J Patrick + Associates Blog

So your resume is the first thing the hiring manager (and a recruiter) sees.  If it is not up to par, it is also the only thing they will see.  Each person writes their resume differently, however there are some guidelines that all resumes should follow.  As an executive recruiter I see about at least a hundred resumes a day, content is the most important, but without the right presentation, content won't get you very far.

Clean formatting

• Make sure you keep the font uniform throughout the entire resume.  Often times, when you write a resume you add to what was already there, this is a source of confusion and many times creates 2 different formatting styles.
• Use a standard black font that is easy to read.
• Do not add your picture.  If you add logos of certifications you hold, the best way to do it is by using a chart with invisible lines, this makes it easy to position, and keeps any images from jumping around.

Length

• it is often perceived that a resume should be only 1 page long.  This is not the case- if you've been on the work force for more than a couple of years, your resume should be longer than 1 page.  Don't skip on details to maintain a certain length
• While you don't want your resume to be 1 page long, you also don't want it to be 10 pages long. 
• The older the position is, the less details you should provide. 
• The older the skill is, the less details you need to provide (if you were a Windows 95 Administrator for 5 years, spare on the details, this technology is no longer being used).

What not to include

• TYPOS and grammar mistakes- read and re-read your resume. then give it to someone else to proof read.  For most hiring managers and recruiters simple mistakes like this will get you disqualified regardless of your qualifications.
• In most European countries it is common to add personal information (age, marital status, date of birth etc.).  Avoid putting this information on your resume.
• References- Today the hiring process calls for references towards the end of the process.  There is no need to include names and phone numbers of your references on your resume.

Some candidates like to have a PDF version of their resume for ease of use (easy to open on my computer regardless of the OS).  Today with databases being in such wide use, a PDF resume is challenging since the text cannot be copied.  If you want to send a PDF resume, make sure you also attach a Word version.

Recruiter's hint:  create an email address just for job boards, postings and resume submittals. Be mindful to check it on a regular basis, even when you are no longer looking.

A note from Gal Natel, the guest Blogger.  I wanted to take this opportunity to address some common and easy to fix mistakes I often see on resumes...  I would love to hear comments, thoughts and of course answer any questions.

Many Technology vendors depend on Executive Search firms to identify and recruit a pipeline of candidates for their Pre-Sales Engineering openings.  The pre-sales engineering managers that do this well fully partner with their recruiters to source for the targeted candidates--providing the recruiting firm with detailed, well-thought-out job requirements, a list of targeted firms and a reasonable compensation plan to offer -- but the work in recruiting the candidate that will succeed in their firm has just begun once the resumes start showing up.

We work with many Information Technology vendors on their Pre-Sales Engineering recruiting and after 23 years of search work in this area, I've noticed the wide spectrum of companies' relative success in identifying, hiring, training and retaining strong Sales Engineers (SEs)

After identifying the key technology areas that must be mastered, establishing the candidate's level of expertise and deciding which deficiencies/learning curves they can live with, most managers move on to testing candidates for the strong communications skills that are critical for success in the pre-sales role. Nearly all of my pre-sales recruiting clients conduct some type of "live-fire" exercise, almost always a technical presentation, with several other team members in attendance and asking questions.

Don't limit yourself to just a presentation.  Many firms test for attitude, aptitude and adaptability during the communications skills phase of interviewing in other ways:

• A customer at an Information Security software firm leaves SE candidates with a live copy of their product for 30 minutes, then asks the candidate to demo the product to the manager and a staff member.
• A pre-sales engineering manager at a Network Services provider asks for pre-sales-specific writing samples, such as proposals, Proof-of-concept documents, RFP responses, Powerpoints, with all proprietary data removed.
• Hiring manager are beginning to request writing sample that are not directly sales-process-related: blog posts, web and print media article, industry panel presentations, wiki articles, LinkedIN answers, and other social media contributions, including video.

In my experience, the best hiring managers also try to project how this person would fit into their company's culture (and his team in l) by asking a series of questions specific to each candidate, and these tend to be more about character and personality type, rather than the particular kind of discrete requirement that is found in a job description.

Can this candidate:

Adapt to my firm's methods, products and customer base?

Assimilate my firm's technology, products, and pricing?

Get along with the sales team, including sales reps, sales engineers and channel partner personnel?

Maintain credibility with external stakeholders: prospects, clients and channel partners?

Maintain credibility with internal (non-sales team) stakeholders: marketing, engineering and post-sales technical people?

Does this person's profile resemble the people who are currently succeeding in this role?

In my experience, Sales Engineer Managers try to gather as many data points and opinions as possible, but have a strong point of view as to what works in their current environment, and who will be successful in that role.  

I'd love to hear from Pre-Sales Engineers and Managers of Sales Engineers what methods/processes you've used or experienced in the hiring process, particularly if you worked with Staffing firms to recruit SEs.