Career Opportunities

A few weeks ago I started sending out daily career tips via Twitter. Yesterday, I started a new experiment. I have started to place the tips on Seesmic, as well.

To get your daily dose of career wisdom, visit:

Career Tips on Seesmic
Career Tips on Twitter
Career Tips on FriendFeed

iPod Ready Video

(This podcast is pulled “from the archives” and presented here as a service to more recent listeners — Douglas)

Most high-tech jobs follow a similar pattern…you work, you complete projects, you work some more and at the end of the year you get your performance review. That’s when you find out how you did and what your managers feel you need to do better. Repeat each year until you retire.

I realize, of course, that this is fantasy. Many of us suffer from micro-management on a daily, if not hourly, basis, while others may never get much feedback at all. Instead, we try to judge our performance based on the often confusing comments we receive as we pass our managers in the hallway.

As you might imagine, the passing comments we receive might have little to do with the true perception of our performance. In fact, it can often leave us feeling blindsided by bad news when a formal review does occur.

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Technorati Tags: career, job, jobs, work, workplace, podcast, podcasting, technology, high-tech, employment

As part of an on-going experiment with daily Career Tips on Twitter, I am expanding into using Seesmic to add a video version of the Career Tips.

What’s happening in your career? I’d love to hear via Twitter, Seesmic, or the this website.

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Teaching and sharing are an important part of any career
By Douglas E. Welch

Listen: Teaching and sharing are an important part of any career

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In the past, you might have been told to jealously guard the secrets to your success and only give away as much information as it took to achieve your goals. Each piece of information you had, that someone else lacked, gave you a bit more power — a bit more leverage. You would tie people to you, knowing that no one person had all the answers — all the secrets. This was the path to career success. The goal was to make everyone so dependent on you that they couldn’t dare fire you. If you haven’t already figured this out, that world is no more. Using such behaviors today is more likely to get you fired rather than build your career.

Today’s successful careers are made up of 2 very important parts — teaching and sharing. I have found in my own career that the more information I share, the more information I give away, the more connections, the more visibility and the more money it brings back to me. In the past, you might have been able to horde information, but in today’s hyper-connected world, you are but one source of information. The quality of your information matters much more than the quantity. Hording information today is seen as an anti-social and aggressive behavior that puts the success of one person above the success of everyone involved.

You might be thinking, “but if you give everything away, how do you make any money?” The fact is, there are few people who are willing to go as deep into a project as you are. Like a doctor at a 1950’s cocktail party, people are constantly asking me technology questions. While I am more than happy to answer anything I can, I usually find that once I get beyond about 2 or 3 steps in a troubleshooting processing, they simply throw up their hands and say “Oh, just come over and make it work!” Unlike me, they aren’t inclined to dig down into a problem in the way that is required to solve it. They have their own interests, their on projects and their own needs. By being willing to share my knowledge, though, I am able to show that I have the ability to solve their problems, which turns into a consulting call for me. If I had immediately told them my rate and tried to set up an appointment, I am sure more than half would have simply walked away.

It is also important to be willing to teach those around you who want to learn. Sure, some folks just want you to fix it and really don’t care how you do it. Others, though, want to watch what you are doing and learn from it. Don’t see this as an effort to steal your knowledge, rather see this as an opportunity to give them the tools they need to move forward in their own work or career. The fact is, a more knowledgeable client is a benefit to you, not a detriment. If they have seen you edit the settings of their router, or simply reset it, it will be much easier to offer telephone support in the future. You won’t have to step them through each step by telling them where to click or what menu to choose. You will be able to move towards a solution to their problem directly instead of wasting their time and yours.

Doesn’t this reduce your billable hours, though? Actually, it might, but in return you gain something far more important, You gain a deeper realtionship with the client that will last for years (if not decades, as has been the case for me) instead of someone who calls once and never comes back. Being willing to share and teach develops a deep and long-lasting relationship with your clients, peers and co-workers that will stand the test of economic downturns, layoffs and new jobs. Instead of concentrating on the one-time value of a person, you start to see their lifetime value to you, your business and your career.

Teaching and sharing also establishes your credibility over time. You become the “expert” that everyone refers to their friends and even strangers they might meet. You become a friend and confidant that doesn’t make them feel stupid when they need help. You become the teacher that we all need and want in our lives. If you want to build a career that lasts, share your knowledge and teach whenever you can. The rewards for your efforts will come back a hundredfold.

One time:

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Technorati Tags: career, job, jobs, work, workplace, podcast, podcasting, technology, high-tech, employment

(This podcast is pulled “from the archives” and presented here as a service to more recent listeners — Douglas)

How do you work with your clients? Do you find that you are leading them into new worlds, pushing them, kicking and screaming into the 21st Century or simply walking beside them, trading thoughts and developing technology plans together? In most cases, you will find your work to be a combination of all these and more. Each client requires a unique approach, but identifying these basic levels can help you to provide the best service possible for your clients.

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Technorati Tags: career, job, jobs, work, workplace, podcast, podcasting, technology, high-tech, employment

Take care of yourself first during economic downturns
By Douglas E. Welch

Listen: Take care of yourself first during economic downturns

Whatever indicators you use, it seems clear the US economy is slowing down…some even say, stalling. Whenever the economy slows down it can put tremendous burdens on us all as we are driven to work longer hours with fewer people, along with suffering the stress of on-going layoffs, reduction in hours and more. Looking back on previous downturns, I see that taking care of yourself, physically, emotionally and economically, becomes extremely important. If you don’t, you can find yourself adding personal problems to the economic ones you already face.

Every economic downturn brings a host of layoffs over a wide variety of businesses. Even if you survive a layoff at your company, the added stress of trying to be more productive, with fewer people, can leave everyone feeling a bit shell shocked. Worse still, excessive overtime can leave you feeling physically and emotionally drained. This is an open door for colds, flu and other ailments that sap your productivity just when you need it most.

In order to protect your own health and well-being you must watch your environment carefully and act quickly to prevent becoming just another statistic. If you are asked (perhaps, required) to put in overtime, try to keep it below a certain threshold. You can’t work 80 hours a week, for months on end, and remain productive. If you don’t limit your work hours, your body or your mind will simply do it for you. You will wake up one morning unable to rise from your bed, no matter how pressing your deadlines might be.

If excessive overtime is becoming a regular occurrence, start looking for a new job. Excessive overtime is a sure sign that your company is in trouble. They are trying to survive by cutting costs to the bone without realizing that they are destroying their staff in the process. Riding a sinking ship to the bottom holds no nobility. It only destroys your morale, self-confidence and possibly, your health. In these events, you must do what is best for you. Look and plan carefully. If a new position presents itself, make sure you take the time to investigate it. You might feel too tired or too depressed, but this is exactly the time when you need to look for new opportunities. Don’t allow a bad situation to prevent you from moving on with your career.

Your emotions can take a beating during an economic downturn, too. Most importantly, don’t let anyone make you believe that the company’s problems are your fault. I have seen executives and managers try to shame their employees into higher productivity. The fact is, though, that it is usually these executives and managers who are the most to blame for the company’s troubles. It seems ludicrous to lay the blame on their employees who are already suffering more from economic problems. Emotional abuse, in all its forms, is another red flag that should send you looking for new opportunities.

Finally, protecting yourself economically during a downturn is critical. If you are suffering under mandatory overtime, make sure that that extra money is going into the bank or other investments. While any of us might be tempted to buy that new TV, car or computer with this “extra” money, now is not the time. No one is ever sure how their company will fare during an economic downturn and you need to protect yourself against the possibility that you will be out of job in a week, a month, a year. Build your nest egg now. In a few months, if and when the economic outlook brightens, you will be able to make your purchase outright instead of having to finance it. If the economy continues downward, you will be able to easily survive any troubles that might come your way.

When it comes to your career and the economy, protect yourself as much as possible. Don’t assume that others are looking out for your best interest. Remember, your employer will do what is best for them, even if it happens to be the worst for you. In most cases, they aren’t doing this out of spite, but rather they are doing it out of a desperate attempt to survive. For whatever the reason, though, it is up to you to protect what you have created and what you have earned. Otherwise, a troubled economy might just destroy your career.

One time:

Monthly ($2):

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Technorati Tags: career, job, jobs, work, workplace, podcast, podcasting, technology, high-tech, employment

(This podcast is pulled “from the archives” and presented here as a service to more recent listeners — Douglas)

Ask the typical computer user to describe a tech support or IT worker and you will hear the same response repeatedly. “Whenever you asked him or her a question, they would make an exasperated sigh and then reluctantly tell you what to do.” Beyond any lack of fashion sense or social skills, the exasperated sigh is the hallmark of the tech geek. So much so that Saturday Night Live once had an on-going sketch in which tech staffers took the sigh to ludicrous heights. What some tech workers don’t know, though, is that a simple sigh could be a major pothole in their career. No one likes to be treated like an idiot, but sometimes this is exactly what high-tech workers do.

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Technorati Tags: career, job, jobs, work, workplace, podcast, podcasting, technology, high-tech, employment

An excellent article from Wake Up Later. I agree with nearly everything they say here. In some cases, I have established the same policies, too. If you are a freelancer, or thinking of becoming one, these are some great guidelines.

When I first started freelancing as a college student, I was eager to do any website and would say “Yes” to anything, regardless of my skill set or the time involved. It was just nice to know that someone needed me for a skilled task. Unfortunately, I quickly found myself working all the time, eating Ramen noodles, and not getting anywhere in terms of paying off my wonderful college debt. To make things worse, these people were also giving my contact info out to other such people (you know, the lady who has been thinking about selling dog sweaters online and has a $100 budget for an e-commerce site, 1000 brochures, and a guaranteed #1 Google search result for the words “dog”, “sweater”, and “love”).

(Continue reading on the web site)

Originally found via c_d_j’s delicious bookmarks

[from c_d_j] 10 Absolute “Nos!” for Freelancers

A blog about freelancing, passive income, and my learning experiences with both.

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I use a lot of social media and networking sites, including LinkedIn. One of the features of all of these sites is the ability to “invite” someone to join your network, your contact list, your group whatever. Each site also has some default text that gets sent to the person. In the case of LinkedIn, this reads, “I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.”

If you really want to be effective in using these tools, though, take a few extra minutes to add a personalized note to every invitation, friend request, etc, you send. In my case, I offer Career Opportunities listeners the chance to join my network, BUT they need to tell me this in their invitation. I like to have some small, tangible connection to people in my social networking groups and this is one way I can tell that our paths have crossed, somewhere, sometime.

Do yourself, and your potential contacts, a favor and give them something more to go on then the default invite. If you do, I can guarantee you that many more people will accept your invitations in the future.

** Click the link above to join my LinkedIn network, but remember to tell me that you are a listener or reader of Career Opportunities.