Business Information Systems Director (in DC) Candidate Profile

Business Information Systems Director – Transforming IT Operations to Reduce Cost of Ownership & Improve Value Delivery:

• 15 Years of Hands-on Technology & Leadership Experience
• 6+ Years in Technology Management, Director, and Acting CIO roles
• MS – Technology Management
• Specialist in Enterprise Data Management Solutions and Business Intelligence and Big Data Programs
• Well versed in making IT business practices more nimble

 

Want to know more?

For the full resume or in an introduction to the client highlighted here, contact Stephen at Stephen@ittechexec.com directly.

 

Candidate Profile Snippet

Many recruiters and employers come to ITtechExec and NoddlePlace looking for specific skills sets, and it is our aim to match our clients up with those needs. Therefore, toward that effort, we highlight some of our clients each week and share this post across all of our network.

Innovation Is More Than Just a Good Idea

Study the corporate atmosphere for any amount of time these days, and you will hear endless dialogue about the need for "innovation." It seems to be the great American corporate battle cry. And for good reason.

As a career pro who works with technical candidates, the cry is especially loud.

Everyone wants to be the next Apple, and they are looking to their techie crowd to make that happen for them.

So, if you are so inclined, you can sit in on countless Twitter chats, participate in numerous LinkedIn groups, and take seminar after seminar on how to become more "innovative." Some think it rests in having an entrepreneurial spirit (big corps need to act "smaller" and be more...loose), in having better technical skills, in combining technical with business background (more techie MBAs!), in having better people skills (aka engagement), and/or in having better vision (aka a good idea).

While these are all interesting discussions and have some merit to them, I believe they somewhat miss the mark of understanding what truly drives innovation (if they didn't, then why aren't we more innovative? I mean, just sit it on a Twitter chat for goodness' sakes, and Poof! Innovation abounds, right?).

Because I am a word lover, I always like to start at looking not just at the meaning of the word but also at the history behind it.

Innovation as a word is traced back to the 15th century, primarily to the Renaissance (meaning "rebirth").

And a well-known prime example of that era (and of embodying the newly minted word [but by no means new concept] "innovation") is Leonardo da Vinci (a true Renaissance man if there ever was one!).

Not surprisingly, then, given its roots in the Renaissance and in da Vinci, the concept is closely aligned with the fields of art, philosophy, and religion. In many ways, scientific thought, and thus technological advancement, grew out of these realms. Imagination, which has always been tied in with art, philosophy, and religion, then put into action the thoughts and ideas spurred on by these fields, which led to scientific observation and to many, many attempts at invention. What resulted, then, from these metaphysical fields was innovation in other areas, like technology, science, and mathematics.

In today's market, we like to lump everything into a "global" landscape, but then we segment out ourselves and each other by "subjects." He's a scientist. She's a teacher. He's a CIO. And then we hope and pray that each is an "out of the box" thinker in his or her respective subjects. (And the less we try to make the corporate world, corporate, the more corporate it becomes!)

But the innovative ideas brought forth with the Renaissance came out of inclusive thinking, the idea that you weren't just a sculptor or teacher or whatever. Education in fundamentals like art, philosophy, religion, language, and mathematics was highly valued. In essence, it was at the core of spurring innovation. Today, we're more worried about having business skills and leadership skills and big picture thinking as if they can be taught in "leadership" seminars . We want the innovation to burst out of mathematical manipulation or some concrete scientific process, but we don't understand that productive imagination stems from an understanding of what has come before and of man and nature.

In other words, we need a deep well of knowledge to pull from, all of us, no matter what the primary occupation.

We just need, well, to be educated and in more than just programming languages and engineering calculus (and in leadership development taught by HR).

Nevertheless, corporations are going to have a hard time finding this type of talent. For one thing, the marketplace has spent many years now shunning the high-minded pursuits (I mean how many parents have lamented their son or daughter becoming a "philosophy" major because they knew companies didn't care about it) and society is so addicted to gadgets and technology.

But something will have to give sooner or later. We are already desperate for leaders and visionaries.

So we can no longer afford to miss the forest for the virtual trees, so to speak.

What made Apple so innovative was a leader who had studied man and nature, who grasped behavior, and who could adapt what was already being developed to a shiny package that is too hard for many to refuse. He was more than just a one-dimensional person who loved technology (observe his time in India in search of spiritual enlightenment), and his education was anything but specific. Commenting on his college background, he said, "If I had never dropped in on that single calligraphy course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts."

"Good ideas" and "technological innovation" don't just happen because people are smart or presented with ideal teamwork conditions; there has to be more substance there.

And too bad for us, more often than not, there's isn't.

So What Does It Mean to Like Your Job Anyway?

OK, so you might be thinking this is a nonsensical question. I mean, after all, it's pretty simple, right? We all want to go to work and like what we do.

But if it were that easy to accomplish, everyone would achieve it. The problem, as usual, lies in the application.

Everyone knows what they want (or what they don't); they just don't know how to get it.

Spend a minute, if you will, in my shoes...a resume writer/career coach who works with job seeker after job seeker, all essentially in the same quest: to like their job. The mantra is always the same: "I just want to like my job." They are clear as day on that. No bones about it.

But when you ask them what it means "to like your job," it's like you asked them what is the secret to happiness.

(Hey, maybe that is the real question here anyway!)

It's a rare few who can really answer it much beyond the "I want the pit in my stomach to go away" or "I want to look forward to going there every work day."

Yet when you press them to tell you what it would take to make that happen, most of the responses/issues they respond with are about circumstantial things, not necessarily about job-related things. For instance, for many people, it is co-worker stuff or boss stuff or commute and work-life stuff. It's rare that it is the job itself.

Now, that isn't to say that these issues aren't important or real, but in my mind, there is a difference between the "job" and the circumstances that surround it. That may be splitting hairs for some, but to me, it is important to recognize in deciding whether you are making a reactive decision to leave or a proactive one, much less whether you need a complete career overhaul or just a change of venue (or maybe attitude!).

I've witnessed people make life-changing career changes over a bad boss. I've watched careers stagnant over an unwillingness to find a compromise with a co-worker. And none of it really had to do with whether they liked the specific job itself, but all of it shifted the person's perception of his or her work situation.

In my mind, there's a similarity here with the process of finding the "right" house. If you've watched even one episode of HGTV (House Hunters, Property Virgins, etc.), you know that there really is no such thing as the "perfect" home. Houses are a lot of work, no matter what your price point. Buy it new today; tomorrow it is old, etc. They all need maintenance. They all have locations or neighbors or taxes or environmental challenges that have to be overcome, and you as the purchaser must decide what you are willing to live with (or maybe more importantly, without). Jobs are no different.

And like jobs, you can bounce from house to house, trying to find the perfect one, but it is expensive and time-consuming, not to mention stressful and often counterproductive. No one likes to move, especially the older you get and the more you accumulate. Lugging all that baggage with you each time gets, well, tiring, and who's to say really that the new place will provide that "like" factor you are looking for (or for how long)? How do you know you aren't just swapping one problem for another?

So am I saying a person should never leave a job (or a house) just because he or she doesn't like the circumstances around it?

No. Of course not. I am saying, though, that you need to find a way to assess what is really motivating you. Understanding that can help you to make a better first step in trying to overcome the problem.

The other issue you need to look at is what priorities you have placed on whether you like a job. Is it the job that really matters or the benefits? For instance, have you decided that security, health care options, commute time, work-life balance, etc. all matter more than whether you like the actual job itself? (I know...you want all of it...who doesn't!) Again, I am not saying these things don't matter, but to get to the root of your dissatisfaction, you need to understand what is motivating you to move on.

If you resolved just one or two of those circumstances, would that be enough to make you like what you do?

Maybe the bigger question is as follows: What if you couldn't resolve any or most of the circumstantial issues surrounding your job? Are you just destined to hate it then?

When it comes down to it, a lot of what makes us like something has to do with the hope we have in it.

Do we see a future that looks promising? Can we see beyond the irritations of today to a longer term goal? Are we willing to look past the temporal to something more concrete (e.g., can we leave behind a legacy with the job that we do)? Focusing on these things, instead of on the here and now, that is what truly brings in the long-lasting like factor because it shifts from things we can't control to things we can. In my opinion, whether a person likes his or her job often has more to do with how in control he or she feels about the future. (Ask yourself: Am I letting the circumstances control my job future...or am I calling the shots?)

But you have to be willing to shift that focus. Are you? After all, often we forget that having a job you love really starts with, well, you.

The Career Referral Engine

John Jantsch wrote a book called The Referral Engine that has been a great resource for us here at ITtechExec. Not only does it highlight how to tap into any business's dream, happy customers who refer you to other potential customers (and thus save you loads of precious marketing dollars), but in the end, it helps you build a company that does more than just "sell" a product, hoping to trick someone into buying it; it gives you the satisfaction of knowing that you built a company full of clients who actually look forward to referring you.

As I was reviewing Jantsch's book again recently, I began thinking about how corporate professionals could and should apply many of these same principles to their career moves...well before they even start considering their next job search.

One of the biggest issues for most professionals, particularly those a few years into their careers, is learning how to transform from their corporate mindset, which frankly tends to lull us into a stupor, into a more entrepreneurial one, for managing an effective career is really akin to launching your own business with you as the product. So, let's look at some principles that Jantsch lays out in his book:

1. Becoming "referrable:

For those of you who find the concept of sales distasteful, then this is the approach for you. The idea is that you position yourself within your company, industry, Google+ circle, LinkedIn group, association network, and so on, as a person people want to refer. In other words, they want to work with you, and they want to do so for the following reasons:

a. You're consistent.

b. You're trustworthy.

c. You're interesting.

d. You know your stuff.

e. You focus on service instead of on achievement.

 In my mind, this is really the essence of networking...not meeting tons of people, wowing them with your charisma, and hoping something sticks. Instead, it is recognizing that you are a problem solver, that you have something people need, and that you are the real deal. This "real deal" concept leads to principle #2.

2. Establishing a "core talkable difference":

There really is nothing better from a professional standpoint than drawing people to you. As a small business owner, having people approach you already respecting the work that you do is like a breath of the freshest air compared with constantly trying to prove your worth, chasing after one potential client after another. The same is true even if you work in the corporate arena. Applying for a promotion and getting it is fine, but having leadership come to you and selecting you first is so much better.

To accomplish this goal, Jantsch suggests developing a "core talkable difference." This is something, a skill, feature, uniqueness that gives you a competitive advantage because it makes those around you take notice. Again, it is not something you "brag" about per se, but it is something you can demonstrate that sets you apart from all the other software developers, desktop support staff, IT project managers, etc.

Furthermore, this also isn't about being "nice" or working hard, which isn't to say that those things aren't valuable, but remember to think from a business perspective. What is a function you perform or problem that you solve that makes you stand out? It's not necessary to reinvent the wheel here. Think about an improvement you bring to the environment or industry around you and showcase (talk less, show more) that in some way.

3. Understanding your higher purpose:

People are attracted to those who seem to understand their higher purpose, mostly because we crave that in ourselves. We want to be happy in our careers and to feel like we have a vision for why and what we are doing. For principles #1 and #2 to be genuine, you really need to have principle #3, and that's where most of us get tripped up. We lack the passion to go with the skill sets that we have, and therefore, we aren't all that referrable or different, no matter how talented we are.

Whenever I work with job seekers or those considering career transition, one of the toughest things to do is to get them to stop and think about what excites them. They are usually too consumed by fear and desperation to want to do that. Whatever is behind this career move rarely has much to do with finding satisfaction as it is about just getting out of the current situation. As a result, they end up in the "sea" of job seekers, hoping to differentiate themselves somehow, and fast. (Of course, sometimes I end up working with the other end of the spectrum...the dreamers...they have lots of ideas, hopes, and aspirations but often are unwilling to take the first step toward pursuing them. They are often driven by a different type of fear and desperation than the first group, essentially, but they all end up in the same place, out in that "sea.")

Overall, Jantsch says that for a business to be successful (and for our purposes, a corporate professional), you must enjoy what you do and have a sense of purpose, you must be good at it, and you must be able to convince other people to pay you for it. If any one of these ingredients is lacking, then there's a good chance the business of your career is stalled or stale, and that you are expending a lot of effort just trying to get noticed.

Get the recipe right, according to Jantsch, and the opportunities will start to come your way.

The Era of Promotions Will Return...Will You Be Ready?

For the last several years, there has been a lot of discussion in the world of work regarding a reduction in internal promotions. Anything from the economy, to job reduction, to Baby Boomers delaying retirement, to talent shortages have been cited as reasons for the slowdown in career progression at most companies.

As a result, social media has been a buzz coming up with all kinds of workarounds, anything from planning the complete annihilation of silo management or office hierarchy to predicting the dawn of the age of the independent contractor. It has set frustrated Gen-Xers a flame contemplating a world in which management works for staff, a staff who really works for itself...in other words, total and utter collaboration on a level playing field that will, naturally of course, usher in world peace.

And although it is true that companies have shifted management structures at least to give the appearance of being a little less "traditional," and that entrepreneurialism, at least in the form of consulting work, has been on the rise, I wouldn't call it a revolution just yet.

 

And here are 5 reasons why

 

First, Baby Boomers will retire, eventually, especially over the next 2 to 5 years.

 

Second, the restructuring of management in most companies is not all that drastic. Putting the boss's desk in a room without walls doesn't change who is ultimately in charge.

 

Third, you can just only do so much job-hopping to get ahead before your spouse, kids, and midlife crisis catch up with you.

 

Fourth, half of all small businesses fail...and that is just as true for independent contractors as for anybody else. (If you want a frustrating pursuit really lacking in accolades and entitlements, just try your hand at it.)

 

Fifth, climbing the corporate ladder is still a noble goal, despite what you may hear, and deep down, most professionals waiting in the wings know that.

 

So, will you be ready?

Therefore, with the era of promotions returning, sadly, most Gen-Xers and the Millennials trailing behind will not be ready when it comes. And it is important that they should be.

 

Why?

1. Companies aren't likely to do a 1-to-1 exchange, which means there will be competition.
2. Your colleagues will have been waiting for a while too, and they will feel just as entitled.
3. Companies say they like to promote from within, but that's not always true.
4. Leadership is forgetful, and it will be your job to remind them (like it or not).

So, even though you might be thinking a job search or a consulting gig is around the corner for you, don't forget that building a promotion portfolio might be the wisest of them all.

 

Are you maximizing your current job opportunity?

Before you write off your future with your current company, evaluate your chances of landing a promotion and then get prepared. I guarantee you those around you will drop the ball on this one. After all, they will be too busy trying to figure out who said starting your own business was for everyone.

IT Director (Montreal, Canada) Candidate Profile

IT Director with 18+ years of Innovation in SOA, Solution Architecture Integration, Software Development, IT Management & Governance:

• Specializes in the architecture design, development, implementation, and management of mission-critical enterprise applications
• Proficient in meeting the stringent regulatory standards for the global financial, banking, ISP, and pharmaceutical markets
• Received MBA and a Master's degree in electrical engineering
• Certified by Sun as a Java Architect

 

Want to know more?

For the full resume or in an introduction to the client highlighted here, contact Stephen at Stephen@ittechexec.com directly.

Candidate Profile Snippet

Many recruiters and employers come to ITtechExec and NoddlePlace looking for specific skills sets, and it is our aim to match our clients up with those needs. Therefore, toward that effort, we highlight some of our clients each week and share this post across all of our network.

Career Management and Your Domain Name Do Go Together

OK. So you might be thinking, "what does my domain name have to do with career management?"

Answer: More than you might think.

 

Owning your domain name will soon become more important than ever.

If you're like me, you probably never gave it much thought. I mean, who cares about "stephenvanvreede.com"? Why would anyone want to own that? Why would I want to own that?

Answer: Because as social recruiting and social networking continues to rise, having your own domain name will be the new business card, and it will be the hub of your online "community."

Sounds a bit much? I don't think so.

We have already entered a mindset in hiring that candidates who are unsearchable online are becoming increasingly suspect and that there is a demand for more authenticity in a candidate's online bios and profiles.

Translation: They claim to want more content marketing from job seekers. They want to go online, read your profiles, check out your activity, see what content you are sharing. And they are going to want to "Google" you and find a central hub for all of that...your domain name. (And, by the way, that is becoming true even when you aren't actively seeking. The concept of "social" engagement among a company's employees is a hot topic right now.)

Now, I have to admit some skepticism here. These are all the same people proclaiming that they can't spend more than 6 seconds reading a resume because the "resume is dead" (yet when repeatedly asked what they would prefer to read, they respond with "LinkedIn profile"...essentially a resume in narrative form; of course, after they "read" your profile, they then ask you to do what? Yep...submit a resume!). So it is somewhat a stretch to believe they are going to wade through layers and layers of online content.

I think what they are really saying is that they want to get a "sense" of who you are as a candidate. They want to feel that you have embraced the social era (like it or not!) and that you are establishing yourself as a subject matter expert of some kind.

 

That's why you need to take control of your domain name before someone else does.

Crazy as it may sound, as people become more and more aware of the power they can have over someone else's reputation, there is nothing stopping them from purchasing your domain name and either pretending to be you or using it to damage your name. (I'm just thinking of what an ex-spouse or disgruntled co-worker could do!)

 

It might be crazy, but it is worth the few bucks a year.

It doesn't cost much to buy it now, but it could cost a lot later on down the road as the trend increases. So, take some time today and add your domain name to your career management portfolio. Use it to build that central hub where your web bio, social media contact buttons, and blog are all located. It doesn't have to be time-consuming; just keep it current. And most importantly, keep it under your control...not someone else's.

The Age-Old Social Media Quality vs. Quantity Debate

Hopefully this won't come as too much of a surprise, but....Social media networking really isn't all that different from traditional networking. Whether you meet face to face or online, there is always an issue of quality versus quantity: quality of network interactions versus quantity of network connections.

And there is no shortage of blog posts, tweet chats, and Google+ shares that will tell you that it is quality that matters most. (In fact, I'm pretty sure I have written and shared a good amount of content on the subject.)

But now that social media has been around a while (and so have I!), I have to admit that I no longer agree quite so emphatically. And here's why:

 

1. In networking, social or traditional, quantity will "trump" quality IF you are reaching your target market.

Now, I know when you are a job seeker or career management candidate, you don't typically think in terms of target market. But you do have one. (Really, like any good business strategy, you must have one.)

Therefore, when it comes to reaching that target market, the numbers don't lie. Let's face it. No company wants to limit its customer reach to just 10 or 20 or even 100 loyal patrons. It wants limitless loyal patrons!

And so do you.

So, yes, you want "quality" connections, but even more so, you want lots of them! Why? Because you can't tap the same 5 wells every time. And by broadening your reach, you are giving yourself a chance to be more referable (or recommendable, if you prefer).

And being referable is really what networking, social or otherwise, is all about. You referring others. Others referring you. That is hard to achieve if you "spray and pray" and equally as hard if you only let a select few into the "circle of trust."

 

2. People only have so much time for meaningful engagement.

Now this one will probably get me into a little trouble with my social media pals (or #SoMe as they like to call it). Right now, "engagement" is all the rage (another topic I have written extensively on). And don't get me wrong, it is a very nice thought. When it does happen in a meaningful way, it can be extremely effective for both parties involved.

But...(and this is a big BUT)...I hate to break it to you...

BUT not everyone wants to be your friend.

Some people just want to have professional connections that they can feel comfortable referring out to one another. And they are busy with the really important stuff like raising their kids. AND just like you, they are using social media as a means to an end...they want to take more than they give.

So although they don't want you to "advertise" to them, I'm not convinced they are interested in discussing the meaning of life with you either (even the meaning of career life).

So when you think engagement, again, think about how you can refer things/people to them that will make their professional lives easier. For instance, they are having such and such issue at work. Maybe you know someone in your large target market of connections that you can introduce them to?

 

3. Providing content is nice, but nobody reads it.

Now I know this one is really going to raise some hairs. Marketing, and networking as an extension of marketing (or "branding"), is all about content marketing right now. In fact, it is so hot that Google has pretty much wiped out traditional SEO measures in favor of content-driven search.

It's like there is this sudden fascination with reading. IF only....

Really what it is is an attempt to let other people know you know something about something, and you are the resource to go to on that subject. So, maybe at some point, someone will read it, but it is more likely you are leaving an impression. The impression you are the Go-To person on this subject for your network.

And this doesn't entail just the stuff you create, but the stuff you share. In fact, the stuff you share is probably equally as important as the stuff you create.

So, now, here's where the quantity versus quality debate comes back in:  

Because engagement is fleeting and content is skimmed, it is your connections in your target market that will make it all matter much.

And you want lots of them...because it takes lots of them to get the "word" out about you.

Don't be fooled like so many are that social media is all about the little guy. "Grassroots! Grassroots," they shout when something goes viral. But in reality, it takes dedication and a focused strategy, countless hours, and probably a team of people behind you to make social media work for you.

And although quality connections do matter, in the end, you need A LOT of them.

At First There Was Nothing, And Then Great Tech Talent Exploded

In a previous post, "Is Your Resume Ready to Face the Tech Talent War?", I talked about the ongoing war for tech talent and discussed the finger-pointing and blame game that has been going around. I also looked at how tech candidates can position their IT resumes to take advantage of this "war."

As a follow-up to that post, I'd like to delve a little more into some of the ways that this issue of lack of talent could be addressed better within the U.S.  

1. We need to stop confusing knowing how to use a computer with "knowing computers." There seems to be this misconception that today's youth "know computers" when in actuality they most often just know how to use them (meaning they know how to use software) well. As a result, we tend to think we are raising tech-savvy kids. But the kids we are raising are generally not prepared to understand how the back-end of an organization is run, much less even how to troubleshoot basic hardware problems.

High school isn't getting them close, and college isn't either. In my post, "Why Our Programming Skills Need an Upgrade," I cite an article, “Sorry, College Grads, I Probably Won’t Hire You,” by Kirk McDonald, president of PubMatic, an ad tech company in Manhattan. In that article, he cites lack of knowledge of basic programming code and inability to understand the processes in place to run the organization smoothly as big factors in why our college computer science programs are falling short.

So it is clear: Using the tool and knowing how the tool is engineered and works in relation to the whole system are not the same things.  

2. Talent is more than a vocabulary lesson. As a career services professional and resume writer who specializes in working with tech clients, I can honestly say that perhaps no other area is as much enveloped in its own vocabulary as in the tech fields, from IT to engineering to medical to manufacturing.

But much like my earlier point, knowing the terms and using them are not the same thing. And I find that much like religion, a lot of people talk the talk but don't walk the walk. As I mentioned in my post, "In 2014 Tech Job Market, Ignorance Is Not Bliss," companies are looking more for strategic business partners than for IT firefighters. And even those that collaborate with IT can no longer claim ignorance. It's time to move away from tossing around the vocabulary to developing real talent that can understand how technology affects business.  

3. We could be suffering from a case of mistaken identity. At a time when good jobs have been few, the tech skyline has seemed awfully bright. As a result, a lot of people are drawn to it. Unfortunately, the talent it is drawing is not prepared for what industry is demanding. As I've already covered, understanding of programming code and IT strategic business partnership are two big needs. The other is quite simple: Will the real techie please stand up?

Even companies are confused and not sure what "real techies" are looking for. As a result, they keep trying to woo candidates with cool, hip culture and a college-like atmosphere. As a result, top talent isn't leaving, and the concept of "genius" is being rebranded...none of which really solves the problem.

Look. It's hard to solve a problem when you're stuck in blame mode. But it is clear that to move forward, we need a more accurate assessment: The word "techie" has been hijacked by a culture that thinks that maneuvering through apps is the same thing as being able to run a network, and true talent has been painted into a picture that seems to exist only in Harvard dorm rooms.

Big Data's Top 15: Is This Your Next Career Move?

In August 2013, Network World published a list of the 15 most powerful big data companies. We have summarized the list here with the amount of big data revenue (as of 2012) listed in parentheses.

1. IBM ($1.3B) 
2. HP ($664M) 
3. Teradata ($435M) 
4. Oracle ($415M) 
5. SAP ($368M) 
6. EMC ($336M) 
7. Amazon (revenue not provided) 
8. Microsoft ($196M) 
9. Google ($36M) 
10. VMware ($32M) 
11. Cloudera (revenue not provided) 
12. Hortonworks (revenue not provided) 
13. Splunk ($186M) 
14. 10Gen ($36M) 
15. MapR ($23M)

Tell Us What You Think

The top 10 might not be that surprising, but did you guess the other 5? Feel free to share with us any other organizations you think warrant mentioning. We were surprised that NetFlix and Adobe were left off.

CIO (Seattle) Candidate Profile

Seattle-based CIO with 20+ years of experience in technology leadership and solution selling:

• Business transformation specialist championing complete IT infrastructure build out and modernization, upgrading network, data center, virtualization, and cloud services.
• IT strategic business partner launching full-serve technical services and support organization for 1500+ end users, 900+ of which are remote with full BYOD.
• Governance, security, and compliance leader creating a single sign-on system to authenticate 98% of business applications.

Want to know more?

For the full resume or in an introduction to the client highlighted here, contact Stephen at Stephen@ittechexec.com directly.

Candidate Profile Snippet

Many recruiters and employers come to ITtechExec and NoddlePlace looking for specific skills sets, and it is our aim to match our clients up with those needs. Therefore, toward that effort, we highlight some of our clients each week and share this post across all of our network.

Is Your Career Ruled by Rules?

I am always fascinated by how we love rules. Something in us just seems to crave structure. If it doesn't exist, we create it. And if it does exist, we try to understand it.

 

We want to know the rules.

Even those renegades among us who like to think they live "without rules" really just mean they like to rebel against others' rules they don't like or find constricting, not so much against their own rules or ones they like. After all, to live without rules is essentially a rule in itself, and of course, if you really lived without them, you most likely would end up in jail. :-)

So we all live with rules. Some we create. Almost all we willingly submit to even if we don't like them.

Yet, no matter how much we need rules or crave structure, they can make life pretty confusing at times, especially when it comes to our careers. I would say it is one of the biggest obstacles career changers face. It's not qualifications, comfort zones, and even logistics that really hold people back. It is all their rules.

Most of them are the self-imposed kind, such as "I can't leave because it would be disloyal." (Says who?)

Occasionally some come from family or outside influences that have some kind of hold on the person, such as "A successful person makes such and such and works at such and such job." (Since when are they experts?)

Still others are bred within the company the person works for, such as "you can only be promoted after X years and after achieving X level." (Is this a written guarantee or just an opinion?)

 In most cases, however, it is a combination of rules, intertwined like some type of religious legalism, that really has people bound up in chains. And they don't see a way out.

 

But there is always a way.

And the answer isn't "treat yourself better" or "be a rebel" or "screw everybody else."

 

The answer is to live with purpose.

Sounds a bit cliche, I know, but it is true. Having a vision for your career puts you on a path, and that path is more than just about you. It is about all the people who are affected by you achieving your goal: your family, your community, your co-workers. It isn't solely financial based or benefits based or work-life balance based. It isn't about odd ideas about loyalty and meeting company criteria.

Instead, it is about creating a structure that is actually positive, that might even leave a legacy of some kind, instead of feeling like your career (much less your life) operates inside an emotional prison facility.

Now, you might be thinking, "OK, so how do I find my purpose?" Isn't that the million-dollar question?

In my mind, finding your purpose isn't really all that hard. What is much harder is being honest about what motivates you.

Listen. The reason we get into these complex webs of legalistic rules where pretty soon we aren't sure where we are going anymore is because we have some pretty poor motivators.

 

The foundation is all wrong. And we aren't willing to change it.

We may have good reasons for these motivators. We may rationalize them all we like. But essentially, we stick with what we know even if we don't like it because something in it (or maybe a few somethings) is driving us, and there's a payoff, even if it is a negative one. We might be miserable in the process, but that's OK as long as our motivations are being fed.

Without question, fear is the number one motivator for most people...even if they don't like to admit it.

 

And rules provide a great forum for fear to thrive.

Think about it. It's so much easier to say that you are stuck living up to someone's else expectations than simply to admit that you are really just afraid to fail.

I mean if you step out and go after that purpose, you just might fail, right? The problem, of course, is that by doing nothing, you have already failed.

But, then again, at least you still have your rules and there's so much comfort in that. :-)

In 2014 Tech Job Market, Ignorance Is Not Bliss

In my last couple posts, "Why Our Programming Knowledge Needs an Upgrade" and "Now That Techies Are Cool", I have been emphasizing the need for basic understanding of programming that has quickly become a requirement for all staff (tech and non-tech alike) at many tech companies. As I mentioned in those posts, you don't necessarily need to become an advanced programmer, but you should be able to talk the talk. In other words, ignorance of what it takes for engineers and programmers to build the back end of a project by the sales team or marketing staff is no longer acceptable. For example, if a client asks how long a project build is going to take, it helps to understand something about the challenges involved in coding that type of project before you answer, and it helps to know what makes your company tick...literally.

 

Getting Educated

With so many tools out there, finding resources to help you get better acquainted with the various programming languages should not be difficult. The infographic provided here by Pythonforbiologists.com is a great example. Dabbling in Python would be a great place to start. Learning about APIs would be another.

 

Figure Out What Isn't Working

Who knows...maybe brushing up on your knowledge of computer code will even help you on the personal branding/career management side. With the plethora of job openings in the tech industry, and a shortage of talent (aka "a shortage of talent that the companies want"), it pays to listen to what they are asking for, despite whether you have hands-on tech experience or not.

So fix the errors. Take a course. Learn the lingo. Speak Geek.

Still Falling for the Two Biggest Career Motivators?

In a prior post called "Is Your Career Ruled by Rules," I talked about the self-imposed structure that many professionals have when it comes to their careers. Within that post, I also touched on how many of our rules come out of what motivates us, consciously or subconsciously. I work with all kinds of IT and technical professionals on a daily basis, from self-assured to humble to ambitious to cautious to seasoned to entry level, and when we discuss the paths their careers have taken, there are two things that underlie the majority of career decisions they have made.

 

Number One: Fear

We don't often like to use the word, so we'll call it something else: "concern," "lack of security," "life changes," "obstacles," "challenges," etc. But at the heart of it is, well, fear. Fear that we will lose our current position, fear that we will be stuck in the same position in 5 years, fear that we will never reach our goals, fear that we aren't as successful as we thought we would be, fear that our boss or company does not recognize our potential, fear that the job market or economy will cause us to lose our position. All of these fears are very real and valid.

 

Number Two: Necessity

Related to fear, necessity is more like the fears realized. The position is terminated, the economy tanks, the boss passes you over. When these things happen, then necessity takes over and we are forced to act. Now, none of us likes fear, and necessity rarely feels good when it happens, but we can probably all look back on at least some instances in our lives when one or both of these things has occurred, and the motivation they sparked in us resulted in something positive: a better position, a higher pay, etc. In other words, what was meant for bad, turned into something good...even if we didn't appreciate going through it at the time.

 

But Fear and Necessity Don't Have to Be the Only Motivators

I find what really separates most professionals as they move along in their careers, though, are the ones who learn to stay motivated without the need for constant fear and necessity. And unfortunately these people are few and far between. Although most of us know what we "should" be doing to stay on top of our career management, very few of us actually do it because, well, nothing is "forcing" us to do it and we'd rather invest the time and resources into other things. That's understandable, right? Sure, but it's not necessarily logical. You've given yourself an excuse to put it off because you don't have to do it right now, but you've ignored the reason you shouldn't.

 

Give Yourself a Reason AND an Excuse

Wisdom comes in using experience to help chart a better course. If you know from experience how difficult that last job search was or how much you really need your current position, then doesn't it stand to reason that you would be more motivated to stay on top of your career advancement today? Do you really need to wait until the fear becomes so great and necessity is looming?

 

So What Should You Be Doing?

1. Maximize your potential with your current engagement: Are you tracking and building a project highlights portfolio? As I mentioned in an earlier post ("The Era of Promotions Will Return"), internal promotions will be on the rise within the next few years and the competition will be tight. It's tough to go back and remember. You need to be documenting now.
2. Position yourself to attract recruiters now BEFORE you need them: Recruiters will not admit it, but they much prefer to chase you rather than the other way around. They like finding hot prospects they can "steal" away from competitors. Remember, you can always turn them down...so why miss out on potential opportunities? Isn't it nice to be wanted for a change?
3. Begin building a network pipeline: In the world of online businesses, content marketing is key right now. And "engagement" is the word of the hour. Professionals need to take some tips from this world. Are you referable? If so, does your network show that? And I am not just talking about LinkedIn recommendations and endorsements...have you built a credible online brand? It's better to consider these things NOW before you need them...because you will need them...the job market is changing, and social recruiting is here.

Now That Techies Are Cool

Techies: Congrats! You're finally cool. :-)

With a plethora of job openings in the tech sector, it should come as no surprise that those who once thought they would rather do anything else but program code or work with "tech" (much less hang out with those who do) are now suddenly changing their tune. It also doesn't hurt that the title of "geek" or "techie" is suddenly something cool, thanks to the rise of innovators like Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg.

As a result, job postings are being flooded with wannabes. You know, those English majors who now want to be computer science geeks (hey, they probably did read a lot of sci-fi growing up...) and work for some trendy Silicon Valley startup so they can blog about it. (My wife is an English major, so I reserve the right to poke fun.)

The impact this has on the market, though, is that it slows the hiring process and makes hiring managers throw up their hands and say, "there's a shortage of talent." [I would argue that most likely these companies are also ill equipped to handle the hiring process properly and just give up after skimming through the 500th communications major resume. (For more on this, check out my earlier post, "From the Corporate Goo to the Job Market Zoo".)]

All hope is not lost for the true techie, however. A recent article by CNN Money, called "Why getting into tech isn't as easy as you think", outlines some of the hurdles these crossover candidates are facing. For one thing, they need to be aware that the tech industry has its own set of rules and skill sets that are particular to it, and they must demonstrate that they can maneuver through it. [Like learning how to "speak code" would be one place to start; see my post "Why Our Programming Knowledge Needs an Ugrade"]

So, all of this should be good news for techies, then, right?

Well, in the midst of all these non-techies trying to break into the industry, those candidates with tech experience must tread carefully. Here are two important things to consider:

1. Cultural fit is increasingly important to employers. It might seem like a buzz phrase or passing trend, but "cultural fit" in the 2014 job market will be a key factor. That means, essentially, that techies need to work on their soft skills. It's not just enough to have that IBM background or Cisco certification; now you need to demonstrate you can move within the environment the employer has, which is not always an easy sell for a group who tends to be more introverted. This is an area where your non-tech wannabes can have some advantage. If they can demonstrate that they can be innovative and learn the lingo, they might edge out someone with a more technical background for a management or less hands-on tech role based on their ability to meet the "cultural fit."
2. Think business opportunity when showcasing skill sets. Here at NoddlePlace, this is a big part of our mantra to our clients. It's not always just about what certification you have. You need to be able to take that credential and show how you can use it to increase business efficiency and value. In other words, you need to be aware of what the business does, what problems it has, and how you can use your tech skills to make it better. Then you need to articulate that. So, no more hiding in the cubicle in the corner hoping management will "get" your value. It doesn't work that way. What most likely happens is that management thinks it doesn't have the right talent or that it isn't out there.

From the Corporate Goo to the Job Market Zoo (to You)

Fact or Fiction? Hiring Is About Finding the Best Talent

Spend a few minutes on social media wading through career and job search advice, and you are bound to see lots of pronouncements about how companies are "determined" to find the best talent, that there is a "severe" shortage of top talent, and that companies are "investing" more resources than ever in finding this top talent.  

For the most part, they actually believe what they say.

After all, the recruiting industry is booming, thanks to the investments companies are making in hiring recruiters. And candidates are more desperate than ever to get the attention of a recruiter because a recruiter "has jobs" for them.

So what's the problem?  

Most of what companies have invested in to find this "top" talent does just about everything but find top talent.

As a technical career management firm, we have been fortunate to build a large database of internal and external technical recruiters in our network. We have spent a great deal of time getting to know what motivates them so that we can better advise our clients. We also have partnered with another firm to provide a recruiter strategy service that helps advise candidates on the best way to approach recruiters, launch a campaign, and find the "good" ones because as in most fields, including ours, they are not all created equal. And working professionals can spend a lot of time and frustration wading through them.

Here's what we have discovered:  

Hiring is really most often about meeting corporate metrics...because it isn't what we say, it is what we do.

By and large, recruiters are just professionals like you and me, not some type of employment superheroes with their fingers on the pulse of all things "hiring." Generally, they either are (1) internal recruiters who are part of a large HR department or (2) executive recruiters who most likely work for a recruiting firm, which is a mini (or a not-so-mini) corporate startup of its own. There are various studies out there regarding how much a recruiter makes (one that has a good breakdown but is a couple of years old is as follows: http://fistfuloftalent.com/2008/05/average-recruti.html), but generally it is wide ranging, anywhere from $30-40K for entry-level internal recruiters to about $125K for more experienced and external recruiters. The average pay for an external recruiter seems to come in around $75K, but of course, there are a few outliers making much, much more, as in any field.

Internal recruiters generally seem to make less unless they are recruiting managers. Internal recruiters are, well, internal, so they are wrapped up in the corporate mindset they operate in, and external recruiters, although generally considered more "sales-like" because they have to compete for their contracts, often have a hard time balancing meeting quotas while maneuvering through the muck and mire of the internal HR dogma of the companies they recruit for.

Obviously, though, whether they are internal or external, the recruiter's job is to find this "top" talent for their companies.

Sounds pretty simple, right?

It is until you realize that this top talent is supposed to materialize quickly and that hiring must take place within the confines of the often self-imposed governance these companies adhere to. In a recent post on the site Recruiting Blogs, where a spat began regarding the merits of internal vs. external recruiters, some interesting insights about the profession in general came out of the comments section:

"I got tired of shmoozing for job orders and feeling like a used car sales girl when I convinced and pushed my client to hire some mediocre candidate just so I could close a deal. "

 "[M]ost of the work that 3PRs [external recruiters] do...is often performed by poorly trained newbies who dial for dollars, find candidates off boards and RPOs, and try to get 20% fees from clients too ignorant or desperate to know there are *much less expensive and quite effective alternatives available and as long as there are clients who are looking for excellence on the cheap, these second- or third-raters will stay in business."

"I think you know there are plenty of recruiters form BOTH sides that are only trying to fill positions rather then putting the best people in the right positions."

 "An organization with people first in mind - many say they are, but very few walk their talk, unless by 'people' they mean 'the people at the very top'."

 The takeaway for the job seeker?  

Somewhere along the way, "some" companies and recruiters got the impression that they always had the upper hand in the process, and as a result, they got sloppy in how they handle their hiring practices.

Not surprisingly, then, they don't have strong policies and procedures in place to hire the "best" talent, and hiring really becomes more about fulfilling metrics and putting butts in seats, hopefully fairly decent ones but maybe not always the "best" ones.

I mean it all makes sense if you think about it. Internal and external recruiters alike proudly brag that they spend 6 seconds or less looking at a person's resume and that they care more about the quality of a person's LinkedIn profile photo than about spending more than 6 seconds reading through a candidate's materials. (Yet they seem to have lots of opinions about resumes...you know, this document they "hate" and don't read.) I get it. They see hundreds, thousands of resumes. Who has the time?

Oh, I don't know...maybe a person whose entire job it is to find the best talent out there?  

Recruiters are stuck in the corporate goo, and somehow that is supposed to bode well for you.

Let's face it. To say your job is to hire the best talent and then brag about how little time you spend vetting candidates but somehow manage to do the best job for the client, aka the employer, is, well, gooey at best. Instead they just whine and wail about how they have to sift through so many resumes. Internal or external...that's the same backward thinking that so many accuse corporate of, isn't it?

And I won't even get started on how they bristle when you try to bring talent to them...that's a whole other post, I'm afraid.

But you can only blame recruiters for so much. After all, they are just trying to please the companies who write their checks...and those companies say one thing but really mean another. "Find us top talent." But what they really mean is "find someone fast."

So, is hiring about finding the best talent? Fact or fiction?

Answer: Fact. It is meant to be "about" that. BUT the way things are done right now, most companies can't be sure their own recruiting practices haven't brushed aside that talent in an effort to turn hiring into a fast food commodity run by government-like rules and regulations.  

So, what should professionals do?

Be vigilant with your career management even when you "aren't looking to make a move right now." Be documenting and preparing briefs on project performance, gather testimonials and recommendations, and learn some tricks from content marketing. And maybe most important of all, learn how to attract recruiters to you BEFORE you need them. (For more tips, check out my post "Still Falling for the Two Biggest Career Motivators?")

Why Our Programming Knowledge Needs an Upgrade

In the article, "Sorry, College Grads, I Probably Won't Hire You," Kirk McDonald, president of PubMatic, an ad tech company in Manhattan, made a provocative case for why despite the plethora of computing jobs that will be available over the next decade (120,000 as of his count), the 40,000 computer science majors who will graduate from American colleges during that same time frame are going to struggle when they should have smooth sailing.

 

In Kirk's eyes, it comes down to one thing: the inability to speak computer code.

He goes on to say that this doesn't mean you have to become a top-notch programmer, but you must be able to speak the language and understand "how the back end of the business works" even if you aren't necessarily going for a technical position with companies like Kirk's.

With software engineers and developers being in highest demand across the computing field, and with close to 1 million of them currently employed, it is going to be important to communicate in their lingo.

 

Hiring managers want all staff members to understand what makes their company tick...literally.

The sentiments here mimic those in the CNN Money report we reblogged earlier this week: "Why getting into tech isn't as easy as you think". Essentially, gone are the days when only techies spoke "Geek." In today's tech industry, everyone from sales to marketing to operations needs to be able to see the bigger picture. And that bigger picture boils down to coding.

So, what is Kirk's advice? "Get acquainted with APIs. Dabble in a bit of Python." He suggests learning at least two programming languages, basically "just enough of the grammar and the logic of computer languages."

International Oil & Gas Operations Leader Candidate Profile

CA-Based Production Supervisor with extensive experience in onshore and offshore LNG/Natural Gas/Crude Oil production:

• Certified in Process Plant Technology, with HAZOP, HAZID, HSE, and OH&S expertise
• Specialist in designing competency-based training assessments (CBTAs), training presentations, and technical procedures
• Well versed in Permit to Work (PTW) & ISSOW systems
• Expert in Safety Training Drill & Emergency Response Team Leadership

Candidate Profile Snippet

Many recruiters and employers come to ITtechExec and NoddlePlace looking for specific skills sets, and it is our aim to match our clients up with those needs. Therefore, toward that effort, we highlight some of our clients each week and share this post across all of our network.

Want to know more?

For the full resume or an introduction to the client highlighted here, contact Stephen at Stephen@ittechexec.com directly.

Tweet Your Way to the Top, Or Something Like That

 
To the top of what, you may be asking...which is exactly the question I have been asking for a long time now, particularly when it comes to Twitter.

It is no secret that I have been a Twitter fanatic. When I first started using it, as a small business owner, I saw so many possibilities for me as well as for job seekers. Twitter, unlike other social media outlets, has many interesting layers. It can be a networking tool, information-gathering tool, and marketing tool. As a result, at least in theory, it can open doors that were once before difficult to open, and it does so in a less formal environment than LinkedIn, which can get a little stuffy at times.  

But Twitter can also be a gigantic time sucker.

Worse than Facebook or LinkedIn, Twitter can draw you in, and when it spits you back out, hours later, you can easily wonder what was really accomplished.

Now, some of you might be thinking, "I still don't really 'get' Twitter. I go on there, and it is a sea of comments not really going anywhere."

And for the newbie, that is exactly what it is. Unlike Facebook or LinkedIn, which are more user-friendly (you set up your profile and link up with people you know first and then join groups where you might meet others), Twitter is a bit like being tossed into the middle of a crowd of people all talking to themselves.  

And that is where the time sucking begins.

Twitter isn't so much a time sucker because you spend a lot of time "stalking" others like you might looking through people's photo albums on Facebook or perusing their profiles on LinkedIn. No, on Twitter, where you will begin to lose time is in trying to turn this sea of non sequiturs into real conversation.

Now, Twitter does try to help you out...a la hashtags and Twitter chats.

By following hashtag streams and showing up for "chats," you can start to find some real engagement with people who are interested in discussing the same things you are.  

And then that is where the time sucking can come on full force.

So now you think you are actually starting to get somewhere, you are adding followers and you are talking to people instead of at them. You show up for the chats like Norm walking into the bar on Cheers. You find yourself thinking about clever things to say at the next one, and you don't let little things like traveling and watching TV with your family members get in the way of participating because you just bring the chat(s) with you.  

You are hooked...because you are "engaging."

After all, isn't that what social media is all about?

Yes, on the surface, yes. If you are looking for an outlet in which to meet people virtually to discuss different topics of interest, then you have come to the right place.

And there are certainly a lot of high-minded social media purists who will say that is what social media should only be about.

But, we live in the real world. And in the real world, social media isn't thriving on engagement (shock and awe); it is thriving on turning that engagement into opportunities.

 If people don't create opportunities from the engagement, then it's all just conversation.

And really isn't that true for all types of networking, including face-to-face networking? You can attend lots of events and have lots of nice conversations, but how often is it leading to opportunities?

Now, once again, my social media purist pals will say, "social media is about giving, not taking." Many of my fellow career colleagues will second that sentiment (I know because we've been "chatting") with comments like, "networking is all about doing for others."

Of course, we know what they mean. They want you to understand that you don't "spam" people with your needs/wants. You don't expect things that you aren't willing to give in return. You share and promote others.  

But, let's face it, networking, social or otherwise, is not a charitable event. And it shouldn't be.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't help others or that you should spam them with your desperation. But we should bring enough value to the engagement to position ourselves for referrals or recommendations.

This is authentic use of Twitter, any social media, and networking in general. We're there to build connections that recommend and refer services to solve problems we each have, and you want to be part of that referral pipeline.

In other words, we "engage" in the free market.

We give. We act as a resource. AND we position ourselves to be the Go-To referral in our area of expertise.

This is as much true for the small business owner as it is for the active corporate job seeker or the passive candidate.

 So can you tweet your way to the top on Twitter?

Well, it depends. To the top of the engagement meter, sure. You can ignore your family and talk all day if that suits you. But if you can't turn all those chats into something actionable, well, then, you're just...chatting.

IT Director (Montreal, Canada) Candidate Profile

IT Director with 18+ years of Innovation in SOA, Solution Architecture Integration, Software Development, IT Management & Governance:

• Specializes in the architecture design, development, implementation, and management of mission-critical enterprise applications
• Proficient in meeting the stringent regulatory standards for the global financial, banking, ISP, and pharmaceutical markets
• Received MBA and a Master's degree in electrical engineering
• Certified by Sun as a Java Architect

Want to know more?

For the full resume or in an introduction to the client highlighted here, contact Stephen at Stephen@ittechexec.com directly.

Candidate Profile Snippet

Many recruiters and employers come to ITtechExec and NoddlePlace looking for specific skills sets, and it is our aim to match our clients up with those needs. Therefore, toward that effort, we highlight some of our clients each week and share this post across all of our network.

The Engineering Job Market: 2014 and Beyond

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has released its projections for the engineering profession spanning through 2018. To visualize the progression of this job market, GlobalSpec has produced the infographic you see here.

Overall, the market for biomedical engineers and civil engineers seems to be trending the best, but engineering as whole is expected to grow steadily through to 2018.

Some criticisms of the BLS numbers are that automotive engineering is not represented here and that despite cries of an engineering shortage, many engineers are not seeing this play out in their marketplaces.  

Would love to hear your comments here. Do you think these numbers give an accurate picture of the engineering job market?

IT: Your Friendly Neighborhood Strategic Business Partner

We've been witnessing a major transition in the role of IT in most organizations from service provider (or resident "firefighter") to strategic business partner for some time now. Or at least we have been witnessing a lot of "talk" about this transition.

The reality in many organizations, particularly smaller shops, might be more that IT is now strategic business partner AND service provider, which means that tech job candidates need to showcase both skill sets. (Here at ITtechExec, we have been encouraging our IT clients to understand that they aren't just there to solve computing problems; they need to combine their tech knowledge with business vision.)

Nevertheless, the general consensus is that in 2014, IT as your "friendly" neighborhood strategic business partner will manifest itself through the use of all kinds of new and "hip" titles (let's face it, the easiest way to look like you are making a transition is to change a job title!).

Here are some we have come across and that will ramp up throughout the new year:

1. Business Intelligence Analyst: Now, this title isn't exactly new, but it is generally new to the IT arena now that big data is driving focus on business intelligence.
2. Director of IT Infrastructure: The idea behind this title is strategic visioning, advising CIOs (or whatever title they will be going by soon) on such things as the best networking and cloud-based technologies for your organization.
3. Chief Knowledge Officer: Although there seems to be a lack of agreement on exactly what this role entails, generally speaking, it is a subject matter expert in the company's industry that also has expertise in technology [you know, a little knowledge can sometimes be a dangerous thing :-)].
4. Technology Solutions Engineer: This title is the very essence of the transition in IT for this role is meant to look at all kinds of business problems and produce various options, using technology, to solve them.

The U.S. Manufacturing Job Market Turnaround?

Could it be that the manufacturing job market in the United States is beginning to turn around, even if ever so slightly? 

In 2013, Caterpillar, GE, and Ford each announced that they were going to bring some operations back to the U.S., thanks to rising costs overseas. And the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that there are 12 million manufacturing jobs across the U.S.  

So is that a sign of a turnaround?

 A report by CNBC from June 2013 indicates that despite the increase in job openings over the last few years, the market will not likely return to its golden days, but there are some markets that are doing quite well in the manufacturing sector.

The top 20 states for manufacturing job creation, according to the CNBC article, are as follows:

1. Michigan
2. Texas
3. Indiana
4. Ohio
5. Wisconsin
6. Washington
7. Illinois
8. Kentucky
9. Tennessee
10. Iowa
11. Minnesota
12. South Carolina
13. Oregon
14. Georgia
15. Pennsylvania
16. North Carolina
17. Utah
18. Colorado
19. Louisiana
20. Kansas

Nevertheless, despite the optimism that seems to be out there regarding job creation in this sector, many analysts are cautious. The industries with the most growth seem to be as follows:

• Pharmaceutical
• Semiconductor
• Broadcast equipment
• Navigation systems
• Medical instruments

Navigating Through Mobile Recruiting Waters

Boy, do we love trends. A study like the one by PotentialPark comes out that 19% of job seekers are using mobile devices to look for job opportunities, and suddenly we have an outbreak of mobile recruiting (the study also states that 50% can "imagine" doing so...whatever that means).

Social media is a buzz with how the mobile job search or "mobile recruiting" is (and I quote) "going to change everything."

Wow...it is certainly hard not to be impressed by something that is going to do all that!

(BTW, for the record, I also have no idea what "change everything" means, but as a career services pro, I have certainly heard it before!)

Now recruiters have moved from endless chats on "social media recruiting" to "mobile recruiting" as if they've unlocked some secret code. HR consultants are busy pressuring companies to "get on board" the mobile job market trend or...else! And everyone is dancing a jig that the resume is officially dead! (I'm not sure how turning the resume into a "mobile resume" makes the resume dead...but hey, it seems to make everyone happy to say it.)

Woohoo! Everything's changed (or, er, changing)!  

Now it's all "faster" and "more meaningful" and "better for job seekers." Or, rather, it is going to be...soon...very soon.

Hmmm.

Now, I love my recruiting and HR friends. I really do. (So when I speak of them, I speak in general terms, not specific ones.) But I have learned from hard-earned experience working on behalf of top-quality tech candidates that when recruiters or HR consultants say something is better for the job seeker (or, worse yet, when they start using phrases like "enhancing the candidate experience"), it is really just code for "we want to believe we are helping the job seeker because we like to think we are doing it all for the love of God, country, and humanity." (For some reason, it is bad form to talk of the "business" of hiring, so they prefer to speak about hiring as a humanitarian effort.)

Believe me. This is certainly not the first time we have had this happen. Here are a few examples:

• Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). The ATS was supposed to help job seekers because it was going to weed out all those unqualified people who were applying for the same position and it was going to bring your qualified resume to the top of the heap. In other words, it was the job seeker's friend, and it was going to make things better and easier. In reality, job seekers now just have another thing to worry about...how to make sure their resume "passes" through the ATS because the ATS generally does not work the way it should. There are cases upon cases of qualified candidates who get lost in its black hole. And job seekers spend a great deal of energy trying to figure out how to get around a company's ATS.

• Social Media Job Search. LinkedIn and the rise of the social media job search was introduced as the greatest thing for job seekers because now they could reach out to hiring pros across the world and "network" with them. And in some cases, it has worked...although getting pure stats on just how often is sketchy at best. More often than not, however, what has happened is that now job seekers are burdened with yet another element to their job search strategy. They suddenly have to figure out how to make social media work for them, and it isn't just enough to do face-to-face networking or attend professional groups. Now you must devote time to your online influence, content marketing, and quality communities. You must convince the world you are a decent-looking subject matter expert that people all over the globe will recommend because you blog well.
• Death of the Resume/Rise of the LinkedIn Profile. As a resume writer, people seem to take great joy in telling me how the resume is dead, how they hate resumes, and how no one reads them. They proceed to go on and tell me how the LI profile is so much better. And it is then that I know some recruiter told them all this. The reality is that although the traditional resume's role is changing (basically because now it just isn't "enough" anymore), it is still very much alive and well. (In fact, I might argue it is more essential than ever!). Here's the thing. The LI profile is important, and in mobile recruiting efforts, it will be even more important. But at the end of the day, no matter how much search goes on across LI, you still are being asked to present a resume. And as much as everyone hates them, they still better be good and on target, especially because no one is taking the time to read them through! And while the mobile resume might get you in the door, as soon as you walk into the room, the hiring manager (you know, the one who really makes the decisions in this whole thing?) will say, "do you have a [traditional] resume I can review?" No, all the rise of the LI profile has really accomplished is to add yet another skill to the job seeker's list of "must haves." You need an effective resume and an optimized LI profile. (And with mobile recruiting, apparently, you will also need a mobile resume now!) So, we went from having just one document, the traditional resume, that no one reads to at least three (plus they claim they want to see online content like web bios and pages, blogs, Klout scores, etc. You're telling me they have time to read all that but not a resume?)

So what does all this mean?  

You can thank the hiring industry (and it is an industry, not a charity) for making the job search even more expensive and confusing for you, the job seeker.

The problem, of course, is that in reality there is nothing about the hiring process that really "cares" for the job seeker. But, again, they don't like to admit it. Both external and internal recruiters are there to represent the company and its interests. If your interests as the job seeker coincide with those of the company (and you're willing to jump through its hoops), then you are most likely hired. If not, then, well, you're not.

 The "old" ways made this clear. The "new" ways cloud the issue.

Therefore, inevitably, then, any "new" process put in place by the recruiting and HR industry is necessarily going to benefit the hiring company the most. It has to. That is who they work for. That is who is investing in all these mobile recruiting apps and ATS (which isn't to say that these practices really work on the company side either; check out my earlier post on "From the Corporate Goo to the Tech Job Market Zoo").  

Now, all this doesn't mean the job seeker completely loses.

But it does mean the job search has become a multi-layered, time-consuming, even painful process for the job seeker who is sent mixed messages and hoop after hoop to jump through. The waters are murky and tough to navigate.

So, yes, mobile recruiting will make things "convenient" for job seekers. Sure, it will be nice to have a mobile version of your resume handy. But don't be too fooled. Your 5 minutes of convenience now will cost you.

Is Your IT Resume Ready to Face the Tech Talent War?

As we charge ahead into 2014, gone are the days when we would argue over whether a war for tech talent really existed. Now, it seems, the general consensus is that this war is very much alive and well and that it will only escalate as we move into the second half of the decade.  

Unfortunately, that is generally where the agreement ends.

For although there seems to be a lot of talk about this war, you will find (as in most wars) a lot of confusion about what caused it and even less understanding about how to resolve it (but instead a whole lot of finger-pointing). Oddly enough, despite the cry for more strategic visioning on the part of tech candidates, there seems to be a severe lack of it on the hiring side as well.

If you scour long and hard enough, you can find all kinds of statistics, like how few people are graduating with computer science degrees and how current tech professionals are looking for corporate wonderlands. You will see calls for better hiring practices and for corporations to step up their benefits and "fun" meters.

You also will see blame placed at the foot of universities that haven't adapted to the changing marketplace fast enough and at the foot of cultural dynamics because more women aren't taking up technical careers. High schools are blamed for poor curriculum in the math and sciences, and U.S. parents are blamed for not encouraging their kids to focus on tech careers more.

As if that isn't enough, we also have industry execs putting forth clarion calls for techie MBAs and companies filled with staff who all understand computer code (just enough to be dangerous) from the marketing department to the CEO. In other words, techies need to speak less Geek, while non-techies need to speak more of it [so they "in theory" can meet in the middle]. IT as a service provider is out (at least "in theory"), and IT as a strategic business partner is in (at least "in theory").

In the meantime, while all this pontificating is going around, real, live tech candidates are wondering just what to do with their IT resumes.

Here are some tips for positioning your resume to meet the demands of this tech talent war:

• Show, don't tell, that you are a team player. And by "team player," I mean successful in collaborating across business segments. Highlight experience that showcases instances of where you collaborated with various company operations and used your knowledge base to improve on those operations, not just to fix computer problems.
• Don't run away from service provider skills, but show that you are agile enough to use them in a strategic way. It's great you can put the fire out, but what can you do with these skills to resolve the needs of business? Again, IT as a strategic business partner is hot right now. So you need to play along, and your resume should show that you have and will continue to do so.
• Recognize that metrics matter...to leadership...if not to you. Often those with highly technical skills don't track and give as much weight to the quantifiable results of their work. Instead, they would rather focus on how they accomplished such and such miracle. The problem is that leadership likes to communicate results, not necessarily the nitty-gritty. So candidates need to show both, the measurable results as well as the know-how.
• Be forward-thinking. Companies don't just want to know what you've done but how you will take that knowledge and use it to better their environments. So be innovative. Brainstorm ahead of time some ideas for improving business operations and prepare an "innovation" page that showcases those ideas.

Climbing Out of the LinkedIn Wasteland

You would be hard-pressed to hear many negatives about LinkedIn these days, especially when it comes to the job search and personal branding. It is very popular to talk about how LinkedIn is the place to be for career networking and the job search.

And certainly recruiters love it.

Let's face it. It has made their jobs a lot easier. Talk about access to a major database of active and passive job seekers...all at their fingertips for very little investment on their part.

"The resume is dead!" They will gleefully proclaim while they ooze their love for LinkedIn profiles (despite the increasing skepticism over how truthful or accurate most LI profiles actually are AND the fact that the LI profile is essentially a resume in disguise, and not even a good disguise).

Never mind that the hottest trend to hit the hiring industry since the inception of LinkedIn itself, mobile recruiting, is a flutter with the possibilities of using LinkedIn on your smartphone or tablet.

Why, it's a hiring wonderland!

So Why, Then, Am I Calling It a Wasteland?

Despite LinkedIn's enormous growth, it is pretty lacking in participation. In fact, those who are participating the most are, well, recruiters and career pros like me and active, very active, job seekers.
Most pros see LinkedIn as a place to throw up a profile, without much effort or thought behind it; add a few connections (the purists will add ONLY people they have worked with); and pretty much forget about the whole thing. Sure, they might join a few groups that sound interesting, but really, who has a lot of time for that?

That is, of course, until they decide to start a job search. Suddenly, they realize that's where the recruiters are, and LinkedIn takes on a whole new meaning.

LinkedIn is just a reflection of how professional networking in general has always been.

An afterthought.

Important when the need arises.

Often a wasteland of inactivity.

Let's face it. When times are good at work, the last thing you want to think of is networking and career management.

After all, you like where you are and you don't want to leave. A job search is so dreaded, so why even think of one? And with internal promotions set to be on the rise, who cares about recruiters anyway?

The problem with this mindset, however, is that it ignores a lot of things (and it misses the whole point of LinkedIn in the first place). Here are just a few:

• It's so much nicer to turn recruiters down when they come to you than to have to chase them down later. After all, they much prefer to steal currently employed professionals than unemployed ones. So optimizing your profile to attract opportunities should be a continuous thing. It is NOT a matter of timing. You can always say, "no." But just having a profile isn't good enough. You need to understand how they conduct their keyword searches. Otherwise, they might pester you for jobs you have no interest in.
• LinkedIn has become a professional stalking tool. Your colleagues are checking you out on there. So even when times are good at work, your profile still matters, and it is going to play a role moving forward in internal promotions and in the encouragement of more social media involvement by companies. Companies that were once hesitant about social media are now starting to see some benefit in having their employees represent their brand.
• LinkedIn is really just a numbers game. For those high-minded individuals out there who like to tell you that LI is a more "quality" social media environment, they are skipping over the part that LI rewards those with larger networks and more endorsements with more exposure. It's that simple. And if you are really good, and build your network up with your target "market," you will most likely have one effective network.
• Study upon study has been done on the value of a connection. This is a phenomenon I have experienced for myself on several occasions. The mere fact that I shared a similar connection with someone else was enough for that person to feel comfortable hiring me. People want to search their network and the networks of their "friends" to see who they can recommend.

There is no doubt that you can waste a lot of time on social media.

But turning LinkedIn into a wasteland is not the answer either. Instead, finding a way to spend an hour a week on a tool that makes professional networking a lot easier is certainly worth it.

I know...the whole thing seems a little shallow.

Of course it is! All networking has a bit of that in it, no matter how high minded we get about it. But it is a lot less so when it is something you do consistently when you aren't expecting anything from it than when you only do it during a job search...

Listen. You don't have to love LinkedIn. You don't even have to like it much. But ignoring it, especially if you have another 10+ years left to go in your career, is not wise, either.

See it for what it is, and use it to your advantage.