Change. Who would have thought that such a small, monosyllabic word would carry as much meaning as this word has over the past year? While I lack the authority to formally decree this, I think it is fair to say that "change" was the buzzword of 2008. So let's ask the question: what change can we expect in 2009?

After reading the first few sentences, the word "change" for many of you probably evoked thoughts of President-Elect Obama (and by doing so, justified the paychecks of the PR pros employed on his campaign staff). I think it is fair to say that a new president, regardless of party affiliation, represents a considerable amount of change. I'll allow others to decide what that means for America in their own blogs. I am just a humble observer. Did I successfully manage to eschew any political entanglements just now?

But this idea of change goes beyond the political realm. For starters, it is official: America is in a recession. The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) officially declared it this past Monday. Stocks fell, retailers swooned, cats and dogs rained from the sky (OK, so that last thing didn't happen). According to the NBER, this recession will likely last until 2010. The economic environment of 2009 will perpetuate change in many forms, whether it is a family changing spending habits or a business adopting more cost-effective practices. While the times ahead may be tough, take solace in the fact that difficult times often act as catalysts for great advancements. In times of need, necessity is truly the mother of invention.

The way we communicate with one another will continue to change as new, innovative digital tools and methods appear and existing tools and methods mature. Think about where you were before you got that iPhone or you started using your DVR; the future holds all sorts of advancements like those in store. Just ask one of the TechnoMavens here at Killswitch about the exciting new things around the corner, and they'll fill your ears with more knowledge than you can handle. It is safe to predict that people will have even more ways to interact with one another, consume their media and conduct their business in the near future.

For us here at The Killswitch Collective, the challenges and opportunities that lay ahead in 2009 present pathways for growth and progression for our company. We intend to remain plugged in to this ever-changing world and will strive to be prescient of future trends, technologies and business climates. I always find that someone has said what I intend to say better, so here is a quote by George Bernard Shaw:

The only man I know who behaves sensibly is my tailor; he takes my measurements anew each time he sees me. The rest go on with their old measurements and expect me to fit them.

On that note, Killswitch will be happy to take your measurements!

Author's Note
A few things that will not change: The Cubs will not win the Series, Reality TV will continue to proliferate, Britney Spears will continue to infatuate us all, and I will abandon (as always) my resolution to quit smoking shortly after January 1st.

Although we don't actually do any recruiting per se, we've nevertheless partaken in our fair share of employee searching. During this seemingly never-ending search, there were good times, and there were bad; we laughed, we cried, we pulled out our hair, and we most certainly grieved over the many hours lost in the whole process. So we put our heads together once again to explain to you, our readers, what should have been taught extensively in high school and college: the best, most efficient, least annoying way of writing a resume and cover letter.

The Resume

This is your initial impression, and very crucial - since this can make or break if you get the interview. There should be a course in school devoted solely to this topic, because it is sorely needed.

Spelling and Grammar: This has to be, hands down, the biggest nuisance of them all. It shouldn't even be on this list, let alone at the very top! A sloppy resume is just that, sloppy. Typos are easy to catch and will inevitably limit your call-backs. Proof your resume: this is the time to SHOW your patience, intelligence and attention to detail. And remember, if you're not sure, there's always Spell Check.

Objectives: Yes, we know you would like experience in your field, or the basic opportunities a new job brings. Instead of writing a simple, generalized statement, tell your future employer a specific goal you wish to attain. For example, instead of saying "Gaining knowledge and development training," try "Looking to enhance my abilities in Ruby on Rails." Granted, this means you can't send the same resume to everyone. If that kind of commitment just isn't your bag, then leave it out altogether, and use the space for your applicable experience.

Label Your Resume File: In this day and age, when almost all candidates are applying online, labeling your resume files has become just as important as the resume itself. When hundreds of resumes filter in daily, those labeled "Resume 2" or "aslbfh" tend to get overlooked a lot more often. Instead, just use your first and last name.

Bullet Points: To be honest, no one likes sifting through two pages of work history written in paragraph format. It hurts our brains. Make the recruiter's life easier - consolidate your information and get to the point - it allows for us to process your experience quickly. Which in turn allows for us to hire you quickly.

Conciseness: Along the same lines as keeping everything in bullet points, you'll want to keep everything as concise and to the point as you can. This means you have to keep it relevant, too! If something needs an explanation, keep it short and sweet. In cases like these, instead of trying to expound on a single piece of information as much as possible, challenge yourself to cover it in one powerful sentence, and move on.

Design: This is critical for design positions, and it never hurts to keep these pointers in mind when writing your resume for other positions as well. Since design resumes reflect your workmanship as well as experience, do not clutter the resume without thought to hierarchy or organization [of information]. The resume should demonstrate abilities in leading, kerning and ragging - as well as chosen typeface(s) that need to be selections someone who has studied typography would make - NO New Times Roman, Comic Sans, or Zapfino. You want to leave your future employer begging for more, and your only initial medium to do so is your resume.

Salary: Save this for the offer - putting a desired/expected salary on your resume makes you seem inflexible and standoffish. Instead of writing how much you are worth, show us through your work experience.

The Cover Letter

The cover letter is pretty old and outdated these days, and no longer necessary, but still a good way for people to see a personal side of you they normally wouldn't. If you DO write one, use it as the body of the email you send to employers, not as a separate document. And make sure to keep it simple and interesting! If you can't make it interesting, make it short; but never try to make yourself sound more intelligent or captivating than you really are.

Make sure your cover letter isn't generic, either. Research the companies you apply to and incorporate industry lingo or aspects of the company's profile into your introduction. It's always refreshing to see someone take two extra minutes to look into who we are and what we do - and how you can contribute to that!

Qualifications

Before frantically emailing your resume to every online job post you might be interested in, stop and think about who will actually respond? Example: if you are an Orchestra Conductor, you probably are not the best match for a Web Project Management position. When a company asks for specific experience or knowledge requirements, try to match it up with your experience as much as you possibly can. If you can't, you may need to find another avenue in which to apply.

Also, please don't make us play guessing games with your generalized resume. We don't want to spend extra time speculating as to how your past experience will help with the position we are trying to fill, or better yet, what position you are actually applying for. The resume that gets sent to 50 different companies a week is the same resume that gets dropped into the little virtual wastebasket most often. Instead, specify how your experience and education are pertinent to the position offered, and by all means, give details. A helpful trick: use the same key terms the company uses when describing the position in the job post. This gets your resume immediate attention.

References

Including "References available upon request" on your resume is so 1980's. If you have references you would like to provide, just bring them to your interview. It's already a given that you will hand us some of these anyway, since they are generally expected for further consideration. And by references, we are referring to professional industry contacts only: people who can attest for your work ethic and experience, not your college buddies you used to play beer pong with.

Extra credit: make sure your references are on a separate sheet formatted to match your resume.

Follow Ups

You can do this once. It annoys the hell out of us, but it does actually get us to recognize your name and pull you out of the masses. If you still don't get a call back, you really should bite the bullet and just wait. No amount of pleading, begging, calling and calling... and calling... will get you an immediate interview. And it's not a good idea to arrive anywhere without an appointment.

Pop Quiz

Yes, resume building is a very tedious and time-consuming process, and it's only natural to want to get as many resumes out there as you can when you're desperate for a job. But 5 custom made, awesome resumes are still better than 50 general pieces of crap. If you genuinely care about the direction of your future career, please take this advice to heart. Here are 2 resumes to help you kind of get the idea; can you guess which one is good and which is bad?

Sample Resume #1    Sample Resume #2

Requirements for Studio Manager Position
Organization
Presentation
MS Office
Detail Oriented
Type 50 WPM

Here at Killswitch we have a number of fantastic developers from many different backgrounds. Everyone has unique perspectives and experience to bring to the table. Both at Killswitch and in the Rails community as a whole, developers fall into two large categories: developers who started as designers, and developers who started out in computer science.

Superficially, it seems strange that people from two very different fields end up in the same place. Designers often don't want to have anything to do with programming, and many computer science people sneer at 'scripting' languages, viewing them as inferior in performance and functionality to more traditional languages. Upon further examination, though, having developers from both backgrounds makes perfect sense. Many Web designers are interested in the internal back-end workings of their projects and get involved in the programming side of Web development. On the other side, many computer science students are not as enamored with the older, more traditional languages, and want to work with an exciting new language like Ruby.

Ruby and Rails is a large contributing factor to these groups coming together. Rails lowers the barriers of entry to get started building dynamic websites, yet offers a depth of nuance to satisfy even the most diehard of code monkeys. It is a dynamic, living framework, actively being improved daily by thousands of community contributors. Most importantly, though, it makes developing fun for both designer and traditionalist alike.

One Goal, Two Approaches

While we may all use the same language and pursue the same technical goals, differences in backgrounds lead to different approaches to different problems. For example, take looping through a collection in Ruby. Ruby provides two ways to do this: Enumerable#each and for...in. Both do the same job, and both are perfectly valid. However, background loosely dictates the approach used. Those who learned Ruby or Ruby-like languages first tend to use each, while those who learned languages like C first lean toward for...in instead.

In a broader view than idiom choice, differences in background bring different perspectives to development. One developer may work on presentation and visual design first and develop the back-end system to match, where another may start with the framework and work their way to design. Both approaches are valid, but represent a difference in background inherent in Web development. When combined, the end result can amount to more than what any individual approach or component could be alone.

Sum of the Parts

While we each have our own individual tendencies and strengths, the best work comes out of the fusion of both perspectives. We all strive to make ourselves and each other better programmers and better designers, constantly learning both individually and as a whole. In sharing past experiences, current struggles and future plans, we can take the best aspects of our dual-developer citizenship and create something worthy of our combined talent.