Stephen Van Vreede

Biography

Stephen Van Vreede helps his technical client members craft and communicate their unique story (“personal brand”) and leverage the power of networking in today’s complex job market. Before becoming an entrepreneur, he spent his days climbing the corporate ladder at a GE Capital Company, where he engineered the growth
and rapid technological advancement of a large-scale international operation.
Stephen was struck by the volume of candidates that struggled to present themselves successfully in professional interviews. An even bigger surprise was the realization that corporate hiring and retention policies resulted in an often convoluted and chaotic process (what he calls corporate “goo”) that left hiring managers and candidates frustrated and confused. So, with his wife, Sheree, in 2001, he decided to jump off the corporate ladder and embark on an entrepreneurial adventure in the résumé and career services field, where he could be an advocate for professionals.
Over the past 14 years, Stephen has shaped his member solutions to succeed in an ever-changing market but with unique differentiation and value delivery at the core of all client member messaging. Starting out under the No-Stone-Unturned umbrella, where they served professionals across a wide spectrum of industries, he and Sheree soon recognized a gap in the career services industry in serving the technology, manufacturing, and engineering markets and knew they could fill that gap.
Thus, ITtechExec was conceived, where Stephen now serves as President and Chief Solutions Architect. He and his specialized team work with technical professionals, managers, and executives with 15+ years of experience. Stephen and Sheree have recently also launched NoddlePlace to focus on emerging technical professionals with 5–15 years of experience. At both ITtechExec and NoddlePlace, they not only craft résumés but also portfolio solutions, which are proving to be much more effective in the technical arena. In addition, they offer one-of-a-kind, “concierge” NoNonsense® job search agent solutions that build immediate momentum in the marketplace for their members once their brand messaging is in place.
Stephen holds an MBA from Villanova University, a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland, and a Six Sigma Black Belt Certification from GE. He is an Academy Certified Résumé Writer (ACRW) and a Certified Professional Résumé Writer (CPRW). As a Certified Online Professional Networking Strategist (OPNS) and Micro- blogging Career Strategist (MCS), Stephen is an expert in career marketing through social media forums like LinkedIn and Twitter.
Stephen’s work has been featured in multiple CIO.com and TechRepublic.com résumé makeover series. He has been a keynote speaker at industry conferences and has served as an expert contributor on technology career, résumé, and personal branding topics for articles featured by CIO Magazine, CIO.com, Dice.com, and other publications. Stephen is a Board Member for the Career Thought Leaders, a think tank for the now, the new, and the next in the career field. He is also passionate about service in his local community, where he serves as an elected official on the Town Council.
You can connect with Stephen at: [email protected] www.linkedin.com/in/stephenvanvreede www.twitter.com/ITtechExec