Build your job network to stay competitive

Build your job network to stay competitive: "Silicon Valley personality Guy Kawasaki has written a job-hunting tipsheet that takes advantage of LinkedIn.com , the Bay Area social networking site frequented by professionals.
'In these kinds...











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(Via Clippings.)

How to think faster, better on your feet

From CNN's 'Living

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/08/12/rs.how.to.think.on.feet/index.html


(Real Simple) -- Life coach Gail Blanke went to acting school to learn to improvise in any situation. Turns out the tricks that actors use on stage can help you score a date, land a job -- or just make any conversation more engaging


If you repeat what someone else says and then start next phrase with 'and' that comment can become conversation.

There's no getting around it. We live in an unscripted world. You can rehearse in front of a mirror till the cows come home -- for that job interview, for that meeting where you're expected to speak, for the moment when you finally walk up to that very attractive guy at the gym and introduce yourself. But the minute there's another person involved, the script goes out the window. If you mean to make an impression, you have to be able to think on your feet, hurl yourself into the moment, and improvise.

How? Well, obviously, some people are simply naturals. To help the rest of us develop some techniques, I turned to the professionals.

An actor friend had told me about the Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB), a highly respected training center for comic improv in New York City, so I called up the academic supervisor, Joe Wengert, and asked if I could sit in on one of his classes. Luckily, he said yes. And saying yes, it turns out, is nothing less than the heart and soul of improv. But more on that in a minute. Real Simple: When friends behave badly

Here's the first thing I learned in that class: Advancing the dialogue -- or "moving the scene forward," as they say in the acting world -- is what improvising is all about. It's the same deal if you are onstage, in a boardroom, or trying to get your point across at a PTA meeting. "Dead air" is verboten in acting, and it doesn't work too well in life, either. You either take the conversation into new territory or you kill it.

So to make better connections with people and to get what you want -- whether it's a promotion at work, a new relationship, or simply a delightful conversation -- you have to be ready to "move the scene forward." I watched the 14 men and women in that improv class invent hilarious, fast-moving dialogue on the spur of the moment with words like "beach," "reunion," or (my favorite) "eating contest" as their only direction. And, boy, did they take the scenes to some pretty wild places. Still, I actually believed them.

What's their secret? Interestingly, all the improv actors I spoke to pretty much agreed that the following three principles are at the heart of their art. And, without exception, they use them to propel conversations forward in their real lives, too.

1. The "yes...and" technique

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How it works: Say two actors are given the words "blueberry pie" with which to create a scene. It might go:

Actor 1: "I made a blueberry pie."

Actor 2: "Yes, you made a blueberry pie. And you remember the last time we had blueberry pie?"

Actor 1: "Yes, I remember. We took a picnic into the woods, and that's when you said you wanted to join a nudist colony."

You see what's happening? Suddenly there's a story; suddenly there's a direction and a purpose. Using the simple words "yes...and" moves the scene into new territory, and that's where new possibilities occur.

How to make it work for you: So let's say it's Monday and you're at the gym and that very attractive guy says, "It was a beautiful weekend." If all you say is "Yes, it was great," that ends the conversation right there. But if you say, "Yes, it was great. And I really made the most of it. I went to a concert in the park and brought my yellow Lab. He snatched a sandwich right out of the hands of some poor woman having a picnic. But we had fun."

Now you've got something. You can follow up with "Do you like dogs?" or "Have you ever been to a concert in the park?" And, bingo, the next thing you know, you're on your way to another concert in the park with none other than that very attractive guy. (Maybe minus the dog.)

The "yes...and" technique gives you the chance to acknowledge what's been said and then move the conversation to a new place, where you just might discover something -- or someone -- delightful.

Using "yes...and" can also help you direct a conversation to where you want it to go. Here's an example: Your son says, "I hate my math teacher." Instead of saying, "Well, that's just silly" or, distractedly, "Aha," and ending the conversation right there, you could say, "Yes, you hate your math teacher. And that reminds me of how much you hated your history teacher -- until you started to love her. Remember? I mean, things can change, right?"

I recently tried "yes...and" at a meeting of the board of governors of the small golf club in Connecticut that I belong to. One board member gravely announced some disturbing news: "The porta-potty is quite close to the women's tee on the seventh hole, and some of the women have complained about the, uh, odor and noise." There was silence while we all pondered this momentous issue. "Yes," I said, leaping in. "It's close all right. And we should move it to the men's tee." It got a laugh, but more important, new suggestions were offered, the problem was resolved, and we moved on. I mean, I definitely "forwarded the scene." Real Simple: Easy ways to exit awkward situations

2. Go with your gut

How it works: Improv actors don't think too much before they speak. And, in the experience of those I spoke to, the first, intuitive thought is usually the best anyway. "There's no time to rationalize, no time to weigh the pros and cons of your response," says Mike Ross, a 34-year-old lawyer and a student at the UCB.

Or as Yogi Berra put it: "You can't think and hit at the same time."

How to make it work for you: Try to break the habit of second-guessing yourself before you speak. While you're busy thinking up the "right" response, that awkward silence is settling in.

Imagine that you're in a job interview. Of course you've memorized your list of "strengths" and come up with a good answer for the inevitable question about your "weaknesses" and all the reasons why you'd be perfect in this position. But your prospective boss doesn't ask you about any of that. Instead, she says, "So what in the world would make you want to join a crazy company like this, where people work around the clock and just about everything changes every day?"

Rather than struggling to come up with the perfect scripted response by saying, "Well, uh, you ask an interesting question. Let's see, I, uh...," listen to the voice inside your head. Trust it. And start speaking without critiquing yourself (which is when those ums and uhs jump in). Maybe you'll say, "Well, why do you do it?" which isn't perfect, but it's just fine. Or "Well, if you love what you're doing, I guess it doesn't matter, does it?" Or maybe you'll blurt out something like "What? Are you all nuts?" In which case, you'll probably break the ice and get a laugh.

The key is to trust your instinct. And the key to that is to practice, so when it comes to the crunch, you know your intuition isn't going to pull any lousy tricks on you.

Try these exercises to hone your intuitive responses.

• "Watch Desperate Housewives or 30 Rock and assume you are one of the characters," suggests Mike. "Respond out loud to whatever is going on with whatever comes into your head. Be outrageous, be crazy, but keep the scene going." Will you put your foot in your mouth sometimes? Absolutely. In improv, you go on as if that's what you meant to do. If you act like you meant it, the audience will buy it. That works in real life, too.

• Play speed improv games with friends at a dinner party or on the beach. Throw out a word or a phrase, like "shower curtain," "police precinct," or "family reunion." Tell them about the "yes...and" technique and take turns creating a fast-talking scene where you have to think on the fly. Real Simple: How to handle sticky situations

3. Make everyone else in your group look good.

How it works: Here's what you learn in improv: You're nothing without somebody else. There's nothing to improvise without someone to improvise with. The more you trust others to be your props, the more you invite them to shine, the stronger you get.

Sammy Buck, a 39-year-old UCB student and a writer said he was astounded at how much satisfaction he feels when playing a supporting role in a scene. "In improv, I've learned I'm as happy to help move things forward as I am to take the lead," he says. "Maybe even happier."

How to make it work for you: In any situation, practice acknowledging the others in your group (the "yes") and always make an effort to promote their ideas (the "and"). It quite simply makes for better conversation.

For instance, you're at the first meeting of a newly formed book club. You've read the book. You've even made notes about what you liked and didn't like. You're really prepared to look smart. But that's not what you're here for, is it?

So when the host asks, "What did you think of the book? Did you like it?" instead of running through your list of critiques, you say, "Yes, I loved it. I thought it was so touching, especially at the end. But I was really impressed when Lydia told me how she thought the ending could have been different. I'd love to hear her talk more about that." It's such a relief -- and so much more enjoyable for everyone -- when you don't have to prove yourself to be the smartest person in the room.

It's so easy to incorporate these improv techniques into your life. And, with a bit of practice and observation, you'll be winging it like a pro before you know it.

Whenever you have a chance, watch improv artists at work and learn from them. Catch Larry David on HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm," which uses dialogue that is largely improvised. Or rent any Robin Williams movie. Boy, talk about tapping into your intuition! Nobody does it better or has more fun with it.

Better still, consider taking an improv class yourself. Check the listings for local acting schools or community centers. Bring a friend with you. Let yourself go. And, hey, you might even move your own scene forward in ways you never dreamed you could.

Good Tips from Dean Tracy, Creating Conversation in the Interview

Creating Conversation in the Interview

By Dean Tracy

I am often accused, and guilty, of talking too much. In fact, my wife will tell people that I can call a wrong number and talk for 20 minutes! In business, however, a key element to success is knowing when to talk and when to keep quiet.

In my article “You’ve Accepted the Offer - Now What?,” I advise readers to “Keep your mouth closed and your ears open during your first 30 days of employment.” The same is true during the interview process. It’s important that you allow the hiring manager or recruiter an opportunity to speak, and to ask you questions while discussing your qualifications for the job.

However, as with everything in business, it’s a fine line. The biggest mistake that a candidate can make during the interview process, is to address questions with one-word answers, such as “yes,” “no” or “perhaps.” I have actually seen this happen, and have been told by hiring managers that this is considered, by most, to be the beginning of the end for the candidate in the selection process.

As you interview, you must remember another of the main messages I like to emphasize -- “Lack of conversation reflects lack of interest.” Having said this, I have listed four simple questions below for you to ask in your interview. These questions are designed to prompt meaningful conversation in the interview while also allowing you to craft your answers in a way that sets you up as the strongest candidate of choice.

I encourage you to try these four questions in your next interview:

Why is this position available?

You want to know if this is a new position or if it is one that is being backfilled due to someone leaving. The way they answer this question will open the opportunity for you to learn more about the culture of the company. If it’s described as a new position, this suggests that the company is growing. If this is a vacant position due to a backfill, it will be a great way to learn why the other person is no longer in this role. This prepares you to properly answer the follow-up questions that they may have.

What are you looking for in a candidate in order for them to be successful in this role?

You want to know what the hiring manager’s expectations are for the person in this position. This will highlight the areas that are most important to the hiring manager in meeting their goals.

What are your “pain points” and what keeps you awake at night?

The hiring manager or recruiter will use this as an opportunity to share how busy they are and how much has to get done before month-end. This offers a perfect opportunity for you to address ways that you can confront these difficulties while using real examples of how you may have dealt with this type of specific challenge in the past.

Do you see any flags that would prevent me from being the perfect candidate for this position?

This is where you get to “close the deal.” By this point in the interview, you both have had an opportunity to sense whether or not this is a match, given the dialogue and based upon the questions above. It is at this point in the interview where they may share their concerns, or they will tell you that you are a solid candidate.

If they share any concerns, it gives you an opportunity that you may not have had otherwise to address these concerns with them, and put their mind at rest regarding your capabilities.
It’s important that you carefully craft your replies to include examples of your success in previous roles. A good response will include a previous “Problem / Action / Result” that you may have experienced professionally in any of your recent positions. Tying your past experience to the current expectations will prove beneficial in highlighting your skills and capabilities.

Keep in mind that the hiring manager’s answers to these questions will also reflect their individual degree of integrity. If they begin to talk poorly of the person that is no longer in this role or of the company as an enterprise, then you have a pretty good idea of what type of boss this person may be as they manage you and your tasks.

Of course, you will need to add your own flavor to these questions based upon your gut instinct, but, if asked properly, these questions may make the difference in receiving an invitation for another round of meetings.

Good luck and go get’em!

Dean Tracy is a Professional Recruiter, Public Speaker and Career Coach based in Northern California with an emphasis on placing and coaching professionals at a national level. He also serves on the Leadership Team for Job Connections, which is recognized as one of Northern California's largest and most reputable Professional Networking Groups.

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Employment Profile

Not too long ago I completed a profile for a company that requires it as a part of their application for employment. I thought it was reasonably accurate in most areas. I've pasted the results below.

Summary

Aron, your responses indicate that you are an intensely persuasive and determined person. You delegate details and obtain technical support whenever it is possible. Your inclination is to deal with a project's key elements rather than its specifics. Too much definite structure and regulation affects your level of comfort. Since you are a very likeable person who takes time to listen to people, it is probable that you have many acquaintances and friends.

Communication Style

Aron, you have strong social skills and are excellent at quickly establishing rapport. You enjoy talking to people and do so with enthusiasm and spontaneity. Your style of fast, lively expression is both engaging and effective. You are a fluent speaker who expresses thoughts quickly, optimistically, and persuasively.

Also, Aron, you respond to people with flexibility and open-mindedness. You relay a tone that is uninhibited, creative, and, at times, quite independent.

You enjoy talking and can put people at ease. You use a fun, indirect style of communication. You are people-oriented and can easily relate with another person's point of view.

Aron, you are a natural team player. You readily delegate authority, and you embrace training. You do not care to be involved with too many technical details. You let others set game plans, priorities and time frames.

You function well when you are allowed a lot of people-interaction. You would rather talk about details than write them down. You enjoy being the focus of attention.

Leadership

Leadership Style: Persuasive
You perform your leadership role by using your excellent ability to interpret people's actions and dialogue, and then by persuading them to do things your way. You like a leadership role, function in a manner suitable to your environment, and support teamwork. You develop your people with enthusiasm. You delegate details freely and may be disinclined to delegate authority. You actively promote change and look for new ways of reaching goals.

Conscientiousness

You focus on your goals with self-discipline and positive motivation. You are able to recognize the importance of applying hard work, planning, and organization to achieving the tasks before you. Your determination to achieve excellence is complemented by a purposeful disposition.

Motivation

Motivation Needs:
Aron, you tend to be motivated by a great deal of interaction with people, and by identifying with a prestigious organization with a good public image. You desire opportunities to make more money for yourself, or to improve your status within the organization. You are motivated by praise, public recognition, and by acceptance. You are most productive when working as a team player, and when you are liked by others.

You tend to be demotivated if your territory or opportunity is reduced in size, or if you are not allowed a significant amount of people-interaction or teamwork. Insufficient recognition from management and/or peers can also affect your motivation. You can be demotivated by a perception of not being personally liked, and by not being invited to meetings with peers.

Primary Motivation:
• A lot of interaction with people.
• Meeting new people and making friends.
• Opportunities to make more money and improve status.
• Being a team player within the organization.
• Praise and public recognition.
• Identifying with an organization that has prestige and a good public image.
• Awareness of what is going on in the organization.
• Acceptance and being liked by others.

Primary Demotivation:
• You perceive you are not liked.
• You are not invited into meetings with your peers.
• Your territory, (opportunity) is reduced in size.
• You feel you are not part of the team.
• You do not have enough people contact.

Emotional Intelligence

Aron, your responses indicate that your Emotional Intelligence is exceptionally well developed. You pursue your goals energetically, and you persevere until your goals are achieved. You strive continually for self-improvement, and you are not discouraged by temporary setbacks or disappointments. Your negotiation, persuasion, leadership, and conflict
resolution skills are probably very well developed. You perform your work conscientiously, and delay gratification while pursuing your goals. You display appropriate self-confidence. You tend to understand the emotional makeup of others.

Work Status

I am still employed and my employer is still in business. We've trimmed down to ~40 employees and lots of people are doing things beside what they were hired to do, myself included. While many people are clearly demoralized and reluctant to do things outside their areas of expertise, I'm rather enjoying it. Granted, most of the things I've been working on are still technology related but instead of drafting policies, working with vendors on disaster recovery, and negotiating contracts, I'm still doing interesting things. I'm instead working with wholesale vendors to sell off excess equipment, working with facilities to smooth out issues with the building security and alarm panels, helping users directly, I relocated an office almost single-handedly (network, phone, servers, switches, routers, call managers, etc.), and have been learning how to work with our Cisco VoIP phone system. I'm actually learning a lot as well as refreshing my technical skills so it's kind of fun. There's also a certain type of satisfaction you get from doing more of the hands-on stuff--you can see what you create and get the immediate end-user satisfaction. While I don't necessarily plan to stay in this mode long-term, I'm glad to see that I can jump right back into it and offer good service.

So, if there's a lesson to be learned.... It's wise for management to jump back onto the front line and do the stuff that got you to where you are now. It gives you an appreciation for your team, hones your skills, and helps you to find areas where there might be room for improvement. Of course, it also is a tremendous time to reconnect with your group and your customers on a level for which there is no substitution.

One fakakta Week!

Well, this has been an interesting work week....

Due to the mortgage credit crunch our business has nosedived and as a result we've laid off several people, including many in information technology, including my staff who maintain phones and the servers that the phone equipment uses, as well as those who were our vendor links including phone service.

Late last week we lost connectivity to one of our remote sites, as a result of AT&T having terminated the wrong network line. As a result we lost phone service with them, building security, and data. It took nearly all of one day to get the line reconnected and then AT&T wanted to bill me back for getting it running. I calmly explained that it was not our fault for the wrong line being cut and they seemed to understand that they shouldn't charge us then.

Thursday of this week one of our guys goes into the server room and it's nearly 90 degrees! Turns out one of our 2 A/C units is blowing ambient air. The technician from the maintenance company comes out and diagnoses a bad compressor. That will be installed Monday but in the mean time we're on one A/C unit and have a series of fans through the room exhausting the hot air.

About noon today we get a call that voice mail isn't working. After trying to diagnose it ourselves and seeing nothing but cryptic errors on the server we break down and call the vendor. Since we've been trying to save money we didn't renew the $87k annual maintenance agreement and we're low on their list of priorities (that company is ExtraTeam). We paid a deposit by credit card and are waiting for them to step up still as I type.

So, the lesson in all this? People in pivotal roles are pivotal. The positive side is that my remaining staff and I are all getting a crash course in much of the infrastructure and how to resolve issues. Good times ;-).

Work Tales II

University of Nevada, 2003

After we got through the initial virus outbreak on campus and had the campus running again, it was time to begin a multi-faceted approach to get things under control.

One thing that those of you in the private sector will have difficulty understanding is the sense of ownership of the computers in the academic arena. There is a large sense of entitlement in the equipment in academia and allowing the central IT group manage core services centrally is Orwellian in many people's minds. Of course, in the private sector and even at community colleges centrally administered computers are the norm. In order to successfully implement at the university, my group and I met with academic departments individually for several months explaining how they would still be able to use the software they wanted to use and that all we were trying to do was provide a reliable and consistent platform that we could readily support. In most areas this went well, although the math department was pretty adamant about IT supporting 8 year old SGI desktops so pitching a supported platform was kind of tricky.

On the systems side, I made a case for what seemed to be a pretty easy argument for centralized anti-virus, desktop management software, and update servers. For the anti-virus I worked with the state higher education organization and we leveraged excellent pricing on anti-virus for not only the university-owned machines but also faculty/staff home computers and student computers. Within a year of implementing the anti-virus and central update servers we never again saw a campus-wide outbreak of any viruses. Whenever a machine became infected it was almost exclusively because it was not one of the supported machines and was in a department that opted out of the supported platform. While we would try to help out when possible, there was an element of poetic justice and typically it wasn't long after a couple of department-level issues that they would have a renewed interest in the supported platform.

While it was messy dealing with the outbreaks when they happened early on, we used it to wage an argument for the new equipment and a more reasonable approach to service the university's technology needs. After a couple of years we had the managed to reduce the amount of labor spent to fix problems and shifted energy to providing more and better services.

Cover Letter

Here's a letter of interest for a position that I really am enthusiastic about. I received a positive response this morning already.

###

I wanted to take a moment to discuss with you my interest in the Chief Information Officer position. I have already submitted my application and documents to the search committee but I also wanted to touch base with you. I know you're extremely busy #your position# so I will be succinct.

I've reviewed and researched much about the #organization Y# and #Organization X# and explored #the strategic plan# and I am very excited about the opportunity to interview for the position.

I come from a background of private and public sector experience, including four years with the University of Nevada, Reno where I held the position of Director, Information Technology, Campus Computing & Security. I very much enjoy the academic environment and feel that I have a keen sensitivity to needs of faculty, staff, and students as I have worked on several collaborative projects with all three groups. I particularly enjoy working with new and innovative technologies to provide improved technology performance and offerings to serve the campus community. My experience at UNR includes having worked with the Nevada State Higher Education (NSHE) group (comprised of all of the public Nevada higher education institutions) likely parallels the #organization Y#.

#Name#, I enjoy technology and especially the practical but innovative application of it to improve efficiency, stimulate creativity, and to bridge gaps. While social networking applications have been around for a few years now, much of it is still in its infancy and using it to improve teaching and collaboration is an area in which I have particular interest and excitement. I also have extensive experience in implementing centralized hosted applications and services. At UNR my team and I used the 'carrot' approach to reduce bring nearly all of the campus onto a single mail and calendaring service (coming from more than 15 disparate services). We also implemented centralized file services, secure remote access, and a higher degree of service through a project designed to simplify the computing environment while still providing the necessary liberties to ensure our faculty being able to do everything they needed. The net result was less down-time of computing services, greater performance, software licensing compliance, and a strategic and sustainable environment.

From what I've read of the CIO position, the direction with new leadership, and the community, the position seems an excellent fit. I believe my experience, enthusiasm, vision for future technologies as well as ability to implement centralized services (where applicable), leadership, and creativity will complement the strategic planning for #organization x#.

#name#, thank you for your time to read my note. I am at your service should you have any questions for me. I look forward to discuss the position further with you and the search committee.

Brand 'Me', Part II

So in Part I there was an example of bad branding and I mentioned that I'm somewhat apprehensive about marketing in general. So in this segment, what's MY brand?

I've been thinking about this for a few weeks now and it really just came to me a little while ago. My thing is that I'm really good at figuring out how things go together, what the various parts are, and how to improve the bits and provide service to the customer. In my two previous positions I was hired into one job and within a few months, promoted into a much higher level position. I attribute it to my ability to quickly get the lay of the land and being able to make improvements in bite-sized chunks and after enough chunks, you can have a pretty big meal. That's what I do.

When I left my previous position at the University I got some really flattering farewell messages from a lot of people but also several from people with parallel responsibilities operating outside my department and division. I hadn't actively thought about it but I was able to facilitate service because I knew what the various parts were and was able to involve the right teams to solve problems. I think this comes back to my personal adage: It's not what you know but it's about being able to find what you need to know. When a couple of research departments were thinking about building a collaborative project that required technology support they didn't go to the individual responsible for the infrastructure, they came to me. Naturally, I involved the infrastructure team and even though the departments knew who was responsible for that portion of the University's technology, they wanted me involved. I took this as a huge compliment and after a while with meeting with the responsible parties and the researches together I was able to hand it off but I really like this reputation. This is part of my brand.

The other thing that I heard from people was that I was pleasant to work with. This bugs me; not that people find me nice to deal with, but that it seems to be so uncommon with technology people. There is a certain arrogance and lack of communications competency that seems so prevalent within technology that it's really quite embarrassing to me. More than once I heard about this from people after they met with some of our most talented individuals. It makes me shudder and as a manager we can try to coach people on these things but the reality is that they need to make a decision to be civil and professional. We as managers CAN NOT continue to give these people high marks based on their technical skills alone. Re-write the job description if you need to but let's not give people a reason to want to outsource their technology needs!

Brand 'Me', Part I

There has been a lot of discussion on branding oneself on the web lately. CIO magazine has discussed it and there are books about how to do it. There is a part of me that has long been suspect of marketing--someone else's or my own. On a conscious, logical level I know that there is value and importance to it--many of my favorite products have brilliant marketing but then again, most of them are not as overt as the marketing that makes me shudder.

Most modern technology managers are also aware that their IT departments could use some good PR. IT people tend to be a little bit reclusive, often don't follow-up as well as they could, and treat projects as a problem that needs to be fixed. As a result, many IT departments and individuals are not seen as being part of the rest of the organization and may not be included on as many business and organization high-level projects as they could be. Like most things in life, a certain level of balance is necessary to be successful. It's not realistic to expect your strongest programmer to be an extrovert and actively meeting with the departments to find new opportunities but if they stay holed up with the lights out and complain about the operation then they're never going to make it very far.

Not long ago my department included some very diverse, creative, and intelligent IT personnel. One in particular was capable of a lot more than he was immediately tasked with but he seldom looked to work outside his immediate group though he would throw barbs at other areas of the technology staff and the organization as a whole. It's completely normal for people to whine about their employer and others but that's all it seemed like he ever did. I encouraged his manager to work with him on the notion that anyone can criticize, the successful people are those who can provide solutions. In his case he would provide solutions for other people's problems but not to them, to their supervisors instead. As a result, it was interpreted as him complaining about others instead of actually providing solutions. It's a reputation that was earned quickly and will take a long time to improve, even if he chose to actively work on it. I guess that's an example of branding, though not well.

More Cover Letter - Qualifications Stuff

So I just applied for a position that has a lot of promise--it's near one of the few areas of southern California that I really like and the town itself is in the top 10 of best places to live according to Money Magazine. Of everything that I've come across so far this is one of the more tantalizing opportunities, it really seems like a good fit based on the description and I think it would be an excellent opportunity to use my background and provide services for the organization. It looks like a neat area and has a sense of community to it.

So anyway, here's what I wrote for the meat of the cover (there's more behind and in front but it's a pretty honest sentiment of what I think I'm about)...

I offer you over 12 years of progressive technology management and hands-on technical experience with private and public sector organizations, including a public university where I oversaw support, training, security, communications, custom applications, classroom support, and project management and implementation. I have managed diverse groups and actively managed and participated in collaborative interdisciplinary teams and committees with disparate groups with students, faculty and staff, and research areas. I have a high degree of sensitivity to academic needs balanced with fiscal responsibility. I am an ardent supporter of higher education and practical application of technology. I also believe in the use of technology to improve processes, facilitate learning, and expand communication. Even though I consider myself a technology evangelist, I also am aware that technology can be used inappropriately and often for the sake of itself. My 6 years with a consumer electronics manufacturer traveling to several continents to deliver training gave me a unique sensitivity to how different people learn and embrace concepts; these skills have helped me in every venture subsequent, and particularly in my service to higher education. Technology is my passion, as is enlightening others as to the use of it in new and creative ways, and few arenas are as exciting or receptive as higher education. I believe I am a strong coach, mentor, manager, and collaborator and am eager to put my experience to use to improve the organization. I am an advocate of social networking and Web 2.0 applications.

On Networking....

So I have been building up my LinkedIn connections and even contacting recruiters through it, though only a couple have accepted my invitations. These are very targeted corporate and large firm recruiters. I am not about to say whether or not this is a good approach because in many regards it makes sense and gives the recruiter more information about the potential candidates than simply e-mailing a resume, at least if you have built your profile. On the other hand, does it smell of stalking? Hard to say yet, I suppose it depends on the audience.

Anyone have any success stories using LinkedIn? The job search portion is a little thin but I need to spend some more time on that still....

Interesting Job Description

There was an article on CIO.com recently about a new type of high-level IT position that is starting to evolve. It's along the lines of the whole theme of IT being more involved with the respective business units of the organization. Here's a position that came up recently at a large apparel retailer/manufacturer, the title is Senior IT Consultant. Here's the description and qualifications:

Description

This role leverages business knowledge and expertise to recommend process improvements or solutions which create value and drive benefit for our Brand. The Senior Consultant works closely with the Brand Lead and the business to complete the envisioning process and partners with Enterprise IT during the project scoping process. The Senior Consultant assesses business impact of high-priority issues and provides proactive analysis and communication to the Brand.
Identifies brand business opportunities and recommends strategies/solutions.
Works with Business Lead and business partners to identify benefits and risks and complete Envisioning process (high-level business case).
Facilitates business process sessions to create new/streamlined processes.
Collaborates with IT enterprise partners during planning and scoping processes.
Supports business issue resolution (business and project issues).
Supports assigned desktop tools and business-created solutions.
Manages end-to-end projects for “quick hit” solutions, inclusive of envisioning through implementation.
Consults and makes recommendations around solution adoption and change management, and prepares the business for system readiness.
Assesses impact to brand of high-priority issues (severity 1 and 2).
Represents the Brand to Enterprise IT and vice versa.
Leverages technology solutions (New Strategic Initiative, Supply Chain & Financial Modeling) with the functions and considers integration across enterprise functions and Brand strategic initiatives where appropriate
Provides focus on key business metrics for the Brand to facilitate inventory planning, information reporting, and decision making.

Qualifications

5 or more years IT business or systems analysis experience.
4-year college degree or equivalent work experience
Ability to use innovative problem-solving approaches to proactively tackle a broad range of problems, regardless of the technologies, and develop appropriate recommendations.
Ability to create and deliver presentations to educate/influence the Brand on IT strategy.
Ability to seek out and assess technology and business changes that produce Brand opportunities or threats (e.g. technology, legal/regulatory, industry/competitive trends).
Ability to provide advice about both technical and non-technical solutions to support the core processes related to the Brand’s operating model (e.g. ensures solutions conform to supply and demand requirements).
Ability to identify strategic and tactical changes to enable customer to leverage available technologies appropriately (e.g. develops a clear business case).
Ability to identify cause/effect relationships and addresses root causes of problems wherever they exist.
Ability to apply cost/risk/benefit principles in advocating for best approaches to process improvement for business partners (e.g., technical and non-technical).
Ability to apply an in-depth understanding of business processes to define potential improvement strategies for Enterprise IT to implement.
Ability to develop a clear, complete understanding of customer needs and problems (e.g., through careful listening, probing, encouraging or summarizing).
Ability to develop and deliver communications (both oral and written) that have clarity and impact.
Ability to establish and maintain effective relationships with customers and is dedicated to meeting customer expectations and requirements.
Ability to use rigorous logic and methods to solve difficult problems with effective solutions.
Learns quickly when facing new problems, enjoys the challenge of unfamiliar tasks, and is willing to experiment and be creative to determine solutions.
Ability to skillfully negotiate in tough situations with both internal and external customers, and influence business partners at all levels without damaging relationships.
Experience in tools, practices and IT industry in working with and supporting teams with strong financial and retail practices
Preferred experience in merchandise planning and allocation business processes and technologies. (e.g. Inventory Management)

More on the Job Search and some sample recruiter questions

So today I was contacted by a recruiter from a large software company. Flattering, certainly, as I had in years past submitted my resume online to several and never heard anything back other than the receipt from them whereas this response came about a week after I submitted and it was from a human being! The recruiter asked that I fill out the questionnaire so I did. I thought it had some interesting questions so I thought I'd share with anyone who's interested the questions and answers I provided.

Do you know anyone at Company X that could act as a reference for you?

Are you willing to relocate, if necessary? yes

Are you a US citizen, permanent resident; applicant for legalization or amnesty asylee or refugee. If no, what is your Visa status or country of citizenship? Yes, US Citizen

If you currently work through a visa, what type & how many years remain? n/a

Have you signed any agreements that could preclude you from working at Company X? no

Have you ever worked for Company X before? (Please include if FTE and /or vendor contractor and yrs) no

Why are you considering a full time position at Company X? Most recently the article in Business Week about the revised attention being paid to employees piqued my curiosity. Other than that, I’ve long respected Company X as a company and liked the individuals from Company X with whom I have worked in the past as a client.

Are there any timeline issues that would affect a potential start date? no

What is your current compensation? $X base with 30% bonuses, 5 weeks vacation/year

What are your expectations for base salary? It really depends on the job expectations, location, benefits, and many other factors. I would really rather learn more about the position than simply putting out a number at this point.

Interests
If you have reviewed the job description – what interests you about the role?

Skills:
What are your 3 strongest technical skills (please rank your ability on a scale of 1-10 (novice to guru) and years of experience in listed skills)

What do you consider your areas of strength? My strengths include the ability to oversee and participate in collaborative/cross-functional teams and negotiations. I have particularly strong vendor relations. I am a believer in being extremely familiar with the available resources, not in having things memorized but knowing where to go for nearly anything.

What are areas in which you would like to improve? I am well versed in many areas of technology but not an expert in any particular narrow aspect. I’m not sure that I would like to become heavily focused, as it’s more of my nature to be a generalist because I like to see how everything fits together.

Why are you considering new career opportunities at this time? Do you have any offers outstanding? I presently work in the mortgage lending industry and our company, like many others, is trying to cope with a huge downturn in business. There is a strong possibility that the company will not survive the current downturn. I do not have any immediate offers pending and I am able to take the time to make the right decision.

As you look ahead to potential career opportunities, what are the “must have” criteria that you will be using to determine which opportunity is the right one for you?
1. A creative and challenging job that isn’t clearly defined
2. One where I can use my technical and non-technical skills on a regular basis
3. One that values and rewards its employees, particularly its star performers

How can Company X best utilize your skills? I can see several potential opportunities, some that readily come to mind include:
• Internal business liaison—working between departments, particularly in a client-provider relationship, providing strategy and vision
• Social networking tools—while I’m not a developer, I get how people use social networking and can see the evolution. There is a huge demand for enterprise-level applications and Company X is a logical provider but the current applications are a long-ways from being suitable for the real needs of the ‘Web 2.0’/Social networking. I can be the one to work with product development to help people get it.
• Customer technical relations—with the interest in learning everything that the organization has to offer in products and services, I am often very well suited to listen to the customer needs and recommend at least one or two solutions.
• IT Operations/Support management—I have a long history of customer service, I know how to balance resources and providing for the users’ needs and wants.
• The Gap recently posted a position that seemed remarkably apropos for my interests at this link.


What product/technology/application are you most interested in working with? Right now my primary interest has to do with the social networking, but I also find the home media to be fascinating—it seems like we’re right on the cusp of something huge but we’re not quite there. I enjoy wireless, authentication, Exchange, SharePoint, and other messaging applications.

What would your ideal job be? I think this depends on the company and the timing. In a small to mid-sized company my interest would be CIO/CTO but in a larger company, I see myself as a senior technologist/business liaison. In the future I see myself in a large company CIO/CTO or COO role.

What are your longer-term goals? Professionally my goal is to be CIO/CTO or COO of a Fortune 100 company. Personally, I want to live a full and satisfying life and never wonder ‘what if….?’

What is the next role you see yourself in? For my next role, I see myself as either CIO/CTO of a small to mid-sized company or a senior management IT role in a large company.

What will you have to work on or learn in order to reach this objective? To be successful in getting to the next level, I believe I will need more familiarity with enterprise applications, namely an ERP. I am currently bolstering my familiarity with telecommunications.

Describe your current or most recent company/what is the line of business/who are the customers? It’s a mid-sized mortgage lending company that is dealing with the general downturn of business in its sector. The customer of the company is ultimately someone who holds a residential mortgage.
What is your current position? Chief Information Officer

Describe the product you work on – what does it do and who is the end user for the product? My responsibility includes overseeing the managers of the shrink-wrapped applications and the custom applications that query the Oracle and SQL databases. The primary enterprise application we use is called NetOxygen and that is a loan origination application. My group also supports the servers, network, and desktop computing. Our immediate customers are internal employees.

Describe what part of the product and product development you work on and what percentage you own. Most of our applications are small custom-written Java-based apps. My group owns those 100%.

How many people are you working with on your current project? What are their roles? Most of my IT projects involve between 6 and 10 individuals. Presently we are working on customization to a document imaging solution that we have implemented. My group includes three major components: 1.) Infrastructure—network and server and desktop; 2.) custom application development and DBA; 3.) standardized application support

Do you now (or have you previously) had direct reports? If so, how many and what were their roles? Yes, I presently have 4 managers who report to me and my department of ~20 individuals. In my previous position I had up to 14 direct reports and more than 40 in total.


What is your expertise in the group? (What do you work on that is different form others on your team?) Strategy and vision.

What are the goals/objectives of your position? One of my main goals of my current position is to provide an appliance-like standard computing platform (in terms of reliability) and then to collaborate with the departments to develop new offerings to provide a competitive advantage. We work with them to listen to their business and expose them to supportable technologies, often brainstorming to determine a way to take advantage of practical opportunities.

How do you measure your success/know if you are doing a good job? Because my group is responsible for an array of services, it depends on the group. For the support side, simple metrics are logical. If it has to do with custom applications, a new application that provides business intelligence or improved reporting that is used regularly, and of course, a pat on the back is usually a pretty good indicator.

What do you enjoy most about your job? Working with others to find creative solutions or new ways to use technology.

How much experience in cross group collaboration do you have? Please describe a specific example of when you had to exercise these skills. I have substantial experience, more than 15 years. My MBA program focused heavily on collaboration and group activities. The best example I can think of is at the University of Nevada where I took part of several cross-functional committees involving researchers and academics from disparate disciplines. In academia the professors and researchers are often so heavily focused in a narrow area that working to get sight of the larger vision is challenging, but very rewarding. One committee I served on was the Faculty Senate Technology Committee. In this group I provided information on upcoming projects, listened to and responded to feedback, and worked to establish standards and expectations.

What do you consider your (non-technical) strengths? My main non-technical strengths include collaboration, problem solving, the ability to relate to business units and engineers and systems administrators and developers. I hold myself to an extremely high moral standard and am committed to the organization that I believe in.

Do you have any industry certifications? n/a

What has been the most challenging situation you have faced professionally? Did you work with others to solve? A couple come to mind, most recently is has to do with the fact that my present employer’s industry has faced a huge downturn in business. When I accepted the position in July the slated projects included creating and implementing a disaster recovery/business continuity solution, implementing business intelligence applications, improving customer service, and providing new remote access solutions. In just a few weeks after arriving the business declined rapidly and the revised projects included reducing licensing costs, restructuring and laying off several individuals. We have completed that portion of the project but the business has still not improved. One of the biggest challenges now is keeping current staff motivated. We are now working to provide the business intelligence tools and finding new and inexpensive approaches to conducting business.

Perhaps a better example with are greater resolution was at the University I worked where we were facing enterprise wide shutdowns of systems due to rampant virus outbreaks. I created a plan for a ‘supported platform’ that gave us a supportable desktop environment without restricting the ability of the academic departments to use the software and hardware they needed. This included implementing enterprise-grade anti-virus and update services as well as sophisticated custom-coded alert notifications. We went from an environment of people experiencing network and software outages lasting more than a week to virtually no outages. The most challenging part of this was the ‘sell’ to academic departments who feared a loss of control of their freedom to do what they needed. This often involved meeting with individual departments and explaining to them how it would improve their reliability and performance with minimal impact to performance or academic freedom. This required marketing materials, several meetings, and support of the faculty senate but the net result was virtually no downtime of entire segments of campus and a supportable and sustainable computing environment.


Please include a copy of your resume as a word document attachment with your response.