When searching for a job in an economy of high unemployment, it’s critical that you craft a resume that stands out. It’s not that hard to do, especially when you keep in mind that your resume is a sales tool — you want an employer to be interested enough in your skills, background and education to call you in for an interview.

Here are some tips to help you write a resume that will help your application stand out from others.
1) Think like an employer. Remember that businesses don’t hire people just because they have some extra money lying around in their payroll account that they decide to spend. No. Employers hire employees for one reason only: to solve problems.

Some people are hired to solve the problem of how to make money (these usually are salespeople). Others are hired to resolve the challenge of keeping the office running smoothly (office managers, administrative assistants). Still others are hired to solve the problem of keeping the computers and networks running. And so on.

Show an employer how you can solve her problems. For example, an IT director will want to highlight accomplishments in his work history that show how he solved former employers’ IT challenges (providing leadership for the development and implementation of IT initiatives, etc.).

2) Forget a writing general resume that you send out to every job to which you apply. Tweak each resume to fit each job. Make it as easy as possible for  an employer to see how you fit; don’t make a hiring manager have to dig down into your resume to find that you do have the skills and background to do the job.

3) Do away with the “objective.” You know what we mean: that sentence at the top of a resume that usually says something such as “Seeking a project management position with leadership responsibilities including problem solving, planning, organizing and managing budgets.”

Instead, write an overview statement that highlights what makes you different. For example: “Construction executive with extensive experience in green and sustainable construction, project management, estimations, materials coordination, and profit and loss administration.”

Bring your resume to Bayside Solutions. We can help you craft a great resume while we help place you in some of the Bay area’s best construction, engineering, IT, green, manufacturing and engineering companies. We look forward to hearing from you.

Like it or not, a key to being successful in the workplace is learning how to get along with everyone, even the those who drive you crazy.

Call them toxic, call them nuts, call them weird (and sometimes you also call them “boss”), learning how to enjoy your job and do your job well while dealing with difficult coworkers is a great skill to have. However, it’s a skill that usually has to be learned. Here are some tips on how to get along with difficult coworkers.

If your difficult coworker is your boss, you have our sympathy. However since you probably want to keep your job — at least until you can find another one — you’re going to learn how to live with him. Never belittle, confront or yell at your boss. Avoid putting him down with your coworkers when he’s not around because word can and often does leak out.

Troublesome co-workers come in many different forms. There’s the backstabber, taking credit for work you did. There’s the guy who loves to gossip. There’s the drama queen. And let’s not forget the meddler and, possibly the most difficult of co-workers, the take-no-prisoners competitor

In order to alleviate the problem, You should approach a difficult coworker sooner rather than later. Don’t confront and don’t yell. Ask the coworker if the two of you could meet together in private and then bring up your concern. Your conversation might start something like this:

“Steve, I noticed the other day that you told our supervisor that the marketing idea our team came up with was yours. I remember all of us talking about it and brainstorming on it. Perhaps I misheard you. Could you explain your comment to me?”

Or: “Jane, Mary told me that you mentioned to her that my husband and I are having difficulty. Please understand that anything of that nature I tell you is confidential and I hope you won’t do it again May I have your word on that?”

A firm but gentle approach often can work wonders, especially with co-workers who undermine your ideas, authority or privacy. Often, all it takes is a short conversation such as described above for the individual to stop.

In fact, if you can find something — anything — to appreciate or like about a coworker you dislike, comment on it in a positive manner. A little appreciation can go a long way to forging an alliance, allowing the two of you to work together better, even if you never become truly friendly.

Sometimes, though, a heart-to-heart conversation between two professionals doesn’t solve the problem — some people really are petty, self-absorbed, über competitive, etc. If toxic behavior continues, and especially if it starts affecting the quality of your work or even your health, you may have to notify your manager or your company’s human resources department.

If you’re looking for your next terrific position and live in the Bay Area, contact Bayside Solutions. We can help place you in temporary, temp-to-hire and direct placement positions with some of San Francisco’s finest companies.

LinkedIn and other social professional/career networks can be powerful tools to use during a job search.

Of course, there are certain unwritten rules regarding how to comport yourself on these networks. Here is a short primer of do’s and don’ts to help you navigate them successfully.

First, remember — and remember it well! — that these are professional networks. You must always act in a mature manner. Never post messages with profanity, never call anyone an idiot, never lie. If you wouldn’t want your current — or future — boss to read what you say on a professional network, don’t put it there.

Echoing the don’t lie tip, don’t fudge your work experience or education. LinkedIn, for example, allows you to list your jobs and accomplishments as well as your educational background. It’s very easy today for a potential employer to find the truth about prospective workers. If you brag in your description about how you literally saved a company from going under and someone in your network sees that lie, he or she could out you in a very public and extremely humiliating way online, for everyone to see. Very bad for your career. Very bad.

LinkedIn allows you to “connect” to many former colleagues in your profile. If you’d like to approach someone in their networks, be sure to ask permission first. Explain why you’d like to contact the person (and be sure there’s a legitimate, professional reason to do so). If you do so, your connection very well may give his or her connections a “head’s up” — with praise about your background — that you’ll be e-mailing them shortly. Be sure to thank your connection for the introduction and be sure to let him or her know the results of the connection.

Don’t get huffy and send whiny e-mails if your connection either doesn’t respond to your request to an introduction or tells you he or she won’t introduce you to the connection. If you don’t hear anything back from either your connection or the person to whom you wished to be introduced, don’t hound anyone with e-mails or calls — there could be very valid reasons for a non-response. Constant e-mails and/or calls does nothing  but show that you’re a) desperate and/or b) immature.

In essence, look at LinkedIn and other online networking sites as virtual professional business meetings, the type where one exchanges business cards with other professionals. You’d conduct yourself in an extremely professional manner at these functions, wouldn’t you? You always should do the same online.

Network your way to a terrific Bay Area position with some of San Francisco’s best companies by connecting with BaySide Solutions. We can help place you in temporary, temp-to-hire and direct placement positions with some of San Francisco’s finest companies. We look forward to hearing from you.

If you’ve been working at one employer for a few months and think it’s time for a promotion, here are some ideas to help you do so.

First of all, promotions go to those who deserve them. Who do extra. Just because you’ve worked at a business for two years doing the same thing doesn’t mean a promotion comes automatically. Those who get promoted have earned it.

So, do the work. Be a positive force. Have enthusiasm. Aim to do your best every day.

Do you have the skills and education to do the position you seek? Do you walk your talk and do as you say you will. Do you have the necessary degrees, if a certain degree is necessary? Are you continually upgrading your skills? Do you do more than “just enough”?

When you’re given a challenging assignment, do you embrace it, or do you whine (and if you do whine, we hope you don’t do so at work!)?

Don’t rest on your laurels. That is, if you finished a terrific project last month, don’t sit back and do nothing. Instead, focus on giving it your all on the tasks and projects before you now. Only you care about how well you did yesterday; your boss is going to care big time about how well you do tomorrow.

Volunteer for projects. Take initiative. Solve your boss’ problems.

If you’re an assistant manager and are gunning for the manager position, do your work as a manager would. Demonstrate that you already have what it takes to be a manager now.

Document your successes. Write them down. Do them today because six or nine months from now, when it’s review time, you — and your boss — will have forgotten. You can this success document to put together a case for a promotion because you’ll probably have to….

Ask for a promotion. If you want to be promoted, you’ll more than likely have to ask for it. Be prepared to present your case to your boss in a professional manner, reminding her of your accomplishments, how you’ve helped your employer grow, save money, get new clients, run more efficiently, etc. State your case clearly and use any documentation you may have on hand (your success log, an “atta girl” letter from you boss, etc.) to prove your case.

If you’re ready to promote yourself into a new position, give Bayside Staffing a call. We have some terrific temporary, temp-to-hire and direct-hire assignments at some of San Francisco’s best companies. Contact us today.

Most of us want to do well at work. We take pride in a job well done and in putting the effort necessary to help the company for which we work succeed.

There’s probably no one among us who doesn’t like recognition for our work, whether it be through an “atta girl” from the boss, a commendation from the company’s CEO or a promotion and raise.

Still, just doing good work and hoping higher ups notice and reward you for it without you asking will get you… probably not much other than the self-satisfaction of doing a job well.

Here are some tips to help you impress your boss:

As you perform your duties, keep the whining to a bare minimum. Don’t commiserate with your co-workers; don’t let yourself be sucked into a never-ending vat of negativity that occurs all-to-often at workplaces. You don’t have to be Pollyanna, but you should work to keep a positive attitude while at work. If you must vent, do after hours (and never with co-workers; word gets around).

Volunteer for projects others avoid. In fact, to become more visible to higher ups elsewhere in your organization, offer to work on company-wide projects, such as the HR diversity counsel, or the United Way committee. Take initiative and get things done — without being asked.

Become the go-to person for something. In another words, hone some skills in at least one aspect of your position that are difficult to master, so that when your boss needs someone to handle this critical aspect of a project, she knows to go straight to you.

Give 100 percent. Meet your deadlines (or, if missing one is unavoidable, come to your supervisor as soon as you know so: explain the reason why the deadline will be missed and be sure to give your boss a new deadline. Do what you say you will do; be reliable.

Keep your skills up and learn new ones. Ask you boss if you may attend educational conferences. Sign up for one-or two-day workshops (with your boss’ permission). Show your supervisor you have a yearning for learning; never just coast along.

Keep a “bragging file” of all the things you accomplish. Note any times you completed projects before the deadline, under budget, etc. This file will come in very handy when you sit down with your boss for your annual review. In fact, if you’re itching for a raise/promotion, writing a short report detailing all you’ve accomplished can go a long way to helping your boss see in black and white why you deserve a promotion and a nice raise to go along with it.

If you’re looking for your next terrific position and live in the Bay Area, give Bayside Solutions. We can help place you in temporary, temp-to-hire and direct placement positions with some of San Francisco’s finest companies. Contact us today!

The advent of social media truly has turned what can be a tedious process — the job hunt — into something…less tedious.

But seriously, used correctly social media can help you connect with potential hiring managers more quickly and more easily. It also allows you to market your skills in a very targeted manner, helping you show those hiring managers how well you fit a position. Social media also can help you network so that you can learn of positions before they even become posted on a job board or company’s website, helping you get a leg up on any competition.

Yet, while social media is an incredible job search tool, don’t hide behind your computer screen just sending Tweets, Facebook and LinkedIn updates. You’ll need to make some actual phone calls and meet with actual people to really see your search shift into high gear.

So look at social media as just one of several tools in your job search toolkit. You also should contact Bay Area staffing agencies about positions, approach directly those companies in which you’re interested, and work to get in-person meetings with people in your field for leads.

Here are some tips on how to use social media in your San Francisco job search:

• Google yourself. What comes up? Is it pretty much positive, or is that pic of you chugalugging on spring break in Cancun still up there? Be sure to clean up your own pages. If you find negative or “touchy” information/pictures when you search your name, ask friends to remove that information from their Facebook, MySpace sites, etc.  If that’s not possible, you may be able to mitigate the damage by asking your friends and former colleagues to post positive comments on their pages (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.)
• Speaking of LinkedIn, if you don’t have a profile there yet, spend some time today crafting your professional summary. Place as professional a photo on your profile as possible. Check with former colleagues, teachers and supervisors to write recommendations. Check out their LinkedIn profiles to see to whom they are linked, and ask for what the site calls an “introduction” with people (hiring managers in your field, potential future colleagues) you feel may be helpful to your search.
• Approach companies in your field directly. LinkedIn is a great tool for this. Search for companies and then try to connect with people at those companies with a targeted message that explains a bit about you, your interests and background. Ask for advice — information about the future of the industry, etc. — do not ask for a job
• Start Tweeting. Join Twitter and start searching for people in your industry. Tweet helpful posts about your industry. Comment on others’ helpful posts. Remember, everything you tweet stays online forever; be careful what you post.

While you look for a job on your own, be sure to contact Bayside Solutions, one of the Bay Area’s premier staffing firms. We can help you land the perfect job. We also can keep you working on assignments while you job search. In fact, long-term assignments often turn into regular, full-time employment!

And last but not least, follow Bayside Solutions on both Twitter and Facebook to be the first to hear about new job opportunities available.

Are you sending out tons and tons of resumes and applications to jobs and getting no results?

Are you wondering why you’re “working” so hard at finding work, but have little to show for it?

Here’s a little secret: Sending out applications and resumes willy nilly is not the way to find work. In fact, it’s really not job searching in any real way because you’re being passive about it, sending out resumes/applications and sitting back waiting for the Job Fairy to tap you on the shoulder with her magic wand so that Your Perfect Job appears before you.

No. Instead, the real secret to finding work is WORK: You’re going to have to put in some considerable effort.

But the payoff will be a job that pays well, challenges and excites you. All the effort you will be putting forth will be well worth it.

• Be proactive. Be very proactive. Yes, craft a great resume (one that showcases the results of your efforts for previous employers, not just duties), but don’t spend too much time on it. Instead, spend most of your time contacting everyone you know to let them know of search for work and the skills and experience you bring to an employer. Keep the focus off of your need for your work and more on your skills and the value you bring to an employer.
• Research companies you think a) you’d like to work for or b) could use someone with your skills and experience. Find out the name of someone who could actually hire you – a hiring manager – and call that person, even if there’s no job opening.
• At the very least, e-mail the person. Briefly explain your background and your skills. Ask if that person knows of any opportunities that match your skills. Ask if you could meet with the person to discuss your skill set and where your skills might best be utilized, whether it’s at his company or another.
• Yes, you’ll get turned down. But if you conduct yourself as one colleague sharing information with another colleague the direct approach can be very effective. One phone call could result in a meeting. Another could result in “just” a name of someone to call, but you now have a connection to someone else who knows someone, who knows someone else who needs the skills and value you bring to the table.

Of course, working with a staffing agency can be a great way for you to find work to tide you over while you search for your perfect job. A personnel service also could place you in a temp-to-hire position in your field.

In fact, don’t be surprised if a “temporary” stint becomes your regular job! It happens all the time: an individual takes a temporary assignment and finds that he loves the work and the company and is eventually hired full time at the company where he’s on assignment.

So while you’re busy contacting employers directly, why not contact Bayside Solutions now to learn how we can help you find your next great gig. We’re the Bay Area staffing agency for those searching for positions in the technology, manufacturing, construction, scientific and green industries.

Whether preparing to evaluate job candidates, or getting ready for an upcoming job interview yourself, this list of top interview questions will help you prepare:

Question 1: Describe a recent project where you were responsible for managing multiple people or teams. What were some of the key challenges and how did you handle those challenges?

This question demonstrates a result-oriented leadership behavior. Project managers need to demonstrate delivery and a desire to attain the end goal. Staffing project managers who simply point out problems but do not help resolve them will not drive the project to completion. Effective project managers demonstrate how they’ve managed a project, coordinated across multiple teams, overcame obstacles and delivered the project’s goals.

Question 2: Describe a time when you implemented a new idea without being asked or pursued a new opportunity that could improve the project or company.

Demonstrating courage and a willingness to take action without being asked is a key delivery characteristic of effective project managers. Project sponsors entrust the project’s goals, budget and their own reputations on their project managers. Project sponsors don’t have all the answers and need intelligent and motivated people to solve problems, identify new opportunities and take action without being prompted.

Question 3: Describe a scenario where you had to balance competing customer demands with project constraints. How did you ensure customer satisfaction while maintaining the goals of the project?

Maintaining a customer focused approach while ensuring the project deliverables are completed on time is a delicate balance. Business partners don’t understand all the technical details required to turn business processes into software solutions. They just want the system to work and accommodate their changing business needs. Effective project managers build rapport with their business partners, seek to understand the underlying needs and proactively address their concerns. It is a difficult balance as project managers commit to delivering the project scope while addressing a business customer’s changing requirements.

Question 4: Describe a time when you had to balance quality management with a challenged project schedule.

As projects execute and schedule variances occur, there is a tendency to shorten the quality testing cycle to maintain a project end date. In some projects, the end date can be extended, and in other projects, the end date must be maintained. Effective project managers recognize the importance of quality management in the software development cycle and prioritize the test cases and test cycles that deliver the project’s critical functionality. These project managers successfully commit to a quality mindset and ensure defects are resolved or mitigated.

The project manager should also recognize the challenge of managing the triple constraint and maintain a commitment to quality. Recognizing delays in the schedule early will help project managers adjust testing schedules so the support team isn’t called in from a day off or a holiday.

Question 5: Describe a time when you had a difficult situation working with a vendor or another peer. What was your approach to resolve the issues while maintaining a positive relationship?

Without a cohesive team, a project manager cannot be effective. Projects often depend on vendors and supplier team members to provide services. The nature of the client-vendor relationship emphasizes mutually beneficial goals. However, the vendor doesn’t always prioritize the client’s interests as heavily as their own. The ability to effectively develop teams across corporate borders is critical to project delivery. Clients will always try to maximize services at a minimal cost while vendors are motivated to increase costs for additional services.

In a challenged project with strained vendor relationships, it becomes even more important to focus on the critical issues to work together and deliver the end goal. The same skill is needed when working with other peers who are not necessarily motivated to help the project team. Strong relationships help solve problems and support project delivery. The best project management system, tools and techniques cannot replace the power effective relationships have across multiple teams.

Need more help?  Our Technology Solutions Team would be happy to help.
Discover more about the technology positions we frequently fill and search our available technology jobs today!