The understated importance of the "Big Boss"

Alright….it’s been quite a while since I’ve last written.  To be honest, I’ve really struggled with time management and sparks.  So, no promises that I’ll be blogging more but I have started to find inspiration about blogging lately so maybe…..I’m not going to go all Michael Phelps and come out of retirement to destroy the world but maybe you’ll see a few more posts.

Motivation for this blog comes from a personal experience lately at work where my “Big Boss” has recently taken a new role.  Now, I’ve had a million direct managers during my time but very rarely has the big boss moved on to take a new role….so it’s been a unique experience.  Working for someone like I did was a remarkable experience that honestly changed my entire outlook on work and life...honestly, it's hard to overstate how amazing the experience has been.

And…..it got me thinking, wow, a lot is written about managers and peers but we typically  just ignore how important the leader of an organization is when it comes to day to day “work”.  With that, I figured I’d fire off a few of my learnings/insights on the importance of the Big Boss:

Inspiration - When you are looking at a company or role you really want to work for someone who inspires you.  Now, I’ve been blessed with this for most of my career but that’s not the norm.  You not only want, you DESERVE to have a leader who can set a vision and inspire the team to drive to that outcome.  

They are human - Yeah, yeah yeah, we are all humans I get it.  What this means, is you want someone leading your organization that understands ultimately we are all humans and work is one part of our lives.  I’ll never forget emailing the big boss explaining how amazing our benefits team was and how much I appreciate not only the service they provided...but how they did it and made me feel like the most important person in the company.  Big boss emailed back almost immediately being more excited than I WAS about the experience and proceeded to thank everyone I had mentioned.  Good leaders know their teams need food/water and actively seek to out ways to make them feel appreciated….bad leaders are just jerks.

Accountable - I think every single big boss in my career has had the same attribute and it usually goes something like this….

Big Boss says something in a meeting

Jeff emails saying “yeah totally, who owns that?”

Big boss asks me why I don’t

Jeff suddenly finds himself doing more work….

You know what, it’s AWESOME!!  That’s exactly what you want your leader to do.  If you want to get things done and want to really make change you need to have people be accountable.  I’ve always loved when I walk about of a meeting or conversation with the Big Boss with a new action item or project.  It tells me not only do they trust me to do cool work (no comment) but they also understand that the vision will require work and people that want to help should be empowered.  These are the moments that change your career and change you life….and it’s all because the Big Boss pushes you JUST a little be more towards something that you wanted to do anyway.

Ok, I’m sure we could go on and on about different ways our Bosses, bosses boss have influenced our careers or lives but I’ll call it a blog.  I’ve got a few more ideas floating in my brain so keep an eye out for more content…..until then keep your chin up if you are searching for a new role the market is pretty slow but should pick up after the election.

The Greatest Hits Post

It's pretty obvious now that I'm really not blogging about recruiting anymore but I'm kind of honored how many people still read this and reach out to me via this site.  So, I wanted to do an update that kind of serves as "Jeff Moore's Greatest Hits" so those who stumble across this site can just go through all the good stuff.  With that....

Most popular post....this is actually a tie.  I have two posts, with almost the same number of page views and are VERY different.

 "My review of the Google Resume" is a pretty deep review of the book which is kind of a "how-to" guide for folks doing technical interviews - consider this my "Stairway to Heaven"


  "Thinking about a Career in Recruiting" is a post I wrote and figured no one would care...ironically, people still read this several years later.  I don't have a good Led Zeppelin reference here....maybe "Rock and Roll"

Another relatively popular (popular for a B list recruiter is really not that popular but whatever) is "Does your resume even matter anymore" which honestly rings pretty true to me.  I don't think resumes matter....even if you need one (most places have your LinkedIn profile) the resume is really just a piece of paper...how you interview is what really matters.

One of my favorite blogs is "Oh yeah, we'll keep your resume on file" it gives me a good chuckle when I read it and it's all very true.  Especially #4.

My first blog was this one, I wrote it almost six years ago and you know what.....46 people have read it.  You'd think it really sucks, like REALLY sucks.  I mean, it gets like 8 views a year.....but it's actually pretty good.

The least popular blog is a tribute to "Temple of the Dog" and honestly, it sucks...don't read it.

Most weirdly ironic blog is this one, crazy karma....

The most metal blog is "Welcome to my Nightmare" which is a tribute to Alice Cooper....yeah, that's right

Anyway, I hope people find this "Greatest Hits" to be helpful and make it easier to find some of my best content.  Feel free to connect w/ me via LinkedIn or catch me via @JeffreyTMoore.  Until then, keep networking and talking to people......your career is what you make it.

Jeff

The Resume Reconstruction Part I - Get rid of your Objective

Ok, so it’s been ages since I’ve blogged but honestly, it’s been a great 6 month break.  Much needed.  I feel refresh and energized to start blogging again so I hope you’re ready.  I’ve got a bunch of content lined up so it should be fun again...which is always important for me.

Quick update on me before this weeks topic….we are settled quite nicely out here in CA.  It’s farking expensive but the weather, availability of most everything and live at the Mothership it’s hard to complain.   I’m still a boy of the 603 but the 408 isn’t so bad.

With that, I’ve been talking to a lot of recruiter friends (nod to referrer!) and have come to a conclusion...it’s time for a resume revolution.  The whole state of resumes is terrible.  The entire thing is just messed up.  Most of them don’t tell the right story and get good candidates rejected without any conversation.  So, for me, that tells me it’s time to just nuke the whole approach and start fresh.  Let’s start at the top and take a look at the “Objective”.

Honestly, I’ve probably read about a million of these things and for the most part they all suck.  The objective of your resume is to get you a job (or the job).  Period.  End of story.  The objective really isn’t to get you a rewarding and challenging position that blah blah blah blah blah…..it’s to get you the job.

True story, I’ve received SEVERAL resumes where the objective has resulted in an instant reject.  I mean, instant.  Sending a recruiter that says “To find a role at WRONG COMPANY” will get you rejected immediately.  Last one I saw was looking for a role at Amazon….that’s great, I love Amazon but um, I don’t work there.  Trash.

Alright...so I’m not a big fan of just complaining so in lieu of an Objective what should you do?  Here are a few options.

1) Don’t stress it.  Start your resume with your best attribute (Education or Experience) so when a recruiter or manager sees your resume it JUMPS to their attention.  This is always my preference on a resume.

2) Start with a summary of skills or experiences.  I don’t love this to be honest but if you’ve got a bunch of skills/experiences that an employer will really value than sum them up, show them off and then dig into the details later in your resume.

Make sense?  I hope so, my big issue with resumes right now is that they are filled with junk and don’t truly show off what makes a person exceptional….so over the next few posts we’ll blow it up.  I leave on vacation this week but will be posting from parts unknown….until then, enjoy the week

Five signs your career is undergoing the zombie apocalypse…

I had a fantastic conversation with my boss this week joking about how shows like “The Walking Dead” are kind of a funny analogy for work.  Well, we were laughing but it’s probably not that funny if you are in a dystopic professional state...but hey, no one said this blog is for SERIOUS advice.

Anyway, it got me thinking about how when you sense the zombie virus is invading your career….it’s time to run.  So, to help you out...a few signs your career may be going zombie:

You wander around aimlessly - It’s probably time to find a new job is you find yourself wondering around from task to task and not really engaging your brain.  What are you doing?  What are you looking for?  Work is a chance for you to use your brain and exercise your smarts.  You’re probably in a culture or company that doesn’t value thought if you find yourself aimlessly staggering through your day.

You eat brains - This one is important.  You are no longer to accept good ideas or engage in real conversations...basically, you eat brains.  You laugh, but it’s true.  We’ve all meet with someone who just says no to everything, never adds what we should do...and just destroys the conversation.  Zombie Brain Eating Coworkers...get a new job.

You take weapons everywhere - Well, not literally but you get the point.  If you find yourself always getting ready for battle or an ambush at work...not good, beware.  You really want to work in a place where you can debate issues on their merit and have a robust conversation...not have to bring your weapons to keep you safe from the brain eaters.

You’re constantly overwhelmed - Ok, so did you see World War Z?  The scene where the zombies totally overwhelm Israel freaks me out….crazy.  Anyway, a lot of companies with bad cultures have this kind of crazy non-sensical hoard mentality where one person gets infected with an idea….and boom, everyone goes nuts for it.  Bad corporate cultures are like cults or zombie infections…..bad ideas dominate and overwhelm anyone who gets in the way.

You’re friends keep disappearing - This one is kind of obvious.  In all of these shows/movies people die.  Friends just kind of go away or get left behind.  It’s time for a job change when all of your friends are quitting or leaving.  Attrition is the dirty secret companies don’t like to talk about...some attrition is healthy and good for the organization but bad companies have unhealthy attrition rates because people realize it’s not a great company.  If you notice friends disappearing….start looking around.

Ok, that’s it this week.  Obviously just a funny blog but the point is really serious.  Bad companies or bad cultures are just not cool and rather that fight the zombies...run and find a place you can settle down a bit and really grow your career.

Final note, if people at your company ever dance like the zombies in the Thriller video…..you should stay there because that dance is just amazing.

Four years of blogging....wow....

Ok, so I got a notice today that my blog is 4 years old...honestly, it's been probably one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.  I'm certainly no blog king or any kind of expert but I like to think in a way, I've added something to the community and helped a few folks have a better career along the way.

If you've never blogged but wanted to do it, just do it.  Trust me on this, you won't regret it and you'll probably learn even more than you share...I know I have learned WAY more than I've shared.

 Anyway, here's to another 4 years and sharing a few random pieces of info about my blog I don't generally share but think are kind of cool.  Hope you enjoy.

39 people read my first post.....thanks Mom, Dad, family......man, tough start

151 people read my blog during it's first MONTH of existence.....yeah, I rule.

About 1500 people read my blog a month when I'm not writing much (see now), when I actually write 4-6 posts a month that number jumps to about 3500.....that blows my mind.

Since I started this blog, people have read my posts 75,000 times...which is just silly and humbling.

The post "My review of The Google Resume" had about 5500 people read it, the second most popular is "Thinking about a career in recruiting?" which ironically still gets about 50 new views a week.  Weird but awesome.

Most of my readers come via www.jeffreytmoore.com which is cool.....the second most via @JeffreyTMoore on Twitter so follow me if you don't already....

The large majority of my page views are from the US, like 60% but every day and week someone internationally reads what I've got say....just today for example, people in 10 different countries read my blog.  Again, humbling and really shows how small and interconnected the world is when a dude from NH writes a blog that gets read in China......(damn!)

I run ads on the blog but have never made any money....note to self, fix that.  Anyone want to help?

That's probably about it for cool blog stats and insights.  Like I said, I don't generally share much info about the back end of the blog but I find it so amazing that after 4 years I thought it would be fun.

The only other thing I can say is THANK YOU!  Honestly, I never thought I'd get 100 people to read my ramblings and it's by far the most rewarding thing I've done. So if you're a loyal reader (you guys know who are you) or some random person in China who is wondering what the hell this dude with he laser beams is saying....cheers to you all.

Guest Blog!! Common Sense Rules for Recruiters!!

I'm excited to have a guest blogger this week!  My dear friend Nell, she pretty much rules and is a ton of fun.  Like I said last week, I'm hoping to have more guest posts and this is the first.  With that, I'll let Nell tell you about a few basic rules for recruiters....needless to say, I love the last two.  Enjoy!

 

Common Sense Rules for Recruiters

One of the advantages to being a “senior” member of a recruiting team is that I have a lot of years (i.e. I’ve been doing this for a LONG time) from which to glean my knowledge and experience. I also recognize that the means with which we can now do our job has changed drastically and will continue to evolve as technology improves (sidenote: I remember when a former boss finally agreed to fore go the Rolodex for a desktop computer for each of us and watching her point her mouse at the screen like a garage door opener) but common sense and basics of how we do our job and conduct ourselves as recruiters should not.  

Far too often I hear stories from candidates and hiring managers about recruiters who more closely resemble used car salesmen or glorified paper pushers than professional recruiters and it absolutely makes my skin crawl.  Here are just a few of the common sense/basic rules that we should all be following:

• You are often the first impression a candidate has of the company. Just like you are passing judgment on their skill set and experience, a candidate is assessing if the way you treat them is indicative of how employees are treated within your organization.  So regardless of their qualifications, always be respectful. Always.
  
  
• When you are interviewing (phone or in-person) pay attention to THEM.  Don’t multi-task just because they can’t see you, and don’t check your email or take a call while they are sitting in front of you.  Ever.
  
  
• If a co-worker or hiring manager isn't returning an email or if you are going back and forth over email and not getting anything resolved, pick up the damn phone and call them OR walk to their office and actually talk to them.  It’s amazing how well TALKING to someone actually works.  Technology is awesome but not always the best means to communicate.
  
  
• Follow through with your candidates and hiring managers. If you say you are going to do X, then do it. Duh.
  
  

• Pay it forward. Every week you should do something or help someone else find a job or make the one they’re in better.  When I was unemployed several years ago I was shocked at the number of people who went out of their way to help me. I was equally as shocked by the number of fellow recruiters who didn't return my calls or emails. 
  
  

and last but not least…

• If you don’t enjoy recruiting or being a recruiter, then get a new job -- you’re making those of us who love it, look bad.

Find me at google.com/+NellThayerHeisner11 or on Twitter @nellthayer

Blog update and a few news items

Ok, it's been like two months since my last post...needless to say, things have been a little crazy.  With that here are a few updates!

1) My writers block is gone (nod to Ted!) so that's good news.  You'll start seeing more posts over the next few weeks.  If you have any topic requests, let me know and I'll do my best.  The plan is to get into my weekly schedule again with a few random one off updates too.

2) The last 8 weeks have been crazy for me.  We bought a house and got stuck in the Boston area for an extra 4 days over the holidays.  Since getting back, we closed on the house and are doing a bunch of renovations....note to self, that sucks

3) I'm going to be trying to do a few more guest blogs and have folks post on my site too.  First one is this week from my dear friend Nell.  You can find her @nellthayer on Twitter.

4) At some point I owe everyone a "My move to the Valley" post but damn it's been too busy to think lately.  Maybe in June I can do the "One year later" post.....that seems like a good idea.

5) Expect a few "moving sucks", "renovations are a pain", "I'm tired" posts over the next few weeks...move date is on the books so things will continue to be crazy but feeling a little like General McArthur so look out...

You've Gotta Play to Win - A MegaMillions Career Lesson

Quick topic this week but a good lesson from this weeks crazy MegaMillions drawing and my love of scratch tickets (yep, you read that right)

As everyone knows, the MegaMillions drawing was HUGE...over $600M.  Well, like everyone else I picked up a few tickets and while I was there...I grabbed a few scratch tickets.  Again, I love those things.  I didn’t win...obviously, or this would be a very different blog.  Anyway, the lesson here is you’ve got to play to win.  If you don’t play the lottery, you’ll never win the lottery.  Period.

This lesson is really important when you’re looking for a job or thinking about taking on a new project.  If you don’t try or take a shot...you can be sure you won’t succeed.  Have.To.Try.  Another great way to phrase this comes from Wayne Gretzky who once said “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”

Makes sense...so, my question for you is this….are you taking the shot?  If not, why?

Enjoy the holidays, I’ll be traveling around a bit but will try to write more.  BIG post coming in the new year reflecting on some of my experiences in 2013 so that will be fun.

And finally, my scratch ticket won $10...which I reinvested into another ticket and lost.  My wife, won $100….laughed at me and pocketed her winnings.  That’s fine, I’ll keep taking my shots and it will keep paying off

My take on creative job search tactics

I’ve been hearing a lot of stories lately of people using unique and interesting ways to get recruiters attention.  I figured I’d take a little time to talk about them and give you my take.  I’ll be honest, I’m not really a big fan of this kind of stuff but I’ll try to be impartial.  Anyone who knows me, will tell you I’m more of an old school networker.  I like chatting on the phone or having a beer via G+ Hangout…..get beyond that and honestly I start to twitch.

Anyway, this isn’t about me...this is about you using some off the grid unique ways to get noticed by recruiters or hiring managers.  With that...here we go:

Running ads with your name on them -  This one was pretty popular a few years back and there were a ton of examples.  Apparently this worked and it became pretty popular but I never really understood the appeal.  It’s a little too shotgun approach for me, although optimizing and targeting the ads definitely helps.  The example I posted cost $150 which if you think about it is a great deal.  I don’t hate this approach, but when I see ads like this targeted towards me I always think they are spam and I just ignore them.

Making your resume look like a product or web page - This one has been popular for a while and will probably continue to be popular.  This particular post is a great example if you’re looking for one.  From my perspective, this is a good idea if you’re early in your career or in the market for a creative job.  A few candidates through the years have sent this kind of resume to me and I always enjoy checking the creativity.

Video Resume - I’m a sucker for the video blog, especially this one.  They haven’t really taken off but some places ask for them and there are a lot of good examples out there as well.  Done right, a video resume is a great way to show off your skills and personality for a potential employer.  You want to make sure use good quality video and have a well scripted plan to develop a professional video.

Creating personal action figures - Ok, last one. A coworker sent me this blog last week and I have to admit I love the idea.  I looked into making “Jeff Moore - Recruiter” action figures but kind the cost scared me off….I’ll keep researching.  Anyway, I think this is a cool idea but is potentially pretty expensive.  If you are in the toy industry or another creative role, this could really get you a great job.  For me, I just think having my own action figure would be fun :)

Alright, so there are a few thoughts...obviously, I’m only one data point and every recruiter is different.  Doing something creative can be a great way to get noticed but you’ve got to make sure whatever you do reflects your personality and your voice.

Good luck out there and if you find another other examples please share as I’ve love to see other examples.

Your priorities define you...

Happy holidays everyone!  Hope things are going well.  It’s been a little while since I’ve blogged but I really wanted to share something.  I had an interview this week and the candidate made a comment to me that I really loved, I mean….loved.  They said:

“The priorities we set define us”

It got me thinking, for those of you experience a job search or thinking about moving your career needle...what kind of priorities have you set?  Now, the idea of priorities is pretty complicated and honestly only you can set your priorities but I did spend a lot of time thinking about this and had a few thoughts I wanted to share

Rank your priorities - This one is obvious right?  The question really is, do you want to be the best parent in the world?  Best recruiter?  Does money matter?  Do you work to live or live to work?  Literally, there are a bunch of things to consider.  What you need to do is figure out what really matters to you...define it and then optimize your more tactical priorities from there.

Set sub-goals - Ok, so you have your high level priorities set.  Awesome...huge step and most people never get there so feel good about this.  Next, start trying to define what each one of those priorities really means and what you need to do to accomplish them….and be realistic.  

Build a timeline - You’ve got your priorities set and you’ve got a bunch of tactical steps you need to take to accomplish your goals...now you need a timeline.  The timeline will keep you honest and make you focus.  A key here again will be to be realistic.  For example, you can’t say you are going to interview for 50 jobs in the next month...not enough days in the month.  So, really focus on setting a timeline that you can work with and get things accomplished.

Get going - This is the most important step.  Get going and get it done.  The difference between superstars and everyone else is superstars get stuff done.  Now is the time to define yourself by not only setting priorities but getting them done.

That’s it this week, I’ll try to get a few more posts done by the end of the year and start strong again in 2014.

Good luck out there, the holidays are a GREAT time to amp up your job search

My review of "BA to Boardroom"....a no BS review for a no BS book

This post is sort of a testament to the awesome connected world in which we live.  Let me give you the backstory.  I was flying out to San Francisco for a week a Google.  Well, the person next to me was writing while I rocked out to Iron Maiden.  His name was Chris, and he was writing a book about having a great career.  I was writing a blog on “The No Asshole Rule” so we got to talking about his book, his ideas and started to share a few thoughts on having a great career.  We exchanged info, and went off to find our rental cars.

A few weeks later, I get an email from Chris asking for my address to send me a copy of the book.  AWESOME!!  So, after moving cross country and finally getting settled in the Bay Area I’ve had time to read “BA to Boardroom With No BS, Skills for Life” and wanted to take a few minutes to blog about it and share my thoughts.

First of all, it’s a great read.  Very down to earth and practical.  I also think it’s the kind of book that anyone can read and learn a few new things.  You don’t need to be a new college grad to heed Chris’s advice….even a dinosaur like me took a few tips, wrote them down and focused some of my energy on getting better.

Ok, with that, here is a quick summary of a few things I thought were really great about this book:

A Positive Approach - On page 23 Chris talks about approaching all individuals and situations in a positive way.  LOVE this!  Honestly, negative people suck (like that?) and are less successful.  People who can have a positive attitude and approach are well liked and able to leverage relationships more successfully in the workplace.  Chris gets into a little more detail on what this means and it’s all good stuff.

Applying yourself - Page 25 here, same general area of the book but Chris talks about effort.  Obviously, I agree with him 100% here and think honesty and accountability to work effort is critical.  For me, effort is one of the few things as a manager I can’t coach.  Either you work hard and really push yourself...or you don’t.  Developing this skill will serve you well over the long haul.

Making Choices - Right around page 33 Chris starts talking about how and where to start your career.  One quote I’d like to share:

Jobs vary in content but have some common characteristics.  Looking at what characteristics feel best to you will help you select a role that can produce the highest likelihood of being one in which you feel comfortable.

Such a great line.  When you’re starting your career and frankly at any point in your career focusing on a role that maximizes your skills and allows you to be comfortable is a huge step.  It takes time, you shouldn’t expect to just wake up and realize your calling in life but once you figure it out...embrace it.

Managing Up - In Chapter 5, he talks about a lot of skills but one in particular really rung true to me.  Managing up.  It’s not the sexiest skill and some people might call it brown nosing...it’s not and it is sexy.  Managing up means making sure your boss and other leaders know what you are doing and ensuring they are there to help you.  Ever meet someone who complains they can’t get the resources they need...meanwhile you never have an issue getting what you need?  Well yeah, that’s because you’ve managed up well and received the support and faith of senior leadership.  HUGE skill.

Opportunistic Ambition - Chapter 6 talks about opportunistic ambition, having mentors and building a personal plan.  Really great chapter.  As someone who’s had a personal plan for a while, this really jumped off the page at me.  I very much enjoyed Chris’s idea of putting yourself first and then secondly having a contingency plan.  These are extremely hard concepts but really critical for your career.    In my experience, these skills don’t come naturally but once they come...they are like a tidal wave that pushes your skills into the next level.  I’ll stop writing about this now, go buy the book

Learning to Lead - Another fantastic chapter as this skill is another one that really can carry you through your career...even if you end up switching professions.  The big take away for me in the book is when Chris talks about creating a high performing team.  I mean, talk about the holy grail of work.  Being able to attract top talent and put them into a position to perform is literally the difference between great leaders and crappy leaders.  So, again, take some time to really learn how to lead.  You’ll thank Chris for this, it’s so important.  When I look at my team or other teams I’ve lead, I always ask are we a destination for great talent?  If not, how do I fix it.

Ok, LONG blog for me this week but I really enjoyed the book and couldn’t recommend it any stronger.  The link above will get you to Chris’s website and allow you to buy the book...just do it.  One closing thought.  I met Chris on a flight, and I’m the guy who never talks to people on the plane (thank you Bose headphones) but for whatever reason, Chris and I really connected.  There is a lesson here….when you meet people along the way, take time to get to know them….you might just meet someone really cool.

Until next time, good luck out there the job market is still tough so you’ve got to work extra hard.