| 2006 Archive
Return to Career Opportunities
2401 Get
a plan!
January 6, 2006
The beginning of a New Year is always a time of retrospection, thinking back
on all that has occurred -- the good, the bad, the indifferent. While reviewing
the past can be helpful in some ways, it is by looking out into to the next
year that you can develop some dramatic benefits for yourself, your career
and your company. Take some time this week to really think about what is coming
in the next 12 months. There will be some obvious events to place on this list,
but you should dig deeper to discover the projects, and maybe even the crises,
that you will be facing this year.
2402 No simple answers
January 13, 2006
If you haven’t figured it out already, or are still wishing it were true,
let me be the first to tell you, there are no simple answers, especially when
it comes to your high-tech career. Life would be a great deal easier if there
were simple answers to all the issues we face, but good times come and go and
we can only acknowledge the cycle and make the best decisions possible at the
time. Recriminations over lost opportunities will do you no good. You must
make your decisions and live with the consequences.
2403 A Tech in Every Meeting
January 20, 2006
I am sure you have all experienced it. Some department comes up with a great
project and now, only when they are ready to implement it, they come to you
to figure out how to make it work. They want to know what computers to use,
what software and, by the way, this has to have some custom software written
that has never before been created. Once again, you as an IT worker find yourself
in the unenviable position of giving these people 100 different reasons why
the project is infeasible, exorbitantly expensive and perhaps even counter
productive to the goals of the company. In many cases, they will accuse of
you of being an obstructionist, a technology dictator and sometimes, even worse.
You must be lacking in vision to not see the elegance of their plan. In reality,
though, much of this conflict and strife could have been avoided, if the department
had included a high-tech worker at the very beginning.
2404 Thinning the herd
January 27, 2006
No, I am not speaking of layoffs, plant closures and terminations, but rather
thinning your “herd” of out-dated projects, failed initiatives,
worthless bureaucracy and old hardware and software. The New Year is a great
time for taking a hard look at your work and getting rid of everything that
no longer fits with your current vision, workload or budget.
2405 Get it done!
February 3, 2006
Sometimes, despite our best efforts, we can lose track of our goals in the
midst of the chaos of daily life. We work and work on our projects without
ever getting them done. No matter how much work you do, if you don’t
complete your projects, what have you really accomplished? Your career depends
on providing solutions. Don’t build a career that saddles you with never-ending
project after never-ending project. Get on with it. Get over it. Get it done!
2406 Sidetracks
February 10, 2006
Sometimes you might like to believe your career is a straight-line proposition.
You start here, put in hours of work and you will eventually end up over there,
at your goal. In the distant past, this might have been true, but today your
career is filled with dead ends, mistaken shortcuts, detours and uncompleted
roads that can leave you feeling trapped. Despite these fear-inducing possibilities,
though, I think that these detours, these aberrations, these deviations from
the norm are actually the underpinnings of a great career. Chance and happenstance
might feel frightening when you are in their midst, but they can often bring
you the greatest rewards.
2407 Every career is a high-tech career
February 17, 2006
It has been coming for a long time, but I think it is finally here. Every job
and every career in America is now a high-tech career. It is impossible to
ignore technology no matter what your position. Whether you are a corporate
CEO or a security guard, technology is now an intimate part of your work. More
importantly, now that technology has found its way into every job, everyone
needs to recognize and accept this fact. Avoiding technology and refusing to
learn about it is no longer an option. Considering yourself incapable is no
longer an option. If you want to move forward in your career, regardless of
the work you do, you have to embrace technology and make it your own. If you
continue to avoid it, ignore it or distain it, you will see you career whither.
2408 The smallest things matter - Is it possible
to care too much?
February 24, 2006
Stop worrying. Relax. Don’t concern yourself with things you can’t
change. Don’t sweat the small stuff. I bet you have heard many of these
phrases as you work through your high-tech career. Someone is always telling
you not to be so concerned with the issues that surround you. Sometimes they
even say that you care too much. It is this caring, though, that raises you
above the average employee. It is this caring that helps improve your career
and your company. I would argue that it is this caring that makes your career
worthwhile. Is it possible to care too much about your work? For me, I think
it’s is a major pre-requisite for excelling in any career.
2409 Would you recommend a friend?
March 3, 2006
If you want a good litmus test of how much you like your current job
or your current company, ask yourself this question, “Would you recommend that
a friend work at your company? If you are like many high-tech workers today,
you probably found yourself saying “Uh...” This simple question
can elicit a strong response if you take the time to ask it of yourself. Would
you? If not, why not? If you wouldn’t recommend a friend work at your
company, why are you working there? Hmm. As with all good questions, this one
spurs even more questions and a deeper evaluation of the current state of your
career.
2410 Future-proofing your projects
March 10, 2006
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) recently launched their latest space probe,
New Horizons, which will be the first such probe to visit and study the planet
Pluto. While you probably don’t need to worry about ensuring your latest
network server is still operating 10 years from now and a couple billion miles
away, taking a long-term approach to your projects, like JPL, can help to insure
their success. I call this future-proofing.
2411 Believing
impossible things
March 17, 2006
" Alice laughed: "There's no use trying," she
said; "one can't believe impossible things."
"I daresay you haven't had much practice," said the Queen. "When
I was younger, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed
as many as six impossible things before breakfast." -- Alice in Wonderland.
The truth is, as Lewis Carol seemed to know, we often need to believe
a great many impossible things every day of our life. Doctors once
thought
that disease
was caused by “bad air” or lack of morality – astronomers
thought the Earth was the center of the universe and scientists thought heavier
objects fell faster than lighter ones. Knowledge is never static, but always
in a state of becoming. Once you understand that, you can begin to explore
what “impossible things” you need to be believing today.
2412 You
want to do what?
March 24, 2006
Would you get an RFID chip implanted in your arm so you could access the company
data center? Would you take a test that asks deeply personal questions with
no perception of anonymity? Would you take a lie detector test? How about a
drug test? If any of these scenarios sound frightening to you, you should start
thinking about your response now, because everyone will be facing these decisions
sooner than we might like. Is any job worth sacrificing your privacy?
2413 A
Death in the Family
March 31, 2006
Funerals have a way of sharpening your perspective on everything. The father
of friend died unexpectedly this week. He had also become our friend over the
years, helping us with legal and corporate issues in our small company. I also
worked for him, providing computer assistance. As I talked with his wife after
the services, she related how I would need to stop by soon to help her sort
out all the information that was stored in their computers and help her put
things in order. What’s even more striking is, this is not the first
time I have had this discussion with someone.
2414 The usual things
April 7, 2006
We all have parts of our job that we dislike. For me, this week has been a
succession of re-installing Windows on crashed computers. As I write, the 5th
machine is on the tech bench here in my office, slowly re-gathering its software
brains. While I would much rather be helping my clients make the most of their
computers, the computers have to be functioning first. So I sit and stare at
slowly moving thermometer bars, waiting to insert the next disk. All this tedium
does serve one purpose, though. It reminds me to look for ways to relieve the
boredom that such work brings. Otherwise, a job, and more importantly a career,
can turn into an endless march of drudgery from one day to the next.
2415 Open
your eyes and ears
April 14, 2006
If you have ever visited the wilderness after a long time in the city, you
have probably noticed an interesting phenomenon. When you finally pull over
and turn off your car, you are struck with an odd, almost overpowering sense
of silence. This silence can seem so “loud” as to almost be palpable – something
you can reach out and touch. After a short time, though, you start to notice
that there are indeed sounds among the silence. You start to hear the buzz
of hummingbird wings, the call of a scrub jay and even the sound of the breeze
through the trees.
2416 Say what you mean and mean what you say
April 21, 2006
What do you do when the boss asks you whether a project will be completed on-time?
How about when they ask you what you think about a particular project or idea?
If you are like most people, you might prevaricate, hem and haw, even outright
lie – anything to keep you out of hot water. It is a natural human trait,
but one that has corrosive effects on business and relationships in general.
We might think that we are protecting ourselves, or protecting the other person
from some hard truths, but instead we are only setting ourselves up for eventual
conflict and maybe even failure. If you want to have an effective and successful
high-tech career, you need to say what you mean and mean what you say.
2417 Zoom in
April 28, 2006
Over the years I have written several columns encouraging you to step back
and try to get a bigger picture of your work and your career. While this is
still good advice, reversing this concept can also be useful. There are times
when you need to zoom in on your work and inspect the minutia that are often
ignored. Not only will this intense focus yield its own reward, it will also
help you to gain a deeper understanding of the big picture.
2418 Keep your head in the game
May 5, 2006
Spring is here, and I am finding myself at the ball field each weekend for
Little League practices and games. In fact, as I write, my son Joe is catching
for his team. Watching a group of 7-9-year-olds struggle with the fundamentals
of a game can be very enlightening. You quickly begin to see parallels between
new ball players and new high-tech careerists. Using sports metaphors in business
is a bit cliché, especially for someone as un-athletic as myself, but
writers continue to use them because, sometimes, they are most appropriate.
2419 High-Tech Super Hero
May 12, 2006
There are days when I wish I had some super power that allowed me to sense
when someone was about to make a nasty high-tech mistake. Then I could swoop
in, act as translator and ombudsman and save countless hours and dollars on
my client’s behalf. Instead, though, I am forced to field the early morning
phone calls where a client explains how some software upgrade or network change
has reduced their computer systems to nothing more than a pile of worthless
wires and switches, worth more for its copper content than anything else.
2420 Damaged
May 19, 2006
It is a sad fact that, especially in high-tech careers, some workers have been
so damaged by their work experiences they have lost all hope of ever having
a fulfilling career. They feel beaten down, used up and cast aside by their
employers and sometimes by their co-workers. After nearly 10 years of writing
this column, and 20-year career in high-tech companies, I have met or talked
with many such people. The most damaged have resigned themselves to lives of “quiet
desperation”, bemoaning the tedious or destructive elements of their
work. They no longer try to change their career. They simply exist and remain
day in and day out in a job they hate.
2421 What if it were you?
May 26, 2006
It has happened to all of us. You get the call, or the email, "The boys
upstairs say we have to do XYZ." Then, often without question, we do exactly
that, no matter how wrong we might think the action. There are several flaws
to such blind obedience and we see them nearly every day.
2422 Magic
Words
June 2, 2006
There is a long forgotten secret of the business world, but it also applies
to volunteer work and life in general. While we might encounter it on occasion,
for the most part, this secret has been abandoned like the concept of wearing
spats or holding doors for women. In an effort to improve your lives and your
careers, I am going to re-introduce you to the secret. Even in today's world,
there are some magic words that can smooth all waters, inspire those around
you to great heights and even convince people that they have a purpose in the
world. What words could possibly hold such power? Thank you.
2423 Career, not complaints
June 9, 2006
Typically, discussions about jobs and careers consist of people complaining
about their jobs and careers. We seem to have no problem griping about our
managers, customers and CEO. When it comes to discussions about how to improve
our careers, though, we fall silent. We seem to revel in the horrors of our
jobs, but feel embarrassed to admit that we are unprepared to do anything to
about it or to even discuss what can be done. Complaining takes the place of
useful action but we end up just where we started.
2424 What to do when your career is going well?
June 16, 2006
Despite the fact that we all have challenges to face in our careers, there
are times when things are going our way. There are times when we find the perfect
job at the perfect moment with the perfect company. When this happens, you
usually just want to sit back and enjoy. While you certainly should take pleasure
in finding a job that is fulfilling and enjoyable, you should not forget to
stay prepared for the time when desire or circumstance leads you out of this
job and into the next.
2425 Busting Assumptions
June 23, 2006
Most everyone knows the aphorism about what can happen when you assume things.
You can draw a direct line between assumptions and mistakes and this is exactly
what happens in most companies on a daily basis. We assume that a certain task
is done, but it isn't. We assume someone else will remember to do something
if we forget. We assume that our manger or our company is looking out for our
best interests. Assumptions are nothing more than wild guesses about what is
really happening. In business, you need to be very careful about the assumptions
you make and work diligently to insure that people don't have to make assumptions
about your goals, work or character.
2426 Don't
let your clients fall behind
June 30, 2006
Visiting a new client this week, I was reminded of the pain clients can feel
when their computers fall too far behind the state of the art. While no one
wants to buy hardware and software they don't need, neither do they want to
make huge leaps when they are finally forced to upgrade. A slow progression
of software and hardware updates is far more preferable to the "forced
march" of an emergency upgrade.
2427 The iconoclast
July 7. 2006
An iconoclast originally referred to a person who destroyed icons, that is,
sacred paintings or sculpture.
From the Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iconoclast
High-tech workers tend to be on the cutting edge of both
work and society, so it isn't surprising that you will find an iconoclast
or two among our
ranks. These are the people who purposely seek out the sacred cows, the ironclad
beliefs of our business and unassailable facts and delight in mocking, attacking
and disproving them. Often, though, these iconoclasts can forget that not
everyone needs such a fervent attack. Not everyone is part of the great unwashed,
and uneducated, masses. There are plenty of folks out there that are already
on their side. When this is forgotten, these free-thinkers can actually harm
their goals by "preaching to the choir" with a bit too much fervor.
2428 Time for you
July 14, 2006
A crazy workday is familiar to all of us. We are busy from the moment we arrive
to the moment we leave...and even after we leave, in some cases. Our lives
are driven by one urgent project after another. While we may be busy in this
environment, too often we are not very productive. Without some time for ourselves,
to re-group, analyze and plan, all of our busyness can come to mean very little.
To break free from the constant interruptions of your event driven work, you
need to take time for yourself, morning, noon and night.
2429 Looking
back to move forward
July 21, 2006
One of the most damaging phrases during any business meeting
is, "We've
tried that before." Often, one failed attempt at a project, even years
before, is enough to disqualify it forever. How silly is that? Projects fail
for a variety of reasons -- lack of planning, bad timing, bad product --
so a project that might have failed in the past could still become an important
part of your business today. 2430 Longevity
July 28, 2006
Longevity, whether in the writing of a column or the length of your current
job is usually seen as something good. It shows a commitment and reliability
that is often sought in employees. That said, there can be some downsides
to longevity, if you don’t monitor your career and your accomplishments.
2431 A slap in the face
August 4, 2006
Vacations are a wonderful and necessary part of any
career, but returning from a vacation can often feel like a surprising slap
in the face. Pent-up demand for your time, emergencies, crises and the simple
act
of getting back to work can feel so foreign after even a few days away. So,
while it is important to take vacations to prevent career burnout, it is also
important
to put some thought into returning from vacation.
2432 Consumerism and your Career
August 11, 2006
There has been much talk about excessive consumption over the last few years
and how it effects our lifestyle and our lives. One aspect that seems to be
ignored, though, is how excessive consumerism can effect your career. Frequently,
when talking with people I find that they have made major concessions in other
aspects of their lives only so they could obtain the supposed trappings of
success...the expensive car, the elegant clothes or the large house. Basing
your career choices solely on the amount of money they provide can lead you
into the, all too familiar, trap of having all the material goods you have
ever wanted, but finding yourself very unhappy with the life you need to maintain
in order to acquire all those material goods.
2433 When
opportunity knocks
August 18, 2006
Sometimes we miss some of the biggest career opportunities in our lives simply
because we don't ask. There are hundreds of career possibilities in the world
today, many which pass by on a daily basis, but you need to be attuned to them
and grasp them when they come into view. Opportunity will come knocking, but
you have to be there to answer the door.
2434 Do
it now!
August 25, 2006
Does your company provide you with a 401k plan, tuition reimbursement, free
classes or any other perks? Are you taking advantage of it? Why not? The truth
is, these perks could disappear tomorrow for any number of reasons. You need
to make a move, now, to take full advantage of everything your company offers,
otherwise you miss out!
2435 When you can't help
September 1, 2006
As the world of technology becomes more complex, you as a high-tech worker
or consultant will start to feel the effects of this complexity. In the past
we may have prided ourselves on our ability to provide a solution to every
client, but today the world is simply too complicated to allow that. Too frequently
these days we find ourselves standing between two, finger-pointing corporations
who insist to the end that the problem is not their fault. Despite your best
effort, you will have to admit, sometimes, that you can't help the client any
further.
2436 Work
and Freedom
September 8, 2006
When we are working, we often think about what those hours will buy. Is this
part of a new car, a new HDTV, a new house? We think in terms of money -- how
much per hour, how much we need to cover our credit card bills, how much to
pay the mortgage? I believe, however, that we are buying something much more
important with our work hours -- something much more precious. We are not just
making money or buying "things", we are actually purchasing little
pieces of freedom. When you think about work in this way, it takes on even
greater importance in our lives.
2437 Drifting
September 15, 2006
How long are you willing to wait for your company to get its collective "act" together?
How long will you suffer through hiring freezes and a moratorium on raises?
How long will you suffer a company whose planning, and treatment of their workers,
is abysmal at best? How long will you wait before you look for a better job
and a better company? You might be surprised at the answer.
2438 Silence
September 22, 2006
If you want to anger, frighten or infuriate someone, often the only thing you
need to do is remain silent. Failure to respond to questions, support requests
or complaints allows the client/customer to think the worst about you, your
skills and your services. Yet, this is exactly how some companies, and their
workers, function from day-to-day. For the sake of your own career, you need
to avoid the silence or you may just find yourself out of a job.
2439 Work Theater
September 29, 2006
Looking busy at work is a fine art form that has been honed over decades and
centuries of workers and companies. Regardless of how much your thinking actually
impacts your productivity, if you don't "look busy" management is
sure to come calling. The result of all this effort is something I call "work
theater." It has all the outward appearance of work, but very few benefits
to you or your company. Unfortunately, it seems that every job today requires
some work theater, just to stay employed.
2440 Career-Op: What you want...
October 6, 2006
At some time in your career, there will come a time when what you want and
what other's want from you will diverge. It has happened several times in my
life and each time it was a challenging moment. When it happens to you, you
will find yourself questioning some very basic truths about your work and your
life. Finding answers requires some hard thinking and, sometimes, difficult
choices. What will you do when the time comes to choose between your own path
or someone else's? Are you ready to face that decision today?
2441Knowing all you can
October 13, 2006
How much do you know about the company for which you work? How about your company's
market? Do you know the names or professional backgrounds of the members of
the board of directors? Why should you care? The truth is, knowing all you
can know -- about your company, your market, your work and the interests of
those around you -- directly effects the success of your career. Workers who
are insular and care only about the day-to-day tasks they must face will find
themselves blindsided by circumstances that might have been foreseen. Your
job and your career do not exist in a vacuum. Learn as much as you can about
all aspects of your company and you can and will make better decisions about
everything.
2442 Making the professional, personal
October 20, 2006
One of the best ways to build your business, and your career, is to focus not
on the business itself, but on the one, unique item you have to sell...yourself.
Making your profession personal means giving your clients a direct and personal
connection to the work you do. The professional/personal concept came to mind
during one of my monthly Career-Op Skypecasts. These are open teleconferences
where readers and podcast listeners can ask questions of myself and other attendees.
On two separate occasions, I have been asked what workers can do to protect
themselves against outsourcing and layoffs. While my own work situation as
a freelancer is unique, I believe that others can make use of some of my methods.
2443 Just-in-time learning
October 27, 2006
How often do you know everything about a job or project before you walk through
the door? How often do you know everything about a piece of hardware or software
before you have to install it or, even more likely, teach it to someone else?
The world moves too quickly these days to possibly learn everything we need
to know, before we need it. In today's world, we are often deeply engaged in
more "just-in-time" learning than ever before. So, how does one survive
in a world where we are learning and teaching at the same time? Oddly enough,
to be successful at just-in-time learning, you actually have to make many preparations.
2444 Getting Paid
November 3, 2006
Over my years as a freelance computer consultant, I've heard many stories of
workers who have difficulty getting paid for their work. There can be disagreements
about whether a project has been completed, claims of cash-flow problems or
even, at the worst, simple fraud. Sometimes companies or individuals can be
slow to pay invoices or, when they grudging pay, complain about the quality
of your services. There are, it seems, a myriad ways to not get paid for your
work.
2445 A Critical Eye on Advice
November 10, 2006
There is a wealth of career advice and information available today via books,
television and the Internet. Most is given in the sincere hope of improving
the lives of others. It is important to draw on this advice to improve your
life and career whenever possible. I am constantly reading reams of material
every week, looking for ideas to keep my career on track. Despite all that,
there can be a dark side to career advice if you don't think deeply and clearly
about the advice you decide to implement.
2446 The Stall
November 17, 2006
No matter who you are, or what you do, there will be times when your thoughts
will feel scattered. Too many ideas, competing for too little time. Your thoughts
simply go around and around and you can't seem to choose any one item on which
to focus. I call this painful state -- "the stall." You are so overwhelmed
with it all that you stop -- dead in your tracks. Your anxiety rises as your
productivity falls until it seems you will never escape.
2447 Does
someone else own your work?
November 24, 2006
Do you really own the rights to your great new invention? How about the copyright
of your latest novel? What about the first novel you wrote while you were in
college? If you don't pay close attention to patent and copyright policies
of your schools and your workplace, you could be in for a very ugly surprise.
2448 A Better Way
December 1, 2006
If there is one lesson you can take away from nearly every Career Opportunities
column, it is the fact that there is always a better way. I don't care how
entrenched the problem, there is a way to solve it that will make your working
world a better place to be. You shouldn't simply have to "live with it." Granted,
the more difficult the problem the more dramatic the solution will need to
be. Having the courage to address the problem is where we often fail, though.
We forget that there is a better way and struggle on for months or years.
2449 Tell it like it is
December 8, 2006
When you are addressing problems in your work and your career, I usually recommend
taking a soft approach. No matter how severe the problem, a few gentle words
can often smooth the waters and get people back on track. That said, there
will come a time in your career when you simply have to tell it like it is.
While it does call for a certain amount of tact, this isn't a time for sugar-coating
the message. If you have tried resolving the problem with more subtle methods,
then it might be time to sit down with the person and deliver a bit of unvarnished
truth.
2450 Get your next job by referral
December 15, 2006
If you have been interviewed for even a few jobs, you have realized that
the process is biased against you in many ways. Everything is designed
to make the process easier and more successful for your future employer
rather than for you. Despite your needs as an employee, the process is
designed to grind through the list of candidates and spit out a, hopefully,
qualified employee. If you want to survive this process and find the
job, and the career, you deserve, you need to move beyond the traditional
strategies of cover letter and resume. You need to find ways to circumvent
the process and develop an advantage over the other candidates.
2451 Your employer needs you as much as you
need them
December 22, 2006
It is almost 2007 and yet we still have some archaic views of the employer/employee
relationship -- on both sides. We have seen the concepts of corporate
loyalty overturned and the paternalistic concepts of group health care
and pensions are quickly disappearing. With all these changes, though,
there is one change even more important to the average worker. It is
an even more difficult change because it has to be developed from the
inside, from the individual, rather than imposed by the corporate structure.
You must finally take to heart the concept that your company -- your
employer needs you, your skills and your intelligence, as much as you
need the company. As more companies seek to treat you as an independent
contractor, you must embrace that role and make it your own. Otherwise,
you are fooling yourself into living in a world where no one is ever
outsourced and you spend your entire career working for one company --
a fantasy today if it ever really existed.
2452 Career Opportunities' Vision for your career
December 29, 2006
As we approach the end of the year, we sometimes look to resolutions
to guide our way. Instead, this year, I found myself thinking of the
Career Opportunities Vision. What goals am I trying to accomplish with
this column? What do I want to impart to you? How can I make a difference
in your career and, possibly, in your life? This column is the sum of
my thinking and will be my guiding light for Career Opportunities in
2007.
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