Be Ready For Your Next Great Opportunity!

Moving Up, Moving Over or Moving On…

Government IT Symposium

December 7, 2017

Phil Almeroth, LogiSolve

Consulting Practice Leader

Agenda

Accelerating Into What’s Next

Preparing Your Story

Telling Your Story

Taking The Next Step

What’s On Your Mind?

Accelerating Out Of The Curve

What’s Next?

How are you going to get there?

What’s changed since you last interviewed or changed jobs?

Are you ready to accelerate out of the curve?

What’s Next?

AI Foundation

Intelligent Apps & Analytics

Intelligent Things

Digital Twins

Cloud to the Edge

Conversational Platforms

Immersive Experience

Blockchain

Event Driven

Continuous Adaptive Risk & Trust

Gartner Top 10 Strategic Tech Trends - 2018

Preparing Your Story

Improve your odds and advance your career!

Your Resume

Types of Resumes

• Chronological Resume (Primary)

• Profile Resume (Specific Uses)

• Combination Resume (Rare)

Chronological Resume

• Most commonly accepted form

• Focuses on work experience and progression in responsibility

• Reverse the usual presentation of roles, duties, and accomplishments

Resume Content Tips

• Note certifications / credentials after your name

o Full information at the end of the resume

o Accurately identify certification status (active, lapsed)

• Provide a sentence after the company name indicating size and industry

• Sprinkle in “buzzwords” to help HR/ATS systems hits to flag your resume

• Account for all gaps in time

• Do not post resume on LinkedIn

Sample Resume

Related Topics

• Cover Letters

• Electronic Applications & Follow-up

• References

• LinkedIn

• Agency Relationship

Cover Letters

• Use discretion

o Key information you want to quickly relay

o Be factual and succinct

• Useful to communicate

o Most relevant key skills to desired role

o Address a career hiatus or shift

References

• Typically from 2 former managers and a direct report

o Other relevant connections depending on the situation

• Share reference information when you’re comfortable, not before

• Have prior permission from your reference

Telling Your Story

Your Opportunity to Differentiate

Interview - First Impressions

• What people see first is what they remember and how they will treat you.

• Impression Times:

o General face-to-face meeting: 4-6 minutes

o Telephone: 45 seconds

o Job interview: 30 seconds

• Impressions are formed by:

o Non-verbal cues: 55% of impression

o Voice: 38%

o Words and content: 7%

Importance of First Impressions

Focus on others in the conversation• Gain information about them

• Don’t talk only about yourself

• Listen 70% of the time, talk 30%

Discover something special about each person• Note things they do well or something they’re concerned about right now

• Say thank you or express appreciation

• Remember specifics

The Interview

• A planned, purposeful conversation designed to determine the relative “suitability” of a job applicant for a specific position

• An opportunity to

o communicate skills, experiences and qualifications

o gather information about the company, the work environment and the position

Differentiate yourself from other candidates

Preparing for an Interview

• Document Questions➢ Company, Industry, Department & Position➢ THE LAST QUESTION

• Specifically Relevant Skills➢ Resume/Work History➢ Position Description➢ Relevant Skills Outline

• Role Play➢ Types of Interviews

• Structured• Unstructured• Behavioral

• What to Bring➢ Professional Portfolio

• Documented Questions• Multiple copies of Resume• Job Description

Behavioral Based Questions

1. Describe a situation in which you were able to use persuasion to convince someone to see things your way.

2. Provide a specific example of a time when you set a goal and achieved it.

3. Provide a specific example of a time when you had to conform to a policy with which you did not agree.

4. Tell me about time when you faced conflicting priorities and how you handled this.

5. Tell me about a risk you took recently.

o Hint: Make it a business risk that led to rewards

6. Tell me about a difficult decision you made in the last year.

Other Common Interview Questions

1. Tell me about yourself

2. What is the last change or improvement you made at your company?

3. What were your major responsibilities at your last job?

4. What did you like best/least about your last position?

5. Why do you want to work for us?

6. Why should we hire you?

Your Questions

• Have 8 - 12 questions prepared• Ask 2 - 4 questions; pick them with care• Ask about what you really want to know• THE LAST QUESTION

o Your chance to gather information and show that you have done your research!

Thank You Note/Email

• If not volunteered, ask for the business cards from those involved in the interview

• Wait a few hours after the interview before sending an email

• Send a Thank You note or email

o Be brief

o Summarize your level of interest and the main points of relevance you bring to the position

o Close – ask for the job!

Taking the Next Step

What did you want to be when you were growing up?

Characteristics of Great Contributors

❖ Mentalityo If not me, then who?o If not now, when?o Making Others’ Vision Reality

❖ Problem Solvero Seeing Great Ideas Througho Communicate with a purpose and with the objective in mindo Helping Others Collaborate and Communicateo Love the smell of progress

❖ Leadero A purpose for everythingo Accountability – yours and otherso Consistency and Reliability

Personal Characteristics

❖ Agent of Changeo Willing to help drive change in organizations – at any levelo See the big picture and guide your team through ito Deliver on the details

❖ People – you actually like them!o Working with lots of different people, at all levels of the

organizationo Help others by making their work more enjoyable and productiveo Help others solve problemso They come to you with their problems, because you’ll find a wayo Have deep respect for what every person brings

Roles

❖ Build on your experience as an Individual Contributoro SMEo Analysto Resource Managero Salesperson or recruitero Experience prepares you to for what’s next

❖ “There are no small roles, only small actors” o How is what you’re doing today a stepping stone?

Skills You’ll Need to Cultivate

❖ Techniqueso Breadth and Depth of Knowledge and Experienceo Plan, plan, plano Communicate, communicate, communicateo Deliver, deliver, delivero Keep your “head on a swivel”o Large and varied tool box

❖ IT and Business Area Experienceo Ask questionso There’s always something new and changing

Skills You’ll Need to Cultivate

❖ Strategic Thinkingo Working in multiple business areaso Overlapping functions and interdepartmental dependencieso Creating options to successo Ability to see the big picture and do a deep dive

❖ Advocate and Advisoro Focus on the Objectiveo Set clear decision making process and roleso May be in IT - need to be viewed as part of the business team

Skills You’ll Need to Cultivate

❖ Quick Learnero Domain experience a big debate in our profession

o Some domain knowledge: goodo Learning a new domain or aspects quickly: better!

o Tricks for learning / expanding domain knowledgeo Google, Your Network, Peers, Mentors, Leaderso Relating Past Experience to Current Problems

❖ Leading and Mentoringo Coordinating the efforts of multiple business and technical

groups and resourceso Understanding how all domains contribute to the outcomeo Reviewing others’ deliverables for quality and consistencyo Leading by example

What Else Is On Your Mind?

Contact Information

600 Inwood Avenue NorthSuite 275

Oakdale, MN 55128

Phil AlmerothConsulting Practice Leader

Cell: 612.770.8047

Email: palmeroth@logisolve.com