Recently I read an article which was building a case to hire overqualified candidates for your open positions.  With the economy making a slow comeback there are more candidates applying for positions which may be overqualified for their skill set.

 A positive of hiring an overqualified resource is the flexibility they can bring to the team due to their previous roles. They may be able to bridge any gaps in your current team. Another is the motivation it may bring with the existing team to continue with their performance and the mentoring which may transfer in a given team.  The last positive is achieving more value as you may get more than you paid for with an overqualified resource.

 The pitfalls to avoid is to have a realistic interview and take time to outline how their role will be in the team.  Ensure there are parameters expressed to the candidate as to his or her role.   If there is an opportunity for continued growth in the company be sure to discuss the growth potential.  The pay scaled may be tapped out with an overqualified candidate, so you may need to set the direction of possible next promotions to retain the staff member.  

 The next time an overqualified resume passes your desk take the time to explore the candidate as it may pay dividends to really find out the capabilities of the candidate.

Just the other week I had a candidate who asked me the bill rate and I responded with a range where I thought would make the individual competitive. Prior to the rate question I had asked him to elaborate on his experience. He provided me with very little feedback, which left me wondering how much depth he really had with the tool.

I indicated that in order to be competitive I felt we need to be around XX. He did not think my number was competitive and went on to chide me on how he felt “Competitive” was a very weak and lame word in itself, that he, ”does not compete” and that he, “provides a highly skilled service”  I wasn’t inclined that day to argue the point, knowing I had another candidate who provided me with a very detailed four paragraphs which clearly outlined his background.  His depth with the tool was evident, and I moved forward with him.

Any client will have limits on pay rates and we always assume that there is outside competition on any given client. A recruiter can give a ball park number which we think would get the client interested. However the client will want a resume and if the resume lacks enough depth on it and the rate is higher than others we will not get the call to have an interview.

Negotiating your rate will depend on various factors which have to be taken into consideration. The first one to consider is location of the project. Every region or city’s cost of living will be different. Will you need to travel if so how much travel expense will you incur for travel and temporary housing.

Duration is another important variable as it has a great effect on the first variable which is location. A longer term duration typically allows for a reduced expense on the travel side as a 6 -12 month lease is usually available versus a monthly rate.

Another consideration is the benefit package. Does the consulting company provide benefits such as Medical, Dental, Short/Long term Disability and 401(k)? What are the premiums for these benefits and how important are these benefits to you.

How many of the skills requested do you have? If you have all the skills required and several of the beneficial skills you are a much stronger candidate.

Will you be able to gain additional skills to improve your marketability in the future? How long have you been out of the workforce is another factor to consider as possible tradeoffs to consider in your final rate.

Eventually the recruiter will ask the salary question and likely not until he has a good idea of your experience with the required and beneficial skills. If you are pressed with the salary range question the subject is open for discussion so offer a range. If you are negotiable on that range indicate that prior to stating the range.

Many times when I ask the compensation question, I am asked about my experience with the client and if I have a feel for what the client may tolerate. Many times we do have a good idea, either through past experience or as is sometimes the case, being explicitly told by the client upfront. However, as the IT industry has hot skills, niche skills and the combination of separate skills, which all must be factored in when submitting a final bill rate to the client. As mentioned previously, typically there are others aggressively pursuing the same position.

Your best bet is to be flexible and talk through the rate question to formulate a number you and the recruiter and hopefully the end client will all feel good about.

Over the years I’ve read tons of articles on what you should and shouldn’t include in your resume.  Each comes from a different industry and point of view.  Not everything is applicable to every industry or position.  As an IT recruiter, I’ve seen a lot of good and bad resumes over the years.  From these, I have compiled a list of tips to help you get your resume from my inbox and into the decision-makers’ hands faster and generally with a higher degree of overall success.

Don’t zip your resume.  

If your resume is really that large that it has to be zipped, then it is an autobiography and not a resume.  I am not impressed that you know how to zip it.  The exercise of unzipping a 2 page resume will not earn you points with a recruiter.

Don’t bold key words in your resume

Have you ever tried to read one of these at length? I may be seeking other words than the 50-70 words that you may have decided are important for me to see.  A red flag goes up that you are an expert at “Buzzword Bingo” and not an expert at those listed.

Don’t list the exact same functions on every job

We do like to see some details, but when you use the exact same, or virtually the same, verbiage on 3 projects we can’t help to wonder what you really did.  Show your wordsmith and communication skills – this is especially important if you are a business analyst or documentation writer. 

Refrain from including a separate Accomplishments section  Listing a whole page of accomplishments should be saved for your annual Christmas list and not your resume.  Tell me about each of them under your actual work experience where they occurred.   Listing them in accomplishment form will only have me asking you to “Prove it.” 

Give me some background

Many times technical resumes jump into the deep IT  verbage which I am interested in but I would also would like to see if you can explain how your project supported your previous employer.  Consider your resume as if you were telling it to Grandma, give me a paragraph on what the company does as there is  a good chance I may be unaware of the company or industry for that matter.  Draw me into why your project was significant and what it accomplished.  Most IT projects solve a business problem, enlighten me on what it was.

Formatting

Refrain from tables or a lot of formatting in your resume.  Many times what is aligned when you send it may not be presented correctly in the reviewers system. Also, many recruiters reformat your resume into their template before presenting it to clients, so having to strip out complicated table formatting and so forth can significantly slow down your resume from reaching the client.  Keep it clean and simple!  When in doubt, ask for an example of what the recruiter considers his/her “dream format”.  Unlike those who zip, make my life easier with your format, and this “will” earn you points!

According to a Careerbuilder sponsored report  18 percent of the roughly 2,500 hiring managers surveyed have reported seeing more job seekers try unusual tactics to gain attention in 2009.   Up 6% from the previous year.

Some of the better ones are listed below:

     Candidate sent a shoe with a resume “get my foot in the door”

     Sent a cake designed as a business card to include a picture of candidate

     Dressed as an Easter bunny due to proximity to Easter

     Candidate staged a sit in in the lobby

     Candidate washed cars in the parking lot

My personal hiring experience cannot top the above mentioned tactics.  However, at my previous employer I did come across the most unique resume.  The position I was seeking to fill  was a graphic artist .   The resume was a 5×5 folded heavy stock paper which opened up to five pages.  Each page was a different theme and the writing flowed in random fashion.  If that was not impressive enough, the resume was encased in a wooden frame from which the resume slid out.  The wooden frame was decorated  as well.  The candidate was demonstrating first hand his ability to be creative.

The hiring manger was impressed, however the resume was over 2 weeks old and the position was filled.  The hiring manager definitely would have brought in the candidate for an interview.    

Before trying an extreme tactic you may want to call to ensure the position is still open.   As for the resume, I displayed it on the filing cabinet as it was an attractive piece.

In days gone by, a candidate took the time to write a minimum 3 paragraph cover letter to compliment their resume and, if they were really on the mark, printed it on ivory colored linen resume paper and sent it in a matching envelope.  What happened?  The internet is what happened. Now candidates can apply for 5+ opportunities in the time it took yesteryear to compose a cover letter and target his or her resume towards one specific ad.

I am not encouraging candidates to buy up large quantities of stamps and resume paper. However, I do believe offering more information in the submital process and targeting your resume to the opportunity you are seeking will pay dividends in ensuring your resume is in the “Talk To” vs. the “No Thank You” stack.

Candidate A:  Does not compose any introductory text in the submital.  They have 3 of the 5 required skills but only 2 are prominent in the first two pages of the resume.  The third skill is mentioned in the technology section on the last page.

Candidate B:  Composes a concise e-mail and states he has experience in the 3 technologies and lists his recent experience utilizing those 3 skills.  He mentions he does not have the balance of the skills but has utilized similar technologies which may allow the quick assimilation of the skills he is lacking.

As a Recruiter, I am already fully engaged in Candidate B as he has hooked my interest to read the resume and validate his email response.   Although neither has all 5 skills in the IT area, most candidates never truly hit all the bells and whistles we truly hope for.   I know more about candidate B and know he has taken the time to fully read the ad, responded with a concise answer to the skills I am seeking and acknowledges he has deficiencies, but points out he may have similar skills in adjacent technologies.

As a recruiter I am always thinking “prove it” when I see the laundry list of skills.  Where, how long, and to what depth are the questions running through my mind as I read through the candidate’s resume.

The best advice I can give is even if you have all the skills somewhere in your resume, don’t assume that the person reading it will read it all the way and be able to identify that you are a keeper.  One cannot be sure of the technical comprehension skills of the individual who is the first screener.  A brief introduction on why you are a good candidate will ensure that your resume gets the attention it warrants.