亲爱的安妮：你有一篇文章谈到了IT业的招聘行情出现了复苏的迹象，读到这篇文章，我非常高兴，因为我之前为了抚育孩子而进行了一段时间的休假，现在我刚刚开始四处找工作。在休假期间，我回到了学校，考了几种新的资格证书。我原来从事的是系统分析师工作，老同事们告诉我，我现在的技能非常“抢手”。

    现在唯一困扰我的事情是，我以前其实从来没有找过工作。我大学刚一毕业，就被一家《财富》美国500强的金融服务公司录取了。我在那里工作了14年，一直到2009年，期间我的职位晋升了5次。在这14年里，我从来没有写过简历，也没有参加过面试。现在我如何才能从竞争中脱颖而出，找到一份称心的工作呢？你能给我一些建议吗？——Cyber Cynthia

    亲爱的Cyber Cynthia：毫无疑问，你复出的时机好极了。纽约的科技招聘公司Harris Allied的执行董事凯西•哈里斯就指出：“在金融服务部门，对于科技岗位和数量分析岗位来说，招聘的大门正在轰然打开。”

    此外，你并不是唯一一个为如何推销自己而苦恼的人。哈里斯观察道：“许多科技专业人员并不擅长打造个人品牌。”所谓打造个人品牌，是指打造一个独特的专业形象，让招聘经理对你大加赞赏的包装艺术。

    哈里斯解释道，一般说来，科技宅男宅女们“倾向于过分强调他们的个人角色、在项目上的成功，以及最后一个职位上的业务操作方面。”

    这些东西当然很重要。不过既然你在14年里获得了5次晋升，那么你不可能不擅长这些东西。而现在你需要再往前迈进一步，“想想你的这些技能可以从整体上为企业带来哪些具体价值，然后把你的技能与它联系在一起。”哈里斯说。

    以下是一些相关的具体建议：

    （1）对你所期望的雇主进行彻底的研究，尤其是要密切关注这些企业的新闻，注意他们的IT人员现在正在做些什么，他们可能朝着哪个方向迈进——是云计算、网络语音（VOIP）、汇聚技术，还是其它所谓的“下一个伟大技术”。“你需要为面试打好底子，这样你才能阐述你能如何为企业带来价值的问题。”哈里斯说。

    （2）准备好详细阐述你过去的成就如何帮助你的老东家完成了可量化的目标。在准备面试的过程中，你要练习如何对过去的成功进行简明扼要的总结，包括“最初的问题或挑战、你对解决问题所做的贡献，以及最终的结果”。哈里斯说道。

    哈里斯补充道，如果面试你的招聘经理并不具备科技专业知识，或是对专业知识所知甚少，那么你在谈话中要尽量避免术语和缩写，多说你在本领域的工作为公司IT部门以外的方面带来了哪些影响。

    （3）别忘了在网络上树立良好的形象。哈里斯建议道，你要确保你在社交网站Linkedln.com上的信息是当前的、完整的。尤其要注意你的脸谱网（Facebook）主页，删除所有“令人不快”的评论或照片。因为在当今社会，任何领域的求职者都应该做这样一个假设：“在你找工作的过程中，说不定什么时候，对方企业会在网上查找你的信息。”你要尽量确保他们喜欢他们找到的结果。

    （4）给你的简历“加料”：最好使用项目符号。哈里斯表示，项目符号“可以使招聘者更容易在一份简历里快速地扫描相关技能和经验。你所做的每个提高了效率或者新节约了成本的项目，都应该单列出来——不管它是企业架构设计、信息中心转移，还是重建项目。”

    现在招聘方往往利用关键词来搜索求职者，所以你在写简历以及简历上方的技术总结时，一定要把你的各种技能的所有关键词包含在内。

    你要避免过多的废话，不过从另一方面来看，尽管传统观点认为，简历的所有内容都必须浓缩到一页纸里，不过你可以忘记这一点。哈里斯指出：“简历的长度应该与你的专业经验的年限相关。对于一位经验丰富的求职者来说，一封两页甚至三页的简历都是完全可以接受的。”

    如果你想在简历上出奇制胜，还想了解各种IT工作的简历模板，那么你可能需要参考一个有用的简历写作指南。经验丰富的专业简历教练温迪•恩尼罗和路易斯•科斯马克上个月就出版了这样一本简历指南，名叫《计算机和网络工作的专业简历》（Expert Resumes for Computer and Web Jobs）。

    还有一件你可能会感兴趣的事：美国计算机行业协会（CompTIA）在全行业内推出了一项努力，旨在吸引更多的女性从事科技工作。这是为什么呢？因为美国妇女与信息技术中心（National Center for Women and Information Technology）最近公布的一项研究显示，在科技行业中，女性的身影正呈现逐年稀少之势。2009年，只有25%的IT专业人士是女性，远远低于1991年的36%。研究报告还指出，在2008年获得计算机和信息科学学位的人中，只有18%是女性，更是远远低于1985年的37%。

    美国计算机行业协会教育基金会（CompTIA Educational Foundation）的执行理事查尔斯•伊顿表示：“我们正在努力使IT成为更多女性的职业选择。”该基金会已经启动了一个名叫“创造未来”的项目，为女性提供免费培训和认证。欲知如何参与该项目，请访问www.comptia-ef.org。

    反馈：如果你也在IT部门工作，或者你是一位负责招聘科技人员的经理，你现在会给正在寻找科技类工作的人哪些建议？请在下方留言。

    译者：朴成奎

    Dear Annie:I was happy to see your post about signs of a recovery in IT hiring, because I'm just starting to look around for a job after taking a break to raise my kids. During that time, I went back to school and picked up a couple of new certifications, and former colleagues from my old systems analyst job tell me my current skills are "hot."

    The only thing is, I've never actually looked for a job before: The Fortune 500 financial services company where I spent 14 years, until 2009, recruited me right out of college, and I worked my way up there (five promotions) without ever having to write a resume or go on an interview. Can you give me any suggestions about how to stand out from the competition and get hired? —Cyber Cynthia

    Dear C.C.:No question about it, your timing is terrific. "The doors to employment opportunities for technology and quant analysis positions in the financial services sector are bursting open" right now, says Kathy Harris, managing director of New York City-based tech recruiters Harris Allied.

    Moreover, you're not alone in wondering how to sell your skills. Personal branding -- the art of creating a unique professional persona that will wow hiring managers -- "is generally not a strong suit for many technology professionals," Harris observes.

    As a rule, she explains, tech nerds "tend to focus too much on their individual roles, project successes, and the operational aspects of their last position."

    All that stuff counts, of course, and it's unlikely you'd have earned five promotions in 14 years without excelling at it. But you now need to take one step further and "correlate your skills with ideas about the concrete value those skills can add to the organization as a whole," Harris says.

    With that in mind, some suggestions:

    1. Research prospective employers thoroughly,paying particular attention to news (online and in the trade press) about what their IT people are doing now and the direction they are likely moving in, whether it's cloud computing, VOIP, converging technologies, or some other Next Big Thing. "You need the right context for interviews, so you can explain how you see yourself adding value to the business," Harris says.

    2. Be ready to give specifics about how your past accomplishments helped your employer reach quantifiable goals.Prepare for interviews by practicing succinct summaries of your successes, including "the original problem or challenge, your contribution to the solution, and the end result," Harris says.

    If you're describing a project to a hiring manager with little or no technical expertise, she adds, keep jargon and acronyms to a minimum. Talk instead about the impact of your work in areas of the company beyond the IT department.

    3. Don't forget to polish your image online by making sure your LinkedIn profile is current and complete,casting a critical eye on your Facebook page and deleting any comments or photos that are "unflattering or worse," Harris advises. These days, all job seekers in any field should "assume that, at some point in your job search, companies will check you out online." Try to make sure they like what they find.

    4. Supercharge your resume.Use bullet points, which Harris says "make a resume easier to scan quickly for relevant skills and experience. Include a separate bullet point for each project --whether it's enterprise architecture design, a data center move, or a restructuring -- that led to greater efficiencies or new cost savings."

    Because employers often search for candidates by keyword, include all keywords for your various skills in both the body of your resume and the technical summary at the top.

    Avoid excess verbiage, but forget the conventional wisdom that all resumes must be one page affairs, Harris adds: "Resume length should correlate to your years of professional experience. For a seasoned candidate, a two- or even three-page resume is perfectly acceptable."

    For detailed help with putting together a winning resume, including sample pages for various types of IT jobs, you might want to take a look at a useful guide, published last month, called Expert Resumes for Computer and Web Jobs, by longtime professional resume coaches Wendy Enelow and Louise Kursmark.

    Just one more thing: You may be interested to hear that IT trade group CompTIA has launched an industrywide effort to entice more women into tech jobs. Why? A recent study from the National Center for Women and Information Technology shows that the ranks of females in the tech world have been thinning steadily for years. In 2009, only 25% of IT professionals were women, down from 36% in 1991. In 2008, the report says, women made up just 18% of those who earned computer and information science degrees, a striking drop from 37% way back in 1985.

    "We're striving to make IT the career of choice for more women," says Charles Eaton, executive director of the CompTIA Educational Foundation, which has started a free training and certification program for women called Creating Futures. For information on how to participate, go to www.comptia-ef.org.

    Talkback:If you're in IT, or a manager who hires techies, what advice would you give high-tech job seekers right now? Leave a comment below.