Warning: I’m on a rant. Yesterday’s Wall St. Journal had an article called “Behind ‘Shortage’ of Engineers: Employers Grow More Choosy” (if I could figure out the URL, I would paste it in here, but I can’t figure out how to do that. Sharon Begley is the author, and the WSJ requires registration. If you’re […]
Christian Sepulveda has a lovely post, Guidelines for Being a Strong Job Candidate. Some of his gems (these are all from his post): A prospective employer has no attention span whatsoever. You are selling yourself to an employer. What would make it a “no-brainer” to hire me? Notice his emphasis on communication skills given that
During a recent workshop, one of the hiring managers asked, “How do we attract people to unattractive jobs, such as contract or temporary positions?” The first thing is to change your mindset. This job might be unattractive to you, but it’s bound to be attractive to other people. This job is an opportunity to some
Sometimes, I work with managers who can’t tell the differences between technical people. They seem to think all developers (or testers or project managers or whomever) are equivalent. If you’ve ever tried to make the case for hiring the best people, read Joel Spolsky’s Hitting the High Notes. Spolsky says … duplication of software is
I received a pointer to Write and Get Hired today. And like most busy people, I didn’t read the blurb. Maybe the article will work for you, but I don’t find verbalizing my goals to be helpful. I do find writing them down helpful. But you can write and get hired. Write an article for
Last week, while driving to/from parents and funerals (my folks are fine), I had several long talks with my sister, who’s looking for a job. She’s the best salesperson I’ve ever met. She’s great at selling, and stays friendly with her clients over the years. She stopped selling in high tech about 16 years ago
I’ve ranted about certifications before. But I recently encountered another job description with a certification that I just don’t understand. For a Quality Manager (not a Director or VP), the description asked for PMP. (The PMP is the PMI’s certification for project managers.) Here’s why I think requiring any certification is nuts: all the certification
Louise Fletcher in What’s Your Email Address? says “Choose an address that is as bland and professional as possible.” Well, I don’t know that I would categorize a professional email address as bland, but then, I’m a geek. But I absolutely agree with Louise about the suitability of the email address she referred to “sexyeyes…”
In a previous comment, a reader points to a resume that’s written like a cross between a cover letter and a resume. While the resume has a number of useful points, the resume is too quick to tell possible hiring managers what they are doing wrong. That dismissal of what hiring managers sometimes do also
Mike has a fine (and funny) piece on what to do (and a little about what not to do) as a candidate, Applying for a Java job – HOWTO. His major points: Your cover letter or email should be in readable English Your experience should be relevant Read the bloody job ad (his words, not