Cube RulesTag: Barbara Safani | Cube Rules

Career Management Monday

Scot Herrick — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 09:00:00 +0000

Back at work for the week – the summer is almost gone here in the Northern Hemisphere. I had a weekend of errands, sleep, and a few thunderstorms. All in all, not bad.

To get you back into the swing of things, here’s some articles to help on those Monday morning work blues….

Worshiping the Hammer

Timothy L. Johnson tells it like it is on Carpe Factum.

“I couldn’t help but make a couple of playful swipes at Six Sigma, Lean, Agile and UML. Mind you, I have nothing against these tools per se, but I have taken exception with the people who ~~worship~~ use them.”

Yup. When your site title means “Seize the Accomplishment,” accomplishments trump worshiping process.

How to fix your thinking

I’ve become a fan of David Bullock. A lot of what he writes about is oriented to running your own business – exactly what career management is about. This article gives you some reality-based questions on where you are in your life. Honestly answer his questions. You will be better for it.

Just Say “No” to Corporate Speak

Imagining opening up a blog post and the first two words are your name. Well, there I was, the first two words on this blog post. Barbara Safani writes about where corporate speak really begins: the job description. She even found a job description done the right way. Take a look and tell me if you’d want the Operations Manager position or the Program Manager. And if you really want the Operations Manager position, please let me know why!

You Have to Get Dirty

Debra Moorhead always comes up with the right perspective. This time she talks about those reusable grocery bags needing to get dirty. And then relates it learning by doing. And firing someone. Wow.

Why Bringing your On-line Community Off-line is So Crucial

Ryan Paugh of Employee Evolution tells us why social networks have a short shelf life and the importance of getting your on-line community communicating off-line. Can we talk?

Enjoy your Monday!

Scot

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Thanks to October 2007 Contributors

Scot Herrick — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 11:15:07 +0000

I’m running a little late, but thanks to the October, 2007, contributors to the site — your comments and/or articles help support cubicle warriors in the workplace:

Anita Bruzzese of 45 things. What a great blog with superior insights for those of us who work in cubes.

Andrew of Great Management. Andrew and I have had a virtual and real conversation across the “pond” between Washington State and the United Kingdom. He has great insight and perspective.

Barbara Safani of Career Solvers. I subscribe to Barbara’s blog because she has consistently good advice. Her posts on The 30-second Resume Test simply rock.

Adam Salamon of Adam Salamon. Adam writes about Gen Y and Personal Branding. As I noted to one who asked which blogs I subscribe to and why, I said that of all the “Gen Y” blogs out there, Adam has the clearest voice, the most rational reasoning, and contributes to the conversation about career management for all of us.

Sarah Dillon of the Naked Translator. Sarah’s a freelance translator, living and working in London. And she has great pictures from one of my favorite cities — Dublin, Ireland, while she is Translating in Dublin’s Fair City.

The Labour Market Information Blog writes about resources, links, analysis and articles concerning career management and labour market issues. Yes, it’s true — Cube Rules is read in about 35 different countries because 40-million of us work in cubes on Corporate Earth.

Jennifer Mannion of Heal Pain Naturally stopped by as part of Successful Blog’s second anniversary celebration to wish my wife and I a great wedding anniversary — which both happened to be on October 24th.

Rebecca Thorman of Modite, a blog focused on what I call career management for Gen Y. Rebecca writes about a lot that I agree with — and a lot I don’t. It’s a great conversation and we learn from each other.

And, of course, some of you will see comments by “Wife” with no URL to search for as if she has no Internet presence. Ah, no. Here are a couple: The Successful and Outstanding Relationship and her career site aptly named Kate Herrick. She is wonderful.

Thanks for the contributions; they are really appreciated.

Scot

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Thanks to September 2007 Contributors

The 30-second resume test

Scot Herrick — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 03:00:47 +0000

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been working hard on my resume. The reasoning is that, while I’ve added a lot of information to it about the positions I have been in recently, I don’t think that it answers some of the critical questions that hiring managers — or recruiters — would like to see in reading the resume. A revamp is in order.

Consequently, it was with great delight that Barbara Safani of Career Solvers stepped right up to write a great three part series on resumes — and how they need to pass the 30-second resume tests by the people reading the resume.

The first test is this: showing you are competent.

The second test: showing your professional, personal brand. Barbara critically notes:

A professional identity is not the same as a job title. The professional identify conveys your personal brand and the scope of your responsibilities through a few targeted words.

The third test: showing your accomplishments.

Each of these articles gives very specific advice on working your resume to match up with your skills and the position you are looking for.

And, a great Halloween analogy to boot:

Resumes are a lot like Halloween costumes. The best resumes, like the best costumes, are not what we expect. They challenge the senses and the mind. They make us think “Wow, this is someone I need to know” or “Maybe this person can help solve my company’s problems.” They invite conversation, inquiry, and perhaps even debate.

The series offers great advice. I’m going to use all of it in rebuilding my resume.

Scot

Photo credit: Resume Art by kafka4prez on Flickr

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