by Mike Ososki, PMP
Happy Summer! And welcome back to PMI Atlanta’s annual hosting of recruiters and career advice panel. This year, we had 4 professionals chipping in their knowledgeable opinions and sage advice on how to play the hiring game well. Participants often echoed each other’s statements to emphasize, agree and complement opinions.
Lisa Leff, Director of Recruiting, Genuent graced us with a return appearance, as we enjoyed her contributions in the 2016 panel, too. Her 20 years of IT staffing expertise encourage us to listen up in general, with Genuent emphasis on Fintech and IT infrastructure. Lisa says that flexibility is key, so if you can do contract or contract-to-hire, then it’s always worth asking to go direct, if it’s what you want. In your resume, Lisa feels it’s important to emphasize accomplishments, purpose, IT certifications, and technical abilities. Customize to reflect buzzwords in the job description, and be ready to answer questions about gaps (volunteer work is good). She encourages us to always engage in both internal and external networking, and use employee advocates wherever possible at target companies. Reach out to recruiters and work closely to help them help you and sell you. Be sure and tell them when you get more certifications and/or references. If you do a Skype interview, be sure your “set” is clean and fresh, with decent lighting.
Peter Sherman, Managing Partner, Riverwood Associates specializes in Lean Six Sigma (LSS) programs, training, coaching and consulting, especially in healthcare, logistics, and technology. Peter asserts that all organizations seek cognitive problem solvers—professionals who think on their feet and learn on the fly. He says that the demand for LSS know-how is very strong, with pressure to get the release out faster and define root cause problems before solutioning. In the new gig economy, resume gaps are more of a non-issue. He advocates being authentic and genuine, and says that leaders look for the core competency to lead project teams, which is bigger than skill sets. For interviews, Peter references the SAR method: Situation, Activities, Results, and says that behavioral questions are fading out, with a better success predictor being, “What is your 90-day plan?” He’s a fan of the stealth interview, wherein a potential candidate contacts the company as a prospective customer to gather information. Peter also recommends being a member of professional organizations, and recommends these media resources ...
• Adam Bryant of The New York Times
• Atlanta Business Chronicle
• Indeed and Zip Recruiter
Bianca Guidry, Senior Recruiter, Hollstadt Consulting primarily serves Delta Airlines, seeking Program and Project Managers, BAs, Scrum Masters, and Project Coordinators. For the higher level roles, she’s always on the lookout for problem solvers who can manage large budgets. Delta likes to hire for the long-term, with 6-7 year average FTE tenure, and 6-12mo. contract temp. In resumes, she feels that the summary is most important, because “some managers stop at the first period.” She typically invests about an hour with each candidate to help optimize their resume, highlight core competencies, remove work history older than ~15yrs, and recommends both month and year for each job/project duration. On LinkedIn, Bianca recommends to consistently use the same professional picture, with a simple background. She feels that companies appreciate candidates who set personal career goals, and do 3mo. reviews to assess progress. Bianca shared about the Delta process via Hollstadt: 1) resume to her, 2) 30min phone screen, 3) resume to her manager to present to Delta, 4) 30min. phone screen w/Delta manager, 5) in-person interview within 5 days, 6) offer within 2 days. For Skype interviews, she says to dress professionally, and affirms that the millennial mindset is to leave the job if they’re not happy.
Stephanie Warner, Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist, North Highland is also a return panelist, having been with us also in 2012. She states that Project Managers and Business Analysts are the bread and butter at her company, and that working contract can open more doors. She recommends to keep a comprehensive record of all work you’ve done, then extract to customize to each specific opportunity. LinkedIn is a great tool to expand networks, and you are wise to partner with quality recruiters to increase options for your best success. Stephanie shared a current statistic: The mean rate of a job vacancy is 35 days, in contrast to the 48hr. shelf life of a quality candidate with the right skills and core competencies that is drug-free and has good references. She believes that age discrimination is real, but that being a confident communicator to sell yourself with a little bit of oomph energy is highly beneficial to counter it. Stephanie mentioned that continuing work on certifications is important, and that Honeywell’s recently joining Atlanta’s IoT Tech Center is very beneficial.
It seems that the going hourly rate for Sr. PMs is $55-75, but avoid shorting yourself to a lower rate during interviewing. You’ve likely heard much of this before, and there’s a good reason that it is often repeated: in the world of business, recruiting, talent acquisition, hiring, resumes and interviews, most of it is most often true.
