Ilya Talman, Author at Roy Talman & Associates

4 Ways To Find Your Stability In A Redefined World

Posted on August 3, 2020

The reality of the world we’re currently living in is that our industry is continuing to be redefined. It’s true for recruitment. It’s also certainly true for the industries our firm serves, such as technology, financial trading and management consulting.

So how do you latch on to any form of stability to provide leadership to your team in the eyes of one of the worst global pandemics we’ve known in 100 years? How do you press on with confidence in your job search, knowing that the unemployment rate is soaring?

With over 30 years behind us at Roy Talman & Associates, we’ve seen enough of these moments that can test the spirit of anyone and we’ve come out successfully on the other side. So whether you are a position of hiring others, worried about your current role or seeking a new start among the millions of others who desire the same, here are four key principles to help guide your path that the companies we’ve worked with and we have lived by.

Trust Your Process

There’s a process of finding someone who can not only fulfill a role but make an impact upon your firm for years to come. It’s not a process to be rushed. Likewise, when you are looking to begin a new chapter of your career, trust that there is a process worth following. It entails you finding an ideal fit that plays to your strengths versus settling for the next open role in a culture you don’t belong in working for a boss who doesn’t remotely match your style.

We’ve found that, no matter what pressures and events out of our control arise, the process that we’ve used to define, test and clarify better candidates is still in place. We will still run candidates through the paces for several months and these methods are cloud-based, much as they’ve ever been. If we turn our back on that proven process, even one time, we lose a part of who we are.

Call Upon The Most Treasured Relationships In Your Network

Think about those people in your circle you’ve known for years – people you can have an open dialogue with about your goals. From a candidate’s perspective, how many people truly understand where you want to go next in your career? Do they understand how you’d like to improve your skillset, what responsibilities you’d like to take on or what completely different industry you’ve had a passion for venturing into? If they do know all that, how many of them can advocate for you to others and convey your highest qualities?

The truth is, your greatest advocates aren’t found overnight, but you do have them. And whether through quality introductions on your behalf, feedback or insights, they can be the key to unlocking your success and helping you keep moving forward.

At Roy Talman & Associates, we’ve leveraged these relationships in our network to our advantage. We owe our consistent performance to the value we bring to our clients. For example, a typical person that we would present to our client is somebody we’ll have known for more than two years. In fact, quite often, we’ll have known these individuals between five and 15 years. That network of high-quality people and firms that we’ve been dealing with for many years has made for a critical point of difference among recruiters.

************************************************************************

Talman Advantage #2: We See The Complete Picture Of Who You Are

At Roy Talman & Associates, we don’t just see you as a resume or even a candidate to fill an open job. Instead, we’ll ask to meet you because we want to get to know you on a deeper level – that includes your current skills, your knowledge of certain subjects, your special expertise, your work style and the environments in which you believe you thrive.

Compare that to others. But always talk to Talman first.

************************************************************************

Always Keep Building Upon Your Knowledge. Never Settle.

We see far too many people in the fields we serve who are not willing to evolve their set of skills. That’s going to be to their detriment if they refuse to learn new programming languages, for example. While we can enlighten them on what to learn, we can’t make them learn. They have to want to grow with a purpose and a passion. Otherwise, the candidate has the very real possibility that they will look stale and outdated.

Photo by Sebastian Herrmann for Unsplash

When it comes to candidates, we will have seen these people for years. We know what they do and before long, what these people are very interested in as far as companies, roles, expected salary, etc. Then we want to get a solid sense of what they’re capable of. Most people typically don’t change jobs often, so the question may be: How hard did they push themselves to learn new skill sets? If we see a field that is exploding and good knowledge that’s hard to come by, we’re looking for a candidate’s demonstrated passion for learning and elevating their “game.”

At Roy Talman & Associates, we never rest on our laurels and quite frankly, we can’t. It is fundamental to our success that we maintain relationships for the long-term because doing so will create new knowledge about both our clients and our candidates. It’s a competitive advantage we can’t turn our back on.

Be Transparent: Don’t Be Afraid To Say “No.”

It’s exceedingly hard to tell someone “no” who wants you to start in a new job, but something about the role doesn’t feel right. Was it the manager’s style of communicating with you during the interview? Was it the culture? Is the role everything you thought it to be on paper or is there a fundamental disconnect here?

Clarify as much as you need to, but even in the toughest of times, don’t be afraid to tell them no. It’s better for everyone involved. If you’re not the best fit and your passion isn’t in the position, don’t they deserve to hear that so another candidate who is a better fit can be considered?

That reminds us of a funny thing to share about our candidates that people might not expect to hear: They’re happy to tell us “no.” That’s not because they don’t want to help us. Far from it. What they say is, “I appreciate you reaching out and seeing what’s new with me to gauge my interest. The truth is, I’m not the right person for this job. You should be talking to another person I know who would be perfect for it, though. Let me connect you to them.”

This happens all the time. They want us to be successful, respect our reputation and, as such, are honest in their candid response about their level of interest. They can do that primarily because we’ve had a good, open dialogue over the years. We’ve discussed things with them and we know what their opinion is on certain things.

Such an extra level of insight on a particular candidate is really what our clients are turning to us for as opposed to a random resume – someone who is looking out for their best interests by presenting only the top 1% of the top 1%.

There you have it.

Trust your process. Lean on your best relationships. Keep evolving your knowledge. Say no to things you know are not the right fit.

These are the principles that have helped us guide the ship through stormy economic times over the last 30+ years at Roy Talman & Associates. It has kept us moving forward to help others with stalled plans for growth. It has helped us find the right people in the right frame of mind to share the right information on their skill sets. Once we do, at that point, we can begin to identify if there is a match between candidate and potential employer.

If the candidate can make it through a series of tests and exercises we suggest for them that many others will be sure to receive during the interviewing process with highly selective companies, they will be best prepared to take the next step. If they don’t have the patience and want to race through the process, talk to few others, think they’ve learned all they have to and jump into an opportunity, it could be disastrous for all parties.

That’s why, in uncertain times, you always Talk To Talman First.

How do these principles apply to you? In a climate of unpredictable events, which ones would you add that you depend on?

If you are confused as to which path to follow next, you’ll be glad to know that there’s a highly specialized partner standing by to go beyond identifying the next great candidate for a prominent role or the next great company for your career. Talk To Talman First and you’ll be able to have a conversation about your true direction and goals that’s far more in-depth than any you’d expect to have with a recruiter.

What Does the Resume of the Future Look Like

Posted on April 27, 2020

We always hear debates about whether or not resumes will even matter in the future but I prefer to look at The Resume of the Future differently: Resumes as we know them may drastically change and if we’re going to operate in a world relevant to machine learning, then candidates, hiring managers and recruiters will have to adapt accordingly.

With that in mind, here are three vital insights to remember during this evolution that we must be aware of:

Say Goodbye To The Traditional Resume

As companies are trying to collect as much data about candidates as possible,

they will then be trying to match those candidates proactively to potential jobs. Since today’s resume is inherently designed to be consumed by humans, it’s typically fairly short. But what happens when we move to a machine learning structure in which a computer can “digest” millions of pages? The more information a system can gather about the candidate and the job, the dependence on traditional resumes is likely going to diminish. We won’t be able to rely solely on a two-page resume to get a full picture of a candidate anymore. Instead of being a couple of pages, the Resume of the Futurewill contain far more data.

Put differently, The Resume of the Future is like a very complicated book. It could include a recorded speech, videos from you and other forms of multimedia beyond text on a page. On the hiring side, this is changing too as more companies than ever are getting into video interviews and then having machine learning analyze the video interviews. In doing so, these companies are looking for something they can’t visibly witness in a page or two – confidence.

The Resume Of The Future Will Be A Collection Of Projects
(But Not A Collection Of Everything You’ve Ever Done)

Wait – weren’t we just talking about the Resume of the Future being able to contain a lot more information? Yes, that’s true. However, far too many candidates tend to list every single project they’ve ever worked on. Don’t do this.

The more you can explain what you’re better at doing and want to be doing in your resume and cover letter, the better off you’ll be.

It’s a balance of keeping track of projects you’ve worked on and collecting the best of the best of those with enough details that the machine learning system reading it can figure out what you can and cannot do. An area that speaks to your true strengths and goals will only be more helpful. Plus, you’ll be less likely to be asked about a project that doesn’t display your finest qualities.

************************************************************************

Talman Advantage #9: A Smoother Transition Into The New Environment

Thanks to close rapport with senior managers and relationships with clients that have lasted for many years, Roy Talman & Associates has the in-depth knowledge of a firm’s work atmosphere that few can bring to the table.

As a result, we can often provide guidance on what to expect from the culture you’re about to join, which hopefully makes your integration into that environment all the more seamless.

Make your first days in a new role better than you ever expected by talking to Talman first.

************************************************************************

The Resume Of The Future Can Accommodate Pre-Screening Better

From the company point of view, if a hiring manager is dealing with an onslaught of resumes by the thousands if not millions (think a company the size of Google or Facebook here), they’ll start using machine learning to aid in pre-screening as they potentially go through that endless stream of submissions while trying not to throw out a highly qualified person prematurely.

Consequently, machine learning will look through piles of profiles of people who could be suitable candidates for the job, factoring in parameters that define success, medium success and failure. This kind of a system doesn’t care about the number of keywords in your resume. Instead of a traditional job description, you’ll have a machine learning system that says, “This is job #12345.” Then, when it looks at the profiles of people, it will scan as much information as possible about the candidate being considered and be in a position to help the hiring manager better evaluate the candidate.

It Doesn’t Have To Be This Way, However.

Even as the resume as we know it evolves into a much larger collection of work to embody one’s career and represents many pages instead of just one or two, there is really no one factor to judge a candidate’s future success. Not even through the Resume of the Future. One of the key reasons for our own success in the recruiting business over the last 38 years is because our team at Roy Talman & Associates have the background to judge the quality of a candidate’s technical skills, which is frequently 85% – 90% of the work. We can then evaluate the person based on other qualities, such as their communication skills and preferred work style (in a team or alone, type of ideal manager, etc.).

No matter what format it takes, your resume is but one part of your story. If you want to put your best foot forward in front of the ideal hiring manager, Talk To Talman First. We’ll have you reach a state of complete preparedness through our highly specialized team’s in-depth evaluation of your resume, skill set, interview capabilities and more.

Might Coding Academies Level The Candidate Playing Field?

Posted on April 20, 2020

The machine learning space represents a fast-moving market in light of a number of companies trying to upgrade their technology. New technologies are moving at a much quicker pace than the educational system training people in those new technologies.

The perfect example of this is a platform called React, which was originally developed by Facebook and has become very attractive to companies because it offers a unique functionality for building interactive user interfaces that wasn’t available before. However, few if any colleges with computer science areas are producing people with the background to fully understand and utilize React. Why is that? It might be partly due to there being very few professors focused on this particular subject area. What we can say is the initial release of React was about six years ago and the ones who jumped on teaching it were coding academies. As a result, we now see coding academies positioned to make people without a lot of computer science knowledge almost instantly marketable and command relatively high wages.

Now, I do have to point out that these coding academies tend to select people who have a lot of potential because they emphasize overall capabilities rather than any prior background in computer science. Therefore, if you are someone who went to one of the highly selective colleges and studied Biology but would now like to reposition yourself as a software expert, good coding academies are there to help you with that transition. But make no mistake – they will only train you in the kind of technology that makes you highly marketable right away.
Who would take issue with that? It’s more of a change in mindset in people who have worked in computer science that may be a challenge. You see, a number of technologies have developed over the last 10 years, where the learning curve is not terribly productive.

Talman Advantage #7: We Already Know Many People At The Top

The built-in advantage of being a more specialized recruiter for over three decades is that Roy Talman & Associates established many strong relationships with senior leaders in the C-suite and Director level. How do we truly leverage that? Prior to your interview, we can provide you terrific insight on the person’s background, the questions they’re likely to ask you and even a few clues into why prior candidates were likely rejected.

A recruiter that equips you with more information in advance of the interview? That just might make all the difference – if you talk to Talman first.

For example, it can take up to 10 years of actual practice to become a solid C++ developer. In fact, some people start programming when they’re 12, so by the time they’re 22, they might indeed have 10 years’ experience! It’s a rule of thumb that’s very indicative of Malcolm Gladwell’s “10,000 hours to become an expert.” In the world of C++, you may really need to put in that much.

On the other hand, when technology is brand new, it often doesn’t require anywhere near that long of a learning curve. These people can jump into a work environment right away with that specific skill set and apply their knowledge. Then, over time, they can supplement the comprehension gained in only a few months of coding academy with even more knowledge on computers, operating systems and more.

Consequently, new technologies are breaking the “rule” of learning that many industry veterans have come to know. People diving into new technologies right now don’t have the disadvantage of having to compete with people with 15+ years of experience in that technology because such a person doesn’t exist.

As another example, take CRISPR, a technology that is primarily used to alter DNA sequences so that researchers can potentially address genetic defects and treat certain diseases. You’d expect those dealing with CRISPR would be exclusively the kind of people who work in a research lab, coming up with new bioengineering solutions. Instead, we see people with no PhDs using off-the-shelf tools to work with that kind of technology.

Does this mean code academies will now earn greater respect?

I get asked this question quite a bit and my answer is that, ultimately, respect will be realized when hiring managers are the ones who had firsthand experience with the code academies – either by running them, being trained by them or having positive experience having hired their graduates.

People who go for a traditional education and work for 15 years in a field have a natural inclination to suspect there is less than meets the eye in people who spend less than a year getting their education and practical experience in difficult technologies. They think, “If it took me 15 years to get here, what makes you think you can get here in one year?”

What we will see over time is that people will blend both a traditional background with what they’ve learned in a non-traditional setting, whether it be a code academy or online classes. The more that the hiring managers having a major influence on the final decision are personally experienced using those alternative venues and come to believe that they’ve benefitted from using those venues, the more they’ll believe that someone from that kind of background is indeed valuable.

So, in the context of a new decade we’ve just begun, we have to think, “what’s going to happen along these lines over the next 10 years?”
The short answer is nobody really knows.

But one of the scenarios that would make sense is that, as AI matures and gets to augment other fields of knowledge, AI will make technologies more “user friendly” that have previously been foreboding, complex and difficult. As such, more people will jump in and learn how to use those technologies.

So instead of eliminating workers who are doing certain tasks, what we might see is a dramatic improvement in what these workers are capable of accomplishing.

In a climate where non-traditional learning is becoming ever more relevant and credible, it can be challenging for a highly experienced candidate to know exactly where to turn next to make themselves more marketable.

The answer? It’s not a traditional university. It’s not a coding academy. It’s Roy Talman & Associates. Because when you Talk To Talman First, we can identify the path that aligns best with your career goals so you have a clear picture on your most ideal options. And when you’ve completed that path, Talman can help you prepare for interviews, tests and so much more.

AI As Hiring Manager: Can It Tell You Which Candidate Will Thrive?

Posted on January 13, 2020

There was a big story recently in the Wall Street Journal talking about a company that has interviewed over a million candidates via video on behalf of companies interested in hiring, such as Hyatt Hotel and Goldman Sachs. The company raised $95 million in one round of funding alone.

The particularly bold claim by this company was that they have the artificial intelligence to divide people into three brackets: High Performer, Low Performer and probably Mediocre Performer.

Despite the fact that this approach has its skeptics who say it doesn’t really mean anything, the fact remains that some prominent companies are buying into it. We don’t know what percentage of the decisions they made has been based on that grading, but at a minimum it appears the application using artificial intelligence is impacting real decisions on people getting hired, not getting hired or even being seen or not seen for consideration.

Does this type of technology really work and does it represent a new trend in how you might evaluate your next candidate?

Well, the answer reminds me of a joke that references what makes a good accountant. If the question is, “How much is 2+2,” a good accountant will say, “How much do you want it to be?”

In other words, it depends.

The more uniform and larger the candidate pool, the more I believe you can come up with some kind of usable criteria. If somebody’s going to be a front office person at Hyatt Hotel, by utilizing machine learning and watching facial expressions, you may be able to figure out that somebody who sits with a scowl on their face, doesn’t speak much and doesn’t show any kind of emotional intelligence probably isn’t the right person to be in the front desk.

Conversely, to what degree that will help you choose somebody who might be in purchasing, that’s much harder to say. We suspect that large companies such as Goldman Sachs probably will pay more attention to the actual videos to get the impression of whether the person is likely to be a qualified person for the firm.

Is Video Interviewing Perfect? Of Course Not.

The challenge with some video-type screening tools is that some candidates don’t know what’s coming in advance and will simply freeze because they don’t know how to react to talking to themselves on screen. People find looking at themselves very unnerving and it interferes with the way they engage in the process. With this in mind, what if a candidate is a brilliant person who frequently works alone and will arrive at an answer once they go to their corner and think about it? Might this type of process prematurely or incorrectly screen them out? The answer may depend on the intensity of the environment you have and what’s required of the role.

We have seen quite a few ranking systems that offer ranking based on criteria. A recruiter provides the job qualifications and the system returns and ranks people who match the most likely criteria for the job.

In our case at Roy Talman & Associates, such a system only has so much use because many candidates who are “qualified” are not actively looking. We may not have a plethora of candidates applying for a given job in that moment. In our world, there are very few candidates who are applying a job who are really qualified. Most of the candidates who apply for our jobs are fresh graduates, but we cannot have fresh graduates for these types of high-level positions.

Talman Advantage #5: A Real Partner With A Plan
When a recruiter talks to you on the phone for 20 minutes just once, there’s only so much they know about you beyond the resume. On the other hand, Roy Talman & Associates will work with you to gain a robust understanding of your skill set, goals, work style preferences and more. Then, rather than “blasting” your resume out to the hiring universe with random results, we’ll make a plan with you on what order we will present you to various firms that we feel are a best fit.
Your career deserves more than a quick chat. Partner with a recruiter who can help you feel more in control of the process – as you should be. Talk to Talman first.

Games May Offer Greater Insights Into Candidates

We’ve seen a variety of tests that companies provide candidates, including games they’ve created, that when given to an online usergroup for 15 minutes, are exceptionally telling. The point here is less about artificial intelligence and more about how well your candidate can play a game and how fast they can learn the game. If the game is given to a lot of people, it results in a type of sorting.

Contrast this with some of the most generic questions that you may give a candidate in an interview: “Tell me about your greatest accomplishment.” You can give a candidate three minutes to describe their greatest accomplishment, but chances are you’re just looking at how communicative the person is, whether they can carry on a conversation for two or three minutes and whether their speaking is clear.

Games offer more promise and potential because there are a number of games that can be developed for the type of industry and job.

For example, in the case of the hospitality industry, you don’t want somebody who is a know-it-all and will tell the customer that they’re wrong. You also don’t want somebody who will meekly accept whatever customer says and not challenge anything. You’re looking for somebody who is patient rather than somebody who will lose their cool. Well, guess what? People have designed games specifically to come up with a score for that kind of personality.

Or let’s say it’s a game that tests the candidate as a waiter and it appears they need to handle ten things at once. The speed keeps increasing and how well they can handle it matters. For certain jobs, the ability to handle tasks at a certain level of speed is very indicative of the likelihood of success. A game can also be useful in that it can check for a person’s patience, irritability, ability to handle adverse situations, etc. In this way, you can see how a given candidate reacts much better to a seemingly unsolvable situation.

Even amidst talk about AI facial recognition and analysis, when you look at the actual video of how some companies prepare somebody for taking a test, it shows the games that it will ask candidates to play. These are usually quick reaction, simple puzzle games – which, by the way, aren’t completely new. Football teams have given tests like these to new players but the approach here is online and more interactive.

AI, games and the like can provide a hiring manager like yourself with a certain amount of insights about a candidate, but from our point-of-view, that’s only telling part of the story. Games might cater to some candidates and much less so toward other types of candidates.

The top 1% of the top 1% delivered in front of you, ready to perform at the highest level around what you need. Wouldn’t that make for a far more efficient and productive hiring process? We think so. That’s why technology, financial and consulting firms from Chicago to New York have been turning to Roy Talman & Associates for over 30 years. With a superb understanding of not only any given role but also your management style and culture, you’ll be glad you made the right call to Talk To Talman First.

Are You Truly “Fully Prepared” To Win The Job Race?

Posted on December 11, 2019

You’re about to go into a big interview with a prestigious firm and you feel like you’ve fully prepared for this moment. But…do you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are as prepared as you could be?

What does “fully prepared” truly mean to you?

Consider this: For some types of hiring situations, a candidate will spend up to $8,000 and six weeks on preparation alone.

Does that mean you have to invest the same amount of money and time? Maybe, maybe not, but make no mistake: The Job Race has many participants and only one winner. And in our assessment, most candidates aren’t doing enough to even participate in the race at all.

There is good news, however: You can position yourself far better for success if you have a stronger sense of where you are in the spectrum of preparation, what your competition looks like, what your potential employer requires from you well beyond the job description and what you need to do to close that gap as much as possible.

Let’s take a deeper look inside these and other must-have elements of preparation.

A Better Definition Of “Fully Prepared”

Many candidates, quite frankly, don’t know what “fully prepared” even means until we provide them a true definition of what that road ahead entails. You may not be prepared because you don’t know what you need to be successful through every point of the journey to getting the job.

If you follow our guidance, we believe you’ll be far better prepared for the interview and the company will be evaluating you from the very best vantage point.

Let’s engage in an exercise for a moment. Picture your dream firm to work for. Got it? Now think about what you’re doing there. You’re happy. You’re challenged. You’re collaborating with exceptional colleagues. You can envision making a real impact on the organization not only in your current role but across departments when given the opportunity. It’s what you’ve always imagined for yourself in terms of reaching your true potential. In fact, you wouldn’t be surprised if you exceeded your own expectations of success.

Now – if you wanted to have the best chance of seeing this scenario come to fruition, how much would you be willing to spend in money, time and effort to be prepared the best way you could?

You can now see why the answer among the most committed is, “Whatever it takes.”

Think about it like this in a totally different field where the ultimate preparation is required: An experienced actress doesn’t just show up for an audition and say, “Well, what is it about? What am I going to be tested for? Give me half a page of the script. I know nothing about what’s going on and nothing about the background but that’s OK. I’ll just find the character after reading into it for the first time.

Obviously, it’s not like that in the acting world. In the world of recruitment and hiring, it’s very much the same. At Roy Talman & Associates, our candidates are fully prepared because they are aware of what it takes to win at every key point of The Job Race.

Talman Advantage #4: Better Positioning For Your Best Opportunity
The reality is that, in so many situations, that “perfect job opportunity” may not be formally listed by a company. In that instance, where some may simply fire your resume off to an HR person’s email and hope for the best, Roy Talman & Associates takes a more creative and purposeful approach.
If an opening isn’t currently available that’s an ideal match for you, we’ll discuss the kind of role with you that you would be interested in and potentially prepare and present a very specific case to that particular firm to create a unique role for you. That’s called a recruiter that goes further for you – and why you need to talk to Talman first.

Are You Investing In Yourself Enough?

The more desirable the job is, the more the person will be willing to invest in preparing for the process. However, in a great many cases, they aren’t investing in themselves enough to win The Job Race. They’re frequently doing just enough to participate. It’s a bit like a team that loses a big game but some players did well in some areas so the team claims a “moral victory.” Maybe that’s so, but it’s still not a real victory. The harsh reality is that you don’t get into the Win column for moral victories or learning some things after the opportunity for victory has passed.

A simple example of this is somebody who doesn’t have a current resume and is suddenly asked to apply. Well, there are lots of job posting websites that will cater to somebody with no resume. If somebody stumbles on a website that requires a resume and they don’t have one, if they really want to be considered, they’ll update resume, right? The question is, considering their out-of-date resume, how likely is it that they’ll put in the essential investment of time and resources to develop a sleek, powerful resume that demands attention by the interviewer right away? That’s a longshot.

The challenge is that, in many situations, people will not invest enough of the proper time to showcase their best capabilities to the prospective employer, because it takes a lot of effort.

A polar opposite to this approach is a boot camp for interviewing in California, where they charge $8,000 and it takes six weeks to prepare you for an interview for a software engineer position at a typical Silicon Valley company like Google, Facebook, etc. They say if you want to apply to this kind of a job and don’t work for a direct competitor, after you spend $8,000 and spend six weeks with them, they’ll work with you to prepare you for these interviews.

Note that this is another key element that we consistently factor into our own process with candidates: Not only enhancing your skill set in full preparation for a certain type of role but also fully preparing for the interview based on the specific type of employer.

Now, whether or not you agree with actually spending that kind of time and money to prepare for a job in Silicon Valley, it does give you an idea of what it’s going to take to gain such a role as opposed to, “Oh, I got a call yesterday and it seems like an interesting job. I’ve got 30 seconds between doing a few things, so I’ll apply.”

No matter what methods the prospective employer utilizes to best gauge your intellectual capacity or ability to fit within their particular culture, one thing never changes: The amount of preparation in advance of the interview can mean everything to your success.You probably know you shouldn’t “wing it” or go in lightly prepared, but what you may not realize is how extensive the preparation must be so that you can rise to and secure your place atop a list of candidates. In a world where companies want to gain a sense of your decision-making prowess in certain key situations, we’re very skeptical that depending on a resume alone will ever be enough.

Methods and technologies will change. The need for intense preparation to give yourself the best shot at breaking through will not. Invest in the process and in turn, you’ll be investing in yourself.

Our process at Roy Talman & Associates assumes or works with people who are particularly serious about working toward the best job they can apply for and will do whatever it takes to prepare. This often involves taking tests, bringing their skills up to a more current level and so on. And since we have many strong relationships with the top firms in Chicago and New York, we have an excellent sense of their approach to hiring in advance too. Give yourself the very best opportunity to land the role you were made for. Talk To Talman First.

Are We Really In The “Golden Age” Of Artificial Intelligence?

Posted on December 3, 2019

Last month, I was reading an article in Forbes in which the author claimed that the golden age of Artificial Intelligence (AI) was upon us, confirmed by a survey of more than 1,000 executives. Adoption of AI is up 72% this year compared to 48% last year! 93% of executives say that emerging technologies, including AI, deep learning and machine learning, are helping their businesses be more competitive!

Well…maybe. But let’s get some perspective.

Take a look, for example, at how many companies that have outwardly facing systems which now have speech recognition that allow you to speak into the phone in order to be routed. It could even in some cases say, “Tell me what you want” and then route you. This is a form of AI. Now, is it materially impacting a person’s business? It might be marginally better than the old way of someone pressing one or two on their keypad to get the right person, but that’s not necessarily elevating their business to an entirely new level either.

In some ways, AI is like a very tall building. Just because you can see light in some of the rooms doesn’t mean that the building is fully occupied.

Talman Advantage #6: The Technical Expertise Clients Highly Respect

How many account managers within a recruiting firm have technical PhDs and MSs? Not many. Yet, you’ll find several of them at Roy Talman & Associates, which our clients in the technological space have come to highly respect over the course of 30+ years. No wonder they respond quickly in real time. And when we suggest the creation of a new position just for you, they seriously consider our suggestion at a minimum and frequently call us to discuss further.
See yourself represented from a higher place right from the very beginning. Talk to Talman first.

If we compare this state to 8 years ago when machine learning really came about, the use of AI was close to zero. Yes, we may find that we’re using AI all over today far more than we ever did 8 years ago, but the question is…how much and to what extent?

If our firm is using AI for five percent of what we do, is that progress? Using AI for 80% of what we do would seem much more so. Therefore, the question is not whether you do or do not use AI as the above survey appears to tout. That’s only scratching the surface. Real adoption will be found in the degree of usage as far as how much and how often you are using AI.

For example, just because a manufacturer can produce self-driving cars doesn’t mean the “golden age” of AI is here. We still need people to buy the car. We still need them to engage in it as their primary driving vehicle. We still need them to take it on the highway, put it on autopilot and keep their hands on it until they reach their destination.

When we reach these levels of adoption and usage, then we can brand the day and age we’re in as golden for AI.

In the interim, what we don’t have to debate is whether or not AI is here and here to stay. It is here to stay. It is now only a matter of how large it will scale and how quickly. You can anticipate finding the answer to that out sooner rather than later.

We may not be in the “golden age” of AI just yet, but make no mistake. It’s entirely possible that its impact and that of other related technologies such as machine learning and deep learning could move into a stage of full-fledged adoption and utilization by companies who demand specialized talent. And that’s where you want to be ready to deliver.

Roy Talman & Associates can prepare you to best align with the landscape of AI, including positioning you for new and evolving roles as well as interviewing and test taking best practices. It’s the complete package for elevating your career in the year to come. And you can only find it when you Talk To Talman First.

Bigger Waves Of Data, Bigger Platform For Tech Talent To Shine

Posted on September 27, 2019

There’s plenty of talk about how “smart” machine learning systems are. The problem with these systems is that they’re really narrow – and let me explain what I mean by that term. Let’s take a healthcare environment. With today’s machine learning systems applied in healthcare, if you have just the right pictures of x-rays of a patient who potentially has cancer, the systems are as good as any in analyzing if there is evidence of cancer. The issue is that the systems are still fairly brittle in the sense that if the picture is just the wrong way or from the wrong angle, the system doesn’t work that well. Now, are we getting better all the time with this technology? Certainly. The pace of improvement is likely to be exponential.

According to Google’s Director of Engineering, Ray Kurzweil, the amount of computing dedicated to machine learning is doubling every quarter. We now have a number of effective machine learning algorithms that could potentially be used to solve real life problems but the vast majority of these problems haven’t even been touched yet. There is a lot of room for new machine learning projects to come about that are likely to be successful.

In terms of utilizing systems, there are quite a few schools that are now teaching a Masters in Data Sciences, Machine Learning and so on. Quite often, people who get those degrees find that most of the work associated with machine learning systems is not really the machine learning aspect but rather the data part. The question is: Where do you get the data?

What many companies are realizing is that they need to create an infrastructure that collects and holds greater amounts of data. Imagine that your business situation involves you having so much data that you can’t effectively transmit it. Obviously, you would need to figure out how you’re going to deal with that data. When we talk about the data associated with machine learning, it could require an environment that accepts one petabyte of data (a petabyte is equivalent to a million gigabytes).

Talman Advantage #1: Our Connections Run Deep
Why is it so critical that Roy Talman be the first recruiter you talk to? Before your resume is casually distributed to others, it’s important to understand how valuable it is to work with someone who brings a credible and highly reputable network of hiring managers. We’ve cultivated relationships with these managers for over 30 years – in fact, many of them were our candidates at one point.
But if you distribute a resume before we can leverage such connections to identify the best firm and role for you, it may be very difficult for us to help you further. So before you send out a resume, talk to Talman first!

As an illustration of this complexity, think about how much data your doctor has. In the past, if a doctor didn’t have any particular complex x-rays or other imaging for you, the data that they’d have on you would be very simple. Since the data would be relatively basic (i.e. your blood pressure and other fundamentals), the information would be little more than a couple megabytes. There’s not a lot of data involved.

However, that changes in a hurry when we strive to make sense out of the data that our wearables can collect. Wearables can collect 300 data points per second, 24 hours a day. That’s one heck of a lot more data, wouldn’t you say?

So What Do You Actually Do With That Data?

There’s data that you want to collect as well as the kind of data you need to consume as it happens – a perfect example of the latter being music. With music, typically you’ve got to hear it right now and to consume it, you need a Pandora, Spotify, etc. to help you decide if you like what you’re hearing. There’s no collection involved.

Conversely, Tesla is all about data collection. Their systems are trained to do autonomous driving, which they may not be fully doing yet, but nonetheless, the company is collecting a lot of data. Let’s say you’re on a highway and there’s an accident two cars ahead of you. The car recognizes this instance and slows you down in a hurry – all the while continually collecting that data and then deciding what data to upload to Tesla’s servers.

Now, if you were in the middle of a highway going 70 miles per hour with nobody around you at all, a company doesn’t really need this level of data because it’s not that usable. On the other hand, what if you’re going through a complex intersection with construction and obstructions? That’s a much different story. The company wants to collect all the data that it can so it can throw it into a simulation and learn from how you drove. The data also says a lot about how others would drive through the same environment so that the system can handle it.

The point: Once you realize that complex problems will require so much more data, you need to be in a prime position to absorb that data. Many systems don’t have that capacity right now. So do you wait until you have the complex problems that present data challenges and then enhance your machine learning system? Or do you enhance your system now in anticipation of the massive data that’s coming that it will need to handle?

No matter what you decide, what’s needed above all is the talent to work with a machine learning system and scale its technology. The talent you hire is the conduit that brings all the elements together for key stakeholders. How? By envisioning the amount of increased data coming down the pipe and what your machine learning system will need to handle that higher level of data in a superior way.

Talent of this nature isn’t found just anywhere. It’s identified through the kind of people who have specialized in technical recruiting for years and have a unique process all their own. Roy Talman & Associates is just that firm and we call our process The Talman Way. Discover how this time-tested, multi-faceted approach works to your advantage for sourcing the ideal candidate when you Talk To Talman First.

Is Tech Company Compliance Hurting Small Firms More Than Large Firms?

Posted on September 13, 2019

A certain company you’ve probably heard of called Facebook was fined $5 billion recently and it’s understandably causing a great amount of chatter across the country. Is the hammer going to drop on big companies in the tech space now that it came down on Facebook?

The answer may surprise you.

I actually see the massive fine to Facebook as a very positive development for very large companies and a very negative development for smaller companies. The ruling basically implies that if you do something that somebody else could find wrong, the hammer’s going to come on you.

Now, the real question is: Who could withstand the hammer? You know the answer to that one. The Googles. The Facebooks. The Amazons. The Microsofts. The IBMs. All gigantic corporations who can take a $5 billion hit without it causing the end of the company.

However, if you’re running a much smaller firm (like so many of us), you can’t afford to build a gigantic system in the name of preserving compliance, privacy, etc. that will keep track of everything consistently and just right. While there is a perception that somehow extreme regulation is going to primarily hurt the large Internet companies, a recent study of the impact of the European privacy regulation reveals that the regulation may be hurting smaller companies even more.

Here’s a good example of what I’m talking about. Yes, companies big and small have to comply with regulations. But let’s look at the difference. When you visit a website of a small company for the first time, you may likely see a message that reads, “I understand this website puts cookies into my computer.” If you’re not sure what the website is and you use it very seldomly, you may be prone to say “no.”

However, if you’re using Google, do you even think about the implications of using it? Of course not. It’s an automatic “yes” to everything Google gives you, unless you take the time to adjust your settings.

Talman Advantage #10: Stronger Negotiating Power On Your Side
The terms of your employment aren’t to be taken lightly. With our 30+ years of industry expertise, Roy Talman & Associates has a keen eye for detail during negotiations. In fact, if the help of an attorney is required for this purpose, we can suggest one. Can any recruiter offer the same result?
Don’t wonder about the outcome. Stand with a recruiter who has the track record to negotiate firmly in your favor. Make the right call and talk to Talman first.

In addition, there are a lot of machine learning systems that need to keep track of privacy and more due to regulations. But what if your computing department is a part-timer who is getting their Associate’s degree in Economics? Uh oh. It’s going to be hard to meet the compliance standard because the standard is really set up for companies of a grand scale such as Google, Facebook and Microsoft. These large companies can afford to spend billions of dollars in terms of technology and extra people to watch what’s going on from a compliance perspective. Therefore, the more regulations you have, the more you will block smaller companies from ever competing or challenging the large ones. That’s not necessarily what people have in mind when they ask for regulation, but that’s essentially what they’ll wind up getting.

In fact, just as the $5 billion fine for Facebook was announced, their stock went up. Its stock is close to an all-time high. You’d have thought the opposite, right? Well, consider what we’re talking about. It’s $5 billion in fines for a company worth close to $500 billion. Facebook just announced that they had revenue of approximately $20 billion last quarter. The fine, while certainly hefty, is not going to hurt Facebook any more than a $300 million athlete being fined $20,000. The fine is large but consider how much more they have in the way of company finances to absorb that blow without even flinching.

In the meantime, this climate of compliance most likely guarantees that there will be higher and higher barriers to entry for new companies. The EU had the best of intentions in fighting the behavior of the world’s largest companies by introducing regulation, the reality is that their moves on the compliance front dramatically assisted those large companies by blocking many small companies from entry to the market or enjoying sustainable growth while effectively killing off quite a few of them.

In our current day and age, compliance in the name of privacy protection, sharing data and the like is understandable. Companies like Facebook should be held to high ethical standards. But when you ask small companies to have the manpower and systems to comply with resources that favor larger companies, you’re potentially altering the competitive playing field in a dramatic way.

Winning the battle for superior and rare technical talent in the midst of changing industry requirements isn’t getting any easier, especially in the machine learning realm.

But when you Talk To Talman First, you’re putting your company in position to hire the kind of quality talent that understands compliance matters and can maintain your growth momentum. We’ve been delivering the top 1% of the top 1% for over 30 years in counting. To know where they are across Chicago and New York as well as how they can potentially fit into your culture, give Roy Talman & Associates a call today at 312.425.1300.

With New Technologies, What Makes A True Expert?

Posted on July 22, 2019

The word “expert,” is one that’s used by many but it’s hard to say that any of us can definitively agree on what does and does not make an expert. The closest I’ve heard is the definition from Malcolm Gladwell: It takes 10,000 hours of learning to become an expert.

However, when we use this metric against our newest technologies, it would take about five years to become an expert – but with the relatively young lifespan thus far of these technologies, how can we say anybody is an expert in them? Adding to this complexity is the fact that some people in the field will think, “Well, if it takes 10,000 hours to be an expert, I’m not sure I want to spend an entire five years to find out if it’s worth that.”

The good news: You may not need five years to be an expert after all.

Let me explain: There are certain people who have a tremendous edge with the speed in which they can learn. If you happen to be one of them, you not only have the capacity for learning but you have the speed to reach the cutting edge of thinking in regard to a specific technology.

Those who received their Nobel Prizes in physics 100 years ago were typically in their 20s. These days, people who get their Nobel Prize in physics are typically in their 40s or 50s. That’s how long it takes to get to the cutting edge.

Still, physics is what I’d describe as a relatively slow-moving science. Machine learning is the fastest developing science. You need to increase the speed in how you learn because you need to figure out how to move the learning curve and stay close to the cutting edge, if not actually be on the cutting edge. And there is continually room for growth in this area of knowledge.

Talman Advantage #9: A Smoother Transition Into The New Environment
Thanks to close rapport with senior managers and relationships with clients that have lasted for many years, Roy Talman & Associates has the in-depth knowledge of a firm’s work atmosphere that few can bring to the table.
As a result, we can often provide guidance on what to expect from the culture you’re about to join, which hopefully makes your integration into that environment all the more seamless.
Make your first days in a new role better than you ever expected by talking to Talman first.

To illustrate the difference, consider a totally different area of learning, such as learning to play the violin. Once someone learns how to play the violin, it’s on a permanent level, isn’t it? No matter what kind of violin, whether it’s one that’s five years old or 300 years old, one could argue that the amount of new knowledge of how to play violin is reasonably limited.

On the other hand, the amount of new knowledge on how to deploy computing in any and every form is constantly growing and accelerating. That’s what causes some software developers to get ahead of others and earn more. It’s not that they currently have a level of knowledge that’s so far ahead of everybody else. It’s that they will stay so much ahead of everybody else for the next 10 years. It’s also that they will be able to continually solve problems faster than others. It’s a well-known fact that in fields such as software or hardware design, these types of people could enjoy 10 to 30 times higher productivity than others. Speed and the long-term consistency of solving problems faster is the combination that real experts must have.

Therefore, the modern definition of an expert is not static. You may look at someone and think that person is an expert simply because they know more than 99% of the population. But that’s only the beginning of a definition. The real answer will come over the next 10 years and whether or not the person who stays in a special category of being more knowledgeable in the latest things today can continue to do so a decade from now. That’s what makes them an enduring expert.

You may or may not need 10,000 hours to become an expert but even before that point, you likely need to find clarity on which of the many emerging technologies you should make a concerted effort toward learning. That’s why a conversation with Roy Talman & Associates can help chart the course for the next chapter in your technical career and enlighten you on the opportunities for growth that lie ahead.

So make sure you’re dedicating your expertise to the right technological area at just the right time. Turn to the name with over 30 years of experience in helping the very best in technical talent to do just that. Talk To Talman First.

Two Underrated And Big Opportunities For Interview Success

Posted on July 15, 2019

At our firm, we have a real process called “The Talman Way” that’s fairly extensive but nonetheless vital to the ideal fit between candidate and client we’re striving to achieve. When a technical candidate has reached a certain point later in that process, they’ve often taken a series of tests we’ve given them as practice for the real thing they might be asked to take as part of the interview. However, we can’t forget the other aspect of that phase – interviewing.

Think about this – let’s say we’ve given you some of these tests to do on your own time and you’ve performed quite well. Excellent! But now it’s time for you to shine in person in front of your potential employer – and the reality may be that you have some work to do in that area to help you establish a personal connection with the interviewer.

So how do you prepare?

Beyond our tests and appropriately practicing with them, there are two important aspects that are often underrated for the role they might play in your interviewing success:

1. Answers On Video

Some companies have started using video in their interview process – whether asking the candidate to answer questions on video in advance or in real time.

Frankly, this can throw some people for a loop and completely fluster them. Even people who have done plenty of traditional interviews. But if you can master the art of video interviewing, you might put some distance between yourself and the next several candidates in line.

If you’re not used to how you appear on video, the only way to truly practice may be to answer questions looking at yourself in the mirror during a length of time. Are there any moments where you’re not making proper eye contact, using your hands too much, saying “um” too many times, etc.? Now is the time to practice and clean that up to the point of where the answers come off more smoothly and you feel far more comfortable. You won’t know exactly what you’re going to be asked in advance but getting yourself to this level of calm and poise with your answers will prepare you for those moments in the real interview where you may have to think of something quick to say and deliver a solid response.

2. Presentation Skills

In other instances, you may be expected to make a presentation. This could be something you’ve done before, a business plan you’ve put together or something similar.

Here again, regardless of the presentation itself, doing at least a few practice runs –and probably many more – is a tremendous opportunity to display your understanding of the company’s business, the role you’re going for, etc. If you want to be more thorough, film and watch yourself. Then you’ll be in a position to say, “OK. At this particular point I was hesitant and here I could improve this way or that way.”

Talman Advantage #8: True Help To Hit The Ground Running
With an offer coming, do you have a solid understanding of what you’ll be doing in the first 6 months? The first year? Having placed a variety of senior people at each client’s firm, Roy Talman & Associates can help you clarify a whole lot about the environment you’re about to join, your role and the true expectations of your new manager.
A recruiter without the overwhelming credibility that we have may not be able to shed as much light on what’s in store for you on Day 1 and beyond. So get the insight you need and talk to Talman first.

For the presentation itself, take a lesson from Apple and the master of all presentations, Steve Jobs.

Typically, Jobs had a 20/20 rule in which his presentation was 20 minutes long and he would run through 20 rehearsals. Just like Jobs, your first 10 rehearsals are at the point where things are be changed and tinkered with. That’s natural, so recognize that phase for what it is and allow yourself to be less than perfect. That comes in the last 10 rehearsals, where you are making sure the presentation is as smooth, relaxed or as spontaneous an appearance as possible.

Apple still uses this same kind of format today and everybody else is learning from it.

Similarly, check out Guy Kawasaki’s 10/20/30 Rule, which advocates for no more than 10 slides in no more than 20 minutes and using no less than a 30 point font on every slide. Kawasaki worked at Apple for a number of years and was a key voice of influence there.

You may also benefit from viewing Ted Talks, which has a set format of around 18 minutes and features a variety of presenters who have undoubtedly practiced their talk many times, considering that they’re filmed and the video will be shared on YouTube. There’s no way in the world you’d want to “wing it” on a Ted Talk.

The key to interviewing success is leaving no stone unturned. Because there’s no such thing as too much preparation. Roy Talman & Associates can give you the game plan that combines all the essential elements of what you need to know – refining your resume, crafting an effective pitch on your behalf, launching an internal referral campaign, test taking practice and of course, aspects of effective interviewing like the video and presentation pieces above. There’s too much at stake to go it alone. So give yourself the very best opportunity to shine when you Talk To Talman First.