Updating your resume can be about as much fun as pulling teeth (maybe less fun). As tempting as it is to go the easy route and simply add your current work experience/latest project, you want to make sure you have taken other, 21^st century updates, into consideration. Remember, you’re in IT – the healthiest, most innovative industry out there; your resume should reflect it!

Here are a few tips from Leslie Ayres’s article, Six Quick Tips to Bring Your Resume into the 21^st Century, posted on Work Goes Strong. Leslie is a staffing expert and has over 20 years of experience an executive recruiter (so yes, she knows what she’s talking about):

1. Change the Font – nothing screams old-fashioned louder than a serif front like Courier or Times New Roman. These typefaces have a sense of seriousness about them that is the last thing you want when you’re trying to convince someone that there is a great, up-to-date and lively person behind this resume. Better to use a clean sans serif font like Arial or Tahoma, or something a little more elegant and sleek like Century Gothic. And do not, I repeat DO NOT, use some cheesy script of fancy type. Keep is clean and elegant, just make it more modern. Changing the font is an instant makeover. And while you’re at it, make sure you’re aligning things properly. If you don’t know how to use indents and tabs to line up blocks of text, ask someone who does.
2. Get Rid of the Objective – starting off with a tightly worded objective used to be the norm, but over the past few years the heading has been replaced with a positioning statement or perhaps some job titles that tell the reader exactly what kind of person this resume belongs to. I love that resume have evolved this way, because as a recruiter, it’s much more helps to see “Online Advertising Sales Executive” than to read a long convoluted sentence like “Objective: To apply my years of sales expertise in a dynamic environment for a growing company where I can expand and contribute to the bottom line and gain new skill.” That is just meaningless, but the first one tells me what you are, and that’s what I needed to know, thanks.
3. Use Plan English and Tell Your Story – take a look at the language in your resume, which, as we both  know, probably still has the structure and wording that you started with many year and jobs ago, right? It’s no longer in style to use dry corporate speak when talking about work. Your resume is a story about you, so tell it in plain English, using sentences. Write like you talk. The best test if you can read it out loud and it flows and makes sense. The easiest way to write so it sounds natural is to imagine that you’re talking to someone. This is also the perfect time to get rid of all those bullets that have been in fashion for so long; they sound hoppy as we read them, so use them sparingly for highlighting an accomplish or two in each job.
4. Include your LinkedIn Profile Link – after I review a candidate’s resume, the next thing I do is find their LinkedIn profile. I’m looking for consistency with their resume, for how many connections they have, and for what kind of recommendations people have written for them. And yes, I confess that I like when there is a photo there, a picture being worth a thousand words and all that. Bust LinkedIn is a bi place, and there many people with the same name, so when you include your link, it saves time and shows that you know how the game is played nowadays.
5. Delete those Old Jobs from more than 10-15 Years Ago – some resume coaches say don’t go back more than ten years, but your work experience might need more time to make sense, and might need 20 years if you’re very senior. But weed out the old stuff that doesn’t matter anymore, like that job selling insurance you had when you are 18 or the first career you had as a mechanic. If it’s not germane to the job at hand and isn’t important in your story, just drop it off entirely, since jobs from too long ago can make you look old and old-fashioned.
6. Write Your Resume with Key Words in Mind – chances are that your resume will be put into some kind of candidate tracking or search software somewhere, or that you’ll post it up on a board like Monster or The Ladders, and that means it needs to come up in searches. Make sure to use the key words people will  be searching form, including their variations, when you talk about your experience. This like the recruiter, searching for th perfect candidate…imagine what they might type into the search box, and make sure those words are found in your resume.

I will also add, Reach Out to Your Recruiter! The best recruiting agencies are the ones that see past the one opportunity to place and genuinely believe in helping you develop as a professional. We are sure to take the time to work with candidates that have questions about their resumes. Let’s face it, recruiters and account managers see more resumes, speak with more candidates, and see more job descriptions than most hiring managers. Use the resources you have!

Kelley Hafer is a Senior Business Development Manager at Anteo Group. She can be reached at khafer@anteogroup.com with any feedback or questions.

This month’s presentation, Functional Thinking, will help you transition from a Java writing imperative programmer to a functional programmer using Java, Clojure, Scale and more. Neal Ford, Software Architect and Meme Wrangler at ThoughtWorks, will take common topics from imperative languages and looks at alternative ways of solving those problems in functional languages. As a Java developer, you know how to achieve code-reuse via mechanisms like inheritance and polymorphism. Code reuse is possible in functional languages as well, using high-order functions, composition, and multi-methods. Neal will take a variety of common practices in OOP languages and show the corresponding mechanisms in functional languages. Expect your mind to be bent, but you’ll leave with a much better understanding of both the syntax and semantics of functional languages.

Many thanks to No Fluff Just Stuff for providing our speak as part of the 2011 Greater Atlanta Software Symposium  http://www.nofluffjuststuff.com/conference/atlanta. Neal has a degree in Computer Science from Georgia State University specializing in languages and compilers and a minor in mathematics specializing in statistical analysis. He is also the designer and developer of applications, instructional materials, magazine articles, video presentations, and author of 6 books, including the most recent The Productive Programmer. His language proficiencies include Java, C#/.NET, Ruby, Groovy, functional languages, Scheme, Object Pascal, C++, and C. His primary consulting focus is the design and construction of large-scale enterprise applications. Neal has taught on-site classes nationally and internationally to all phases of the military and to many Fortune 500 companies. He is also an internationally acclaimed speaker, having spoken at over 100 developer conferences worldwide, delivering more than 600 talks. If you have an insatiable curiosity about Neal, visit his web site at http://www.nealford.com. He welcomes feedback and can be reached at nford@thoughtworks.com.

Time:        

7:00 PM

Location:

4386 Chamblee Dunwoody Rd.

Atlanta, GA 30341

Dinner!

As always we will also be meeting at La Botana (2071 Savoy Drive, Chamblee, GA 30341-1213 - directions here) at 5:15 for drinks/dinner before the presentation. Please join us – free food and good company  Can’t wait to see everyone!

The Anteo Crew

Common Scenario – You recently finished your last project. After taking a couple weeks to go through the process of submitting your resume to various jobs and completing the interview process you are now just waiting for an offer, any offer, and you are ready to get back to work. Then they come, and you now have two offers (or more). What is the best way to handle this situation?

There is no perfect one-size-fits-all process for how to handle this scenario, but what you have to keep in mind is that the way you handle this situation is going to leave a lasting impression with all hiring entities involved.

My number one piece of advice is to be honest – whether you are working through an agency or going direct to your potential employer there is no reason not to be upfront and honest with all parties involved. When you receive each offer, express your gratitude and let them know you are excited but also let the recruiter know that you are considering another offer and need some time to think everything over before you make your decision. Set expectations for when you plan to follow up. Whether it is going to be 5 minutes or 5 days, you want to establish up front how much time you want/need to make your decision.

Next step – evaluating the offers. This is the toughest part and the part where everyone is going to be a little different. There are so many factors to consider: compensation, responsibilities, opportunity to grow within the organization or learn a new skill/technology. Take some time to examine the short and long term positives and negatives. Consult a close friend or relative and tell them about the jobs your are considering and ask for their thoughts. Oftentimes an outside opinion is a huge help. Think about the people you met during the interview – which group did you feel like you got along with the best? Remember, you are going to be spending at least 40 hours a week with them so you need to enjoy and get along with the people you work with.

 If any questions come up, ask, ask, ask! Especially when you are working with a recruiter, they are your ally. A recruiter is there for you to bounce questions, ideas, and thoughts off of. They are the perfect mediator. Whatever question you ask, they have likely been ask 50 times and will be able to give you a quick, honest answer. If they can’t, they have the resources to get an answer for you without burning any bridges. Remember, their reputation is on the line as well so they want this process to be as smooth and professional as possible as well, even if you do not end up accepting the job the job they have presented you for.

Decision time/Informing the companies – this is the toughest part but hopefully at this point you have all your questions answered and you are confident in your decision. Once you have made up your mind, do not delay telling the companies on either side. Call the company you have decided to accept the offer from first and let them know that you plan to accept their offer. After that, immediately contact the other potential employers and let them know that you have decided to pursue another job. Be sure to thank them for their time and consideration. You can give them a reason why you did not accept if you feel comfortable, but try not to go into detail about all the negative parts of the job they offered you.  Remember, this is not the first time someone has turned down an offer, it happens all the time. As long as you have handled the situation professionally this should not reflect poorly on you at all. Telling them in a timely matter is very important – whether they have a runner up to make an offer to or they need to start the search all over again, they are going to want to do that as soon as possible.

For you – multiple offers is a best case scenario and with the market as hot as it is, if you are looking for a job now this is a situation you will often find yourself in.

Drake Gordon is part of the Senior Recruiting team @AnteoGroup. Find him on the “Get to know our Sr. Recruiters” page.

Standing room only at the AQAA meeting 8/9/2011

Big thanks to Charlie Li of Capgemini for the presentation “World Quality Report – Testing for the Future” at AQAA last night. The future of QA is looking bright and a lot more technical. Yeah for security testing, SQL and BI skills! Additionally, we would also like to thank to Nel Nash-Hooks, President of the AQAA for spotlighting Anteo Group open positions at the meeting.

Speaking of QA JOBS…. We have an awesome client in the North Druid Hills area that is looking to build out a new manual QA team:

Our customer is a Fortune 500 company with a large part of their information technology products and services headquartered in Atlanta, GA. Our customer’s main line of business is to effectively communicate and manage information and services across a network of different retail and healthcare outlets where security and data reliability are very important. Our customer’s ability to supply reliable and actionable information to their clients is their unique competitive advantage. This contract role and will run from now until the end of the year with a high probability of extending in to 2012 and possible conversion to a permanent role. We are looking for strong manual testers with top-notch SQL skills. Onsite interviews are scheduled to start immediately. Please contact your favorite QA recruiter, Evyn Wade, for more details – 4 positions available! Email: ewade@anteogroup.com

Evyn Wade is part of the Senior Recruiting team @AnteoGroup. Find her on the “Get to know our Sr. Recruiters” page.

You know that awful feeling you get in the middle of a conversation where you black out for a moment? It’s never when you’re doing mundane things like ordering a sandwich at Subway and it really doesn’t matter; no – it’s always the pivotal moments during the day when you need a fully functional brain when BAM- it breaks on you.

Every so often we talk to people who are completely and utterly mortified by this phenomenon because it strikes them at the worst possible time – during an interview. The interviewing manger asks something so basic that you, the candidate, does every day and suddenly you are unable to come up with any answers. You find yourself staring at the manager with a deer in the headlights expression wondering what happened. Even better are the stories where a candidate explains how they accidently insulted the manager with a snarky remark, typically resulting in the question from us – how could have that possibly even come up during your interview?

So what do you do now? You know in reality there is no recovering but you hold on to that faint glimmer—maybe just maybe there still could be a chance. What’s the Game Plan?

If you are working with a recruiter: fess up big time. The recruiter is your lifeline to the hiring company and manger. Admit all the embarrassing details, leave nothing out, tell them EVERYTHING. A Recruiter recruits you but they also sell your experience to the company, so there is always a chance they could put on that sales hat and explain what really happened. You blanked- “OF COURSE you know the difference between Perl and Java, you’ve only done it for 7 years, you were just making a joke saying one comes from the ocean and the other from a coffee bean. All jokes aside you are an awesome candidate.”

If you are working directly with the company – don’t just hide from reality, do your same due diligence. Send that ‘thank you’ note to the manager. I do recommend, depending on the severity, adding one sentence about your mistake – “I looked up the answer when I came home to the question, how embarrassing. Of course I knew it! Just haven’t been asked since college and blanked.” Then, move on. Don’t dwell on it, add a few more sentences about still being interested, a specific point why you think you were good, and gracious thank you for the time.

No matter what, take a deep breath and keep looking. Be nice to everyone who interviewed you, etc. However, odds are against you and in reality there is no time to sit around hoping for a miracle. Cut your losses, learn from your mistakes, and start looking for the next opportunity.

Until next time, Happy Interviewing!

Elizabeth Hill is part of the Senior Recruiting team @AnteoGroup. Find her on the “Get to know our Sr. Recruiters” page.