Elite IT Services Business Blog

Back to the Basics

By Rob Hubert

Everyone who knows me also knows that I have a passion for football. It's the ultimate chess match and game of strategy and execution. You may also know that I coached pee-wee football at one time in my life.  For three years I had the blessing of coaching five, six and seven year olds. I myself being a student and always trying to gain an edge and knowledge began to search for information to help my team. That's when I found an audio cassette of a speech given by Lou Holtz, the former division one head football coach.

IT Strategy Blows Like the Wind but Core Values Persist

By: Rob Hubert

Imagine this, you are in a meeting with your boss and another team discussing the goals of a project that is about to start. You already have a full work load and you don't agree with the decisions that management has made about the project. You are feeling resistance towards the work and resentment for the impact that management decisions will have on you. You sit there with your arms crossed and ton of knowledge in your head that is relevant to the success of the project.

The Most Succesful IT Resume Format

 By Rob Hubert

Can you look at my resume and provide me with some feedback? I get asked this question several times per week. I have found a format preference that has worked very well for my candidates and I'll be happy to provide that for you here. But more importantly job seekers spend too much time perfecting their resumes and not making contact with potential employers. The "Resume Rule of 5" states that if you ask 5 people for advice on our resume you'll get 6 or more opinions. Your resume is only a tool to assist you in attaining in-person interviews.

Top 100 Woman-Owned Businesses in Missouri!

By Sandi Hubert

Elite IT Services is ranked 29 among Missouri's Top 100 Woman Owned Business List!  This is our second consecutive year that we have received this recognition through www.DiversityBusiness.com. 

The DiversityBusiness Top 100 List (Div100) is the 8th annual listing of the Missouri's top 100 women-owned businesses.  The companies listed on the Div100 represent the Missouri's top multicultural earners and challenge the long-held notion that a woman-owned business is small or insignificant.  Div100 members are sought after by major corporations wishing to increase spending with women owned companies. 

Div100 - The Div100 is a classification that represents the top 100 small businesses in the state of Missouri, in sectors such as technology, manufacturing, food service and professional services.  Large organizational buyers throughout the country that do business with multicultural and women-owned businesses use the list.  The Div100 is produced annually by DiversityBusiness.com, the nation's leading multicultural B2B Internet portal that links large organizational buyers to multicultural product and service suppliers.

Elite IT Services is honored and grateful to receive this recognition for the past two years.  We strive to provide our clients excellence in service and relationship in everything we do.  We also continue to support and promote diversity businesses throughout our own community and beyond our immediate borders.

Elite IT Services will be honored at a special awards ceremony at DiversityBusiness.com's 8th Annual Multicultural Business Conference taking place April 23-25, 2008 at Disney's BoardWalk Resort in Orlando, Florida. 

Can a Resume Mistake Cost You the Job?

By: Rob Hubert

Can a resume mistake cost you the job? Hypothetically speaking, what if you have one mis-spelled word on your resume and the spell checker didn't catch it. Spell checkers are great, but they sometimes change words that you don't intend them to change. Let's take a simple word like "Assess", which is common to see on a resume, especially if you have worked in a role that requires analysis work. While no one would intentionally mis-spell assess, but by some mishap - what if you left off the last "s" and the hiring manager noticed. Assuming you had an excellent interview and you were neck and neck with another candidate. Who do you think would be selected?

Are IT Certifications a Waste of Your Time and Money?

My favorite Information Week author Marianne Kolbasuk McGee release a new article last week titled, "In Growing Job Market, IT Pros Get More for the Soft Skills"  Here's an excerpt.

"One report concludes that employers are now paying higher premiums for non certified tech skills--areas like enterprise applications, e-commerce, and process management--than those paid for certified skills. That research comes from Foote Partners, which has done in-depth quarterly employer surveys of employers for eight years".

Isn't that interesting, the report indicates that tech skills areas that don't have certification programs are higher paying than positions that do have certifications available. It's been my experience that most certified professionals acquire their certification using their own time and their own money. It looks like the investment is not paying off the way it was anticipated. So many people have acquired certifications (especially Microsoft Certifications) that the value of the certification has been diminished. I know for a fact that my clients are not impressed by certifications. But they are impressed by Personal Leadership, Solution Oriented Mindsets, Excellent Communication Skills, Aptitude and Passion. There's more to the article including some statistics on job growth in specific IT categories. Read More.

One Year Anniversary of Elite IT Services Business Blog

By: Rob Hubert

That's right - one year ago we started blogging. This post is a quick review of the highlights from year one of our blogging experience. An interesting note about blogging, news and history is that nuggets of wisdom are sprinkled throughout and sometimes forgot about.

It was October 6, 2006. Our president Sandra Hubert wrote the first post, titled "Should I Wear a Suit for an Interview at a Business Casual Company?" She was also quoted in Forbes Magazine about the same topic. Sandi followed up that post with several more, including: "Are You Passionate? - About Your IT Career?" and Setting Goals. Steve Stadler had some great posts throughout the year, including  "Want to Improve Your Relationship with your Boss?" and Mastery A Process for Achieving Results

And of course, I made a few contributions, my favorites include: Ebay's Feedback System in the Office, The Most Successful Resume Format Ever and Accountability the Difference Between Average and Outstanding If you missed these posts, you may want to check them out.

While the frequency of our posts has been variable, our commitment to blogging is strong. I want to thank Jim Durbin from Durbin Media  and Stlrecruiting.com for enrolling us in the exciting and fun filled blog world. If it wasn't for Jim, I wouldn't be writing this and you wouldn't be reading this. Jim Durbin is truly an innovative and leading expert on branding, marketing, the Internet and blogging. Thank You Jim.

And most importantly, I want to thank all of you who have taken the time to read our blog. You are the reason that we keep blogging.

The Power of an Informational Interview

By: Rob Hubert

A friend recently shared this story:  My friend Jon referred Larry to me. Larry called and asked to meet with me for an "Informational Interview". I was reluctant at first, but I knew Jon wouldn't give my name out to someone that he didn't trust. Larry came to my office to meet and I was quite surprised by the rapport that we built. I was able to give Larry some leads, but nothing became of them. I did however stay in touch with him. He landed a new management job that was similar to his old job and he thanked me for helping him (even though I didn't think that I really helped). Nine months later, much to my surprise, my company began having financial difficulties and I was released. After a couple of months of an unsuccessful job search, I remembered Larry. I called him up and told him my situation and he invited me to his office to meet with him. Long story short, Larry is now my boss.

Everyone knows that Networking is one of the keys to continued career success and to a successful job search. One of the most common tools of networking is the Informational Interview. An Informational Interview is a formal, yet relaxed information exchange between two people with an interest to help each other. This may come in the form of sharing contacts from each others network to help achieve an objective (i.e. like finding a job). From a job search perspective, the idea is based on the simple fact that people don't hire resumes, they hire people.

Twelve Causes and Cures for Procrastination

By: Rob Hubert

Anyone who runs a blog knows that blogging comes in fits and starts, especially if your plate is already full. From my perspective the same thing applies to anything that you commit to. That's why a blog post on procrastination can be of value. Procrastination is a form of resistance that can creep up on you and sabotage your goals. A fellow blogger and friend of mine John Place wrote a post for his blog titled "11 Causes and Cures for Procrastination". I was going to read it earlier in the year but I kept deferring it. Here's an excerpt:

And in the midst of all this chaos, we convince ourselves that none of our varied obligations is so pressing as to require our time right now. In other words, procrastination’s short-term benefit is a feeling of control and peace. We tell ourselves, “I’ll do the laundry tomorrow. Right now, my life is right as rain, and I’m taking a break, thank you very much.”

John identifies eleven common reasons for procrastination and I'm adding number twelve.

Indeed.com - A Powerful Online Job Search Tool

By: Rob Hubert

Are you using Indeed.com to help you with your job search? Indeed is a job search engine that literally combs job boards and consolidates the listings into one powerful search tool. This approach can save you a significant amount of time verses going to each job board indivdiually. Indeed also searches direct employers websites, third party free job posting sites and criagslist. It offers RSS feeds and can email you when new postings are found that match your search critiera.