It’s hiring season! Are you ready?  The summer is long since over and this is the time of year where employers hire talent to create and/or implement strategic plans that will ensure that next year exceeds expectations.  Many companies are gearing up to hire the right people and allocate resources to capitalize on opportunities presented in the current market. So that means there are great opportunities out there for you!  Are you ready for the next big job? 

12 ways to ensure you are positioned to make your next move

Write Down Your Achievements

Inventory your achievements, skills and wish-list criteria for your next role.  What have you accomplished this past year? The past five years?  What skills do you have that are most marketable and that you want to continue using?  What do you want in your next position? The answers to these questions will be the basis of your resume update (or creation), targeted job search plan, and your interview dialogue.

Update Your Resume

Create or update your resume. Ensure it uses a branded resume format with accomplishment-driven language. This will allow you to easily customize the resume for each position you apply for without having to do extensive rewrites each time.

Know What You want

Start with a list of companies that you are interested in and find out their mission, organizational plan and where you can fit in.  This will help you devise a targeted job search plan and allow you to have an active approach to your search—no waiting around for jobs to be posted!

Design a Cover Letter Template

Design a cover letter template for yourself.   Don’t just download a template, create your own that you can, again, customize for each position without having to start from scratch.  Ensure it will cater to the needs of the employer and not simply be a prose (aka “look-at-everything-I-did) version of your resume.

Leverage LinkedIN Connections

Amass LinkedIn connections from ALL aspects of your professional and personal life.  LinkedIn says a minimum of 50 connections is needed to have the search capabilities produce significant search results to help develop your targeted job search list. I actually like to see upwards of 300 connections.  The more contacts, the wider the net you are able to cast for opportunities! 

Set Clear Goals

Set measurable and achievable goals for job search activity.  How many new contacts will you make per month?  How many networking events will you participate in?  How many LinkedIn status updates will you make per week to keep you top of mind within your network?

Network

Speaking of networking--do it! Nurture your existing network! Call your friends, have coffee with former supervisors and co-workers, and reach out to former classmates.  Reinforce your circle BEFORE you need it.  And offer help to those who need it.  Good karma is always a good rule of thumb!

Build a Support System

Look for peer support. Seek-out like-minded job seeker friends or join a job search support group to keep you accountable.  No need to go it alone!  And you never know, someone may give you a lead that can be your next job!

Stay Updated

Stay up-to-date on what is happening in your area of work and enhance your network.  Join professional associations affiliated with your field.  Get yourself into industry-related user groups to see what is being said by technically-savvy people in similar professions. This will help generate ideas on where job activity is happening….and where it is not.

Develop your Elevator Speech

Develop an “elevator” speech—be able to confidently and succinctly answer the questions: “What do you do?” , “What do you want to do?”, and “What are you looking for?” Conversations can continue or end based on how well you handle answering these questions.

Continue Learning

Shore up on certifications or continuing education that will enhance your resume and keep your knowledge current. 

Practice Interviewing Techniques

Practice behavioral and situational interviewing techniques, but don’t memorize answers to questions.  The most important thing to know on an interview is YOU--so study your own background and your achievements.  You certainly need to research the company and job, but everything comes down to how effectively you communicate to the prospective employer how you will fit in and generate results for their organization.

There are many other activities that you can do to further develop your job search practices. But these are 12 excellent suggestions to ensure you are ready to get in the game and off to a fabulous start to finding the next big thing!   Happy Hunting!

Written by Lisa Rangel, Executive Resume Writer

The most effective resume is a branding document showcases a job seeker’s previous experience in a way where a prospective employer can see how the job seeker’s expertise can work within their organization. When this happens, the prospective employer sees how the job seeker’s experience can help their organization achieve results and will call the job seeker in for an interview.  A traditional resume, that only houses job duties, does not outline achievements and is visually boring cannot stand up to a well-branded resume.  

There are three things that differentiate a branded, contemporary resume from a more traditional one

Searchability

Can your resume ensure that you are found in an online search by a prospective employer, whether that resume resides in an applicant tracking system (ATS) or is the basis of your keyword optimized LinkedIn profile? A successful job search in today’s times has two active components.  The first component is to perform the actions that help you find the right job. The second is to include the activities needed to enable the right job to find you. A keyword-optimized resume that is searchable enables hiring managers and recruiters to find you when looking for talent with your skill set.

In this digital age of LinkedIn, Facebook, and online resume pages, finding the perfect candidate is driven by various search engines.  It is absolutely vital for your resume to house keywords and phrases used by hiring managers in searches so your resume can be found. If your resume can’t be found, it won’t be read and you will not land an interview; it’s that simple. 

If you don’t know what terms to include, use an employment website or job board to look for positions in which you are interested.  Including the phrases and words from these postings naturally in your resume, alongside your achievements for each of those functions will improve the likelihood that your resume will be found in employer searches.  

Results

Every job seeker out there today needs quantifiable results on their resume. Results are what employers want, and in order to sell yourself, you need to demonstrate what you were able to achieve.  Here are some examples of questions you might ask yourself to help define your results:

• If you upgraded software, what were the labor cost savings?  How much employee payroll time was saved by the conversion?   
• If you launched a marketing campaign for a major consumer products firm, what was the ROI on the marketing dollars spent for the product launch? In what time frame was the profit/revenue realized? 
• If you managed a pharmaceutical drug development department, how many drugs did you bring to market? What revenues did those products generate? How long was the process?

Size and Scope

Understanding the size and scope of your previous companies helps the hiring manager determine how you can fit into their organization. Saying you did something without the context to support the statement leaves a gap in understanding. Tell your prospective employer about the environment in which you performed these tasks.  Here are some examples of how to put size and scope into each point on your resume:

• Did you manage an IT department of three, thirty or one hundred and thirty employees?
• What was the technology budget that you were accountable for--$10,000, $100,000 or $1,000,000?
• How much savings did your last three IT initiatives generate?
• How many new employees did the 10-person team you supervised get promoted in the past twelve months?

There is no right or wrong answer to any of these questions, but it starts to flesh out the details of the types of environments in which you have performed, and paint a picture for the prospective employer. 

Your resume is part of your employment brand and it needs to tell the story of your experience, achievements, and include information about the environments in which you worked.  Additionally, what it says about you should be reflected in a consistent manner on your LinkedIn profile, Facebook page, and online resume page.  This ensures that you are found in job searches, can demonstrate that you achieved measurable results, and that you are the excellent fit that the hiring managers are seeking. 

Written by Lisa Rangel, Executive Resume Writer

Daniel Sullivan, a head hunters at J. Patrick + Associates placed candidates in executive jobs this past quarter at a prominent Global Information Software Security Firm that is a leader to the Payments (PCI) Security market.  J. Patrick + Associates team partnered directly with the CEO of this 100M firm, built a program, negotiated a custom hybrid contingency-retainer fee structure which built commitment for both sides, saved the clients money by driving down cost-per hire.  It is our attention to client relationships that generates our success. The client continues to rely on J. Patrick + Associates because we are able to delivery quality candidates, control costs and expedited quick hires.  This working relationship exemplifies the kind of service we give our clients. Check out our most recent placements;

Director of Marketing, Massachusetts  -  With long term experience in the field, this candidate possesses strong technical skills, the ability to communicate the features to partners, developers and end users.  In his new role, he is developing and implementing an effective sales collateral system, which includes content management, collateral distribution and usage tracking.  This versatile team player has been recognized repeatedly for leadership, initiative and delivery of results with other leading information security, storage and networking vendors.

Channel Marketing Manager, Massachusetts - is developing and managing all aspects of the strategic partnerships which are key to the growth of our client.  The candidate we placed has over a decade helping companies such as Kaspersky Lab, EMC and NMS Communications drive profitable revenue growth through superior channel marketing and demand & program management.

Channel Sales Manager, Dallas, TX - She is responsible for developing and managing all aspects of the strategic partnerships that are key to the growth of the company.  The candidate we placed is an award-winning Sales Representative with proven capacity to grow new business and service & expand existing accounts; instantly establishes rapport with buyers and key decision-makers; demonstrates strong presentation, negotiation and closing skills; develops lasting customer relationships ensuring long-term account loyalty and frequent business with ten years of successful experience in high-level selling of technology, cyber-security, and network-related products.

Senior Manager Customer Product Support, Maryland - We placed a superstar who plans and leads training & configuration sessions in support of sales, product mgt and product marketing to key strategic partners and end users. This candidate joins the team after spearheading the US Technical Services team operating out of his last position acting as a Key Account Manger in technical services for the big commercial accounts.

Business Development Manager, San Francisco - This candidate hit the ground running initiating discussions with new partners, working on custom requirements, negotiating terms, and closing deals.  She is spearheading both existing and new market research, and partner research, driving tactical initiative targeting both customers and partners, and transforming business requirements to strategic requirements.  This candidate is a proven senior manager with broad experience in strategic alliances with technology organizations with a proven track record in post acquisition integration, merging of disparate groups, programs, and functions into a cohesive working model.

Like what you see?  We have the perfect candidate for your company.  Let us hunt for you.  With savvy, experience and the right tools, we have a proven track record putting the right people with the right job. Hiring managers, contact Dan Sullivan, give him what you are looking for and let us place the right candidate for your needs. 

Everyone wants to know how to be a good salesman.  In this piece, we will examine two different theories: nature versus nurture.  Some say that sales skills are innate, that you are born to be a salesman.  As much as some people may wish this to be true, it isn’t.  Actually, many of the best salesmen are taught the skills they need to succeed through corporate training processes.  So, if you want to be a successful salesman, take the initiative and start to learn the ropes on your own.  Here are a few tips to help get you started.

Think Beyond the Close

Successful selling starts with your mindset.  You can’t simply approach a potential sale thinking a successful close is the end of the process.  You have to understand your company’s business model and how it can deliver added value to your customer over time.  Every time you approach a potential customer, you have to focus on building loyal, long-term professional relationships.   If you express this through your sales pitch, you will likely succeed in your endeavors. 

Treat Your Customers Well

Trust builds relationships, and through these, you will develop the potential to leverage your existing customers into a broader network of sales opportunities.  What this means is that if you do right by your customers, they can be your best source of advertising.  Through word of mouth, they can communicate your business reputation more effectively than you can imagine.   Existing customers can also be a great source of sales leads.  Even if they aren’t interested in your product, maybe someone they know is.  Obtain that contact information and hunt down that lead.

Good is Never Good Enough

If a salesman has a profitable morning, they’ll call it a day and head in by 1 o’clock, right?  No.  Strive to be the best and don’t settle for anything less.  You’re always only as good as your last sale, so continuously seek self-improvement.  The only person that can limit you is yourself.   If you keep this in mind, there is no doubt you can succeed.

Persistence Pays

The last tip that I will offer you is to never give up easily on an unsold customer.  You may not win every match in the first round; many will require you to go all 12.  If you ever find yourself with a client who says that they don’t want to buy, stress the strong points of your business and how you align these to help them achieve their goals.  If they still refuse, back off and give them some time.  There is no harm in approaching them again a week, month, or even a year later.  Many people’s business needs and mindsets change over time.  Keep in contact, approach them every so often, and they could eventually open up to you.

 By Jake Pinto

The Keys to Effective Skills Assessment

At J. Patrick and Associates, our job is to find the best candidates for highly competitive positions.  We pride ourselves in successfully placing our candidates and contributing to a positive outcome for their hiring firms.  But how is it done? How do we truly assess someone’s skill set? 

Fortunately for J. Patrick & Associates, we have Daniel Sullivan.  Mr. Sullivan has been in the recruiting business since 1987, so he knows a thing or two about what makes a person a great candidate for a job.   Over time, Dan has developed a keen sense for matching a candidate to a suitable position.

One criteria Dan assesses is a candidate’s experience.  This is somewhat of a given, but a candidate with the right experience has shown that he or she can do the job, and do it well.  In short, he or she has demonstrated that they have the know-how and drive to succeed.  When one of our recruiters sees that a candidate has performed in a similar role elsewhere, they are intrigued to find out more.  Validating the experience is the next step to find out if this person is qualified for the position.  Someone may claim they have experience on their resume when in fact, they have failed to achieve across key performance indicators, and in turn were let go or had to resign.  As a famous President once said, “Trust but verify.”

Another way  J. Patrick and Associates assesses someone’s skills is through keyword filtering.  Our recruiters analyze hundreds of resumes when they are searching for the ideal candidate for a specific position.  If a certain job requires formal qualifications such as product/service licensing, or particular skills that are specific to that sector/job, it is imperative that these keywords stand out.  Our recruiters go through each candidate’s resume with a fine-toothed comb, identifying critical information to help them make their judgment.

J. Patrick and Associates does an outstanding job at finding and placing the right candidates.  We know how important hiring the right candidate is to your bottom line. The Labor Department estimates it costs an average of one-third of a new hire’s annual salary to replace him or her.  This is why J. Patrick and Associates, using Mr. Sullivan’s secret skills assessment formula, works tirelessly to offer our clients only the most qualified candidates.  But these are just a few of our proven best practices and industry secrets to success.  If you would like to find out more, select J. Patrick & Associates for your recruitment and hiring needs.

By Jake Pinto

When your organization needs to quickly source multiple candidates across multiple disciplines and even multiple geographic markets, securing the services of a specialty firm has clear advantages.  An experienced recruiter has a long track record of success doing just this for numerous clients.  Now, you are probably thinking (correctly) that using a recruiter to fill multiple positions will net you a discount on a per hire basis. Yes, this is true, and not to be understated. However, the requirements of a hiring firm that needs to fill several positions nearly simultaneously to facilitate, say a major expansion in to a new geographic market, are considerably more complex.  Understanding these dynamics is JP&A’s bread and butter.  Let’s look a bit further and see how a specialty recruiting firm can offer you both lower costs and speed to market, without sacrificing quality.

Stressed out Internal HR Systems

We’ve blogged about the increased pressure on the HR department in a typical mid-sized IT firm before.  Your labor resources continue to shrink while demands continue to pile up in both hiring and other core HR functions.  Now, you have to find and onboard a whole raft of new-hires.  In the case of a single hire, you’d already need to commit valuable internal resources to sorting through dozens or hundreds of resumes from job seekers.  Now magnify that by an order of 10, or even 20.  After all, it stands to reason that to hire more people, you’ll need to be looking at a much larger pool of candidates.  A specialist recruiting firm like JP&A can take this off your plate, allowing you to allocate internal resources to other mission-critical tasks.  Now let’s compound volume with time constraints.  Say your firm could search through an immense pool of candidates.  Could you still expect to find the best potential hires within a tight timeframe?  Your firm is better off engaging a firm like JP&A, which is already prepared and positioned to do the legwork for you.  Then, after screening and interviewing, you choose from only the top candidates available.

Benefits of a Specialist Firm

What does a firm like JP&A bring to the fight?  Here are a few of the key factors effecting the hiring cycle for which a specialty firm had already developed a process:

• Identifying Sources of Candidates: JP&A sources the available applicant pool using traditional sources of candidates but also leveraging a continually growing proprietary database that gives us unique reach into a reservoir of new potential hires with focused, specific skill sets that meet your needs.  Our track record is a testament to the fact that we access the right candidates, and place them when and where our clients need them.  In fact, many of our former job seekers are now in hiring positions.  We didn’t just help them get hired, we built lasting relationships and now, when they need both quality and speed - many of them turn to JP&A.

• The Hiring Calendar: JP&A is ready and able to meet your target dates. Responsiveness, agility and dedication are fundamental and inherent in everything we do.  Securing a firm to provision multiple hires requires a commitment.  In order to facilitate your success, we are prepared to dedicate our firm’s resources to a time commitment that far exceeds that required by other, single-hire recruiting processes.
• Market Insight: JP&A has been around nearly two decades. Over this time, we have developed a clear vision of the IT business environment and workforce landscape; not only as they stand today, but where the industry is heading in the future. Trust us to know the hiring and job requirements in your industry,  helping you find the right candidates for your mission-critical positions, and ensuring your business is poised to meet the larger requirements of an evolving business environment.

Opportunity is a fleeting thing.  If you’re not in position to take advantage of it, it will pass you by. Don’t sacrifice speed, quality, or cost. When you need to find the most qualified candidates to fill key positions, it’s time to consider a firm with proven expertise and resources, like J. Patrick & Associates, to provide the winning outcome your business demands.

Benefits Of The 'Try and Buy' Hiring

For many years, J. Patrick & Associates has proven itself time and time again by reliably producing the candidates for the hiring company in need.  Providing full-time, grade-A employees is what J. Patrick & Associates is known for. 

Less well known, however, is the fact that J. Patrick & Associates can also provide hiring firms with “try and buy” temporary employees.  This is one service that J. Patrick & Associates is looking to emphasize in its everyday playbook. 

What is a “try and buy” temp?  Well, it’s a cost-effective way to find the right candidate for your firm.  How many times have you interviewed someone and they seem like the perfect candidate both on paper and during the interview?  But when it comes time to work and production, they’re just not what you expected.

When you hire a temporary worker to fill an open position, not only are you paying less, but you also get to “try out” the candidate before making a hiring decision.  Hiring a temp worker is much different than hiring someone for the long run.  Instead of signing a contract that offers a salary and employment benefits, the hiring firm pays only for the temp’s labor.  Temp workers usually get paid by the hour.

To meet our clients’ growing temporary staff needs, J. Patrick & Associates has partnered with the Top Echelon Temp Agency.  This relationship enables J. Patrick & Associates access to the best temps on the market.  These professionals are typically offered full-time positions after the temp period is over.

If I were a business owner looking down at this sector of business from 30,000 feet, I would consider hiring a temp to be a very cost-effective choice.  Key c-level positions notwithstanding, placing a temporary hire may be a perfect way to try, and hopefully buy, the right candidate for an open position.

 By Jake Pinto

If, like many IT HR professionals, you’re operating at maximum bandwidth, working with an executive search firm has clear benefits.  Some of these are readily apparent from the beginning.  For one, your firm saves time and money. There is no need to devote valuable internal resources to sorting through dozens or hundreds of resumes from job seekers.  A specialist staffing firm does this for you; and after screening and interviewing, you choose from only the top candidates available.

Speaking of the best candidates, specialized firms such as J. Patrick + Associates are continually sourcing new potential hires with focused, specific skill sets that meet your needs.  With the ability to leverage a continually growing proprietary database that matches your target demographic, these experienced professionals can illuminate an ever-expanding network of candidates for your firm to choose from.  Out of this bigger and better pool, new and higher quality candidates emerge.

Next, and most important to your bottom line, a search firm enables you to minimize risk and the associated cost of a bad hire.  According to the Harvard Business Review, as much as 80% of employee turnover is due to poor hiring decisions.  Furthermore, the Labor Department estimates it costs an average of one-third of a new hire’s annual salary to replace him or her.  What’s worse, the costs associated increase the further up in the organization the change occurs.

The right executive search firm offers you the necessary tools to prevent this and maximize your hiring ROI.  Although you probably already know this, one alarming item to consider is when the job market is tight, finding the right person becomes even more challenging.  It’s in times like these that a top firm offers your business some less obvious capabilities, adding even more value when you need to fill critical positions.  Firms like J. Patrick + Associates know the IT and telecom industries inside and out, and bring the best industry practices to the critical task of job placement. 

Industry Trends and Market Intelligence

Another reason to use a firm focused on specialized placement is their knowledge of workforce trends within the IT and telecom industries. A good niche firm understands the impact these can have on your business. A niche recruiter can help advise you to make strategic hiring decisions that not only meet your immediate needs--finding the right person for that key position right now--but also ensure you’re positioned for the larger demands of an evolving business environment.

Agility

In comparison to a traditional agency, with a specialist firm you’re already on the same page, and together, you’re ready to take decisive action.  This is something you won’t find easily somewhere else.  You can expect a top firm like J. Patrick + Associates to know the hiring and job requirements in your industry, to be prepared to address critical issues, and to leverage unique industry insight to help drive your most favorable hiring decisions.

Long-Lasting Relationships

Veteran firms have been placing the best-qualified candidates at top tier IT and telecom businesses for nearly 20 years.  That’s no accident; it’s the proven result of a winning track record.  Over the years, countless hours have been spent building enduring professional relationships with former candidates.  Many of these former job seekers are now in hiring positions.  Who do they turn to when they need both quality and speed? J. Patrick + Associates.  The reason is simple--because of the long-term trust we’ve built between our firm and our clients.

Contact JP+A Now

When placement costs can exceed the annual salary of each candidate, it’s a significant expense you simply can’t ignore.  So, if you need to find the best-qualified people to fill key positions, it’s time to consider a firm with proven expertise and resources.  Choose J. Patrick and Associates to provide the winning outcome your business demands.

Click Here to Connect

Here at J. Patrick & Associates, we utilize many recruiting models to perform searches. One method includes doing a retained search for the hiring firm.  And when a retained search agreement is in place at J. Patrick & Associates, many things have to happen. 

A retained search is typically executed for upper management, or executive-level positions.  These include CEOs, Marketing Managers, CFOs, etc.  These are lofty hiring decisions; potential candidates must be very experienced and have a résumé to prove it. 

When J. Patrick & Associates initiates a retained search, we dedicate ourselves to a time commitment extending far beyond that of any other type of recruiting model.  Considering that we are searching for an extremely highly-qualified candidate with impeccable credentials, we painstakingly sift through vast quantities of résumés to determine who survives the cut.  Once we’ve found potential candidates, he or she must first undergo a phone interview that usually takes 45 minutes to an hour.

A candidate whose résumé may not be that strong might truly shine during the phone interview and in turn, show that they are a strong candidate for the position.  According to Daniel Sullivan, CEO of J. Patrick + Associates, this happens more often than you would think. This moves them from bottom of the barrel to the top.

The first step in performing a retained search is to negotiate the retainer fee.  The reason for this is because filling a key or c-level position is usually critical to the success of the organization.  The retainer fee is a percentage of the total engagement fee, and is paid up front.  It represents a promise from both sides.  For the hiring firm, it indicates that that they are serious about finding that perfect candidate.  For J. Patrick + Associates, it means that we put the needs of the hiring firm ahead of all other obligations.  Furthermore, it means that we will undertake the retained search with all our available resources.

Many hiring companies wonder how long a retained search will take. Put another way, when can the interview process begin?  While we can’t always say exactly how long the process will take, we can promise that we are most definitely not the bottleneck in the process.  Remember, as long as your firm has the retainer in place, J. Patrick + Associates will work around the clock to source the best candidates available for your organization.

When a hiring firm decides to work with J. Patrick + Associates and elects to conduct a retained search, it takes precedence over all other ongoing operations.  When you need to fill a critical position, rely on the dedicated, experienced, and expert team at J. Patrick + Associates to find the right person for the job.

As early as 2010, telecom experts were predicting a wave of consolidation throughout the industry, particularly in the case of small and medium-sized firms.  As the market continues to improve globally, the pace of mergers and acquisitions has also accelerated.  What has this meant for telecom hiring practices? One might expect the number of job opportunities available for experienced telecom professionals to contract due to the effects of consolidation, as newly merged entities optimize their workforce and seek to enhance profitability.  However, the result has been the opposite.

How are the Hiring Habits for Manager Changing

More Demand for Candidates

In fact, the effects of consolidation have been paradoxical, though they can be explained at least in part by the effects of other forces currently transforming the telecom industry.  Likely driven by an ever-increasing demand for mobile broadband, many telecom companies are trying to fill more positions rather than less.  This is especially the case in the area of sales engineering and sales engineering management.  What we are witnessing is the development of a new set of hiring practices within the industry as firms compete for a limited supply of ‘traditionally’ sought-after candidates.  Does this mean that it’s a seller’s market for the job seeker? Not necessarily, but recognizing these trends can give candidates a distinct advantage in their job hunts. 

Increased Focus on Attitude

What it means for the prospective employer looking to grow his or her workforce is that it is increasingly clear that they are unlikely to find that “perfect” candidate on paper--the person who has earned the degree from the right school, has worked at all the right places, and has built a long track record of work experience--making them tailor-made for the position they want to fill.  Instead, hiring managers are increasingly focused on aptitude and attitude, rather than experience and skill sets, as criteria driving the hiring process.

As a job seeker, how can you take advantage of these new industry trends?

To help answer that question, we caught up with Ben Edmond, an experienced telecom professional and currently the Chief Revenue Officer of Global Capacity, a leading provider of network connectivity.   Mr. Edmond agreed to provide us with some insights regarding the changing employment landscape in the telecom industry.

Since the 2008 financial crisis, what changes have you seen to telecom hiring practices?

We have seen telecom hiring at larger firms go through significant downsizing and change.  However, at the small to midsize network providers such as Global Capacity, we have seen a strong hiring focus that not only seeks to identify whether the candidate has the required skillsets, but also looks to assess whether the candidate fits the firm’s culture, pace and direction. Finding and retaining high-quality, talented individuals remain one of the highest priorities for telecom firms, including Global Capacity.

Do these changes seem to take hold more aggressively in any particular departments?

My view is that IT and sales seem to be the most aggressive departments with respect to seeking talent. In both cases, there is a strong focus on recruiting and bringing aboard the right team members--it’s mission-critical.

How has this affected the metrics used at Global Capacity to assess a candidate’s ‘fit’ for a position?

Increasingly, the hiring practice is a combination of traditional interviewing coupled with validation points to assess whether the candidate has the capabilities we are seeking.  For example, this may be a demonstrated win, and the documented process of how that win happened, or it could be project implementation proof points. In addition to these validation points, we as well as others use tools to test aptitude and personality.  These metrics are then incorporated into the overall candidate fit analysis.  

What advice would you give a telecom job seeker looking for senior or otherwise executive-level employment?

Talk to executives in small, medium and large telecom firms. Seeking employment at an executive level starts and ends with the network of people that you know, either personally or professionally, and leveraging them to help identify opportunities.  Look  not only for positions that happen to be available, but that are suited for your skills.  This helps differentiate you from a large pool of potential job seekers.  In addition to networking strictly within telecom, understand and explore affiliated industries such as data centers, private equity, hardware, IT services, and the application industry.  All of these present different avenues to gain knowledge or identify an opportunity to leverage telecom skills and apply them to a new business.