Are You Ready Today for Tomorrow's Career Move?

In today's market, statistically speaking, professionals are looking at a career move (external/internal) every 3 to 4 years. Even if you beat those odds, over a 10-15-year period, that's 3 to 4 moves. It's why we spend a lot of time discussing how to prepare and "protect" yourself for when that move comes even if it is likely to be an internal move. (In fact, we suggest candidates for internal promotions prepare as much, if not more, for these types of moves.)

To help you get a sense of some things you should be thinking about today to get yourself "ever ready" for tomorrow's move, we've put together the following assessment. You just might be surprised by what you learn:

Want to Know How Your LinkedIn Profile Rates?

One common question we receive at both ITtechExec and NoddlePlace is how professionals can "know" or understand how their LinkedIn profile rates against other profiles. (I mean, don't they all look alike anyway?) We've written quite a bit on LinkedIn and the importance of network building and optimizing your profile for search, and what we've discovered is that most professionals either think their profile is fine (because they pasted it in from their resume) or have no idea how to assess it. So we've developed the following "self-assessment" for you to take. It provides you with some great comparisons and should give you a good start on how to assess where your profile rates. Happy assessing!

16 "Secrets" to Surviving Today's Technical Job Market

I thought about naming this presentation "What to Expect When You're Expecting the Technical Job Market" because expectations are a large part of what we discuss at ITtechExec and NoddlePlace. What are the proper expectations for today's technical job market that a tech pro should have? Most are surprised to find out that they aren't what they thought they should be, that they have to adjust their lens from 5, 10, 15 years ago.

16 "Secrets" to Surviving Today's Technical Job Market from Stephen Van Vreede

Finance, Compliance & Business Controls Leader (in CA) Candidate Profile

Finance Executive with 15+ years of Financial Operations, Forecasting, Data Management & Reporting, and Finance Systems Risk, Audit & Compliance experience:

• History of progressive career accountability, supporting financial initiatives across corporate, division, and field operations
• Successful in leading teams through all aspects of strategic vision design and execution
• Adept at creating Risk Frameworks and Rules & Standards for Risk & Control Self-Assessments (RCSAs)
• Effective in identifying opportunities to cut operating costs, align business and risk management strategy, and streamline audit and compliance programs
• Strong capital planning, expense forecasting, financial reporting, and cost allocation experience

 

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

How Much Have You Invested in the Tech Career You've Built So Far?

 

In other words, how much time, money, and other resources have you devoted to getting where you are today?

If you're anything like our entire team at ITtechExec and NoddlePlace, you've probably spent thousands on graduate degrees and certifications, countless hours throwing yourself into the latest development project or solutions initiative, and more time than you might care to admit thinking about work.

Have grad schools and cert programs convinced you that the latest and greatest is what keeps you relevant in the market?

There's no arguing that an MBA or other grad degree or the latest certification or PMP or PE credential is still a major resume "booster." In the past, though, just the fact that you had one or two would immediately open doors for you. Grad schools and cert programs knew this, of course. So they convinced us to go into debt to get them (and to keep going into debt to sustain them).

Today, however, the continuous quest for more credentials does not always equate to immediate open doors. The job market is more discerning, and these programs don't do much to prepare you for that market, much less the technical job market that often has its own set of rules. So you can invest quite a bit of your own time and resources only to find out that you still need to know how to position yourself properly. (For more on this, see my own MBA story.)

 

Does the market send signals that it thinks you're too old, experienced, expensive, etc.?

Right now we are seeing people in their early 40s worry about age, level of experience, and salary range...all because "irrelevancy" seems to be on everyone's lips. This perception has invaded the tech job market in particular...that age and relevancy are tied together, that more experience somehow makes you stale, and that a high salary means you aren't hungry or enthusiastic anymore.

 

So the question becomes, then, what is your answer to this market going to be?

There isn't much that is conventional about the tech job market at the moment. Although jobs are opening up, promotions are on the rise, and contract/consulting opportunities are exploding, the fierce competition, the demand for more than just degrees and certifications, and the question of relevancy all make it uncertain...a bit of a "zoo," if you will. Yet 95% of technical leaders still come at it from the "toss the resume out there and see what sticks" method. And they expect their peer-to-peer networking to do what it has always done for them...work.

Now, these traditional approaches do still have merit, BUT they are convoluted in the tech job market zoo. You will find that even with the credentials and the good referral, you still need a differentiator to back it all up. Otherwise, you end up with lots of nice interviews and discussions but no offer...even though you are qualified.

 

What if I told you that this differentiator is not a big mystery?

The differentiator is understanding your audience and presenting your background to them in a way that meets their current needs and demands (and understanding that this is an "ongoing" thing, not just when you are in "job search mode"). It's where a customized technical resume portfolio solution comes in. Portfolios can help build in flexibility and prepare you to face the different hiring scenarios that are out there. They can also give you that differentiation because you aren't hanging with the masses; you are approaching them from their perspective. (For more on technical resume portfolio solutions, see my SlideShare presentation.)

But you need to know which tools are best for your situation AND how to use them. Although there is a lot out there you can do (or buy), you don't need to do everything (that's the good news!). (For more on how these technical resume portfolios work best, see my second SlideShare presentation.)

 

So if it works, then why will only about 5% of tech pros do it?

Because our paradigms can be difficult to change. Because optimist or pessimist, we get stuck in thinking about what worked before, how it was 5, 10, 15 years ago. Because we think we are minimizing risk by doing what everybody else does.

It's an interesting perspective, if you think about it, coming from a market that is devoted to the "new" and innovative. But it's what happens.

 

Don't forget the second piece to the puzzle, though...

The technical resume portfolio solution is one part, but really it is just the beginning. What makes it more effective is maintaining it! Doing so provides a state of "every ready" as the market fluctuates. In other words, your career is not a "one-and-done" kind of thing. If you're going to maintain those certs and keep pushing forward, then you need to protect what you've started and not just hope for the best.

Think of it this way. If you have 25 more years in the market, you might have as many as 8 more career moves ahead of you. If you have 10 years left, you have about 3 more. If you have 5 years left, you possibly have up to 2 more. Even if you think you will beat those odds, it still pays to be ready...and that's where 95% of tech pros will miss the boat.

You've invested a lot to get those certs, climb that ladder, pay for that degree, etc. But all that effort doesn't just sell itself. You still need to know how to market it.

Don't Think Social Recruiting Affects You?

As I speak with our members at ITtechExec and NoddlePlace and engage across social media with IT/technical professionals, many are still not convinced of the value of social recruiting in today's market. Although there are many different job search techniques (and I advocate a diverse "pipeline" approach), the rise of social recruiting should not be ignored as this infographic from RecruitLoop shows.

How Not to Get Caught With Your IT Career Pants Down

 
It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.

Spring is a busy time in the job search/career services industry, which means that I get many opportunities to speak with a broad range of technical professionals. The other day I met with two different IT executives, one a CIO and another a CTO. Each of them represents what I call the "tale of two IT leaders," both of whom are very common in today's tech job market. Both leaders are men, both are in their 50s, and both live in the Northeast. Nevertheless, they have very different perceptions on the job market, and they tell two different tales.  

Let's start with Francis. Francis is our CIO, and until 9 months ago when his midsized company was bought out and he opted to take a generous severance package, he has had a pretty charmed IT career. He's really never had to "look" for a job. It's always been pretty smooth sailing, so when he took the severance package, it was summer time and he decided to enjoy some well-deserved time off. He let his connections know that he would be looking again after the holidays. Then promptly in January, he began calling around, only to discover that the market was a little "soft" at the CIO level. He's attended some networking events with associations he's always belonged to, and he has applied to a few openings, but after 3 months, he hasn't had any traction.

When we spoke about building a better opportunity pipeline for him and some ways to do that, here is what he said:  

"I've never had to invest much before [time, money, effort] in making a career move. I'm confused by the market I am seeing, but if I just wait it out a bit more, something will come along."

Francis considers himself the optimist, and he told me "attitude is everything."  

Then there's Raul. Raul is our CTO. Raul is currently employed. In fact, he has a very well-paying job with a high-profile company, but he is unhappy with the current culture he is in. He's been earnestly looking for about 6 months and has had very little response, despite his great credentials and track record. Even though he is employed, unlike Francis, he feels like the market might be discriminating against his age and he finds himself often trying to downplay his years of experience, which makes it harder to compete at the level he would like to. He's growing increasingly frustrated and is starting to feel desperate to get out of his current engagement but suspects he is "trapped" there, knowing unemployment would only make matters worse for him out in the marketplace.

When we spoke about what we could do to turn this situation around for him, here is what he said:  

"You can't fight a losing battle. The market hates my gray hair, and there's nothing I can do about."

Raul considers himself a "realist," although some might say he's a pessimist.  

In both cases, though, optimist or pessimist ("realist"), each leader has been caught with their technical career "pants" down, so to speak.

The reason? Because although having a good attitude certainly has its merits and obstacles like age need to be considered, when it comes to being successful in today's marketplace, it isn't all about how you perceive the world around you. It's more about how you prepare/strategize for what it says it wants from you.

Francis and Raul represent about 95% of the technical professionals (not just IT) that I speak with. Understandably, they spend their time looking at things from their point of view, whether they like what they see, whether they've had it easy or hard before, whether they think they're qualified or marketable. And as a result, they approach their next career move based on that, usually a "toss the resume out there and see what sticks because that is what we've always done before" approach. In other words, their pessimism or optimism doesn't change their approach. In fact, it solidifies it, leaving them both confused by what they are experiencing...one thinking something better will just have to come along and the other thinking the world is against them.

It's something small business people must deal with on a regular basis to survive because it has always been the reality of the marketplace (you have to understand it; it doesn't have to understand you), but it is not something corporate professionals have had to face as much in the past (or at least it didn't "seem" like that).  

So it requires a different approach, based less on how you view things and more on how your target audience views things.

And right now, much like in small business, there's about 5% of technical professionals who get this. As a result, they are finding opportunity (regardless of their personal outlook), even at 50-something and not just because they have good karma. They took the time to understand that target audience, and they adjusted their approach to meet that audience. It doesn't mean it was all smooth-sailing or that they didn't need to overcome obstacles, but they took their perceptions out of it.

It should be simple, but it isn't. Because the way we look at things, good or bad, skews our "reality" in such a way that even though we might think we're different, in the "real" reality, we end up following the masses, thinking we're minimizing risk.

So where are you today? Hanging out with the pessimists/realists and optimists in the 95% club or reaping the benefits along with the 5%?

Are You Getting the Most Out of LinkedIn?

Perhaps one of the biggest frustrations I hear from job seekers has to do with LinkedIn. Somewhere along the way, we got this notion that it was supposed to be more than it actually is (a numbers game). Nevertheless, with 96% of recruiters scouring it daily, job seekers play along. To help optimize your time on LI, I've put together the following presentation: 

Making More Out of LinkedIn from Stephen Van Vreede

Making the Most Out of Your Technical Resume Portfolio Pages

Last week, I published a post called "What Is a Technical Resume Portfolio and Why You Might Need One." In that post, I included a presentation that ITtechExec recently made that outlines how a resume portfolio approach is more effective in today's market. In this post, I am including a second presentation on how the portfolio should be used. If you just create the portfolio and lack a strategy behind it, you aren't getting the whole picture. This SlideShare presentation provides some background on that as well as some scenarios for getting the most out of creating a portfolio approach.

Making the Most Out of Your Resume Portfolio Pages from Stephen Van Vreede

Strategic IT & Product Development Leader (in PA) Candidate Profile

IT Executive with 10 years of Organizational Change, Performance Optimization, and Innovative Solution Delivery experience:

• History of solid career progression, earning most recent promotion to drive strategic change across a development organization
• Successful in leading teams through all aspects of technology roadmap design and SaaS solution development, service, and support for >500K total users
• Adept at creating collaborative technology team culture focused on innovation and business results delivery
• Effective in identifying opportunities to cut IT operating costs, align business and technology strategy, incorporate value engineering to access build vs. buy, streamline processes, implement SOA design, and transform out-of-date thinking
• Strong Software Application and Enterprise Solutions Developer background, adopting Agile methodologies to accelerate engineering and release of software engineering solutions and strengthening functional and technical design elements for enterprise platforms, especially CRM and ERP
• Well versed in broad range of organizations, including public, private, nonprofit, and consulting environments

Want to know more?

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