Welcome to the Spring Issue of our Market Intelligence Report.
This issue is a departure from our usual discussion of current market trends and their impact. This issue focuses on how candidates can more effectively market themselves in a very competitive talent market, and how the Internet can provide Human Resources professionals and hiring managers with unexpected avenues for evaluating candidates and acquiring background information on them.

The primary tool that candidates use to market themselves for a new position is their resume. Both the style and purpose of the resume has evolved significantly. The resume, as the foundation for the interview process, has to be well constructed and informative in order to be effective. In "The Power of Your Resume" we discuss how a well written resume can create a more productive interview experience for everyone involved.

One of the new formats gaining in popularity is the video resume. In "Video Resumes - A Replacement For Paper Resumes?" we discuss the advantages and disadvantages of presenting yourself in this format vs. through the more traditional written resume.

As everyone gets to be more Internet savvy, social networking has become more prevalent, but may pose a hidden danger to the prospective jobseeker. In "Social Networking" we discuss how the information that you post on the Internet has the potential to develop a life of its own and an impact that you might not have anticipated.

It is also my pleasure to welcome and introduce you to Jeff Hunt, who is the newest addition to our team at JB Homer Associates. Prior to joining our firm, Jeff was Chief Operating Officer with Hunt-Scanlon Advisors, the leading source of news, information and analysis on the human capital industry and was Director of Research for Plummer & Associates, a Connecticut-based executive search firm.

At JB Homer our goal is to offer everyone we work with either as candidates or clients the best possible search experience and the benefit of our knowledge of the executive talent marketplace. Adding Jeff to our team expands our ability to achieve this goal.

One of the most powerful yet under-rated tools that you have in the interview process is your resume. Your resume has the potential to be much more than a reverse chronology of your career - it can allow you to control the interview process because it gives you the ability to get interviewers to ask you the questions that you want to answer by providing them with the background information that you want to discuss.

When we interview potential candidates for a search we are conducting, we review their resumes in depth, and in almost every instance we encourage them to refocus their resumes to include the details about their past efforts that truly make them unique and appropriate for the role they are currently seeking.

We also impress upon candidates the fact that you cannot depend on an interviewer being clairvoyant enough to ask about achievements or skill sets that have not been included in their resume, because that is the document that is the foundation for their meeting.

Because most people tend to undervalue the importance of their resume they also tend to put minimum effort in putting it together. Many candidates have told us that they've never relied on a resume to get a job. However, since you never know when opportunity or a recruiter may come calling, it is a very good idea to have prepared and ready for use a resume that is a strong representation of your career history and your capabilities.

When crafting your resume keep in mind that there is a happy medium between the 2 page resume that has very little content and the unexpurgated 8 page version that will cause any reader's eyes to glaze over. Your resume should be crisp and to the point - listing out the accomplishments of each position that you have held, and the value of those accomplishments to the continued success of the business. Give the reader something concrete to remember about you, quantify your achievements using metrics. Your resume should be very tightly written and compelling to read, as it also acts as an indicator to prospective employers of both your writing skills and ability to communicate the value of your contribution to the success of your firm. This is not a document that you should entrust to a resume writing service that at best will turn out a very generic document more about format rather than content.

Anyone reading your resume should have the ability to understand the scope of each of your respective roles: what you were responsible for as well as your accomplishments in that role. They should be able to understand from your resume the logic behind your upward career progression, and why your past achievements make you an excellent choice for the role you are interviewing for. Remember that your resume is a living document. Take it out every 6 months and update it, and if you are going to use it to interview for a new position think about revising it to emphasize those accomplishments that would be beneficial to discuss in more detail because they are more relevant to that particular opportunity.

Use the power of your resume wisely and over the course of your career it will reward you many times over.

Video resumes are a relatively new innovation in the job application process used primarily by younger candidates due to their familiarity and comfort level with new technology. As this familiarity becomes more prevalent, how will this trend affect C-level executives? As the use of video resume presentations increases, will this technology continue to complement and augment the traditional paper resume and perhaps considered to be an eventual replacement for the printed paper resume?

A perceived benefit to presenting a video resume is the potential to gain competitive advantage over other candidates by highlighting specific skills that are not ordinarily described well in text, such as exceptional communication skills, speaking manner, presentation skills and leadership abilities. Video resumes have been utilized in professions that are influenced by outward appearances such as creative arts and entertainment, and in positions that are particularly visual including public speaking, and are now being utilized by professionals in more business-oriented industries like Information Technology as a way to highlight their soft skills as well as technical skills. Candidates should keep in mind that they need to emphasize skills and qualities that are tailored to employers' specific needs and these qualifications should correspond to the qualifications incorporated in the paper resume.

One disadvantage of the video resume is a lack of set standards for candidates presenting qualifications to a prospective employer or recruiter. The recruitment process is designed to have structured elements to ensure consistency. Video resumes, at least for now, conflict with the requirements of this structured process and video resumes need to work within those confines. This lack of structure can lead to having the video resume contain obscure personal information and attempts at humor that could inadvertently end up discrediting the candidate and making them look foolish.

The use of video resumes also opens up the possibility of rejecting a candidate on a bias based on race, gender or age, thus carrying potential legal ramifications. Furthermore, most employers and recruiters do not have much direct familiarity with video resumes, the production quality varies from webcam use to using professional equipment, and there are inherent technical limitations which would prohibit the capture of a video resume into an applicant tracking system. Also, employers and recruiters typically do not have the time or desire to view a three to five minute video presentation as most candidate assessments are made within a minute of reviewing a candidate's paper resume.

In conclusion, it seems that although video resumes offer a number of benefits to candidates, the technology, presentation and production process is not yet advanced enough to take the place of paper resumes and thus for the time being should be considered as a complement to the traditional paper resume. Most executives involved in searching for talent feel that a video resume alone does not give enough information about a candidate during the search process to make a proper evaluation of the candidate's potential and skills.

With the popularity of the Internet becoming a tool for people to meet people as well as sharing information with others, you have to be cautious of exactly what you post on your social networking web page. With the lack of digital privacy it is extremely difficult to filter out who sees what so you certainly don't want to post anything that you would not want a prospective or current employer to see. There are so many powerful search engines available you can literally locate anybody who elects to get in touch with you from old classmates to acquaintances and yes, even employers.

Many hiring managers and human resource professional use these search engines to find potential employees who have posted their resume on job boards and even a small percentage are checking these networking sites to see if the person has posted any vital information that might impact their decision making process. On the other hand employers have the ability to check current employees and see if they can find any positive or negative information on them that might jeopardize their position or promotion. Individuals tend to be more honest about themselves when posting personal information on their personal site. If your resume represents you one way and your site represents you in a different light your employer may discover these discrepancies which might lead to some investigation that you could very well be sorry for. If you post your photo it goes without saying that it should be tasteful and not provocative or inappropriate.

While online sharing can have a potentially negative impact on a job search, it can also be leveraged as a tool to differentiate yourself to employers. You may consider posting some of the following information on your personal site that may help a hiring manager make a faster decision.

• Background information that supports your professional qualifications.
• A wide range if interest that make you appeal well rounded
• Great communication skills
• A professional image
• Signs that you would be a good cultural fit for the company

You should also review your profile regularly and note any comments that may have been posted and run your name through a few of the search engines just to see what's out there. If you find any information that might be detrimental to your career you may want to consider having it removed.