When the U.S. economy crashed in 2007, much of corporate America went into a spending freeze.  The Information Technology, security, and audio/visual (A/V) industries were especially impacted.  Today, the IT and U.S. economy as a whole appear to be on the rebound with industry pundits suggesting consumer confidence is back, especially after a strong second quarter that has economists believing we will close 2014 on solid footing. In fact, the gross domestic product expanded at a higher than expected 4 percent annual rate after shrinking to just 2.1 percent in the first quarter. Consumer spending, which amounts to two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, grew by 2.5 percent, another sure sign that the U.S. economic picture is improving.

Security, A/V, and telecommunications services are just a few of the industry sectors that are beginning to capitalize on the increased flow of consumer dollars. Confidence and competitiveness are returning to the market as evidenced by the large number of mergers and acquisitions that have occurred during this year alone. Companies are expanding in new directions, and the smarter ones have or are acquiring firms with the additional expertise needed to grow in new areas. For example, Carousel Industries, which integrates and manages a wide range of technology solutions, unified its A/V and video conferencing services after acquiring OmniPresence, an A/V integrator. And all signs indicate that confidence will remain high in this sector for the foreseeable future.

Market improvement has caused business leaders to once again resume spending on research and development (R&D) of new products and services. Spending on industrial equipment is also on the rise, as businesses look to upgrade infrastructure and core networks while maintaining A/V and improve security.

More private sector companies are hiring IT professionals to oversee the purchase and installation of new projects and these critical upgrades. Companies are broadening their service offerings, switching from interconnects to PBX and changing the way they communicate with themselves and others – adding display and A/V equipment for sales, meetings, presentations, and collaborations while updating security, wireless local area networks (LANs), structured cabling and low voltage power.  As more organizations incorporate A/V into sales, the market has barely kept up with the demand for experts specializing in A/V installers, project managers and lead installers.

If you are an IT professional looking for work in the aforementioned sectors, J. Patrick & Associates wants to hear from you. With over 20 years of executive recruiting experience, J. Patrick & Associates has the resources to connect you with the right organization. Click here to contact a representative and get started in the recruiting process today.

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One pet peeve that really irritates a recruiter or potential employer is when a candidate shows even a little bit of executive arrogance. If you do come off as arrogant the chances of being hired decrease significantly. Simply put, people only hire people they like.

Chances are that you may not be conscious when you’re coming off as arrogant. In fact, you may not even think you are being arrogant, but it could very possibly be a different case from the recruiter’s perspective.

Below you’ll find four ways that you may be unknowingly sabotaging the job opportunitywith some executive arrogance.

Writing “see résumé” on applications.

One way in which you may be coming off as arrogant is if you write “see resume” on your application. Again, you may not think this is a big deal, however you have to keep in mind that there’s a reason that application exists – it’s to make the recruiter’s life easier.

The sole purpose of an application is to streamline the hiring process. It gives the recruiter a quick overview of what you’re about so they know where to start. If you write “see resume” you impede them from doing so and waste their time.

Acting as if you are above the hiring process.

Everyone, no matter how long they’ve had a career, has to go through the hiring process. This includes interviews, jumping hoops, background checks and anything else the company may deem necessary.

Similar to filling out their application, there is a reason these policies exist and you have to respect that.

You’ll want to avoid thinking that you’re above the rules or that people should already know who you are. The way they see it (and the way you should see it) is that you’re just another candidate like all the others. At the end of the day, you are all on the same playing field and at that moment in time the recruiter has more power than you do.

Being rude to receptionist.

Here’s the thing about being rude to a receptionist: they have more power than you may think. They may simultaneously be the gatekeeper and the spy.

In other words, they will be the ones who screen your calls later on when you try to follow up. Furthermore, you can bet their boss is asking them about how you behave before they even see you.

The same thing applies to any member of the staff. Always be polite and respectfulbecause you never know how much weight they have in making a hiring decision.

Having a “Let them eat cake!” attitude.

Marie Antoinette met her demise because she was completely out of touch with the French people. The same thing can happen to an executive.

You may be far removed from having to move up the steps of the career ladder, but that doesn’t mean you should forget what it’s like.

One way in which this may happen is during situational interview questions. For example, if you constantly interpret information to only reflect your own views rather than taking the entire company into account it may give off the impression that you think you’re always right.

Written by Lisa Rangel, Executive Resume Writer

If you are interested in working with Lisa Rangel, an accomplished executive resume writer, social media profile writer and job search consultant, to achieve social media exposure and interviews you want, sign up for an exploratory call now and learn about the Chameleon Resumes services that can help you land your next role.

What It Takes to Be a Sales Engineer in Today’s Competitive Market

Part I

Sales Engineers are one of the most vital links between a company’s technical products and services and the clientele who purchase them.  For this reason, a Sales Engineer is more than just a typical marketer or salesman.  A Sales Engineer must have a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering as well as advanced knowledge about underlying technological processes in the products they are selling.

The Sales Engineer’s function will become increasingly important during the next few years as a wide range of technologically sophisticated products hit the market. Therefore, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment for these workers will grow an estimated nine percent from 2012 to 2022.  Sales Engineers are being widely used in the telecommunications, security and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) sectors as they help communicate client needs and design requirements for individual projects.  But being a great Sales Engineer requires more than just technical wizardry. It requires a great deal of customer service skill, too

Due to the highly technical nature of the Sales Engineer position, many employers get hung up looking for candidates who are well-versed in technical jargon and sales knowledge, typically focusing on a candidate’s certifications, such as their education, resume and licensure.  As a result, many of the most important qualities that a Sales Engineer needs to serve as a primary liaison are overlooked.  Especially qualified candidates will also display a positive attitude, the ability to prioritize tasks, and a willingness to listen to customer needs.

As a leading technology recruiting firm with over 30 years of experience under its belt, J. Patrick & Associates understands that it takes a lot more than a fancy education and impressive resume to make it as a Sales Engineer in today’s competitive market.  Today’s successful Sales Engineers also display qualities like character, thirst and being a team player.  At J. Patrick & Associates, we traverse the wide gamut of candidates to find the Sales Engineer that is unique, ambitious and assimilates well within your corporate culture – in addition to maintaining the skill sets, education and licensure required by your company.

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Sometimes the perfect executive level job for you just doesn’t seem to exist in your area. You resolve to looking for jobs that require you to relocate thinking this will help expand your job search.

While this may be true, you soon realize there’s a special set of challenges that present themselves when trying to conduct a job search that requires relocation. Use the tips below to show recruiters that you are serious about relocating for the job.

Try Recruiters That Work Within the Company

The first step in applying for a job that requires relocation is to find recruiters who are willing to work with you. This is, unfortunately, a little more complicated than it sounds.

Local third-party recruiters may be skeptical to take you seriously as a candidate.. Reason being that their income (the fees the company is paying them) is contingent upon the candidate actually showing up to work. If the candidate needs to relocate this presents the chance that they will not come through.

The recruiters within the company may be skeptical for the similar reasons. The good news is their pay isn’t contingent upon presenting a candidate which makes them much easier to work with.

Direct recruiters (also known as corporate recruiters) may be more willing to accept your candidacy if you can provide a P.O. Box or a local address. They’ll also be more willing to help you out if you have circumstances that would help you relocate regardless of whether or not you had the job, such as family in the area.

Show Commitment to the Move

This is not the time to say something like “I’m a financial professional looking into filling your CFO position. I’m currently in California but I’m considering a relocation to New York for the position.”

If you want a job that requires relocation you must commit to it. By telling the recruiter you are “considering” relocation this only tells them that you may not be serious. As a result they will not be likely to work with you.

You must remember that recruiters aren’t really looking for candidates outside of the area so you must pursue them with confidence. Furthermore, you have an advantage – when it comes to executive level positions good candidates are hard to come by.

Rather than talking about your considerations use affirmative statements, give dates and take hold of the reigns. For instance, “I am moving to New York and I will be there on the 27th. I’d like to set up an interview for the CFO position. Here are my qualifications.”

Network in the Area

Having personal referrals gets you far when looking for a job that requires relocation. Tap into your network and see if any of your contacts know someone in the area. Connect with the recruiters on LinkedIn or see if your college has any alum in the area.

This gives you the opportunity to reach out to people directly which makes all the difference when wanting to relocate.

No job search is complete without a rock-solid, comprehensive resume which reflects the experience and expertise necessary for your desired position.  If you want to take your resume to the next level to stop recruiters in their tracks, register for our no-cost How to Design a Powerful Executive Resume to Land Interviews…Even If You’re Not An Executive Webinar, live tomorrow, Thursday, Sept 18th at 9:30am EDT.

Written by Lisa Rangel, Executive Resume Writer

If you are interested in working with Lisa Rangel, an accomplished executive resume writer, social media profile writer and job search consultant, to achieve social media exposure and interviews you want, sign up for an exploratory call now and learn about the Chameleon Resumes services that can help you land your next role.

Although we may like to think that we are always in control of our careers, sometimes unforeseen circumstances take us for a loop. One such circumstance is that of an executive layoff. The good news is, in most cases, you should know ahead of time that you are on the executive layoff list. This gives you time to plan your next moves as an executive who now finds themselves on the job hunt. The bad news is this presents a set of challenges you were not expecting.

Use our tips on handling a layoff to make this transition as smooth as possible.

Mourn your loss.

No matter which way you slice it, a layoff can seem devastating – especially if you didn’t see it coming…even with advanced notice. Before doing anything, make sure to actually feel any emotions of frustration, sadness or anger. Simply put, you want to get it out sooner rather than later so it doesn’t affect your ability to look for work. Stuffing the feelings down and not honoring your feelings as they happen will cause havoc on your search later in the process, when the feelings escape in an unplanned manner in the form of fear, anxiety and/or gloom. Furthermore, getting the emotions out early makes it easier to answer the “Why are you looking for work?” question. While being a part of a layoff is a perfectly acceptable answer you don’t want to run the risk of showing any negative emotions when on the interview. The interview is not the time for therapy. Lastly, you’ll want to change your mindset. It’s easy to see yourself as a victim in a layoff. Unfortunately that kind of mentality won’t help you find your next job. Instead, try seeing it as a fresh slate for a new adventure. It’s a much more empowering perspective that can lead to major motivation during your new job search.

Update yourself on the latest trends.

If it’s been a while since you’ve looked for a job you may find yourself with a lot of changes. The best thing you can do is prepare yourself and research what has changed since you last looked for work. For instance, you may want to look into new technology services, hop on social media and research the latest trends in job hunting.

Start sending out feelers immediately.

If you know your time at your job is limited you’ll want to start reaching out to your contacts and send out some feelers. By letting people know that you are looking for a new job you open the door for them to help you. In fact, many jobs are found precisely because the candidate had a contact. Start with your more personal contacts, like colleagues you know well. You can then work your way into putting out feelers on LinkedIn and contacting recruiters.

Think outside of the box.

While layoffs may be a sign of a shaky economy the good news is that there is always someone looking to hire. However, this may require you to think outside of the box a bit. For instance, maybe you’ve been a sales executive for a software company for 15 years and really enjoy the art of selling. Rather than limiting yourself to only software companies try asking yourself which industry currently needs someone with your particular skill set. The reality is you can bring a lot of value to a new industry as an outsider so why not broaden the job search?

Written by Lisa Rangel, Executive Resume Writer

Optimizing the SaaS Sales Funnel: Strong Prospecting and Negotiation Skills Are Just Part of the Process

An increasing number of business leaders around the world are now choosing to invest in cloud-based applications and services.  In fact, the global Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) industry is thriving, with an expected 2016 Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 19.5 percent.

This strong avenue for revenue means that competition is heavy in the SaaS industry, so that even the best solutions will not sell themselves.  The sales process is shifting away from sales-based marketing to primarily education-based selling.  Advanced, multichannel, content-driven strategies, now used by 93 percent of global B2B marketers, are required to connect with business leaders and influence purchases.  Here are some ways that content is being used to drive sales:

Content educates customers: Customers today want to see more than just a spec sheet before making a purchase—especially when it comes to buying software.  They want to watch videos, read blog posts and listen to podcasts.  To further inform their decisions, they also desire to see case studies and white papers about how other companies benefitted from the same solution.

Content generates leads: A great piece of content will be shared across social media channels, and will be discoverable on Google.  This attracts new leads and helps drive unique visitors to websites.  And by analyzing click rates and downloads, salespeople can analyze great prospects worth following up with a call.

Today’s high demand for content is creating a youth movement in the SaaS industry. Companies are looking for young sales professionals—primarily 26 to 34-year-olds—who have grown up accessing content on the Internet and are, therefore, more expert at social media than some of their senior counterparts.  The current market demands that these salesmen hit the ground running and reach key targets easily and quickly.

Strong selling mechanics are just a small part of the SaaS sales process.  Today’s SaaS companies are investing in young talent with the intention of molding these professionals into high-end inside sales leaders who can generate business through referrals.  In order to be considered in today’s competitive, data-driven market however, candidates must also add a few new skills to the resume: creative and technical writer; strong prospector, lead nurturer and speaker, effective cross and up-seller; and expert marketer.

As an executive recruiting firm that focuses on Executive Management, Sales, Marketing and Technical roles within Information Technology markets, J. Patrick and Associates has a firm grasp of today’s evolving SaaS industry and professional candidate pool.

Looking to fortify your team with qualified SaaS salesmen?  We can help.

Are you a candidate seeking a position in the SaaS industry that satisfies the requirements mentioned above?  Contact us today!

According to Cisco, two-thirds of all traffic moving forward will be delivered through the cloud. This makes it official: we are now in the zettabyte era of cloud technology. In fact, IDC predicts that the volume of digital content will soon increase by 48 percent to 2.7 ZB.

This practice is placing a great deal of strain on private networks. Take Netflix, for instance, which recently saw its video traffic jump 35 percent in just one year. Companies are scrambling to optimize data centers and avoid the expenses of network downtime, which can be devastating for business. As a result, more jobs are being created to accommodate growing IT infrastructure and virtualization needs, specifically in the following areas:

Cloud-based APIs: In order to accommodate rising network traffic, application programming interfaces (APIs) are being sought after in order to ensure that cloud architecture remains strong and efficient.

Software-Defined Technologies (SDN): Some of the biggest names in cloud infrastructure are now investing in virtualization—and as a result, SDN is in high demand. Cloud engineers with knowledge or expertise in this field will therefore be sought after as companies look to SDN to make some big moves in the coming months.

According to recent research, at least seven million jobs will be created over the next three years as a result of virtualization and data management needs. Data center and networking pros—as well as software engineers—will be heavily sought after as companies look to push content to the edge of the network and deliver it as quickly and effectively to end-users as possible.

With over 20 years of expertise in the Executive Management, Sales, Marketing and Technical fields, J. Patrick and Associates (JP+A) has all of the resources to help your organization find the right candidates as it prepares for the zettabyte era.  As an executive recruiting firm, we have been successfully placing IT professionals at industry-leading technology vendors, system integrators, telecom service providers and end-user organizations since 1991.  Reach out to a qualified JP+A recruiting professional today to see how we can help you assemble a talented, motivated and dedicated professional team.

Right now, there are two industries targeted for tremendous growth over the coming year: data centers and Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) providers.  Why exactly are these two infrastructure solutions thriving?  The answer lies in the demand for insatiable access to information and big data.  More than ever before, large enterprises are now focusing on collecting, storing and transferring information.  This information needs to be transported and housed in data centers, on equipment that is scalable, optimized and efficient.  What started solely as ‘server farms’ or simple storage facilities has grown into a fixture of enterprise organizations across the globe – spurring companies to invest heavily in their physical infrastructure as well as the professionals that design, implement and manage these solutions now and in the years to come.

Take Amazon Web Services (AWS) for example, a global company serving hundreds of thousands of customers in over 190 countries.  AWS is currently “expanding its global infrastructure to help customers achieve lower latency and higher throughput.”  Additionally, Google and Oracle, two other global companies, are also experiencing rapid growth.  During the second quarter of 2013, for instance, Google invested a record $1.6 billion on its own data centers.  And Oracle has hired more than 200 employees over the past year as cloud computing continues to spread into the Middle East.

Due to the unprecedented amount of growth in data centers and IaaS, J. Patrick and Associates, a leader in telecom and IT executive recruiting, has seen a drastic rise in organizations looking for highly-skilled professionals with specialties in the physical infrastructure space such as data centers and IaaS.  Here is a look at the specific jobs that are now in demand:

Data Center Operational Managers:  As more and more data centers open up, Operational Managers are needed to oversee and manage servers and storage platforms.  Project Managers are also highly in demand for specific operations.

Cloud Experts:  Cloud migration is one of the top demands for IT executives in 2014. As more and more companies migrate to the cloud, experts are needed that can minimize backend costs and implement strong, secure cloud systems.

Experienced Open Stack Users: All signs indicate that Oracle is committed to OpenStack, as it became a sponsor of the OpenStack Foundation in December.  As more IaaS services are released, companies like Oracle will be looking for experienced users capable of managing OpenStack software and providing essential services for clients.

Network Engineers: This specifically pertains to the Network Operations Center (NOC), in charge of ensuring networks remain up and running at all times.  Network Engineers perform real-time maintenance tasks to ensure that data flows uninterrupted throughout the enterprise.

Data Analysts: Raw data is all but worthless to a company.  Analysts are therefore needed to transform raw data into quality metrics that can be interpreted to support profit-generating endeavors.

J. Patrick and Associates is committed to helping IT professionals with specialized skills find the positions they need.  For almost two decades, J. Patrick and Associates has been leveraging our unique insight and market intelligence to place candidates the right places.  

For more information about how J. Patrick and Associates can help get you where you need to be, please click here. 

The proliferation of data center and cloud use across the business world is creating enormous opportunity for IT professionals.  In the banking industry, for example, 64 percent of activity currently takes place in the cloud, having doubled since last year. 

As a result of this dramatic growth, IT is evolving from a maintenance role into a strategic and revenue-generating aspect of daily business.  U.S. News, for instance, named the positions of Software Developer and Computer Systems Analyst first and second on its list of the Top 100 Jobs of 2014, respectively.   As more businesses move their operations into the cloud, which and in doing so rely heavily on data and colocation centers, businesses are recognizing the inherent importance of having access to IT leaders that can produce profits.

This means that the role of IT leaders in business is in a state of flux.  Positions once focused primarily on IT and digital savvy are transforming to include customer-facing responsibilities—like the Chief Information Officer (CIO).  While some industry experts are questioning the future of existence of the CIO, others suggest that the role is simply evolving.  In fact, recent research indicates that the workload and complexity for CIOs in fields such as healthcare is actually expanding—and will continue to do so in the future.

Moving forward, as the cloud takes center stage in the business world, it is imperative that businesses fill in-demand roles with experts that can oversee long-term technical projects while managing operations, people, budgets, consultants, outside vendors and unionized workforces at the same time. 

This creates added pressure on hiring professionals, who now have the additional challenge of identifying the innate business qualities and highly technical abilities that competent professionals possess to fit this new ‘back-office to boardroom’ niche.  This challenge is further compounded by the necessity to not only onboard, but also retain and nurture these individuals to make the most of a company’s initial investment.  The result of a bad hiring decision could cost a company an average of 30% of the professional’s first-year potential earning, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.  As the median salary for CIOs tops six figures, this can be quite a substantial loss for any employer.  That is why this level of strategic hiring requires a specialist. 

J. Patrick and Associates (JP+A) is unique from other executive recruiting firms in that it holds all of the tools necessary to link the best companies with the most qualified industry talent.  JP+A works directly with hiring managers and executives in industry-leading Colocation and Data Center infrastructure firms, Cloud or Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)-based product and service providers, and various other technology sector companies to identify the most in-demand skills and current professional requirements for Data Center Management, Security, Storage, and other Cloud/SaaS/Virtualization-related placement. 

For more information about J. Patrick and Associates, click here.

It’s well known that on the baseball field, a singles hitter with a high average is much more valuable than a home-run hitter who strikes out more times than he gets on base.  The same can be said in the IT sales department – most notably in the Software-as-a-Service space.

Collapsing bandwidth and plummeting SaaS margins have created high employee churn rates as well as what executives now refer to as a “vast middle of mediocrity” in the professional IT sector.  As a result, the role of the technical sales engineer is quickly giving way to a new breed of sales and support staff. This generation comes with a basic technology understanding, a reduced price tag and the ability to get on base—or make the quick sale. It’s simply cheaper and more effective to hire 60-80 salespeople who can garner an average number of deals instead of 12 to 15 high-priced home-run hitters with 10 to 15 years of experience who only land a few big-ticket deals per annum.

Financial reasons aside, this shift can also be largely attributed to the fact that companies are no longer purchasing their own network infrastructure. SaaS comes with a light virtual footprint for a company, and requires less maintenance to operate.  It also comes with less user engagement, which means it’s a quicker and easier sell.

Managers should therefore take this shift into account when filling total cloud, SaaS and hosted service sales positions.  Look for candidates who are good hunters, fast learners and easily adaptable to new situations and environments.  Tech and business-savviness is a plus, as is experience with Salesforce.com and social media channels.  Successful SaaS salesman will be those that can add ‘mini marketer’ and ‘webinar master’ to their resumes.  Effective up- and cross-selling will also prove essential qualities as companies shift to selling more seed licenses and total solutions rather than single services.

At J. Patrick and Associates, we live and breathe these evolving technical recruiting parameters and nuances.  It is our job to keep up with the every-changing industry and work closely with executives in these technical fields to understand their specific hiring requirements.  Seeking out the most qualified candidates leveraging nearly two decades of IT recruiting expertise allows our Technology vendor, Network Service Provider and Systems Integrator customers to focus on their core business.

Click here to learn how we can help your company adapt to the changing shift in the IT industry today.