What’s your next move? Will you respond with:

1. Great!
2. Start rambling on with a list of excuses as to why you do not do well on tests.
3. Refuse to take the test.

Your response is really important, so make it wisely.

If you go with option 2 or 3, you’re going to be sending up major red flags to the recruiter and this will most likely put a quick end to your resume making it to the next step. A candidate who truly has the skills that the position is requesting should go with option 1. Most IT candidates do like the challenge of a test and those that take it will get something out of the testing – from an experience perspective and from showing a positive attitude towards the process to the recruiter.  Even if you’re truly not a great test taker, do the best you can, keep your excuses to a minimum, and then back up your skills with extra details, samples, and references. Remember, the recruiter is there to help their client sort through the candidates and help the best rise to the top.

A Brief Real World Example

A candidate was applying for a position with a recruiter that they had worked with previously. They had taken a test for the last position and did not get a good score.  When the issue of testing came up for this new position, the candidate reminded the recruiter that the previous test did not go well and proceeded to on about how impractical the test was and that the recruiter should measure their skills based on how some other firm screens their candidates.

The recruiter was less than impressed with having the candidate implying their process was substandard. This, added to a previous poor test score, sent the candidates resume to the “undesirable” pile rather than the “submit to client” pile.

Lessons Learned

The lesson of this example is that you will get farther by simply doing your best and having a positive attitude rather than by complaining and making excuses, no matter how well crafted your excuses are. Ultimately, the recruiter is responsible for bringing only the best candidates to their client. Clients care about both technical and soft skills, such as a candidate’s ability to work with others, follow processes, and communicate effectively. Thus, the best candidates are those that the recruiter feels will both fit into their client’s culture and team and are able to do the job they are being hired for.  Hint: pick option 1!

Here’s a prime example of what not to do:  I recently had an applicant or respondent to a posting for a higher level position who kept my hackles up.   The resume was in summary format, which does not work well for me or my clients, and was two pages. The most recent block of time was 8 years as an “independent consultant” and listed a bunch of summary skills and so on.  I emailed the applicant and asked if he had a more detailed resume and gave them more info on what he had done as an independent consultant.  The applicant indicated they did not have a more detailed resume.  I asked if they could detail out the last three projects.  I was asking for name of client, project details, duration and their role on the project.   The same information that would be contained in any detailed resume.  The applicant countered that a phone conversation would be better.  I reiterated without some details I was not willing to chat via the phone.   The applicant again requested a phone conversation…  Okay red flag, danger, danger, abort mission.

In the point and click world of applying for a position, recruiters will be asking some questions to gauge interest of the applicant about the opportunity and about qualifications.   When an applicant only provides a summary and evades giving details, it makes the recruiter suspect things like that there are large blocks of unemployment, likely not that many clients, and probably some short duration projects which may have been realizations that the individual did not have the skills. Regardless of what some “career” sites tell you, the days of a one page resume short on details are long gone.  Clients want to see detailed resumes that cover the last three positions in great detail with slightly less detail on other positions going back up to 10 years (depending on your length of professional career). These detailed resumes will aid in the employment process taking you from the big pile of applicants to candidate and on to the interview phase. The moral of the story – skip the summary style resume, two page resumes are great for entry level, and include verifiable details.

Your references should be a supervisor or someone familiar with your work product. Hiring staff are not interested in personal references. We are looking for recent managers and supervisors who can answer specific work questions based on your resume and the previous interview sessions.

Maintaining an up to date listing and adding new references as assignments end will pay off in your job search. Remember, it’s not just the quantity of references you have, but also the quality of those references!

While I may be dating myself with this story, it would seem that in all the years that have passed and with the improvements in technology, this is still a common issue. Once again, this type of issue came across my desk in an article from Yahoo Finance titled the “18 Common Work Email Mistakes.” Seven of them struck a note with me as a professional recruiter. My thoughts on these follow.

Reply All: Since I witnessed Joe’s mistake years ago I have to force myself to hit “Reply All”. I take pause and review my message carefully to make sure it’s appropriate to be made public to the world before sending. Revise! Revise! Revise!

Expecting a Quick Response:  If you fire off an email you may want to wait some time before asking if they received it. While pushing the send button is instantaneous, your message may have to travel a complex electronic path and make it through a number of gatekeepers and filters before reaching its final destination. Urgent time sensitive issues should be dealt with using another communication median – phones still work!

Not Reviewing all new messages before replying: This one is easy when you have been out of the office for any length of time.  Try that sort by the from name or subject option in your email client to triage the messages. If you are lucky the issue was resolved in your absence!

Using incorrect Subject Lines: If you’re emailing someone about a new topic, don’t be lazy and just reply to the last message they sent you! Start a new message with the appropriate Subject. However, if the topic of the thread is evolving over time, yet the prior conversation is still relevant to the point of your email, then update the subject to the current point. Your Subject Line is your Headline and focus your email – keep it on point!

Angry Emails: “Cool Heads Prevail”  and most times tone is difficult to perceive in an email.  Reviewing your email will help cool your tone as you self edit. Don’t expect someone to try to decipher your intent by “knowing how you are”, when your words are saying something quite different when taken literally.

Include Basic Greeting: We all have names and a common greeting and closing is good email etiquette. Include a Hey, Hi, or Hello at the very least!

Sending before you mean to/forgetting Email attachments: This one is my personal “Kryptonite.” If I fail to reread, I am likely to forget a thought or point or the attachment.  Monday’s seem to be the worst days to forget the attachment. Be safe, add that attachment first thing and leave the “to” field blank until you’re ready to send to be safe!

Be safe, think before you send!

Network Systems and Data Analysts, those who keep up communicating will experience rapid growth as well.  According to the Bureu of Labor Statistics the profession is to grow by 53.4%

Keeping all of us connected demands more and more  software applications which will lead to a projected increase of 34% for Software Engineers.

 1)      Programming and Application Development

2)      Project Management

3)      Help Desk/Technical Support

4)      Networking

5)      Security

6)      Data Center

7)      Web 2.0

8)      Telecommunications

9)      Business Intelligence

10)  Collaboration Architecture

11)  Business Acumen and Communication Skills       

 Entire Article Link

 http://www.infoworld.com/d/adventures-in-it/11-hot-skills-2011-242?page=0,0&source=rss_infoworld_news

 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.

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.

A full 70% of surveyed HR workers in the U.S. admitted to rejecting a job applicant because of his or her Internet behavior. 

86% of U.S. HR staffers surveyed indicated that a good online reputation can have a positive impact on a job candidate’s chances. 

The above results in a recent Microsoft based survey definitely reinforce the point that one needs to be wary of what you post to your social networking sites and more importantly what your friends may be posting to their sites. 

If you are active in social networking be sure to review your content and you may want to pay attention to what your friends have posted about you as well.  The phone that also is able to snap a picture makes it all too easy for content which may not be flattering to your online image to be posted within minutes.