Talent Shortage Helps Shield Executives from Unemployment

According to the March 2008 ExecuNet Recruiter Confidence Index (RCI) survey of 118 executive recruiters, 52 percent are "confident" or "very confident" the executive employment market will improve during the next six months -- up slightly from 51 percent in February. Seventy-two percent of survey respondents expect at least a 10 percent increase in search assignments during this period of time.

"Economic uncertainty has not put executive job growth on hold," says Mark Anderson, president of ExecuNet. "While demand for executive talent may be increasing at a slower pace than it was just one year ago, recruiting and retaining effective leaders remains a challenge for most companies."

Introduced in May 2003, the Recruiter Confidence Index is based on a monthly survey of executive recruiters conducted by ExecuNet.

Executive Resume Toolkit

I haven't bought it (yet), but I have to tell you without even seeing it, this is a toolkit that almost every resume writer will want to own. I own pretty much all of Wendy and Louise's other books (too many to list!) and they have been invaluable in helping me stretch my creative skills... especially when facing challenging clients.

So I'm excited to learn more about the Executive Resume Toolkit -- which, although designed for clients, it sounds like from the description below -- is sure to teach "old" resume writers like me some new tricks.

• Resume Writing Guide: 50-page guidebook (with optional exercises) to help you strategize, write, and design your own winning, executive-level resume
• Resume Sample Gallery: 123-page book, including a selection of 50 best-in-class executive resumes that you can use as the foundation for writing/designing your own best-in-class resume
• Worksheets: All of the worksheets discussed and used in the book are also provided in a separate Word document so that you can easily use them to pull together your essential information and construct your resume
• Resource Guide: Short guidebook with "live" links to online resources designed specifically for executive candidates
• Executive Tip Sheets: Two tip pages to keep close at hand while writing your resume - one detailing the top Executive Resume Strategies and the other detailing the top tips for writing Powerful Experience Sections
• Audio Broadcasts: Two 20-minute audio recordings with expert career management advice - one titled "Top 10 Resume Writing Strategies for Executive Success" and the other titled "My Resume's Not Working ... What Do I Do Now?"

The Toolkit is a downloadable product, meaning once your order is processed, you'll receive an e-mail with the link and your password and will be able to access it immediately.

Already bought it? Comment on this thread and let me know what you think of it!

CIO Survey Reveals Effective Retention Methods for IT Staff

Money talks, but it's not the only employee loyalty tool being used in the information technology industry, according to a recent survey by Robert Half Technology. When Chief Information Officers (CIOs) were asked to identify the most effective ways to retain IT staff, compensation topped the list at 27%, but providing opportunities for professional development was close behind, with 21% of respondents citing this method for employee retention.

Another 18% said flexible schedules helped improve retention rates, followed by telecommuting (7%), extra vacation days or time off (6%), and granting company stock or options (2%0.

"Attractive pay is always a key selling point for IT professionals, but it's only one element of an effective retention program," says Katherine Spencer Lee, executive director of Robert Half Technology. "Creating an attractive corporate culture, which includes everything from training to work/life balance programs, is crucial for keeping valued employees, especially when the hiring environment for highly skilled professionals is competitive."

Helping Clients With "Thin" Resumes

While Googling to see if any of my colleagues received any visible publicity from a previous blog post about lying on resumes, I came across a couple of blog posts that were from college students who were blogging for a class. They had apparently read an article about lying on resumes and were writing their response.

I was particularly interested in this post by Amy, who mentions a "sparse" resume as one possible motivator for people to lie on their resume. I agree that this is probably a big reason for lying on resumes. When confronted with a job posting listing a laundry list of "requirements," some job applicants become intimidated, feeling their work history or experience is inadequate. So they "embellish" it.

I think we need to do a better job as an industry of educating the public about how to transform their life experience (including volunteer work, internships, and educational credentials) into useful material on the resume.

As a personal example, I am working on a resume for a woman who is seeking a nonprofit position after being out of the workforce for several years. I was able to secure information from her on her early work history (not relevant, except for one internship at the Red Cross), and educational background (including a Masters Degree in Public Administration). But it wasn't until I was almost finished putting together her resume that I found out that she manages her husband's non-profit foundation (and that he's a professional athlete).

Maybe we need to get better at asking questions too! *smile*