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I work in the IT industry, so this post may be slightly skewed towards those types of careers, but I believe that most of this will apply to just about everyone. This post will be about getting from Interview to where you want to be in your career. A lot of people I know make key mistakes that hurt their advancement and therefore their overall happiness. This post aims to help these people.
Disclaimer: I've tried to focus on the not-so-obvious aspects of this topic, but I realize they may be more obvious to others.
Have you ever caught yourself thinking or saying any of the following?
"The job market is terrible"
"I hate having to work a job I hate"
"Bob kisses so much ass, and he got the promotion"
"My boss is an asshole"
"I wish management noticed how great an employee I am"
I will address this type of thinking, what causes it, why it is poisonous, and how to correct it.
The Interview:
There is a lot of helpful information already out there regarding the interview process, do's and don'ts etc, so I won't spend a huge amount of time on this and I'm going to try to focus on some things that people either don't want to admit, or won't say publicly.
1. If the interviewer likes you as a person, your job is pretty much done. Most people won't admit this, but your skills, schooling etc are what gets you in the door to an interview in the first place. Once you're there, how likeable you are is infinitely more important than how well you demonstrate your knowledge. Don't view an interview as an exam where you practice specific answers to questions you think you might get, treat it as a "getting to know someone" experience. A good parallel to draw is to imagine you're meeting your girlfriend's parents. Smile and be friendly.
2. Confidence is key. I realize this one is overused and redundant, but I just wanted to focus on it for a minute. Confidence is so important that if you have to err on the side of either not confident enough, or too confident (cocky), always err on the side of cocky. I realize this is counter-intuitive and by no means am I saying that you should try to be cocky, I just mean that it's better to be cocky than timid in almost all cases. If it is obvious to the interviewer that you believe in what you are saying, they will almost always believe you. Being timid makes your interviewer uncomfortable and awkward, and it's very difficult to come back from this.
3. Be prepared. Again, this is another one that is redundant, but let me take a minute on this topic. Learn 2 or 3 key things about a company before going in. (If they're a public company, did they do well this year? Have they merged or acquired any other companies recently? Has there been any management changes?) Let me give you an example of how effective this can be:
Interviewer: OK Bob, do you have any questions for me?
You: I know that your company acquired a large firm late last year. In my last role we had a similar situation and I'm interested to hear about some of the challenges you've had with integrating the two companies?
This is powerful in two ways. One, it's a very open-ended question and the interviewer will very often give you information he would not have otherwise. Also, having the interviewer share personal experiences about his position creates trust and a "bonding" relationship which is so important. Second, it demonstrates that you've got real-world experience in the exact situation they are going through. Have a story or two ready to explain how you handled a similar situation.
Getting Ahead:
Now that you've got the job, lets talk about getting where you want to be. If you're like me, you're ambitious and the job you get hired into is not typically the job you want to keep forever. Have you ever wondered why certain people get promoted? Have you ever thought it was due to ass-kissing or something like that? In my experience, people rarely get promoted for ass-kissing (I didn't say never!). Even though there are a lot of people who get promoted who aren't right for the job, it is due to other reasons entirely. Understanding these reasons will let you (the better employee) exploit these ideas to both you and the company's benefit. I could probably write a book about these ideas, and maybe I'll write more later, but right now I'm just going to focus on a couple of VERY KEY ones. These ideas obviously assume you actually ARE a good employee which I'm sure everyone on TL is 
1. Assertiveness. I realize this again is something that is relatively obvious. You would be amazed at how many people aren't promoted because they don't ASK. Not everyone wants a promotion (really!) so while you stew about how you keep getting passed over for that great role, your boss may honestly have no idea that you're interested! Let management know what you want. Talk openly about your desired career path both in informal meetings and definitely in performance reviews. Ask your employer what they think about your desired path and ask for suggestions on how to achieve it. Ask for what you want and always be able to back it up with solid facts.
2. Self-promotion. People won't generally talk about how great you are. They won't bring up that cool project you just finished in management meetings and talk about how great you are. This is one of the most difficult things for a lot of people to do, because it feels like tooting your own horn. It's necessary. Did you implement a new process that saves money or time? Did you work an 80 hour week to improve a certain customer's perception of the company? Did you go above and beyond? A huge reason for people's low morale at work is when they don't feel they make a difference or that their work isn't noticed. Make it noticed. Send an email to your boss and CC some people who directly benefit from the work you've done. Tell them what you've done and ask for feedback. Keep records of everything like this and bring it up at every performance review. This is kind of abstract, so let me provide a short example:
I thought of, and implemented a process at work that saved another department probably 1 man-hour per day. It also saved the company about $50 dollars per day in supplies. That's $1000 dollars per month in supplies and 20 man-hours (Another $400 approximately). I expected the department I helped to tell management about how awesome I was! They never did. I created a report with details about how the new procedure worked compared to the old one. I forwarded it to my boss and the department (And the department's manager) and offered a 30 minute training session on the new procedure. Things like this get your name and accomplishments out there.
3. Learn to speak to groups. Take toastmasters, a public speaking course, or (luckily) just be born with great public speaking skills. This falls under the "confidence" umbrella as well. If you believe in yourself, others will too. Here's an interesting thought experiment: Try to picture all the high-level executives you've ever seen both at work and in the media (Apple, Microsoft, any other large corporation). How many of these high level executives seemed timid or afraid when speaking in public?
4. Aim to be 100% right until you're wrong, then admit it. Phrases like "I think" or "In my opinion" are weak phrases and don't inspire confidence in people. If you're proven wrong, thank the person and admit it immediately. Example:
Wrong: "I think profits may have been higher this year than last year"
Right: "Profits were up 20% this year over last year"
Otherdude: "Actually, that's incorrect, here's proof"
You: "Thank you, I stand corrected"
I realize this again "feels wrong", but try it and you'll quickly see which is the better way to approach this. Keep in mind that nothing here is dishonest or shady. Actually, honesty is another extremely important attribute that will get you where you want to be. Admit when you're wrong and be honest and people (coworkers as well as management) will respect you for it.
5. "Dress for the job you want, not the job you have"
This is so overused that I almost didn't include it but I cannot stress enough how important this is. People (Especially nerds like us) really think that our work will speak for itself and our appearance doesn't matter. This may be the single biggest mistake people make at work. Spend some money on professional work clothes. Subscribe to GQ or something similar. I GUARANTEE it will pay dividends.
Anyway, I may add to this later but for now, I hope these few things help you in some small way.
 
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Your post is 100% factual and amazing =D You really have to put yourself out there and push it, or else people are just going to be like... =_=
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Aotearoa39261 Posts
Nice post
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Is it wrong to ask your boss what is the dress code for working as IT? Like I though there was a golden rule when it comes to working IT with wearing shirt and tie?
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Great article, gave me a bunch of tibits to store in the back of my head until the time comes.
However, #4 seems a bit vague. So what if you really weren't sure it was 20%? You still wouldn't say 'think' but rather state it as a fact? Even if you take the correction well, I don't think anyone would appreciate someone continuously spouting out unsure facts.
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On September 20 2010 04:35 Kuo wrote:
Is it wrong to ask your boss what is the dress code for working as IT? Like I though there was a golden rule when it comes to working IT with wearing shirt and tie?
It is definitely OK to ask about dress code, but it never hurts to "overdress" a little bit. Most IT positions do not require a suit and tie. Most are business casual, meaning dress pants (sometimes khakis are OK) and a collared shirt. It doesn't hurt to dress it up with a nice sweater over the collared shirt and a pinstriped dress pant or something similar. Spend a couple hundred on shoes too, and keep them clean. Shoes will last a long time if you take care of them.
On September 20 2010 04:40 Treeplant wrote:
Great article, gave me a bunch of tibits to store in the back of my head until the time comes.
However, #4 seems a bit vague. So what if you really weren't sure it was 20%? You still wouldn't say 'think' but rather state it as a fact? Even if you take the correction well, I don't think anyone would appreciate someone continuously spouting out unsure facts.
You're right it is a little vague. You shouldn't say things unless you're at least pretty sure of it. I didn't mean to say that you should just always be 100% certain of everything, but the point I was trying to make is that you should generally try to make strong statements rather than weak ones. Thanks for the clarifying question!
Edit: I realize I did say "Always be 100% right" so it is unclear, changing it.
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very helpful! asking lots of questions is so key, but I'm always too quiet :/
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On September 20 2010 05:15 stalife wrote:
very helpful! asking lots of questions is so key, but I'm always too quiet :/
Is it due to nervousness? I really recommend any type of speaking course, toastmasters etc. Like anything that is driven by fear, desensitization is the only way to go! If it's not due to nervousness, and you just have a quiet personality, you can always try to have a couple of questions prepared and force yourself to ask them. The great thing about open-ended questions is that they require about 10 seconds of talking and like 10 minutes of listening!
P.S. Big fan Stalife drop ftw.
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I have a big interview on Tuesday... I'm so nervous but I'm a fairly good speaker and feel confident I am a really good fit for the job I'm interviewing for.
Good advice!
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I think self-promotion is really difficult. Of course I understand the underlying concept but running around shouting how awesome you are seems to be so wrong even if you're in fact doing a great job. The best thing which can happen is when your coworkers are so grateful, that they do the promotion for you
(then again this is unlikely in a very competitive environment, but that's no place where I want to work anyway)
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I do get nervous when I'm speaking in front of a large audience, or in a crowded mall with lots and lots of people..  I get sweaty and stuff, but much less so when it's an interview with 2~3 people in the room. I really like going to those seminars, etc. by industry professionals to see how they present their message. The messages themselves are all very similar, but the way each speaker presents themselves are so different and unique. Asking questions in an interview is not so much of a problem as I research/prepare questions beforehand..
Which company do you work at ~?
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On September 20 2010 05:38 shin ken wrote:I think self-promotion is really difficult. Of course I understand the underlying concept but running around shouting how awesome you are seems to be so wrong even if you're in fact doing a great job. The best thing which can happen is when your coworkers are so grateful, that they do the promotion for you (then again this is unlikely in a very competitive environment, but that's no place where I want to work anyway)
I realize this is the most difficult aspect for most people. It was definitely the most difficult part for me when I first started out in the corporate environment. It really is absolutely necessary though. The trick is to find ways that aren't really obvious. I tried to cite some examples that I thought were not so "LOOK AT ME", but maybe another example would help. It pays to be creative here, as you're absolutely right, you don't want to be the guy who's always telling everyone how awesome you are.
I honestly think the "feedback" idea is one of the more effective ways to deal with this that I've thought of. For instance, you do something or have some idea and you ask for feedback. This has two major advantages. One, you're showing that you've done something good. Two, you're showing that you value feedback and can take constructive criticism about your work. Another example of this, other than the one I wrote in the original post, let's pretend I'm a systems administrator and I stay up all night working on a problem with a mail server. (First of all I can personally guarantee that if you work in an operations type role, the only time anyone will be talking about you is if something is broken). So I've been up all night, and I get everything back up and running so that everyone has access to mail when they come in in the morning. Here's what I would do:
Send an email to my boss and a few other select managers/businesspeople, or even the whole company in some scenarios.
"Good morning,
Last night there was an email outage that began at 8pm EST. It was due to a software problem with the company's spam filter. The issue was resolved at approximately 4:30 AM. No mail should have been lost during this outage. Please let me know personally of any issues that you may be experiencing today relating to email"
Now, what I've done is shown that I worked from 8pm until 4am last night in order to get everyone's mail back up and running. I've done it in a way that looks pretty innocuous. Now, I'd send a separate email to my boss saying:
"Good morning,
As per my previous email, there was an email outage last night. This outage was caused by <insert technical reasons here if your boss is technical>. The following was performed to resolve the issue <insert resolution>. To prevent this issue from happening again, I suggest <insert suggestions, new hardware purchase, monitoring software installation etc etc>.
"
What do you think?
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On September 20 2010 05:46 stalife wrote:I do get nervous when I'm speaking in front of a large audience, or in a crowded mall with lots and lots of people.. I get sweaty and stuff, but much less so when it's an interview with 2~3 people in the room. I really like going to those seminars, etc. by industry professionals to see how they present their message. The messages themselves are all very similar, but the way each speaker presents themselves are so different and unique. Asking questions in an interview is not so much of a problem as I research/prepare questions beforehand.. Which company do you work at ~?
Ah yes. Luckily I've always been a pretty good public speaker, but I have many friends who get nervous in public situations where they have to speak. I like that you go to those seminars. In addition to those seminars I've also found that good professors usually have good public speaking skills and can teach a lot not just about the subject matter, but also about getting the message across in an entertaining and practical way.
For the last year I've worked for a smallish startup you haven't heard of, but it has grown about 40% in the last year, so maybe soon you will!
I've worked for mid sized to large enterprises such as HP services (They manage enterprise systems, some of the big Canadian banks ie: CIBC, PC Financial. Not the printer division, hehe) and a few small to mid-sized ISP's.
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awesome post, yeah it takes a lot of balls to get to where you actually want to be.
There's no challenge in settling.
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this is why i love this community so much. I'll take you're advices sir, even if they are kind of obvious and i've always been apllying them so far, it's good to see them written and i hope you'll let us know more about cute little things we can do to improve ourselves
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On September 20 2010 05:51 babolatt wrote:Show nested quote +On September 20 2010 05:38 shin ken wrote:I think self-promotion is really difficult. Of course I understand the underlying concept but running around shouting how awesome you are seems to be so wrong even if you're in fact doing a great job. The best thing which can happen is when your coworkers are so grateful, that they do the promotion for you (then again this is unlikely in a very competitive environment, but that's no place where I want to work anyway) "Good morning, Last night there was an email outage that began at 8pm EST. It was due to a software problem with the company's spam filter. The issue was resolved at approximately 4:30 AM. No mail should have been lost during this outage. Please let me know personally of any issues that you may be experiencing today relating to email" Now, what I've done is shown that I worked from 8pm until 4am last night in order to get everyone's mail back up and running. I've done it in a way that looks pretty innocuous. Now, I'd send a separate email to my boss saying: "Good morning, As per my previous email, there was an email outage last night. This outage was caused by <insert technical reasons here if your boss is technical>. The following was performed to resolve the issue <insert resolution>. To prevent this issue from happening again, I suggest <insert suggestions, new hardware purchase, monitoring software installation etc etc>. " What do you think?
To be honest, while it might be cultural at least in my experience those kind of things are just so dependant on the persons you work with/for. If I wrote a letter such as your first I would get such a hiding from my boss that my head wouldn't stop ringing for weeks. Or at least I would if he would have a chance of ever taking me on, which he won't the old git. He is a old style salesman type, he expects you to do all those things and as long as it works you're not to bother him with it and if it does it just means you did your job. He is a awesome salesman and probably one of the best people I know but you need to keep a chummy attitude with him rather than going all out "professional" because that's just how he works. It's all about reading the person your supposed to talk to and having set responses for a situation without analyzing it seems a bit counter productive.
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Absolutely. I've had bosses that didn't respond to this type of letter, and obviously I can't write an example for every personality type. It definitely comes down to reading people, but generally in a corporate environment (How large is your company? and what do you do?) professionalism in email trumps chummy almost every time at least in my experience.
Although you have mentioned that that specific example wouldn't work in your environment, do you know what would? I really think that just accepting that nobody is going to notice or care about your work is the wrong attitude. You say your boss is in Sales, are you in Sales? The great thing about Sales is no self promotion is needed. Your performance has a direct impact on the bottom line in terms of revenue. Salespeople (I've been in technical sales) have the unique privilege / problem of having a numeric representation of their ability all the time. Did you hit quota? How much did you exceed it? How much have you sold lately? These are all things that can be answered either yes or no or with a number. No self promotion required.
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I'm actually beginning my interviewing process over the next two months to get picked up as a CA articling student and reading this thread has been helpful to me.
Great post
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On September 20 2010 06:56 babolatt wrote:
Absolutely. I've had bosses that didn't respond to this type of letter, and obviously I can't write an example for every personality type. It definitely comes down to reading people, but generally in a corporate environment (How large is your company? and what do you do?) professionalism in email trumps chummy almost every time at least in my experience.
Although you have mentioned that that specific example wouldn't work in your environment, do you know what would? I really think that just accepting that nobody is going to notice or care about your work is the wrong attitude. You say your boss is in Sales, are you in Sales? The great thing about Sales is no self promotion is needed. Your performance has a direct impact on the bottom line in terms of revenue. Salespeople (I've been in technical sales) have the unique privilege / problem of having a numeric representation of their ability all the time. Did you hit quota? How much did you exceed it? How much have you sold lately? These are all things that can be answered either yes or no or with a number. No self promotion required.
It's not a big company between 6-10 employees depending on season. I am a Translator aswell as the IT guy. Aye, didn't mean to contradict you on that, if you are going to send and E-mail blindly that is the way to go, just wanted to point out that the best way is like in Starcraft to scout your opponent early and build a good counter. I guess it's that he uses the sales logic for everyone as you say. He always praises you if you've done good aslong as he is the one to point it out.
EDIT: As a response to what would work would simply be something like. Between 20:00 and 04:00 the email servers crashed. Nothing should have been lost because I am just that awesome, and you better have some coffee ready when I get there tomorrow,
Ofcourse it would be in Swedish and worded a slightly diffrent but that's the gist of it. Only things included that are relevant to him so he knows what going on but not deeper than that. I would mostly include a note on how he is ridiculously lazy, but that's a long running gag in the firm.
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The info. in this post is something I also recently came to understand, albeit a semester too late. I'm in an engineering program with tons of brilliant, but soft-spoken, people. You would expect the smartest people to get hired for the best jobs, but in our class it's the people who are articulate who end up at top-tier firms. And for the most part, the people who can articulate pretty much articulate bullshit. The employers don't care how much you know... if you feel uncomfortable and awkward around you, they're not going to hire you.
These two sentences by the op. basically sum it all up.
On September 20 2010 03:51 babolatt wrote:
Most people won't admit this, but your skills, schooling etc are what gets you in the door to an interview in the first place. Once you're there, how likeable you are is infinitely more important than how well you demonstrate your knowledge.
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EPT
