Developing your Presentation – Getting Involved

Last week I introduced a process designed to help you improve your presentation. To briefly summarize; “it’s important that we, as individuals assess, evaluate, and improve our skill sets…we must stretch our minds and challenge ourselves…this process keeps us moving forward, it keeps us energized and gives us purpose; referred to as knowledge, skill sets, abilities, and other factors, I will refer to as your ‘presentation’…what others perceive”.

The goal of your presentation is to show a pattern of life behavior. This pattern will improve your opportunity for landing the career of your dreams. This week our topic of discussion is ‘Getting Involved’. For many of us getting involved has a different meaning. For the purpose of this discussion we will define getting involved as putting forth an ongoing effort that will contribute to the benefit of others.

One of the biggest impacts in my life wasn’t something that affected me directly, it was something that affected others directly. A few years ago I was introduced to the founder of The Space Station museum. We shared a passion for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), space exploration, and statistics. As our friendship developed, he invited me to see a project that he was developing; The Space Station museum. I was immediately able to see the connection and identify in what ways I could contribute to the museums mission and vision. I have been a volunteer and board member ever since.

Getting involved gets you out into your community. It helps projects develop in areas that might not ever develop. More importantly, it has a positive impact to those that use the service or program. In the case of The Space Station museum, its purpose is to support the education of K-12, college, elderly, and the community at large. It also attracts tourism and builds community connections. The impact of The Space Station museum goes beyond measure. For example, I personally met and provided a tour of the artifacts in the museum to several groups from local schools. I could see the light in children’s eyes as they filled up with amazement and inspiration. I could almost see them imagining what it would be like to walk in space or on the moon. The possibility that one of those children could be inspired to develop the next technology and improve our lives in ways that we never imagined is fantastic!

When you decide to take action and get involved, do it with something that you love and enjoy. For example, if you’re passionate about developing, maintaining and reinventing websites then I recommend that you get involved by asking a local technology teacher if you could be their assistant. The key here is to volunteer. Do not accept any payment for your time as it would defeat the purpose of getting involved. Instead, offer to work two hours every Tuesday, and watch how your support begins to benefit others in ways that you might not ever realize.

The next step is to incorporate your volunteer work into your resume. By including your volunteer efforts in your resume you will convey a message to potential employers that you’re not only passionate about developing websites, but you’re equally passionate about getting involved with your community. This sends a message to recruiters and hiring managers that you care about others and that you enjoy what you do so much that you’re willing to donate your time. This act of selflessness is part of your presentation.

Next week we will discuss how to contribute to others who share the same passion.

Author: Dr. Eduardo Diaz, helping you exceed expectations.

Steps to Getting Hired – Developing your Presentation

As with Organizational Development, which involves employee assessments, evaluation, training and other methods geared at ongoing improvement, it’s important that we, as individuals assess, evaluate, and improve our skill sets. Whether you’re in sales, customer service, or software development we must stretch our minds and challenge ourselves. This process keeps us moving forward, it keeps us energized and gives us purpose. 

What is often referred to as knowledge, skill sets, abilities, and other factors, I will refer to as your ‘presentation’. Your presentation is what others perceive based on the moment in time when you interact with them. Close friends of yours know several aspects of your presentation. They know your ups, downs, and when you’re a super star. Often, the challenge is showing a potential employer the right presentation at the right time unless you’re fortunate enough to find an employer who understands that there’s more to you than just the 60 minutes you shared in an interview. This being said, the challenge is really about showing a pattern of behavior that can improve your presentation before you ever walk into an interview.

Over the next few discussions I will share a number of ways that you can use to develop your presentation by getting involved, contributing, helping others succeed, sharing insight, and surrounding yourself with successful leaders so that your presentation is always ready for the next opportunity.

Author: Dr. Eduardo Diaz, helping you exceed expectations.

Tech Resume: Let’s pull it all together

Over the last few months I discussed ways to develop and improve your resume presentation. Topics included Keys to a Strong Resume Summary to Body Language during a Tech Interview. 

The following highlights some of these discussions:

·         August 26, 2015 – Keys to a Strong Resume Summary

o   Your resume summary should summarize your entire resume.

o   The summary should use keywords that recruiters will see during a keyword search.

·         September 8 – Know your Audience

o   Make sure that you have the skills required to meet the needs of a job requisition.

o   Feel great about going to work, it will show in your confidence.

·         September 15 – A Tech Resume Needs More

o   Provide enough details in your resume that your technology strengths are transparent.

o   Highlight some of your accomplishments from every tech project.

·         October 6 – From Tech Resume to Tech Interview

o   Your resume needs to reflect your ability and passion to contribute.

o   Understand that it’s a process to share information.

·         October 13 – 106 Tech Interviews in 2 days

o   Searching for candidates is about finding a great fit.

o   Experience is required, but the desire to learn, adapt, and apply knowledge stands out.

·         October 21 – When you have 48 hours to hire Tech

o   Workforce planning will affect your opportunities.

o   Maintain connections with recruiters by attending social events.

·         October 28 – Body Language during a Tech Interview

o   Be aware of your body language, even if it’s a Skype interview.

o   Stay engaged in the interview and maintain eye contact.

In addition to the above recommendations for improving a resume, I evaluated resumes from candidates who were hired in the last 24 months. Using a random number generator I selected a representative sample of 10 resumes. Several important patterns emerged. 100% of the resumes included:

·         First and Last Name

·         Phone Number

·         Email Address

·         Experience

·         Education

·         Technology Skills

·         Bullet points after each job title to describe Experience

·         The average resume length was 4 pages.

As crazy as it sounds, the first and last name, phone number and email address are not always included in a resume. I made a point to check for this information to emphasize the importance of including it. As many recruiters might agree, we receive far too many resumes that do not include a method for contacting the candidate or a resume only includes an email or a phone number but not both. The easier it is for a recruiter to reach you, the better.

Author: Dr. Eduardo Diaz, helping you exceed expectations.

Let a Tech Recruiter Review Your Resume

When was the last time you had your resume reviewed by a technical recruiter? Getting a professional perspective of how your resume is presented can make the difference between getting an interview and getting overlooked. There’s no cost to you. I’m happy to help you improve your chances of landing your next job.






Here’s what to do:

1. Like this post
2. Share this post
3. Email your resume to Eduardo.Diaz@acesred.com with the subject “Please Review my Resume”

I will respond to your email with feedback about your resume:

1. Summary
2. Content
3. Recommendations

Author: Dr. Eduardo Diaz, helping you exceed expectations.

About the Author
Dr. Eduardo Diaz is an organizational leader who applies peer reviewed research findings into actionable performance measures. He is an expert at identifying key human factor variables that influence individual and team performance outcomes. He is also a key talent acquisitions leader at Alexan Consulting Enterprise Services, LLC (ACES) in Sacramento, California where he manages a database of over 5,000 technology candidates.
His experience in identifying highly productive talent through applied quantitative measures has forged a unique recruiting process, best hiring practices, and identification of skill sets that support increased organizational team performance. His assessment process was developed in collaboration with his colleagues in Osnabruck, Germany and he continues to further develop its applications with the goal of supporting the selection process for teams planning to embark on long duration space missions.

When Friends Get Together for Tech

A long-time friend and I recently got together ‘again’ to develop a new app. We decided to challenge ourselves with something new and original so we both enrolled in ASP.NET Framework and Developer courses. Clearly he’s excelling at learning the language, where it takes me a little longer for some of the concepts to sink in. After all, he’s a developer through and through and I’m a tech recruiter with a background in organizational development. However, we both understand each other’s strengths and we know our areas of opportunity. We also work very well together so to us, this is exciting!

However, the reward of developing a new app goes far beyond just setting and achieving goals. Working with technology and overcoming the challenges that we will face is an outlet for us. It’s how we get together and hang out. It’s our way of stretching and pushing ourselves beyond our limits and challenging our abilities. In some way, our friendship is connected through the development of technology.

When you go to work do you go because you enjoy working with your friends, do you go for the challenge of technology or both?   

Author: Dr. Eduardo Diaz, helping you exceed expectations.