Sharp Decisions Funds Job Creation for Returning U.S. Vets

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A visionary entrepreneur, Karen Ross CEO of Sharp Decisions, is making a difference for veterans who’ve served in the U.S. Armed Forces who are returning to a tough job market. Sharp Decisions is making an initial $250,000 investment—which is projected to run into the millions—to help military veterans get back into the workforce and bring jobs back to U.S. shores.

Ross recently founded the V.E.T.S. ™ (Vocation, Education, and Training for ServiceMembers) program. It is designed to leverage the skills of military veterans and train them in specific Quality Assurance software testing and data mining capabilities. V.E.T.S. will provide U.S. veterans with explicit industry knowledge and an awareness of emerging developments, including legislative, compliance and regulatory reporting critical to businesses, while providing organizations with engaged, qualified teams to get the job done.

“Veterans of the armed services take their commitments seriously, putting service before self in all they do, yet many returning veterans face a challenge in finding careers suited to their skills,” says Ross.

Currently, a significant percentage of all Quality Assurance Testing is done offshore in places like India, the Philippines, Singapore, China, Russia and Eastern Europe. This program will help bring it back to the U.S., starting in New York City, by hiring and training newly returning veterans and pricing these services competitive to offshore outsourcing. Targeted fields include healthcare, manufacturing, financial and government contractor sectors.

Ben Bullington of Pennsylvania, a veteran of two wars, knows how tough it can be. “As an Iraq War Vet and Veteran of the Kosovo Campaign, I can vouch for how very tough it is to return and find solid, stimulating employment.”

Ross states: “We want to retrain these veterans into positions that offer them careers with a future. They’ve served us so well. We should do the same for them. It’s the right thing to do.”

Here’s how the program will work:

  • Sharp Decisions bears the entire cost of hiring and training returning veterans—creating a career path for the people who have served and defended our nation.
  • Upon completion of the V.E.T.S. training program, Sharp will provide companies with teams of six to 20+ veteran professionals, each managed by a highly experience Testing Professional with both business and technical experience.

Sharp will house the teams in their secure networked facility.

The V.E.T.S. Program ensures competitive rates to traditional offshore pricing, while offering the following benefits:

  • Promotion of military veteran employment
  • Support of economic growth
  • Communication without language and/or cultural differences
  • No time difference for project team interaction
  • Improved employee and project oversight
  • Protection of sensitive data
  • Goodwill internally among employees and externally with customers and clients

“The program ensures that quality becomes paramount, costs are contained, resources are local, and excellence is delivered. V.E.T.S. cost-effectively brings offshore jobs back to American shores by promoting employment of returning American Service Members,” concludes Ross.

ABOUT SHARP DECISIONS

Sharp Decisions is privately held with revenues in excess of $50 million. It is headquartered in New York City with offices located in Charlotte and Raleigh, NC, Phoenix, AZ, Los Angeles, CA, Princeton, NJ, and London, England.

Founded in 1990 as a technology and consulting firm, Sharp Decisions has provided solutions to state and local government agencies and national and international corporations in—but not limited to—Banking, Finance, Healthcare, Media, Telecommunications, Transportation, Manufacturing and other industries. In 2008, it added a Finance Operations division to specifically address the non-technical operational needs of major financial institutions.

With two decades of achievement and superior service, Sharp Decisions has provided the technology backbone for numerous public and private sector clients, including Fortune 500 and other high-profile companies. For more information, go to www.sharpdecisions.com or 212.481.5533.

3 Skills to Boost Your Worth in the Job Market

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In our last post, we listed ways to increase job seeker marketability. We rushed through the “new skills” section, which is such a shame. I’m back to rectify that. We’ve compiled a new list—we’re big fans of lists around here—of 3 skills to increase marketability. Without further ado, here’s our list:

1. Foreign Languages

In the age of Globalism, many companies have offices in more than one country. If the company doesn’t have an office in a different country, odds are, the company has foreign business affiliates or outsources to an organization off-shore.  Even the smallest businesses deal with customers speaking languages other than English.

In a global economy, having a multi-lingual employee can be invaluable. Many companies list speaking proficiency in a second language as a prerequisite for employment.

Considering learning a new language but unsure of which? Here are the 5 most widely spoken languages globally:

1. Chinese/Mandarin

2. Spanish

3. English

4. Hindi-Urdu

5. Arabic

2. Technical Skills

Technical skills are similar to the giant spinning coins in Super Mario in that the more collected, the stronger the candidate and the more probable success.

Learning material for computer skills is only a simple Google search away—or Bing, depending on your search engine preference. With many companies transitioning to paperless systems and relying on online marketing techniques, technical knowledge is more sought after now than ever.

We did a bit of digging to find the most relevant technical skills for 2013. We came up with the following list:

1. HTML5

This simple markup language is the foundation of everything web-based, so, naturally, it’s a coveted skill. HTML5 is supported by the latest versions of all major web browsers. Fortunately, this skill is relatively easy to learn.

2. iOS Development

I have an iPhone, an iPad, an iPod, and an Apple laptop. In fact, almost everyone I know owns at least one Apple device, which explains why iOS development, required to create Apple applications, is second on our list.

3. PHP

PHP is an open source scripting language used by most high profile websites. It runs on more than 20 million websites.

4. Java/J2EE

The demand for Java/J2EE talent has remained consistently high the past few years, increasing incrementally. According to Dice, professionals with Java/J2EE skills will enjoy another rise in demand this year.

5. JavaScript

JavaScript is the magic that allows smartphones and tablets to interact on the web. As jQuery is perhaps the most user friendly JavaScript language, beginners may wish to begin learning here.

A great site for novices to learn essential technical skills is www.w3schools.com. This site uses layman terms to comprehensibly and simply teach users a variety of applications, programing languages, etc. Each of the above skills can be learned free of cost at w3schools.

3. Writing skills

No matter their field, most employees are required to, at the very least, compose e-mails, letters, memos, and/or proposals. Sloppy writing reflects badly on the individual and the organization and increases the likelihood of miscommunication. Most conflicts originate from miscommunication, which is more prevalent in written correspondence than in spoken. To avoid it, and thus conflict arising from it, ideas should be expressed clearly, simply, and concisely. The goal is to make the reader’s job as simple as possible. For consistency—and, because we love lists—we’ve included a short list of common writing problems:

 1. Misspellings

Spelling seems trivial. It’s not. Incorrect spelling leads to confusion and a loss of credibility from the reader.

2. Punctuation/Grammatical Errors

Grammatical and punctuation errors also lead to a loss of both credibility and clarity. Commas are pesky little suckers, but misplace one, and the meaning of a sentence changes completely.

3. Unclear Purpose

The purpose should be stated clearly in a single sentence at the beginning of the document. The remainder of your document should support this purpose.

4. Rambling

Professionals don’t have time to sift through excess verbiage to find the vital bits. So that the principal message doesn’t get lost in the fluff and the reader does not lose interest/patience and stop reading, any sentence that does not further the purpose statement should be stripped away. Even the most brilliant sentence must be excised if it does not support the objective of the text.

Mistakes are easy to make—I’ve made several so far—so editing, if only briefly, is always worthwhile.

For more information about effective writing techniques and to learn industry specific writing guidelines, check out the style guide for your field. Each discipline abides by a different style guide. Information Technology uses the ITS (Information Technology Services) Style Guide. For those in Financial Services, The Financial Style Guide by Colin Inman and Roger Beale is a great writing resource. The three most commonly used are MLA (my favorite—I love the Oxford Comma), APA, and Chicago. Disciplines in the Humanities follow MLA formatting, whereas Communication fields follow APA. Chicago is typically used in publishing. Style guides for each of these as well as very useful writing tips can be found online free of cost at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl.

And, so concludes our list. To recap, key skills increase a candidate’s worth. Speaking proficiency in a foreign language, skill with a scripting/programming language, and a strong writing ability are valuable skills to learn.

When applying for a position without Sharp Decisions, a candidate’s impressive skillset may or may not be viewed by the hiring manager, and if it is, it may get lost among the other candidates with similarly impressive skills. However, when one applies through Sharp Decisions, we ensure that each of your relevant abilities is highlighted to the hiring manager. Thus, the candidate’s chances of being hired are significantly increased.

As always, we’re interested in your opinions and questions. Please e-mail them to hbruner@sharpdecisions.com.

 

5 Ways to Make Yourself More Marketable

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The job market can sometimes seem like a windswept wasteland and the prospect of finding a suitable job like tracking down the one vestige of residual life. Don’t enter the hunt unarmed.  Equip yourself with these 5 tools to make yourself more marketable.

1. Acquire new skills:

Think of job hunting as the Hunger Games. You’re competing with many capable candidates, but only one of you will attain Paradise—i.e. the job. You need an advantage over the other candidates. You need to fill your arsenal with weapons with which to cut down your opponents. In this (possibly overextended) analogy, “weapons” are new skills, and new skills can greatly increase your value to an employer.

Learning a foreign language, programming language, computer application, or research technique are all skills that can be useful in any discipline. We’ll discuss this in more detail in the next post.

2. Enroll in Certification Programs:

Certification Programs exist in every discipline. Whether you’re an IT, legal, or financial professional, a suitable and affordable Certification Program is out there. These programs sharpen existing skills, while instilling new ones. Moreover, they provide reliable verification of skillsets to employers. Certifications, while not necessarily required, certainly set candidates apart in the application pool.

For you techies reading this post, the most popular IT Certifications at the moment are Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA), Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE), Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE), Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS), and Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP).

3. Network:

To emerge victorious, forming alliances is often necessary. It worked in The Hunger Games—for a while. The same logic can be applied to career success: building relationships with professionals in your specialty can be invaluable.

Contacts will alert you to jobs of which you were previously unaware and, often, help you land a position. Contacts are also very beneficial to your business, no matter the field.

With niche networking sites, social media sites, and forums, networking is now easier than ever. LinkedIn is an especially helpful professional networking site. If you do not have a LinkedIn account, create one. If you do, ensure your information is current and connect with your colleagues, individuals with whom you have done business, and other professionals in your field. Don’t be shy—the more connections you have, the better. Leverage this site and others to build relationships with other professionals.

Social networking is a great innovation, but it should never replace traditional networking. Meeting a colleague, client, or potential client in person–whether for coffee, lunch, or a meeting in the office–leaves a more memorable impression and goes further in building lasting symbiotic relationships than exchanging sporadic web messages.

Consider joining domain and civic groups as well. These allow you to meet and engage with professionals in your industry face to face.

4. Volunteer:

We’ve mentioned that finding a job is difficult, but it’s worth repeating. If having difficulty finding work, why not volunteer or apply for an internship? Employers want to hire individuals who are proactive, not passive. So, even when unemployed, finding a way to enrich your community while growing your skills is impressive to any employer.

Invest your time in an area that matches your interests and, ideally, career goals. The range of volunteer opportunities is surprising. An opportunity for each personality and skillset can be found.

If you’re in the New York area, visit newyorkcares.org to find a volunteer opportunity that suits you.

5. Encourage creativity:

Technical skills and knowledge are essential, obviously. This doesn’t, however, discount the importance of creativity in any discipline. Success isn’t achieved by sticking with the status quo. The minds of truly successful individuals function differently than the masses. These few examine situations from unique, sometimes strange, perspectives and take risks that less innovative people are hesitant to take.

Employers want an employee with the ability to improve their business, and often, this requires a creative rather than traditional approach.

Hone your creativity by engaging in creative exercises. Challenge your mind to build your critical and abstract thinking abilities.

Implementing these 5 stratagems is a great start to attaining the job you want, but sometimes, having a stellar resume alone isn’t enough. When it’s not, Sharp Decisions can help. If you apply through us, you automatically have an advantage over other candidates because we guarantee that if you have the qualifications for the role, your resume will be seen and seriously considered by the hiring manager. This may sound like cheating, but we assure you it’s not. Our ability to place candidate after candidate in prestigious positions at high profile firms is a product of our 23 years of success in recruiting and consulting. Contact us. Let us find the perfect position for you. It’s what we do best.

As always, Sharp Decisions wants to know your thoughts, questions, and concerns, so send them to hbruner@sharpdecisions.com. We’ll do our best to answer them accurately and quickly.

 

ISR (Interview Stress Reduction): Don’t Enter an Interview without these 3 Things

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In high school, we took SATs and ACTs to gain college admittance. In college, many of us took GREs, LSATs, MCATs, DATs, or another examination with the hopes of furthering our educations. And, in the professional world, we must sit through an interview. Interviews are just like any other big examination. They stand before a transition as if to say, “If you can pass through me, you may enter this uncharted territory.” An interview is a test to be passed. And, like most tests, you can prepare for it.

To be ready and confident when you enter an interview, never forget to bring these 3 essential things with you:

  1. Resume/Reference List

Though it may seem obvious, many candidates forget to bring a copy of their resume to an interview. Because more than one person may interview you, we recommend you bring along 3 copies.

 In addition to your resume, bring several copies of your list of references to give to interviewers.

  1. ID

Many offices are located in buildings that require ID to enter. Because you want to cause as little trouble for you interviewer as possible, be sure to bring your ID, so he/she doesn’t have to escort you from the security desk to the office. You may also be asked to fill out paperwork and present your ID once inside the company office.

  1. Knowledge

Interviews are your chance to let your knowledge of the company, the industry, and the position for which you’re vying shine. Study the company, brush up on the knowledge needed for the role, and research the current industry climate. Equipping yourself with this information demonstrates your desire to earn the job.

Interviews are exams that require improvisation, eloquence, and cognizance. As such, your neurons should be charged and firing from the moment your big toe crosses the threshold. So, as cliché as this may sound, be sure to get a good night’s sleep, eat a substantial breakfast, and hydrate.

Finally, arrive early. You may need to fill out forms prior to the interview, and you want to have time to complete them before the appointed interview time. Nevertheless, do not arrive too early. This will inconvenience and annoy potential employers. Ten to fifteen minutes prior to the interview is a safe window. Give yourself plenty of travel time. The last thing you want is to arrive late and flustered. So, overestimate the travel time to account for any traffic, bus, or train delays. Anyone who lives in a large city knows how unreliable public transportation is.

At Sharp Decisions, we genuinely want you to succeed in your professional life. If you apply for positions through Sharp Decisions, we can help. Not only will we represent you to our client and place your application in the hands of the hiring manager, but we will also prepare you for the interview.

Sharp Decisions is a Woman Owned Business Enterprise with 23 years of success in recruiting and consulting.

As always, Sharp Decisions wants to know your thoughts, questions, and concerns, so send them to hbruner@sharpdecisions.com. We’ll do our best to answer them accurately and quickly.

Hiring DIY: Why You Should Leave It to the Specialists

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Business is all about profit. As a business, Sharp Decisions understands the need to make cost effective decisions. So, when a hiring manager is hesitant—or downright adverse—about hiring a recruiting company because of the price, we understand. But, we’d also like to state our case, which is this: despite the price, recruiting companies are, in the long run, an economical solution to hiring.

When making decisions, I find pro/con lists helpful. Grab a pen and a sheet of paper—or your colleague’s arm—and let’s get started.

CONS

  1. Recruiting companies are expensive.

Recruiting companies are either compensated with a percentage of the candidate’s salary or with a flat rate. Regardless, all fees will be negotiated beforehand, so no surprise costs emerge later.

On the flip side, most recruitment firms only charge if the candidate they submit is hired.

Even without outsourcing recruitment services, cost of turnover is generally about 250% of the leaving employee’s salary. This figure can be higher or lower depending on the seniority level and degree of specialty of the position.

Sometimes—i.e. most of the time—finding an employee with the right personality and skill set takes time. We’re talking months. The cost of turnover does not consider the Cost of Vacancy, which increases as time passes.  A vacancy may immediately reflect a decrease in spending because that salary is no longer being paid. However, the vacancy will definitely cause a decrease in performance, which triggers a decrease in revenue.

Hiring is expensive period—whether you’re the one recruiting or you’re hiring someone else. The key is to complete the hire as quickly as possible to minimize loss of income.

2. The hiring manager loses control of the hiring process when turning the recruitment process over to the recruiter.

This is simply a misconception. The hiring manager retains full control of the hiring process; he/she simple doesn’t have to do the grunt work. The client provides recruiters with a list of the qualities they want in a new employee, the recruiters find those candidates, and the client chooses the best candidate.

(Feel free to add other cons, but I’m moving on to the pros before I lose your attention.)

PROS

  1. Recruiting companies are specialists and, like any true specialist, have perfected the recruitment process, making searches more accurate.
  2. Because processes are streamlined and because all of a recruiter’s time is devoted to finding candidates, recruiting firms find them faster. In fact, Sharp Decisions is proactive and has a database of great candidates at our fingertips, ripe for the picking.
  3. Smart job hunters are increasingly seeking out recruiting companies. They know that recruiting companies send resumes directly to the client, so their resume won’t be lost in the masses. Predators pursue their prey—they don’t hang around the dried up waterhole waiting for antelope to show. Likewise, shrewd hiring managers track bright candidates, in this case, to recruiting agencies.

BOTTOM-LINE (for those only reading the bold print)

At first glance, hiring a recruiting company seems less cost effective than simply hiring an employee yourself, but when cost of vacancy, time, and effort are equated, it actually turns out to be a profitable hiring solution. And, because the client only pays if he/she decides to hire the candidate, no risk is involved.

At Sharp Decisions, we have 23 years of success in recruiting and consulting under our belt. Our recruiting specialists are great at their jobs and diligent in their search. Thus, they repeatedly find top-notch candidates quickly. Contact us. Let us find the perfect candidate for you. It’s what we do best. What do you have to lose, besides needles stress and frustration?

As always, Sharp Decisions wants to know your thoughts, questions, and concerns, so send them to hbruner@sharpdecisions.com. We’ll do our best to answer them accurately and quickly.

 

VoiceMail Greetings to Cinch Your Unemployment

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Let me tell you a story. Please, just indulge me. It opens in the Sharp Decisions recruiting office. A recruiter is diligently screening resumes, when in the piles of dead-ends, he uncovers a crisp, clean perfectly formatted resume highlighting the candidate’s extensive IT experience.

“This is the guy, right here!” Recruiter Rick** exclaims.

He dials the number in the top right corner of the resume and waits. No one answers, so Recruiter Rick resigns himself to leaving a voicemail.

“Yo, what up? Leave a message,” booms through the receiver.

Click.

Recruiter Rick doesn’t bother leaving a message or sending an email. Instead, the crisp, clean resume is crumpled and tossed in the trash bin.

As bad as “yo, what up” guy’s voicemail greeting is, anyone who is currently working, or has ever worked, in a role requiring significant phone contact can tell you that very few things are more irritating than the following scenario:

The number has been dialed, the phone is ringing, and you are waiting for someone to answer.

“Hello, this is [insert name of culprit].”

A long pause ensues, during which you explain who you are and why you are calling. Suddenly, you hear—

“Psych! I’m not really here. So, leave me a message, maybe?”

Let me reiterate, few things are more irritating.

The moral here is that no matter how impressive your qualifications and resume, an unprofessional voicemail greeting can dash your chances of being hired.

Quick, check your voicemail greeting. Even if you just updated your greeting Tuesday, verify that your “friends,” without your knowledge, haven’t changed it to them singing—badly.

In your upgraded voicemail greeting, state your name clearly and slowly. Inform callers of the best methods to reach you. Be polite, be concise, and above all, be professional.

Please, don’t be “yo, what up” guy. You’re better than that. In fact, Sharp Decisions thinks you’re so great that we want to personally help you land the great job that has you salivating.

Ensure your resume is seen by the hiring manager instead of lost to either the web or the dusty piles of resumes sitting in the HR department. Send it to us. We can guarantee that if you have the necessary qualifications, your resume will be placed in the hands of the hiring manager.

To learn more about Sharp Decisions, visit our website at www.sharpdecisions.com. While you’re there, check out our open job opportunities at www.sharpdecisions.com/careers/.

As always, Sharp Decisions wants to know your thoughts. Send any questions or comments to hbruner@sharpdecisions.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

**All names have been changed to protect the identity of the individual.

Sharp Decision’s Thank-You Letter Tips (You’re Welcome)

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Working in the recruiting business, one quickly learns that each seemingly small detail can make a significant impact on an employer. Employers are bombarded by an influx of resumes, so they can afford to be picky.

When the hiring manager has pared his/her favorites down to two or three candidates, a simple thank you letter could be the factor that pushes one candidate ahead of the rest.

Company culture and personalities of interviewers vary from one organization to the next, so I can’t offer an archetypal thank-you letter guaranteed to woo any hiring manager. However, I can provide a few suggestions.

Managers differ in opinion when it comes to paper versus electronic. Usually, an e-mail is best. E-mails arrive sooner, and most professionals receive company e-mail to their cellular devices. However, if the organization is “old-fashioned,” consider a mailed letter. Never fax a thank you letter. However you choose to send it, send within forty-eight hours of the interview.

When writing a traditional letter, never write it by hand. Unless you have breathtaking penmanship, type the document in a standard, legible font.

Avoid patterned or colored stationary. Elle Woods, in Legally Blonde, may have charmed the admissions committee with pink scented paper, but trust us, you won’t. If tempted to throw a ream of the pink abomination in your basket next time you’re in Staples, don’t. In fact, don’t even glance in its direction. Grab the white—or cream—paper, and walk away. Remember, simple is professional and easy to read.

Whether choosing traditional or electronic post, the content of the letter should be the same.

The standard post-interview thank-you letter has three sections: thanking the interviewer, reminding him/her of your strengths, and showing your eagerness to initiate the next step.

1)    Thanking the Interviewer:

As you are writing a thank-you letter, the thank-you section is most important. Thank the interviewer for his/her time and interest in you. Mention the aspects of the interview, the organization, and the position you like. Be specific.

2)    Reiterating Your Strengths:

Remind the interviewer of key qualities that make you well-suited to this position. Address any reason for hesitation the manager may have had in hiring you, and briefly state any pertinent aspects of your background you were unable to discuss in the interview. Finally, demonstrate your potential value to the company by offering suggestions to business shortcomings the hiring manager raised during in your discussion. But, remember, this is a thank you letter. Be concise, and do not overpraise yourself.

3)    Taking the Next Step:

Express your enthusiasm for moving forward in the hiring process, and share your excitement about the prospect of working at the company.

Your salutation should be formal, unless the interviewer specifically requests that you call him/her by his/her first name. Likewise, the closing should be professional. “Regards,” “Sincerely,” or “Thank you” are sensible.

Sharp Decisions wants to see you succeed. Our recruiters work directly with the hiring manager and receive specific feedback on the candidate’s strengths and weaknesses. We communicate those with our candidates, so they can accurately address the hiring manager’s concerns. The job market is a cold, hard world—don’t navigate it alone. Let us guide you through each step of the hiring process from editing the resume to sending that post-interview thank-you letter.

Check out the many open positions posted on our “Careers” page. Please visit www.sharpdecisions.com/careers/ to find one that interests you.

As always, we want to hear from you! Send any questions or comments you have to hbruner@sharpdecisions.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

Tailoring Your Resume to Accentuate Your Assets

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Meet Sally. Since Sally graduated from Cornell with a 4.0 GPA, she’s been on the express train to professional glory, landing a prestigious position at a high-profile Investment Banking firm the day after graduation. Sally has all the experience, all the qualifications needed for the Financial Planning position for which she’s applying. We’re all envious of Sally, and Sally is confident in her success. So confident, in fact, that she neglects to tailor her resume to the specific Financial Planning job she wants. Even though Sally is perfect for the role, she isn’t invited for an interview. After opening the e-mail bearing the bad news, Sally buys a bottle of red wine and cries herself to sleep, while reading After the Trade is Made, her guilty literary pleasure.

Don’t be Sally. You wouldn’t wear an old frumpy suit into an interview. Even Sally would be horrified. So, why wouldn’t you customize your resume so that it fits the job to which you are applying and accentuates your assets in all the right places? Show off your most professional and polished self, while highlighting all the reasons that you are the ideal candidate for this particular role. In what follows, Sharp Decisions shows you how.

Most hiring managers spend less than 30 seconds scanning a resume. Within 30 seconds, they decide whether or not the candidate is right for the position. That you are the right candidate for a given job must be obvious in your resume.

Not all resumes include an objective statement, and that is fine. But, if you choose to include one, tailor it to the job you want. You don’t have to be too specific, but the objective should be targeted to the field for which you’re applying. For example, after Sally pulls herself together, she updates her objective statement to the following: “To obtain a position as a Financial Planner, utilizing my critical thinking, strategic planning, and analytical skills as well as my extensive knowledge of the Investment Banking Industry.”

Often, job titles aren’t descriptive of the tasks involved, and sometimes, they aren’t even accurate. A common example of this is the title “Administrative Assistant.” The duties of an Administrative Assistant vary from position to position, so an Administrative Assistant may not have the skills to fill another Administrative Assistant position, but he/she may have the necessary experience for another role with a different title.

To ensure you are clearly communicating your experience, always include a summary of job duties for each position you’ve held. Summaries should be clean and concise, so not all responsibilities need to be listed. Research can help pinpoint which tasks to include. Start by researching the job title for which you are applying. Identify qualifications and skills needed for the position. Also, look for key words used repeatedly in job descriptions for this position. Focus on aspects of your previous jobs that meet these requirements and incorporate key words. Cut tasks that aren’t pertinent for the job you are seeking to make room for tasks that are. A long, tedious list isn’t only boring, but it also obscures the significant responsibilities you want to shine so brightly they blind the hiring manager, so he can look no further than your resume.

Even your accomplishments, awards, and affiliations should show off your skill in the desired field. At heart, all employers are selfish and want to know how you will benefit their company, so show them how you’ve attributed to the success of other organizations by using skills specific to your target position.  This can be reflected in promotions, statistical data, or successful projects.

Finally, your references should be able to corroborate your abilities in the areas relevant to the position you’re seeking. Sally may be her French professor’s favorite pupil, but he can’t attest to your superior mathematic and analytical skills required for a Financial Planner. Though her previous supervisor at the accounting firm might write a less colorful and enthusiastic letter, it will hold more weight because of its relevance.

When you apply for a position through Sharp Decisions, we help you edit your resume to emphasize the skill set specific to the individual position for which you’re vying. We know the qualities our clients want in a candidate, so we can edit and customize your resume better than you can alone. Check out our job opportunities at www.sharpdecisions.com/careers/. We have a 22-year record of success in finding jobs for professionals like you. We’re experts, and we’re confident we can find the perfect position for you. Let us help.

We love when you message us. Send your questions, comments, and concerns to hbruner@sharpdecisions.com. We look forward to hearing from you and, hopefully, meeting you in the near future.

E-mail Etiquette that Will Impress Employers

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Last time, we mentioned the importance of leaving a good impression on hiring managers from the get-go with polite initial correspondence, and we discussed simple phone manners. In part two, we’ll be discussing e-mail etiquette.

E-mail is often the easiest and quickest method of contact, and employers will invariably ask you to supply an e-mail address. The e-mail address you give them should be professional and easy to identify as yours. An address including your name is best. The lastname.firstname@host.com is always a great standby. You never, under any circumstances, lethal or otherwise, want to give a potential employer the clever e-mail address you’ve used since high school. stuckinpurgatory@yahoo.com could potentially win your resume a spot right next to partyingpaul@aol.com in a trash bin. School e-mail addresses, while not unprofessional, make the applicant appear too rookie. Even if you are fresh from college, you’ve graduated, you’ve grown up, and you’re a skilled individual ready to enter the professional world. Your e-mail address should reflect this.

Perhaps, you are not applying for a copy-editing job. Maybe, you’re applying for technical job that requires little use of either written or spoken language. The fact remains that your ability to compose a clear, polite, and grammatically correct e-mail will influence an employer’s appraisal of you. Even if you are a brilliant speaker, if you haven’t spoken with the employer, he or she will most likely base your communication abilities on your skill at crafting an e-mail. And, an employer wants to know that your written and spoken communication abilities will reflect well on the organization.

To help you leave a positive impression on future employers, Sharp Decisions would like to offer you a few tips on constructing a strong e-mail.

1.         Use a polite and professional opening and closing. If unsure of what level of formality to use, err on the side of formal rather than overly familiar.

2.         Address your e-mail to the suitable party, and be certain to spell their name correctly.

3.         E-mails are electronic letters, not instant messages. So, never use internet slang, emoticons, bright font colors, or wild font styles.

4.         Avoid bolding words, using all caps, and abusing the use of exclamation points, as all will be interpreted as shouting, which is not an impression you want to leave with a potential employer.

5.         When writing the content of your e-mail, always use clear, correct, concise, and polite language.

6.         And, always, whether an e-mail directly asks for a response or not, reply to e-mails. Responding is polite and lets the sender know you received his or her e-mail.

At Sharp Decisions, our goal is to place you in a position that is best suited to your individual talents and ambitions. To reach both your and our objective to land you the right job, we’re right beside you in every step of the hiring process. We speak to the hiring manager on your behalf and advise you in appropriate communication practices with the company for which you are interviewing. If you’re looking for that right position, send us your resume. We’ll work to get it for you.

Sharp Decisions values your input, so if you have any comments or questions, please send them to hbruner@sharpdecisions.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

Fatal Phone Flaws

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We all know how important the resume, cover letter, and interview are in landing that ideal job, but we often neglect the significance of those brief e-mails and phone conversations we exchange with potential employers. Before overlooking the role correspondence plays in the hiring process, Sharp Decisions has a few pieces of advice for you to consider. Let’s start with phone etiquette.

Imagine for a moment that your phone is ringing, and it’s a number you don’t recognize. Thinking one of your friends or a telemarketer is on the line, you press answer, mumble “yo” into the receiver, and continue watching the latest episode of “The Walking Dead” in surround sound. Unfortunately, that was the hiring manager for a high-profile financial firm, and you’ve just significantly decreased your chances of landing a job with them all because of poor phone etiquette and sub-par communication.

It goes unsaid how important answering the phone clearly is in making a positive first, or fifth, impression. You never know who the unrecognized number on your caller ID is, so always answer the phone as if it might be a hiring manager. Consider answering the phone with a chipper “Hello, this is [your name].” Remember, when speaking over the phone, be sure to speak slowly and articulately, so you will be easily understood.

Employers want to hire a professional, well-spoken individual. Your ability to communicate coherently over the phone is not the only factor to consider in projecting a professional image. Ring back tones and voice mail greetings are also important elements.

Sadly, that fresh ring-back tone of the newest Rhianna song is not going to help your chances. In fact, your best bet is to stick with the standard, if less trendy, ringing tone.

When job seeking, customizing your voicemail greeting is a wise choice. Record a message that clearly states your name and best methods for contact slowly and intelligibly. Check your messages often, and delete old messages. You never want to miss a job opportunity because of something as easily avoidable as a full voice mailbox.

Often, the hiring process moves quickly, and if you wait too long to respond, you may miss your opportunity to secure an interview. When you miss a call from an organization, call them back as soon as possible.

As always, Sharp Decisions wants to see you succeed. By applying for positions through Sharp Decisions, we will assist you in every step of the hiring process from your first correspondence with an employer to your acceptance of the position. Send us your resume, and see what we can do for you.

Stay tuned for our next segment, when we will address e-mail decorum.

Sharp Decisions values your input, so if you have any comments or questions, please send them to hbruner@sharpdecisions.com. We look forward to hearing from you and wish you the best of luck in your career quest.