Once you have completed your resume and BEFORE you distribute it, you need to optimize your LinkedIn profile. This is crucial because, according to an April, 2011 Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) survey, 95% of employers and virtually every recruiter will look you up on LinkedIn before calling you. So your LinkedIn Profile needs to be in synch with your brand messaging on the resume.

Here we will review the key factors in developing and optimizing your LinkedIn Profile.

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The first thing that most people do when searching for a position is to go to the job boards.

Although this was the best thing to do in the past, the job boards are not really the most effective way to find positions today. Here we talk about some of the best practices to optimize the impact of job boards on your job search.

See the full article at: http://bit.ly/kL1T3t

I have written and seen thousands of IT Executive resumes and a lot of them are missing the point. This article will describe the key elements that should be in an IT Executive resume.

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At some point, the IT professional rising from the ranks needs to make a major career decision: do I advance my career as a hands-on technical professional or should I focus on managing technical people? Here are some key points to consider when making this major IT career decision.

Continue reading "IT Career Cross-Roads: Do I Stay Technical or Move to Management?" >>

Having reviewed and written thousands of resumes for project managers, I still see common mistakes that most people make that cause their resume to be less than effective. In short, they don’t address the most important things an employer wants to know. So let’s look at the key points that should be addressed on your project manager resume.

Continue reading "Inside Secrets; How to Write a Great Project Manager Resume" >>

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Try this: pick up your resume and scan it for 15 seconds. Now put it down and write down what you can remember. Now ask yourself, “Would I call this person”? If your IT executive resume does not have a clear value proposition that compels someone to call you, then you need to make some changes. Here are 4 ways to do that and immediately improve your results.

Continue reading "4 Quick Ways To Improve Your IT Executive Resume" >>

By now you’ve learned the traditional ways of job searching don’t work anymore. A few years ago you could put your resume up on Monster and Career Builder and wait for the phone to ring. Those days are gone. So here are 5 things you can easily do that will quickly improve your job search results.

Continue reading "5 Ways to Instantly Improve Your Job Search Results" >>

Acronyms abound in the IT and software development fields. Most of them, from SDLC to VOIP, are as well known as TV. But lists of acronyms can quickly make your resume unreadable. They may also give you a false sense of security. You believe your resume covers everything a company could look for, and that might be true if your resume is read by a technology-aware person.

Continue reading "Resume: Turn Acronyms into Achievements" >>

LinkedIn just announced 2 breakthrough capabilities for employers searching for candidates, which means you cannot afford not to be on LinkedIn anymore.

The Referral Engine lets companies find high-quality applicants by tapping the professionals in their employees' LinkedIn networks. Referral Engine recommends the most qualified professionals from within employees' LinkedIn networks. Email and LinkedIn homepage reminders suggest the best candidates, allowing employees to make referrals with just a few clicks.

LinkedIn also announced Jobs for You, which allows companies to distribute their job openings ONLY to individuals with matching backgrounds. You can pick your audience based on LinkedIn profile data including function, seniority, industry, and more.

So what does this mean to the job seeker? The major job boards are dead. Employers received far too many unmatched resumes at too high a cost. Employers and recruiters are flocking to LinkedIn to source candidates. Jobs for You ensures that only high caliber, well-matched candidates are sources while the Referral Engine helps find candidates through employee referrals. Bottomline, you must have an OPTIMIZED profile on LinkedIn and you should make sure you are well-networked to those who can refer you, which can be done through Groups and other tools.

A long time ago I was being screened over lunch by an executive search firm. Everything was going fine and as we reached dessert, the partner looked me straight in the eye and asked, “What would you do if you inherited an elephant?”

I kind of laughed but he quickly followed up by saying, “I mean it, what would you do?”.

I gave him my answer and then asked him why he would ask such a question.

Apparently the answers you give tell a lot about your makeup, he told me. For example, a sales person would tell you ways to make money giving rides, a marketing person would showcase it into a promotion and an operations person would worry about care and feeding.

I actually found this to be very accurate and have used it over the years. What’s your thought?

A lot of people are taking temp-to-perm jobs lately. This is a great way to keep their skills fresh, earn a paycheck and hopefully be offered that coveted full-time position with benefits. Here are some tips to make sure you are #1 on the boss’ list for permanent status.

Of course you should put forth an A+ effort on the job. Produce high quality work consistent on time and make friends with everyone. Never say anything bad about anything. Nonetheless, plenty of other people can do this too, so here is what will get you that special edge.

Find out the things that your boss is measured on and consider how you can help him meet his goals. Then learn about his boss and any key influencers who can affect your boss’ career.

Now think about ways you can make him look good and meet his goals. Subtly suggest that you have found ways to improve things or another area you can help and you will have transformed your relationship from boss/temp to trusted ally.

Who do you think will be chosen for permanent status then?