FAQs and Resumes
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Q23: How about one-way travel pay?
A: Travel pay can mean the difference between my accepting and not accepting a position. I'm more apt to accept a contract if I feel that your organization is willing to help me to defray some of the costs of my accepting your position.
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Q24: Are you OK with a drug screen?
A: Of course I am.
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Q25: To discuss your resume, can you schedule a longer (30 minute) phone interview with one of my assistants?
A: No, I'm unable to schedule it.
Comment 1: I am sorry but there are not enough hours in the day. I'm unable to give 30-60 minutes of my time FREE to everyone who has a telephone and wants to talk for HOURS at a time.
Comment 2: I want to work with brokers who are able to glean enough information from my (QA) resume and a 5-10 minute phone interview to do an effective job match. I want to work with agents who are able to assess my skills on their own, during a 5-10 minute phone call. If they have to rely on some test or assistant to tell them what to tell the client, they shouldn't be representing me. Time is my most valuable commodity. Please do not waste it.
Comment 3: Does this test include computer-based tests? Absolutely. If the agent has to rely on some computer-based test to tell them what to tell the client, they shouldn't be representing me. Time is my most valuable commodity. Please do not waste it.
Comment 4: Real recruiters do not play games with my time, life and paycheck. Real recruiters do not try to convince me to stay on the phone for more than 10 minutes. Real recruiters want 5-10 minute phone interviews, not 30+ minute computer-based tests. Real recruiters want a mutual exchange of information, not a one-sided conversation, and not a one-sided computer-based performance.
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Q26: Can you fill out a skills summary form?
A: Not at this time.
Comment: If you have a list of questions from the client that are relevant to this position or contract, I will be happy to answer them.
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Q27: What job duration are you interested in?
A: I prefer LONG-TERM assignments. Ideally 11 months. Six plus (6+) months is a good start. Generally speaking, the longer the term, the happier I am.
Comment 1: "Long-term" means anywhere from 6 months to 6 years. Durations of "3 to 6" and "4 to 6 months" are considered SHORT-TERM contracts, and they're designed to end in 3 and 4 months, respectively.
Comment 2: I'm always interested in new LONG-TERM assignments. Generally I don't do open ended contracts as I find that I'm the one left holding the bag after 4 months of an open-ended 6 month contract. I generally work only with firm starting and ending dates. Doing this insures that I meet the requirements for whatever benefits may be available for me from your company. I don't leave contracts early. Please don't ask.
Comment 3: How about a 2-month contract? Often I cannot afford to accept short term contracts, even when I receive my short-time rates, because, for example on 2-month contracts I have to spend more than I make.
Comment 4: If you're reading this you're probably from a contract firm. If so, I want to make a simple statement. If you call me with a contract for any period and after arriving at the client site I find that the contract is really for 3 weeks with the "possibility" of a 3-month extension, then I may be going back to the house and may never accept another contract with your firm again. I won't hesitate to pull the plug and go home, if I find that a contract firm has deliberately deceived me.
Comment 5: I have turned down some pretty lucrative long-term contracts because I believed what I was told and that's not going to happen again. When you send me a contract, you may get it back with my modifications to it. I may be going to add a couple of penalty clauses to it, too. Think about it; why should I be the only one to feel the pain?
Comment 6: Sometimes a client won't commit longer than six months without previously knowing the contractor. However, I have had "6 plus month" assignments last for many YEARS.
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Q28: Are you a citizen?
A: Yes, I'm a Canadian citizen. I can work in both Canada and the United States. If I need authorization to work in the United States, I can get a one-year "TN" permit in about twenty MINUTES.
Comment 1: Do you know what TN permits are? Do you need more information? Would you like to read the rules? Feel free to read the words of a U.S. Immigration Attorney who spells out in plain English why the TN permit is the quickest and easiest of the work permits for Engineers with University degrees who are also Canadian citizens. The attorney's web site is on http://grasmick.com/nafta.htm.
Comment 2: Does this TN permit enable me to accept a "permanent" position in the US? The answer is a definite YES, because, as the attorney explains, "temporary" in immigration rules is not the same as "temporary employment" in the business world. Visit his web site, and scroll down to find his "Plain English Letter Re: Temporary TN-1 Intent". Alternatively, click here to view the Attorney's Letter.
Comment 3: To obtain this TN permit, what am I going to need from you? From you I'm going to need only one piece of paper. And you can generate that one piece of paper on your own typewriter.
Comment 4: Sometimes a contract firm needs one full WEEK to generate that one-page form letter that even a high school kid could copy and type in 15 minutes. Think about it for a second; all you need is a company letterhead and a typewriter! If you're wondering as to what to say, "afraid to make a mistake", have never seen a "proper" border letter before, or need an example of a "properly" worded one, then I can send you one that was written by an U.S. Immigration Attorney, and has been used successfully. Why wait for one full WEEK? If you have any questions or concerns, please ask, so that you and I can start the assignment today. Why wait for seven days?
Comment 5: As Business Week Magazine says, "Talent is hard to find. For companies on the cusp of the Internet age, the resource in the shortest supply is neither raw material nor capital, neither powerful technology nor new markets. What keeps managers up nights is the scarcity of brainpower, the talent to give wings to visions of a future that becomes the present at the speed of light. For many companies today, talented people are the prime source of competitive advantage". And one of the good things about NAFTA is that U.S. employers can now freely recruit throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Comment 6: The United States-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA) went into force on January 1, 1989. The final text of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was signed in 1992.
Comment 7: Please don't say "you need a work visa" or that "you have to be sponsored". I know, things are changing, and it's not easy to keep up with the changes. Most recruiters I meet over the telephone are real professionals who do keep up with the changes. A couple of years ago I found it frustrating to talk with some recruiters who erroneously believed the most recent change was the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, and that "you have to be sponsored". People believe what they want to believe... how do you convince them that things have changed since 1986?
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Q29: Do you have security clearance?
A: No, I don't.
Comment: Is the paper work, red tape, regulations, time and money consumed in dealing with bureaucrats worth the prize, when the vast majority of jobs require no clearance?
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Q30: How many years of experience do you have in ___?
A: Please see my resume for this information. For example, if you see that I worked in a _______ environment for 5 years, then I have 5 years experience in _______.
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Q31: Do you have ____ experience?
A: Please view my keywords page for this information. If you find the _______ keyword, then I do have ______ experience. If you don't see the ______ keyword, then I do not have ________ experience.
Comment 1: I am a great software engineer, someone who shines and gets the job done quickly and well. Additionally, I can pick up skills quickly because it is easy to learn stuff.
Comment 2: What makes me an excellent QA Engineer? I pay attention to even the smallest details, observe and notice things before everyone else; I'm rational, logical, and well organized. Additionally, I have 21 years of formal training as an engineer, and, additionally, I have 10+ years of QA experience.
Comment 3: Who is the caller? Over 90% of my incoming calls (and e-mails) fall under one of the following eight categories:Comment 4: Saying "yes, I'm interested", and sending your resumes to recruiters can and will bring you events and demands that can exhaust you. Why? Because candidates who are actively looking for a job are also dealing with a barrage of phone calls (and e-mails). For those who are working full time -- as most good candidates are -- coping with all those phone calls (and e-mails) can be exhausting. Often 20-30 recruiters and prospective clients will blow you off for a period of up to 15 weeks, then, by the time you have almost completely forgotten about them, all of a sudden a barrage of phone calls (and e-mails) will begin, and your recruiters will start regarding you as one of their properties. All of a sudden your recruiters will start calling you every 10-20 minutes, and start expecting that you answer their telephone calls (and e-mails) every hour of every day, including Sunday. They will not ask, "Are you still interested?" Instead, they will expect that you're ready, willing, and able to meet their prospective clients, usually on short-short notices. They will expect that you show up in person, at distant, hard-to-find locations, and face panels of sometimes hostile inquisitioners (they call "clients"), for periods of up to 6 hours per client. They will also expect that you do this without any compensation for your TIME and expenses. And, if and when you succeed, and if you start getting offers, the recruiters will expect that you provide personal information, your personal information, to them. And, that you sign documents that relinquish all of your civil rights. This is NOT exactly the way to be in control of your time, life and destiny, but it is a good way to exhaust yourself, burn up your time and your life, and to run around in circles, without any compensation.
- Category 1: The Perfectionist. Caller appears to have some very highly specialized and deeply technical work, but cannot fill it because the prospective employer is too picky, too fastidious, and my resume is NOT a good match, not even close to the 110% perfection the employer demands. Caller ignores my keywords, because he knows my background is not even close to the 110% perfection the employer demands, but he confronts me anyway, "Tell me, for each skill how do you fit the requirements?" Or, "Where is your ________ experience? I don't see it on your resume!" This way he can A) blame the lack of match on me, B) feel superior at my expense, and C) conceal the fact he did not view my keywords before he contacted me. The Perfectionist will NOT get you a contract, but he will make recruiters and contractors run around in circles, and without any compensation.
- Category 2: The Optimist. Caller appears to have some specialized, technical work, but cannot fill it because my specialization is not the same, not even close to the specialization the prospective employer wants. Caller is an optimist who believes if he just sends me a job description, miraculously my resume will start saying, "Rob is a Reliability Engineer"... "Rob is a Components Engineer"... "Rob is an Analog Design Engineer"... "Rob is a Quality Manager"... or "Rob is a Project Manager" -- the specialist the prospective employer wants -- and the Optimist believes I will spend the next 24 hours of my life to completely rewrite my resume, completely reinvent my employment history, and find a way to mislead the prospective employer. Alternatively, maybe the Optimist does not understand what it is that I do, and believes all of these specialties automatically are my specialties as well. The truth is, my specialty is none of the above, and the truth is, I have no intention to mislead anyone, not even one prospective employer. Often, when I send the Optimist my standard resume, he confronts me, and says, "Where is your _______ experience? I don't see it on your resume!" This way he can A) blame the lack of match on me, B) feel superior at my expense, and C) conceal the fact that he did not read my resume before he contacted me. The Optimist will NOT get you a contract, but he will make recruiters and contractors run around in circles, and without any compensation.
- Category 3: The Penny Pincher. Caller appears to have a job, but the job pays ridiculously LOW wages in a high cost of living area that no one wants. Or, the call is about a "permanent position" that I do not want, This way he can A) blame the lack of match on my "high" rates, B) feel superior (at my expense), and C) conceal the fact that he did not view my rates before he contacted me. The Penny Pincher will NOT get you a contract, but he will make recruiters and contractors run around in circles, and without any compensation.
- Category 4: The Unproductive Beginner. Caller appears to have a job, but cannot fill it because something is lacking on her part. What is it? Courage? Skills? Experience? Or brains? To bring together buyer and seller, she would need all of these four things. To justify her existence, she creates a paper blizzard, with long lists of questions. She forever writes, and rewrites requirements, requires more references, develops more detailed forms, and devises new tests. If I respond, she has nothing for me, but more questions, more paperwork, more messages, and more grief. With her on my side, I find myself spending an increasing amount of my time to 1) register and re-register on her web sites, 2) read the large number of junk requirements her site e-mails to me on a regular basis, 3) fill out her forms and questionnaires, 4) rehash my resumes, 5) rehash my answers to recruiters FAQs, and 6) write for her own use, additional, detailed justifications, as to why my resume is a good fit with one of "her" jobs. The Unproductive Beginner will NOT get you a contract, but she will make recruiters and contractors run around in circles, and without any compensation.
- Category 5: The Friendly Freeloader. Caller is a stranger who has nothing but a telephone, or e-mail account, and dangles before me the possibility that perhaps someday she might have a suitable position for me. She says something vague, like, "I'd appreciate any referrals for this position." Or, with the innocence of a little girl on her way to catechism, she says she just wants to "network" with me. "Networking" is her code for obtaining from me referrals, or recommendations, or technical information, or all of the above, for FREE. The Friendly Freeloader will NOT get you a contract, but she can burn up your valuable time. Additionally, she can create some serious competition for you; and competition is something you do not need.
- Category 6: The Resume Collector. Caller has nothing but an e-mail account, but dangles before me the possibility that perhaps someday he might have a suitable position for me. He says something real vague and non-specific, like, "Rob, send a Word document of your resume so we can have an updated copy." Or, "Rob, we have 'many positions'... please forward resume, and I will get to work." But, hold it for a second! Why should I send anything to him, when the resume I could send him is the very same document that he can find on my web site? And, why should I send it to him, again, when my most recent resume is the very same document that I sent to him 2 days, 5 days, or 15 days ago? The Resume Collector will NOT get you a contract, but he will make contractors run around in circles, and without any compensation.
- Category 7: The Inquisitive Investigator. Caller is a con artist in recruiters' clothes; a fastidious, nosey person who is obsessed about collecting information, my personal information! He's also a stranger, an unknown information collector, a beginner investigator with a large number of nosey questions who wants to investigate me, at my expense, and at the expense of everything else. He acts like a one person government agency that "has to do" the combined investigation of the DSS, DIS, and the Defense Department, but he cannot give me any security clearance, and cannot assure me that my personal data will not end up in India. To justify his investigation, he dangles before me a nonexistent job, and also stalls for time, "I will tell you about the job later...", but he "forgets" and gives me nothing, and sends me nothing. He's interested in collecting information, my personal information, at my expense; or doing identity theft at my expense; or collecting company names at my expense; or collecting references he can use and abuse, at my expense. Trust is a slow process that good recruiters build up over the years. Trust is not something I give to the first unknown, unlicensed, unidentified, self-appointed investigator who is able to dial my number and make a surprise phone call to me. The Inquisitive Investigator will NOT get you a contract, but will waste your valuable time, and make you lose references. He can also create some serious competition for you. He can also make you a victim of identity theft. He can make contractors run around in circles, and without any compensation.
- Category 8: The Reference Collector. Caller is a con artist in recruiters' clothes who uses surprise, deception, tricks, intimidation, and sometimes shills. Depending on his personality, he can be overtly aggressive, or real subtle, friendly and charming. He makes a large effort to get from me rate, identity and especially "reference" information, however, he has absolutely nothing but a telephone, pen and paper, an 800 number, and a long list of questions. He pretends he has a job; dangles before me this nonexistent, temporary job. He promises to tell me about the job later, send me the job description later, or submit me later, but he doesn't give me anything, doesn't send me anything, and doesn't submit me anywhere. He gives me nothing but excuses, false and misleading statements, e.g. "I can't do that... I can't tell you that... there is a job, but the rate is real low..." or, "we cannot submit you (to our unnamed, non-existent client in a usually far-away location), because you say you want per diem, and we don't pay per diem." All of this is just an elaborate reference collector SCAM designed to get from you as much information as he can, and prey on the most vulnerable potential victims — the increasing ranks of jobseekers and the unemployed. This elaborate setup also allowes him to call you up later, and pretend he's a "swell guy" who keeps in touch with you every 30 days. By getting you on the phone every 30 days, he keeps hoping one day you will give him too much information, by volunteering to him names of hiring managers he doesn't dare to ask you about. What he really wants are sales leads at your expense or identity theft at your expense. He wants names of hiring managers at your expense, or "references" he can use and abuse at your expense. However, trust is a slow process that good recruiters build up over the years. Trust is not something you give to the first stranger with a telephone, who has been able to dial your number twice in 30 days. The Reference Collector will NOT get you a contract, but will make you lose valuable time and energy. He'll also make you lose references, make you a victim of identity theft, and make contractors run around in circles, and without any compensation.
Comment 5: How about a lengthy wish list cobbled together by a prospective employer? A long-long wish list jam packed with acronyms is an indication that the prospective employer is NOT serious about hiring, and will NOT hire anyone. Why? Because this quest for a "perfect candidate" is a quest for a candidate who does not exist. This is NOT the way to get a contract, but it is a good way to make recruiters and contractors run around in circles, and without any compensation.
Comment 6: In a testimony to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, Dr. Norman Matloff (Department of Computer Science, University of California at Davis) said, "Employers unnecessarily over-specify job requirements. There is considerable skepticism about the validity of requirements stated in most job postings. This obsession with specific skills is unwarranted, akin to what would happen if Chevy dealers refused to hire seasoned mechanics with experience on Fords. Refusing to hire a C-language programmer to write Java code is like a Chevy dealer refusing to hire mechanics who have only Ford experience, and even such luminaries as Microsoft's Bill Gates have criticized industry practice in this regard."
Comment 7: Bill Gates said, "We're not looking for any specific knowledge because things change so fast, and it's easy to learn stuff. You've got to have an excitement about software, certain intelligence... It's NOT the specific knowledge that counts.'' (Wall Street Journal, November 8, 1994.)
Comment 8: Of course Bill Gates has the right attitude. Specific knowledge does NOT count. Anyone who claims the opposite -- e.g. in a manufacturing environment "you need forty-three (43) specific skills" in order to do your job well -- has never worked in a manufacturing environment.
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Q32: Can you give me your work number?
A: No, I'm not able to supply it. Please see my answer to the question: how often do you check your messages?
Comment: I NEVER break this rule. Many employees and contractors have lost their jobs, because agencies and contract firms let it be known that we were looking and replacements were needed.
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Q33: Do you have another home number?
A: Yes, I do have two numbers. But whether or not I have two numbers is NOT important. What is important is that you can reach me, when you need to reach me. Call my telephone number, and if I don't answer, leave me voice mail. Or -- what's even faster -- send me e-mail. I check my messages several times a day.
Comment 1: As an alternative to telephone numbers, why don't you send me e-mail? E-mail me here. E-mail is FREE.
Comment 2: Do you have any questions for me? I have posted instant answers to FAQs on http://www.robdavispe.com/faqs.
Comment 3: Do you need my resume? On http://www.robdavispe.com/faqs/#view I have posted many printable (QA) resumes that you can use right away.
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Last modified on 6/19/2008.
Rob is a registered and licensed professional engineer.
http://www.robdavispe.com | http://www.softwaretestengineer.com
