How I Spent My Summer Vacation - Work Related?

I just returned from vacationing for 8 days or so in Lincoln, NE. Lincoln is not exactly a hotspot resort destination for the general public, but it is a mecca for a group of auto racing drivers.

To get a flavor for what motivates 1,200 or so drivers from all over the country to spend a week or more in Nebraska, check out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzWGwBd0DBg

My experience is at

http://forum.ovr-scca.org/index.php?topic=533.0

Why bring this up?

There are passions that drive all of us and provide balance in a world full of activity. This is one of the passions in my world.

In my mind, the true definition of recreation is the activity that takes you away from your regular life, where you spend "me time", and do things that bring inner satisfaction. For some, recreation involves high energy and intense activities. For others, recreation is more introspective, thoughtful, calm. I am sure there are some deep psychological reasonings behind why some choose yoga and others choose mountain climbing.

For me, it is pretty easy. As a 6 year old, the guy next door had a '57 Bel Air that he was all the time working on, and I was the kid hanging around. Since then, I've always had an interest in things mechanical and racing.

The thing to remember is to remember is to make time for the passions you have. If you don't, your world will be consumed with everyone else's priorities instead of your own.

Change...Then and Now

A bit off the path of regular business...

I have been fortunate in my life and career in that at a very young and impressionable age I was introduced to Change. "Mr. C" as I sometimes call him made a brash and unannounced entry into my world when I was a lad of maybe 11 or 12 years old.

I remember distinctly the moment. As the oldest of 6 kids, I of course felt responsible for many weighty and serious things, that it was my duty to help ensure things went smooth for the family, that I set a good example for my younger sibs. This meant doing things like chores around the house or making personal sacrifices to enable the greater good. For a 12 year old, it translated into earning my own money by cutting grass and being happy to have hand-me-downs from the cousins.

Of course being the oldest also had its benefits. I usually got to ride up front in the family 9 passenger VW Microbus with Dad, while Mom tended to the rest of the family in the back two rows of seats (yes, I managed to grow up in a perilous, front seat environment, and lived to tell about it).

All was well in my idyllic world when on one of our many trips, Mom announced she was pregnant. Again. Personally, I had about had it with adding kids to the family. I told Mom and Dad that this was a bad idea, that we didn't have room for another kid and we certainly didn't have the spare money. I stopped short of telling them to put it up for adoption, although the thought did cross my mind, and I even rehearsed a speech about it.

I was really upset about this turn of events as it was going to take even more work on my part to make sure things went smooth, and here I was 12 and a half years old, almost a teenager, and starting to think that girls were not all that bad. What were they thinking? Didn't they understand how this would impact me and my world?

Mom smiled as she always did when she was pregnant, and had that beautiful look that all pregnant women have when they know they are carrying a new life within them. She said a new baby was a "...gift from God..." and would be a wonderful addition to our family. Dad, being the engineer and all, was much more pragmatic. "What's the big deal? Our VW is a 9 passenger anyhow and we have an empty seat". He then went on to talk about dinner or Steeler's footbal or something, and I was left to stew in my own pre-teen juices.

It was at that precise moment I came to meet and begin to know Mr. C. Mr. C. taught me that no matter how bad an idea I thought this was, no matter how it might impact me, no matter how misguided my parents were, it was going to happen and I had to deal with it. More importantly, it was up to me to decide how I was going to deal with it and react to it.

It is a lesson in life I value today, particularly during the volatile business times we find ourselves in. During the past few years, I have seen colleagues out of work, companies merge or go under, and the nature of my industry change substantially as many of the skills that were highly valued yesterday become commoditized. You can fight it, you can deny it, and sometimes you can hide from it. But the best thing to do is recognize it, adjust, and adapt.

For example, my own company was recently acquired by a much larger, global staffing and services firm, a leader in the world market. This means many things for me and my team. More resources to draw on, more experiences, more services we can offer, more opportunity for career growth. It also means, new processes and bureaucracy we have to follow, more rules and guidelines we need to adhere to, a new office and location to move to, and probably a hundred other things that impact the world in which me and my team live.

I see some people in other organizations face change like this, and run and hide. Or they stalwartly deny it or secretly subvert it. And in the process, they make themselves and those surrounding them miserable through their actiions and attitudes.

Yet, I see others that consistently prosper and rise to the occasion. Perhaps they disagree with the direction their firm or industry is headed in, and they switch to something better aligned to their beliefs. Others accept change openly and figure out how to successfully play the hand that is given them. In either case, the folks that prosper when their world changes are those that recognize it and leverage it to drive their actions.

With every change, there are things we learn and ways in which we grow that help us be better leaders, parents, co-workers, and people. The upside of accepting and dealing with change is always way better than the downside of resisting it. Sure, there's some downside at times. Comp plans may change and maybe initially not for the better. Roles and responsibilities get shuffled around, and sometimes you lose the "front seat of the bus". At the same time, these are the things that make us "stretch our muscles" and become stronger professionals.

If I have learned nothing else, sometimes Mr. C walks in the door and makes himself right at home without being asked. It's my choice whether to welcome him to the family, avoid him, or try to throw him out.

Much like what happened when my kid brother was announced to a 12 year old many years ago.

Make your reaction to change count in a positive manner.

Employment Outlook

My company, Manpower, has been producing this survey for 47 years, and it has proven to be an accurate assessment of the outlook for employment.

Manpower US Pressroom

To me, the most interesting aspect of this is that it reflects a general optimism, and is consistent what I see here in central Ohio. Clients are starting to be concerned again about finding the right resources, and there is contention for resources.

What does this mean?

If you have been unemployed or underemployed for awhile, now is the time to polish up your resume', start networking, and find that job and company you can love. Along these lines, here's another discussion by our CEO:

http://press.manpower.com/blog/2010/is-quitting-a-good-sign/

The net of it is that we are riding a positive wave of hiring which is good for all. Take advantage of it!

10 Questions To Ask An IT Staffing Company Before Working With Them

Given so many technology folks are entering the contingent labor market for the first time in their careers, I am often asked "How should I decide on which firm or firms to work with?".

Here is a list of 10 questions and answers I provided to a friend recently.

1. Ask the recruiter / sales person / everyone you talk to how long they have been with the company. It should generally be two years or more.

a. If the tenure is short, then the consulting company likely has high turnover in its internal staff. Given staffing is a relationship driven business, high turnover translates to weak sales and consultant relationships.

2. Tell me about your client base. How many client companies do you have? How many are new this past year? Who are your largest three clients?

a. Ideally, the consulting company will have five or more client companies and will have opened at least one new client during the past year. A broad and growing client base is important as it is an indicator of the strength of the sales team and number of opportunities that may be available to you.

3. What is your policy on converting over to full time with the client?

a. Some firms discourage and even prohibit this. If your plan is to eventually go to full time employment with the end client, then it is important.

4. How do I get paid? W2 Salary? W2 Hourly? As an Independent Contractor?

a. See other posts in my blog for a discussion of this. Regardless of your preference, you need to understand pay and benefits!

5. Tell me about your employment agreement. Is there a non-compete clause? Can you give me a copy for review?

a. Some staffing company employment agreements have restrictive non-compete clauses that prohibit the consultant from working for other consulting companies should they leave. A reasonable non-compete is one that allows you to work for other consulting companies, but prohibits you from going back in to the same client for up to a year.


6. Tell me about your benefits.

a. Seems simple, but you would be surprised at the number of companies that don’t offer benefits. Don’t “assume”. This can be a "gotcha" if you don't find out until the end of the negotiation.

7. What can I expect if I allow you to represent me to your clients?

a. You should expect simple things, like:

i. Being asked for your permission to be submitted to a client (some firms send your resume’ all over town without your knowledge or consent!)
ii. Coming to agreement on a salary BEFORE being submitted to a position. Some companies are vague about a salary, have you interview, and then when the client wants you, they offer a salary lower than what you discussed initially.
iii. Getting regular (weekly) feedback on sales and interview activity.


8. How long has your company been in this market?

a. Firms come and go in this space all the time. Related to the tenure question, it takes some time to develop relationships and a steady stream of business. Also reflects the firm’s commitment to the market.


9. Tell me about training opportunities.

a. Given that IT consulting has shifted towards temporary staffing, there is less and less company supported training, and even then most of it is on your own time. However, if it’s important, ask. This is only important if you actually devote time to self development.

10. What happens when my assignment is winding down and coming to an end? What happens after my assignment ends?

a. This is where your questions about “the bench” are answered. Most firms today do not carry folks off assignment, or if they do it is for a very limited time. Generally, when your assignment ends, your employment ends. The firm should be able to articulate a remarketing program to you so that as you come to the end of your engagement, sales activities are ramped up to help you stay on assignment.

I am sure there are many more good questions, and I welcome your thoughts!

Light the Fire Within!

A good friend of mine from high school is Tom "Tommy" Angelo. Tom is one of the most intelligent people I know and gave up a college degree in Aeronautical Engineering (aka "Rocket Science") to pursue his passion with music and poker. Today, he is a very successful poker player and coach, author, and I am sure still pretty good on the piano and drums.

He has a recent post on his blog that I found quite timely and thought provoking:

http://tinyurl.com/ydwp86g

Timely because I just attended a show by one of my musical favorites. Thought provoking because as the years move on I find I still get turned on and jazzed about the old stuff that I always have, PLUS the new interests I've picked up over the past 10 or 15 years.

We need to re-acquaint and remind ourselves of these things, and keep the fires burning that really bring passion to our lives. The demands of modern life pull us in so many directions we sometimes forget about ourselves. Spend a little personal time and get re-acquainted with your old passions and interests. It pays big dividends in your overall happiness.

Using Your Resume' To Turn Inquiries Into Interviews

A couple of quick items to help your resume' turn inquiries into interviews.

Catherine Lang-Cline and Kristen Harris at Portfolio Creative shared with me an old saying in the newspaper business: "Above the fold". In newspaper terms, this means that to get the reader to open up the paper and read it, it has to attract attention on the top half of the page.

Think about it. We pick up a newspaper, and thumb through the (ever decreasing!) sections glancing at the top half of the page. If we see something we like, we stop, open up the paper, and read it.

Your resume' has to work in much the same way. When the HR person or hiring manager picks it up, the top half has to grab their attention. The resume' has to convince the reader that you are the kind of person that warrants a closer look. If the skills, knowledge, and experience of interest to the employer are at the bottom of page 1 or buried in page 2, they may never be seen.

For as much as we painstakingly choose our words to describe ourselves, if the hiring manager doesn't see what they are looking for in the first few paragraphs, odds are your work of artistic expression is headed for the reject pile. This is yet another reason for tailoring your resume' for specific positions, particularly those where you have direct access to the hiring manager.

In today's digital world, the corallary to "above the fold" is "on the first screen". Most resume's are distributed electronically. The employer is going to click on the the document and pull it up in MS Word or Adobe. What they see on "on the first screen" is going to conciously or subconciously make an impression and guide whether they continue to consider you as a candidate.

For example, I just posted an ad for an IT Project Manager with strong experience in application development projects, financial services background, and large enterprise experience. One resume' I received read more or less as follows:

SUMMARY

Accomplished professional with strong track record of delivering projects on time and within budget. Over twenty years of experience in a variety of environments and technologies with unparalleled customer satisfaction. Familiar with current project management techniques and certified in Project Management from PMI.

EXPERIENCE

XYZ Consulting Company 2007 - 2009
Project Manager
Data Center Updgrade Project

As Project Manager, established and led the project team from inception to completion. Developed scope for the effort and managed to this scope to ensure project was completed as scheduled and to desired quality.

• Upgraded hardware and software from a variety of Windows and Unix boxes to a VMWare environment.
• etc.

Reading "above the fold" results in this candidate being set aside. Why? Even though the candidate had 17 years of application development experience in large enterprises, there was nothing said about it "above the fold" or "on the first screen". Looking at the rest of her resume', she appeared to be eminently qualified, but the typical reviewer never would have known as the relevant skills and experience began towards the bottom of the page.

("set aside". What a pleasant euphenism for "rejected")

My recommendation: Look at the last several job inquiries you've made, and compare your resume' "above the fold" to the job description. Does it line up with the top three or four skills / experiences for that position?

If it doesn't, you have work to do.

Managing Your Career and Compensation During Tough Economic Times

A friend of mine is senior analyst, skilled in Agile, formal business analysis techniques, and active in the professional community. She sent me the following note:

"I've been having a conversation with my peeps about handling job offers/changes as the market picks back up. I think that in the bleak times, a lot of people like me accepted job offers that were less than ideal, but way better than nothing.

As thinks pick up though, I think some of us are going to be recruited heavily, and for some of us who were in long-term jobs, this is new experience.

- Is there still a concept of a "minimum" length of tenure at a job?

- Do frequent changes make a prospective employer wonder how long you'll stay with them?

- If you are on a project as an employee of a contracting company, is it honorable or naive to think you should stay with that employer through the term of that project and not pursue other offers?

- What other things should prospective employers and candidates be thinking about?"

Great questions, and quite timely given the nature of the market. Let's address these.


Q: Is there still a concept of a "minimum" length of tenure at a job? Do frequent changes make a prospective employer wonder how long you'll stay with them?


A: Yes, for both permanent and contract positions.


Hiring managers today are much more understanding of the fact that the market is volatile and people are impacted by layoffs that have nothing to do with their individual performance. Depending on the geographic location and the industry, it is not unusual to see a person have three full time employment positions within a five year period.


Similarly, most hiring managers know and accept that individuals who have worked as consultants for any length of time will have numerous client engagements and possibly consulting companies on their resume'.


At the same time, most hiring managers (and HR specialists that screen resume's) still apply some sort of test of reasonableness to tenure. For an employee, while one or even two short term jobs may be understandable, a consistent pattern of multiple short term professional positions generally signals caution.

Similarly, most contract / consulting positions last at least three months, and more typically six months and longer. Having numerous consecutive short term engagements raises question marks.



While a candidate can often explain away specific situations, there is only so much bad luck one person can have! Given the number of candidates on the market right now, employers can be very selective, and will look for easy reasons NOT to hire a person.



Q: If you are on a project as an employee of a contracting company, is it honorable or naive to think you should stay with that employer through the term of that project and not pursue other offers?



A: Yes it is honorable and the right thing to do from a professional perspective, but there are exceptions.



The keys are communication and timing. An experienced consultant knows there are times that are more appropriate for him or her to transition from an assignment, and this guides their actions.



For example, a Project Manager would not leave in the middle of a project. They would wait until completion a phase or key deliverables, and / or have a successor ready to take over for them. A Business Analyst would not leave in the middle of client interviews or JAD sessions, but rather upon acceptance of business requirements by the stakeholders and sponsors.



Still, opportunities sometimes present themselves at the most inopportune times. Should a career opportunity present itself while you are in the midst of another engagement, my recommendations are to:

• Work with your consulting company to discuss the situation and develop a plan. If you truly have a career opportunity, chances are they will want you to leave on a good terms as a friend (and potential future client!).
• Have at least one contigency plan developed that will help ensure the client's success without your presence.
• Time your departure to minimize impact to the client and engagement.

Similarly, there may be personal reasons you may need to leave an assignment (ex: care for a sick relative), and these are generally understood. Still, the same rules apply.

However, these exceptions occur maybe only 10% of the time. A position that simply yields shorter drive time or is closer to your favorite beverage provider is hardly the same as a "career opportunity"! I recommend in the vast majority of cases they commit to and fulfill the duration of the engagement, particularly if they plan on workng as a professional consultant for their career.

Q: What other things should prospective employers and candidates be thinking about?

A: For the employer: Building the right culture and team. For the candidate: Career management, from a broad perspective and for the long term.

The most successful organizations all share a few things in common:

• They are crystal clear from the top of the organization to the bottom about the business they are in, where it is going, and what is happening in the environment that might impact it.
• They expect and develop high performance from all areas of the organization, and constantly strive for improvement.
• They treat the hiring employees as the most sacred and important duty they have.

Right now we are seeing companies hire strong technical and analytical individuals who have traditionally worked as consultants and who happen to be on the market. These professional consultants are taking Full Time Employee positions as a "safe haven" while the economy recovers. I am betting most of these folks will return to consulting within two years.

Why? Because they are not the right long term fits for the organization, and the culture is at odds with what they are all about. My experience has been that once an individual becomes accustomed to consulting / contracting, the tend to prefer it over full time employment.

From a candidate perspective, we all understand that we need to think about continually adding skills, knowledge, and capability to our portfolio so that we can evolve to the jobs of tomorrow. We need to understand what is happening in the industry / business sector we are in. But there is one more thing we need to think about.

At certain points during our professional careers, we need to take risks. We need to move beyond our traditional area of expertise into roles that require different knowledge and skills. We need to put ourselves in situations where there is risk of failure so that we challenge ourselves and grow. Why? Because we are in a world where organizations, jobs, and even entire industries can shrink significantly or even vanish almost overnight.

Ask yourself: "Do I have 20 years of experience, or 2 years of experience 10 times over?". If it is the latter, I hope you have a contingency plan from a financial perspective.

I tell my college age kids that there are only a few things they have to think about in order to manage their careers:

• Work in a job where you get to do the things you like to do, that you enjoy doing, and are interesting to you.
• Understand how you get paid, where the money that pays your salary comes from.
• Study and understand what is happening in your company and industry, and the forces that are impacting its future. Adjust as necessary.

Pretty simple stuff, yet most of us get so wrapped up in the skills and knowledge required for our respective disciplines that we forget to consider the big picture.