Glenmont Group Summer Fun Concludes with the Annual BBQ

Front Row Left to Right: Mary Pat Renois, Kate Potters, Dana Fink, Michael Potters, Eric Martinez
Back Row Left to Right: Adam Weissman,Geoff Zodda, Adam Malanaphy, Joe Alonzo

Posted by Dana Fink, Director of Staffing

As the days grow shorter and we trade our bathing suits and flip flops for fleece jackets and denim jeans, I will take this opportunity to share our “family photo” with you from this years Glenmont Group Barbecue.

Complete with a little known delicacy of “fresh” Best Provisions Private Lable hot dogs, cold beer and lots of laughs, we had 100% attendance and more fun than a barrel of monkeys.

Packup you summer clothes, donate what you can’t or won’t wear to charity, and reflect on your favorite summer memory.

Hello? Hello! Anyone Out There? Why You Never Hear Back

Posted by Dana Fink, Director of Staffing at Glenmont Group

The most common complaint we hear on a day-to-day basis is when a candidate sends out resumes during a search, they never hear back. Applying  to positions through a company’s website or job portal is often compared to sending resumes into a “black hole”.

Some ways to avoid /overcome this are:

• Do some investigation on LinkedIn. See if you have any personal connections to potential hiring managers, at the minimum get a contact name to send your information to.
• Use a recruiter to act as your talent agent. They have personal connections and have the ear of hiring managers and HR contacts to highlight your strengths as they apply to a specific job.
• Have a clear and concise message in a cover email. Lengthy cover letters with broad sweeping statements of how wonderful you are and excited about the opportunity are pointless. Have a few key bullets that DIRECTLY correlate to the opening at hand.
• Luck and timing have to be on your side. Replying to old postings in hopes that the position is still open will probably not net the best results.

I welcome reader’s comments on their own experiences—

In addition, I found the following tips on Glassdoor.com insightful-

5 Reasons Why You Never Hear Back After Applying For A Job

Meghan M. Biro, Glassdoor

Read more: http://www.glassdoor.com/blog/top-5-reasons-hear-applying-job/#ixzz25bbHV55O

People  often wonder why they never hear anything back after they hit ‘send’ on the  email with a resume attached or on the on-line job application. If you’re very  lucky, you might have a preliminary email exchange with a recruiter and then  never hear from them again.

It’s a depressing experience, and one which also casts a shadow on the  hiring company’s reputation. So why does it happen? Is it you, is it them, or is  it just something every candidate must prepare for in the hiring  process?

There’s no question job seekers face an uphill climb. High unemployment  nationally means more competition for every position; according to a January  2012 article in the Wall  Street Journal, Starbucks “… attracted 7.6 million job applicants over the past 12 months for about 65,000  corporate and retail job openings…”

An oft-cited recruiter’s complaint is that as many as 50 percent of people  applying for a given  job simply aren’t qualified. Adding to the challenge, most  large companies – and many  smaller ones – use talent-management software to screen resumes,  weeding out up to 50 percent of applicants before a human even looks at a resume  or cover letter. The deck is definitely stacked against the job seeker. So how  do you break through?

Here are my top 5 reasons you’re not hearing back after applying for a job,  with five suggestions for ways to avoid the Resume Black Hole.

Why You Never Hear Back:

1. You really aren’t qualified. If a job description  specifies a software developer with 3-5 years of experience and you’re a recent  graduate with one internship, it’s unlikely you’ll get a call. Avoid  disappointment – don’t apply for jobs for which you lack qualifications. Most  job descriptions are written with very specific requirements. Yes, the company  is trying to find the most qualified candidate; yes, they are trying to weed  people out. It’s not personal, it’s business.
2. You haven’t keyword-optimized your resume or  application. Job descriptions are salted with keywords specific to  the skills or attributes the company seeks in applicants. A close read of the  job description is a necessity, as is keyword-optimizing your resume and cover  letter, if you’re using one, or email. If the job description lists words in a  certain order, e.g. a list of programming languages required, use the same order  in your resume.
3. Your resume isn’t formatted properly. You might think  distinctive formatting will set your resume apart, but automated programs don’t  care if a document is pretty. Help a machine out. Be consistent in formatting – consider using separate lines for former employer, job title, and years  worked.
4. Your resume is substantially different from your online  profile. LinkedIn, Dice and other online  profile sites can be useful tools, so it‘s important to make sure they match  what’s on your resume. This may seem to be a contradiction – in #1 I advised  keyword optimization – but it’s really common sense. Jobs worked, employers,  years on the job and other details should match. The subtext here is  always tell the truth.
5. The company received 500 resumes for one job posting, and yours was  499^th in. Looking for a job is a  job. Do your research – know which companies you want to work for, organizations  where you sense culture fit. Every morning scour the job postings and jump on  anything for which you’re qualified (and in which you’re interested.) Being  early with your resume or application does matter. Check back  often in the first few days to make sure the listing hasn’t changed. Often a  company will post a job and halfway through the process change the  description.

It’s hard to game the system. Your best bet is still a personal referral, and  even that may not be enough to get a call. A guy I know gave his resume to a  woman who worked at a company where a good job had been posted. He received an  automated email noting his resume had been received but never heard another  word. After a month he asked his friend to check with the recruiter. It turned  out the job description had changed, but the recruiter never bothered to let the  referring employee – or the applicant – know. This isn’t unusual, unfortunately.  So what can you do?

How You Can Get Noticed:

1. Research interesting companies on social media. Find  out who the recruiters are and follow them. Many will tweet new postings, so  watch their streams and jump on anything for which you are qualified. And if  they tweet news saying the company’s had a great quarter, retweet the news with  a positive comment.
2. Consider starting a blog in your area of interest or  expertise. It’s a social world; time to build a trail of  breadcrumbs leading to you. Include the blog, and links to any especially  relevant posts, in your emails to recruiters with whom you’re working.
3. Get professional help with your resume. Either a  resume writer or an SEO expert can help you increase your odds of getting  through the talent management software. If you can’t afford this step, read the  top career blogs for advice.
4. If at all possible, don’t wait until you’re out of work to find your  next job. I realize for many people this isn’t possible or might  even be offensive, but your chances of finding the next job are best when you’re  still employed.
5. Network. Old advice, but still true. Be visible, be upbeat,  be informed about industry trends and news in your area of expertise.

Finding a job is tough, no question. I’ve talked to other recruiters who say  they only respond to 30 percent of applicants. The odds are good you’ll be in  the 60+ percent who hears nothing a lot of the time. Don’t take it personally – it’s not a rejection of you, it’s a reflection of the times. If you don’t hear  back, know you’re not alone.

Read more: http://www.glassdoor.com/blog/top-5-reasons-hear-applying-job/#ixzz25bakRF69

3 Time Savers That Have Changed My Life

Posted by Kate Potters, COO at Glenmont Group

As a working Mom of 4, with a busy recruiting business, I sometimes feel that it’s a miracle that anything gets done. Since starting our business 12 years ago, my husband/business partner and I have used every tool at our disposal to make things work. There are 3 simple things that have been a tremendous help.
Number 1: Grocery Shopping Online
While we used to spend 2-3 hours a week walking the aisles and waiting on line, it now takes 30 minutes tops. As I’m shopping online, I can look up a recipe and buy all the right ingredients or check the fridge to see if we’re out of milk (we usually are). It’s also been a money saver since you eliminate most impulse buys and can easily sort prices low to high. Every year, my family spends a week at the Jersey Shore and we wasted half a day at the grocery shore. (Seriously, it’s not all Snooki and beach bars, we go to the other Jersey Shore, Long Beach Island. If you want to see some beautiful homes click here www.beneescola.com.) This year we discovered that Peapod offers delivery there. What a wonderful thing to be relaxing on the beach and get a text that your groceries have arrived, go to the house, meet the delivery person and be back on the beach 15 minutes later!
Number 2: Outlook’s Email Calendar
I put everything on my calendar. It’s a to-do list, interview tracker and soccer practice reminder all-in-one. The best part about it is the ability to invite others to the appointment and set an alarm. We have a Percolator at work-yes they still make them. Once or twice we forgot to unplug it, which is not good. I added an alert on my calendar and invited one or two other coffee drinkers in the office. Now I can sleep at night, knowing we’re not going to burn the building down.
Number 3: Banking Online
I started using this for work and then decided to handle personal banking this way as well. It not only saves time but also helps for budgeting. I haven’t used the photo deposit feature yet but why not. I’ll do just about anything to avoid waiting in line at the bank.
If you have some time saving tips to share, please add a comment below.

The Employment Drought May Be Getting Better…Despite Other News

Posted by Dana Fink, Director of Staffing at Glenmont Group

A fishing sign in at one of the dry pools at the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge in Hudson, Kansas

There is a drought across 55% of the US and we have certainly been feeling the heat here in New Jersey.  Brown grass and packed town pools are a common sight. While the heat wave has hit most of the US, there were some silver linings in the dark clouds of employment news. We have recently seen an uptick in activity here at Glenmont Group in what is usually a dry summer season. Maybe it has something to do with the employment news that has hit most recently

Lucia Mutikani

WASHINGTON | Thu Aug 9, 2012 10:40am EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits fell last week while the trade deficit in June was the smallest in 1-1/2 years, hopeful signs for the struggling economy.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 361,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday, suggesting a modest improvement in the jobs market.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims rising to 370,000 last week. The four-week moving average of new claims, a better measure of labor market trends, rose 2,250 to 368,250.

A second report from the Commerce Department showed the shortfall on the trade balance narrowed 10.7 percent to $42.9 billion, the smallest since December 2010, as low oil prices curbed imports.

That was way below economists’ expectations for a $47.5 billion deficit. The petroleum import bill fell as the average price per barrel of crude oil dropped by the most since January 2009.

Paul Dales, senior economist at Capital Economics in Toronto, said the jobless claims data suggested labor market conditions were “fairly stable.”

“The pick-up in jobs growth in July may therefore be sustained in August,” he said.

Nonfarm payrolls increased 163,000 in July, the most in five months, after three months of gains below 100,000. But the unemployment rate rose by a tenth of a percentage point to 8.3 percent.

Last week’s report was the first in several weeks not affected by auto plant shutdowns, which caused wide swings in claims in July, making it difficult to get a clean read of the jobs market.

The Opportunity you ALMOST Overlooked!

Posted by Adam Malanaphy, Project Coordinator at Glenmont Group

Have you ever had the feeling that things just aren’t quite right at work? Perhaps your commission plan has been reduced, your favorite manager has just left, or you simply feel that you are not getting the recognition that you deserve. So, you arrive at the conclusion that it is now time to possibly make a move. Whether you decide to embark on this journey alone or using a recruiter it can be a daunting task.

As the job search begins, one often looks toward the most visible organizations within his or her competitive landscape. These organizations are likely to be cash healthy, mature, and stable in nature. Although these organizations have generated a certain allure amongst your peers, a question emerges. Is this company right for me?

I am a recruiter at the Glenmont Group, specializing in the eDiscovery space. Throughout the progression of my career within recruiting I have developed a relatively unbiased overview of the talent that composes the industry, and where these skillsets are most likely to thrive. Upon finding a strong candidate that is actively seeking new opportunities I am often compelled to begin by asking the candidate if there are any organizations that have attracted their attention. I often notice that the candidate has narrowed the realm of possibilities by pigeon-holing themselves to one specific type of organization. For example, a candidate may say they are looking for a company that provides the opportunity to influence high level technology decisions and then mention the largest player in the space. The problem here is that although this “big player” is thriving, their size prohibits candidates of this level from accessing the proposed level of decision making. Here at Glenmont Group, we have been trained to take a consultative approach and recommend a smaller organization that affords any employee the opportunity to have the ear of their CEO. For some candidates it may be more valuable to be a big fish in a small pond.

After taking the information provided above into consideration one must understand that it can be difficult to notice the best option for them due to the fact that their opinion is intrinsically biased. Of course, this is not always the case, but there is great value to be achieved through an outside opinion. I have worked with many candidates that have initially overlooked a certain organization only to find that it was the best option for them. Finding a new opportunity is never an easy task which is why it is important to utilize all of the tools that are available, especially services that are free of charge!

 

Law Firm Help Desk: To Outsource or Not To Outsource

Written by Geoff Zodda, Managing Director at Glenmont Group

The rapid evolution of legal technology over the last 10 years has forced partners and executives at law firms of all sizes to address organizational efficiency challenges. Tough decisions to insure stability, reputation, and sustainability both internally and in the industry abroad need to be taken. The Help Desk within Legal IT departments has long been the target of scrutiny during difficult financial periods, and in a recent informal survey, 25% of the AmLaw 200 Firms stated they have outsourced Help Desk functions. Some firms have outsourced their overnight and weekend shifts, while others have outsourced their whole support group. Besides considering the present and future financial impact of utilizing external resources for these functions, law firms also have to weigh any potential long-term effects it may have on the IT department.

Law firms considering the outsourcing model have to assess factors such as, “Will the outsourcing company have a sense of urgency on our behalf? Will they be dedicated to giving our attorneys and our users the best support possible? Are they going to be a customer advocate?” Not only are they taking into account the outsourcing organization’s overall commitment to service, but equally as important is determining if outsourcing reduces headcount while yielding a positive bottom line financially. Once their diligence has determined that the outsourcing company has the ability to support their needs in a timely manner, has a documented record of strong resolution percentage, will save the firm money, and can make the users feel comfortable with the team, the firm will most likely move forward with the outsourcing process. Barry Keno, CEO of the Legal IT consulting and outsourcing firm Keno Kozie Associates, states, “Help Desk is one of the aspects within IT that a firm can outsource successfully without compromising the integrity of their IT environment.”

There are two scenarios for firms evaluating the level of their need to outsource: Outsource Help Desk functions full time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or simply outsource the after-hours work or overflow. Firms who commit to full time outsourcing make a serious statement about the volume of workflow compared to the cost of retaining in-house personnel to accommodate that work, as the firm is more or less exchanging a familiar group for an outside party, not knowing exactly who the users will be speaking with or working with as a daily resource. Most firms who are inclined to outsource, tend to hire a vendor to manage their overnight and overflow support, as there are a lot less calls from users during this time frame, and thus less risk to the firm.

Executives from three of the most successful outsourcing firms provided some insight into the prevailing reasons why firms choose to outsource their Help Desk, either full-time or after-hours. Lance Waagner, CEO of Intelliteach, Inc., states, “Firms are able to get more strategic with the rest of their IT if they outsource their Help Desk. [In fact] I originally wanted to outsource my after-hours desk as CIO of Kilpatrick Stockton in the 90’s.” Keno suggests, “Firms struggling with staffing stability, turnover within Help Desk, and do not have the depth of knowledge within the department, are the most likely candidates to outsource the whole group.” He continues, “If the vendor is doing a good job, it’s one less thing to worry about within your department, as it runs by itself.” Another benefit to engaging specialized outsourcing firms in this area is they have encountered practically every situation and have a response plan intact, plus, they know exactly what resources are needed, and how to properly run a Help Desk, all according to the firm’s size. Waagner agrees, saying, “We’ll provide Level 1, 2, and 3 [support] for our clients and put the proper number of resources and headcount for the firm’s group to be successful.” Greg Bartnicki, VP Client Services for Williams Lea, has clients who identify the health of the overall user experience as a major reason to outsource a department. He proposes, “You can transform your support group from good to great by outsourcing. Our solution is very structured – employing ITIL methodology, benchmarking to ensure continuous improvement, and leveraging an internal Williams Lea ‘Community of Practice’. Our goal is not only be efficient with our service delivery, but to continually engage the user and IT community, which enables us to tailor our going-forward strategy. This approach allows us to fully support complex needs of the users, and establish best-in-class IT support.

With these vendors doing a stellar job managing these relationships and generating such positive results, why wouldn’t all firms want to outsource their Help Desk groups? What assurances do law firms have that their needs are better served by a group of individuals whose performance and results are managed primarily by contractual obligation, rather than by a similar, firm-employed support staff with a truly vested interest in providing successful service and problem resolution? Anthony Figueroa, IT Support Manager for Littler Mendelson, P.C., points out, “Communication needs to be tremendous if you are going to think about outsourcing your help desk and make sure you are not just one of their many clients. More often than not, individuals working internally within help desk are more committed to the tasks at hand, understand the needs of the organization better, and the turn-around time is quicker.” Yolanda Muhammad, Support Manager for Olgetree Deakins, P.C. and its 40 national offices, furthers this sentiment purporting, “If your audience is the type that needs a lot of desktop support, requiring individuals to be hands-on and accessible at all times, you may not want to outsource. It all depends upon the law firm’s corporate culture and how mature they are in centralizing service management and utilizing ITIL standards.” Other law firms opposed to outsourcing have cited anticipated difficulties in transitioning a support group back to an in-house situation after being moved fully to an external organization. Of additional concern, with security and privacy being of the utmost importance for law firms, giving outside vendors access to internal and proprietary systems, even at the support level, poses a potentially significant risk to information integrity.

Please Don’t Tell Me About Yourself — Behavioral Interviews

Posted By Dana Fink, Director of Staffing at Glenmont Group

Managers have a very important job in today’s business environment. Interviewing and selecting the right personnel are two of the most critical things they must do to reach organizational goals. The hiring decisions made today will influence their organizationfor years. Developing a profile of the behaviors you want your employees to exhibit is a critical component of the selection process. Many managers utilize a behaviorial interview as a way to measure future actions employees will make If hired. This behavioral-based interviewing program was developed by Dr. Paul C.Green, president of the consulting firm Behavioral Technology, located in Memphis. Dr. Green created this selection process through his human resources experiences with a broad range of organizations. The approach reflects his strong belief that scientific research can be combined with practical experience to provide a meaningful way to conduct employee selection.

 The article below gives a short synopsis of this meaningfull hiring tool

By: Mark Murphy, author of Hiring for Attitude (McGraw-Hill, 2011)

A seismic shift from skill to attitude has taken place in the hiring world. Technical proficiency, once a guarantee of lifetime employment, has become commoditized in today’s job market. Between the global labor market and the high unemployment of the Great Recession, there’s a large supply of technically-qualified candidates for almost every available job.

Job skills are necessary, but they’re not sufficient.  It’s attitude — not skill — that is the best predictor of new hire success. In a Leadership IQ study of 20,000 new hires over a three-year period, 46% failed within their first 18 months.  And 89% of the time they failed because of attitudinal reasons; technical skills barely made the list.

Hiring for Attitude How are the best companies hiring for attitude? First, savvy leaders identify the specific attitudes that create success in their unique cultures and environments.

We call these key attitudes “Brown Shorts” — a strange name that pays homage to Southwest Airlines and their culture of fun.

Brown Shorts draws from a story I heard from a former Southwest executive about a round of hiring for new pilots (typically serious folks dressed formally). The Southwest interviewer invited this serious bunch to get comfortable in a pair of Bermuda shorts (brown in our story).

The shorts were part of the Southwest summer uniform, but it was an invitation that seemed too ridiculous for many of the pilots who immediately declined the shorts. And that told Southwest that these folks may be great pilots, but they just weren’t going to fit a fun-loving culture.

Now, just because you put on the shorts was no guarantee of a job, but it was a good indication that you just might fit their fun attitude.

Your Brown Shorts probably won’t to be “fun.” But they will be a list of the key attitudes that define your best people and your worst people. And when you model your interview questions around those Brown Shorts, you’ll discover who will (and won’t) succeed in your organization.

To hire for attitude, you’ve also got to interview for attitude. And that means ditching interview questions that don’t help you assess candidates’ attitude. For instance, the best interviewers no longer ask:

• Tell me about yourself.
• What are your strengths?
• What are your weaknesses?

These questions are too vague, inviting canned answers that don’t reveal attitude. (If every candidate gives the same answers to a question, it’s not worthwhile asking).

Behavioral Interview Questions So-called behavioral interview qustions  are also often ineffective for assessing attitude. Yes, asking about past behavior can work, but most behavioral questions contain a “tip off” that tells candidates how to give you the “right” answer.

The main issue with behavioral questions is that they rob you of your chance to find out if someone is a ‘problem bringer’ or a ‘problem solver.’ Let’s say you ask a candidate a pretty typical behavioral question: “Tell me about a time when you had to adapt to a difficult situation.”

This question may sound fine, but the word “adapt” ruins it. That single word signals that you only want to hear about a time the candidate “adapted” (instead of the hundreds of times they failed to adapt).

In the case of true high-performer candidates, these folks have plenty of examples to share that describe a time when they successfully ‘adapted’ to a difficult situation.

If you asked them about a time they “faced” a difficult situation, they’re naturally going tell you not only about the difficult situation, but also about how they adapted to it. For high performers, it’s practically impossible to even imagine ‘facing’ a difficult situation without also successfully ‘adapting’ to it.

But for problem bringers (low performers), the word ‘adapted’ renders this interview question ineffective. Problem bringers have faced countless difficult situations. But it’s unlikely they’ve successfully adapted to any of them.

In fact, the times they successfully ‘adapted’ probably constitute such a tiny fraction of the times they ‘faced’ difficult situations that it wouldn’t even occur to them to search their mental database and find an instance where it happened. And that’s something you want to know about.

But when you introduce a leading interview question, you’re not giving them the chance to disclose that information.

Just remember that attitude is the key driver of new hire success. And if you’re willing to rethink your hiring process to discover if your candidates have the right attitude, your hiring success will skyrocket.

The Importance of IT Trainers in Law Firm Environments

Written by Geoff Zodda, Managing Director at Glenmont Group

One of the more understated positions within a law firm tends to be the “Good Ole” IT Trainer. They do their respective jobs day in and day out, yet do not get much press for the importance they have at the firm. A decent number of users with whom the trainers work on a weekly basis do not realize what comprises a day in the life of a trainer. In between teaching classes, whether via WebEx, Classroom, or a one-on-one setting, trainers have major responsibilities that make up a far greater percentage of their workday than one would think.

It is often your IT Trainer who serves as the backup at the help desk should there be a shortage of individuals for the demand at one time. They are often tasked with developing curriculum, cheat sheets, and training manuals and materials for the firm. Trainers are heavily relied upon to research and study on a variety of software, hardware, and the latest technology trends, and to be the encyclopedia of general IT knowledge, so they can effectively engage and educate their audience.

One would struggle to count the number of different hats IT Trainers wear over the course of a single workday at the firm, let alone throughout the life of their training careers. A person with those constant and diverse responsibilities, with the personality to know how to regularly and effectively communicate with users of varying technical understanding, and who is relied upon by potentially thousands of employees to be the resident expert in an ever-changing environment like legal IT, has got to be one of the more well-regarded roles within a law firm’s IT group, right? Wrong. With all of that reliance and dependence on one role, why are IT Trainers seemingly so undervalued in law firms?

We asked trainers, users, and management to help explain how this became an unfortunate trend in the law firm industry. One explanation, which seems to be the consensus amongst the law firm community, is that since the users are so busy, and may only spend a few hours over the course of weeks or months with a particular Trainer, they may not be aware of the greater impact IT Trainers can have on a firm.

Jennifer Holehouse, Co-Founder of the Washington Trainers Forum, spoke with us about what makes Trainers so important to a law firm, commenting, “In-house law firm trainers are generally going to be able to spend time learning direct business needs and the workflow of the practice, and be able to customize learning modules to use technology to streamline and boost productivity. In contrast, out of the box training or e-learning won’t have the same positive impact on productivity – although they can be a good supplement to custom learning. The fact is most jobs will require some type of training in order for people to do the job correctly.” Bryan Gehle, Director of Applications at Howrey LLP, feels that law firms tend to misunderstand how to assign value to IT Trainers, suggesting, “Trainers don’t typically fall under IT Department/CIO cost structure. Therefore, the cost to employ Trainers that are then leveraged for IT Support seems high, unjustified or misplaced.” Understanding the flaw in this logic, Gehle counters, “Trainers are important because they typically can answer the ‘how to’ questions that get asked of [potentially higher-paid] tier 2 and tier 3 resources. However, Trainers should train tier 1/help desk support analysts or provide tier 0 [self help] documentation [that is] easily accessible by users. IT Trainers often become the ’face’ of technology. As such, they become the first point of contact for future questions/incidents, which may by-pass any tier 1/Help Desk channels that aren’t well established. When this happens, user questions [are not] captured and therefore no statistical data is available to justify their work or value to the organization.”

There are many challenges for IT Trainers in a law firm environment, but the two most common ones go hand-in-hand. First, and foremost, the users (i.e. the attorneys, litigation support staff, finance departments, etc.) are strapped for time with their day-to-day and ad hoc responsibilities, so fitting in a training class or webinar into their full, and often over-extended, schedules is not normally on the top of their priority list. Unless the firms’ leadership or departmental management mandates it, IT Trainers have to work to coordinate the varying schedules of the audience they are attempting to teach.

Once a Trainer has a captive audience, the next hurdle is helping the users to realize the short- and long-term benefits that training offers, and the impact it will have on their daily responsibilities. IT Trainers focus on educating the users, while striving to improve their understanding and comfort with the various, and always evolving, technologies utilized by a law firm. When Trainers accomplish this, workflow processes are more likely to be refined within the specific user groups, and ultimately greater efficiencies are promoted within the firm as a whole.

The reality of today’s top law firms are that they are largely driven by the technologies they employ. However, IT Trainers are only as valuable to a law firm as the value a firm places on its technology. Law firms that ignore the glaring deficit created by conducting everyday business with antiquated technologies perpetuate an industry-wide under-appreciation and place a generally misguided lack of value on how IT Trainers are integral to staying competitive. Whereas firms that have committed to keeping up with the latest trends in IT and then go acquire those technologies, typically have already consulted with their IT Trainers to verify the product’s quality and understand any of its potential short-falls prior to making that purchase, as well as to devise a plan how to rollout and implement it, and prepare how to teach the intended users to best understand and utilize that technology once it has been obtained. As firms rely on the expertise of its IT Support professionals to oversee, maintain, and protect the health of their IT infrastructure, the strength and quality of the IT Trainers directly bolsters the investment that law firms make to build that infrastructure, by teaching the firms’ users to conduct business and leverage technologies. You decide, are they worth it?

Can Today’s Educational System Keep Up With Our Rapidly Developing Society?

Posted by Adam Malanaphy, at Glenmont Group

A well-rounded education is arguably the most important
element of a successful individual. In theory it makes perfect sense; our
children are educated in order to develop skills that will enable them to
prosper in the “real world” which exists after graduation. The knowledge base
that has been accumulated through the progression of human evolution enables us
to continually move forward by learning from the past. A topic which was introduced
by Sir Ken Robinson in a recent YouTube webinar introduces the concept that our
education system is still largely influenced by the industrial revolution,
which occurred in the late 1800’s. When one analyzes this concept with a side-by-side
comparison the similarities become much more evident and strongly suggest that
our educational system needs to be adapted to the 21^st century.

Students navigate their schools much like products navigate
the inside of a manufacturing plant. Groups of students are formed by age and
are moved through the various levels of a production process as they are
advanced by grade. These students are directed to separate areas of their
schools for different subjects to learn from professors who specialize in a
certain area, much like the way products are developed at different stages of a
production process in specific areas of a plant that specialize in a certain
task. The fact is that, under the microscope, these similarities not only
exist, but are abundantly obvious.

So, one may be compelled to ask whether or not this is an
issue which needs to be addressed, or perhaps it is just a logical and
effective strategy. I feel that the process has been successful in the past,
but is rapidly becoming antiquated. As a young professional in my mid-twenties,
I attest to the fact that our education system simply does not provide the
effective segue to the non-academic world as it once did. The age of
information we currently live in has widened the gap between the lessons learned in class and the reality that exists on the other side of one’s degree. In order to be effective, our lessons must come from the forefront of developing concepts and be communicated to students in real time. In order for us to streamline education and continue to advance education we must consider making changes to education as we know it.

This will not be easy; however it is not an insurmountable
issue which cannot be overcome. I suggest more hands on teaching techniques
based on experiencing concepts rather than reading about them. I was formally
educated for sixteen years from first grade through college graduation and I
learned a lot, but I must admit in the six months I have spent working at the
Glenmont Group I have learned just as much. The hands on experience I have had working with a concentrated group of the most effective recruiters in the eDiscovery and Legal Technology industry has shown me that there is far more to implementing the skills I learned in school than I had been led to believe. Let’s take the opportunity to step back for a moment and adapt our education system to the society we live in today in order to ensure the success of our education system in the future.

Getting the Job You Want in Computer Forensics

Written by Joe Alonzo, Director of eDiscovery/Computer Forensics  at Glenmont Group

You see the job  advertisements posted on the web everyday, Digital Forensics Analyst, Internet Investigator, Computer Forensic Associate.  You hit the Apply Now button, often never hearing back from said company.

Your background may consist of computer programming/IT, network security or possibly even a background in law enforcement.  You ask yourself, “How do I get the attention of this organization and get them to hire me?”

Working for the leader in Computer Forensics and eDiscovery recruiting and seeing all the good and bad candidates have done, I can give you some great insight on how to get your dream job.

Below we will categorize computer forensics jobs in three areas, Big4, next level consultancies and major corporations.   I will highlight some key facts on each industry, and offer great advice on how to get your dream job.

BIG4

A great place to start your career and obtain corporate, consultative experience is within Big4.  In the opinion of The Glenmont Group, Big4 is a better place to work earlier in your career, many recruiters (and candidates) would tend to agree. We cannot say which firm has the best practice, but can tell you what these companies look for in a candidates and ways to get your foot in the door.

Since we are talking about ‘how to get the job you want’, most of what you will apply for will be the junior to mid-level opportunities.  Also referred to as Associate positions, sometimes “Senior” Associate with slight variations throughout.

These are opportunities that require a candidate to have one to five years of working experience, and offer you the ability to “climb the corporate ladder” of Big4 if you wish to do so.  Getting hired within an organization like this requires you to have a Bachelors degree at the very least and at least one year of experience typically a technical environment.

These roles are ideal for the younger professional, usually with an IT background. Rarely am I asked to find someone with a background in law enforcement for positions like this.  There are always exceptions to this, for example if you have commercial readiness experience (read: business savvy, articulate, can present to clients), then you stand a good chance of getting your foot in the door.

We receive calls regularly from retired police officers or detectives wishing to apply for entry level roles.   In most cases junior level roles within the Big4 are not an ideal fit.  Because you are applying for a position at a lower level, expect the pay to be on the lower range of compensation (average 55K-85KUS), expect to work long hours, sleep very little and have little or no time for social life.

The average first year or second year Associate within Big 4 works about seventy hours per week and travels two to three weeks per month.

The good news

The experience you obtain in Big4 is invaluable; most recruiters tell you the same.  Spending two years as a first or second year associate is equivalent to four or five years within a corporation or average consulting firm, not to mention it is fantastic for your resume. You become very appealing to corporations and solutions providers as having a certain level of professionalism about you.  And such, this makes an easier transition into the traditional corporate or boutique setting.

Big4 has what is referred to as “up or out”, which as implied means you either work your way up or you are asked to leave.  There is a well defined career path with salary increases and different levels of responsibilities at each.

Titles can vary depending on the organization, however here is what the career path looks like in one particular organization:

• First year Associate  $50 – 65K
• “Senior” (Associate) $65 – 80K
• Manager  $80 -110K
• Senior Manager $110 – 220K
• Partner $220++

(Salaries vary depending on  region, figures can be +/- approx  $10,000 )

Continuing your career within Big4 is not a terrible thing especially if you are money motivated.  Partners (sometimes Principles) in Big4 earn an average salary of $250,000 and as high as $900,000 in some cases.  Put a bonus on top of that and stock options and you’re well over one million dollars.

Next level consultancies

As a recruiter in the space, some of the most advanced candidates we see come from companies such as FTI Consulting, BDO Seidman, Navigant Consulting and similar organizations. These companies work in a slightly similar fashion to a Big4, however we see a bit more hands on technology expertise as well as the client facing abilities in a candidate like this.

Getting your foot in the door at a technology consultancy can sometimes be an easier route compared to Big4; still a competitive environment but not as cut throat.  A Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering or a related field as well as a minor background in technology and you are a strong candidate for an entry level role.

Having a technology certification like CISSP, CEH, MCSE or A+ is always a plus and may enhance your chances of getting the job you want.

Starting US salaries at companies like this range from $60-80K plus bonus.

Useful link regarding industry certifications…click HERE