Category Archives: Attitude

Should you spend money on training?

Posted on August 7, 2012 | Leave a comment

Greatness is more than potential.  It is the execution of that potential.  Beyond the raw talent.  You need the appropriate training.  You need discipline.  You need the inspiration. You need the drive.  (Eric Burns)

Employers should pay for training for their employees.  The employers get the benefit of employees being trained so it is only fair employers pay.

That’s true except for one thing, you can leave tomorrow.  They cannot clean the training out of your brain and put it into someone else’s brain.  The fact that employers EVER pay for training is a tribute to their vision for the future.

I hear the excuse, “My employer should pay me to learn”, every week.  Many people won’t buy a book about their job. They won’t spend 2 hours a night studying for 3 months to pass a certification exam.  Some won’t even stay late at the company training center because they aren’t being paid to learn. There are many short sighted people.

When you get trained you have bettered yourself for the rest of your life. When you get a new job you get paid to keep your skills and your old employer loses out.  If you are in a hurricane and lose your house, computer and car, you get to keep your skills.  How much did you spend on your car and how much did you spend on your skills?  What will your car be worth in 10 years? It really does make sense to invest in your skills and knowledge. There is very little else that someone can’t take away from you.

Financial counselors say, “Pay yourself first.”  Make that first payment into your skills.

Something To Do Today

Make a list of certifications, books, courses and seminars that would help you stay ahead of the gang in your field.  Why not start on one of them today?

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Tomorrow:     Make a game out of it

Later:              Before you know it

Who is driving?

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Posted in Attitude, talent, Training

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10 ways to prove you are a fast learner

Posted on August 3, 2012 | Leave a comment

“I know I haven’t done that job before, but I’m a really fast learner”, so the applicant says.  Then I read the resume and can see nothing to back up their claim.  They have a “C” average in school, worked at a manual labor job and their hobby is woodworking.

I tell them, “Prove to me that you are a fast learner.”

Few have thought of how to prove it.  I ask more questions and try to find out if the person is a fast learner. I ask questions like:

   What do you learn quickly?

   Do others come to you for help with a particular kind of problem?

   What do you excel at?

   What projects did you lead?

   Are you particularly good or renowned at your hobby?

   Which were your best school classes or subjects?

   Who were you favorite teachers or supervisors and why?

   What have you written about?

   When have you won a contest?

   What do you do that causes you to lose all track of time?

Those questions can lead to a list of proofs of fast learning, or not.  If you are a fast learner, prove it on your resume with your accomplishments.

To be honest, being a FAST learner is less important than being a steady learner.  If you pick up new skills and apply them regularly, you can get farther than someone who is occasionally brilliant but lazy.  Employers respect someone who is a consistent learner and worker.

Show consistent learning and how you picked up new skills every year and that is enough. Prove it with new accomplishments on your resume, and I’ll think you are a fast learner.

Something To Do Today

For some reason many people don’t think what they learned is important.  Keep track of new skills you learn so you can brag about them. Prove how fast you can learn.

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Monday:           Re-entering the workforce

Later:                 I don’t want to spend my money on training

Make a game out of it

Before you know it

Who is driving?

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Posted in Accomplishments, Attitude, Interviews, Promotions, talent, Time management, Training

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The most important thing to say to get a promotion

Posted on August 2, 2012 | Leave a comment

Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell ‘em, “Certainly I can!” Then get busy and find out how to do it. (Theodore Roosevelt)

 Certainly I can! What an inspiring phrase.

My story:

Microfocus COBOL was a total unknown.  It had been used to program a small but critical insurance application two years before.  The manager of 70 people asked among his employees for a volunteer to fix it. No one stepped up. Finally he asked if anyone else could do it.  I replied, “I can learn how.”  I wasn’t an employee.  I was an expensive contract programmer being paid to do something else.  He gave me the assignment and I learned a new skill.  It was interesting that as I worked on it some of the employees who didn’t volunteer came by and told me how lucky I was to know those skills.

If you look at real leaders, technical, managerial, and sales leaders, you will find that they volunteer for difficult projects.  They hear about a problem or project and ask themselves, “Can I learn how to do that?” They lobby for the chance to take on significant problems that will have a big payback for the company.  They often find and solve serious problems no one else could even bring themselves to admit.  Then those leaders take appropriate credit for their personal learning and growth, and they are given more chances to solve difficult problems.

“Certainly I can” is a critical phrase in a leader’s vocabulary.  It isn’t a matter of being able to do the impossible this second.  It is knowing that given time and appropriate resources the problem can be solved and I can do it.

Something To Do Today

Look for problems.  Look for screw ups.  Listen for moaning, whining and complaining.  Make lists of all the difficulties you can find.  Decide which of them will have the biggest payback for the company.  Tell the right person, “I can fix that”, and watch what happens.

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Tomorrow:     But I’m a really fast learner

Later:              Re-entering the workforce

I don’t want to spend my money on training

Make a game out of it

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Posted in Accomplishments, Attitude, Perseverance, talent, Training

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The 2 ways they determine your salary

Posted on August 1, 2012 | Leave a comment

When you tell me, “I won’t tell you what I am earning now.  I want to be paid according to what I’m worth. You get me an offer and I’ll tell you if it is high enough.”

I always reply, “No, I don’t work that way.  I have to know what you last earned. I never make an exception for anyone.”

Most people think that there is a chart in the hiring manager’s office he uses to determine the pay rate of a new hire.  The skill level is carefully matched to years of service and a scientifically determined salary is offered.

That would be nice, but it is totally wrong. What you will be paid at a new job depends  mostly on two factors: what you were earning before, and how well you interview. Your last pay rate is critical because it shows what someone who worked with you daily thought you should be paid. If you convince your hiring manager that you are underpaid, you will earn more.  If he’s convinced you are overpaid, you’ll earn less.  There is no magic, just gut feeling and guesses.

Your job interview is critical.  In sales and managerial jobs you must show your ability to deal with people.  In more technical positions you might be paid well even if you can barely speak, but still get the point across that you can do the job.

Your resume gets you an interview.  Your interview and previous pay determine your pay rate.

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Tomorrow:      Certainly I can

Later:               But I’m a really fast learner

Re-entering the workforce

I don’t want to spend my money on training

Make a game out of it

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Posted in Accomplishments, Attitude, Interviews, talent

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Post It notes to meet your goals

Posted on July 19, 2012 | Leave a comment

In the absence of clearly-defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily trivia until ultimately we become enslaved by it. (Robert Heinlein)

Making a goal a constant irritant is critical.  Anyone can set a goal and then forget it.  An effective tool for making goals a constant irritant is Post-it notes.  Write a single achievable goal on each note, then:

  1. Post your achievable goals on the bathroom or bedroom mirror
  2. Carefully read them when you get up and when you go to bed
  3. When you accomplish a goal, paste it in a permanent record

All three steps are critical.  You have to use them as an irritant and as a reminder that you can meet the goals you set.  You’ll find that you want to put up goals you are going to meet.

Remember the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle: the mere act of measuring changes the thing being measured.  Putting those goals on your mirror, measuring yourself against them, then cataloging your successes can change your life.

Something To Do Today

Take a pad of Post-it notes home. Write achievable goals on 3 of them.  Make at least two of them very short term.  Create an archive where you can keep all the Post-it note goals you achieve.

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Tomorrow:           How they determine your pay rate

Later:                    Certainly I can

But I’m a really fast learner

Re-entering the workforce

I don’t want to spend money on training

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Posted in Accomplishments, Attitude, Focus, Perseverance, Time management

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Promotions, new job hiring, and “The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle”

Posted on July 18, 2012 | Leave a comment

A biologist told me, “One chipmunk was trap crazy. That’s a technical term. Every time I set out an array of traps that one chipmunk ran right into one of the traps.”  Wildlife biologists have to deal with the strange changes that happen when they measure something.  The mere act of measuring changes the thing being measured.  That is the basis of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle.

What happens depends on our way of observing it or on the fact that we observe it. (Werner Heisenberg)

Tracking performance alters what happens.  For instance, I worked on one set of computer programs where the programmers were paid per line of each program.  Those were the longest programs I have ever seen.  As a salesman I was once rewarded for each call I made.  I made a whole lot more calls but sold no more of the product.  I was gaming the system.  I was winning the contest and losing my job.

So how does this get you a new job or a raise?

Bosses want performance.  They use reasonable, useless, and ridiculous metrics to decide what your performance was.  That is true whether it is a hiring manager at a job you want, or your present boss.

First: Figure out what is the most important measuring stick

Second: Figure out what will keep your boss (or hiring manager) happy.

You should know and care about every measurement of your performance that your boss takes.  It is absolutely critical to decide which are the critical measurements.  Some of those measurements will get you a raise and a new job while others will get you fired.  Most of the rest exist to get you to change the way you work. Look at the message you get from the non-critical measurements. Make your boss happy if you can.  Be prepared to fail on the minor measurements to win a spectacular success on the critical measurements. Keep a record of how well you do on the most critical measurements.

What YOU decide to pay the most attention to will change how you work.  You have to concentrate on the measurements that will get you to your end goal.  Again, the mere act of measuring will change the thing being measured.  That is the basis of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. Figure out how to use that to reach your goals.

Something To Do Today

Do you know what you want out of your job?  Money, a promotion, free time or a place to hang out?  Write in your job journal what the most critical measurements are to help you reach that goal.

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Posted in Accomplishments, Attitude, Focus, Promotions, Time management

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How to show excellent customer service on your resume

Posted on July 17, 2012 | Leave a comment

“You will be successful if you don’t screw up.” That was hard to swallow, but proved to be critically important.  I started watching how often we failed our customers.  Then I started tracking the failures and had coworkers help fix the problems.  My supervisors loved it and rewarded me for merely cutting down the screw ups.

Quality in a product or service is not what the supplier puts in.  It is what the customer gets out and is willing to pay for.  A product is not quality because it is hard to make and costs a lot of money, as manufacturers typically believe.  This is incompetence.  Customers pay only for what is of use to them and gives them value.  Nothing else constitutes quality. (Peter Drucker)

Meeting expectations is often excellent customer service compared to your competitors. If you go out of your way to just meet expectations, you should write it down and report it. Note how much total revenue the customer is worth.  If you teach others to meet expectations the same way, take credit for the customers they help.  Creating a system to get rid of errors is a powerful accomplishment for your resume.

Giving customers better service than they expected should be tracked too.  Did you figure out how to give better service without spending money?  Did the service improvements save money because there was less rework or returned merchandise? Have you actually been able to charge for better service?  Are you getting more customers because of the better service? Did you cut down the amount of time a customer waits for something?

Remember to take credit for everyone in your company who starts doing something you started. It may seem small to you but multiplied by every customer your company has, it could be gigantic.

Managers look for ways to improve customer service.  If you track problems and then report on how you made things better, you will stand out.  Even if you just do what others suggest, take credit for it.  Track it.  Put it in your resume and job journal.  It may just get you an interview and a job.

 Something To Do Today

In your job journal track screw ups and how you help improve service. Report it.

Have you been giving reports to your boss?  Go back over last week and write a report of how well you did and turn it in.  Now do that every week.  Your boss will appreciate getting information he can use to show how well his team is doing.

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Tomorrow:     The Heisenberg uncertainty principle

Later:              Post-it notes

How they determine your pay rate

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Posted in Accomplishments, Attitude, Resumes, talent

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How to become CIO and some obstacles you’ll overcome

Posted on July 9, 2012 | Leave a comment

Do you want to become CIO?  There are things you can do whether you are tech savvy from operations or a tech guru from the IT team.  In either case, you have to overcome some pretty big obstacles.

This story has the obstacles and the solutions.  And it isn’t a long read.

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Posted in Attitude, Finding jobs, Focus, Networking, Perseverance, Promotions, talent, Training

Tattoos, jobs, and the law

Posted on July 9, 2012 | Leave a comment

You may as well wear a shirt that says, “I am a rebel and take risks.”  But it is easier to change your shirt.

This links to a great article where tattoos, jobs, and the laws about discriminating against people with tattoos is visited in detail.

The short version: get a tattoo, expect discrimination.  It is absolutely legal.  Getting a tattoo removed is expensive.

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How to show ability on your resume

Posted on July 6, 2012 | Leave a comment

Ability will never catch up with the demand for it.  (Malcom Forbes)

How to show ability on your resume

Experts, above average people, and even those below average, all have abilities that are valuable.  You have to know how to show off those abilities. Listing education, training, and courses taken always helps, but there is more you can do.

Are you a superstar?

I’ve known an expert to finish a job alone quicker than 5 competent technicians working together.  In most organizations with 5 salespeople it seems that one of those salespeople always accounts for over half the total sales.  If you can prove you are one of those superstars, you will find it very easy to get a job.  So, prove it.

  • Use numbers and facts, ratings and percentages, to prove you are an expert.
  • 3 short bullet points proving your contributions are better than 3 pages of paragraphs.
  • Put enough proof to force hiring managers to call you.
  • Make that proof the first thing they see under each past job.

Your resume is supposed to get you an interview. Give the necessary information. Don’t hide your expertise in droning paragraphs.

Are you average but valuable?

Let’s take a step back from the lofty pinnacle of being the best. An above average worker is always in demand.  That means you are better than half the people you work with. There are ways to prove that.

  • Again, numbers, statistics, facts and figures will do the job.  Presentation is critical.
  • Put total output figures instead of saying you were 13th out of 35 people.
  • Mention projects or teams you lead that were on time and in budget.
  • In sales mention how often you met quota.  It may only be above average, but it is still impressive.
  • Mention awards, contests you won, and other things that prove you were a valuable average.

Can you prove you are valuable if you are below average?

If you are a below average performer there is still hope.  You need to prove how much you are improving.

  • Have you improved your output or speed by 20%?
  • Is your group finally on track?
  • List training you have taken.

Just the desire to learn makes you better than some of your competition. If you are below average you have to prove your good attitude and your willingness to improve.  Don’t just say, “I want to do…”, say what you did to prove what you “Want to do”.

There is a way to prove your ability no matter what level you are at.  Numbers, figures, awards, accomplishments, learning, attitude, and personal output.

Showing your ability in your resume will get you interviews.

Something To Do Today

Use this resume planner. 

Prove your ability on your resume.  Don’t just show your responsibilities.  Show how well you did.  At the very least, show you are doing better.

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Next week:     Show cost cutting and budget saving

Later:              Show increased revenue

Show better customer service

The Heisenberg uncertainty principle

Post-it notes

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Posted in Accomplishments, Attitude, Resumes, talent

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