Four Qualities of a Top Performing IT Deparment

Four Qualities of a Top Performing IT Deparment: "

A new study by the Hackett Group contends there are four characteristics that link the solid financial performance of companies to how efficiently their IT departments run.

read more

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(Via Clippings.)

11 Criteria For Selecting The Best ERP System Replacement

11 Criteria For Selecting The Best ERP System Replacement: "(Source: Epicor) At this stage in the evolution of enterprise software, it is the duty of software providers to help you get there by doing their part to make sure your next system will be your last ERP system replacement. There are 11 criteria that allow you to identify and select the solution that will meet these expectations. This document gives you the answers you need, a more detailed explanation of the 11 criteria to use when selecting the best solution, and their importance in making the ERP replacement decision.

"

(Via Computerworld Breaking News.)

Cisco Web 2.0 Summit

Cisco Web 2.0 Summit: "

Web 2.0 is the rage and we, at Cisco, talk about it in terms of the 'Human Network.' But, the business side of Web 2.0 is clearly behind consumers on use and implentation of this technology and this 'movement.' Today, we hosted an internal Web 2.0 Summit to share best practices and learn about Web 2.0 technologies and architecture and embedding it more in the business. In one session, Blair Christie, SVP of Corporate Communications, interviewed our Chairman and CEO John Chambers on Cisco's vision and use of Web 2.0.

Some notes from their discussion follow (Note: I am paraphrasing...not quoting directly).

Q: When did you start thinking about the importance of Web 2.0?

A: I've been on the collaboration focus since about 2001...really during the downturn. We moved from selling boxes to selling solutions and we needed to move decision-making further down the reporting chain. Collaboration across business functions was critical in order to be successful. Collaborative technologies had to be utilized to work in this way. It is imporant not to get way from the fact that it is easy to get fascinated by the technology, rather than on what the technology can do.

Q: What are you seeing from the customer side of things?

A: There is a huge hunger for this technology, but also a void in the market...to really enable this technology, you have to rearchitect your entire business processes from the ground up. In baseball terms, we're really at the top of the first inning on the business side.

Q: (from audience) As demand for Web 2.0 increases we see ASPs crop up and we see businesses flock to them. This gets us ahead of the curve, but potentially puts our data at risk. What is right balance for ASPs versus building these tools internally?

"

(Via Clippings.)

Skype for iPhone

Skype for iPhone: "

You can now chat or make cost-effective Skype calls on your iPhone thanks to s4iphone.com, a web-based application from Shape Services. You don't even have to jailbreak your iPhone to use it. However, if you want to talk, you'll need to use your SkypeOut credits.

"

(Via Clippings.)

How to Set Up Dynamic DNS

How to Set Up Dynamic DNS: "Most consumer-level broadband providers make it difficult to share music or run a web server out of your home. To tackle the fun stuff, you'll need a better way to be seen on the internet, and the best way to do that is with dynamic DNS.

"

(Via Clippings.)

The Web's best free stuff

Check out these great finds for productivity, security, photo and video, maps and directions and much more lister by Computerworld

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Oh my god, they put South Park online!

Oh my god, they put South Park online!: "Every episode and 3,000 clips of the popular Comedy Central cartoon, South Park, are now being offered online."

(Via Clippings.)

Shifting Careers: Smart Eating at Work

Shifting Careers: Smart Eating at Work: "A shopping list of foods to snack on at work."

(Via NYTimes.)

Jeff Pulver brings top TV shows to one Web site

Jeff Pulver brings top TV shows to one Web site: "Vonage founder launched PrimeTimeRewind this week, a service that uses embed codes from NBC, CBS and other broadcasters to aggregate content."

(Via Clippings.)

Shut down Windows in an instant

Shut down Windows in an instant: "A few Registry tweaks will force Windows to power down faster."

(Via Clippings.)

Terminal Tip: Safari 3.1 brings true one-window mode

With a quick terminal entry, you can enable Safari to open links in new tabs instead of new windows. Much more convenient and preferable by me.

read more | digg story

Energy

When Carrie and I were out looking at open-houses one Sunday afternoon we came across a charming smaller home that had recently undergone a pretty significant solar panel installation. In it the seller had a two way meter put in so he could send power back to the grid and get credit for it. Word is that he normally has about a $6.00 per month electric bill once it's settled.

While I still believe solar power has a long ways to go in becoming more efficient, it did get me thinking about it for our soon-to-buy house in Petaluma. I've not looked into it too much yet but it appears that there are rebates and credits for installing solar electrical panels so this is something I'm going to look into a little more. It's certainly not cheap to put in but you'll see power savings immediately and feel good about using clean power.


Here's one site I'm looking at: http://www.solarelectricalsystems.com/

The Right Tool For The Job

Years ago while working for bebe Stores, Inc., one of my responsibilities was the computer help desk, with primary support for the retail stores. I had been tasked with improving the quality of the IT support for the 200+ retail stores around the United States and Canada. My predecessor had a team of highly capable technicians who did a great job of fixing batch jobs and correcting things behind the scenes but the stores were reticent to even call in with problems because it was a painful experience for them to call in and try to explain their problem and would always receive a highly technical answer.

I came on shortly before the dot com bubble and it was becoming increasingly difficult to recruit and keep qualified individuals so as the staff was at a low, I proposed a business case for relocating the IT support group to Sacramento (from corporate headquarters in San Francisco). The case cited lower wages, greater retention, lower rents, and the ability for the handful of people who would move to buy homes. The plan was well-received and we quickly found property and began hiring.

One of the things that was clear to me was that we didn't require heavily skilled technicians on the front line to be able to relate to and communicate with our retail store personnel. Our systems were consistent through the stores and I had instituted a process for documenting and photographing all aspects of the retail stores and our group had heavily automated many of our common issues so we knew what we were dealing with. We still had a need for technicians but they didn't need to be the first contact. I recruited for individuals who had a customer service or retail background who showed the aptitude to learn. We hired retail store managers, employees, previous customer-service individuals, and, most were passionate about the brand. The result was that we had a team of individuals who really understood the retail environment and delivered exceptional customer service. They in turn were compassionate and patient with the stores and not long after our group became the defacto call center for other types of store issues. Part of it was because we maintained 17 working hour shifts but also because ours were the people the stores wanted to talk to. Soon after we became the official call center and began adding other departments to our ticket system. Other departments included merchandising, loss-prevention, human resources, and facilities.

So, the moral of the story is that before taking on a task it's important to listen to your customer needs, identify your own present capabilities, and then use the right tool for the job.

Make a Local Backup of Your Gmail Account

Make a Local Backup of Your Gmail Account: "Accessing your e-mail in a web browser is all the rage, but rage is all you'll be feeling when your net access goes down and you don't have a local backup of your messages. Learn some tips for backing up your inbox on Wired.com's How-To Wiki.

Four Proven Job Search Methods

Four Proven Job Search Methods
By Barbara Safini

There are four core methods involved in a successful job search, and I encourage candidates to use all of them. When you’re in search mode, looking for a job is your full–time job and you should plan to dedicate 35–40 hours per week to your search if you’re currently unemployed, or a smaller percentage of that if you’re searching while employed. Here’s a quick rundown of the four proven job search methods.

Job Boards

When using the boards, you need to be as strategic as possible in your approach, because there’s an enormous amount of information posted on the boards and employers receive multiple responses for each position they post. One of the best strategies for managing your presence on the job boards is to stick with niche boards that best match your professional level, industry, or job function. Spend time on a board that claims to be all things to all people, and you risk losing valuable time.

Targeting niche boards allows you to be a “big fish in a smaller pond” and may help garner more immediate recognition from a hiring authority. For example, a senior–level executive is generally better off creating a presence on a six–figure job site than on a general job board that posts jobs at all professional levels. Another way to optimize your time spent on the boards is to set up job alerts based on keywords and geographical preferences to streamline the amount of time spent on the boards, and optimize the amount of relevant leads.

Recruiters

A recruiter can be a great ally during your search, but keep in mind that recruiters are generally only going to be interested in your candidacy if your skill set matches a position in their current job requisition portfolio. In addition, executive recruiters can only expose you to the positions from the companies that are willing to pay a recruiter to manage the search process. When you partner with a recruiter, you only get to see a small percentage of the available jobs in the market. However, the job leads that you do find through your work with recruiters may be more targeted and suited to your goals and experience.

Cold Calling

Successful job seekers often find their next job by cold calling potential decision makers in companies for which they’d like to work. You may also send an unsolicited letter to these people. By creating a marketing letter that communicates your skills, accomplishments, and value–add, you can attempt to forge relationships with key people in your target companies. The goal of the letter is to build a relationship with people in companies where no relationship existed before. If you can create and nurture a relationship before there is a need to fill a position, you are much more likely to be considered as a candidate when an opportunity becomes available, because you’re now part of the inner circle of contacts within the company. This method takes work and time, but may not yield immediate results. However, if these new relationships are nurtured over time, they can grow into great opportunity.

Networking

Networking is the art of exchanging information continuously and graciously with members of your professional and social communities. People are more likely to share information with people they know and trust. Sharing information about job leads comes naturally in networking circles. Attempt to give more than you get and don’t keep tabs on your goodwill versus someone else’s and eventually you will find that you can almost always find a connection for whatever you need… whether it’s a recommendation for a great restaurant, advice on a project, or a tip on a job lead. Yes, it’s a lot of work, but it is quite rewarding to help others and receive their help in return.

Barbara Safini, owner of Career Solvers, has over twelve years of experience in career management, recruiting, executive coaching, and organizational development. Ms. Safani partners with both Fortune 100 companies and individuals to deliver targeted programs focusing on resume development, job search strategies, networking, interviewing, and salary negotiation skills.

Social Networking Software for Performance Improvement

Social Networking Software for Performance Improvement: "I've written several articles about the IT tools needed for performance measurement and the use of social networking tools for collaboration

Recently, Beth Israel Deaconess melded these two concepts to create a community wide collaboration for performance improvement.

The idea is simple. If problems can be solved by investigating the root cause in real time instead of just developing workarounds long after the incident, performance can be improved significantly. Our requirements for an IT solution were

1. A threaded discussion forum with issue tracking features that anyone in the organization could add/edit/view
2. Workflow which enabled escalation, documentation of responses, and a history of all entries related to the thread
3. Easy access to incident reporting and adverse event tracking systems for documentation of patient care related issues

Dell successfully did something like this with their IdeaStorms site which enables users to propose performance improvement ideas and then promote/demote them via voting. Dell's site was created by SalesForce.com using their Software as a Service platform. We considered using a Salesforce.com platform but we needed tight integration with our existing applications.

We had to implement this infrastructure on a very tight timeframe at very low cost. We wanted a toolkit that integrated with Active Directory for authentication, was compatible with all browsers/operating systems, and leveraged the talents of our existing developers.

We chose to use Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 which is integrated in Windows Server 2003 and does not require additional licensing fees. We found the platform to be a good foundation for the project, especially because our developers could leverage its out-of-the-box collaboration and communication features. Over the 2 weeks of development time, we found that requirements changed frequently as we delivered functionality that prompted users to brainstorm about additional possibilities. Rather than a traditional development project that used specifications set in stone, this project was a Rapid Application Development exercise of creating a prototype, enhancing it, testing it, gathering feedback, enhancing it, testing it, etc.

The end result was a portal called the BIDMC Spirit Portal with easy access to all our issue tracking applications, including problem logging, resolution workflow, a blog for successful cases and enterprise wide collaboration. A typical workflow is illustrated by our 'Case of the Week'

Problem:
At 8:30 a.m. a staff nurse on Farr 9 needed to page the medical house staff with a question about a patient admitted overnight from the Emergency Department (patient arrived on floor between 3:30 and 4:00 a.m.). The nurse paged the resident listed as covering, but that beeper was forwarded to another resident who stated he was not covering. That resident instructed the nurse to call another resident who also stated she was not covering. The nurse paged the attending physician of record who gave the nurse two additional options to page. At this point, the Nurse Manager on Farr 9 became involved, entered the issue in the web-based BIDMC Spirit portal and paged the Chief Medical Resident for help in determining coverage.


Root Cause:
There were a higher number of medical admissions than usual overnight. The patient was assigned to a different medical firm (team of residents, interns, medical students and attending physicians) than the usual firm that usually covers Farr 9 patients. The provider order entry order set did not indicate the correct firm coverage.

Solution After Investigation:
The immediate issue was fixed and the correct team assignment was notified, but it took 30-45 minutes.

Action Plan:
A Hospitalist and the Chief Medical Resident, worked on solutions with the Nurse Manager to prevent the issue from occurring again.

• Medical firms were reassigned to support increased medical volume on Farr 9.

• Farr 9 RN staff were educated about medical staff coverage and how to find medical call schedules on the intranet. We also ensured all medical teams had entries in our web-based paging system.

• Medical house staff updated our order entry order sets to accurately reflect team coverage.

• As a back up, the medical house staff agreed to either evaluate the patient if a critical issue is occurring or locate correct coverage as opposed to the nurse another intern/resident to page.

• We automated the paging system so that it generates an automated alert to the medical admitting resident once a bed is assigned for patients admitted from the Emergency Department

All of this was coordinated via BIDMC Spirit Portal discussion forums, blogs, and issue tracking applications.

As you can see, Social networking meets Performance Improvement meets Rapid Application Development. This infrastructure, which has now been used to support 300 real time problem solving events, again demonstrates the power of Web 2.0 for the healthcare enterprise!"

(Via Life as a Healthcare CIO.)

The End of Wealth

The End of Wealth: "

Unless you have been living under a rock, you will know there are some major problems in the world’s financial markets at the moment. Working for a global bank, I guess you could say I have a front row seat for this debacle that in recent days has worsened with the stunning collapse of Bear Stearns.

Much of what I have read has blamed Wall Street for turning the problems related to subprime lending into a major global problem. But I also recently read this Newsweek article where a former mortgage broker shares his insights into the fraud and greed that has plagued his former industry:

Lenders… which underwrote loans offered up by brokers and resold them to giants like Countrywide, spent much of their workdays trying to spot the stupid tricks brokers routinely used to get unqualified borrowers approved for loans. They’d say a buyer intended to live in a house when it was really an investment property. They’d falsify the buyer’s income by having a relative pose as his employer, or use scanners and software to forge W-2 forms. They’d find ways to hide debts (like a car payment) by looking for a credit report that omitted key data. They also routinely gamed the appraisal system, encouraging appraisers to look for ‘comparables’ that were far nicer homes in better neighborhoods—all in an effort to drive up the appraised value of the home they were mortgaging.

Perhaps because I know a lot of people in this industry, this article really got me thinking about wealth and the ways in which we go about trying to accumulate it.

Greed and shady business dealings are obviously nothing new, but what are we to make of them? And how does it relate to self improvement?

Ends and Means

Now, the last thing I want to do in this article is come across as self-righteous in the moral advice that follows. Let me state here that I am far from perfect, and I am not always proud of the ways I act. But this current chaos in the world’s financial markets, and other recent examples of greed (eg Enron), reminded me of Gandhi’s teachings of the seven things that will destroy us. These are:

• Wealth without work


• Pleasure without conscience


• Knowledge without character


• Commerce without morality


• Science without humanity


• Worship without sacrifice


• Politics without principle

As Stephen R. Covey points out in The 8th Habit, each of these admirable ends (eg wealth and commerce) can be accomplished through an unprincipled or unworthy means.

Many people give little attention to the means as their ego tells them the ends justify the means. This approach was infamously promoted by Machiavelli in The Prince, which suggested, amongst other things, the shrewd methods an aspiring prince could use to acquire the throne (remind you of any modern day politicians?).

If you live according to this philosophy, I would like to invite you to consider a very different way of looking at ends, and the means in which you go about accomplishing them. If we are to quell our ego, and instead live a life where we follow our conscience, then the ends and means become inseparable.

According to Stephen R. Covey, if you reach an admirable end through the wrong means, the ends ultimately turn to dust in your hands. It may appear that you can, but there are unintended consequences that are not seen or evident at first that will eventually destroy the end. The example he gives in The 8th Habit is:

• The parent who yells at their kids to clean their rooms will accomplish the end of having a clean room. But this very means has the potential to negatively affect relationships, and it is unlikely the room will stay clean when the parent leaves town for a few days.

Now, to return to the topic of wealth, I think it is possible to see much of the world’s current financial problems as stemming from people who wrongly believe the ends justify the means.

My advice? It is wonderful to aspire to wealth, but don’t lose sight of the means of accomplishing it as you go about your journey.

What do you think? We would love to hear your thoughts on anything discussed in this article. As a small incentive, we have a $20 Amazon gift certificate to give to one person who shares their thoughts.

"

(Via PickTheBrain.)

iPhone 8GB (refurb) for $249

iPhone 8GB (refurb) for $249: ""

(Via Clippings.)

Well: The Art of the Push-Up

Well: The Art of the Push-Up: "A simple exercise that means a lot."

(Via Clippings.)

The Biggest Economic Opportunity of This Century

The Biggest Economic Opportunity of This Century: "A leading Silicon Valley venture capitalist sees gold in alternative energy.

"

(Via Fool.com: The Motley Fool.)

Another Good Job-Seeking Site

reCareered, good tips, your mileage may vary

Future [successful] Librarians

While some people argue that the librarian has been replaced by Google, there is an awareness level of resources out there that the future librarian (or perhaps 'information facilitator'?) will need to be able to help their clients. My mom who works in a library passed along this interesting bit on the 20 things to Watch by Stephen Abram. I applaud not just any librarian who is familiar with all of them, but even the most ardent social networking person!

http://www.sirsidynix.com/Resources/Pdfs/Company/Abram/IOColumn_67.pdf

Optimizing Connections for Maximum Results

Optimizing Connections for Maximum Results
By Debra Feldman

Are you changing jobs this year? Whether you are entering the job market by choice or have been forced to look for work, be prepared for an intense, volatile journey. The executive job market is not like you remember. It’s unpredictable. Among employers, there’s a very high degree of selectivity and extreme caution. Recruiting proceeds at an unusually slow pace from both parties’ perspectives. It’s discouraging for candidates and frustrating for employers, too.

If you thought a few confidential calls to eager headhunters, several strategically placed online profiles, and a finely–tuned resume would book your calendar with interview appointments – today’s reality is going to be disappointing. Job hunting has literally become a contact sport. Be prepared for some rough and tumble times and come with the mindset that you may be in this for a while until you land a good offer.

The Advantage of Employee Referrals

To overcome their innate resistance to external candidates, nowadays employers are especially keen on employee referrals. According to CareerXroads, a recruiting consultancy, these are becoming a proportionately bigger source of hires. Historically, between 70% and 80% of new hires are based on a personal connection or a networking referral. This means that job seekers across all industries and functional disciplines should allocate their time and resources to promote existing connections and establish new relationships. This includes relationships with current and former employees not just where they have worked, but where they want to work. Such inside relationships are proving to be a competitive advantage in today’s environment.

This recommended proactive networking strategy puts prospective candidates in touch with appropriate inside leads before positions are advertised to outsiders. This offers a distinct advantage in the modern world of mass resume submissions and voluminous applications for each available opening.

Personal connections are clearly good to have for a variety of reasons. Active contacts enable candidates to monitor the recruiting process more closely through internal channels. Having an association with a current employee increases the level of shared trust and mutual commitment to hiring managers. Often hiring managers are seeking a new employee with a genuine interest for joining the team and meeting the company’s needs, beyond the attached salary and relevant perks.

Network Purposefully

As you would embark on any high stakes project, allocate your resources to produce optimal results. For a job search, that’s networking. A smoother, swifter landing is most likely to come from dedicated efforts put towards establishing relationships. Strategically choose individuals who have access to unadvertised job leads. As you build them, your networks will become “career insurance.” Plus there are other benefits if you Network Purposefully™ : intellectual stimulation, service to others, and achieving interim job search project milestones (e.g., completing 20 telephone calls daily, scheduling five face to face meetings weekly, etc.).

To simplify your project and get things moving forward, approach your campaign as a gap analysis. Assess where you are today and where you want to be and implement activities moving across that space. Here’s how to begin.
1. Where would you like to work? Describe the geographic location, corporate culture, industry sector, company size, ownership type, competitive ranking, etc. Specify employers that match these selection criteria. Don’t know what you want yet? Then ask yourself what you don’t want and work in reverse until you have a picture that makes sense. Focus on specific employers or divisions as your job search goals.
2. How has each of your target companies been affected by industry challenges, and how have they responded? Rank their performance and their desirability as a prospective employer. Allocate your efforts accordingly. Start tracking current events so you can speak intelligently about your field. Assess each of your target companies and describe why you are interested in working there. Why are they a good fit? Are there any potential deal breakers?

3. Identify your distinguishing skills and talents. Illustrate experiences that persuasively demonstrate your qualifications to confront challenges, lead others through them, and find solutions. Summarize success stories that unequivocally illustrate your outstanding abilities. Quantify outcomes. Why should an employer be attracted to you? What do you offer that’s desirable and unique? What differentiates you from others with similar credentials? Anticipate pushback. Prepare to erase all doubts, promote your credibility, and engender a high degree of trust.

4. Find current or former employees of each target company and connect with these insiders. Mine your personal network for people with a connection to your target employer’s decision makers. Do this even before reaching to their HR team. Emphasize your desire to gather information or have a one–on–one “industry talk.” Never say that you are looking for position openings or need help getting a new job. No openings now? No problem, request referrals to more decision makers with contacts at additional business units. Collect more ideas and make more connections that will keep your campaign moving forward. You’ll have to generate leads exponentially until one of them evolves into an accepted job offer.

5. Continue networking forever. Concentrate on relationships not transactions. If you don’t want to repeat this job search process from scratch ever again, personal relationships are essential. If you keep in touch with well–connected, well–placed individuals on a regular basis, you will naturally become aware of potential future opportunities through your interactions and exchanges. You will be invited to join a new venture and offer your expertise rather than having to go fish into unknown territory. Save yourself angst, money and time by maintaining a vibrant network and continually building your connections. Especially offering to help others often before being asked. Generosity pays. What goes around comes back.

Your objective is to connect directly to hiring decision makers at your target companies through personal referrals. Work with these insiders to secure multiple leads to unadvertised opportunities. Through meaningful interactions, show hiring decision makers that you are their go–to expert. Be enthusiastic about working together on their challenges. If you develop a vibrant, interactive network, contacts will come to you looking for solutions saving you time while achieving your goal. This puts you in the driver’s seat for negotiating more favorable terms of engagement and further increases your desirability beyond your obvious credentials.

Debra Feldman is the JobWhiz™, a nationally–recognized expert who designs and personally implements swift, strategic, and customized senior level executive job search campaigns. Her gift for cold calling, executed with high energy and savvy panache, connects candidates directly to decision makers, not HR. Network Purposefully™ with the JobWhiz, and compress your job search into mere weeks, using groundbreaking techniques profiled in Forbes magazine.

Mastering the Online Job Search

Mastering the Online Job Search
By Abby Locke

Ten years ago the Internet was a relatively new phenomenon. It was a gold mine for finding and securing great job opportunities. Sending an application only took a few minutes and more times than not, you got a response quickly. Even when everyone starting jumping on the bandwagon, you still had a pretty good chance of finding your dream job just by surfing the Internet.

Fast forward to today. Candidates get lost in a maze of job search boards, company databases, and online recruiting. With technology advancing at the speed of light, the Internet and its capabilities keep evolving. It is a medium you simply cannot ignore as a job seeker.

Here are seven strategies to increase your online job search success.

1. Avoid Generalization: It’s impossible to stand out with a one–size–fits–all marketing document. Develop an executive resume that has a tailored title header, a strong executive summary with specific areas of expertise, and highly–targeted keywords throughout the document.

2. Create Multiple Formats: To effectively compete, you need more than a Word document. To meet online compatibility standards, your resume portfolio should include a Word document, a Portable Document Printing (PDF), an ASCII (text), and HTML (web–based) versions. Follow application instructions carefully, paying close attention to the employer’s requested format.

3. Watch Out For “Bad Words”: The overwhelming responses to online postings have forced recruiters and human resources managers to aggressively screen out candidates. In some cases, seemingly innocent words can divert your email to the trash folder. Commonly used words like “magna cum laude”, “winner” and “free” scream SPAM for many email systems. Use Lyris Content Checker to review and scan your resume before completing an email blast.

4. Use Niche Boards & Specialty Sites: Huge commercial career sites have hundreds of thousands of candidates in their database. These are usually geared towards entry–level and mid–management positions. To avoid frustration, subscribe to specialized online job boards that focus on a particular occupation or industry.

5. Work with Specialty Recruiters: Similar to niche job boards, executive recruiters and search firms specialize by industry and job function. Sources like TheLadders.com provide online databases for recruiters that may specialize in your area.

6. Limit Widespread Resume Distribution: Due to the overwhelming amount of time and commitment that a job search requires, it is very tempting to take what appears to be a time–saving route. Remember to tread lightly with mass correspondences. Resume distribution services blast your resume to hundreds of recruiters and companies but the drawbacks are significant. With limited customization, blind distribution and a lack of search privacy, you’ll give up more than you get back.

To have a competitive advantage in today’s job market, continually employ creative techniques to get in front of key decision makers. Diversify resume formats to maximize your success rate and use the Internet to charge your job search. This said, never underestimate the power of in–person and online networks. While it is critical to engage in online searches, they should only be a portion of your job search strategy.

Abby Locke, Executive Director of Premier Writing Solutions, is a Nationally Certified Resume–Writer and Personal Brand Strategist who helps senior–level professionals and C–level executives achieve personal success with customized, branded executive resumes and career marketing documents. Her resume samples have been published in Nail the Resume! Great Tips for Creating Dynamic Resumes, Same–Day Resumes, and Quick Resume and Cover Letter Handbook.

IRAs for Stay-at-Home Spouses

IRAs for Stay-at-Home Spouses

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Tips To Spring Clean Your Career

Same worthwhile advice and thinking not just for preparing for your next job but good organization as well.

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How great IT security leaders succeed

Forrester identifies some surprising attributes that make for the best-performing CISOs

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How to save money running a startup (17 really good tips)

Fire people who are not workaholics.... come on folks, this is startup life, it's not a game. go work at the post office or stabucks if you want balance in your life. For realz.

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Money's tight? ROI to the rescue

How some IT shops are putting good old ROI to use on projects that do more than just improve the bottom line.

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How to Defend Your Online Reputation: Five Tips

It's not what other people think of you that matters. It's what they can find out about you on the Web that will affect your ability to get a job or promotion.

read more | digg story