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.

The Re-Making of IT Careers

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 NoddlePlace, 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 Resume Wow Factor

The Magic Formula
 
As resume writers, we are amazed at the amount of time we spend discussing the “wow” factor with job seekers. If any concept has been oversold in regard to resumes, it is the idea that a resume must take on an almost magical quality that casts a spell over the reader, transforming the average professional into the “must-have” candidate of the year!

Of course, this magical quality is a moving target because no one quite knows what the special combination is to unveil this secret spell, and of course, everyone seems to have a different idea of what it means.

Not to mention the plethora of materials that are out there just promising to either create this almost-mythical document for you or to help you create your own.

“Get yours to the top of the pile! Just say our magic chant 15 times, spin around twice, and embed these special keywords behind the text of your document, and employers will be mesmerized!”
Laugh, if you want, but deep down, it is what every job seeker is really looking for…something that will make it easy for them, something that will overcome the fact that, by and large, they are hard-working professionals just trying to create a solid career that they enjoy.

Casting Spells Doesn’t Work

Listen. We’ve seen a lot of resumes. Pretty ones. Flashy ones. Video ones. Two-column ones. Colorful ones. Conservative ones. Progressive ones. You name it.

Sorry to say, but flashy resumes have not really proven to be anymore effective than traditional professional obituaries. Both can seriously hurt a candidate’s chances if they fail to understand what really makes a resume work.

It’s Not a Secret

So does this mean you can’t use color or get creative with a two-column masterpiece?

No, but a solid resume must accomplish 4 things: (1) Communicate a focused, compelling brand message of the candidate and support it throughout the resume, (2) utilize strong writing skills with solid action verbs, (3) organize the candidate’s information in such a way that a clear picture of the candidate is revealed (scope of knowledge and responsibility), and (4) be attractive without being offensive.

We all like things that look nice, but color isn’t what sells a candidate. Let the “wow” factor be in the strategy employed and in the quality of the writing.

On the other side of things, however, don’t be so rigid that you force the writer to prepare a cookie-cutter resume (Times New Roman, 10-pt, with lots of bullets!!). You’ll just end up with something nondescript, that looks like it came from a Microsoft Word resume template, and is not much better than anyone with decent grammar skills could produce.

Problem-Solving Is the Wow

Do you know what really is the “wow” factor for employers? A well-crafted document that highlights the specific skills and accomplishments that they are interested in, that solve the need or problem they have! Please don’t miss this point. It isn’t the skills/accomplishments that YOU are most proud of; it is the skills/accomplishments that THE EMPLOYER is most interested in for the type of position being filled.

Sadly, most job seekers (and even some resume writers) are all worked up about the font and type size of the resume and less concerned about whether they really have the right strategy in place to attract their audience. Yes, a resume should look appealing, but if you can’t speak to your audience, then it is all just fluff and no “wow.”

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Social Media Explosion: Why Your Personal Brand Matters Even More

Social Media Stats

A recent article on Talent HQ indicates the following social media statistics from Spring 2012:

Users

• Facebook – 850 million
• Twitter – 500 million
• LinkedIn – 161 million
• Google+ – 90 million
• Foursquare – 23 million
• Pinterest – 10.4 million

Daily Activity

• Facebook – 31% of users check-in daily for an average of 20 minutes
• Twitter – 175 million tweets per day
• LinkedIn – 11.5 million searches per day
• Google+ – 5 billion g+ buttons served each day (served, not clicked)
• YouTube – 4 billion video views per day

Personal Branding: Why These Stats Make It Relevant

“So what,” you say? “What do these social media statistics have to do with my personal brand, my IT resume or technical resume, and my job search?” It’s simple. Companies are going to expect to find you on one or more of these sites when considering you as a candidate for a job opening. As such, it opens the door for opportunity.

I suppose you could try to be like everybody else out there is SoMe (social media) land. That’s easy enough. Just sign up for a few of these services and write the standard description of yourself that makes people reading it fall asleep within 3 seconds.

The alternative is to craft a strong, compelling personal brand statement that is real to who you are, what you do, and what you want to do. Then put some creative messaging in place to effectively communicate this brand across all of the social media forums you’re a part of. Just keep in mind that these forums are all different, and the demographics are distinct for each…so the style you use to communicate your brand message should correlate with the site you’re on.

The Job Hopper Cure

In today’s job market, with even high-profile CEOs lying about their credentials, resumes are being scrutinized like never before. Thus, for good reason, job seekers with many short stints in their work history are concerned. After all, the label “job hopper” is one no one wants to wear.

As a resume writer, it is certainly one of the main concerns that I come across when working with candidates, especially technical candidates who have a consulting background: “What do I do to avoid looking like a job hopper?”

First of all, one of the main problems is in the definition of “job hopper.” Is it two years or less? Is it one year? Is it several short positions in a row? Personally, I don’t believe that one short stint at a company constitutes “job hopper,” and I think it is pretty shallow to suggest that someone is a job hopper because they were an independent contractor.

Nevertheless, I have to admit that avoiding the job-hopping label is a tricky issue for resume writers because a resume must remain truthful, and there is very little that anyone can do about the fact that a job seeker may have spent less than a year or two at some of his or her positions. However, thankfully, there are some things that can be done in these situations.

1. Focus on position and not on company.

Although your work history should be arranged chronologically, there is nothing to say that you cannot group companies together under one position title. Often candidates will have had the same position with more than one place. So why not arrange the work history by title first and then list companies underneath the title? I’ve seen this work very well with contract positions. Maybe someone was a helpdesk support contractor for 2 places from 2001 to 2004 (one for 1 year and one for 2 years). By placing both companies under the one title, then you place less emphasis on the short stay at each and more emphasis on the fact that you did that job for 3 years.

2. Keep dates, but place them in less prominence and avoid months.

Nothing says that employment dates have to be front and center or that you have to include months.

3. Use an Additional Experience section for older positions.

If some of your shorter stints are over 10-15 years old, then place them under an Additional Experience section. Most companies are primarily concerned with the last 10-15 years of work history anyway.

One caveat that I would like to mention here, however, is that some of these tactics may not always be looked on favorably with recruiters. Depending on which companies the recruiter is recruiting for, he or she might still want to see months or exact dates or want the resume more company focused rather than position focused. Job seekers would be wise to find out in these situations whether this is something the recruiter prefers or whether it is a make or break with the hiring company. There is a difference, and you have a right to put your best foot forward whenever possible. (That’s why you hired the resume writer in the first place. Otherwise, why don’t we all just fill out the same standardized form for every job application and be done with all this? But, I digress…)

Now here are some things you should NOT do when it comes to dealing with potential job-hopping situations:

1. Don’t leave off dates all together. This is just a bad move, and unfortunately, I see job seekers do this a lot. Now you just look like someone who has something to hide!

2. Don’t opt for the functional resume. Again, this is another bad move. Functional resumes aren’t effective in most situations. Semi-functional resumes are sometimes OK, but by and large, companies want to see a chronological work history paired up with job functions and accomplishments. In other words, they want the resume to tell a story. The problem with a functional resume is that it says a lot, but it doesn’t really tell the story. How frustrating it can be to have a job seeker say that he or she reduced expenses by millions but then not match that up with where that occurred. Now the hiring manager has no context for the accomplishment.

3. Don’t lie. How many people lie on their resumes? Many, and companies are getting better at sniffing them out. Don’t stake your reputation on it.

So although job hopping is certainly a cause for concern, there are some things that you can do to lessen the impact on your resume.

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Techies and their careers: Stop thumbing your nose at social media

If there’s one stereotype about techies that is almost always true (and I have a family full of them) is that they can talk all day about virtualization and network security issues and debate the merits of this solution or that, but they are pretty mum when it comes to talking about their careers. They want you to be impressed (if they even think about that at all) with how they can use their knowledge of technology to solve real business problems, but they want to show, not tell. They are high-level problem solvers, not philosophers.

Talking is overrated anyway.

It’s Time to Come Out of the Shadows

Ten years ago, that quality wasn’t a big issue in the workplace. In fact, it was kind of expected. The techies would hide out in their cubicle caves devising the next solution or migration, and everyone else basically tried to stay out of their way. Today, however, techies often find themselves getting a bad rap, needing to fight to show that they are more than just a commodity that can be outsourced on a whim, that they know how to communicate their knowledge in a way that “tells” value as well as “shows” it. It’s an annoyance, for sure, but like it or not, it’s where the market is continuing to head.

Also, it’s more than about just being more approachable at work; with social media becoming more and more a part of our personal lives, the idea of “engagement” is now a hot topic when it comes to pursuing our careers and how we position ourselves to “influence” the virtual marketplace. Whether you are looking for the next position or happy where you currently are, it is wise to figure out how to use social media to “chat” about your “core talkable difference,” in other words, what makes you unique in your knowledgebase and how you can talk about it. It’s time to stop thumbing your nose at social media as a tool for helping you in your career.

I know, I know, I can hear you now: “Social media is overhyped.” “Social media is a waste of time.” “Social media is just for GenYers.”

And you know what? All of that is somewhat true. What’s also true, however, is that social media is a tool that you can use to your advantage if you know how to do so (I know because I’ve tried it!). If someone tells you that social media is just a time-waster, chances are they aren’t that knowledgeable about it in the first place. You need to get advice from those who use it effectively, and the only way to do that is to get on there…(just sayin’).

Social Media & the Techie

So here are three ways techies can get more chatty across social media and use it to their advantage in their careers:

Blogging.

I know…who has time, right? But blogging is where you can really shine, especially if you know how to drive traffic to your site. You don’t have to talk about how wonderful you are, just communicate your knowledge, share tips, link up with like-minded others. Think of it less as “selling” yourself and more as directing your career down the path that most interests you.

LinkedIn Groups/Answers.

Both the Groups and Answers features on LinkedIn are good tools for engaging with others and for getting an opportunity to share and respond to information about your main topics of interest. You can position yourself as someone to listen to as well as someone who listens to others.

Twitter Chats.

Some people will call Twitter the biggest waste of time on the Internet, and it certainly can be…if you don’t have a strategy for how you are using it. Not only can you “tweet” out your blog links and LI group responses, but also you can engage in Twitter chats that are relevant to your background. Here are two we recommend:

1. #ITchat (Tues., 1pm, Eastern): Each week this chat covers a different topic related to IT.
2. #TCFchat (Wed., 3pm, Eastern): Hosted by the Tech Career Forum, this chat covers issues related to career and job search, from resume to personal branding to the state of the IT job market. You can learn more about the Tech Career Forum and #TCFchat on LinkedIn. You can also find out about the latest questions/topics for the upcoming Wednesday chat.

The ITtechExec Way

To arm yourself with more tools in your technical job search arsenal, we offer a free Technical Jobs report & Online Identity Assessment to our followers. We also offer a 10% discount on our solutions. Take advantage of our offer just by signing up to follow this blog or go to our website ITtechExec (be sure to indicate in the “How did you hear about us?” box that you found us through our blog).