Walter Samuel Ltd

30-01-12

Recession: Making it work for you

Author: James Allenby - Senior Delivery Consultant @ Walter Samuel Ltd

Recession. The mere mention of the word, it seems, is enough to make most rational person run for the hills and bury any spare money they may be fortunate to have in a battered tin can. However according to a number of recent reports, luxury goods manufacturers across the globe are reporting increased sales, primarily in “classic pieces”. The consensus appears to be that those in the position to do so are only splashing out wisely on pieces which they know are more likely to increase in value as time goes on (Swiss watches, limited edition bags etc...), investments in a way.

This concept, coupled with recruiting for a number of the world’s leading technology organisations, has led me to ask: are companies doing the same thing, and can this benefit you and I?

In a nut-shell I have come to the conclusion yes and most definitely.

The press is awash with how unemployment levels are rising and companies are going bust at an alarming rate, but in a similar way to the luxury goods example above, there are also companies doing very well. Not off the recession itself but because they are very good at what they do and how they offer it. As a result, these organisations are still recruiting at an explosive rate as client organisations realise the ROI of solutions in areas such as Business Intelligence & Optimisation (making sense of Data) and also more efficient IT infrastructures or even moving to cloud solutions to lower entire IT budgets.

All well and good for the big boys, but how can this benefit us?

In the same way that the consumers are being careful with their money, companies are being careful with who they employ. Organisations are only employing people who are right at the top of their game and can provide both short and long term benefit to their organisation. As a result, these companies are offering outstanding packages to the people they feel can help build on their success and grow with them. There has never been a better time to change employer than at present, with global leaders and boutique specialists able to offer not only stability but growth and development alongside the aforementioned financial benefits.

You may be thinking “of course he’s going to say this, he’s a recruiter”, but why not get in touch, I’m sure we can help find your next life defining role. If we can’t we will do our best to steer you towards contacts in our network that can help you.

Think of yourself as a luxury commodity...

If you would like help engineering a cv so it has ultimate impact when applying for jobs please feel free to call a member of the Walter Samuel Ltd team on 01908 307936 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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19/11/11

Why wait for your next job to find you?

In an ever challenging job market, more and more people out there are struggling to land the job of their dreams. Endless opportunities arise for people and then evaporate due to being ‘pipped to the post’ or just being unlucky...

Could you have done anything differently? You worked really hard to create a great cv, spent endless hours trawling online job adverts and applying and you still haven’t secured the right role...

If you’re happy to accept a role that isn’t perfect then the above strategy will always work and you will eventually land a suitable job, however it’s very unlikely to be the perfect role.

How to land your ideal role...

Firstly, you need to be proactive and don’t rely on others... Don’t rely on job adverts posted by recruiters or companies directly, don’t rely on your great cv to impress every person that reads it. YOU are your greatest asset and use your proactive job hunting skills to secure the job you’ve always wanted!

Make yourself heard! Pinpoint the companies you would love to work for and then identify key decision makers who are likely to hold autonomy over hiring, Head Of’s, Directors, C-Level execs etc. Be creative and think about how you can grab their attention in a thought provoking and professional way.

Once you know what companies and individuals you want to target, think about how you will make the approach. Will it be through a well drafted letter (maybe a slightly dated way of communication in certain industries), will it be through an email detailing your keen interest or will it be through social networking?

However you decide to make contact, you can be assured of one thing, you will be standing out from the crowd!! As long as the message is well structured, is delivered in a professional tone and is grammatically strong you are giving yourself the very best opportunity of landing that dream job.

This is one method of attack however it shouldn’t be your sole strategy. Job hunting through adverts and building relationships with great recruiters who specialise in your field is essential... just don’t rely on that strategy completely, especially not when you're in pursuit of your dream job!

You might be thinking... Why is a recruiter trying to direct people away from using recruiters!? All I would say to that is, great recruiters will always be an essential ingredient in the majority of job searches however being personally accountable and proactive can open up additional opportunities that may not have previously been available!

In a competitive market, be different, be creative and don’t be shy!!

Below is an email from Tristan Walker to the founders of the US technology startup sensation foursquare (it isn't grammatically perfect but was on-point for his target audience)... It landed him his dream job!

Hey Dennis and Naveen

How’s it going? Hope all is well!

My name is Tristan Walker and Im a first year student (going into my

second year) at Stanford Business School (originally from New York).

Im a huge fan of what you both have built and excited about what you

guys have planned for FourSquare. It is an awesome , awesome service.

I would love to chat with you guys at some point, if you’re available,

about FourSquare. This year, I’m looking to help out and work

extremely hard for a startup with guys I can learn a ton from. Dennis,

with your experience at Google and the Dodgeball product, and Naveen,

with your experience at Sun and engineering in general, I know I could

learn a great deal from you both!

Before business school, I was an oil trader on Wall Street for about

two years and hated it! Moved out to the Bay/Stanford to pursue my

passion for entrepreneurship and the startup world. This past spring I

had the opportunity to work for Twitter as an intern and learned a

ton. Solidified my commitment to working at a startup that I’m

passionate about, and FourSquare is one of those startups that I

believe in.

I know you guys are probably getting inundated with internship-type

requests, but thought it’d be worth a shot! I can assure you Im humble

and Im hungry! Let me know if you’d be interested in chatting further.

I definitely look forward to hearing from you.

Stay awesome!

Tristan

@tristanwalker

15/09/11

Are professional certifications worth working towards?

Whatever field you operate in there are bound to be many certifications you can work towards which are relevant to your industry or the specific job you’re in…

The question you probably ask yourself is… If I were to get that badge or certificate will it actually impact my career for the better? If you choose the right course the answer is, YES.

Working towards and gaining professional qualifications not only puts you at an advantage at a job application stage it also shows your current employer that you are keen to learn more, to improve and ultimately eager to add further value to the business you are working for.

The job market we are in today is incredibly ‘candidate rich’. In other words there are so many people out there competing for every job being offered. Recruiters and internal HR teams are awash with applications and they need to filter who they feel is relevant and most suitable against those who they feel aren’t.

One of the first things I look out for is, what ‘relevant’ certifications does this person have? What accreditation has this person achieved to reflect their knowledge and expertise in their chosen field?

Certifications aren’t a tangible enough benchmark to rule candidates in or out for any job vacancy but it is a solid indicator of an individuals level of skill and more importantly it shows that an individual is driven and has a hunger for knowledge and progression!

What to consider before pursuing any qualification:

Is it with a recognised governing body or Technology vendor?
The course and resulting qualification should interest you. If it doesn’t think again.
Will your employer support you in funding the course and allowing you ‘study time’ in working hours? Always worth asking.
Are you keen to drive your career in the direction of the resulting qualification? Or are you/your employer about to fund a £2k course for a career you’re in two minds about?
Check reviews from other people who have completed the course you have chosen. These people will have invaluable information on the subject matter and relevance of the content of the course.
Is the course with a 3^rd party training company? Check to see if you can book the course direct with the vendor themselves or governing body, often a major cost cutting exercise.

If you choose to progress your career without gaining professional qualifications there isn’t anything to say that you will know less, be worse performing or take longer to reach the top vs someone who has a bucket full of badges.

It is however always beneficial to make sure you have a fresh and up to date approach to your profession as well as keeping abreast of what your industry demands – Gaining relevant qualifications is a great way to learn more and reflect this experience to others.

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Think you're great?... Prove it!

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29-07-11
Is tailoring your CV to suit a specific job cheating?

Every single job you apply for is different. You may require a very similar set of skills/experience for several separate jobs however no two jobs are ever the same. So why would the same CV you have suit every job you apply for? It won’t.
Many people apply for multiple jobs with the same CV or cover letter. They believe they are either right for the job or they simply aren’t!
This isn’t the case. Once you have identified a specific role in an advert or on a company website, take a detailed look at the job spec or advert, call the recruiter managing the search campaign or the company directly and get further information on what this job entails.
After having a detailed read of the job spec and having a conversation to learn more you should then re-visit your CV to determine whether you have highlighted your experience well enough for that particular role.

The chances are that you will have lots of the essential skills/experience needed but you haven’t included it in your CV.
You should then spend some time highlighting your relevant experience for that particular role… for example:

·    If the role requires you to have exceptional communications skills as its client facing revisit your cv to ascertain if this is a point you have laboured. If you have exceptional communication skills then highlight it.
·    If the role requires a strong analytical experience revisit the cv and then highlight where you have applied strong analytical skills to a specific situation or project either academically or commercially.
·    If the role requires an individual to come from a strong stakeholder management background, revisit the cv and explain where you have often engaged with your IT Director, CFO or MD to resolve issues or drive change…

(The above bullets are basic examples to demonstrate the point, only make changes that include actual experience you have)
Embellishing the truth on the CV is hugely inappropriate and should never be tolerated. More importantly it is pointless as you will always get found out sooner or later.
However engineering a CV to reflect your experience for a specific job isn’t cheating or wrong. You are simply presenting yourself in the best light and giving yourself the best chance of securing at least an interview for the role you are applying for.

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Make sure the shoe fits!

14-05-11
The Job Hopper…

My team and I are constantly on the hunt for potential star employees for our customers. Companies have varying requirements in what they look for in a potential ‘candidate’ for any given role.
They will almost certainly require strong technical experience with a range of fancy tools/vendor products. They will probably expect strong communication skills especially if the role is customer facing. They will probably require a whole host of additional pieces of skills/experience over and above all of this.
The one thing they are never looking for is an individual who has shown little or no longevity in previous roles. People who hop around from job to job are almost always dismissed at cv review stage (unless they have a plausible reason, redundancy being an obvious one). People who move jobs off their own accord for financial gain or a ‘change of scenery’ tend to go bottom of the shortlist!

So many people out there believe that the quickest and easiest way to reach the top of ‘their game’ is to jump ship when a better offer comes along… In my experience this tactic is hugely flawed.

In the case of 90% of senior managers and C-Level professionals we work with, they took a different route. They may have had a varying range of previous employers but each employer had been served for 3-4 years minimum. Extensive experience was gained at each, qualifications gained at each and then a career driven motive forced the move to the next company.

It can be so easy to believe the grass is always greener on the other side or think that the £5k increase offer in salary is just too good to turn down… In many cases the grass may be greener or the salary increase is the right choice to make, however just make sure you do a detailed assessment of your current situation and think about where you want to be in 3-5-10 years time and what is the best path to getting there. Hopping around with no direction will not get you anywhere fast.

The exception to this rule is contracting… A professional contractor can easily work their way through 5 employers in a 2 year period. But I will say that the best contractors, earning the best daily rates tend to have a very strong track record of working in secure/long-term permanent roles, learning their trade to such a level they then feel the time is right to go contracting. Remember, companies pay huge daily/hourly rates for the services of most contractors and they expect the very best so this experience needs to come from somewhere, probably a well crafted career in the permanent market…

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03/04/11
Before attending any interview make sure you are prepared...

There are many things in an interview you could never prepare for, however one of the only things you can control is how well you research the company you are interviewing with. In an interview situation it is often the case that you get caught out by awkward scenario based questions or tough technical questions and in most cases this is something you couldn't have avoided regardless of how much preparation you put in to this process.

However, getting caught out on basic questions relating to the company you are interviewing with is very avoidable and shows that you are ill prepared. In the interviewers eyes you are also likely to be unorganised, have little attention to detail, uninterested etc etc.

Preparing for an interview and researching the company you are interviewing with shouldn't take you long and as a result of doing it you should feel more confident and upbeat about the task ahead which is invaluable when interviewing. Below is a list of tips to help you prepare for your next interview.

·    Research company history, how long have they been operating – do they have any affiliated organisations or belong to an umbrella group?
·    General information about their services/products/aims etc.
·    Major competitors or other organisations operating in the same field. Recent acquisitions they have made.
·    Job description – understand the skills required for the position. Have detailed examples of your relevant experience for this job memorised or listed in your note pad for you to refer to when necessary.
·    Relationship between the open position and other members of staff - have a sense for the department and general hierarchy.
·    Have some well thought-out questions that would help further your understanding of the organisation e.g. How will the organisation be affected by the new legislation on xyz... or How do you see the organisation developing over the next year/three years?
·    'Google News' the company you are interviewing with. It's a great source for up to date information on what is currently being written about a particular company by outside sources. You will often find information which highlights emerging markets companies are going in to, technologies they have recently implemented, customers they have recently acquired etc.

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Don't give yourself a mountain to climb and make sure preparation is the first thing on your interview agenda!
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If you would like any help engineering your cv so it has ultimate impact when applying for jobs please contact a member of the Walter Samuel Ltd team on 01908 307936 or at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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08/02/11
Your CV should be written and engineered to create maximum impact in your hunt for the ideal job!

It's always important to list common responsibilities you have, tools & technologies you work with as well as skills you have developed in particular jobs on to the cv.
However most people seem to forget to mention what impact they made and continue to make for their employers... Where did you save your employer over £X million by implementing a database platform that created xyz impact on the global organisation? Explain how you were instrumental in creating an addition £X million revenue over an xyz year period by designing an automated software solution for sales staff to use, etc etc.

So many people outside of the Sales Team and the Board Room seem to be under the impression they deserve no recognition for their company exceeding sales targets or their company slashing £10million in costs over a period of time or their company being able to move in to emerging markets abroad thanks to the multi-lingual e-commerce platform you were instrumental in designing.
So in every job role you have on your cv make sure you include an 'Achievements' section and show the world why you aren't just a 'Database Developer' or a run of the mill 'Analyst Programmer' ... you are way more than that! Think about your employers major achievements and work back to figure out how you were a major factor in helping create that success.
As a technology professional you are continuously shaping the future success of the business you work for so be proud in that fact and shout about it on your CV!!

If you would like help engineering a cv so it has ultimate impact when applying for jobs please feel free to call a member of the Walter Samuel Ltd team on 01908 307936 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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07/01/11
When writing a 'Profile Summary' for your cv try to be as creative as possible in your approach...

So many cv's written have the same clichéd terms and expressions such as "highly motivated individual" and "works well independently or as part of a team!". These terms are hugely over-used and as a result your Profile Summary loses its importance on the cv.
Treat the Profile Summary as your shop window! It is the part of the cv that is read directly after your name and contact details. First impressions mean everything so try and ensure that it says something personal to you that highlights your qualities and aspirations.

Don't let your cv go unnoticed!

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