Category HR Tips and Practices

Operational design components, program metrics, and how onboarding differs from orientation

This checklist continues last week’s article about comparing your onboarding program against the design components of a “world-class” onboarding program.

Part 3: Operational Design Components
The last level of components for world-class onboarding programs is still important, even though they are more operational in nature. They include the following:

A written and integrated plan. World-class onboarding programs have a short written plan that is integrated with the overall business plan, the HR plan, and the recruiting plan. In addition, hiring managers and those impacted by the onboarding program should be involved upfront in the program design and planning process.

A compelling business case. The program design must include the development of a compelling business case that convinces the chief financial officer, as well as line managers, that the onboarding program will directly improve their individual business results.

Prioritized jobs. Because there is never enough budget, world-class onboarding programs prioritize and focus their talent, time, and resources toward onboarding individuals in mission-critical jobs, critical business units, and in jobs with a significant revenue impact.

Continuous improvement and testing of system effectiveness. The onboarding program should have a formal process for continuously assessing and improving its processes and output results by assessing each onboarding success and failure and then feeding back the information to process managers. In addition, World-class onboarding programs periodically use “mystery shoppers” to identify system problems.

Ownership by management. The onboarding program design should make it clear that onboarding problems and processes are owned by hiring managers. Managers must realize that they suffer the most when poor onboarding takes place.
Individual accountability. Responsible individuals must also be rewarded or punished based primarily on program performance.

Best practice sharing. The onboarding program must have a formal design component for the rapid identification, sharing between business units, and the adoption of best practices related to onboarding.

Risk-taking for improvement. The onboarding program must have design features that encourage periodic experimentation, pilot tests, split samples, and reasonable risk-taking, as long as rapid learning occurs after a failure.

Data-based decision-making. Major onboarding program design and resource decisions must be made based primarily on data, rather than just on emotion or historical practice.

Uses the latest technology. The onboarding process should be paperless and offer additional information on an exclusive onboarding website.
External recognition. Although world-class programs maintain their competitive advantage by keeping their critical design components relatively secret, world-class onboarding programs eventually do receive some external recognition. This includes winning ERE Recruiting Excellence Awards or Optimas awards; being highlighted in major HR, recruiting, and general business publications; being included in benchmark studies; and/or being featured in academic case studies.

The program avoids common onboarding program killers. Some examples that keep your program from reaching world-class status or may cause it to fail:

Letting the program be run 100% by the benefits function, which almost guarantees “death by form” (i.e., boredom and loss of enthusiasm as a result of filling out forms all day).
Over-reliance on videotapes and slideshows, with little time for interaction.
Not having a “local component” of onboarding at the departmental level in addition to the corporate component.
Failing to make effective onboarding as part of a manager’s performance appraisal and bonus process.
Failing to reward the onboarding program manager and the manager of each independent HR and non-HR component of the process, based on program performance.

Traits That Turn a Good Recruiter Into a Great Recruiter

Identifying what RecruiterX would look like
Tuesday, October 24, 2006 | by Brian Whitfield

As an owner of an IT staffing firm, I am always looking for good recruiters and have had the pleasure to work with some very skilled people over the years.

If I could somehow blend the better traits of all of them into one mythical person (RecruiterX), he or she would show the following skills:

Understands how to source. These days, many recruiters think their job is to be great at using fancy Boolean searches to find candidates on the Internet or shuffle resumes from other sources. RecruiterX is proficient with the Internet to avoid ignoring a possible source, but he or she also uses every other avenue possible to find good candidates.

RecruiterX has an applicant tracking system and uses it well; has created a network of good people to network with (our recruiters are tasked with developing a network of the most talented people within a given skillset, which we call their “50 best”); go to industry events; and know which companies have similar candidates.

Since RecruiterX recruits for many of the same skills over and over, knows a lot of people in the industry, and calls them regularly, their contacts are happy to help them find good candidates.

Avoids wasting their customers’ time. Many recruiters seem to think their job is to send resumes. Resumes don’t get hired: people do. RecruiterX knows how to qualify candidates extremely well and only submits candidates who are “dead on” for the role, or at least they believe them to be. They usually only submit two to four resumes for any given requirement. Their customers know they only submit good people and say “here’s a resume from RecruiterX; I better at least look at it.” His managers usually interview one-half or more of all the people they submit, and hire one-half or more of those.

Understands the industry and customer requirements much better than the average recruiter. While they don’t know how to code Java, RecruiterX has a very good grasp on his industry’s buzzwords and what they mean.

They know that Javascript and Java are not the same thing. A developer doing HTML and javascript is not going to fit a java/j2ee requirement and they don’t present candidates that aren’t a fit. Recruiters who do lose whatever credibility they had. They definitely understand the terminology of the industry and what each job function is.

Many average recruiters never get past simply looking for buzzwords to truly understand job functions. Their great candidate has plenty of the proper buzzwords but lack the actual background required. RecruiterX doesn’t waste his customers’ time and only submits qualified people.

Understands what it means to truly qualify a candidate. Average and beginning recruiters think making sure someone has a particular skill set defines qualifying a candidate. RecruiterX knows it goes way beyond that. RecruiterX always verifies that a candidate’s commute is acceptable (and is skeptical when a candidate says he will drive 75 miles every day to the job).

They’re a pro at getting salary information and requirements, determining the candidate’s true motivations and seriousness, and getting any and all information that will help or prevent him from being able to close a placement. RecruiterX is an expert at qualifying someone and rarely has surprises when their candidates get an offer (e.g., the candidate says, “Oops, I really meant $125,000, not the $100,000 I originally said, because it is just too far of a commute.”).

They admit that most failures to close an offer are a result of failing to truly qualify a candidate upfront. They don’t blame the candidate, the company, or something else when a placement falls apart. They don’t end up in situations where they’re trying to relocate a candidate who tells you they’ll move, only to find out after they turned down an offer that they have children in high school, have lived next door to their mother-in-law for the last 17 years, and have a spouse who is vice president of the local bank. In other words, they were never going to relocate no matter how hard you wished they would.

Is an expert at salary negotiations. While this is a topic worthy of several articles, suffice it to say that RecruiterX knows how to uncover a candidate’s existing salary information, desires, and what it will really take to close the person on an offer. Although he or she earns $50,000 and will take $55,000, the candidate might also take $50,000 because the worker feels under-appreciated by the current boss.

Knows to pre-close the candidate at each step. Average recruiters believe 99% of the job is determining whether someone has a particular skillset. RecruiterX knows that it takes two to tango, and his job is to not only make sure a candidate is qualified, but to sell the opportunity and “pre-close” the candidate from the very first conversation to the last.

Without being pushy, he takes every opportunity to sell the position and verify that the candidate wants the opportunity at each step and that nothing has changed (“I know I said I wanted $70,000, but I really will only take $90,000.”). Average recruiters sell the candidate hard on the first conversation and rely upon faith that everything will still be okay in the end. They get a lot of surprises.

Maintains a laser focus. RecruiterX has the attitude, “I’ll quit when I die and not until.” When they get a requisition, they work it until they have filled the position, not until they’ve submitted one or two resumes that were kind-of-sort-of close and then wonder why more of their managers don’t respond to their resumes. They use every avenue possible to find hireable candidates and don’t do one-half of a search on 10 different assignments. They do 100% of a search even if they spend one-third of their time each day on three searches.

Displays high energy. RecruiterX is a high-energy person in both business and personal pursuits and does not tire as easily as others or avoid hard work. This person has a positive attitude and does not bring down others.

Shows a good work ethic. Ask an average recruiter what percentage of their time they are actually working, and they’ll probably tell you 50% to 80%. The true number is more than likely less than 50%. They are surfing the Internet, talking football, talking to their spouse on the phone, daydreaming about winning the lottery, and anything but recruiting.

RecruiterX actually works 75% of the time while knowing an occasional break is healthy. He or she may miss a few days a year for an illness or a personal day, but the boss knows the recruiter is a producer, has created a great relationship, and is generally very reliable.

Acts honestly. Let’s face it: some in our industry have helped give us a used-car salesman image. RecruiterX is honest and does not misrepresent a company to a candidate nor a candidate to a company. That’s just not good business. He or she does not steal candidates from clients or lie about salary information/rates, and maintains high ethics no matter what. RecruiterX refuses to work for an organization that bends ethics.

None of these traits should come as a surprise to a successful recruiter. If we are honest with ourselves, most of us should recognize we have some of these traits some of the time versus all of these traits all of the time. If you know any RecruiterX types, please send them my way.

China recruiting most senior executives globally

It is learnt from the Sate-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) of the State Council on the 14th that China has formally commenced the recruitment of senior executives for central gov’t-owned enterprises (CGE) from home and abroad. A total of 26 executives will be hired, which is the largest number of its kind to date. The soon-to-be first round recruitment will fill ten positions.

These ten posts are seven deputy general managers (deputy director generals and vice presidents) and three general accountants. There are three features in this year’s recruitment. First is the recruitment of a few each time but many more recruitments. The first batch, to be recruited from within and outside of China, will be for positions for ten CGEs, the second batch will include five general accountants to be hired for five CGEs with special characteristics, which will only target CGEs in a given range, and the public recruitment notice will be posted shortly in a specially designated area. Consigned by 11 CGEs, the third round will recruit 11 general counselors-at-law from society at large around this August.

In addition, on the basis of summing up the experience of the recruiting work in the previous three years, SASAC will introduce in full the evaluating technology of examination and assessment centers, starting this year. This technology focuses on examining the candidates’ genuine abilities at work as well as his organizing and coordinating capabilities, which is more suitable for selecting talents of senior management level.

Starting in 2003, SASAC openly recruited senior executives from around the globe for the first time. After three years, it has hired 75 senior executives, including those in two key jobs. It realized a major breakthrough in CGEs’ marketization in employing senior executives.

Headhunting Heats Up in China Market

Earlier this year, New York-based recruiter Henry Lipschutz persuaded Kurt Berney, a prized partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, to join O’Melveny & Myers’ China practice.

Landing a skilled M&A partner like Berney who was willing to relocate to China was a coup. And it came from a cold call.

The world’s largest law firms are intensely interested in China and the other fast-growing economies of Asia. But firms eager to open or expand offices there are finding the supply of lawyers is outstripped by demand.

That’s creating opportunities for U.S.-based recruiters like Lipschutz, who says Asia now accounts for about 60 percent of his placements. For now, it’s a small market — there just aren’t that many partners in Asia willing to move around. But it’s expected to grow.

“There is tremendous opportunity for search work on the horizon [in China],” says Newport Beach, Calif.-based consultant Peter Zeughauser, who advises many firms on their China strategies. “It’s starting now and it will be a long run — maybe 15 to 25 years.”

Firms with established China practices, like O’Melveny, can recruit people like Berney, who are willing to take a specialty and move it overseas. Firms trying to launch a China practice, however, need partners who’ve been on the ground in Asia.

“There are a lot of legal recruiters actively recruiting in China — there is no shortage of people trying to do that,” says partner Howard Chao, who heads O’Melveny’s Asia practice. “Where things are tight are senior people with lots of China experience.”

Lipschutz, who points to the shortage of partners in explaining why he’s focused on recruiting second- to fifth-year corporate securities associates, agrees. “All the partner-level lawyers that should be in Asia have been there for the last three years,” he says.

Thomas Shoesmith is one of them. After starting his career with Cooley Godward, he joined the Shanghai office of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker. Earlier this year, recruiter Avis Caravello brought the IP litigator to Thelen Reid & Priest, where he’s launching the firm’s China practice.

“Tom would call me at 8 at night” — morning in China — “and the kids would answer the phone, ‘It’s Tom Shoesmith,'” Caravello said.

Despite the need for evening and even middle-of-the-night phone calls — there’s a 15-hour time difference between San Francisco and Shanghai — more U.S.-based recruiters are making inroads in China.

Zeughauser, who says he only represents partners who’ve told their current firms they are looking to leave, says he’s currently doing some work in China.

Major, Lindsey & Africa joined the small colony of Western recruiters with offices in Hong Kong a few years ago. Recruiters there are increasingly doing more work for U.S. firms that want to open in Beijing and Shanghai.

“Demand has been strong now for five years, but at least with respect to China, it does now seem to be hitting a fever pitch,” says Charles Fanning, a global practice leader at Major Lindsey who is based in San Francisco.

Joe Macrae, founder of Mlegal consulting, primarily does recruiting on behalf of U.S.-based firms in the London market. He says his firm is currently handling work on behalf of five candidates in Taiwan and Shanghai seeking to work stateside, or to move within their local markets. Silicon Valley recruiter Carl Baier recently handled work for candidates in China and India, and as a solo he forges deals with larger search firms in other parts of the world.

The biggest hurdle for recruiters is the shortage of recruits. “To the extent that we could find people in China, they would be very viable candidates,” says Caravello. “But it is like the needle in the haystack in Asia.”

Adding to the difficulty, talent searches in China have become increasingly specialized. Where firms employed generalists who could handle foreign direct investment, they’re now calling on specialists in IP, private equity and M&A, says Gregory Nitzkowski, co-managing partner at at Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker. The latter are especially in demand, recruiters say, as Chinese companies in the last year have developed an appetite for American ones.

As in other international markets, poaching is common. And as with many ex-patriot communities, lawyers in Hong Kong and China seem more often willing to make the move.

“There is more mobility in Asia,” says partner Michael Gisser, who co-heads the Asia-Pacific practice of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. “There is less stigma associated with job-changing by partners and associates alike. In the U.S., “if someone is on their third or fourth law firm, it is more likely to raise a question.”

While individual hires account for much recruiting, some firms prefer to bring on groups in the international market.

“Our London growth has been with groups and I love recruiting [that way],” says Morrison & Foerster Chairman Keith Wetmore. “I have higher confidence around quality and demonstrated team dynamics [with a group]. With a single person, you don’t know why they are in the market.”

Your resume should serve you, and not a recruiter’s possible whim

By M.B. OWENS
SYNDICATED COLUMNIST

THERE IS A lot of advice on how to look for a job. Sometimes it is contradictory. Much of the advice is from a human resource manager’s or recruiter’s perspective aimed at making their job easier. What you need to do is look at what is in your best interest.

Some managers involved with the hiring process frown on the use of functional resumes, for example. They prefer the chronological style. Others tell you to use the functional format in certain situations such as an extensive job history using multiple skills. So, what should you actually do?

Don’t try to please everyone! Look out for yourself. Try to get an interview.

If you don’t get an interview you have no chance of landing a job. You can always explain yourself in a face-to-face meeting. This does not mean lying on your resume or cover letter. It does mean preparing the resume and cover letter to make you look as attractive as possible.

The real reason that some managers prefer the chronological format is because they don’t want to spend the extra time having to scan a resume. They often don’t look past the most recent job. Since they have to spend extra time reviewing a functional resume looking for continuous work history and recent job skills, they don’t like them.

You must decide if because of the refusal of some managers to consider functional resumes the same as chronological, you are better off using the former style. If your resume is much stronger with a functional approach, use it — unless an employer says not to. You should have a better overall chance of finding employment.

The use of dates is another area that can be a stickler with managers. Some want to see complete information of day, month and year for every job held or period of time in school. If because of your age or special circumstances you don’t want to list complete dates, consider whether you will gain more by listing everything or using months and years or not listing any dates after 10 or more years.

For instance, this means that if you have a choppy work history where for months at a time you were not working and you probably stand little chance of finding a position if you show that on your resume, a chronological format may hinder your chances of getting an interview. You may have a few hiring managers not give you consideration in a functional format, but at least you will be considered by others.

Many hiring managers don’t like people applying who are not completely qualified for an advertised position. This is because it is more work for them to review resumes. Your goal is to get an interview, not to worry about their workload. Providing a resume that is truthful and gets you an interview should be your top consideration.

If you are partly qualified for a position and can perform the job duties — apply.

Employers don’t always get a perfect candidate. Applicants sometimes don’t take jobs that are offered. Hiring managers are often under deadlines and must fill a position.

You may be pleasantly surprised when you get an interview and an eventual offer.

So, when looking for a job, use the approach that will help you reach your goal. Use accepted guidelines within a framework that puts the percentages on your side.

The online recruiter

BY ALEX ORTOLANI

WHEN Liu Hao quit his job to take over a failing Internet start-up, his friends thought he was crazy.

At the time, the company was shedding US$70,000 a month and had only US$250,000 in the bank. Liu¡¯s new salary would be less than the taxes he paid on his previous job as a private equity investor.

Four years later, sitting in the Beijing headquarters of that same company, Liu says of his friends¡¯ opinions: ¡°They were wrong.¡±

Liu Hao
The Internet start-up Liu helped save was Zhaopin.com, China¡¯s third largest online recruitment website. These days, the company has about 9.8% of China¡¯s 11.3 million online job hunters, according to iResearch, a Shanghai-based research agency specialising in China¡¯s Internet market.

A few weeks ago, Seek Limited, Australia and New Zealand¡¯s biggest Internet job site, agreed to buy a 25% stake in Zhaopin for about US$20mil, giving the company a cash infusion to grow its business in second-tier cities. Seek will not take part in management, according to Zhaopin.

Meanwhile, Zhaopin has launched a search engine that gives more targeted search results, as well as insider reports on companies for users to evaluate prospective employers. Liu says his company is the first to introduce such innovations.

Despite these moves, it¡¯s possible Liu¡¯s friends could still get the last word.

Zhaopin lags behind 51job.com and ChinaHR.com in a market Liu himself says is going to be dominated by ¡°two or three players.¡±

In 2005, 51job.com had 37.3% of all users and ChinaHR.com had 13.5%, according to iResearch. In the end, however, it¡¯s not about users, which can post resumes for free, but the number of recruiters who pay to post job listings.

Liu says Zhaopin¡¯s origins as a head hunter ¨C a business it still runs under the name Alliance Consulting Ltd ¨C means it has a good relationship with some of the biggest blue-chip companies such as Microsoft Corp and BMW AG.

¡°We have the better jobs,¡± Liu says. ¡°They¡¯re relatively higher paying positions and they¡¯re the kind of employment people in China are aspiring to.¡±

Zhaopin charges recruiters anywhere from 500 yuan (US$63) to 80,000 yuan (US$10,000) to post on their site.

China¡¯s online recruiting sector could grow by leaps and bounds if the economy keeps steady. In 2005, the market was worth 800 million yuan (US$101mil), and is expected to quadruple to 4.6 billion yuan (US$575mil) by 2010, says iResearch. It estimates online recruiters will jump from 1.1 million in 2005 to 4.81 million by 2010.

HR Market Growing Fast in China

By Frank Mulligan, Talent Software

The recruiting of staff is the greatest challenge that HR practitioners in China face.

But turn the turtle on its back and we see that recruiting is big business. There is a lot going on underneath. A mulititude of players offer everything from executive search to Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS).

These international players are currently targeting China.

The graphs below tell an interesting story. They are based on a large scale study of international companies who offer some form of solution for recruiting. They illustrate well how the investments in the recruiting space have shifted from Hong Kong to Mainland China, and specifically to Shanghai. China is taking off, with Hong Kong flat. The study was done by a London-based MandA specialist called The1, and if you want to know more go here and click on ¡¯Research¡¯.

So the good news is that the kinds of recruiting support services that are avalilable in most countries around the world will soon be available in China. This would include Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO), online hiring services, background checking based on call centers, online skills testing, outsourced payroll and benefits, Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) and so on. The 1 tracks them all.

These additional support services will make life a little easier for HR professionals in China. They won¡¯t solve the biggest problem, which is the shortage of skilled, experience staff.

For that we still have to get our hands dirty.

Comments to: frank.mulligan@recruit-china.com

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When It Comes to Job Offers,It Pays to Ask for More Money

CareerBuilder.com’s survey of 875 hiring managers revealed that about 60% leave room in the first offer for salary negotiations, 30% say their first offer is final, and 10% say it depends on the candidate.

Meanwhile, four out of five corporate recruiters said they are willing to negotiate compensation, according to a study conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management.

Yet few job-seekers actually ask for more, says Randall Hansen, a career advice writer for Quintessential Careers.

Clearly, it pays to negotiate, though actually doing so can be difficult. To be successful, arm yourself with information. Research the company’s pay scale, the job’s fair market value, the industry average and the region you’ll be working in.

Salary comparison information is easy to find–try employment surveys, libraries, professional organizations and peers. Numerous Web sites offer comparison information–try Salary.com, CareerInfoNet.org or Jobstar.org.

Delay salary and benefit discussions until you actually have an offer. You will have more negotiating power once you know you’re the desired candidate. And let the employer talk first; otherwise, you risk asking for less than what the employer is prepared to offer. If you must provide salary requirements during the application process, offer a bracketed range or say that you expect a salary that’s competitive with the market.

Prove what you’re worth. Employers are more likely to honor your requests for higher compensation if you can demonstrate why you deserve it. Highlight your unique skills, specific accomplishments or the revenue you’ll generate. Make sure your references give you good reviews–employers rely on past peers and bosses when deciding on a higher salary.

Other benefits count. If a salary isn’t negotiable, you may be able to get other perks such as increased vacation days, tuition reimbursement, moving expenses, stock options or profit sharing. Consider requesting an earlier performance review so your next salary discussion is sooner rather than later.

Always get your final compensation offer in writing. You can ask the employer for a day or two to review it before making a final decision, but once you sign on the dotted line, don’t go back for more.

China encourages hiring top-notch foreign scientists

At the 2006 Biological Economy Summit held in Beijing last Saturday, Wu Zhongze, a senior official from the Ministry of Science and Technology, said that in order to build China into a nation with advanced biological technologies and a large biological industry, China encourages companies and research institutes to directly hire top-notch scientists and engineers from overseas. In this way, China can gradually build up a world first-class research team and upgrade researchers¡¯ general strength in biotechnological field.

He said that to this end China needs to take a series of important measures. Among them, personnel strategy would stand out as the most important one. This strategy covers three aspects: first, to directly hire high-grade scientific researchers from overseas and attract senior Chinese scientific personnel to come back to make their contributions; second, to apply an open recruiting system to some key work posts, such as laboratory directors, heads of key research institutes, and other senior posts in scientific field; third, through the national 863 program (the National High Technology Research and Development Program), and the national 973 program (the Major State Basic Research Development Program), to train some excellent scientific personnel and some internationally recognized team researchers.

China¡¯s general biological strength is at the forefront among developing countries. China now has over 200 biotechnological research institutes and over 30,000 researchers working in biological field. In recent years, while traditional biological industry is still in the leading position, modern biological industry is emerging rapidly and new biological technologies are mushrooming. According to a rough calculation, China has over 7,300 companies working in biotechnological field. Among them, 3,000 have grown to become the key companies in modern biological field, generating 60 billion yuan worth of output every year.

How to Create a Resume For Foreign Markets

By Myriam-Rose Kohn

If you’re applying for an overseas job with an international company, you might consider translating your resume as a courtesy to hiring managers. But unless you’re fluent in the company’s primary language, translating education, work experience and other details of your life can be tricky.

The streamlined resume format that’s popular in the U.S. these days may not work abroad. For instance, recruiters in Europe, Asia and the Middle East typically look for requirements you wouldn’t normally include on a concise American resume, such as citizenship and passport data, your date and place of birth and your marital status.

Curricula Vitae (what resumes are called in most countries) that are created for a foreign market should be understated to the point of being self-effacing, and should contain substantive rather than active verbs. Using the same word more than once on a page is considered poor form, since repeating a word is a sign that you don’t know the language well. Good language skills are weighed heavily by hiring managers and are a prerequisite for just about any managerial job overseas.

Another difference between resumes created for the U.S. and foreign markets is that your experience should be listed chronologically, starting with your first job and ending with your most recent position. This is exactly the opposite approach used by most U.S. candidates.

European employers often request that your resume be written in your own handwriting. This allows them to judge you for neatness and proper use of language (assuming that you wrote it yourself). The letter also can be submitted for handwriting analysis, which supposedly would reveal the type of person you are, thus eliminating the need for you to send a profile of your personal attributes.

Candidates sending their credentials to staffing agencies via e-mail are urged to keep their documents as short as possible: Include only where you’ve worked, for how long and just a few lines describing what you did. Personal information is still required.

Higher-level candidates should adhere to the traditional format described above. Executive recruiters still want to see as much information as possible.

Educational Achievements

In Asia, the schools you’ve attended are critically important, so if you’re applying for a job there, list your alma maters under the “education” heading, starting with kindergarten and elementary school. The thinking is that if you’re fortunate enough to have been born into a wealthy family, you would have attended more prestigious schools than those with lesser means. This attitude perpetuates the region’s caste system. Competition is so fierce that children often are enrolled prior to their birth to ensure a place on the roster of a “prestigious” nursery school and kindergarten.

Schools typically provide letters of reference, as do former employers, and you should include those that you feel would be most relevant with your curriculum vitae.

Translation Help

If you decide to seek help translating your resume, be sure the work is handled by an accredited translator. Remember, a simple word such as president can be translated as president (French) or presidente (Spanish) to indicate the president of a country, but in a European company, that title indicates an executive two ranks lower on the corporate ladder than the U.S. equivalent.

Since you’re providing a translation to be courteous and create goodwill, image is everything, and a reputable translation agency can become a powerful ally. Make sure your translator uses a three-check system — a translator, editor and proofreader — and employs accredited translators. This approach assures quality control, since a translated text could have variations. If the translator and editor don’t agree on your intent, then the meaning of your text isn’t clear and could be misinterpreted. Once your resume is completed, the proofreader will verify proper spelling, grammar and punctuation, which eliminates misunderstandings and minimizes errors.

Translators are accredited only after passing a rigorous three-hour exam administered by the American Translators Association in Alexandria, Va. (703-683-6100). The test is so exacting that only 20% to 30% of all candidates have passed in the last five years, ATA reports.

Equally important is that your work be translated by someone who works in the same discipline or industry as you, especially if you’re in a scientific field. To stay current, most translators have a niche in which they become expert. Thus, an excellent legal translator will know the laws of the country your resume is going to and from.

If you would like to work overseas, the same rules apply as for a foreigner wishing to work in the U.S. First you must find an employer willing to sponsor you. The U.S. demands just as much appropriate documentation as Europe does. Workers and employees can move around freely from one European nation country to another and obtain employment, but someone from the U.S. would have to find an employer who would be willing to fill out all the required paperwork prior to the employee or executive arriving over there. Once all documents are completed, the recruited person must first of all check in with the municipality where he or she will be settling in before actual employment can begin.

Get It Right

You should determine exactly where your resume will be sent before enlisting a translator’s help. If you request a Spanish translation, do you want Castilian Spanish or another variation? Your answer depends on whether you’re mailing your resume to Spain, Mexico, El Salvador or Argentina, to name a few countries where Spanish vocabularies differ.

The same applies to French: Canadian and Guyanese French differ in many ways from standard French. Good translators don’t translate just words, but their meaning and intent, so they must know the cultural (and sometimes even historical) context of the area where your translated resume will be sent.

An illustration of this point can be found in “A Consumer’s Guide to Good Translation” published by the ATA: “L’ingresso e vietato ai non addetti ai lavori.” If you focus on the words in this Italian sentence, you might produce this baffling translation: “The entry is forbidden to those not associated with the works.” An experienced translator understands that the task isn’t to change words, but to offer the right meaning. How would this sentence be expressed best in an American context? “Unauthorized entry prohibited.”

Now visualize this process in reverse and you’ll have an idea of what’s involved when trying to create a resume that makes sense and sells your skills effectively in another language. Three years of foreign-language instruction in high school might help you order in a foreign restaurant, but it probably isn’t enough background for you to translate your resume successfully.