Have you ever been reluctant to include a company on your resume because of a negative experience at that company? If so, have you considered the cost of that avoidance? Employment gaps never look good on a resume. In addition to that, perhaps it was a notable company where you had achieved some degree of success, and now neither are featured on your resume.

A Real Life Example
I was speaking with a fellow recruiter who was dealing with just such a situation. A talented developer, when younger and less mature, had become frustrated with a fellow co-worker. In a temporary moment of “brain lapse,” he threw an object against the wall. Despite his notable accomplishments and contributions to the company, he was immediately terminated. As is so often the case with major life lessons, this one taught him very quickly what a foolish thing it was to give in to his childish desires to make a cinematic statement in such a fashion. Truth be told, he said, he hasn’t thrown so much as a baseball since.

Two Tips in One Issue!
My first tip is the obvious one: whenever possible, don’t burn your bridges—no matter how good you think it will feel at the time! For reasons already stated above, that brief moment of satisfaction generally comes at a price.

You Want Me to do What?
My second tip addresses those situations where the deed was already done. For our candidate above, we still have the sticky problem of how to best deal with this past tarnish on his otherwise sterling career. The advice my recruiter friend gave him was to consider that maybe enough time had gone by and enough personal growth had taken place that it might be opportune to go back to the previous employer and fix that burned bridge by addressing and repairing their previous relationship. Yes, direct and probably uncomfortable, and certainly without guarantees—but I have to believe that most employers would thoroughly respect such an effort.

If it makes sense to do so, consider turning that burned bridge into a career asset by tackling it head-on. You might be surprise how it could positively impact your career.

My eighteen year old son had his first job interview a few days ago. While prepping for the big event, he did some on-line research and located a list of common interview questions, and the best way to respond to them. We then practiced how he would answer the ones that I figured were most likely to arise. As it turned out, it was a purely technical interview and none of them even came up—but it did get me thinking about the topic of interview questions and how to best answer them. Top on my list was how one should answer any question that is asked, and my advice for that is something I read years ago:

“Say A Few Words” (SAFW)

S: Make an opening Statement
A: Amplify that statement
F: Provide a Few examples
W: Wrap it up

You can bet that interviewers will place just as much importance on how a candidate answers a question as they will on how correct the answer is—and in some cases, even more. In fact, just a few weeks back, I had two technically competent candidates rejected, in part because they violated some of the key points of this SAFW formula. So let’s briefly take a look at each of these.

First, keep in mind the sentence as a whole: Say a few words! Both of these candidates lost out on a good opportunity because they were FAR too verbose in their answers. A candidate who doesn’t know how to be brief and succinct in his or her answers is a huge red flag to hiring managers.

Some examples.

INTERVIEW QUESTION: Have you ever created a chocolate chip cookie recipe?

Opening Statement: Yes, I have.

Amplify that statement: From 2005-2008, that was my primary responsibility and I learned quite a bit during that time period about making chocolate chip cookies.

Provide a Few examples: I created a Choco-Chocolate chip cookie recipe for Gourmet Markets Baked Delights. That one went on to become one of their best selling cookies. Prior to that, I designed a Macadamia White Chocolate Chip Cookie, for the One Horn Steak House chain, which actually won the prestigious Platinum Cookie Recipe award.

Wrap it Up: As a result of these experiences, I feel well qualified to create cookie recipes.

And then—very important—keep quiet and wait for the next question.

Aside from keeping it brief, probably the next most important aspect to this formula is providing a few examples. It’s one thing to say you did something, but an entirely different one to provide the demonstrated proof behind your claim. It’s the difference between a mediocre connection and the solid whack of your driver against the ball letting you know before it’s even in the air that you’re landing on the green. Make your claim, but be prepared to back it up with some specifics.

Come up with some practice questions of your own, and practice applying SAFW. I guarantee that your interviews will be stronger as a result.

According to Alan Robbins, a Senior Architect with Stout Systems, the answer is an unequivocal yes. Even if your current position is secure and you have no intention of looking for a new one any time soon, Microsoft Certifications are a good idea.

What is a Hiring Manager Looking For?
Most hiring managers are looking for the A player (human resource jargon for that talented individual who will outperform the B and C players by up to a factor of five). The candidate’s problem, however, is that he or she is competing against a lot of other resumes, and during a recession it only gets more difficult. For a standard job announcement during a down economy, hiring managers are likely to see three times the number of C players, twice the number of B players, but the same number of A players. The noise level dramatically increases. With your resume buried in that large pile, how do you get noticed? It’s not as difficult as you might think.

A-Players Stand Out
B and C players show up for work and do what is asked of them. But A players sharpen their skills outside of work. They read tech blogs, subscribe to tech magazines, and are passionate about their craft. And A players are much more likely to be certified than B or C players.

Are Certified Developers Necessarily Better?
No. And being certified does not guarantee you of getting a job. But it does demonstrate a level of commitment—and that makes it much more likely that yours will be the resume picked out of the stack.

Some Different Types of Certifications
Passing a single exam qualifies you to be a “Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist.” Pick a product that you are already familiar with, do your homework, pass one test, and you immediately stand out. Pass several related exams and you become a “Microsoft Certified Professional.” Above that, there are Certified Master and Certified Architect programs that require a demonstration of even greater competence. Numerous studies have shown that the top level certifications are worth as much in terms of lifetime compensation as an MBA from an accredited university. There are fewer than 100 Microsoft Certified Architects on the planet. It is a safe bet they are not unemployed.

Look for our upcoming Stout Systems Quarterly Newsletter where Alan will go into detail on the specifics of Microsoft Certifications, how to prepare for the exams, what to expect on “exam day” and strategies for scoring well on your test.

Something I am hearing more and more from hiring managers is complaints about the length of candidates’ resumes. As a matter of course, I am seeing resumes that range in length from two to six pages, and sometimes even seven and eight.

Generally, it is expected that a candidate can adequately summarize their career in three pages or less. Yes, this requires making choices about what stays and what goes, but I think Parado’s Principle applies here—80 percent of what an employer wants to see is going to be covered in 20 percent of the resume. The trick is in knowing what the employer wants to see. Generally, an employer wants to see the following:

• A Professional Summary. This is your thirty-second commercial. In a few lines, spotlight your strengths and your years of experience.
• Skills Summary. Often, this is where the eyes go first. Spotlight what you’re strong in, but don’t go pulling everything out of the closet or it’s just going to get cluttered. And if you simply touched it, don’t put it down.
• Employment and Experience History. Company, dates of employment, position held, and a few bullet points of what you brought to the table. Keep your descriptions as brief as possible. If you are describing a current or very recent position, however, this will warrant a lengthier description. Similarly, if it is a position that is quite similar to the one you are applying for, that would warrant more wording as well. On the other hand, a very short contract doesn’t deserve much room at all. Use your judgement on this—but remember, this is just the appetizer to whet their appetite. You’ll give them the main course in the interview.
• A Long and Illustrious Career. If your career has spanned many years and many jobs, keep the detail to the last two or three positions. Anything prior to that, simply list the company, date of employment, position held, and one brief line of description.
• Education and Certifications. Certifications especially are often hot these days.
• Groups, Affiliations and Personal Interests. Make sure to reserve a bit of room for these. They provide the “human” element to your resume.

Remember, recruiters and HR managers are scanning through a TON of resumes. Maximize the chance of yours being looked at closely by following the above.

This month I would like to focus on something I have mentioned in previous issues - the value of attending local user groups. Whether your work involves .NET, Python, Java, Ruby on Rails, Human Factors, Agile, or Scrum, there’s a local user group waiting to share the latest and greatest that field has to offer - and for free! Let’s look at the top reasons to attend local user groups.

Technical Edge
Candidates who are up on the latest and greatest in their field are more desirable to hiring managers. It is not uncommon to hear from a hiring manager, when choosing one candidate over another, to say, “We just didn’t feel that Tom was cutting edge, so we went with Joe.”

Impress Your Boss
Even if you are not looking for a new position, staying up to date and having your finger on the pulse of your particular industry segment can’t help but impress your boss a little bit. And if you are looking for a new position, make sure to note your user group attendance on your resume. It will most likely be noticed by the hiring manager.

Networking
Yes, there is much that can be done with blogs and other online sources (and these are great, too), but user groups provide you the additional opportunity to not only ask your questions to someone face to face, but to network with other developers as well. I cannot emphasize the importance and benefits that can be derived from networking with others in your industry.

Career Transition
If you are finding that your particular industry segment has been “less than active,” perhaps it’s time to begin transitioning your skills to something more in demand. User groups will contribute valuably to this effort both from the educational and the networking aspect.

We would like to encourage and assist you in attending user group meetings. Please email me if you would like us to send you more information about user groups in our region or visit our IT Event & User Group Calendar.