Friday, July 30, 2010

Stay Updated on Our Latest Job Postings: Become a Consultis Fan on Facebook!

The next time you’re catching up with friends on Facebook, why not take a minute to advance your career?


Consultis is a member of the ever-growing Facebook community, and we invite you to become a fan of our regularly updated page. You’ll have access to useful content and features, including:

· the latest job postings

· timely, insightful IT talk on our discussion boards

· information on upcoming IT events

· a look inside Consultis through our videos and photos

· the opportunity to network with over 700 fellow Consultis fans!



Since 1984, Consultis has been a coast-to-coast provider of career opportunities for skilled, hardworking IT professionals. We know the marketplace, we know the IT industry and we’ve built deep and trusting relationships with leading businesses nationwide. Our Facebook page gives you access to the latest jobs available at our client organizations.



Use our page to make career contacts today!

http://www.facebook.com/consultis

Monday, July 26, 2010

Why Your Resume Isn't Working

by Mike O'Brien, Climber.com

If you're like most job seekers, you're probably satisfied with a resume that does a good job of positioning you and presenting your skills and experience.

Unfortunately, "good" isn't good enough anymore. Climber.com recently polled its entire national database of recruiters, and that poll shows that these one- to two-page documents have never been more critical to the professional job-search process.

The primary reason is sheer volume: recruiters are now reviewing at least 300 resumes per posted position, and taking approximately 10 to 30 seconds per document to decide whether or not a candidate is worthy of further review. Now more than ever, resumes are being used as reasons to say no to a candidate, not yes. What used to be considered minor errors--typographical issues, lack of scanability, or incomplete or poorly executed job-experience descriptions--are now enough to get your resume discarded.

To keep this from happening to you, consider the following tips:

Use generic 12-point fonts. Climber.com's recruiters became visibly frustrated when they had to increase the font size so they could read it.

Save your resume as a Word or PDF document--nothing else. A number of resumes that cross recruiters' desks are saved as CSV or RTF files--but this approach can be dangerous. More than one recruiter said that they are unable to open odd files due to their company's policies.

Create an easily scanned document. Experienced recruiters can scan a resume in less than 30 seconds. They have trained themselves to process a resume quickly, and then sort it into the "yes" pile or the "no" pile. Resumes that appear confusing or too dense don't fare well in this system.

Optimize your resume with the appropriate keywords. Research the companies that interest you the most, and see what keywords they utilize over and over again in their website content. If those keywords aren't present in your resume, you may not pass the automated review process many employers now use to weed out non-viable resumes.

Provide context for little-known companies. If you've worked at a company that isn't top-of-mind for a recruiter, explain a bit about the organization within your resume. For example, the following description not only names the organization but also positions it well for a recruiter's consideration:

"Medical Device ABC, a $30,000,000 leading manufacturer of medical equipment, located in New York, with approximately 300 employees"

Your resume is often the first opportunity you have to share yourself and your experience with a prospective employer--and you often won't get a second chance. If you don't feel confident enough to make changes to your own resume, many career-management sites offer resume-analysis services that provide feedback and guidance. Whether you seek outside guidance or do it yourself, however, take the time to create the best resume you can. It will help get you noticed by the people who matter.


Mike O'Brien is an innovative entrepreneur dedicated to helping others create breakthrough success, and is the founder and CEO of Climber.com, one of the nation's leading online career-management sites. For more information about how to find your perfect career, visit www.Climber.com, or connect with Mike on LinkedIn.

Friday, July 16, 2010

What NOT to do: 7 ways to ruin your resume

by CBS MoneyWatch.com

By Hillary Chura

In the time it takes you to read this paragraph, the average recruiter will have plowed through six resumes. (We know; we timed one.) Want to increase the chances of your resume making it to the next round? Then don’t do any of these seven things, which recruiters say — more than anything — make them want to push the “shred” button.

1. Apply for a job for which you are not remotely qualified
Many candidates believe the job hunt is a numbers game — drop enough resumes, and you’re bound to land something. But shotguns are for hunting pheasant, not finding jobs. The reality is that recruiters hate wasting time on resumes from unqualified candidates. Morgan Miller, an executive recruiter at StaffMark, recalls the security guard who applied to be a financial risk manager (maybe Lehman should have hired him), while Scott Ragusa at Winter, Wyman talks of the aerial photographer who sought out a position as a tax specialist.

“Sorting through unqualified resumes is frustrating, unproductive and puts an extra burden on staff,” says Katherine Swift, Senior Account Director at KCSA Strategic Communications in Natick, Mass. “It also makes it much more challenging to find the right candidate.” So the next time you’re thinking of blasting out resumes to all 60 of the job listings on Monster.com that have the word “finance” in them , save your time (and that of the recruiters) and only apply for ones for which you’re qualified.

2. Include a lofty mission statement
More than ever, today’s savage job market is about the company, not the candidate. As such, mission or objective statements — particularly ones with an applicant’s hopes, dreams, and health insurance aspirations — will dispatch otherwise fine resumes to the circular file. Employers don’t care about how they can solve your problems — certainly not before they’ve met you and possibly not even after they’ve hired you. Instead, write an “objectives” statement that explains specifically how your skills and experience will help the company you’re applying to, not the other way around. And be very clear about what kind of job you’re seeking.

3. Use one generic resume for every job listing
To stand out amongst the sea of resumes that recruiters receive, yours must speak to each and every specific position, even recycling some of the language from the job description itself. Make it obvious that you will start solving problems even before you’ve recorded your outgoing voicemail message. Your CV or query letter should include a just touch of industry lingo — sufficient to prove you know your stuff but not so much that you sound like a robot. And it should speak to individual company issues and industry challenges, with specifics on how you have personally improved customer loyalty, efficiency, and profitability at past jobs, says workplace and performance consultant Jay Forte. Plus, each morsel should be on point.

“Think hard about how to best leverage each piece of information to your job search advantage,” says Wendy Enelow, a career consultant and trainer in Virginia. “Nothing in your resume should be arbitrary, from what you include in your job descriptions and achievement statements, to whether your education or experience comes first [recent grads may want to put education first] to how you format your contact information.”

4. Make recruiters or hiring managers guess how exactly you can help their client
Sourcing experts want to know — immediately — what someone can offer, and they won’t spend time noodling someone’s credentials. “Animal, vegetable or mineral? Doctor, lawyer or Indian chief?That’s what I’m wondering every time I open a resume. If it takes me more than a split second to figure this out, I feel frustrated,” says Mary O’Gorman, a veteran recruiter based in Brooklyn.

5. Don’t explain how past experience translates to a new position
Though candidates should avoid jobs where they have no experience, they absolutely should pursue new areas and positions if they can position their experience effectively. A high school English teacher applying for new jobs, for example, can cite expertise in human resource management, people skills, record keeping, writing, and training, says Anthony Pensabene, a professional writer who works with executives.

“Titles are just semantics; candidates need to relate their ‘actual’ skills and experiences to the job they’re applying for in their resume,” Pensabene says. An applicant who cannot be bothered to identify the parallels between the two likely won’t be bothered with interviews, either.

6. Don’t include a cover letter with your resume
A cover letter should always accompany a resume — even if it’s going to your best friend. And that doesn’t mean a lazy “I’m _____ and I’m looking for a job in New York; please see my attached resume.” Says Lindsay Olson, a partner at Manhattan’s Paradigm Staffing: “I’d like to know why you are contacting me (a particular position, referral, etc.), a short background about yourself, and a career highlight or two. It’s important to attempt to set yourself apart from the competition.”

7. Be careless with details
Reckless job hunters rarely make for conscientious workers. As such, even promising resumes must abide by age-old dictums: typo-free, proper organization, and no embellishment. Susan Whitcomb, author of Resume Magic: Trade Secrets of a Professional Resume Writer, says that almost 80 percent of HR managers she surveyed said they would dismiss otherwise qualified candidates who break these rules. She tells the story of one would-be employer who, when looking for an assistant, decided not to hire anyone because every resume she received contained typos.

“With a 6-to-1 ratio of jobseekers-to-jobs in the current marketplace, you can’t afford to make mistakes with your resume,” Whitcomb says.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Successful Phone Interviewing

by Todd Bermont, for www.123Movers.com

A phone interview gives an interviewer a better idea of who the person behind the resume is. Todd Bermont of The Careers College gives his top five dos and don'ts below, so you'll shine over the phone and land that face-to-face interview:

Don't "wing" your phone interviews. Do prepare as if they were face-to-face interviews.
Prepare and practice at least three hours for every one-hour phone interview. Research the company, know their mission statement, and create a message about how you can help them succeed. Finally, put together a list of questions you want to ask about the opportunity.

Don't talk too much. Do ask open-ended questions.
When it comes to job interviewing, we were given two ears and one mouth for a reason. We should be listening twice as much as we are talking. The best interviews are the ones where the interviewer is doing most of the talking. Ask open-ended questions that will help you uncover the interviewer's vision of the ideal candidate, the challenges the company is currently facing, the needs for the position, and the critical factors necessary to succeed on the job. With that information, you can position yourself as the best candidate for the job.

Don't forget to confirm logistics. Do confirm time, time zone, and so on.
In many cases, you''ll be interviewing with someone far away. Many a phone interview was missed because the time zone was not confirmed. Are you sure that your 9:30 a.m. interview is at 9:30 a.m. your time? Make sure you confirm not only the time but also the time zone. Secondly, confirm who will initiate the call and what numbers will be used. Get the interviewer's land line and cell phone in case connections are missed.

Don't forget to ask for the order. Do determine your desired outcome and go for it.
Usually, the goal of a phone interview is to earn a face-to-face interview. During your phone interview, show the proper enthusiasm for the job. At the end of the interview, convey your interest and ask for the next step in the hiring process.

Don't set yourself up for failure. Do position yourself for success.
That means, ideally, taking the interview in a secluded and quiet home office. Try to use a land line if at all possible, because cell phone connections can be dropped. Remove any clutter from your home office so you can fully focus on the interview. Dress as if you were in a face-to-face interview. Smile and keep the proper posture. Even try taking the call standing up, as you will sound more authoritative and confident. Over 90 percent of all communication is non-verbal, even over the phone. Interviewers can sense your subconscious energy.

Finally, believe you are the best person for the job. If you don't believe it, nobody else will. Visualize the success. Have fun, be prepared, and expect success, and you'll have winning phone interviews.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

VCC adds cybersecurity, digital forensics

Orlando Business Journal - by Melanie Stawicki Azam Staff Writer

Valencia Community College will offer a new cybersecurity and digital forensics program starting this fall.

The college got a $547,000 National Science Foundation grant to develop the new curriculum within its computer engineering technology associate’s degree program.

The computer forensics and digital forensics field is growing, said Richard Walters, a forensic technician with Data Analyzers, an Orlando firm that does computer forensics and data recovery. Judges and attorneys now recognize the importance of digital artifacts in court, and “we have more devices that are Internet capable where information can be stored.”

Valencia’s new focus could lead to partnerships with agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and attract more businesses specializing in these areas, said Gaby Hawat, Valencia’s executive dean for economic development and special assistant to the president for strategic initiatives. “If we put ourselves on the national map that we are doing cybersecurity and homeland security,” he said, “that may give more visibility to the area.”