked with a firm. LinkedIn is a great place to search. Find the sales people and recruiters for the firm, and see what others have to say about them. Find consultants that work for the firm and reach out to them via LinkedIn.
• Check with former colleagues or managers that have engaged the firm from the customer side to get direct insight.
• Ask the recruiter and sales people you talk to "How long have you been with the firm?". Look on LinkedIn or other social networking sites to look at the tenure of the internal staff of the firm. A firm with high turnover in their sales and / or recruiting staff is a warning sign. Even in today's world of "Vendor Management Systems", the success of a staffing or consulting company is still based in large part on the ability to build and maintain relationships with candidates and clients. A firm with high turnover, particularly in their sales staff, can not maintain relationships with customers.

Every firm claims to be professional, high end, and "just like the big firms". Some are, some are not. Some firms simply match candidates with clients, and handle payrolling and invoicing, but provide little additional support to clients or consultants.

How do I get paid and what are the benefits like?

Some firms offer salary and benefits; some only pay hourly with no benefits. The different types of arrangements include:

• W2 Salaried: You are a salaried employee, and get paid a fixed amount every time period (ex: $6,250 / month). The consulting / staffing firm takes care of payroll tax withholding, FICA, etc. There may or may not be compensation for hours in excess of the standard hours that are billed to the client.
• W2 Hourly: You get paid a set amount for every hour you bill the client (ex: $38.50 / hour). The consulting / staffing firm takes care of taxes and other withholding.
• Independent Contractor (IC): Sometimes referred to as a "1099 contractor". You are paid a set amount for every hour you bill the client. You are treated as an independent business entity by the consulting / staffing firm, and are responsible for all of your own tax reporting, and generally are required have general liability and other types of business insurance.

There are pro's and con's to each these, too much to go into here. For "rules of thumb":

• If you need health benefits, W2 Salary is generally your best bet. However, some firms offer health benefits with W2 Hourly. Ask.
• If the assignment duration is relatively short (<>
• If your goal is to be a long term, professional consultant, known as an expert or highly skilled in a specific market space, then take the time to get set up as an IC.

Regarding benefits, most reputable firms offer some form of health, dental, 401k, and other benefits to W2 salaried employees, and a few offer benefits to W2 hourly employees. However, some firms do not offer health insurance and other benefits at all! Be sure to ask!

IC's are not eligible for benefits such as health and 401k as they are independent business entities by definition. If you are looking at working as an IC through another firm or by marketing yourself direct to a client, then I strongly advise researching the subject and consulting a professional accountant / lawyer accustomed to dealing with IC's.

WHAT ABOUT THE ENGAGEMENT?

More about things to think about in my next post. This one is getting a bit lengthy!

Simple Job Hunting Tip

If your are using job boards as a source for opportunities, there is a site that can help save you significant time and energy.

A nifty tool I use is a web site http://www.indeed.com/. "Indeed" does a scan of job boards and provides a singular portal to view jobs that meet your search criteria.

Essentially, you can search multiple job boards, both external (Monster, DICE, etc.) and internal (corporate, staffing companies, etc.) to find jobs that meet your search criteria (location, salary, type, etc.). You can also save your search and have it run automatically as a search agent.

A weak point of Indeed is that the search criteria is fairly basic. It does not do a particularly good job of categorizing jobs as to search for a specific job by title. Searching is done via a simple keyword search. Indeed is really a "broad net" when it comes to sweeping up jobs posted elsewhere. But, it saves time from going to multiple company web sites, and leads to positions you might not have thought about.

Job Hunting Tips...

Given the economy, many folks who are not used to looking for employment are finding themselves doing so. Job-hunting (more importantly, job FINDING) is a good skill to have in your portfolio, and one that most of us acquire the hard way.

There are countless books, web sites, and blogs on this topic, so there is really no reason to go in depth here. However, I have developed a standard email with a few tips that I send to people, and thought I might share them here.

Some of this is local to central Ohio, but can be applied to other geographies.

RESUME'

• Make sure your resume' is top quality and targets the position you for which you are applying. Your resume is the marketing collateral for "You, Inc.", and reflects an image of what you are all about.
• PLEASE ensure your resume' is without errors, typo's, and formatting issues! It never ceases to amaze me how many people looking for six figure jobs have resumes that look like they were written by a fifth grader.
• I highly recommend going to the library or book store and getting a book about resume' writing. There are many styles and formats, and unless you spend your days looking at resumes, it's difficult to know what a good resume' needs to look like.
• If you are struggling developing your resume', consider enlisting professional help. There are services that range from basic resume' writing to all out career counseling, and pricing varies accordingly. Locally, I recommend Worthington Career Services, http://www.worthingtonresumes.com/

NETWORKING

If you have read this far, you are probably not sitting around evaluating competing job offers. Get out there and talk to people.

• http://www.meetup.com/ Go to Meetup.com and search on “ColumbusTechLife” and sign up for it. You will get emails about things going on. There is also a group on LinkedIn for ColumbusTechLife. As I mentioned, these are a great way to get intro’d to tech people around town that you might not normally be aware of.
• http://codemgmt.blogspot.com/ There are a ton of IT related groups on this site. Some may be relevant, some not so much.
• http://www.sciotoridgejng.com/ This is a great group run by Janice Worthington who writes for Business First of Columbus, and who has been featured on TV news. My company has done some job fairs with them and they are good. There are multiple meetings each month with speakers and other events.
• http://www.linkedin.com/ If you are not yet on LinkedIn, then join. It is a great tool for finding professional contacts. From a sales perspective, I use it to search companies for people I used to work with, so then I can call them to get reacquainted and if it makes sense to introduce my company to them. You can do the same thing from a job search perspective. Find and call folks you know from your past (work, schools, etc.) to see if there are opportunities or if they know of something going on.
• http://www.facebook.com/ LinkedIn has purposely targeted the professional market. On the other hand, Facebook is truly a socially oriented networking tool. If you haven't already, set up an account, get your profile out there, and get connected to folks you know.
• Traditional Networking: Clubs, churches, and other social organizations have traditionally been a great source for networking and finding out about jobs, and still are. Leverage them.

ACTIVITY

Your job now is to get a job. Be the best employee that "You, Inc." has ever had, and work your buns off. Everyone's style is a bit different, but every day you should be able to point back at a list of completed activities. For example:

• Made 40 calls to former co-workers
• Applied for 4 jobs online
• Set up coffee meeting with former college room mate.
• Tailored my resume for a different type of position
• Met with a temp agency / staffing firm in my geography
• Went to a networking event at church
• Researched how to market myself as independent consultant
• Identified three alternatives to jobs in my current field

...or whatever. The point is that you need to be BUSY, show results of your activities, and apply discipline and rigor to your search, and be in control of your search.

SUMMARY

As I mentioned at the beginning, most of this can be found elsewhere, and much of it seems to be common sense when you think about it a bit. However, most of us aren't used to looking for a job, and a few pointers on what to do can go a long way in making our search more productive, even in a slow economy.