After Apple released its new Podcasts app for iPhone and iPad today I decided to check it out. Imagine my surprise when I couldn’t find the listing for this show, Career Opportunities. Hmm, I thought, I had had a client whose show had disappeared recently so I immediately began to check out what had gone wrong.
As it stands now, it seems there is a conflict between iTunes and my web hosting service, GoDaddy. GoDaddy seems to think that iTunes is actually some sort of denial of service attack and refuses to let it into the server.
If you are already subscribed to Career Opportunities, you will continued to receive the show, as iTunes looks directly to the blog for new downloads. Unfortunately, though, without an iTunes Podcast Directory listing, few people can find and subscribe to Career-Op automatically. They can still use the “Subscribe to Podcast…” choice under the Advanced Menu in iTunes, but few “normal” people know how to do that. (LAUGH) You can use the RSS feed address of http://welchwrite.com/career/feed as the input for iTunes subscriptions, should you need it, or you decide to tell a friend about the show.
I’ll keep you up to date on what is happening with the iTunes listing as I hear back from both Apple and GoDaddy.
We can all be scared when starting a new endeavour. Whether it is a new job, a new business, a new relationship, the fear of the unknown can stop us in our tracks. Still, most of us can power through the fear, make it through the first day of work and move on with our careers. It isn’t always pretty and it isn’t always easy, but for the most part we all get through those first tentative steps.
While we often talk about having one, monolithic, Reputation – with a capital R — I believe that there are a series of reputations that combine to create the whole. It is often said you can’t “do” projects, you can only do the individual tasks that make up the project. The same can be said for reputation. You don’t build your reputation as a whole, you cultivate the smaller reputations that create it. Each individual action builds your reputation in unique ways and each requires some thought as to how they relate to the whole. Cultivating Your Career Reputations examines each of these reputations in detail and helps you find specific areas where you can improve your work, your actions and your thoughts so that your overall professional reputation can grow
Unfortunately, there is another behavior that can crop up when we are faced with new experiences. In these cases we might profess our excitement about a new job or other endeavor, but when we go to execute it, we are tentative about it. We don’t jump into the new job with both feet and our whole being. We don’t push as hard to build our new business. We stop short on all points like a child cautiously dipping a toe into the water to see if it is too cold. This tentativeness can be more damaging than not pursuing new opportunities at all because it gives us a false excuse should it fail. We give ourselves the ability to say “well, I wasn’t that into that project anyway.”
Being tentative about a new project starts that project off with a deficit. When we fail to commit to something — and yet do it anyway — we risk the success of that project because we are basically telegraphing our insecurities and worries to the world. Why would anyone want to partner with us on a project when even we can’t seem to summon up whole-hearted support for it. I see this type of tentativeness on almost a daily basis. it usually comes out in some form of woulda, coulda, shoulda, talk or the even worse, “if only” talk. If only I had more money. If only I had more time. If only I had a partner. Woulda, coulda, shoulda and “if only” are usually code words for tentativeness. When you use these phrases you haven’t fully committed to making the project work. You haven’t found the strength within yourself to give a clear message to yourself and others that this project is moving ahead.
Will your project fail? Possibly. Every project, no matter how well thought out or prepared has the potential for failure. But that reality shouldn’t give you permission to be tentative. Committing to a project means trying with all your effort to make it a success. There is no guarantee that it will succeed — no one can provide that. So you need to summon up the commitment that you think the project is important enough to put in the effort required.
When you go tentatively into a new project, you are trying to protect your ego above all else. You don’t want to be embarrassed if the project should fail, so you tell people it is “just a test” or “only a trial” or “still in alpha”. You try to give yourself an “out”, but what you are truly doing is indicating to everyone around you — and yourself — that the project doesn’t matter. Tentativeness sends the message that you expect the project to fail. You can probably see how damaging it is to go into a new project with such an attitude. It colors everything you do from that point forward.
When approaching a new project of any sort, find the power inside yourself to commit to it fully — or don’t do it at all. To approach it with tentativeness means you begin the project with a deficit. You aren’t committed and, when others sense that, they will not be fully committed either. It is far better to acknowledge your fear and doubt and still commit to the project because you think it is something of the highest importance. We all have worries when faced with any new experience, but commitment allows us to do the best that we can even if the project itself might fail. It gives us a sense of energy and power and makes sure we can’t use tentativeness as an easy way out when the going gets tough. If you are going to do something at all, do it wholeheartedly. Sometimes you just have to take that first step, even if you might be a little afraid of where it might lead.
Is it possible to fire someone for not performing in their job or otherwise impinging on the productivity of an office or a company as a whole? Is it only something truly egregious that gets someone fired today or is “being asked to resign” the new firing?
I know through family members that “getting fired” in manual labor jobs is pretty common, but I wonder specifically about those with white collar jobs.
Tell me your stories here in the comments, on Facebook or Google+
Here is a PDF download of the flyer for CareerCampSCV 2012. Click the image below to download your copy. Please post it and share it with your friends and family who might be interested. Thanks!
It is graduation time again here in the US. College graduates, high school graduates and, in the case of my own son, a graduation from Junior High and into High School. Where graduation usually brings a feeling of exhilaration for most, it can also bring a heavy dose of fear in today’s job market. The old ways of work are changing, but the new ways haven’t yet found their stable center. Job seekers today are just as likely to face old-fashioned resume review and interviews as they are to encounter new methods of hiring. It can be a stressful time, made all the more stressful for all the unknowns. That said, I think we are moving into a time of greater flexibility and opportunity for everyone. We aren’t stuck with the old ways of doing business and we should seek out those opportunities that look to the future, both in their hiring practices and the work environments they offer.
Much as I hate to say it, you still need a paper resume in today’s job market. In some cases, companies may rely solely on this printed document to judge your skills and abilities. This doesn’t mean you can’t also make a resume for the 21st Century, though. Digital tools and online resumes allow you to customize your resume to highlight experience for each particular position. They allow you to share more information than would ever fit on the traditional 1-page paper resume. You can then use this longer, digital resume to create whatever traditional resumes you might need.
Additionally, you need to think hard about the types of companies where you apply for work. An archaic, chaotic or overly bureaucratic application process could be a red flag. If a company can’t move into a new way of hiring it could mean that their other work processes will be just as out of date. Jump through their application “hoops” if you must, but keep a keen eye out for how the company is managed overall. You might find some very ugly business methods within. You then need to decide if you can live (and thrive) within such a structure or if your forward thinking ideas will be met with derision or disdain. The hiring process can be very illuminating about how a company operates as a whole
Seek out those who use new hiring methods
While you are sure to be faced with old hiring methods, don’t be afraid to try out some of the new job search and application methods. I look forward to a world where work comes looking for you instead of you having to go out and find it. My watch phrase has always been that you need to tell the world “what you do and how well you do it!” This is the first step in changing how we find our life’s work. Through the use of blogs, social media, podcasting, audio, video and more you can let people know who you are and what you do.
Why would you want to do this? Simply so that when a company is looking to fill a particular position they already have you in mind for the job. Imagine what a change that would be. They might think, “We really need someone who can do X, Y, Z. Remember that excellent blog post, article, video etc we saw about that topic from Douglas? Why don’t we talk to him?” Hopefully, you can see how powerful a change this would make in the job market. Instead of waiting around for someone to hire you, you will be actively out there making connections — both online and face-to-face — that could benefit you greatly in the future.
You will surely have to face a lot of old-school hiring practices as you look for work, but do yourself a favor and seek out those who are seeking a new way of hiring. Reward those companies that offer a better, faster, clearer path to getting hired with your best efforts of time and energy. Don’t jump through hoops for those companies that are still hiring using 1960’s practices if and when you can apply to forward-thinking companies who are trying to find the best person for the job, not just someone to fill a seat. If you do this, you will benefit in many ways. Your own job search will be improved, as well as the eventual position you find and it will also show companies that new methods bring new rewards, including better candidates, better employees and a better business overall.
Navigating the special difficulties of a high-tech career can be troublesome for workers, young and old. Career Opportunities, a weekly column for ComputorEdge Magazine in San Diego, California and Colorado Springs, Colorado, has addressed these issues for almost 13 years.
While simultaneously developing his own high-tech career, author Douglas E. Welch has shared his insights, trials, setbacks and successes with his readers. The High-Tech Career Handbook collects the best columns from 1997-2003 into a book for all high-tech careerists, whether they are just starting out, building their career or looking for a new career in the high-tech world. Topics covered in the columns include getting your career started, ethics, fairness and the benefits of doing honest business, personal development, professional development, and the tips and tricks for transitioning into a mature career.
While we often talk about one, monolithic, Reputation – with a capital R — I believe that there are a series of reputations that make up the whole. This book will focus on the combination of reputations that make up your one, overarching, Reputation. By examining each of these reputations in detail, I hope you will find specific areas where you can improve your work, your actions and your thoughts so that your overall professional reputation grows.
Why break your Reputation down into its constituent parts? It is often said that you can’t “do” projects, you can only do the individual tasks that make up the project and achieve the desired result. The same can be said for reputation. You don’t build your reputation as a whole, you cultivate the smaller reputations that create it. Each individual action builds your reputation in unique ways and each requires some thought as to how they relate to the whole.
Imagine if when you were born you were given a magical compass to lead you through your life. It would always show you the way. It would show you the right answers on tests, lead you to the right college and to the right course of study at that college. It would lead to your first job, your first (and maybe last) love and always show the path ahead. This isn’t some idle fantasy. We each have a compass to show us the way, if only we would take it out of our pocket and use it. This compass, of course, is our desire. Instead of a needle, it is a feeling, a pull, a tension — in some cases, an overwhelming flood of feeling that says “Yes, this is the way — this is the one — this is where you need to go!”
“I am deeply convinced of the importance and effectiveness of social media. Like the Internet itself, which made social media possible, social media allows you to expose your talents, your products, your creativity to a huge number of people all over the world. The “loose contacts” we make online are the beginning of what I call our own global family.This isn’t one unwieldy global online community, but rather our own personalized family made up of those that bring value into our lives. Our communities might overlap in some ways, but they will never be the same. They can’t be. We are all unique individuals so therefore our communities will reflect this uniqueness In fact, when our communities are too alike, we might be just following the crowd instead of building our own community.”
* Kindle books can be read on nearly any computer or mobile platform including, Mac, Windows, iPhone/iPod Touch, iPad, and Android phones and tablets. Download Free Kindle Reader Software
In this Career Tip – You should be learning something every day in your work and in your life. If you aren’t, it could be a sign that you need to find a more challenging job. If you aren’t learning at work, you also need to take the initiative to reach out in your own life and make learning a lifelong goal.
