Here are three simple tips to understand why your name on your resume can send such a powerful message on it's own.

1. Your Name
• It may seem silly, but your name should be the largest thing on your resume. Truly it is the most important because they can forget everything else about you but if they forget your name, then you will never win. And you never want the recruiter to have to look for your phone number or email address. If you want the job, they have to contact you and use your name so make it as easy for them to find as possible.
2. Middle Name
• Should you put your full name on your resume? A good test for this is to do a Google search or a Facebook search. How many other people share your name? If it is a common name, or a name that returns negative connotation results, make yourself unique by including your full given name. You know that recruiters will search you on social media so know what is out there about you, whether you are the one that put it out there or not.
3. Called by Name
• A pro tip is to use your nickname on your resume. Still use something professional, but if you prefer a shortened version like John or Rich to Jonathan or Richard, then share that in your profiled resume. You can include both your full and shortened name if you want with parenthesis. For example: James (Jack) Frost. Write down what you want your desk name tag to say on your first day when you get hired!

We've all dealt with a micromanager in our lives so I know I don't need to preach to the choir on that one! But what I learned the past week is that the opposite of a bad micromanager as a boss is a good micromanager as a new hire. I have spent the last few weeks training a new team member and she has been doing a great job learning our software. People say you "drink from the fire house" but really the first few weeks is all you need to determine whether you have yourself a good new hire or a tough one. The more they take the initative the better and so the more they micromanaging their learning the better. Here are three things that can help you be classified as "great" too.

1. Ask "What does this do?"
• The fact that she doesn't ask me general questions of "What do I do next?" is great! She likes to learn by trying things and practicing hands-on which means she finds things and then asks specific questions about why a feature acts that way, how something gets to a next step in the process, or what this button does. They are specific questions!
2. Check in every hour
• I know, training webinars are the worse and waiting for access to every server is a pain. So don't just sit around! When you check in every time you get bored, it means you hate being useless. It sends a good message that you don't like to waste anyone's time, yours or the company's. Even if it is just shadowing something irrelevant, you can learn way more than waiting for permission to work.
3. Make changes that extend your timeline
• Oh, micromanagers love to change the font, move a button a quarter of an inch to the right, or name a file differently. But for a new hire? They have to learn somehow! Sure it will take them 3x longer than you to do something, but if they are offering to help than you should be gracious for it. Let them help and learn at the same time even if it isn't exactly the way you'd do it (aka, don't micromanage back if you can help it).

Being a micromanager of your tasks at a new job and trying to learn all the minuscule details of how the senior team members do it so well is a good thing, don't you agree?

I hope you enjoyed reading my other posts about my challenges of going through unemployment in Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. Finally, Part 4 is the logistics of what I did to find that next job.

1. Schedule your day
• When you have a job, do you feel tied down to your work with deadlines and meetings? Your calendar and the hour-long blocks of time on it structure your day. If you are your own boss (aka unemployed), stay on track by doing the same thing! Get the most out of Google Calendar and block out time to do important things and silly things. Below is a picture of an example of my weekly to-do list and you can see I even have cleaning the house on there! Every little thing that you do is an accomplishment, so cross it off like you deserve it!
2. Network everywhere
• And I mean everywhere. I'm not lying when I say I used 3 of my friends to connect me to the hiring department at a company through their significant other. It may seem weird and like you are "taking advantage" of your friends, family, or acquaintances but really everyone wants to help where they can! Ask if they know anyone! Tell everyone what you are looking for!
3. Define success for yourself
• Without a 6-month review cycle and bonuses to work towards, you might feel a wave of "what's the point" or "where am I going" during your job search. Do some soul searching and make it about you. Set 3-month and 6-month goals that are more than "get a new job". I began learning a new language, German. I am writing a book so I made goals about how many chapters I'd finish this month. Then, when another month comes and goes you won't feel so defeated.

One of the main reasons job seeking when unemployed is so difficult is because it is hard to maintain a positive attitude. Every time a recruiter calls you have to respond in a cheery voice and describe all of the great attributes you have without any self doubt. Many times, the person on the other end, the recruiter, can influence your attitude by testing your patience, forcing you through tough Q&A, or not sharing your enthusiasm. I bet it would be hard to be a recruiter and be verbally excited every day, but that is part of that job; you ARE the first impression a job seeker has of your company. I've had some good, interesting, and bad experiences and I think they are worth sharing.

Dear Family and Friends,
I know I haven't been around as much lately but the truth is it isn't because I don't want to be. Being unemployed is one of the hardest things I've been through and just answering the simple question of "what have you been up to?" or "how are you?" hurts. I don't want to bring you down, I don't want to be reminded of how much my life sucks (because it does, I won't lie), and I don't really have anything else to say. My days consist of job submissions and hope; that's it. I know you are my friends and you support me and want to be there for me but it is hard. So here are a few ideas that maybe can help us have fun together during this period of my life.

1. Do activities that don't require talking
• I don't want to hear about your day and you don't want to hear about mine. We can still enjoy each other's company even without the heart-to-heart talks. Sports are a great excuse to get hyped up about the game. Watching a movie is another great example. They allow me to escape emotionally to another world and that really is helpful at times.
2. Offer to help
• I never want to take advantage of our friendship for monetary gains and so asking for you to help is not something that I feel is okay. If you want, you can initiate that conversation and break that awkward silence if you really do have a connection that could help. But be advised, you may have a short "I don't want to talk about it" response, or a launch into a rant, so be prepared if you really do want to ask about the job hunt. 
3. Just wait it out
• We are still friends and me avoiding you has nothing to do with our friendship at all. I just need some space and will come back like a faithful puppy when it is over. You are the first person I will want to celebrate with!

It is finally here! I have a job! I start next week and I couldn't be happier to be contributing to society again. It wasn't easy and I'm sure I'm not the only person that has (or will have to) go through this. So I want to share my experience and write a few posts about what I went through and how I got through it. Being unemployed is exhausting on many levels: emotionally, professionally, physically, and personally, and the only way to survive it is to believe you are constantly on the cusp of that next great opportunity.

The best advice I can give to someone wanting to improve their interview skills is to sit on the other side of the table. When your team is the one that needs another team player, always, always volunteer to be a part of the interview process. If you are going to work with them daily, you should contribute your personal opinions to finding the best candidate. Here are a few tips to try and "meet the real candidate" beneath the "suit and tie" mask.

1. What is your proudest achievement (work related or not) and why? What did you do to reach this achievement?
• I think you learn more from the positive questions than the "overcoming your greatest failure" questions because you can see what gets them excited rather than what makes them nervous. Pride shines in this one and knowing what makes someone arrive early and stay late is great to get the most out of them. If their answer has skills in it that you need, it could be a perfect match!
2. What do you do for fun in your free time?
• I love asking this questions because half the time it throws people off to "get personal". This is not a weird (or discriminating) question and whether they run marathons or watch movie marathons, love their pets or love to travel, you will see a spark of passion. How people passionately describe things will loosen them up and you might see some good (or bad) habits that simply let you know if you want to work with them or not.
3. Describe your dream job.
• If what they describe is not something that this position entails, they won't be staying long and you shouldn't hire them. If they describe the work that is a team weakness, they will compliment you well and be a great asset to hire. Be a bit wary if the answer is exactly like the job description because you may not be getting an honest answer - so ask this one towards the end of the interview after you've built up some trust.

This week I thought I would do a double perspective and share my favorite questions to ask during an interview based upon what side of the table you are sitting at. An interview is like a date in which neither person knows if things should proceed to a second date/interview. A few great articles suggest taking someone to a meal instead of a formal interview and another that recommends visiting their apartment/house without the person in question there. You can learn a lot about someone from watching them interact with servers, their kids/pets, or their furniture and dishes. Interviews, just like dates, tend to be lies where both parties put on their best dress and best attitude. What questions can you ask to draw out the real person, team, and company spirit?

1. What do you think your direct reports think about your manager? Why?
• Transparency is important in helping teams work together and a company is built up of many integrated teams. Good communication up and down the chain of command reduces duplicate work, aligns goals, and increases confidence in those around you.
2. Is there any reason you believe I wouldn't be able to do this job successfully?
• One of my mentors passed this interview sinker on to me. You rarely get feedback if you didn't get the job and if there is something that is preventing you from getting the job, this question allows you to have one last chance to address it.
3. What is the biggest challenge your team will face within the next year?
• If they don't know the answer, they may not know why they are hiring you. If they have a good answer, you can describe directly how your strengths can solve those needs. You and the hiring manager both want to be enthusiastic about your first 6 months and be ready to contribute to the team right away.

I was inspired this week by the title of a post called "Are you Acting Your Wage?" by the Daily Worth and it got me thinking about job titles and salaries. My title is "Technical Program Manager"; what in the world does that mean? What type of program? How big a program? How new a program? What part of the program do I manage? There are so many programs and program components, do you really know what I do based on just my title? Is the salary range really a good indicator to base your expectations? No and uh, no. So if you are looking for your next career move (internally or externally) how can you prove to people that you are worth the high end of that spectrum?

1. Dress up
• Most tech companies have a relaxed dress code with employees wearing jeans on more than just casual Fridays. But even if that is the case, take the advice I was given once and "dress for the job you want not the job you have". And take it a step further: dress up the other components of your image and improve the way you sit in meetings, your email signature, and the way you bring problems to your boss.
2. Elevator up
• When meeting people for the first time, you need to be able to rehearse a polished elevator pitch that clarifies who you are and what you do. Whether it is the CEO, a competitor, a customer, or an old classmate, you want to impress them all. The best way to elevate your job is to show results through numbers and a cause-and-effect equation. "I do X for program Y so that my company sees Z." Make sure you know what you'll say and don't get stuck tongue-tied; then you won't be worth much at all!
3. "Sheryl Sandberg" up (or Man up)
• Don't be afraid to get in people's faces about your efforts and goals. If you want a raise there are designated times they can happen and if you ask for it today I can bet you won't get it. You need to be in the running well before and so you need to speak up for yourself and advocate for your self worth. Ask to do more. Ask for feedback. Ask for the promotion. And if you're not convinced, maybe these stories will convince you.

I had the pleasure of attending the University of Northern Colorado career fair yesterday and spending time with some choice students at our Brocade info session. I am not a recruiter, actually I find myself quite awkward with one-on-one ice-breaker conversations, but I love volunteering to find talent for Brocade to hire. I am also a resume nit. I make changes to mine on a monthly basis and I am not looking for another position currently.

Why? Because I sucked at it before. When I was in their shoes looking for my first industry job, I'm pretty sure I went about it the hard, monotonous way. And I hope that my words can help others not go through what I did. So, UNC students, I know you didn't have any realization yesterday, but hopefully you got at least one good nugget of information that helps you land your first job - whether at Brocade or not. Below are my top tips:

1. Be personable
• We know you want a job, that's why you walked up to my Career Fair booth, but have something to talk about other than "I want a job. What job do you have for me." You need to stand out from the candidates that look the same or better on paper. If you can make a personal connection with the recruiter, then they will remember you and call you for the next step. So ASK QUESTIONS and get the recruiter to talk about themselves. Find a common hobby, their passion behind their work, or why they love their company culture. Be the friendliest person that the hiring manager has met and wants to join their team.
2. Practice
• Seriously, don't be like me and practice your scenario answers at interviews you care about. You won't get the job and you'll know it before you walk out. You know if you are good at telling jokes and the same is true for whether you know if you tell good example stories or not. Find the ones that work well at answering the "What are your weaknesses/strengths?" "Tell me about a time you had to deal with a difficult team member?"
  You need to be confident about yourself and your skills, and ensure that the right things are strongly communicated to the recruiter. If you are unsure if the language you are using matches the recruiter's needs, then try this: trade resumes with a friend for 10 seconds. Your friend is your eye tracking software and will tell you what top 5 or so words catch their eye. Then if that's not what you want your first impression to be, change it before you hand it to the real recruiting reader.

1. Utilize Social Media
• 91% of recruiters look for a social media presence. If you aren't actively posting positive stuff about yourself, then some jailed convict with the same name as you is doing it for you. There are so many tools on the internet to advertise yourself so use them! Comment on company blogs, join a Linkedin group, follow a company on Facebook. You don't have to do a lot, just enough to be in control. I got flown across the country for an interview within a week of one Linkedin posting once. It works, really.

With the internet these days, there is so much information available that it is hard to argue what is right vs. wrong and that more or less is better. The point is though, that as long as there is more information to find, people will continue searching and find it. Whether you are doing research on a product and weighing the features and price of a new tablet or researching free PMP info and avoiding purchasing a book, the internet allows us to search to our heart's content. That is, until one of the following happens: