Begin here to jumpstart your career!


Archive for June, 2009

Your Resume is Dead. Long Live Your Blog!

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009

Today’s post is another great article from Ryon Harms, the founder of the http://thesocialexec.com/ and @TheCareer100. Follow @TheCareer100 on twitter if you ever plan on looking for another job and visit his blog for great career and social networking advice. While you are at it, follow @TheSocialExec on twitter, too. I welcome your comments to this thought provoking opinion.

 

Welcome to the hyper-competitive job market of The Great Recession. Finding a job today is about consistently hitting it out of the park. That means taking advantage of opportunities to do what most of your competitors have not. I suggest you start by rethinking your static two-page resume and starting a blog instead.

Three reasons why your resume is dead on arrival:

1. Employers are inundated with resumes and they all basically look same
2. Even well-written resumes too often look like a self-written obituary
3. A resume will never capture everything you have to offer

Three reasons why a blog gives your search new life:

1. Supplementing your resume with a blog shows you know how to be distinctive
2. Blogs allow employers to dig deeper for a broader understanding of what you can offer
3. Blog posts allow you to focus on the present and future of your industry, rather than the past

You know that networking, not submitting resumes to job posts, is the only way to land a job. You’ll see few tools are more effective than blogs at building communities and communicating with your network.

Three ways to network with your new blog:

1. Rather than send the, “Is the position still available?” email, instead send potential employers an interesting blog post relevant to their industry
2. Rather than send another “I’m looking for work” email to your network, instead send a topical blog post that sparks conversations and keeps you top of mind
3. Rather than limiting yourself to personal contacts, instead build a thriving audience that spreads your message and attracts unexpected opportunities.

I worked diligently to expand my professional network during my recent stint in transition. After several months and more than 400 personal contacts later I got tired of emailing my resume with appeals for introductions. I wanted to turn the tables and instead keep my name top of mind by contributing something of value. My idea was to start a blog highlighting information my network could use to shorten their time in transition. However, there are thousands of other topics, both industry specific and general, available to you depending on your goals.

The two-page resume we’ve grown to depend on will eventually go the way of the dinosaurs, music stores and newspapers. Now’s the time to start experimenting with a free and simple to use blog service like WordPress, which also happens to integrate easily with your LinkedIn account. It’s easier than you think.

Think I’m way off about the end days for resumes? Start a blog!

 

Questions to Ask During a Job Interview

Thursday, June 11th, 2009

The following post was written by my friend, Rosa Vargas, a certified resume writer and the owner/founder of www.creatingprints.com website and blog. She gives great advice on job hunting, so visit her blog and then follow her on twitter. She is @resumeservice.

In a job market where it seems as if everyone needs a job and competition is insurmountable, you must differentiate yourself by adopting an outwardly tracked mind set. Instead of concerning yourself with how well you will perform during the job interview, ask yourself, “How can I service this person I am about to meet and the company they represent?”

As you nervously meet your interviewer, redirect your energy and focus. Transform that entire interview into an order-taking session by making it about the person across from you. Assess your interviewer’s body language, listen attentively, identify their needs, and, yes, service them! Help them solve the problem of finding the ideal candidate.

When you redirect your focus onto the interviewer, you’ll learn they are concerned about finding the right candidate and making the right decision for their company—help them! Don’t look at this as an interview—this is a consultation in which you will ascertain the wants of your customer (interviewer/company) and excel at communicating how you meet those needs in order to solve their most pressing problems. Analyze their questions and then answer by accentuating the value and forecasting the solutions your employment offers them. In fact, ask them a few questions. Asking the interviewer questions demonstrates your desire to understand, connect with them, and to begin servicing your new employer!

Suggestions on questions you can pose:

What is (company) looking for in the ideal candidate?

How it is that (company) is in need of fulfilling this position?

How does (company) see this position affecting the entire department?

What would employees say they most like about (company)?

A simple redirect of your focus can turn your nervousness into attentiveness and win over your interviewer. Notice the questions suggested above do not address the interviewer by using the word “you.” By avoiding the use of “you,” the interviewer feels less interrogated or interviewed and will not misinterpret your intentions.

You will find that if you are more concerned and involved in helping the interviewer than on scrutinizing the answers you provide, great answers will quickly come and the value your answers convey will immediately position you as an employer-oriented candidate. In the process, you’ll worry less about your performance, which will allow you to make a genuine connection, outdistancing other candidates. You would have been servicing your new employer even before you are on payroll!

Navigating your way around HCR Group’s Blog

Tuesday, June 9th, 2009

Hi, all. I am going to make this as simple as I possibly can. If you are a job hunter in the information technology field, you can check for new positions (and we are getting a lot of them) in 2 places. The links are on the right hand side of this post. You can click on Current Direct Hire Technical Positions and Current Technical Consulting Opportunities for our contract positions.

If you are an independent recruiter or a recruiting agency and are interested in doing splits with us, you too, have 2 places to look. You can click on Direct Hire Positions Open to Splits with Other Agencies and Current Technical Consulting Opportunities.

If you are a job hunter and are looking for tips regarding your job search, interviewing, social networking and resume advice, start with the first post in April and explore. The rest of the blog posts are all about you and your search. If you like the posts, I would love it if you left a comment, however brief. Thanks!

Coverage for our new job board, HireFinders

Monday, June 8th, 2009

While I have been busy recruiting, we just got coverage from a great site for our new job board, www.hirefinders.com.  Here is the link: http://www.cheezhead.com/2009/06/08/jc-new-recruiting-site-remains-hush-hush/  Thank you, Jennifer Carpenter.

We are looking for a QA Analyst, NYC

Monday, June 8th, 2009

Agencies and independent recruiters, if you have any candidates that meet these descriptions, we are open to splits. Just email me at audrey@hcrgroup.net if you have questions.

Description:

We are seeking an experienced and talented quality assurance analyst to work on improving the quality of our software. As a QA analyst, you will use your skills to engineer the reduction of time-to-release while significantly increasing test coverage. You will work alongside our software developers, forming an integrated team that will produce business-critical software to meet tight deadlines. You will use your prior testing experience in this role, which may require considerable manual operation.

Ideal candidates will have a bachelor’s degree in computer science or an engineering discipline; Java and/or scripting language programming skills; at least 2 years of professional work experience in a Linux/Unix environment, using various programming languages (Perl, Python, WinRunner, Java); and demonstrated experience documenting test plans and procedures for testing distributed and real-time systems.  Successful candidates will also have strong analytical and organization skills, a team spirit, and an insatiable appetite for verifying software correctness.

We are looking for a Network Systems Administrator, NYC

Monday, June 8th, 2009

Here is another New York City opening, Direct Hire, and we are open to splits with other agencies. Email me at audrey@hcrgroup.net if you have any questions.

Description:

Working on a small, growing team that manages all aspects of systems - from user support to servers, databases and networks - our network systems administrators fortify the department on a variety of levels, providing after-hours coverage and first level support, including user support.

Candidates must have a bachelor’s degree in computer science from a top university and a strong knowledge of Windows 2003/XP and Unix (Linux/BSD). Other requirements include experience administering email systems, backup software, firewalls, routers and databases (specifically, Microsoft SQL Server), and 3 or more years of experience in architecting and supporting a highly reliable, scalable and cost-effective heterogeneous network of computers and related communications equipment. Some programming experience (C and Java) is required, along with knowledge of scripting languages such as Perl and Bourne Shell.

We are looking for a Network Systems Manager, NYC

Monday, June 8th, 2009

Hi, All, we just got a new client with many job openings. I will be posting the job descriptions here and we are open to splits with other agencies. If you have any questions, please write me at audrey@hcrgroup.net

New York City, Full time, Direct Hire

Description:

We are seeking a talented network systems manager to lead a small, growing technology team within the firm.  In this role, you will be responsible for all aspects of the user environment, including desktop support and server engineering.  Your work, and that of your team, will be highly visible within the firm and will be critical to the support and success of a wide range of firm initiatives.

Successful candidates will have a bachelor’s degree in computer science or engineering from a top university and a strong knowledge of Windows technologies.  Other requirements include a broad fundamental understanding of all systems aspects, including: Unix (Linux/BSD), email systems, backup software, firewalls, routers and databases (specifically, Microsoft SQL Server).  Candidates must have 3 or more years of experience in architecting and supporting a highly reliable, scalable and cost-effective heterogeneous network of computers and related communications equipment.  Some programming experience (C and/or Java) is required, as well as knowledge of scripting languages such as Perl and Bourne Shell.

© Copyright 2009 HCR Group Inc. All Rights reserved