Technical Sales
The Real Skinny on Prepping for the 2015 Job Market
Great news: Bloomberg reports that after November’s remarkable hiring surge, the job market is expected to grow in 2015. If you’ve been stuck in a non-ideal or part-time job and are looking to make a strategic career move, now is the best time to do it. The way we hire and work is changing now more than ever, and there are many exciting opportunities for IT and other technical professionals. But what do you do if you haven’t been on the job hunt in a while and don’t know the new rules of interviewing and hiring?
Don’t worry, we’ve got your back!
- Expect a different hiring process
More and more companies are realizing that how they hire reflects well (or poorly) upon their brand. Today’s recruiters and hiring managers are aiming to make the process more human and relatable. Use this friendlier recruitment process to showcase your soft skills, but always keep it professional.
- Build a portfolio
Whether or not you have something physical to show for the work you’ve done, hiring managers will want to see examples of your work before you get the interview. Write case studies for projects you’ve worked on to broadcast your skills and back up your claims of success.
- Go beyond LinkedIn
If you haven’t spruced up your LinkedIn lately, now’s the time — but don’t stop there! Develop a social media presence that shows off your skills and interest in your profession.
- Ask the right questions
A report from LinkedIn says that many qualified job candidates don’t get hired because the interviewers don’t know the best questions to ask them. Learn the “forced-choice question” method — asking what the main objectives for the job are, and then using examples to show how you can achieve them — to help improve your odds.
- Anticipate a 3-5 year tenure
Perhaps the biggest change of all, many companies now realize that job seekers will only stay at the company for a handful of years. Know this when going into the interview, and stress what a difference you can make in a short time frame. Be sure to think of this job as the stepping stone to what’s next, not the position you’ll be in for the next several decades.
Results of Corporate Entrepreneur Poll
Last week I put out a call for responses to a poll asking our audience what the phrase “corporate entrepreneur” meant to them. This topic of corporate entrepreneurship will encompass my contribution to my upcoming book Uncommon with Brian Tracy (Spring 2015), and I wanted to get a sense of what professionals out there thought when they heard the phrase.
The largest response at 23% was that a corporate entrepreneur was “a strategist”. A three-way tie for second at 15% each included:
- Someone who’s business savvy but probably more suited for self-employment.
- Someone who sees what’s coming in the corporate realm and prepares for it.
- A professional who knows how to apply certain elements of self-employment within the corporate structure.
If you’d like to participate in the poll, please feel free to do so. I’ve included it below and will keep it open a couple more weeks.
At that time, I will post the results and give an excerpt from the book discussing this issue. As a technical career strategist following the world of work closely, I am convinced that corporate entrepreneurship is going to be a “must” (yes, a must) for anyone looking to maintain their careers, particularly as we move through the next decade.
The shifting of corporate culture, the convoluted hiring practices, the mixed-generational workforce, and most importantly, the global market outlook are all bringing together a perfect storm that will forever change what it means to be in corporate. What we’ve seen so far is just the beginning.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Regional IT Sales Manager (Hardware/Software) Candidate Profile
PA-based Technical Sales Leader with experience providing IT hardware/software solutions for up to 300 clients across 18 states:
- Takes a strong consultative approach to sales process to achieve $2.4M sales quota
- Has received repeated promotions, moving up quickly from Territory Manager to Regional Manager
- Understands how to craft the best solution for the prospective client while articulating the company’s value proposition
- Has reputation for closing “impossible” deals and salvaging customer relationships
Candidate Profile Snippet
Many recruiters and employers come to ITtechExec and NoddlePlace looking for specific skills sets, and it is our aim to match our clients up with those needs. Therefore, toward that effort, we highlight some of our clients each week and share this post across all of our network.
Want to know more?
For the full resume or an introduction to the client highlighted here, contact Stephen at Stephen@ittechexec.com directly.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Next Entries »
