Jobs for Geeks

Boss’ frequent mistakes. Illusions about ideal staff.

Posted by admin under Job Effectiveness, Labour relations, Seniors and Juniors

Geeks are working in the team all the time with the only difference that some of them can work for an end customer (and Project Manager all in one) or in the office in the Product Developing Team (among other Project Managers, other Developers and Leads). And they will be always under someone’s control; there will always be someone who could be accused of incompetence in administrative functions etc.

So let’s continue discussing the facts why our managers can be ineffective or just bad.

The top manager has always an idea about you and about how wonderful it would be if you were more initiative, more effective etc. Let’s try to compose a broad picture of an ideal subordinate from the top manager’s point of view:

• an ideal team member is always ready for the overtime work and even is glad to help because he wants to be like the supervisor;
• is always full of different ideas that can be switched in use;
• is self-motivated, initiative and hot-eyed, he’s always full of goodwill to work well;
• has a mind to learn something new, he’s getting more professional and more experienced in his work and fringe areas as well;
• if he doesn’t have certain tasks he understands the company and department needs and sets tasks himself, accomplishes them and provides excellent results that can help others;
• doesn’t asks silly questions and tries to find everything independently;
• makes right decisions without help;
• doesn’t require salary hike and bonuses for additional work;
• is always loyal to the top manager;
• it’s a person who can cope with difficult tasks and is reliable.

This list can be enlarged according to the lead’s expectations about the ideal staff. The most important thing is that these features describe a global team member’s characteristics – effectiveness. Though people are getting more effective under the condition of good management only. And effective top manager shouldn’t indulge in illusions about (in)ideality of the staff – he should train the members of the department to let them get more ideal. After all thinking of ideality and facing the reality the top manager can just stop trusting co-workers and do tasks for others.

Burned out. Boss’ frequent mistakes, Part 1

Posted by admin under Labour relations, Seniors and Juniors

Most leads are trying hard to be good to the team: the better working relationship with the team is, the better is the boss in the top management’ eyes. It means the consistent work of Department, such team will better cope with difficult tasks. Though oftentimes good attitude, and especially different favors to the team is one-sided friendship. It happens more often if the lead is new in this position. Such boss will be totally unhappy with the work, he will have difficulties guiding his department, subordinates will cramp his style. We won’t controvert the fact that a lead usually is a person who was the best in his field: such employee sorts out complicated issues, understands the work and process structure, everyone can rely on him. Though there is always lack in top management knowledge and experience. We all have an idea of the best and fair management (from previous communication experience, be it former lead, parents, teacher etc.), but it’s not enough for guiding the team. Am I wrong?

It can be so though every lead should improve his management skills and keep professional qualification. Many managers commit multiple mistakes because of misunderstanding this factor that can lead to sorrowful results, for the lead in the first place.

The manager is often mistaken thinking that making something all alone is better and easier than explaining, training and bearing responsibility for someone’s failure. Why is it a mistake? Because the lead should achieve good results by effective team management but not being committee of one.

It often happens that colleague’s performance of a task doesn’t yield any outcome that makes us to alter the work and report to the superiors for all of that. We can find an example in any realm be it programing, project management, support or sales. E.g. the programmer has a task to develop a module for a CMS, new product or any framework. As a result he may have too many bugs in it and the module may not work as intended. The supervisor shouldn’t apply changes to the code and bring it to compliance for sure. Though some leads have some kind of fear to lose the position and some of them would carry out this work. And that is another mistake. The developer should be responsible for completed tasks and mistakes and be encouraged for good job and skills improvements. That’s why there is a supervisor who could evaluate the work. The lead making all the tasks all by himself act against sense that causes his overload and inefficiency of the whole Department. If there are subordinates in your Department they should work as well and get more complicated tasks as far as they improve their professional skills and. Who will do it but you?

If you’re a subordinate you also can influence on the whole process. It’s not worth resting on oars; you should be more persistent and take additional tasks so you could prove your competency. The more you do the more competence and opportunities you get (in salary and position). Even if you quit you will be able to show the new employer what you can. Less gab and more action.

Getting a job at career fairs

Posted by admin under career fair, job search

Today I would like to talk about career fairs. Career fairs are held very often, where initially job seekers would find their employers and employers would acquire new staff. Does it always happen? Can a job seeker really take a job offer for granted?

The employer is a preconceived person as he/she is looking for an employee for the company and he will be responsible for his or her mistakes. When there is only one person waiting for an interview he can pay more attention to the person and there are more chances to get a job. There are much more candidates on job fair than job offers that’s why the employer is getting more critical in candidates selecting and relies on first look. Therefore to catch employer’s fancy you should be 100% prepared. Well we can understand employer: if you have 50 time management applications (or any other) to choose the best ones from I think you would decide between them according to the external features without paying attention to the essential functionality. The error rate is for sure high, for that reason you should at least provide valuable information about you or kindle employer’s interest. At a pinch you can just provide your resume or portfolio to remind about yourself later maybe.

From employer’s point of view it’s also not so easy to choose the best candidate. Though it’s a great opportunity to spend one day only and hold many mini interviews to hire new staff. It’s not free of charge though it’s a good way to prove your worth as a serious company. Easy riders usually don’t pay, they ask for money. Not every person seeming suitable will answer the criteria. Conduct a mini test to check if the person suits the position. And anyway take a resume to read it through later and make sure you were right or recognize you made a mistake.

Anyway job expo is a good opportunity to establish partnerships to sew up companies / candidates list for future employment or placement. Most people consider job fairs to be for blue collars only and not for geeks as there are too many jobs in Internet. Though if you know there will be a famous company there you should be there for sure.

And what do you think about job expos? Have you ever attended them? Have you gotten a job after a career fair? Vote in our opinion poll.

Power Point for Stupid?

Posted by admin under PowerPoint, Tools for Geeks

Principle officers of NATO and US army express grave concern about excessive PowerPoint presentations utilizing on strategy planning and military operations meetings. Some general officers pass an opinion that presentations with slides not only simplify the reality but make such trivialized approach habitual for our perception that infects any decision making, New York Times reports. “PowerPoint makes us stupid,” Gen. James N. Mattis of the Marine Corps, the Joint Forces commander, said several days ago when appearing on the conference in North Carolina. He’s not alone with his opinion.

“It’s dangerous because it can create the illusion of understanding and the illusion of control,” Gen. McMaster said, he’s well known due to the fact that he prohibited PowerPoint usage in the course of successful operation of Tel Afar defense in 2005.

In point of fact when we review compact diagrams and tables in the presentation we always can refer to any of its parts and we don’t have to think and bear it in memory – everything is in front of our eyes. We just need to perceive the presented information that makes decision making process easier. But sometimes it could cause improper decision as well.

It must be said that US army PowerPoint dependence grows constantly, presentations appear in approximately half of meetings. Junior officers are often called “PowerPoint Rangers”, New York Times reports, cause they are working on one single task: presentations preparing for their command.
From the other side is it true to fact? When people staring at presentation see just what is displayed are they so smart and long-sighted if they don’t reckon up front? It’s a very useful method for visualizing complicated information to let people get maximum from it without making them prepare for every meeting and read many pages with details. After getting a broad picture people can draw conclusion easier and faster. In fact it’s difficult to define this tool importance, though its necessity cannot be exaggerated sometimes. Contrariwise people making such presentations should look into a matter themselves and arrive at right conclusions – if they don’t represent the information without fear of favour or if their calculations are wrong so the decision as well could be wrong. And finally is it possible that the chiefs rely on the presentations only?

For me e.g. presentation is a kind of way to simplify huge information scope and provide eventual data to colleagues without making them enter into every sentence. Though is PowerPoint always to the point? I guess army is not the place where one should misuse this tool, is it? What do you think about it? Vote in our poll.

Is it worthwhile quitting the job?

Posted by admin under crisis, job search

However there is another poll held last September with headline “Are you ready to leave your job? Studies show employees are preparing to leave their jobs once the economy improves”. Its results cut across this year poll and show different opinions. 38% of interviewed members are ready to leave their job when the situation improves.

Probably the economic situation is being changed for the better and people are happy with their job? Maybe some people have managed to change the work for a better paid and decent one? It turns out that the situation within the last 8 months has been improved and there is no crisis any longer?

And what do you think about the changes? Is the crisis in progress? Does it interfere with your career? Take part in our opinion poll.

Danger or opportunities?

Posted by admin under crisis, job search

In Chinese, the notion of “crisis” is written as a combination of the two characters “danger” and “opportunity.” 

… 

David Servan Schreiber, Anticancer: a new way of life 

The word “crisis” has sticked in our minds so deeply so the reason for every wrong action, every misfortune can be explained by a single word “crisis”. Whether you didn’t get a job at Wall Street, missed the opening etc – we will shift responsibility on the crisis – they always prefer fair-haired boys, or maybe they have no money to pay me or probably they are looking for a person to keep him/her in view because there is a crisis. Did you happen to think back of your incompetence, non-use of your skills or omission of opportunity to study or improve existing knowledge and skills? Can it be true that crisis is a reason for everything?

If you managed to stay the same strong man in spite of this word “crisis” you are to be envied and wished luck. Most of people would throw up their hands because of things done without results or because of lack of opportunities. That’s right, the crisis is always trying to deceive us by big promises, instantaneous earnings – though they are insignificant as against to our scope. I have a friend who uses every opportunity to make some money working on small tasks and accepting all the offers. However he spends all his spare time on this cherry pie. He will get his 5 dollars for sure – but now, it won’t be his every day, hour or second earning.

Do I make myself clear? The person needs money today and he’s not ready to wait for the future earnings in spite of the fact that he’s not fool and is smarter than all those “professionals” that are everywhere. Then again who would act in a different way in consideration of crisis? There are certain liabilities, family, children – everyone and everything requires attention and care. Though I’d better wait and work for the future. There is the crisis in the world and it cannot be worse than now. We should invest in ourselves and our children for decent life in future. Should we really just hope and knock down for today? Our future is indeed nearby – though how will we face it? The crisis will also pass by. What will we get after that?

There is a peculiar solution for everyone:

- for someone it would be quitting from long-inhabited position with low but stable salary

- for another one it will be studying and getting new information maybe from another realm, alongside with that getting more opportunities

- someone could work hard for him/herself, develop personal skills and guarantee worthy result

I suppose we all should just find our position on what is interesting for us, what can be really useful and what could be worth while achieving it. This is because the crisis is the best time to start changes and go nap on: I’m sure it won’t be worse – our life can be aggravated by other people or the crisis itself, though only we can make our life better.