Career Talk JDR

Archive for the ‘Career Advice’ Category

When clients hire me to train their staff in “soft skills,” they often ask me to teach “communications skills.”   They want their people to be able to create and give presentations, write coherently, speak courteously to help desk clients or identify business requirements by effectively interviewing end-users.

When I am hired to do Change Management for an IT Project, clients ask me to create a Communications Plan.  That plan includes key stakeholders and the message or key points we want to communicate to each person or group.

Over many years of consulting primarily for IT organizations I have noticed a pattern into which most IT groups fall.  They have poor or even contentious relationships – with internal customers, vendors, and sometimes even between groups within IT.

And most IT people will say, “So?  What we are supposed to do is technical stuff, relationships shouldn’t matter.”

Maybe relationships shouldn’t matter, but they do.  Unfortunately, I have seen superb technical organizations which are perceived by their internal customers as incompetent.  They are doing all of the right “technical stuff” — they have 99.99% system availability, clean databases, virus-free LANs, capable help-desks and a responsive network — but they are still perceived as incompetent because they have failed to build and maintain good relationships.

With cyberattacks on the rise in 2009, the FBI now considers such attacks to be the third greatest risk for our country, following nuclear war and weapons of mass destruction.  The fear of “Cybergeddon” has lead to government agencies and private companies alike recruiting experts in the field of security.  Obama is in the process of picking his top cybersecurity aide, while many other organizations are also searching for these important skills.

Since online job marketing and searching has become so popular, some of the old rules of resume writing have changed.  Resume experts used to advise that you add your own personal flare and character to the resume.  These days, any formatting used to add such character can wreak havoc on your resume when it is added to an HTML database or when a major company tries to scan it into their employment files.  This could not only cause headaches for anyone reviewing your resume, but could even keep you from getting the job.  Here are some tips for formatting your resume to be technology friendly:

These days, the news is filled with negative stories about the economy and employment.  You hear a lot about the less than 10% of people out of work, but very little focus on the 90% who have jobs.  The media also reports often about the companies with mass layoffs, but rarely mention companies who are growing or hiring.  So, are there any jobs out there? 

After performing a simple Google search for employment, I kept noticing the names of major companies in the mix.  Just to mention a few companies that I found with a large number of openings:

As many know these days, maintaining a top resume can mean the difference between snagging an interview and ending up in the trash can.  However, what if you have been unemployed for a period of time and that is the first thing seen on your chronological resume?  There are a few ways of handling your unemployment situation which can help increase your chances of staying in the game and being a true competitor for the job.  During your unemployed period, it is not as important what you are not doing – meaning working – as it is important what you ARE doing and making it clear to the hiring manager.

The first day on a new job can be very nerve racking, but it is important to remember that your first impressions can be lasting ones.  So how do you cool your nerves and ace that first day on the job?

First off, if you can, take a little time off before starting the new job to relax, breath deeply and prepare.

We thought that this was a great compilation of 2009 research for IT professionals, so we wanted to share it. 

This slideshow was published by www.networkworld.com and the original information can be found at http://www.networkworld.com/slideshows/2009/010509-salary-hiring.html.

This information on www.networkworld.com also includes an interactive map where you can Get a regional view of hot skills and salaries here:  http://www.networkworld.com/slideshows/2009/010509-salary-hiring.html#slide8

Original source cited as www.networkworld.com.

I have job seekers on a regular basis approach me, asking if they should redo their resume. After a careful review, I’m impressed at how well they’ve put together the resume: aesthetically pleasing, solid hook, right level of detail supporting the hook, no gaps in employment history, etc. (By the way, if your resume is functional, you might want to consider chronological instead. Many hiring officials suspect a candidate might be hiding something with the functional.)   

How many times have you heard the word overqualified?  Anytime I see a manager applying for a lesser position, I immediately assume this person is looking to take any available job until he or she can find a better one. 

Tip: If you truly want the lower level position, downplay the upper level responsibilities and emphasize the lower level tasks and accomplishments required at that level.