Thursday, March 4, 2010

“Be wary of and #8216;free' resume critiques; trust your job-search process (Fort Wayne News-Sentinel)” plus 2 more

“Be wary of and #8216;free' resume critiques; trust your job-search process (Fort Wayne News-Sentinel)” plus 2 more

Be wary of and #8216;free' resume critiques; trust your job-search process (Fort Wayne News-Sentinel)

Posted: 04 Mar 2010 09:10 AM PST

When you're involved in a process as confusing as job search or career change, it's very tempting to give experts too much credence. For most of us, the more convoluted a situation is, the more we just want someone else to tell us what to do.

Don't worry, this won't be one of those columns about the good old days. But I do wonder about our willingness to give over control for what used to be well-understood processes. The processes themselves aren't simple anymore, and the feeling of being overwhelmed triggers our human desire to let someone else take the reins.

In the old days, some firms would insist that theirs was the only job-search system that worked. Acquiescent clients would leave the office with their heads in a spin over all the ways they had been doing this job search wrong.

These days you might find yourself falling for a free resume critique offered online. There's no upfront cost for this service, so what have you got to lose?

Invariably, you will receive a two- or three-page response to your e-mailed resume, and somewhere in the first paragraph will be the sentence, "I hope you don't mind if I am blunt." I've seen these from a dozen different groups, and they all lead with the idea that it's only by hurting you a little that they're going to help you a lot.

So off come the gloves and by the time your free critique has ended, you're feeling about two feet tall. Luckily, they have a solution, and it will only involve a little money on your part. For the most part, the money is not an enormous sum, which somehow makes the whole thing feel more legitimate.

And indeed, they do write you a new resume, so you've gotten something for your money. Everyone wins. Except that there may not have been that much wrong with your first resume.

The bottom line? Trust yourself, and trust your process. If you set some benchmarks for yourself and work to meet them, you will have something to evaluate. But if you're simply sending resumes out with no plan, you will have no way of knowing what's not working and why. And remember – without enough outreach, you will have no data to evaluate. Pick up your pace for awhile and you may be able to see for yourself what needs fixing.

Amy Lindgren owns Prototype Career Service, a career consulting firm in St. Paul. She can be reached at alindgren@prototype careerservice.com or at 626 Armstrong Ave., St. Paul, MN 55102.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

IT Managers' Higher-Level Job-Search Needs Are Addressed in New Book (PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance)

Posted: 04 Mar 2010 04:40 AM PST

WESTPORT, Conn., March 4 /PRNewswire/ -- IT managers seeking an edge in today's job market will find it in Debugging Your Information Technology® Job Search: A Compass to Winning the Management Position You Really Want (Elegant Fix Press). Janice Weinberg wrote it after concluding that the advice found in books written for general audiences inadequately addressed computer professionals' needs, and that books written for IT readers were primarily geared toward non-managerial personnel.

Weinberg is uniquely qualified to advise IT managers on job-search strategies:

  • IBM and GE computer background: systems programming, strategic planning, marketing, sales management
  • Former adjunct faculty member of GE's Management Development Institute
  • Founder of Career Solutions, which serves an international clientele


Readers seeking information technology management jobs, including director, CIO and CTO positions, will learn how to craft resumes consistent with their level. Specifically:

  • Why including a technical skills section listing platforms, processes and software can undermine a manager's ability to generate interviews
  • Why mentioning certain responsibilities and strengths can downgrade your image - and how to know which ones to omit
  • 20 IT-specific questions to mine your experience for accomplishments
  • Guidance in transforming bland project statements - e.g., "Developed a CRM application," "Consolidated three data centers," "Reorganized the IT department for greater productivity" - into compelling accomplishments that convey a higher-level image
  • Samples of IT manager resumes and cover letters
  • Tips for IT professionals targeting their first managerial position


Job-hunters disappointed with their results from using IT job boards, IT recruiters and networking will learn:

  • How to easily identify employers meeting their geographic, industry, size, and other criteria
  • How they can significantly expand their employment opportunities if they possess a particular non-technical capability
  • Novel ways to find unadvertised jobs
  • How to identify companies more likely to have openings during a recession
  • How to capitalize on the fact that many new hires don't stay in their jobs very long
  • How to use the telephone to negotiate an interview, with a script demonstrating how an IT manager should deal with an executive's objections  


Readers will learn novel ideas and practical suggestions for promoting themselves as they participate in each employer's IT recruitment process, including:

  • Vital information to obtain when you receive an interview invitation - and how to use it
  • Important documents to bring to an IT management interview
  • The one document that anyone seeking an IT marketing or product development job must bring to an interview
  • Why the mini-biographical response most people give to "Tell me about yourself" is a wasted opportunity
  • Four alternative responses to "What compensation are you seeking?" and how to determine which to use
  • A strategy for giving an original, impressive response to virtually any interview question - instead of the canned answers most people give
  • How to skillfully deal with not having an educational credential that competing candidates possess
  • How job-hunters unintentionally make interviewers feel uncomfortable, including a common mistake at the end of an interview
  • Samples of the kinds of thank-you letters that can elevate an IT management candidate to the top of the slate
  • Why many candidates fail to convert the second interview into an offer
  • How to determine whether a reason for rejection is valid
  • A strategy that can get you an offer after you've been rejected


Weinberg's previous book, Debugging Your Information Technology® Career, features 20 fields that allow computer professionals seeking a change from traditional IT career paths to leverage - rather than waste - the investment in their education and experience.


This release was issued through eReleases(TM).  For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Get help in job search at community library (Arizona Range News)

Posted: 03 Mar 2010 01:17 PM PST

Sponsored by:

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.
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