Job Hacking

What is advertising?

Matt has a good entry post into a hot topic: If you are out of work, do you state clearly for all on linkedin that you are out of work and looking for a job?

My gut says no. It reduces your chances of getting work because it makes you, as a product, overly available and very generic. Scarcity drives up demand and price for a given item. 

You are an item, aren't you?

Further, I'd also wager that if you are looking to be found by someone looking for your talents, you should use the space to tell them about those talents (at least you are getting more keywords in there for their search to find). 

But, I'm willing to be persuaded otherwise with data that says one gets work faster by stating that they are looking for work. The problem with the issue as stated is that unless we do some social statistical work, we won't know this answer. 

Anybody run the spreadsheets on this one?

Why I hate the Christmas Tree process

There are things about getting a Christmas Tree in Seattle, ca 2009 that irk me beyond belief:

• It's at a lot.
• The tree is already cut. Or not, but you have to use someone else's dull tools to cut it down.
• The cost.
• It's branches have been cut so it's all bushed-out - not natural.
• The commercialism.

In short, it  represents all that degrades the spirit Christmas. It puts me in a very foul mood. Which my (incredibly amazing) wife comments on. Which makes me more foul because she is pointing out a truth, and a weakness. Which I hate about myself.

But.

I do this every year. I will continue to do so every year I am alive. 

Because the tree in my house, and the fresh fir scent (yes, it's a Noble Fir because THAT's a Christmas Tree), remind me of all the best things of Christmas. Memories of a child-hood past, getting a tree out in the woods, getting out of school, sledding and meeting up with our neighbors every year for Holiday dinner. The stories of Saint Nick, the birth of Jesus, and the pagan holiday(s) that pre-dated Christmas. Because all these stories, these truths remind me (and us) that we can, if we try, be better people, rise to the occasion and show our best. 

Maybe next year I'll get one from the forest.

Horsepower

Once upon a time there was a princess. She was tall, blond, and pretty. And, more importantly, she was very capable and had two wonderful skill sets that employers were willing to purchase (HR, and Finance). 

One day, our princess decided to look for a new job. "This will not be too difficult", she thought. And so, she set about looking for a job in HR, because she loved HR and only liked Finance.

The princess responded to many, many openings, job postings, and leads. All to no avail. Maybe a little avail, she did make it in for an interview or two. 

The longer this went, the more upset she got. "How will I pay for my castle, my servants, my horses, if I don't have a job? I love my horses." Finally, she decided that although she did not love Finance roles so much, she would apply for a few of them because she really did love her horses.

And, as fate would have it, she got 6 interviews in one week, and landed the 2nd role she applied for. Because that was what the market was looking for.

Morale of the story: Sometimes your horses like it better when you listen to the market and not your heart.

Do you know what you are getting into?

One of the things that I've learned in working in and/or founding Startups is that you should clearly understand the potential exits for the business. 

The common train of thought about this is how do the investors get the return on their investment? When should a founder step aside?

But the most frequent exit is that of employees leaving the company.

As you join a company, the thing that you will care about the most is going to be the people you work with, even though you may be initially focused on job content, potential for growth, and in the Great Recession, just getting a paycheck every two weeks. The people, your colleagues, will be the most important thing to you during the time that you are there. They will be that much more important to you in the time after you no longer work there.

Why?

Because several will become your friends. Several will serve as references for you turn later in your career. And others will unwittingly be back-door references you never know about that either help you get a job or not.

Looking more closely at 6MM jobs lost (thankfully)

Between September 2008 and September 2009 the U.S. lost about 6 million jobs.

And this is what Tom Peters has to say about it.

A great reminder of one reason I give thanks to live here! Thanks, Tom!

Another view on risk(s)

Risk v. Reward.

This comes up frequently on the business end of the Internet world, often with respect to a release, or a specific feature in a release. These conversations can be easy when it's obvious to all involved that a given action would most definitely benefit or, alternatively, harm the company, and they can be hard when it appears to be something close to a 50/50 chance of benefit or harm.

But after reading this article, most of those conversations seem so pedestrian. This guy is catching tuna while on a kayak, and living to tell the tale? 

Makes you think about adding a new hobby to your list, and I don't mean golf!

A story about finding a new job

A buddy of mine just accepted a new job. 

Hurray for him!

He's a Dev Manager, and has been through this before, so he told his Supervisor that he had an offer on the table. His Supervisor had also been through similar before, and said, "So, are you done here, or can we do something to keep you?" My buddy said that he was not done, and laid out conditions that would make it worth his while to stay.

His Supervisor then said, "O.K., let me see what I can put together for you, and I need to check in with HR." So, my buddy put on his waiting hat and returned to his work.

A couple days later, the Supervisor came back with an answer. Yeah, the counter had arrived!

This was at least 24 hours too late. This small process had reminded my buddy more and more of all the things that he disliked about the place. The bureaucracy, the red tape, HR making a mess of things, the inability to just get stuff done. 

Could be almost any company, except it's not. It was Microsoft.

People matter. When business process gets in the way of people's lives, and their ability to make informed decisions that improve their lot in life, then that business is probably getting less nimble, less innovative and more likely to fail in the future.

Why couldn't the Supervisor in question just have done the right thing in a timely manner? 

Taking a grain of salt with layoff news

Techcrunch has an thought-provoking post about three firms which have just recently gone through lay-offs. They are:

• Microsoft
• RealNetworks
• Classmates

More doom and gloom regarding the economy? Nah. Just companies which have internal problems or challenges with their current products (or both).

Historically, job growth during an economic turn-around comes from new or small companies which are highly innovative and bringing new products to a market that may not yet exist. 

If you want good economic news about how our economy is rebuilding, look for newish companies bringing products to market which make you go 'hmm, that's something new', and avoid the news about older companies - unless it's about a new product for a new market by a team which is running unfettered.

What's going to torture you in November?

• Preparing for Thanksgiving Dinner?
• Having the in-laws stay over?

How hard is this, I mean one day, two day tops, right?

Here's my poison, should be F-U-N, FUN!

Wonder if they'd believe it in Michigan?

Interesting graph, courtesy of Paul Krugman and the NYT.

My mind goes to the nooks & crannies of the graph. 

How are the workers who used to make cars in the U.S. doing? Is the economic stimulus plan in China working, and if so, how have the workers creating the infrastructure faring in all this? What products are just about to be brought out into the world that will make our lives better? What longer-term behavioral shifts will we see in how people handle money, and assess risk?

Finally, it's nice that it's going up and to the right, but my hunch is that it is about to flatten out. Or maybe worse, the part of that graph that comes from the U.S. will.

6 Reasons why you need 100 megabit-per-second Internet service

For as long as I can remember, I've been a technologist.

But, I've not been necessarily good at communicating the future need. Actually, this is not my problem to own alone, it tends to be true for anybody who is selling the future without a picture or a demo.

This does lead to funny conversations, though:

• Me on Email, ca 1985, "See, you can send a letter to people without using paper, or a stamp. And, they receive it immediately!" Mom's response, "But how would I send you a fun card for your birthday?"
• Me on streaming media, ca 1996, "You could watch all your TV programs via your computer!" Sister, "Why would I do that, when my PC's monitor is 1/3 the size of my TV screen?"
• Me on operating systems, ca 1999, "Microsoft's virtual monopoly of the Operating System market for PCs is bad for consumers." Sister, "You're such a lib (liberal)." Then, ca 2006, sister says, "You know, I hate all the crap about problems with my PC, viruses, malware! All I want is a PC that works. You were right when you said Microsoft's monopoly was bad." (I love my sister!)

So, today, I'm super-pumped by an article by Robert Cringely, What Goes Around: Teledesic 2.0. I would really love to see this plan come to fruition, because it would alter our lives in some really great ways (and probably some bad ones, too). Here are a few things that would be great about this technology:

• Don't need to worry about where we put cell towers any more.
• EVERYONE has access to the grid, no matter where they are on the planet surface. Now, coffee shops can focus on making great coffee instead of how to reboot the wireless router. More importantly, stupid, moronic authoritarians have even less control over the lives of others.
• More on the defeat of stupid, moronic authoritarians: EVERYONE would have a communication device with a camera that creates digital movies. So, any stupid, moronic authoritarian moves to suppress people would be documented in real time.
• A third bit about the defeat of stupid, moronic authoritarians: This would also be the last nail in the coffin of the control of news organizations (are you listening Mr. Murdoch?). 
• Think your iPhone will work better once it's untethered from AT&T? Yup, I do, too. But too bad for all those wireless companies.
• We'll be able to watch everything move on the planet surface. Bet on RFID tags being everywhere. I know, yawn, it's already here. But, I mean EVERYWHERE. Imagine having RFID tags in the four corners of your house. And in all the four corners of all the houses in your neighborhood. Then, when any movement of the ground occurs, say due to an earthquake, or a mudslide, you get alerted immediately. So does your insurance company.

Despite all the news about the state of our economy at present, there are some really good things going on that will yield a much better, brighter future. Plan on it.

Do you know the 2 best ways to stand out?

I've been doing some recruiting for my team at Smith & Tinker, and the process has (again) been very revealing regarding those who stand out and those who do not.

The good news is that I have met several very fine potential adds to my team. Very fine!

The bad news is that I have met a whole bunch of folks who do not know what it takes to be seriously considered for a new role.

Here are the attributes of the folks that stood out in a negative sense:

• Did not have at least 90% of the qualifications for the job.
• Mispelngs on their resume.
• Wrote an objective statement that was all about what they wanted, and not about what I wanted.
• Had not visited our company website.
• Had not visited the Nanovor Game Website
• Had not played the Nanovor OBG, even though it's FREE.
• Had not visited my linkedin profile.
• Had not read my blog.

Summing all that up, these folks were simply completely uninformed about the job, the company, and their potential new boss. This makes it highly unlikely that they would be considered for the role.

The attributes of the folks who ended up on my short list, or the first way to stand out:

• Resume met the job requirements
• Quick to understand resume
• Had visited our company website
• Had visited the Nanovor website
• Had watched the Nanovor videos
• Had played the Nanovor OBG
• Knew something about me and the Officers of the company because they had researched us online.

And the second reason they stood out? They have been playing online & offline games for some years, and had a real passion about games and insights into how people have fun. That's right, the second attribute that's key to standing out is passion.

Are these two attributes really that uncommon? Yes, unfortunately!

Are you up for a mental challenge?

In my experience, there is one thing that is hardest for candidates to figure out.

Do you know what it is?

It is considering yourself as a product. Stepping outside the boundaries of self, and into the world of how others see you. From many different frames of reference:

• Your online profiles
• Your resume
• Your handshake
• Your greeting
• Your elevator pitch
• Your interview
• Your cocktail party conversation
• Your interview clothes
• etc

This is a very difficult challenge.

Seth has a helpful take on this, albeit from a Marketer's perspective, Sell like you buy. Should be required reading for all job hunters - go read it now!

Stupid Human tricks parts 2 and 3

Have you ever seen or heard someone do something that is so stupid it leaves you dumbstruck?

The latest instance is the trend of recent college grads suing their alma maters because they cannot find a job.

Dumbstruck on so many levels. 

First, because doing this means you are not accepting responsibility for your own life-long education. 

And last, because it's too easy for your future employers to find out that you took this action. 

Why would anyone who is responsible for the future of their team/group/company hire you when you have no sense of your own future?

WW II, Sacrifice and The War Against Terror

As I was growing up, I listened to the stories my parents and grand-parents had about the Great Depression and WWII. What struck me at the time was how big the history seemed that I read in my history books, and how personal their stories were. The history books were all about the grand sweep of events, whereas the stories from my family were about folks just trying to survive. 

Yesterday, I read Thomas Friedman's article Real Men Tax Gas. It struck a chord.

How is it that the U.S., and indeed, the West as a whole, can be in a war that is at year number 8 and counting, and other than the casualties, we don't see the level of sacrifice by the country as a whole that we saw in WWII?

To remind, here are a few bits from WWII:

• Gas rationing
• Tire rationing
• Collecting pots & pans to create munitions
• Draft (yeah, I said it)
• Women went to work! 

For me, I don't get it. When you go to war, you go all in. You hit your enemy as hard as possible and as fast as possible, in part because shock and awe yield submission by the enemy, and in part because war is both expensive and horrible. 

So why is it that we continue to fund their activities through the purchase of oil?

It's War. Tax Gas. Now. End the War sooner.