Category Archives: talent

5 soft skills that mean big bucks for technical folks

Posted on August 13, 2012 | Leave a comment

You can separate yourself from the rest of the technical herd with these 5 skills.  They really are the biggest differentiator in salary outside of raw technical prowess.

Read more….

Leave a comment

Posted in Promotions, talent

Tagged , ,

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?

————————–

Tomorrow:     Make a game out of it

Later:              Before you know it

Who is driving?

Leave a comment

Posted in Attitude, talent, Training

Tagged , ,

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.

————————–

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?

Leave a comment

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

Tagged ,

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.

————————–

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

Leave a comment

Posted in Accomplishments, Attitude, Perseverance, talent, Training

Tagged , ,

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.

————————–

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

Leave a comment

Posted in Accomplishments, Attitude, Interviews, talent

Tagged , ,

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.

————————–

Tomorrow:     The Heisenberg uncertainty principle

Later:              Post-it notes

How they determine your pay rate

Leave a comment

Posted in Accomplishments, Attitude, Resumes, talent

Tagged ,

How to show you increased company revenue on your resume

Posted on July 16, 2012 | Leave a comment

There are always opportunities through which businessmen can profit handsomely if they will only recognize and seize them.  (J. Paul Getty)

The CEO of an internet marketing company told me that he can give detailed reports of how successful his campaigns are.  He offers the reports to all the marketing managers who hire him.  Often they say, “We don’t want your reports. Measurable results don’t matter.  We are going to spend the money and get long term results you can’t measure.”  I think, in reality, those marketing managers are saying, “I’m afraid to report how much I increase revenue because I’ll be fired if it is too low.”

Salespeople and people who work for customers at an hourly rate can all figure out exactly how much money they bring in to their company.  Most do not track the figure over time.  They worry about getting paid and then throw away the information.   Every dollar they generate should be tracked, recorded, reported and bragged about in the long term.

Even if you are not in sales or directly billable, go about your day thinking about how your actions generate money.  An accountant who suggests expanding a line of business has generated revenue and should take credit for it. A clerk who gets slow customers to pay up has generated revenue.  Have you given leads to salespeople?  Did you assist in sales presentations?  How many people did you sign up for the new marketing program?  Many people bring in revenue and never think about it.  I would hire the guy who says, “I HELPED bring in $180,000 last year”, over the one who says, “I worked really hard”.

Make sure and write down what you did to bring in new revenue.  Every month, quarter and year you should report it and put it in your job journal. Estimates are fine. And put it on your resume.  It will set your resume apart. It may just be the thing that gets you an interview.

Something To Do Today

Spend a full day noting down the ways you help bring in money.  The projects you work on and the individual things you do all count.  Take credit for your team’s accomplishments too.

————————–

Tomorrow:     Show better customer service

Later:              The Heisenberg uncertainty principle

Post-it notes

Leave a comment

Posted in Accomplishments, Resumes, talent

Tagged , ,

7 ways to show cost cutting and budget savings on your resume

Posted on July 13, 2012 | Leave a comment

If you would be wealthy, think of saving as well as getting. (Benjamin Franklin)

 Most people have no clue how much money they save at the grocery store, much less how much they save at work.  They don’t know their objectives, normal expenses, or budget at work.  The people who worry about the budget at work get all the credit for saving money and time.  It isn’t hard to become a budget and savings guru.  Just ask your managers how much time an average person is supposed to take to finish each project.  Write that number in your job journal.  If your managers won’t tell you, make an estimate, write it down, and see if you can beat it.  Report back the estimate and results.

At your job you can help save money.  You do it by finding out what performance level is expected, then exceeding that level.  If you get your job done in 4 hours instead of 5, you saved one hour for your company.  If you do that every day for 80 work days, you have saved 80 hours of time. That is two work weeks.  You have saved your company two weeks of your wages in 80 days. Put that into dollars and report it on your resume and in your weekly report to your boss.

Here are some more ways to save money and get credit for it:

If the average salesperson is paid $800 each month for expenses and you spend only $600, you will save your company $2400 each year on expenses.  Make sure your boss knows it.  Take credit.

If a project you are on is supposed to take 8 months and it is done in 6 months, you have helped save 2 months of time.  Brag about it. Convert the 2 months into wages for everyone involved and take full credit with your boss and on your resume.

As a network technician you know that last year the network was down 110 hours during work hours.  This year it was only down 10 hours.  You cut network down time by 100 hours.  You also kept 120 clerks from wasting 100 hours.  In other words, you cut wasted clerical time by 12,000 hours as a network technician.  Report the hours and also estimate the savings of a bare minimum of $120,000 to your boss.  He will want to brag about it to his boss too.  When you are looking for a new job, you should be able to go to your job journal and get that number to brag about.

You suggested and/or made a programming change that allowed the company to reassign 3 people to new jobs.  You saved the company the wages of all those people.  Figure it out and take credit for every dollar.  Is it $30,000 x 3 = $90,000 or is it $60,000 x 3 = $180,000 ?  If you tell your boss how much you saved, he may change the number a little, but he will certainly report the savings to his boss.  You should also put it on your resume.

When you show cost cutting and savings on your resume, you prove you are keeping an eye on expenses.  If you can prove even a minor cost saving, it shows that you are interested in something the hiring manager works on every day.  Take the time to keep a job journal tracking the changes you make and the time and money you save. Then put it down on your resume.  It could get you an interview.  It can even get you a job.

Something To Do Today

Look for ways to prove you save money and time.  Ask your managers what the budget is and then beat the budget.  Track it.

————————–

Monday:     Show increased revenue

Later:              Show better customer service

The Heisenberg uncertainty principle

Post-it notes

 

Leave a comment

Posted in Accomplishments, Resumes, talent

Tagged , , ,

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.

Leave a comment

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

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.

————————–

Next week:     Show cost cutting and budget saving

Later:              Show increased revenue

Show better customer service

The Heisenberg uncertainty principle

Post-it notes

Leave a comment

Posted in Accomplishments, Attitude, Resumes, talent

Tagged , ,