Protecting Yourself Today for Tomorrow’s Career Move

866.755.9800 [email protected] 1

Protecting Technical Careers Since 2001.

Let’s Protect What You’ve Built.

Protecting Yourself Today for Tomorrow’s Career Move

External Searches, Internal Promotions,

& Consulting Contracts

http://www.ittechexec.com/


In today's job market, no matter how hard you've worked, career paths are still uncertain.

That’s why with professionals changing jobs every 3 to 4 years, consulting on the rise,

and fierce competition for promotions, it's time to build in some protections.





So, How Are You Protecting Yourself Today for Tomorrow’s Move?

Protection begins with preparation and continues with maintenance. And that

should start today (well, really, yesterday!).





Today’s External Job Search

With a typical job search lasting anywhere from 6 months to a year, or longer, for more experienced professionals, you can get a bit

lost in the job market zoo.




It’s Hard to Start From ScratchIn today's job market, career paths are less certain no matter how hard you've worked.

No one can predict exactly what the market will do, but you can build in a career maintenance and protection process to help you weather what comes.

Back in the day, you put a basic resume together, worked a few connections or answered a few job ads, and felt pretty certain the right opportunity would come along. Then if you worked hard and didn't burn too many bridges, you most likely had a pretty secure career path ahead of you perhaps even with the same company.




Think “Ongoing” PrepAll too often we wait until there’s a problem or urgency, thinking we will just whip up a resume and LinkedIn profile and be good to go.

Like any successful product design and launch, the rollout is much more secure when you have a strong team on your side understanding what is at stake.

Listen. It’s exhausting to even think about being in a state of perpetual job search mode.

That’s why enlisting career maintenance and protection help makes sense. Staying prepared and up to date on the latest in the world of work, leaves you time to focus on the things that matter more.




Let’s face it. Career Advancement and Management Is No Longer a Solo Effort.

For more on this, check out our post called “Career Advancement Is Becoming a Team Effort”.



http://stephenvanvreede.com/2014/02/18/career-advancement-is-becoming-a-team-effort/


Your livelihood matters. Protecting careers protects families.

We often understand the importance of our career on those who depend on us, but we don't know how to protect it and them. Getting your resume ready is a start, but it's no longer enough.

At the same time, though, you don’t need to do everything (or buy everything!).

You can waste a lot of resources doing that. So let us evaluate which tools will work best for you.

We offer a free career management assessment for our network connections that does just that.

Join Us for Your Free Career Management Assessment*

*To provide the best service, however, we do limit the number to just 10/week. So you might want to reserve yours today.



http://www.ittechexec.com/contact-IT-resume-writing-service.html




Rise in Promotions

Late last year, I posted an article called “The Era of Job Promotions Will Return: Will You Be Ready?” http://ow.ly/uNlXg.

The idea was to prepare my connections for this significant turn in the market, a turn that has been somewhat stalled in recent years.



http://ow.ly/uNlXg

http://ow.ly/uNlXg


Promotions Require PreparationNow as we move through 2014, I am already hearing about the increase in internal promotions through my career advisory work with CIO.com, TechRepublic, and Dice.

Therefore, colleagues who have been waiting in the wings are all going to be seeking out these roles.

Applying for internal promotions is going to require some preparation, perhaps more than you have done before for other promotions. As we all know, leadership has a “short” memory, and your work history might not speak for itself quite the way you would like it to.




Think Portfolio!In today’s market you now have so many more tools at your disposal, from project highlights portfolios to innovation pages to social media to online bios. They all can prepare you to face the competition and can protect you from being overlooked.

That is why I produced a “Road to Promotion” series on my blog. Here are some links to follow:• • “The Road to Promotion: Building an Innovation Page”

http://ow.ly/sCF38• “The Road to Promotion: A Job Search Is a Job Search

Is a…” http://ow.ly/sCF7x• “The Road to Promotion: How Quickly They Forget”

http://ow.ly/sCFc3

A promotion is the perfect time to think “portfolio” over just “resume”. Although the traditional resume is still important, you will want to round it out by reminding leadership of some key roles you have played.

For example, a Problems-Solutions-Results page is a great opportunity to highlight key projects and the business improvements that resulted from your efforts.



http://ow.ly/sCF38

http://ow.ly/sCF7x

http://ow.ly/sCFc3

http://stephenvanvreede.com/2014/01/09/problems-solutions-results-is-psr-the-new-resume-format/


Don’t make the #1 mistake most professionals make when it comes to promotions.

Don’t think that your work history and tenure with the company speak for itself.

You might deserve it, but you are not entitled to it.




And the time to get prepared is not 5 minutes after the job posts.

There’s very little protection in that. And you’ve worked too hard.

Because we believe this is so important, and because we want to help you protect all that you’ve worked for, we offer a free career management assessment for our network connections.

Our hope is that this will kick start you on the road to the next promotion and protect you from missing out on the next opportunity.

Therefore, stop putting this off : Join Us for Your Free Career Management Assessment.*

*To provide the best service, however, we do limit the number to just 10/week. So you might want to reserve yours today.





Building the Consulting Pipeline It seems like everyone I speak with lately about the field of “IT” and “tech” seems to be talking about the rise in consulting. I hear stats that say up to half of our IT/tech workforce will have an independent contractor status

within the next 10 years or sooner.

Yes, half…Some say even higher.




You Need a PipelineDeciding to become a consultant is a big decision, probably much bigger than some professionals realize when they first start out.

And one of the biggest areas of transition is in business development. Consultants need to maintain their current contract while planning for the next.

That’s called building a pipeline, and it is why most consultants struggle. They don’t protect themselves long term.

To help guide and prepare you, we have two important articles:

• “5 Steps to a Better IT Consulting Business” (http://ow.ly/sCE33)

• “Which Type of Consultant Are You?” (http://ow.ly/uvRVD)

As soon as you go from employee to contractor, you are now a small business owner, something that is often overlooked by independent contractors when they first start out.

And even if your old employer is your one and only client, you need to begin to think like a business owner while continuing to massage your corporate presence. You are now walking in two worlds.

And you’re new world works best when it has a pipeline.



http://ow.ly/sCE33

http://ow.ly/uvRVD


Build Your Portfolio

Much like we discussed with promotions, some of the same tools can be very effective in building a consulting portfolio.

From project highlights portfolios to innovation pages to social media apps to online bios, a consultant can really build a n established presence.

To help guide and prepare you, we have put together the following article:

• “Preparing Your Consulting Portfolio” (http://ow.ly/sCEJJ)

With up to half of the tech workforce possibly entering into the consulting game, the competition is going to rev up.

The market is also going more and more global, so relying on the fact that you are the only consultant for 100 miles who knows Java like the back of your hand might not work out for you for too long.

That’s why you need a portfolio.



http://ow.ly/sCEJJ


And while you’re at it, don’t forget about the soft skills.

A small business owner needs strong soft skills to survive, and it is no different for consultants. In today’s tech world, certifications are only going so far.

For more on this, check out our article “The Softer Side of Tech” (http://ow.ly/uNgUE).



http://ow.ly/uNgUE


Because consultants need to get prepared, so they can protect their business, they need an ongoing protection solution.

That is why we designed one!

ITtechExec has put together an innovative solution for consultants called the “Career Management Protection Solution”.

Offered in two forms, basic and premium, it provides contractors with the opportunity to keep their resume updated, unlimited LinkedIn profile updates and optimization, independent contractor coaching, and annual reviews/assessments.

To learn more about this great way to get prepared and to stay that way, contact Stephen today at [email protected].*

*Although we offer this solution, we do limit the number of consultants we work with at any one time. This allows us to provide a more focused service to each client. So partner with us today.*



mailto:[email protected].*

mailto:[email protected].*


The ITtechExec Story

Our followers on Twitter know us as @ITtechExec and @rezlady, but IRL (in real life), we are Stephen and Sheree Van Vreede.

In 2001, we launched No Stone Unturned, a resume (or résumé, for the purists among us) and career services firm. Thanks to Stephen's background in IT/telecom management for the supply chain/logistics industry and to Sheree's experience serving as an editor to the scientific/engineering community in the publishing world, we soon realized that we were best suited to serve the technical professional trying to maneuver through what has become a complex and exhausting job market.

Not only that, we noticed that other resume writers were avoiding technical clients, unsure of how best to position their specialized skills.



http://www.twitter.com/ittechexec

http://www.twitter.com/rezlady


The ITtechExec Story (Continued)

Therefore, it wasn't long before we began to work exclusively with IT and technical or “STEM” clientele, professionals who have devoted themselves to some of the most innovative and rewarding fields in today’s industries, from engineering to healthcare IT to scientific exploration to big data and cloud services to project/program management.

Then before we knew it, unemployment skyrocketed and the tech market began waging its war for sophisticated tech talent.

And on top of all that, social media recruiting exploded onto the scene, and the landscape became pretty messy, pretty fast. The traditional job search was still there but in a convoluted way, and there were so many more tools in the job search arsenal.

But most of all, it was obvious we could no longer just write a resume and send our clients on their way. They needed better preparation and lasting protections.

We knew then that we had to become a full-service career advancement and protection firm, not just another resume-writing firm.





As a result, under the No Stone Unturned umbrella, we now have ITtechExec, a technical resume and "career insurance and protection" service for executive-level IT/technical clients who want to protect what they've built, and NoddlePlace ("noddle" means "head"), a technical resume and "career advancement" service for emerging, mid-level technical candidates who want to make it to where our ITtechExec clients are.

Listen. It is no coincidence that we have been featured in leading industry publications like CIO.com, TechRepublic, and Dice or have been asked to conduct training seminars on technical resume writing at the annual Career Thought Leaders (CTL) Conference or to facilitate the Northeastern U.S. region's “Brain Day” 2013 for CTL. It's because we are recognized across our industry by our peers as a leader in technical career advancement and protection. (That's why they refer their technical candidates to us, by the way!)

Protection and advancement both begin with preparation and continue with maintenance.




http://www.noddleplace.com/

http://www.cio.com/article/748671/IT_Resume_Makeover_How_to_Write_to_Your_Audience?page=1&taxonomyId=3123

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/career-management/resume-makeover-project-manager/4293/

http://news.dice.com/2012/10/26/candidates-too-picky/

http://www.slideshare.net/StephenVanVreede/writing-resumes-for-technology-professionals

http://www.careerthoughtleaders.com/brain-day-2013/

http://www.careerthoughtleaders.com/brain-day-2013/



Whether you are an external job seeker looking for a new full-time role, a consultant going for the next contract, or an internal leader seeking promotion or just retention (such as during an acquisition), we have devised our project lifecycle approach that takes away the dread and confusion that often comes with these career moves and helps to build in the peace of mind that you are prepared for whatever comes. No one can predict for certain what the market will do, but you can build a career insurance and protection team to help you weather what comes and still advance to where you want to go.

From your tech/IT resume to your promotion/consulting portfolio to your recruiter engagement to your ongoing career advancement/management, we make each complicated step more certain.





In a world full of phony branding, we keep it real.

Each of us, whether we like the phrase "personal branding" or not, has one: who are we, personally, professionally, and so on, and the message that we project. In today's job market, we are now forced to think about our "communities" and our spheres of "influence," and how well we engage in those communities is becoming a key component in our careers. Honestly, for most of us, it sounds like a lot of blah, blah, blah, but basically it comes down to what the job search has always been about: meeting needs.

To do that, we start by building a personal brand message that lets employers see your distinct skills and background in an authentic, practical way. Then we carry that message into your technical or IT resume, LinkedIn profile, promotion portfolio, bio, and more.

From there, as a value-add, we market our clients out across our network of technical recruiters and we offer a recruiter matching service that takes specific parameters and identifies the best recruiters for you. It also launches a campaign to introduce you to those recruiters. It can save so much time and frustration trying to maneuver through the crazy world of recruiting. We are also able to do the same thing with potential employers.

Finally, we provide a career management protection subscription service that offers yearly updates of resume/LI profile, career strategy consulting, and other updates based on latest world of work market trends. It keeps our clients ready to move forward when the next time comes, which in our current market is, statistically speaking, every 3 to 4 years.





Listen. We know we're not for everybody. We remain exclusive for a reason.

Our clients are serious about their field and about managing their career within that field. They're ambitious, sure; but most importantly, they want to be free to focus on the work they love to do, and the last thing they want is to be in job search mode all the time.

BUT they recognize that we are in a market that rewards those who come prepared. And that a job search is tougher and tougher to navigate.

So they come to us get prepared, to design their resumes and portfolios and help them launch their search. Then they put the onus on us to keep their materials up to date and to keep them ready for the next opportunity when it comes along. It's peace of mind amidst an ever-changing landscape.





Your livelihood matters. So protecting careers protects families.

Therefore, our clients are more than just job seekers (active or passive); they are problem solvers who meet real needs. Our job is to help them showcase that across both traditional (resume) and social (Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) forms of media and to do so while building in the proper preparation and protection.

At ITtechExec and NoddlePlace, we understand wanting to protect your family. After all, we’re a family too! Now, we know we might look like just your average family (and we are!), but together with our specialized writing team, our clients experience a 5-fold rate of return (or better) on their investment with us and they know they are ready to weather whatever storm comes in the job market. How?

Well, our clients say it all...







We develop proven strategies: “[NoddlePlace] help[ed] me cohesively package my diverse work and skill set, which allowed me to show my value to potential employers and organizations.” Steven O. (Healthcare Ops Exec, Los Angeles)

We get results: “I finally had the luxury of choosing from 3 separate offers.” D. Gradin (GM, Los Angeles)

We attract the right recruiters to you: “I went from a contact or two every couple of weeks to more than a dozen contacts/phone interviews with recruiters this past week” Eric S. (Information Security Director, Denver, CO)

Not only that, we do it by keeping it real. And that is what makes it simple...we break it down to the strategies and methods that will work for YOU in your situation.





To learn more about us and all our swanky credentials, check out our sites ITtechExec and NoddlePlace or e-mail Stephen directly at [email protected] today. (You can find us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google+, and just about everywhere else too [we have lots of "neat" pins on Pinterest!].

BUT even better than all of that...Come try us out and see. Take advantage of our Free Career Management Assessment.





mailto:[email protected]

https://www.facebook.com/pages/NoddlePlacecom/51159061332

http://www.twitter.com/ittechexec

http://www.linkedin.com/company/ittechexec

http://pinterest.com/ittechexec/

https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/103400645095471881382/113586908186088589067/posts

