Job Hacking

Let's say you don't know how to network...

One of the so-called truisms about technologists is that we have weak social skills. This could be true. It could also be true that technologists self-select into a world where truth is either 1 or 0, as opposed to how well you spin a tale. Or, it could be that someone missed the social skills class in college.

If you are in the later, take a look at this post by Matt about Networking Gifts. If you think you aren't Networking enough, you are probably right, and if you think you don't know how to Network, you are probably right again. Do something about it, read Matt's post, and then commit to doing at least one a week if you are employed, and more if you are not.

But everyone says that...

There is a line of economic and political thought that goes like this: Gross Domestic Product is tied to Energy consumption. The more energy used in the pursuit of economic improvement, the higher Gross Domestic Product.

Then, I read this, "since 1990, Denmark has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 14 percent. Over the same time frame, Danish energy consumption has stayed constant and Denmark’s gross domestic product has grown by more than 40 percent." 

First, this is an amazing statement, and an even more amazing accomplishment. Second, it makes me want to go visit Denmark, the country of my Grandfather, even more. And third, it's a great example of how wrong commonly accepted wisdom can be.

Question commonly accepted wisdom. Your job hunt, your recruiting work, and indeed, your business need you to think differently than those who have gone before, more now than any other time in in the last 6 decades.

BTW, the source of this quote is The Copenhagen That Matters, and thank you once again Mr. Friedman!

On being lost

This last weekend, I took the Boy Scout Troop to an orienteering event.

Orienteering is a sport where you run a course of a set length with a number of control points you have to find. It is one of those things that sounds easy, but is decidedly not. Because sometimes the course creators hide a control in the shallows of a lake. Out of sight. And yes, you gotta wade out there and hit the control point.

Before we started the course, I asked the Scouts, "How do you know when you are lost?" The 2nd best answer was, "When you don't know where you are." The real answer is, "When you are panicking about not knowing where you are."

Which brings us to this post by Penelope Trunk, How to hit a wall at work, with grace. Because the feeling of being lost is not unique to knowing where you are physically. It also applies to other aspects of your life.

The answer to being lost is STOP. Stop, Think, Observe, Plan.

Thing is, at the end of what is probably the worst 12 - 18 months economically of our working lives, there are a lot of folks who are lost in their jobs, their careers, their unemployment.

STOPing. It works when you are charting your course, no matter how you define "Out There".

Interview training is good, right?

Heard a great story the other day.

The team was interviewing a key candidate for a very important creative role. The candidate was truly of the 1% of 1% type, with major awards that almost anyone could name to his credit (Oscars, Emmys, Tonys etc). In other words, you don't see this one every day, let alone more than a handful of times in a career.

The team had all gone through behavioral interviewing training a couple weeks back. So, they were all eager to put their learning to good use. And they did.

The team leader was the last of the team to interview, and the first thing he asked the candidate was how the interviews had gone. And the candidate let him have it with both barrels. He had politely answered the EXACT SAME questions that the prior four interviewers had asked with EXACTLY THE SAME answers. The candidate felt that the whole process had been a gigantic waste of time, and he was done with the interview. Fortunately, the team leader was able to calm the candidate down, re-engage him, and long story short, they ended up hiring this amazing candidate. 

Would you have walked out of the interview under the same circumstances?

I bet a a baker's dozen Krispy Kremes that your writing sucks!

There's this job. It's THE BEST FRICKIN' JOB IN THE WHOLE WORLD! You were born, bred and trained to do it. And there it is, it's open, it's yours. You know it in your soul of souls. 

Then, you have to apply. Time to re-write your resume. A little doubt creeps in. Your hands start to sweat. You try to re-write the resume. Ugh. You aren't certain. You take another pass. And another. Will this get the call to happen?

As much as the HR and Recruiting pundits talk about new technologies changing the recruiting process, or how video resumes will alter things, the reality is that there is a lot of writing involved in both sides of recruiting. Job ads are written. Your linkedin profile is written. Except for your picture. Your resume is written. Your email to the recruiter is written.

So, can you write?

Chances are, your writing skills are not up to the task. And, even if they are pretty good, you could probably use some 'sharpening of the saw' from time to time.

With this in mind, check out this post by Jeff Sexton on Copyblogger. 

After reading this, are you wondering how to improve the Summary section of your LinkedIn profile? Your resume?

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.