Are we falling or flying … and will we ever know?

Life, the universe, technology, project management, and why change management is so incredibly hard.

“Do as We Say, Not as We do…”

July 28th, 2010 by andi No comments »

There is a very wide range of free, high quality videoconferencing options available to employers to utilize when interviewing out-of-market job candidates.

Both economical and environmentally friendly, videoconferencing allows the hiring managers and candidates to visually meet and interact with each other during an interview, with the candidates participating from the comfort of their home laptops/pcs.

Hiring managers and job seekers I know who have utilized this options prefer this over traditional phone interviews, and also over taking two or three days off their current jobs to interview for at most 4 or 6 hours at a distant location, only to have one or both sides determine this would not be a good match.

If the company and candidate then agree there is still mutual interest, the final one (or even two) candidates can travel and meet the team/tour the local area in person before deciding whether or not to accept the job offer.

One of my friends is currently interviewing with an out of state company which heavily promotes multiple products which it delivers via web-based streaming media; yet they insist my friend fly to the company’s headquarters twice, to interview in person; the hiring manager and team are not comfortable with video conference/online interviewing.

Oh.

Ironic – or hypocritical?

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Posted in Every Day Life, Friends, Pop Culture, Strange but True, Think Green, Work

Tags: area home Ironic laptops videoconferencing

The Difference Between Leaders and Followers

June 27th, 2010 by andi No comments »

I once worked for a company where getting hired was very similar to applying to graduate school; where grade point average, type of degree, and which university granted that degree always carried more weight than ability or value.

While they hire some very smart people, they also hire a number of people who are book – and not business – smart…

The world’s great men have not commonly been great scholars, nor its great scholars great men.
– Oliver Wendell Holmes

Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.
– Douglas Adams

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Posted in Leadership, Theory, Unique Job Opportunities, Work

Tags: apparent disinclination business douglas adams point school

A Rose By Any Other Name….

June 24th, 2010 by andi No comments »

might smell just as sweet – but perhaps there is some truth to the school of thought that a person’s name does help define their life destiny:

From CNN, today:

Alleged Jamaican drug lord arrives in United States to face charges

White Plains, New York (CNN) — Alleged drug kingpin Christopher “Dudus” Coke was extradited Thursday from Jamaica to the United States, where he is to face drug and weapons charges

….”At Coke’s direction and under his protection, members of his criminal organization sold marijuana and crack cocaine in the New York area and elsewhere, and sent the narcotics proceeds back to Coke and his co-conspirators,” the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York said in a statement.”

Or – a “coke king” whose last name really is… Coke?

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Posted in Fun, Pop Culture, Strange but True, Unique Job Opportunities

Tags: area customer experience pragmatic chaos U.S. Attorney whom the bell tolls

Still Seeking Lots of Experience, for Not Much Pay

May 17th, 2010 by andi No comments »

No surprise here, local body shops continue to post long term “Executive Assistant” contract jobs for the “large, well-known software company on the East Side” (a.k.a., Imagine the Possibilities….)

Since the candidate profile remains 5 – 7 years experience , and tops out at $17.70/hour (and no mention of employee benefits, paid time off, or…. ) … I suspect they’ll be mining the local market for these jobs for a long time…



	Job Title:		Coordinator/Executive Assistant



	Salary:		31,200 – 35,400

	Job Description:		Large, well-known software company on the eastside is looking for qualified and experienced Project Coordinators. Please email resumes to the email above and our recruiters will contact you to set up an interview should your qualifications meet what we are looking for. • Managing and maintaining busy calendar • Coordinating planning, execution and review meetings with hosting local events • Gathering and managing reports • Coordinating the monthly reporting and processes (including producing show & tell coverage presentations) • Updating content in the Infrastructure components • Help with support as required • Being the key “go-to” person for team members looking for existing materials and responses. • Supporting the development of new team efficiency systems and processes such as new briefing book and coverage report template • 5-7 years business administrative experience, preferably in a high tech industry and in a team-oriented environment. • Excellent written and verbal communication skills. • Experience in managing projects with team members • Microsoft Office proficiency (especially Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) and SharePoint proficiency. • Must have ability to work independently while maintaining accountability with multiple stakeholders. • Organized, action-oriented team player and flexible learner able to multi-task.

	Act-1 Reference #:		2747/LWCOORDMS

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Posted in Every Day Life

Tags: briefing employee interview mention Title

News Item: “Company outsources work to India Prison”

May 15th, 2010 by andi No comments »

Huh?? Is american prison labor @ $0.40/hr is too expensive???

Originally posted on MSNBC http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37114046/ns/business-world_business/
By Omer Farooq, Associated Press & also from Shared Services & Outsourcing Network:

Information technology company plans to employ about 250 convicts

HYDERABAD, India – Being behind bars won’t keep a group of Indian prisoners from joining the global work force.

Convicts in a southern Indian prison will soon join the nation’s outsourcing boom at a data processing center being set up by an information technology company that works with dozens of businesses around the world.

Working conditions for the inmates of Charalapally Central Jail, in India’s technology hub of Hyderabad, will be somewhat different from usual offices.

There will be no phones and very limited Internet access for the convicts, who are in prison for crimes ranging from petty theft to murder and rape.

“There will be no security hazard involved,” said C. Narayanacharyulu, a director of the company, Radiant Info Systems, that will set up the jail office in about four months. The prison data processing center will be the first of its kind in the country.

The center will employ about 250 of the jail’s more educated prisoners.

The prisoners will earn 5,000 rupees ($110) a month, up from the roughly 450 rupees ($10) they now earn making textiles or doing carpentry, said C.N. Gopinath Reddy, director general of prisons in Andhra Pradesh state where the prison is located.

Regular starting salaries at data centers are generally about three times what the prisoners will make.

“Once they become experienced in this work and go out after completing their sentence, a whole new world of opportunity will wait for them,” Reddy said.

Originally posted on MSNBC http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37114046/ns/business-world_business/
By Omer Farooq, Associated Press

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Posted in Every Day Life

Tags: Charalapally convicts Outsourcing sentence starting

Live, Free Webcast of Grace Potter & The Nocturnals Concert…!

April 27th, 2010 by andi No comments »

I named this blog after a song by Grace Potter and The Nocturnals, and so highly recommend you check out this free, live webcast of Grace & the Band’s performance this Friday, @ approximately 12:20 pm Pacific US Time (GMT-7):

Grace Potter LIVE in the Mountain Music Lounge

To tune in this Friday (2010/04/30), at approximately 12:20 pm Pacific US Time (GMT – 7), and join Grace Potter live in the KMTT/Carter Subaru Mountain Music Lounge, click HERE.

Yet Another Job Opportunity too Good not to Mention…

April 3rd, 2010 by andi No comments »

Note: The translation of the acronyms and “ideal candidate description” is at the bottom of this post.

Title : Technical Partner Lead (Company X)
Location : Redmond
Job Type : Contract
Date : 04/03/2010

Good morning!

The Technical Partner Lead (TPL) at (Company X) is a fun role, for the right person. The person who loves this role will work well in a very dynamic enviornment.

Purpose:

This Partner Technical Lead will specifically support consumer Product support vendors in India. Acts as a technical and process management resource for broad and complex issues. Provides technical or process planning, training and guidance to (Company X) support partners. Proactively works to circumvent roadblocks and to provide solutions. Primary responsibility is to raise the technical expertise of our Partners and Support Professional staff by providing timely, technical, and professional mentoring in a leveraged manner.

The ideal candidate has -

- 5+ years experience working at (Company X) PSS/CSS (product support), and understands the processes and tools
- 3+ years developing management-level reports and reviews
- 5+ years in a content development role
- 3+ years developing/delivering courseware

Responsibilities:

–Support Partner Interaction–
Mentor support partners on technical support issues, process issues, delivery and problem solving processes. Monitor and responds to critical questions on technical aliases. Immediately resolve any issues that do not meet high standards of delivery. Participate in beta programs as appropriate.

–Analysis–

Conduct statistically valid sample of case reviews and call monitors. Output is data-driven report of Support Partner technical skill/process gaps.

–Communication/ Business Relationships–

Use a mixture of analysis, technical acumen, experience and judgment to make recommendations to high level decisions as necessary. Consistently establishes and maintains working relationships with support partners, internal support delivery teams, and on occasion with partner executive management. Consult / collaborate with NA PTLs to determine and develop training for product. Assist in high visibility issues including Press, Legal, and Hot customer situations. Communicate business results (written and verbal) to business group leadership

–Strategy and Development–

Act as Expert or Liaison with (Company X) Resources. Coordinate with third parties (ISPs, OEM, and TSANet) on technical issues. Provide supportability recommendations to Supportability Program Managers within this team. Design and implement team service delivery processes and / or projects.

–Content–

Perform research, acquire information, write and revise articles, white papers or other types of technical content for all products in a given cluster/segment. Respond to technical questions, provide training on leading-edge technologies and effectively communicate technical content to support partners. Develop and deliver content training and provide coaching for Service Delivery and other Content Delivery personnel. Key contributor and participant in product releases and post-launch activities and initiatives.

Qualifications:

Demonstrated expertise in Office applications and Windows Operating Systems.
In-depth knowledge of one or more of the following: Outlook, Office Setup, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, FrontPage.

Proven professional and interpersonal communication skills.

Advanced verbal and writing skills, and ability to present ideas to groups.
Experience presenting business results to company executives.
Ideal candidate will have a background in, or exposure to, process & project control and management. Six Sigma (or DMAIC equivalent) approach to root cause and corrective action management preferred.
Demonstrated ability to understand and communicate related technical and business advantages in the deployment of (Company X) products within Consumer environments.
University or College degree in one of the following: Math, Computer Science, Business, or Engineering, or equivalent work experience.
Minimum 3 years work experience in an IT or equivalent, work-related environment (consulting, software development, 2nd or 3rd tier technical support, technical project management; training development/delivery, etc.)
Well-developed technical skills.

TRANSLATION:

The ideal candidate for this one is a former full time employee of (Company X) who likely was laid off last year and is now willing to work Indian Standard Time (i.e., overnight) hours for no benefits and less pay than they made when a full time employee for this same, or a very similar, job.

Or – hello, “new” economy…

Top Six Attributes of High-Ranking Women in Technology…

March 30th, 2010 by andi No comments »

The Anita Borg Institute for Women in Technology just released a new study on the top six attributes of high-ranking women in technology, titled “Senior Technical Women: A Profile of Success,” examines the characteristics of high-level women in technology, their self-perceptions, their top attributes for success, and their most valued organizational practices.

Not surprisingly, working long hours is on that list:

Attributes of Success

The top attributes for success for senior technical women identified by the study:

Analytical: The majority of senior technical women perceive themselves as analytical. Indeed, all technical employees tend to see themselves as high on this attribute, as technical careers tend to first and foremost look for analytical and problem-solving skills.
Unafraid to Question/Desire to Learn: A majority consider themselves as questioning – having the ability to ask the right questions, which is critical to problem solving.
Risk Takers: A majority of senior technical women view themselves as risk-takers, which was identified by technical employees as one of the top four attributes of success. Moderate amounts of risk-taking are an important part of leadership, and senior women and men are equally as likely to perceive themselves as risk takers. This research shatters the stereotype that men are more likely to be risk takers than women are.
Collaborative: Senior technical women are collaborators. A collaborative work style is perceived as a critical success factor in high-technology by both technical men and women, and is consistent with a culture that values innovation, which cannot be achieved without extensive collaboration. Collaboration is both a critical source of success but also a great source of career satisfaction.
Hard Working/Work Long Hours: Advancement for senior women comes with long working hours. This finding is consistent with the culture of technology where advancement is tied to increased responsibility and significant availability. This can be a barrier for women who seek advancement while juggling family responsibilities in dual-career couples. 72 percent of the senior technical women surveyed reported cutting back on sleep to advance their careers and nearly a third have delayed having children.
Assertive: A majority of senior technical women describe themselves as assertive – significantly more so than women at the entry and mid-levels. In a professional culture that rewards speaking up, self-promotion, and ambition, senior women interviewed uniformly said they had to learn to be assertive and promote themselves in order to advance. However, research also shows that women have less freedom than men in assertive behavior. Because women’s assertiveness defies long-standing gender stereotypes, women often experience a “likeability penalty” when they are assertive.

Then again, women represented only four percent out of 1,795 surveyed for the report; would the study results be different if even 25% of the study participants were female?

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Posted in Every Day Life, Leadership, Technology, Theory, Work

Tags: anita borg institute attributes of success career satisfaction critical success factor self perceptions technical women

The (Really Bad) Customer Experience, Part III (or, Welcome to the Rat “PAQ”)

March 26th, 2010 by andi No comments »

Recently I did a phone interview with a Seattle area consulting company which is primarily known as a “body shop” for contract workers for the local “software giant,” which resulted in this less than stellar customer experience:

The conversation consisted of a junior analyst working his way through a 10 minute perfunctory production line phone screen, and went straight to the chase, with no introductory comments about the company, specific job, or anything else:

1.Interviewer: “You graduated from University X with a bachelor’s in X, is that correct?”

Me: Yes, I did. (only after I self edited my real answer: um yeah, that’s why it’s listed on my resume; i do know fabricating degrees isn’t the best idea… HELLO?)

2. Interviewer: You worked for Company X, is that correct?

Me: Yes, I did – about 4 years ago. (but silently thinking same response as number 1, above)

The interviewer then repeated back to me as questions several achievements listed on my resume, each time rhetorically asking me “Is this correct?”

8. Then, still without any sell or information about the opportunity, then interviewer then said “i’m passing on notes of “our” conversation to the hiring manager, if they are interested in talking with you, i will then contact you to set up an in person interview with them.”

Me: “Wow, sounds like an awesome opportunity – thanks! I really appreciate you taking the the time to speak with me today, and for giving me this great information about your company, and this particular job, too ….” (but in reality was silently thinking- please don’t call me again – ever)

I decided not to name this above referenced company since they are only one of 10 or 15 body shops in the area proudly providing exactly the same customer/candidate experience. None of these 10 or 15 companies have figured out today’s candidate could have become tomorrow’s customer – but because of their customer experience (as a candidate), they won’t ever hire the agency to do any work for them, or the company they will soon join.

Or – yes, it really is all about the customer experience – especially when your consulting firm’s product is … people.

:)

Related content:

Customer Experience, Part II

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Imagine the Excitement and Satisfaction…

Unhappy job applicants/candidates share their unhappiness with their friends, coworkers, and on often, all over the internet. Smart companies understand at any point in time, a job candidate is a past, current, or future customer; and similarly, a past, current, or future customer can at any time become a candidate. So …

Guy Kawaski’s Corollary on Hiring; or, How Work Teams Go Bad

In July, I blogged about my theory “great managers hire great talent; similarly, bad managers hire themselves.” The more I re-examine the hires I helped managers identify, and then make during almost 14 years of recruiting, approximately 9 years as an independent head hunter, and 5 years as a corporate recruiter who primarily …

Help Wanted: 64 Desired Competencies, or More…?

A well known grocery chain recently posted a job for “Marketing and Community Relations Specialist,” a store level associate job, in a metro area where it has 7 grocery stores. Brand-wise, and employer brand-wise, this sounds like it could be a really good job opportunity; although the level of detail in …

I Want to Meet the Person Hired for This Job.

Yes, we’re in a recession – but even so – I can’t imagine any really strong C++ developer with a Bachelor’s Degree in CS or Engineering from any non-diploma mill would ever consider this job or contracting agency’s “benefits:” Company: Populus Group LLC Job Location: …

Scapegoat Wanted, Part II

Several weeks ago I blogged about some of the more… interesting… employment opportunities making the rounds within Seattle. Not surprisingly, at least one of them is still open… or, should I say, RE-OPENED. Two friends were contacted right around the time of my original post, but by two different agencies trying to …

Scapegoat Wanted.

Truth in advertising, especially employment adversiting, is rare enough that I think it should always be rewarded; and yet despite today’s still too weak economy, there are several jobs in the Seattle area which aren’t getting any takers: Program Manager Non Tech Position – Level 3 SharePoint, PowerPoint, MS Project and Excel Skills A …

Wanted: Agile Waterfall Process Oriented Free Agent Software Coding Cowboy

This laundry list job posting just landed in my inbox, only missing a notation the correct candidate for this one must also be extremely fluent in both Farsi and Mandarin – NO EXCEPTIONS :) Job Announcement: Technical Product Manager Company : Title : Technical Product Manager Location : Redmond Job Type : Both Date : …

Yet Another “Unique” Job Opportunities for Those in the Market …

This one was posted to a Project Management group on linkedin.com; and while it may be legal to specify the candidate’s gender in India for this type of role, it definitely does not meet US employment law standards, or most people‘s standards for good taste ;-): Life Sciences Graduates Hyderabad India …

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Posted in Strange but True, Theory, Unique Job Opportunities, Work

Tags: contract workers hiring manager introductory comments job opportunity junior analyst local software opportunity thanks person interview seattle area software giant