We’ve all seen it. Summertime is over and you head back to school and inevitably there is a new girl on that first day. Of course, everyone suddenly wants to date her and is falling all over themselves to do so. Why? It could be any number of reasons, but the real answer is that’s she’s new. That’s it, but in our society, as we all know, new is better. Ok maybe not everyone believes this, but that doesn’t stop every IT professional from pulling the high school equivalent when a new company comes to town.

This has really hit home for me over the last few years as we’ve had several high profile companies show up on the radar (Google, Honda Jet & Dell to name a few) and without fail every time the news breaks I get a stream of calls inquiring if I can “get them a job” with the new company. Unfortunately the answer is usually “no” (for a variety of reasons), but what amazes me most is that these people have done ZERO research about the companies, why they’re coming here, what technologies they use (do they need your skills?), and even if it’s a good place to work. Because the reality is that while they are new they may be the wrong place for you (think mgmt style/corp. culture, career direction, technology, etc.).

So do your homework. Find out the details and then after all that if it’s still something you want to pursue give me a call.

Most recruiters by nature aren’t trying to offend people as they go about the job of recruiting candidates for their client customers. However our quest to find the perfect person leads us to find many more really talented “close but no cigar” candidates that after showcasing our opportunity to and gaining their sincere interest we must now let them know that they just aren’t a good fit (insert reason here).

Of course, some people take this better than others, but generically speaking I’ve been finding that executives take it worst of all, and I’m beginning to understand why. These are people who are at the top of their respective organizations, have been given challenge and opportunity throughout their career and have succeeded at every turn. So in their mind there aren’t many positions that they aren’t capable of doing.

This is, of course, both a blessing and a curse. As I’ve been recently recruiting for a Director level role my client has expressed many requirements (ranging from size & scope of organization & role to industry, salary and many others) and in my world (Retained Search) the one with the gold makes the rules, and the client has the gold. So I have very little ability to shift the role or function unless it’s just highly unrealistic (prior lunar landing experience is always a toughie).

So understand that when you speak with a recruiter we are just as hopeful that you’re the perfect match as you are and we’ll work in your behalf to make sure your relevant experience is showcased. However, when push comes to shove if the client wants a skill or experience that you don’t possess, no matter how wrongheaded you think they are for requiring it, don’t expect to get the interview.

Communication: \kə-myü-nə-kā-shən\ - a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system

I think that we’ve all heard how email communications are a poor substitute for speaking on the phone, and that most of us believe that since the aspect of understanding someone’s emotions or sense of humor is just so tough.

However, I’m not here to complain about misunderstandings that email creates (deal with people). I’m here to talk about how the one thing that email does well (allow us to put facts & information into other peoples hands quickly) gets completely screwed up by those people who fail to utilize the tool properly (similar to those people who leave voicemails that only say “call me”).

Maybe it’s just me, but as I try to communicate with others I find it imperative to convey the message whether I’m on the phone, leaving them a voicemail or sending them an email. So I’m constantly asking or answering questions during this process and it baffles me how when I receive a reply none of the questions have been answered (much less addressed). Of course in typical insult to injury style this non-message is followed by the request to speak at some unidentified future time and date (since they didn’t bother to provide those details either), and the result is scheduling a meeting to schedule a meeting to discuss the actual topic, when it could have been resolved with a little information exchange days ago.

While I understand some topics need not be shared via voice/email (“you’re fired” comes to mind) remember that by providing some information it allows the other person to act and move forward so that when you do actually connect the process can be resolved more quickly (and easily).

I’m sorry, but in working a recent recruiting effort for a mid-level developer I’ve run across a string of applicants that while their age indicates adulthood, their career actions precludes them from inclusion.

Understand this isn’t a bias that I have against younger generations as this is about how your actions show the world what’s important to you (quote of the day), and by no means am I saying that these people aren’t responsible human beings in other aspects of their lives. It’s simply that I’m seeing people who have missed the boat on their career and more than likely will have some level of difficulty along their continued career path.

So what does it take to be a career adult? Not much really, but you should have a

• General direction for your career with identified steps along the path
• An understanding of a typical timeline from one step to the next
• The ability to focus on today’s job while understanding how it helps prepare you for tomorrows career
• Enough market awareness to determine if your path is best served by your current employer or potentially at a new one.
• Finally, the ability to make the difficult decisions along the way to stick to your career goal in the face of all the obstacles (RIF’s/downsizing, family needs, relocation, etc.)

IT careers tend to track along pretty typical lines and if your head is in the sand when the opportunity (whether it is internal or external) comes along then you’ve missed it and most likely it’s not coming back.  So remember it doesn’t take long, it doesn’t take a career coach, but it does take some intelligent thought and the willingness to work towards what it is you truly want.

Some people love them (count me in) and some hate them, but analogies are what assist many people in getting their point across where otherwise it would have fallen on deaf ears.

So it was funny for me to read in the Brazen Careerist the other day as Penelope Trunk was making several very valid points about how people should invest in their careers and make decisions that will help them along the way, and to see her use a rather interesting analogy (that of Ashley Dupre – call girl to Eliot Spitzer). As you may imagine several of her reader took umbrage to the reference and somehow lost the nugget of knowledge she was passing along (oops!).

In that it was unfortunate as they failed to understand the point, but it also raises one of the biggest issues any two people have, and that is the ability to effectively communicate. Let’s face it two people who don’t share a common history (brother/sister, best friends, etc.) don’t have a good understanding of the other person, their vocabulary and their sense of humor, and therefore have a huge potential for getting it all wrong during the most innocuous conversations, much less during an interview.

So I’ll continue to compare your career path to grocery lines, and the interview process to dating and you leaving your company to ending a bad marriage because sometimes analogies are the only way to make your point clear without beating people over the head with the message.