ASK THE HEADHUNTER by Nick Corcodilos

SHOULD I LEAVE A GOVERNMENT JOB FOR THE COMMERCIAL WORLD?

Q: I am a manager in a government agency, but my friends tell me, "You should be out in the private sector making a boatload of money! " More and more I am beginning to agree with them.

I am concerned about this transition. Does the private world move that much faster? Is there less red tape, are the processes more efficient, and do organizations truly empower their employees? Do organizations train and then capture value from employees? Or is this a case of "the grass is always greener on the other side"?

NICK'S REPLY

The private world has its own problems and challenges. But I believe that it's more acceptable to defy convention in business than it is in government, and that's what stimulates change and growth.

Several years ago a good friend of mine left government after many years of successful service. He is frequently frustrated with business as most people are. But when I ask him if he regrets leaving government he says, "Never!" He gave up years of government seniority for a job as a middle manager who has a lot of control and flexibility in how he does his job.

The commercial world isn't much faster, there isn't a lot less red tape, things aren't much more efficient, and not everyone is empowered. But it does have one wonderful feature: You can change employers. In government, there's basically one employer. And there's a "file" on you that follows you around. That often makes people hesitate to defy convention on the job.

My opinion is that no one should be allowed to have a career in government. Five years and you're out; otherwise, you stagnate. Or you potentially become a bureaucrat with too much power. Government service should be service, not a career. (Oh, I'll get slapped for saying that.)

If you have aspirations outside government, explore them. I can't imagine many government jobs being as much fun as a good one in the commercial world. But I'm sure many people in government would disagree!

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THE HEADHUNTER TIP

Get your hiring off the curve

Because they use salary scales to control what they pay, companies also limit the talent they hire. Companies pay on a bell curve. Most salaries are in the middle of the fat part of the curve where people perform adequately. Very few employees are highly paid for exceptional performance.

Watch the bell curve form on the job boards and in the personnel office where masses of job hunters gather. Companies routinely hire from the masses on the fat part of the bell curve.

But here is the problem. The best workers don't work cheaply, and you don't find them among the masses. They are the exceptions. They are not on the job boards or in your personnel office applying for a job.

If your company wants to hire the best workers, it must move itself off the fat part of the curve.

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COMMENTARY

When you pay to have your resume written, what are you buying? Just a resume? I think you're buying a suit of clothes that shows off your form to your best advantage and makes you look good when you're walking the talk. Don't buy off the rack. Get custom fitted so you'll look your very best.

I still think a resume isn't the best way toward the job you want. But if you're going to use a resume, the best route to the best resume is to learn to be your own tailor. Learn to sew. Learn to write up your story yourself. But not a lot of people are going to do that or do it well. That's where an expert resume writer can help.

Resume mills -- companies that crank out one-size-fits-all resumes from a stock pattern -- do not create a unique image of the individual client. Like department stores that sell you a suit off the rack without the aid of a tailor, they provide no personal contact with a resume writer.

If you want to look really good, I think the tailor needs to put his arms around you and measure your body. The tailor has to see how your posture affects the way a jacket drapes over your body. It's not the same when you call in your measurements over the phone or fill out a form. Likewise, a resume writer can't be hidden away in a back room bent over a sewing machine ... er, computer. Yet that's how the mills operate. A sharp point-man sells you the service, but the work is done by someone else in the equivalent of a sweatshop, getting paid a tiny fraction of the fee you are charged. But cost does not always reflect quality of service. You could work with a resume mill and still pay handsomely for an "off the rack" resume.

While the creation of a resume might begin with you filling out some stock forms, I think a resume writer needs to talk with the client. I've got no problem with a salesperson making the resume sale. But there should be one-on-one contact between the client and the writer who is actually writing the resume.

There are two reasons this is important. First, a resume costs enough that any client should get personal service. If the client doesn't like the resume writer after a talk, then another writer should be assigned. (This is a benefit to the resume firm, too. A client who likes the writer is more likely to feel satisfied when they get the product.) The main complaint I hear from people who hire resume writers is that they pay for personal service but get production-line treatment. A resume is a very personal thing. Personal, one-on-one service is key.

Second, a resume is more than facts and data that can be tallied on a form. The substance needs to be tweaked to account for the client's style. For example, if a client is quiet and mild-mannered, the resume must bring out qualities the candidate is not likely to reveal in the interview. If a client is very outspoken, the resume should balance that by reflecting an ability to be patient and thoughtful. The resume should reveal qualities that may be masked by the candidate's behavior. No resume writer is going to see behavior in the answers a client provides on a form.

The point is that a good resume writer is a bit of a mentor and a coach who measures not just the client's experience, but the client's style and character -- and blends it into the resume. When I gave the keynote speech at the National Resume Writers' Association conference, the resume writers I found most engaging were the ones who projected the message, "My first job is to advise my clients."

Resume-writing firms suggest that you should let a resume professional write your resume because you can't really see yourself -- or "write yourself up" -- as others see you. It takes another set of eyes. It takes an independent perspective to produce a resume that elicits a positive reaction from a hiring manager. But along with that sales pitch is an obligation to show clients how to integrate their personalities with what's on the resume, because in the job interview, it's not the resume talking -- it's the candidate. When the resume doesn't fit the candidate properly, the candidate winds up defending the resume, and that spells disaster.

I just don't see how any resume writer could produce a custom resume or provide that level of service without one-on-one contact with the client.

The tailor should see how you walk. A resume writer should hear how you talk.

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Write to Nick at P.O. Box 600, Lebanon, NJ 08833 or www.asktheheadhunter.com.

COPYRIGHT 2009 NICK CORCODILOS