If you are not getting calls or follow up email responses other than auto-generated messages indicating your resume was received, maybe it is due to your resume.

Yahoo Hotjobs has posted an article and I have taken the main themes they provided and added commentary based on what I think is relevant to the IT or engineering professions.

Keep it shorter, and focused; with Twitter, texting, and status updates, being succinct is the norm.

I agree on the laser focused part but far too many times a resume is too short and details are left out which may be further selling points for your qualifications. If you are qualified your resume better support the requirements listed in the posting. Most postings give a decent level of what we are seeking. However, too often the candidate makes erroneous assumptions that the reviewer knows a lot about the industry. Target your resume to the requirements listed. Yes this will involve you to complete the dreaded task of reviewing your resume.

Use Humor in your resume; show some humor or personality in your resume.

I tend to disagree with providing humor in the resume. When you don’t know your audience, why try to be funny or cute in your resume. Comedy in a resume is like picking the reviewer’s favorite color, how do you know it will be funny in text. Save the comedy for the interview.

Have your resume read like a news story, not a dictionary entry; use an eye-catching headline on your objective and list a summary of your skills.

I am not on board with this suggestion unless you are applying for a journalism, communication or creative position. I will say that reporting the facts and the Who, What and When is relevant to get across in your resume what you did, when you did it and where. However if the reviewer wants a news article they will head to a blog or newspaper.

Use a results-oriented style of resume whenever possible, quantify your accomplishments.

I agree.  Elaborate on your accomplishments but avoid broad statements that do not lend themselves to results. Include your results within the body of the job it occurred on. I dread reading the Accomplishments section which drones on and on without explanation where they accomplished all they said they did in the summary. Sales resumes seem to be filled with the Accomplishment section and always lead me to ask…really…prove it.

Show personal interests; a good conversation starter and provides some additional insight into who the candidate is.

If you target your resume to the requirements you don’t need to have the fluff statements which sound like your Grandma wrote your resume. Better yet tell me why you are qualified in your email as you respond. Do the work of the reviewer by telling them right off why you are qualified. As an interviewer chances are we can engage the candidate in some light hearted discussion.

Use keywords; a program may be reading your resume first.

I agree with using key words, this is called targeting your resume but refrain from buzz word bingo which can happen frequently in the IT sector. Just because your former employer had a license to a technology does not correlate to your personal experience with the technology. If you list it on your resume you may have to talk about it. A candidate who is vague on a couple technologies may be padding the resume and that is a sure way to get you removed from the short list.

Use phrases by others about your performance; utilize what others have said about you.

I don’t agree with this at all. Too easy to make up so why would I believe it. If references are checked this is were the interviewer should be looking not a prefab section by the candidate.

Use a nickname; help the recruiter as they may be fearful of mispronouncing your name.

In over 15 years of recruiting the name on the resume has never prevented me from calling a qualified person for an interview. You are not paging someone in a crowded restaurant! If you botch it horribly the applicant will usually know you are trying to reach them since 90% of the time you are calling their cell number.

Overall the opinions of a resume vary but the best advice is to target your resume to the ad or posting and to respond with a short intro as to why you are qualified.

Sounds like those who have jobs are not really digging what they are doing.  CNNMoney.com reported that fewer than half of U.S. workers are satisfied with their current jobs according to a recent survey by The Conference Board.  This is the lowest level since record-keeping began 22 years ago.

The survey polled 5,000 households and discovered only 45% were satisfied in their jobs compared to 61.1 % in 1987 when the first survey was conducted.

The significant drop in satisfaction over the past 22 years covers various aspects of employee life, including interest in work and job security and crosses all four of the key drivers of employee engagement: job design, organizational health, managerial quality, and extrinsic rewards. In addition, it spans both the economic boom and bust periods. Employees in every age group and income levels showed a drop despite big improvements in the work environment, such as a reduction of workplace hazards and an increase in vacation days, but workers younger than 25 were the most unhappy in their jobs.

Key points to note include the decline by 18.9% in employee’s interest in work and the decline by 17.5% in perception of job security; almost one-quarter of respondents said they didn’t expect to be at their current jobs within a year.

The implications are critical for all levels of businesses because this dissatisfaction ultimately impacts overall engagement and productivity of employees.  The baby boomers, which will represent 25% of the workforce by 2018, are those we’ve watched become increasingly dissatisfied over the past 22 years.  When you add to that the dissatisfaction by the younger generation, you have a serious situation that must be dealt with.  The implications for knowledge transfer, or the lack thereof, between these generations will have major impacts on businesses. It also has major implications for employee retention.

Now is the critical time to start thinking about how your business is address this issue.  How are you going to improve upon your employee’s interest in their work, perceptions regarding their job security, job design, organizational health, managerial quality, and extrinsic rewards?

While most of us know you should not bring your dog to the interview, text, eat, show up drunk,or invite the interviewer into some crazy physical challenge, here are 15 ways to annoy your interviewer that may be worth or a quick review.

Impressions are formed in less than 90 seconds so if you have a tendency to be guilty of these try to minimize them.  If all the following traits afflict you in the interview process you had better hope the company starts, and ends with, a phone interview!

Gum Chewing:  Looks unprofessional and can be easily avoided by removing the gum, hopefully not behind your ear in sight of the hiring individual.

Hair Twirling:  Makes a lady look young and silly. Ask a friend if you are prone to this habit and fix your hair to avoid easy twirling access.

Slouching:  Mom always said not to slouch.  Slouching can convey lethargy, boredom, and lack of confidence.

Avoiding Eye Contact:  You may give the vibe that you are hiding something. In an interview that is not what you want to convey.  If looking in the eye is weird focus on they nose of the interviewer.

Knee Jiggling or finger drumming:   Unless I am hiring for a drummer or a dancer these need to be restrained.  Relax and breath deeply.

Yawning:  Nothing will set the interviewer to run several less than appealing scenarios in their head as to why you are yawning.   Ensure you are caffeinated and well rested.

Playing with the Pen:  Just put it out of your hands.

Checking your Cell Phone:   If you forget to turn off the ringer, silence it and apologize for the interruption and put it down and do not answer. 

Nail biting:  Never a good idea in any public setting.

Sniffling:   Do your best to medicate or hit the restroom prior to arrival to minimize the amount of sniffling.

Picking at or rubbing any part of your body:  Again never a good idea in a public setting.

Waiving your hands while speaking:  Utilizing hand gestures is a great idea for a public speaker.  Utilizing hand gestures may be an optimal case where less is more.   Again consult with a friend if you believe this may be an issue for you.

Tugging at your cuffs or hem of your dress.   Fiddling with your clothes can give the impression of discomfort or insecurity.   The interviewer may think you are not used to a tie or your dress and may think you will need to adjust to a dress code if applicable.

Resting your chin on your hand:  Are you bored, tired, annoyed, wishing you were someplace rather than here?   Save it for the Glamour Shots photo.

Smiling too Much (or lack of a smile):   You want to blend in and smiling as a nervous habit may convey you are a con artist or a fake.

Another tip to remember is that once you step onto company property or even before you arrive there may be eyes on you which may form an opinion. The following true life event happened and is a valuable lesson.

In the past I have witnessed where the candidate for an executive position was rude to the receptionist.  His behavior was reported to the hiring manager who was contacted by the receptionist.  He was immediately removed from the short list.    He showed his true colors in that short interaction with the receptionist.  The hiring manager knew the receptionist was regarded as a true professional who you could almost see the smile through the phone. The candidate was eliminated as a prospective candidate.  

Source:  Karen Burns- Author of The Amazing Adventures of Working Girl: Real-Life Career Advice You Can Actually Use.

I really don’t agree with many on this list.  Maybe because I use too many of them myself!   After reading the list I have explained which ones I am guilty of using and why I like them.

YouGov published its list of the 10 worst business sayings months ago. Some I more than agreed with (“thinking outside of the box,” “blue-sky thinking,” “heads up”); some didn’t bug me too much (“at the end of the day,” “going forward,” “credit crunch”).

But it also got me thinking about my own version of the 10 worst business sayings. Consequently, I compiled my own list, complete with definitions and — most importantly — the reasons they were included.

The first three top my list for their gross factor, pure and simple. Why? Because regardless of the people or situation in question, I’ve found that the overt or indirect referencing of bodily functions in a business environment gets me down.

1. Pick your brain: Substituted when someone simply wants to ask you something. “Do you mind if I just pick your brain?”

2. Throw it against the wall and see what sticks: Often used to describe a haphazard approach to presenting a motley product line, batch of ideas, etc. “Well, let’s just throw these against the wall and see what sticks.”

3. Sweat equity: Offered up when asking people to give their time and talent, and payment is not available. “We can’t pay you your rate now, but — when we do start making money — you’ll definitely have sweat equity.”

The next three were included because of their cliché factor. Like “thinking outside the box” and “blue-sky thinking,” their overuse means they no longer catch our attention.

4. It’s not rocket science: Used most often when pointing out to someone that the task he’s been asked to complete isn’t, in fact, complicated. “After all, it’s not rocket science.”

5. The ball’s in your court: This phrase is usually thrown around (pun intended) to let others know that you’ve reached your limit with regard to handling a situation. “I’ve now done everything I can. After this, the ball’s in your court.”

6. Drill down: This is too often used to denote the vigor with which a person or team will be pursuing an objective. “Yes, Bob and I are really going to drill down on that.”

The following three made my list thanks to their redundancy:

7. I, personally: Since something that is said by you is, by definition, personal, I see no need to include both words. For example, when you take the “personally” out of the following sentence, the meaning doesn’t change. “Well, I, personally, don’t think that X should take precedence over Y.”

8. Quite unique (and its compatriots “very unique,” “really unique” and “most unique”): Despite the fact that things that are unique can’t be qualified, I see this all the time. “Our store has the most unique items.” Um … no. You can, however, say, “Our store is filled with unique items.” I have no trouble with that.

9. Past history: This one drives me wild every time I hear it, “Well, based on past history …” History is, by definition, something that occurred in the past, so why on earth say “past”?

And, finally, the most overused phrase in a business context:

10. Urgent (and its frequent companion “crisis”): I include these because, as I’m sure you’ve discovered, the use of either, or both, of these words does little to resolve what might be going on. Instead, they either ratchet up the tension or make others wonder why you are so out of control.

What do I recommend you use instead? I would substitute the use of “immediate” for “urgent,” and “situation” for “crisis,” as both convey the need for action but leave others room to bring their own skills and intelligence to bear — while reflecting well on your own.

Frances Cole Jones is the author of “The Wow Factor: The 33 Things You Must (and Must Not) Do to Guarantee Your Edge in Today’s Business World.”

#2 – Sometimes it fits in my industry as at certain times there may be many competitors and how do I not know that the procurement person is not throwing the resumes down the hall and short stacking the 5 which touched the far wall.

#5-  Again fits with the industry, many times we can only do so much before the situation is out of our control and we cannot influence the decision.

#7-  I think adding the Personally, seems to water down the bossiness of “I” 

CNNMoney.com recently posted the Top 50 jobs in America.   Several IT jobs made the top 50 list.   Money and Payscale.com rate the Top 50 careers with great pay and growth prospects over the next 10 year period. 

Information Technology had a great showing on the list with seven IT related positions ranked in the top 50.   Below are the results of the seven positions with their ranking and projected job growth over the next 10 years.    

Ranking            Job Position/                                         Job Growth % 

On List Title                                                      10 year forecast

5                      IT Project Manager                              16%

12                    Software Developer                              28%

17                    IT Business Analyst                              29%

28                    Technical Writer                                   20%

30                    Telecom. Network Engineer                 53%

39                    Computer Software Prog Mgr              28%

40                    Applications Systems Analyst               29%