Executive Resumes, Personal Branding & Executive Job Search

You already know that cloud computing is now and will continue to be impacting the tye of jobs technologists  and technology executives will have in the future. Another mega trend that will impact tech careers is rapidly becoming a strategic priority for companies: superstacks. The term is so new I couldn't find an image in Google images for it - just pictures of smokestacks!

Smart phones are the earliest manifestations of superstacks. Accenture's Mitch Cline predicts that vertically "stacked" solutions - operating systems + chips + devices + software + web interface + user services - are poised to become a top corporate strategy priority. Superstacks will be needed for new mobility and B.Y.O.D (bring your own device) solutions and are predicted to become increasingly prevalent in healthcare, consumer products, and retail applications.

The most immediate impact of the trend on your tech career is the anticipated surge in M&A activity: "More than three fourths (77 percent) of respondents believe an increase in M&A activity will occur over the next two-to-three years." Many of my clients come for branding, executives resumes, LinkedIn and social media profiles, and job search coaching because their company has recently been acquired and their division spun off, their job made redundant, or their unit simply eliminated as not a priority for the new corporate entity. Many have seen their compensation slashed as their work load has been increased.

There are great job opportunities in the new tech landscape, but you have to "trend-proof" your career insofar as you are able. To be ready for the rise of superstacks, you need to be proactive about the roles you might play in developing the new technologies and prepare yourself for M&A turbulence.

1. Superstacks trend: Aim your career towards where the jobs will be. Don't keep your head down. Read everything you can about superstacks and cloud computing. If you're a tech professional, can you morph your path in the direction you seeing technology going by gaining necessary new skills? If you're a technology leader, develop a vision for leveraging superstacks and cloud computing as transformational, value-added techologies. And then blog and tweet about it to demonstrate thought leadership.

2. Accompanying M&A activity: Protect your career by being ready AT ALL TIMES to start a job search. That means to always have a current resume, a strong and distinctive brand, and powerful online networking connections on LinkedIn and also Twitter and FB, if you want to. Keep your offline network thriving through frequent friendly contact as well. Continue to build your online reputation as well by multiplying the number of quality sites where your name will appear in a Google search and by blogging, tweeting, or commenting on other people's material.

3. And stay tuned: I'll continue to keep you up-to-speed in terms of trends that will be impacting your tech career. The race is to the swift and the market-savvy.

It's amazing, though understandable, that so many people are pursuing job search strategies that are apt to yield no results.

The job search environment is more complex and requires greater sophistication to navigate than ever before. Here are 8 of the things you should not do to avoid getting stalled in your job search.

1. Give your resume to your contact list and assume you've done their networking

2. Failed to get your resume into the hands of the right people at all of your target companies

3. Spend significant time searching on job boards and company websites looking for jobs to apply to

4. Put your profile up on LinkedIn without attention to keywords and your personal/career brand and assume that "if you build it they will come"

5. Spend just a few hours per week on your job search

6. Do your entire job search from home without making appointments to meet with networking contacts and hiring authorities

The new job search is a social search - involving the use of Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook, among many others. These are places hiring authorities are looking for candidates. And they are places you can also create networking opportunities times 10.

The new job search is more competitive. Recruiters want 10 out of 10 of their requirements met. Hiring authorities can usually find someone who matches their needs on LinkedIn, which has become a Big Data resource for them.

That means there is a premium on alternative job search methods that will produce direct face-to-face contact with decision makers, a context in which you can pitch your value, not just be someone evaluated with a checklist. It also means that, to get results, you need to spend serious time each week looking for the right job.

The savvy job seeker of 2012 has mastered new skills that will hold him or her in good stead for now and into the future - understanding that new changes are sure to come that will require further adaptive skills.

Avoid these easy but unhelpful ways to let folks know you are in job search mode:

1. Send out a mass email.

2. Only put an update on LinkedIn

3. Tell them you are looking for a job and ask can they help

4. Use a plain vanilla message

5. Close your email without offering to help them in their networking

So, what IS the best way to tell your network you are in the job market? Ask a Manager blogs about this subject and has some useful things to say.

I would like to add to the suggestions there and advise job seekers to contact each person in your network personally by email or phone with a message that is interesting and that they can act on.

1. Tell them as specifically as possible what you are looking for: your preferred job title, mission, industry, and geographical location. For example, “I am looking for a position as a sales executive selling SaaS (software as a service) for a small to medium-sized software company in the Boston area.”

2. Give them a reason why their network should be interested in helping you or hiring you: “What I do best is close high-dollar sales of complex, cutting edge software solutions and exceed aggressive quotas, like the $8M I sold on a $7.5M goal in 2011.” BTW, this is a key part of your personal / career brand!

3. Tell them exactly how they can best help you in your search: “I would be very appreciative if you could give me the names of two people you may know who work in software companies in the Boston area.” And then, when you talk to those people, ask them in turn for two more names, conveying the same message about the value – your ROI – that you bring to the table. 

Once you’ve got your message and your method right, develop a good way to keep track of your contacts, the contacts they refer you to, next steps, to-do items, etc. Jason Alba’s Jibber Jobber is a great tool for that.

Then be meticulous about following up with a thank-you email or note letting your contact know you appreciated their interest and help. Then tell them you’ll keep them updated on your progress. That gives you a chance to stay top-of-mind with them when you check in again in a month or two. And, of course, when you accept a job offer, be sure to celebrate your success by thanking your network personally.

Jean Cummings:  http://www.aResumeForToday.com

This post was first published on http://www.GetHired.com

Credit to Kim Garst for image

I encountered the phrase “all in” in two quite different contexts lately. In the first, a minister used it to describe his faith. In the second, a technology sales executive said it about the way he works. And then in a third instance, Ralph Waldo Emerson (a voice from the past), is quoted using different words but talking about the same idea (thanks to Angel Maiers for her post and the Emerson quote:

"Passion is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic and faithful, and you will accomplish your object. Nothing great was ever achieved without passion.”

Put this together with a research finding that most of new hires that fail do so because of attitude, not lack of skills – as much as 80%.

And add in the “personal” in personal branding, which is about your passions, values, and goals. In other words, the things that go to make up your personality.

And you’ve got a little-known but apparently crucial ingredient in on-the-job success.

The Passion thing helps in interviewing too. If you know what you’re passionate about, great! Don’t be afraid to show the energy and excitement you experience in what you do. Even if the intervivewer hasn’t thought about passion as a desirable quality in a new hire, you will radiate energy and enthusiasm and that will engage the interviewer’s interest.

Studies have also shown that there is a kind of mimicry that goes on when two people communicate – that is, your enthusiasm will ignite the interviewer's. And that’s got to help!

Surveys find that by far the biggest element in deciding whether to hire someone is based on how s/he looks and sounds. Both your facial expression and your voice change when expressing passion, and, therefore, you will look and sound even better than you ordinarily do (we hope). :)

If you’re not passionate about your work, here are some thoughts. Passion doesn’t have to be fireworks kind of passion. It can be a firmly grounded commitment. If neither of those is true, see if you can find one aspect of your job that particularly interests you. Ask yourself why. Then ask yourself how your heightened interest impacts outcomes. Then, you can take advantage of the magic of passion, at least in the part of the interview where you give an example from the interesting part of your work.

As the hiring process is increasingly using assessments and simulations in an attempt to be more objective, your passion need not lose its power completely. It may be the single differentiating factor between two otherwise similar candidates. It may, in fact, be the one that will put you over the top!

Have you caught up yet? I am amazed that there are CIOs of big companies out there who don't have a built-out LinkedIn profile - just name, photo, and employers. At a recruiter round table a couple of weeks ago, sponsored by the New England Network of the Association of Career Professionals International, the new picture of recruiting emerged. Successful job seekers will proactively be where recruiters are looking for talent. Here is some of what these three recruiters said and tips for being a successful candidate:

1. They want to find you in a Google search. Have profiles on Linkedin (LI), Twitter, Facebook, ZoomInfo, About.me, at a minimum.

2. They will look for you on LinkedIn. Be there - both with a profile and membership in relevant industry groups.

3. They want you to have a 100% complete LI profile. Also, get an edge by adding video, audio, PowerPoint presentations, etc. using apps available at the bottom of your profile.

4. They will look to see who your connections are and if there are any that work for their company. Then they will go through that employee to talk to you, if interested. Expand your LI network continually.

5. They will see what you are doing on Twitter and Facebook. Curate your content with an eye to your professional image.

6. Many recruiters no longer pay Monster and CareerBuilder, because they can source great candidates through Google searches, LI and social networking sites. So spend your time there.

7. They still do find some candidates on indeed.com, a job posting aggregator. So put your resume up.

8. They try to hire from within and develop employees, if they can. Have you explored that possibility where you work?

9. They rely on employee referrals for good candidates. So the more networked you are, the more likely it is that you will be known by someone in the company. Work towards 500 connections on LI. Expand your Twitter following.

10. They want you to have 10 out of 10 of the skills they are looking for. Build towards those as you manage your career.

11. One of the recruiters said she doesn't look at unemployed candidates. The other two said they certainly will. They understood that the recession was an equal-opportunity layoff machine. If you have a period out of work, fill the time with meaningful volunteer work or consulting.

12. They want change leaders. What change have you managed, how did you do it, what were the results? Get this info into your resume, LI profile and other marketing communications.

13. They're moving towards video interviews. Have someone go through some interview questions with you while filming you on their smart phone. What can you learn about the general impression you give, your tone of voice and body language, your manner? Try to be energetic and engaging, with short pithy messages and stories.

14. They are using assessment centers, competency models, job simulations, 360s, and self-assessments to help determine who is the best candidate. No longer can people get hired on "a wing and a prayer." Take your career seriously and develop the critical skills your target job requires.

15. Jobs are still hard to get. Companies are not replacing some of the employees who leave. They are expecting more work out of those who remain (the jobless recovery). Be hard to replace at the job you're in.

16. Bright Horizons (childcare & other) hired 200 people out of 10K applicants. Get an edge in whatever way you can (see above). Also, be ready with a well-defined career/personal brand, a portfolio of marketing communications, a video, a robust online presence, and a valuable network.

17. They are catering to people active on LI, Twitter, and Facebook. Be there.

18. The workforce is becoming increasingly globalized. Expand your perceptions.

19. They are relying heavily on Web analytics and ATS (Applicant Tracking System) reporting. Submit a quality ASCII/text version of your resume, along with the Word version, if requested, to avoid transmission problems.

20. They want new employees to "hit the ground running." That means you need to demonstrate that you already have the skills required to start up fast.

Does this list seem overwhelming? It is, but it's the future. As you can see, even top IT leaders aren't always up-to-speed. But if you take these suggestions to heart, you will have an edge in job search now and throughout your career.

As a follow-on to my last post on the impact of cloud computing on the IT jobs landscape, here are a list of jobs predicted to emerge as one aspect of the cloud - software-as-a-service or SaaS - becomes even more widely adopted. If you work currently as a traditional software programmer or support back-end systems under the leadership of a CIO, take note of the opportunities emerging as discussed in CIO Magazine's article on: "What SaaS Means for the Future of the IT Department."

Programmers: Less demand for software programming and more for Web 2.0 and Java skills along with knowledge of open Web standards, as the trend toward Web-mediated application delivery and mobile computing accelerates.

For the large numbers of IT support staff out there, who primarily keep ERP systems running, support the infrastructure and the back end, you may no longer be working for the company you're with. The jobs will be at the SaaS vendors: roles integrating different SaaS solutions for a customer or working in the data center.

Large-scale adoption of ERP delivered as SaaS may be slow, however, due to the complexity of the inter-relationships between applications. Single application SaaS is booming though, and here is a recommendation as mentioned in CIO Magazine's article worth serious consideration:

"The SaaS trend will force many IT professionals to rethink their skills and the value they bring to their companies, says Jeffrey Kaplan, president of THINKstrategies, a consultancy that helps companies adopt SaaS applications."

Translated, what this means is that you need to build your career brand around the skills in current demand and your unique value proposition. I never write an IT resume that doesn't showcase my client's value prop  - and you shouldn't either. For more on branding, click here.

Trying to predict the future of IT jobs is...shall we say, like trying to predict the stock market - and we all know how that worked in '07!. But, even taking into account that "the only certainty is change," the general shape of tech landscape now gives us ideas about good directions to move in.

The newest factor on the scene impacting the size and shape of the IT workforce is cloud computing. Depending on whom you listen to, the job picture is either bad, good, or neutral. Brandon Butler in CIO Magazine quotes an authority who says that IT jobs will be lost, another that there will be more IT jobs, and finally concludes:

"What is expected is that traditional IT roles of managing software and hardware will no longer be needed in the new cloud-heavy world."

I think that is a statement you can bank on with certainty. Naturally, as the traditional roles of the IT workforce become increasingly automated and mediated through the cloud, they will become obsolete. And new IT roles will inevitably crop up in other areas, such as helping clients integrate with the company's platform. And jobs will grow with cloud vendors.

As a job search coach who works exclusively with IT managers and executives, I wrestle with how to advise my clients, given the uncertainty in the job picture (nothing new here). Here are some of the perspectives I've come up with:

1. You cannot afford to keep your head down and just work. You've got to be heads-up and constantly assessing the technology direction your company (and the market) is heading and whether your job will be part of it going forward. That also means reading industry blogs, following LinkedIn groups, and following IT thought leaders on Twitter, as well as general news feeds.

2. If you see where the jobs are going, start evolving towards them - either re-train, volunteer with the team doing the transition to cloud technology, or work with a mentor who can help you make a transition. Cloud computing, business analytics, big data, security, mobile - all are areas to watch now.

3. Build your interpersonal, relationship, and communication skills. They will be increasingly important as IT folks interface more with other departments (product development) and with clients connecting through the cloud.

4. Build your project management skills. PMI's PMP certification - Project Management Professional - is one that is fairly reliable at this time in terms of giving you a valuable credential.

5. Enrich your brand by becoming an expert in one aspect of IT that will be relevant for the foreseeable future. At the same time that it is desirable to differentiate yourself as an irreplaceable specialist, don't jump in with both feet. Keep broad competencies that will enable you to move flexibly towards the next change coming.

It's no small task - preparing yourself and your career for constantly shifting tides. But if you can stay smart, alert, and agile while feeding off the energy, excitement, and opportunity that come with any profound new technology change, you may be able to ride the waves and land a great new job!

Mozilla, the MacArthur Foundation, and HASTAC* are working on a new model for standards and credentials in learning and job performance called Open Badges. Proposed digital badges allow people to know you by your achievements and contributions, not just your reputation and credentials. Badging represents an innovative alternative to traditional credentialing and takes its inspiration from open source software development.

What is unique about badging is that it gives the individual job seeker an opportunity to be promoted or hired on the basis of actual accomplishments and on-the-job work attributes. Too often people's lack of a specific kind/level of education, training, or traditional work history get in the way of their getting hired. Promotion and hiring are usually based on whether an individual meets a specific standard profile desirable for a specific position. Badging allows for an end run around all that.

Here's an example from Cathy Davidson on HASTAC: "If I’m engaged in a project with someone who does an exemplary job, I can award credit whether that person happens to have a Ph.D. from MIT or be a brilliant sixteen-year old programmer in Gary, Indiana—or Nairobi." You can see that badging could be a major leveler across populations at home and across the globe.

Another key feature of badging as proposed is that it allows teams to recognize social, collaborative and other "soft" skills that may be critical to the success of a project but often discounted from hiring decisions. 

The grassroots nature of the proposed model would enable a mutiplicity of badges from many different organizations, whether they be professional, industry, nonprofit or corporate. Sounds chaotic, but badging is an innovation that breaks down traditional barriers and encourages individual initiative. Rather than having your employment fate hanging on traditional resumes, education, work history etc., you can activily earn recognition that explicitly confirms the contributions you have made. Open source programming has models for ways to prevent cheating and gaming the system. 

This is a bottom-up rather than a top-down initiative, with elements of Facebook, crowdsourcing, Twitter, citizen journalism, YouTube, Amazon product reviews etc.

What would a badge system mean for your career brand and your job search? I think it would provide stronger evidentiary support for your brand. It would provide more validation for talented people with portfolio careers or non-linear career paths in job search. It would give weight to non-traditional learning and experiential learning.

Badging, as an alternative form of credentials and standards, is a good match for millenials, in particular, who are already viewing their careers in a more flexible light. Millenials view work more creatively - not the traditional "climbing the ladder" - but moving around to different jobs following interests, making lateral moves, interrupting their work with volunteer or entrepreneurial stints, mastering new skills or content informally.

Keep your eyes and ears open for this revolution in assessing mastery. It just may open up job and career opportunities you had assumed were closed to you. What do you think of the idea of badging? Do you think it could work?

Who can improve on What Color Is Your Parachute, the all-time best-seller in the careers field? Who other than the cofounder/chairman of LinkedIn, Reid Hoffman.

From his lofty seat at the top of the top professional network in the world - through which daily flow valuable job postings, job searches, candidate searches, and networking requests - Reid has a unique vantage point for observing the life cycle of careers in 2012. 

Along with his co-writer, Ben Casnocha, he brings into question the idea that each of us has a specific calling that requires only that we discern the color of our particular parachute to know what we should do with our life. This prevailing cultural myth is challenged, and rightly so in my opinion, by Reid's particular insight into the way most people's careers actually develop.

Sure, we've all heard of people who knew from a young age knew that they would be a president of the United States (Bill Clinton), or a composer (Mozart). But most of us, especially as the days of staying with one company for 30 years or more are long gone, follow a winding path where the twists and turns may take us to someplace we never thought of to a job we could never have envisioned.

He gives a number of examples of well-known people, himself (started out planning to work in academia), Tony Blair (started as concert promoter), Sheryl Sandberg (COO Facebook started in public health at the World Bank), and others who have found their way following a different dynamic.

Reid says that careers develop according to the interaction of your assets, your aspirations, and market realities. And that where we end up can be very different from where we started. He also says that often you can perceive an inner logic to the journey. (This may be more where we see Richard Bolles' ideas than anywhere else.)

The book, The Startup of You, is a must-read for anyone charting their career. I believe Reid's ideas have long been true, but technology is currently changing careers, industries, even functions at an accelerated rate. Although somewhat complex, Reid's remarks will help you keep your eyes open to signals of change both within yourself and in the world at large.

His perspective may also take some of pressure off for those who are frustrated trying to look deeply within to discover their purpose. I see the process he describes as more like a white water rafting trip than a fishing trip in search of a particular gold coin.

We each, in our own wonderfully unique way, find a twisting path that is both our own and profoundly influenced by our world. If we are lucky, each stage of the journey holds a fulfillment of its own while providing us with strengths that can transform the next leg of the trip.

I'm a believer, in part, because his observations have been true in my career: teacher of children with learning disabilities, handweaver, careers professional. ?? I think I know why I made those shifts. If anyone is interested, I'd be happy to tell them. But what has been your path? What has influenced you in your career decisions? Do you know where you will turn next? I'd love to hear.

             or               

If you are an IT professional and looking to add certifications in order to advance and make more money, think again. According to Foote Partners, a boutique IT benchmarking firm, as reported by CIO blogger Meridith Levinson, the pay premiums for 82 specific IT skills and 88 IT certifications are falling. What they are seeing is none other than a sea change in how tech professionals are valued.

As technology continues to change in the blink of an eye and often in surprising directions (the death of the desktop?), companies are looking for people who don't simply have the certification de jour. Instead, they are demanding a much broader skillset, one that isn't limited to technology. For instance, they are looking for folks who have technical depth but a business perspective. People who can foster innovation, drive revenues, help evolve the organization in ever leaner, more profitable directions.

Foote reports, "...the restructuring of IT departments that took place during the recession, which in some cases continues today, is driving demand for business skills and contributing to the devaluing of pure tech skills." Pure-play technical expertise is becoming "a dime a dozen." In other words, technical skills are becoming a commodity. And, like other products and services that have been commoditized, their price goes down. 

What should tech professionals managing their careers do to avoid becoming a commodity? Develop value-adds, such as another area of proficiency in a business function (i.e., marketing, accounting) and an abiity to continually apply business concepts (strategy alignment, product and service innovation, bottom-line growth) to the activity of IT.

"They're looking for walking Swiss army knives," says Foote. It can sound daunting. But the more aware you of these seismic shifts in your profession and the more you shape your professional identity in the direction of market requirements, the more you will have an edge in your IT job search, now and in and for the (foreseeable!) future.