It can take weeks if not months to find one high-talent placement. Candidates can sometimes feel lost among a sea of applicants. LinkedIn, job boards and other services expand the candidate pool but can make it difficult to get through the volume. Investing in high yield recruiting can be the answer. The executive recruiting firm J. Patrick and Associates knows  how to deliver exceptional talent while saving time and money.

Connection:  Executive Recruiters are connected to the talent you need to find. This connection allows your Executive Recruiters to search thousands of candidates for each and every hiring decision. By employing a reputable placement agency, you'll  know that important skills have been identified and  high numbers of quality candidates have been screened.  By the time your select candidates are in front of you, you'll know that they have been pulled from the best.

Confidence: The number one complaint we hear from hiring managers is that of confidence. Specifically, how does the hiring manager know, really know that a candidate will be worth the time and money to train? Once again, executive recruiting is the answer. Savvy recruiters leverage cutting edge search tools to your benefit. With an established, successful recruiting firm, you’ll interview the best talent possible.

Cost: The impact of a bad hire spreads throughout and organization. Working with a successful recruiter can help ensure these mistakes are minimized. In minutes, a professional recruiter can scan hundreds of records that would take an HR hiring manager days to find. A professional recruiter applies screening protocols ensuring that the best candidates are delivered to you. When it comes to placing top talent, using a proven recruiting agency will always be worth the investment.

The value of working with an Executive Recruiting agency is highlighted by a recent Information Security placement made by J. Patrick and Associates.

A global leader of application delivery and application security solutions for virtual and cloud data centers wanted to expand their engineering team. The position in question required the candidate to have deep technical experience across all facets of application delivery and application security solutions, as well as virtualization, Private / Hybrid Cloud and Software-Defined Networking (SDN), and their numerous applications in a variety of verticals. It would take some digging to find qualified candidates.

Beyond the technical requirements, the candidate also needed solution-selling experience and hands-on experience with the provider’s intricate products and solutions portfolio. He/she had to provide an initial presentation with customers and sales teams and perform the installation. The company interviewed dozens of candidates suggested by its recruiting firms but were unable to find a candidate that met all of the provider’s requirements. After nine months, the organization decided to explore another recruitment agency option.

That’s when J. Patrick & Associates became involved and executed multiple candidate searches in the Chicago area. The company identified Sales Engineers at the security solutions provider’s direct competitors. Then it turned to trusted industry referrals to further its search.

J. Patrick & Associates cold-called and thoroughly screened dozens of qualified professionals by using its database of over half a million candidates and a global Information Security referral network. J. Patrick's recruiters disqualified approximately 30 candidates for every one that moved on to the next phase, the technical screen.  The recruiters at J. Patrick successfully identified two qualified Sales Engineer candidates that met all of the client’s job requirements within a 30-day period.

The security solutions provider hired one of the Sales Engineer candidates, now a consistent top performer several years running. Since then, the company has retained J. Patrick & Associates as its primary recruiting firm. In the last year, J. Patrick & Associates has successfully placed more than 10 professionals in eight other positions with the organization and is currently working with the provider to fill 12 new Sales and Engineering positions.

Interviewing can be stressful – especially if it’s been awhile since you last did it. You prepare ahead of time by researching the company, the position, the contacts with whom you will interview and the challenges the company may be experiencing. You rehearse answers to expected interview questions outlining your accomplishments and the stories behind them. You are ready to knock them dead for your upcoming executive interview!

Even with research, preparation and rehearsal,some questions can take you off guard. My favorite recent example being, “If you were a part of a cheeseburger, which part would you be?” Best answer, in my opinion, “Umm,yeah – the cheese, of course!”

Silly questions aside, the question “Why should we hire you?” or “Why do you want this job?” will surface often and can put even the most prepared job seeker on edge. Expect it to come and prepare for it. It’s best not to have a generic answer.

But what makes a good answer? Here are three tips to keep in mind as you formulate your own response.

1. The answer is more about the “We” than the “Me”

Instead of focusing on what’s great about you, instead focus on what you see that is awesome between what you bring and what they offer together. Do you have a particular skill that would shine in their culture and bring about growth at the same time? Does the prospective employer have a situation before them to which you can uniquely contribute that makes benefits you both?

Is the company experiencing financial issues and you have a specific track record turning around distressed companies in their industry? Outline how fixing these types of scenarios is rewarding for you as a progressive Chief Financial Officer.

Answering in a way that promotes a winning scenario all around is the best strategy. If there’s a specific example of how you can advance the company, while advancing your own career, then absolutely share it!

2. It’s about your ability to solve problems they have

A smart answer focuses on solving existing problems the company is experiencing. Is the company experiencing high staff turnover? Demonstrate as a Director of HR the retention programs you have put in place that have reduced turnover. See that the organization’s main product line has plateaued in sales with its target market? Showcase how you reinvented the brand to invigorate sales and by how much for each instance you had success during your tenure as a EVP of Sales & Marketing.

Interviewers love to hear about a mutually beneficial solution or arrangement. Turnover is a real problem for some industries or companies and the better the likelihood that you both get something out of it (beyond trading work for pay), the better chances that you’ll stick around and they’ll want you to.

3. Your Passion Shines Through

If this is a position or field that you're passionate about, little rehearsing may be necessary for this questions, if you are speaking from your heart. There's little that trumps what intrinsically motivates you when it comes to an effective answer.

Demonstrating what motivates you deep down is of great interest to a company. A great company knows they can’t motivate people—top-notch employees come with motivation and great companies know how to supercharge and channel that already-there mojo. Sharing what made you interested in finance or what inspired you to get involved in the pharmaceutical industry can show a company how you come to them already fired up about the cause/product/service and all you need is the proverbial gas to fuel that passion. This information, combined with your earlier research about the company, will emphasize that your personalities and interests mesh well making you a great hire for them –so don’t be afraid to share why.

When answering the question, “Why should we hire you?” it’s best to focus on the company’s needs and how you can serve those need and provide an answer that is a win/win for you both. Don’t be afraid to show your enthusiasm and let your passion for the position or industry emanate.

Above all else, take this question seriously and be prepared. This the time to showcase why you care about this position, what you have to offer the company and demonstrate that you want it.

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.

Dealing with multiple recruiting agencies

doesn’t always result in more high-quality

candidates. In fact, sometimes it can be an

inefficient way to attempt to fill highly

specialized roles. A global leader of

application delivery and application security

solutions for virtual and cloud data centers

began working with several recruitment

agencies in order to find a qualified, multifaceted professional that met their strict

and highly technical hiring demands. When the company needed to expand its Sales

Engineering team, it had several specialized requirements that made the position

challenging to fill. It had been nine months and the position had not been filled, even

though they were working with a variety of agencies.

Since the position required the candidate to have deep technical experience across

all facets of application delivery and application security solutions, as well as

virtualization, Private / Hybrid Cloud and Software-defined Networking (SDN), as

well as their numerous applications in a variety of verticals, it would take some

digging to right qualified candidates.

The candidate also needed solution-selling experience and hands-on experience

with the provider’s intricate products and solutions portfolio.  They had to provide an

initial presentation with customers and sales teams and perform the installation. The

company interviewed dozens of candidates suggested by its recruiting firms but

were unable to find a candidate that met all of the provider’s requirements.  After

nine months, the organization decided to explore another recruitment agency option.

That’s when J. Patrick & Associates (JP&A) became involved and executed multiple

candidate searches in the Chicago area.  The company identified Sales Engineers at

the security solutions provider’s direct competitors.  Then it turned to trusted industry

referrals to further its search.

JP&A cold-called and thoroughly screened dozens of qualified professionals by

using its database of over half a million candidates and a global Information Security

referral network. JP&A’s recruiters disqualified approximately 30 candidates for

every one that moved on to the next phase, the technical screen.  JP&A successfully

identified two qualified Sales Engineer candidates that met all of the client’s job

requirements within a 30-day period.  

The security solutions provider hired one of the Sales Engineer candidates, now a

consistent top performer several years running. Since then, the company has

retained J. Patrick & Associates as its primary recruiting firm. In the last year, J.

Patrick & Associates has successfully placed more than 10 professionals in eight

other positions with the organization and is currently working with the provider to fill

12 new Sales and Engineering positions. One solid recruiting firm with the right

experience and resources can be easier and more efficient than working with

multiple recruiters.

Sales Engineers are vital to your sales efforts, providing the technical glue that holds deals together. Quality Sales Engineers can be a challenge to find because competition is fierce for effective engineers. Many highly-qualified Sales Engineers are already busy being handsomely rewarded for their efforts and comfortable where they are. For that reason, it’s important to have a nimble recruitment process that’s focused on speed and quality, while being cost-effective.

After being acquired by a multinational technology and consulting corporation, a leading

endpoint security vendor needed additional Sales and Engineering staff to support the

release of its new suite of security software. This security software provides cybercrime

prevention against financial fraud and data breaches. Hundreds of millions of end-users

use this software to protect web applications, computers and mobile devices from cyber

threats and attacks. Finding the right salespeople and sales engineers, for a product

that serves such a huge market, required an equally huge commitment to rigorous, yet

efficient recruiting.

Initially, the Human Resources Department of its parent company worked with several

recruiting firms to fill several sales and Sales Engineering roles to satisfy its urgent

staffing needs. That worked to fill the Sales Division positions quickly, but due to the

complexity of its software, it was difficult to fill seven open Sales Engineering roles in

the one-month time they had set.

The right candidates needed to have a strong solution-selling ability and hands-on

installation experience with multiple facets of endpoint security technology. They

needed a conceptual understanding of how these technologies integrate with other

internal systems that their client’s may be using. In addition to their technical skills, they

would also have to possess strong presentation and sales skills, and interact

professionally with c-level executives and decision-makers. This mix of technical and

soft skills can be challenging to find. They needed a way to speed up the process and

still find solid candidates that met their criteria.

The endpoint security vendor enlisted the help of J. Patrick & Associates (JP&A) to help

recruit the additions to its Sales Engineering team. JP&A had the tools and resources to

help source qualified candidates in the company’s limited hiring timeframe. By using

data and number mining software and various social media platforms, JP&A used its

database of over 500,000 candidates and its Information Security referral network to

identify candidates for the initial job screening. It was highly specific as well as labor

and in regards to the time-intensive process. JP&A screened out between 100-200

applicants for every candidate that went on to the next phase of the interview process,

the technical aptitude assessment.

JP&A successfully managed the entire hiring process for the endpoint security vendor.

In filling four of its seven Sales Engineering positions in under three and a half months,

JP&A saved the endpoint security vendor significant time and investment in the

process.

By quickly finding high-quality candidates, JP&A earned the company’s trust and is the

company’s only outsourced recruiting firm, working with the parent company’s on

ongoing recruitment projects.

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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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HOW TO TRANSITION FROM AV TECH TO MANAGEMENT

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.

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.