Recovery

If you put a frog in a pot of boiling water, it will leap out to save itself.  If you put it in a cool pot of water and slowly increase the temperature to boiling, it will likely die.

I was the latter, or headed there...

About a year ago I started feeling overwhelmed by the amount of work I was taking on.  I was managing 3 mid sized and 2 smaller projects of different types with 4 different groups.  About half of the work I was doing I had been rewarded for going the extra mile to gather the facts and pushing for a solution.

In a very short period of time 2 more mid-sized projects were added and something that was supposed to go away remained.  The projects had complicated solutions with multiple subject matter experts and no real "dictator" to call the shots.  I was working with known difficult people who complained a lot.  As a project manager, I may have been expected to lead certain efforts in a round table of opinion generators.  I remember feeling that the quality of work anyone was doing was low - but expected.

As the year met the halfway mark, I felt a new big project come on just as 2 projects were winding down, and I was juggling too much.  My boss was often too busy to talk about my work, and had been handed a promotion and a new child to his plate.  I don't think he really thought about the amount of work I was doing compared to other project managers.

Then my boss came to me and told me people had complained about me - gave me a list of random items that had been escalated to him.  They were things I would not escalate. I had just had my annual review, which was positive, and to have a problem brought to me after the year I had - it didn't make a lot of sense.  My boss had no clear plan of action, but to do some "PR" work to see if I could fix it.

I had a strong feeling that the problems weren't really me.  As I talked to each of my project leads, only one was a problem and he had a history of being difficult and getting special treatment.  Someone who makes things sound fine - but complains after the game is over.  One lead even said so much that what I was facing was a planned effort to put me on a program and get me out.

I thank heavens for the wealth of inspiration I felt and from the strength and comfort from friends and mentors.  The more I talked with people, the stronger I felt this was not something I wanted to or needed to work hard at.  The problem was embedded within a system of problem seekers, not solution finders. This wasn't a fall or a fail - it was an intervention.  Mine.

When you're skating, or skiing, or doing anything at a fast velocity and you feel things start to fall....STOP.  Let go.  Listen to the calm voices, be they inward or outward.  If possible walk away and find the situation that will work for you.

At first this felt like giving up or failure.  I turned to my faith.  I prayed for guidance and asked everyone around me for wisdom, prayers and patience.  I thought about the 3 things I would need to move on and they were:  focus on work, a good team feeling, and work closer to home.  I also wanted to be out of work no more than 6 weeks and in actuality, it was 4.  I came up with my elevator pitch of what I was looking for, why I left my job, and sought out 2 references who were willing to help me.

LinkedIn proved a great support for finding people who could help get my resume to the front of the line.

This doesn't always happen but in my recovery, I decided that whatever happened it would be ok.  I decided to live with the temporary discomfort of not knowing how it would work out each day.  Whenever possible, I tried to help other people with their problems - or to sit with them when they had a downer.

Recovery happens quicker when you stop, look ahead, move on. 

You Gotta Know What You Want

I've been at my current employer for just over 2 years.  Life can be frustrating but with this economy - I'm happy to have a job, happy to have health insurance, happy to have this bunch of stuff to deal with however much I complain and lament.

I have been listening to a fellow who I see about every day at my train station.  When he found out I did project management, he sounded like he was interested in such work.  He talked a bit more about what he had done and I suggested he forward his resume to me.  Our train was late one day so he said he would drive into the City and suggested we continue talking about careers.

When I saw his resume - I knew what others had said when they read mine.  Mine reads like an avalanche of skills and experience.  The average person expects to see a very narrow set of skills and experience that can help them know what you can do and what you might be capable of doing.  I have had 2 maybe 3 distinct sets of work I have done - and when I actually apply for a job, I limit what I tell people.  My young friend's resume read like a mystery.  What have you done and why do you think you should be able to manage a project?

Today I met up with the guy again and still I hear that he wants to get involved in gaming.  Not making games, not selling games, but maybe pre-selling.  He is now going to start a job helping an insurance broker get leads via cold calls and e-mails...but he is not a sales person.

My point is - I listened to what we all sound like sometimes when we very much need a job - but are not ready to sell ourselves.  We may end up sounding like a jack of all trades; master of none.  This isn't going to help us out of a rut, into a job, and helping this economy along.

Have a plan.  Know what your'e good at and know what you want.  Get some feedback on your resume.  Be good at a few things and let your resume tell a story that someone can look at and know how to place you.

If you don't know what you want; know what you're good at.  Get a personality assessment and find out what you might be good at.

da Vinci's Resume - The Ladders advice

This article is shared from The Ladders Career Site in entirety. There is a picture of the original document and this is brief preface, exact translation of Leonardo's resume to the Duke of Milan, and a wise counsel to modern day job hunters.

Before he was famous, before he painted the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper, before he invented the helicopter, before he drew the most famous image of man, before he was all of these things, Leonardo da Vinci was an armorer, a weapons guy, a maker of things that go "boom".

And, like you, he had to put together a resume to get his next gig. So in 1482, at the age of 30, he wrote out a letter and a list of his capabilities and sent it off to Ludovico il Moro, Duke of Milan.

Here at TheLadders, we like to celebrate Leonardo's birthday — coming up next Sunday, April 15th — by sharing his wonderful resume with you. You can click on the image below to see the full-size version.

The translation of this letter is quite remarkable:

"Most Illustrious Lord, Having now sufficiently considered the specimens of all those who proclaim themselves skilled contrivers of instruments of war, and that the invention and operation of the said instruments are nothing different from those in common use: I shall endeavor, without prejudice to any one else, to explain myself to your Excellency, showing your Lordship my secret, and then offering them to your best pleasure and approbation to work with effect at opportune moments on all those things which, in part, shall be briefly noted below.

1. I have a sort of extremely light and strong bridges, adapted to be most easily carried, and with them you may pursue, and at any time flee from the enemy; and others, secure and indestructible by fire and battle, easy and convenient to lift and place. Also methods of burning and destroying those of the enemy.

2. I know how, when a place is besieged, to take the water out of the trenches, and make endless variety of bridges, and covered ways and ladders, and other machines pertaining to such expeditions.

3. If, by reason of the height of the banks, or the strength of the place and its position, it is impossible, when besieging a place, to avail oneself of the plan of bombardment, I have methods for destroying every rock or other fortress, even if it were founded on a rock, etc.

4. Again, I have kinds of mortars; most convenient and easy to carry; and with these I can fling small stones almost resembling a storm; and with the smoke of these cause great terror to the enemy, to his great detriment and confusion.

5. And if the fight should be at sea I have kinds of many machines most efficient for offense and defense; and vessels which will resist the attack of the largest guns and powder and fumes.

6. I have means by secret and tortuous mines and ways, made without noise, to reach a designated spot, even if it were needed to pass under a trench or a river.

7. I will make covered chariots, safe and unattackable, which, entering among the enemy with their artillery, there is no body of men so great but they would break them. And behind these, infantry could follow quite unhurt and without any hindrance.

8. In case of need I will make big guns, mortars, and light ordnance of fine and useful forms, out of the common type.

9. Where the operation of bombardment might fail, I would contrive catapults, mangonels, trabocchi, and other machines of marvellous efficacy and not in common use. And in short, according to the variety of cases, I can contrive various and endless means of offense and defense.

10. In times of peace I believe I can give perfect satisfaction and to the equal of any other in architecture and the composition of buildings public and private; and in guiding water from one place to another.

11. I can carry out sculpture in marble, bronze, or clay, and also I can do in painting whatever may be done, as well as any other, be he who he may.

Again, the bronze horse may be taken in hand, which is to be to the immortal glory and eternal honor of the prince your father of happy memory, and of the illustrious house of Sforza.

And if any of the above-named things seem to anyone to be impossible or not feasible, I am most ready to make the experiment in your park, or in whatever place may please your Excellency — to whom I comment myself with the utmost humility, etc."

What a fantastic piece of personal marketing! There's none of his famous backwards-mirror writing here — this letter was intended to be read and to persuade.

I'm a hopeless pedantic, so here's what I think we can learn from Leonardo's resume:

You'll notice he doesn't recite past achievements. He doesn't mention the painting of the altarpiece for the Chapel of St Bernard; he doesn't provide a laundry list of past bombs he's built; he doesn't cite his prior employment in artist Andrea di Cione's studio.

No, he does none of these things, because those would be about his achievements, not the Duke's needs.

Instead, he sells his prospective employer on what Leonardo can do for him.

Now imagine being the Duke of Milan and receiving this magnificent letter from the young prodigy of Florence. The specific descriptives paint a vivid picture of siege engines and bombardments and mortars and trench-draining and bridges to defeat the enemy. You can imagine the scenes that ran through the Duke's head as he held this letter in his hands and read through Leonardo da Vinci's bold statements of capabilities.

10 months of Full Time

the story continues

10 months ago I accepted a full time role, big pay cut, good insurance and fun gaming software company.

Big cultural changes for me moving to a mid-sized subsidiary of a France based HQ. Best practices are wanted on the surface - but when we get right down to it - would be too much of a pain for the business. I'm trying to drink the kool-aid without lowering my standards. I have worked with large companies needing to build best practices, processes, use their business transaction data to understand patterns of customer and product activity to increase profitability.

Upside - few consultants - they hire people for their family.

When I took the job - mom told me "baby, you've been dating for too long - this company wants to "get married" - you take the offer". Ok momma - but wow is it taking a long time to deal with this new relationship.

It does feel good to be working - better that I have stability, a 401k, the concept that this is long term (even though I know that can change). Still stressors but they are different.

And talking to those still looking for work - it is a journey - preserve yourselves.

stay tuned

Unemployed need not apply?

Today I read an article by CNN that in certain states - unemployed workers are reading job ads that indicate "unemployed need not apply" or "do not bother applying if you do not already have a job". Are we completely mental?

Yes

I had a serious work outage from 2001 until early 2004. I did a bit of work - but not enough to really support myself. Prior to 2001 - job offers were no problem. I had found that recruiters who were previously nice to me - were harsh and rude. On interviews I was treated poorly. When I talked about my experience - there was no empathy.

Anyone can lose their job at any time. That is a fact. It is silly to assume that those not working are not "the best". I have heard too many times "we only hire the top 10% from the best schools" - does that promise you you're getting the best? I have worked with Stanford grads - and those top drawer people - not always the best. How do you know when you have the best? Who established that unrealistic standard?

You wont know you're getting the best until you interview, hire and have them deliver the goods for you. Jumping to conclusions and denying access to people who are down on their current fortune means you are setting America up for failure.... same as bypassing sound maintenance procedures and being responsible for the worst oil spill to date.

Pick better criteria for finding the best.

2 months in... and?

I'm at my new job 2 months. Establishing a foundation of Data Governance with MDM solutions with a technical team. Lots of politics and probably egos prevent progress and problems that need to surface.

I'm anxious to get started - to bring impact - to engage with the business to look inside their issues and establish a "framework" (I count 5 business buzz terms I've used here - does this make sense?). I know I'm not alone - this lesson in patience is tough but essential.

So - I'm learning all I can about the politics, the egos, the solutions and the history while I wait. I'm hoping this will make me more valuable when we're ready to move.

Its easy to complain but not always easy to know when to jump in and help with the solution.

2 friends got jobs after lengthy work outage - I'm so happy for them. Go people!

The Super Human Interviewer

Just read an article on Yahoo finance about the 50 worst things to do on a job interview:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/50-Worst-of-the-Worst-and-usnews-3658564314.html?x=0

I wont repeat everything here - but basically - don't do anything human and don't do anything extreme:

* neither too much nor too little enthusiasm
* neither too many nor too few questions
* neither too early nor too late
* listen carefully, sit up straight, don't yawn
* don't lie about your job skills - but I know people who over market their experience (I have been in the interview-er post too)
* no sun glasses, no bluetooth, chewing tobacco or gum, no smoking (don't smell like smoke OR perfume)
* don't laugh or giggle or do anything to make the situation seem like 2 people sizing each other up and making lots of decisions about each other in 30 to 60 minutes.

The job interview can seem like an inquisition - or a good way to share needs and skills.

Here is my advice - do everything for the interviewer & company you would like them to do for you. Research the job and the company - have an open mind and be prepared to listen as well as share. Dress the way you want to be treated and paid at least in the interview. Not everyone can find out ahead of time how the interviewer will be dressing but that should stop you from dressing for the 6 figure salary... IF that is what you want to be worth.

Happy hunting you super human!