Hiring News

Hiring News

This section of our web site contains articles of interest, as well as a 10-point guide for successful resume writing . We welcome your feedback.

Job Search Strategies
(Note: This link takes you to the Jobs Update page.)

Just the Cash Please

Hiring News for Northern California

Successful Resume Writing Techniques

Just the Cash, Please

The Wall Street Journal (10/31/00) recently cited a Bureau of Labor Statistics study that found that only 5.3 percent of employees in U.S. publicly held companies received stock options in 1999. Such grants were most common in certain industries – technology firms, durable goods manufacturers, and wholesale and retail trades – and executives were the most likely to take advantage of them. According to the report, 19.6 percent of public company executives received stock options in 1999.

The rate of stock ownership was lower yet within the private sector, with less than 2 percent of private industry employees receiving stock options in 1999. Again, these stock benefits were tilted toward employees at the higher end of the pay scale. The survey found that 12.9 percent of those making more than $75,000 per year received options in 1999, while less than 1 percent of those making less than $35,000 per year got them.

These statistics may come as a surprise to recruiters entrenched in daily negotiations with candidates seeking high technology jobs, particularly in Silicon Valley and other high tech "hot spots." It is a refreshing reminder that there are other, non-stock incentives for attracting highly qualified candidates, including:

Sign-on bonuses
Strong relocation package
Interest-free housing loans
Performance-based bonus
Accelerated performance reviews
Expanded job responsibilities
Telecommuting and flex-time options
Perquisites such as a car allowance or computer

These non-stock benefits can present compelling alternatives to stock options during periods of high stock market risk and volatility, such as experienced in year 2000-2001. In addition, they recognize that each candidate and each job offer is unique, with some prospective employees favoring "cash in hand," or other career-oriented rewards. Employers that are creative in considering a variety of short- and long-term incentives will achieve hiring success.

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Hiring News for Northern California
and Bay Area Companies

The San Francisco Chronicle recently reported on the daily trials of Bay Area commuting ("High-Tech Employers Wanted," October 17, 2000). Noting that "each weekday morning, 38,000 people flow out of the San Joaquin Valley and pour over the Altamont Pass into the Bay Area, bound for jobs one to two hours from their homes," the Chronicle cited a recent survey showing that most of these long-distance commuters come from San Joaquin County and are headed to employers in southeastern Alameda County and the Silicon Valley. A vast majority of these commuters – 87.8 percent – said that they would change jobs if they could work closer to home, with more than a quarter indicating that they would take a small pay cut to eliminate their commute.

The survey, conducted by the San Joaquin Partnership, questioned 3,950 drivers, 497 commuters riding the Altamont Commuter Express trains, and 207 riders of San Joaquin County's long-distance SMART buses. The survey is intended to be used as an incentive to lure more high tech employers north to the Valley. Results showed the following:

Most of the commuters were from San Joaquin County: 71.2 percent of drivers, 76.9 percent of ACE riders and 85.4 percent of SMART passengers.
Tracy ranked as the most popular city of residence (35.6 %) followed by Stockton (14.6 %), Manteca (12.7 %) and Modesto (11.8 %).
Southern Alameda County was the leading destination, attracting 35.1 percent of the drivers, with Silicon Valley being the end of the commute for 30 percent of those surveyed.
The average one-way trip was 1.35 hours for drivers, 1.41 hours for bus riders and 2.01 hours for ACE passengers.
Bus riders begin their commutes at 4:46 a.m., 18 minutes before ACE riders, while the average driver leaves home at 5:43 a.m.
87.8 percent of those surveyed said they would change jobs if they could work closer to home. 25.9 percent would be willing to accept a slightly smaller salary to give up their commutes.

Note to employers: SearchManagement welcomes your searches on a state-wide basis. Please contact us for further information.

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Successful Resume Writing Techniques
SearchManagement - Lisa C. Herbst

As an executive search professional, I am continually amazed by the number of poorly written resumes crossing my desk. I dissect and critique resumes for a living, and am often frustrated by vague prose, generalities, and run-on lists and tables. It is even worse (and unfortunately just as common) to find blatant errors in grammar and spelling.

In lieu of concise and thoughtful statements of Objective and Experience, candidates too often utilize extensive bulleted lists to itemize their every duty. It is ineffective, for example, to remind a recruiter that as Director of Communications you are responsible for "daily communications with the print and online media." We know that.

It is also ineffective to list statistical accomplishments that have no basis, like the Account Executive who "increased revenue by 300%." From $1,000 to $4,000? I appreciate quantitative data, but incomplete data is not useful.

The candidate who claimed, "I have strong communication skills," and then followed it with the statement below is making a bad first impression:

"Where I learned to develop dispensing solutions for the semi conductor Industry,
intereated with supply vendors, and assessed problems with defective product."

I'm also nonplussed if I have to conduct extensive online research to determine your professional capabilities and accomplishments. An Engineering Director who worked for a (now defunct) start-up , and who listed his role as "responsible for all R&D and engineering management," is telling me little about the scope of his program or product development success.

Lastly, the length of the resume should, to a certain extent, reflect the length of your career and your professional achievements. I prefer two-page resumes, but have seen some very good 3-page ones belonging to senior managers with significant career accomplishments. I am not impressed with the recent trend toward "web site resumes," preferring a thoughtful, well written cover letter and concise, hard hitting resume in Microsoft Word or similar document format.

As far as format is concerned, I recommend the KISS methodology. Keep it simple. Left-justified text with category indents and bullets works well. Choose a standard font and avoid inserting decorative lines and symbols, as these do not travel well.

At the risk of sounding pretentious, here are my top 10 tips for resume writing. They'll make your recruiter proud.

And please let me know if you find any spelling errors.

Proofread, proofread, proofread

If your resume is studded with errors in spelling and grammar, you will appear careless or even unprofessional. Use a four-step approach to guarantee good results.

Run Microsoft Word's spell checker.
Print out your resume and proofread it several times.
Proofread your resume out loud.
Pass it around to several other friends or family members for the "acid test."

Be accurate

Be painstakingly accurate in all communications with recruiters or potential employers. Your resume is Ground Zero. If you did not complete your BS degree, don't list a University and Major and leave it at that (instead, clearly state the extent of your degree work). Avoid creative career titles. Reference checking today is increasingly rigorous. If you have concerns (say, a firing or unexplained work hiatus), openly discuss any potential liabilities at the outset of the recruitment process. This strategy will gain the confidence of your recruiter and place you in a more competitive position.

Include professional contact information

Relevant contact information should be included at the top of your resume, including name, home address, daytime and evening phone numbers (home, work, cell), and a daytime e-mail address. I recommend that you allow recruiters to contact you at work, if possible. This generally creates a more professional impression, avoiding those home message recordings from children or pets (it's true; of my candidates had their dog "speaking" on the recorder). Having a work or daytime contact number will improve the speed and efficiency of ongoing job communications.

State a clear career objective

Your Objective should be a concise, one- to two-sentence statement of goals that reflects your qualifications and career aspirations. If you are qualified for more than one discipline -- say, sales and engineering -- tailor your objective to the job you are applying for (you may have more than one resume version). Avoid statements like "Broadly diversified senior executive seeking a position in finance, sales, marketing, business development or operations." Some better approaches include:

"Objective: An executive Sales and Marketing position requiring demonstrated skills in leadership, planning and implementation."
"Objective: A leadership position at a high-growth semiconductor equipment company that will utilize my skills in Marketing and Business Development."

Certain industries, such as the semiconductor capital equipment industry, are highly specialized. In these cases, hiring managers seek candidates with prior industry experience. If you have industry-specific skills, make sure they're "front and center."

If you hate to pen yourself into a corner, you can omit the Objective. But be sure that your resume displays a logical path of career progression. If I have to guess your true calling, I might be wrong (and your resume may not be selected for that next great job).

Summarize your accomplishments

The Summary of Accomplishments is a highly effective resume component. It should cite functional experience (e.g. Sales and Marketing), industry or product experience (enterprise software, CRM), broad accomplishments ("have demonstrated the ability to evolve promising ideas into commercially successful products or new business opportunities"), and qualifications ("extensive international business experience"). The Summary can be anywhere from 5-10 sentences, and can be displayed in bullets or paragraph format. Avoid the use of tables or run-on lists.

Include relevant information about each employer

For each employer, state the company name and geographic location (San Jose, CA). Unless the company is a household name (IBM, GE, Applied Materials, Oracle), include one sentence with a brief description of the business ("the world's leading supplier of Business Intelligence Solutions with annual revenues of $1.5 B and a global client base in 16 countries").
Optional: List the Company's ticker symbol and web site address.

Include relevant information about your job

State your title and the dates of your employment. If you held multiple positions, list the individual titles and dates for each job.
Briefly describe your responsibilities ("responsible for new product development and sustaining engineering for automated wafer handling products used in semiconductor manufacturing").
List KEY accomplishments. This can be done in paragraph or bullet form ("restructured the sales organization, building an experienced team comprised of 15 senior sales professionals, and increased annual revenues by 35% to $150M in 18 months").

Educational information - focus on major degrees

I recommend listing your educational history towards the end of your resume, following work experience. There are exceptions to this practice, e.g. if you have extremely strong credentials that are highly specific to your career objective. In most cases however, it is appropriate to list "Education" following "Work Experience," and above items such as "Technical Publications" and "Personal."
For each degree, list the degree title, the major/minor, the university (please include the full, proper name), the university location and the date the degree was awarded. For example:

Ph.D. in Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 1981.

If you attended a university but did not complete the degree, state this clearly: For example:

Coursework toward a MS Mechanical Engineering, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Attended 1997 - 1998, earning 28 of 40 credits required for degree completion.

Include widely recognized certifications here, including CPA, CMA, CFA, etc.
Omit reference to continuing education coursework unless you intend to complete a degree or nationally recognized certification.
Do not list recreational clubs and non-standard certifications such as "Certified Skydiving Instructor" (you may choose to include these under "Personal").
Do not list your high school degree.

Technical publications and other professional information

Patents and other published works may be included in this section. If you have published extensively, consider including your list as an addendum to your resume.
If you have volunteered extensively or served in local government, you may consider listing that experience in this section. You may also wish to include professional clubs or alumni associations. The decision to do so (or not) should be weighed against the length and other content in your resume.

Personal and references

This section may be omitted altogether, but if you use it I recommend keeping it quite brief.
If you indicate that "References are available on request," make sure that you have your reference list up to date and available. It is not uncommon for clients to ask prospective candidates for several references during first-round interviews.

That's it -- the secret to a successful resume. I predict that this advice will be worth more than what you paid for it. Good luck!

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