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On another breakfast meeting our PMI group, we had one of the best Sr. Technical Recruiters I have met. After brief introduction, his transparent view regarding recruiting, dilemma surrounding our job market, and the Q-A exchange of ideas among our members are what keeps me attending our meetings. Any day I get a full basket of new ideas.

Below are excerpts from our meeting. I am sure that every reader this short note can write passages regarding every point raised! These are just a-tip of floating icebergs:

• Staffing firms shall be prompt and accurate when qualifying candidates for a specific position. They shall also retain their contacts’ information current. Recruiting firms must also avoid RADD (Recruiter Attention Deficit Disorder)!
  Note: recruiters read the first paragraph of resumes, and glance through it looking for a few keywords. All recruiters find candidates for their available positions, not fitting a “proper” position for a candidate! Recruiters are paid for finding people to fit jobs not for finding jobs for people!
• Recruiting and staffing life cycle is broken, or very weak! Having the three components of the equation (recruiter, manager, and candidate), unfortunately the outcome is not as desirable as it’s supposed to be! The reason might be due to recruiters not being as knowledgeable! They sometimes do not get exact needs of their hiring managers. Instead of having a list of responsibilities, they need to understand the nature of needs and requirements to overcome the needs by appropriate skill set!
• Hiring managers sometimes relax matching their needs and requirements! Often the requirements are “boilerplates”, job functions (or even the position itself) may change during the interview, skills are not prioritized, etc.
  Note that if the job description has too much fine-details, then the position might be a target req. (for someone who is already selected)!
• Keyword-stuffing in resume leads to misunderstanding – massive use of keywords utilized by resume-screening applications may place a candid applicant in different categories. It might even make a skilled experience look over-stuffed!
• Candidates are confused with multiple resumes and varied experience / responsibilities! Resumes must be prepared for at least a job-class / job-field, chronologically explained, with a short sales pitch atop (i.e. 1/2 or 1/3 page). Resume shall not be circulated online! Send resumes to recruiters that you know.
• Professional and experienced managers pay more attention to skill-set; they screen-in, not screen-out!
• The best strategy is using personal networks. Quarry your contact list; old friends, professional contacts from past, contacts of friends, and whomever you may find with links to the hiring organization / manager.
• Note that recruiters are on the hook as well. As a candidate, we shall craft our resume for the position (without fraud and scam a skill with no experience!)

This list can go on and on! There are so many points that need to be expanded and thoroughly examined. However, there is a point that I would like to pause for a second, and that is the “discrimination” issue that one way or other we face it time to time! Without breach of legalities, as a technical professional with over twenty years of experience I am constantly compared to younger generations in many different ways (energy level, technical knowledge, offering hip solution to a problem, etc.)! Not crossing discriminatory line, an emigrant I have been dismissed due to accent in conversation – that is among engineers talking technical issues! Yet again, our elected officials are looking aboard for technical professionals to work her while we still have high percentage of unemployment!

I welcome any input to this short excerpt from any reader. Send your input or comment, please.

Up-ward and On-ward,
David

PS. This entry is posted on www.bakhtnia.com/blog/ as well.

Below are just a few points regarding interview skills of professional (project / program) managers. I have just inserted a few points that we talked in our PMI-Silicon Valley Chapter’s breakfast meeting. Please feel free to comment and take this post to a dynamic level.

We have seen many interview skills on the Net such as top 10 skills, the best approach, etc. One of the notions that came up in our meeting was how to successfully give the assurance that you can do the job you’re being interviewed for. In a nutshell, you shall persuade the interviewer that you fit the technical and professional requirements. In other words, while responding to the questions, a colleague said “you are evaluating the interviewer as well, to see if you are fit for the rank - and if you would like the environment to stay-in”! These feedbacks are not easy to grasp in a short conversation, yet very important for anyone’s career. This requires a homework in Behavioral Analysis such that you and your interviewer delicately “manage” the interview for the benefit of both; a win-win situation.

However, one needs experience to affectively -yet rapidly analyze the question and behavior of the interviewer(s), and then assuring that you are a good fit for the position.

Boiled down, we need to accomplish three basic objectives in less than an hour:
Statement; if we are good for the position – for a meaningful length of time
Questions; what to do to proceed to the next step
Action; how to follow up and consequently succeed the employment

This topic can be expanded to many areas! I just added a couple of points I got from many experienced professionals in our team. I would love to have your input and comments.

Note: This post is inserted to David’s blog at www.bakhtnia.com/blog as well

This is my first writing about management (project, program, product, people, etc.)
Hopefully other professional friends, colleagues, and viewers will participate in a dynamic exchange of ideas regarding management issues.

I would like to start with a note from Michel Thiry’s presentation at PMI; The Future of PM in a Digital Economy. ( Members of PMI can log-in and listen to the recorded version.

With the expansion of digital technology that affects everyone’s daily life, and while the global economy is shifting and business context becoming complex and turbulent, how can we adapt our business procedures and projects progresses in this fast-paste digitized environment? Especially a micro business like my business, I need to proactively connect my project and program management, and product development processes to global digital technology, bringing my talents to my business partners’ table! These are translated into connecting the enterprise products demands to fast-growth talents (by younger economies*) who want a share of the prosperity as well. I am trying to use any possible means to connect different stakeholders of “A” project in my hand together; so that we all can respond to any change as fast as possible so that the project can produce based on its milestones – on time and within projected budget.

* BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) and other young and fast-growing digital minds (Singapore, Malaysia, Middle-easterners, Mexico, etc.)

Any professional Search Engine Optimization (SEO) expert would agree that keywords are the SEO fuel. All the efforts to fine-tune a web site adjusted for top rankings on search engines will not pay-off if the targeted keywords are not tweaked correctly. The key is to use the most relevant / important keywords on top of the keywords list on a given web page. Finding top ranking keywords set, and inserting them ALL at once on all your web pages will not pay off. Instead, it is advisable to use the keywords tuned to each web page, as well as using those keywords on the content / body of your web page that will pay off higher in search results. Following is a few Best Practices for how to use your keywords as well as other SEO factors:

• <Title> Tag - The Title of the web page must be short and precise, say 6-12 words (maximum of 150 characters)
• Anchor text - Even though internal anchor text-over can result in Google penalty, anchor text with keyword focus from external links is an important factor.
• Headings - The Keywords placed on the heading in H1 is an important factor but the web page should have actual text relevant to the keyword as well (a policy of W3C).
• It is a good practice to keep high-ranking keywords as first words of the heading (to be assured f their inclusion, if any).
• Avoid keyword Stuffing and overloading of a web page with keywords.
• Even though most search engines such as Yahoo and Bing are still relying on Meta tags, others such as Google do not emphasize on them with little or no importance. However, having Meta tags properly filled and inserted will not harm.
• Proximity – In both Meta tags (title, description, etc.) as well as the content of the page, the closeness between 2 or more keywords is awarded with higher ranking.

Softinet SEO experts use over 150 different factors when optimizing a give web site. Access our short list of Best Practices in SEO and Keyword analysis on our web site. For more information regarding Search Engine Optimization and high-ranking keyword analysis and positioning, please contact Softinet.

NOTE: Much has changed since then, and I will update all information on this blog very soon.

I was reading an article [1] about Word-of-Mouth driving more clients to our small businesses, and how we can take advantage of the Internet. The article highlights benefits of online reputation of dentists and how to leverage Internet technology to build online recognition. The author mainly pointed out advantages of search engines; in particular Google, and its “relevant keyword positioning” to bring reputable professionals on search results. Unlike its heading, there was little mention of Online Social Networking Communities as promotional vehicles!

Building a successful professional recognition on the Internet is only achievable if we correctly use Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques. This is just half-way through our action. The other half depends on how we utilize relevant social-networking communities on the Internet to build our recognition. To me these two points are two faces of the same coin; If both actions are not taken concurrently, we can not expect an optimal result.

Be aware that no single solution is applicable to every business. Each business has its own Search Engine Optimization proceeding. Also, individual business entities have created their own social-networking communities on the Internet. Softinet, Inc. has been providing customized marketing solutions since 2000. We have track record of multiple Return on Online Investment (ROI).

There are lots of buzz words regarding online marketing on the Net! I wonder if non-technical crowd knows the difference between online visibility and online marketing campaigns?

Last week I had a call from a colleague regarding one of his clients who had spent over $25K in the past 10 months for his online marketing! Surprisingly, I found his web site is not even on the local search results! For that price, his web site is not even discovered on his local city! Then I was wondering for what level of marketing he has spent so much? After a few hours; checking his web site’s Meta tags, online directories, search engines, etc. I found much of his money was gone for broader keywords on AdWrods! His online marketing spending brought no business to him! His web site is not even discoverable on his local town!

Online marketing activities and campaigns must be done by those who have proven track record. All marketers must track and record their success and prove their competencies. Each business has its own online marketing price, and business owners must be informed for every and all steps of their campaigns’ dollars.

Contact me and I will be happy to provide a short assessment of your marketing activity.
Send us an email ( info@softinet.com) or call us toll free at 1-877-735-3932.

A cost effective marketing involves many parallel pursuit. One of effective marketing activities is online marketing, which entails engaging in, and tracking multiple online marketing channels concurrently. In ever-expanding Internet networks, relying on one-or-two channels to outreach your targeted audience will not be a cost effective approach. To justify higher Return On Investment (ROI), we ought to try any possible online network to downpour traffic to our web site.

We are in an extreme down turn era and all indicators suggest that current economic turmoil will last till at least the end of summer of 2009! Almost all sectors of economy is experiencing hardship, except bio-tech, healthcare, education, and to some lesser degree, IT (Information Technology) that are in slightly better situation! At hard times, we all start to be creative – hence I think many businesses will transform their models and strategies to bypass current financial tsunami.

One of the most cost effective customer outreach is online marketing. Rich-content, high-traffic, user-generated, and community web sites of new Internet era have created highly visible hubs to place targeted advertising for qualified sales leads generation. Online marketing is a first-class spot for leads generation, as most organizations will be relying even more on cost effective Internet presence, to market their products and services.

Internet is still expanding exponentially! Never before human history has recorded freely-available information, as there are hundreds of millions of web sites full of valuable (and sometimes not-so-useful) content. However, having a graphically appealing web presence, with a mesh if information, wouldn’t bring sales leads anymore. If the content of a web page is not at the top of an online search results (regardless of search tool), its content will be buried under tons of other subject matters. Online marketing of a printed brochure for instance, is very different than its online counterpart. An online brochure needs to have a UI designer to create it for its target audience, a web engineer to correctly construct its feel and look, and a proactive marketer to drive its community outreach for effective Return On Investment (ROI).

With unemployment in double digits and popular spending in its lowest level in the past few decades, it is absolutely critical for marketers to maintain and expand their networks. Online marketing differs from its traditional approach in its effective execution. Just having a web site, including targeted META information is not enough anymore! Search Engine Optimization can not bring adequate traffic to justify the investment anymore! A proactive online marketer ought to utilize all available tools to bring their products and service to customers’ awareness. Internet marketing community reports and newsletter coupled with proactive utilization of online networks (such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Youtube, etc.) are a few of the tools exploited to outreach online consumers and target audience.

Contact David at Softinet, Inc. for your next online marketing project.

Early Friday on January 16, 2009, the Finnish firm revised its estimate of the number of computers that had fallen victim to a new worm called Confiker (Known as Kido or Downadup as well).

The worm, which is surging dramatically during the past few days, exploits a bug in the Windows Server service used by all supported versions of Microsoft’s operating system, including Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Server 2003 and Server 2008. It disables system restore, blocks access to security websites, and downloads additional malware to infected machines. The worm uses a complicated algorithm which changes daily and is based on timestamps from public websites such as Google.com and Baidu.com. The worm’s algorithm generates many possible domain names every day. It concern hundreds of names such as: qimkwaify .ws, mphtfrxs .net, gxjofpj .ws, imctaef .cc, and hcweu .org. This functionality makes it impossible and impractical to shut them all down — most of them are never registered in the first place.

Urgent advice: users are strongly recommended to ensure their antivirus databases are up to date. A patch for the windows bug/vulnerability is available from Microsoft: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS08-067.mspx It concern Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-067 – Critical / Vulnerability in Server Service Could Allow Remote Code Execution (958644).

Sources/references of this outbreak alert and background information:

Kaspersky Lab
Guardian.co.uk
Microsoft
ThreatExpert
F-Secure
Symantec
NetworkWorld
DarkReading

Kaspersky Lab disinfection/removal tool: http://support.kaspersky.com/faq/?qid=208279973

There has been a flood of e-mail spasm around the Net these days asking domain name registrars to login to their accounts and apply some changes to their domain information! The links directs to different URLs and extract your proprietary information!

We have received some e-mails from leading domain name registering networks warning their customers regarding these phishing. A copy of a warning from Network Solutions is enclosed.

Dear Valued Network Solutions(R) Customer:

At this time, we know that fraudulent e-mails are being sent to some domain name customers, regardless who the registrar of record is, which include links to sites that
look like networksolutions.com or other domain provider sites; however they are fake Web sites. These e-mails are attempting to capture login information.

If you believe you have received an e-mail of this type, have clicked on the link, and provided your login information, we recommend the following for security
purposes:

1. Log in to your account from your registrar’s web site.
2. Review your account information for accuracy
3. Choose a new password security question and answer
4. Change your password

Internet is the next industrial revolution of human history. It’s the biggest library created by Human and available to all without barriers (at least for now!) But like any library of knowledge, cataloging and efficient categorization of this humongous knowledge base is and will be the most challenging aspect of this system of global information. This is the main reason why search engines are becoming so popular.

Based on many research and publications, over %85 of all Internet users rely on search engines to find their needed information. To effectively put any web site onto this global map, web sites must be planned and developed with search engines in mind. How to be indexed by different search engines have become an art and science of its own. Your site will be more effective if you can get a listing near the top of your category.

Most search engines use automated programs (called Spiders and Crawlers) to index the Internet and place web sites into their databases. These programs access millions of web sties and their document automatically, and based on some predefined metrics, they rank the web sites for their placements when people are looking for relevant information. The use of search engines crawlers come to picture when we know what they are looking for in order to rank a given web site. Some of the ranking algorithm is seeking for relevant information placed on the header of each web page such META information (enclosed within Meta Tags). This is only one way of ranking.

Insertion of Meta Tags into the web pages by itself does equate to an effective Search Engine Optimization. However, this is one way to help crawlers to index web sites. We at Softinet employ different methods to place our clients’ web site on higher search results. Contact us (408.730.0090) or send us an email for a full Search Engine optimization and let us help your web site to reachable by more visitors.