Utterz from the Road - Making your own opportunities

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Show confidence without being arrogant

I was motivated to write this post from reading an article on Monster about Ten Tech Interview Errors. Specifically, I noticed the following passage from the article:

Too many techies come across as arrogant in interviews, says Sean Chou, CTO of Fieldglass, a software technology company. "A lot of techies are very talented, but what comes out is arrogance," he says.

Confidence is desirable, not arrogance. Arrogance suggests "they can't be a team player," Chou notes.

So I posed the following question on Twitter earlier:

What ways can you show confidence without it coming across as arrogance?

I could have clarified that I was looking with respect to an interview situation, but I preferred asking an open-ended question (i.e., without context), just to see what the responses would have been. Here are some of the responses so far, again to my open-ended question:

• matthewebel Not breaking into a cold sweat when some director asks you to make a pass at iJustine.
• mindofandre I always like to attribute my knowledge due to the fact that others have helped me learn. You haven't come this far without others.
• TheSatch I think a key for me is being willing to point to and discuss my own flaws, sometimes seriously and sometimes with humor.
• CollinDouma Best way to show confidence over arrgnc. Listen first, ask 3 questions for each of theirs + Hold your cool when "they" are proved wrong.
• jasonalba research the word "assertive" ... that might have what you are looking for. very powerful.
• tonysteward 1. Never offer criticism without a prepared solution 2. Arrogance makes someone unreasonable - be reasonable. 3. Confidence doesn't need everyone to agree - arrogance demands it or villianizes.
• fairminder state your opinion as fact and support it with an example from your experience. Quote other experts - birds of a feather...
• steveames One way is to be quiet - in other words, don't try to show confidence. Just exude it...
• markbaars You need to KNOW that you're confident, that people like you and that you can do whatever you want + KNOW that you're NICE
• Sourcerer be the one to greet and make others comfortable at meeting/event, also witty self-deprecation goes a long way
• RichBecker Relevant stories play better than laundry lists.

What do you think? What are some ways to show confidence, or as Jason Alba put it, assertiveness, without it being perceived as arrogance?

-----
Check out my other blogs:
Daniel Johnson, Jr.
Journey Inside My Mind Blog
Journey Inside My Mind Podcast
QuotesBlog
Twitter.com/danieljohnsonjr

Related tags: getthatjob, get+that+job, job+hunt, job+search, career+advice, networking, professional+development, daniel+johnson+jr

Tech Job Aggregator on Twitter

Do you use Twitter? You might know that I'm an avid user of it. I just noticed this tech job aggregator, which has a presence on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Joblighted

Also, if you're into Ruby on Rails, you might want to consider following http://twitter.com/rornews

-----
Check out my other blogs:
Daniel Johnson, Jr.
Journey Inside My Mind Blog
Journey Inside My Mind Podcast
QuotesBlog
Twitter.com/danieljohnsonjr

Related tags: getthatjob, get+that+job, job+hunt, job+search, career+advice, networking, twitter, daniel+johnson+jr, joblighted, ruby+on+rails

Craigslist Job Seeker Killed

I firmly believe in using social media and new media tools in our job searches; tools like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Craigslist. These and several others make it easier than ever to connect with people.

Having said that, we still need to be careful, as Steven Rothberg from College Recruiter.com mentions:

Front page news in the Minneapolis newspapers over the past couple of days has been the killing of Katherine Ann Olson. While any murder is tragic, this one is noteworthy to employers and job seekers alike because it appears to be related to the victim's use of Craiglist to find a nanny position.

Ms. Olson was looking for a nanny job. She had successfully used Craigslist before and so searched it again. She found an ad of interest responded. She told her roommate that she was going to meet the family from the ad. After she didn't come home, police initiated a search and found her dead in the trunk of her car at a park in Burnsville, Minnesota late Friday night.

I believe in the power of meeting up face-to-face with others, but I also strongly believe that these meetings must occur in public places like food courts at shopping malls or coffee shops, especially when meeting up for the first time.

What about you? What do make of all this? Join the conversation below.

Update: Craigslist scam avoidance tips

Related tags: getthatjob get+that+job job+hunt job+search career+advice networking collegerecruiter daniel+johnson+jr steven+rothberg katharine+ann+olson

DiversityJobs.com has thousands of jobs from employers committed to diversity.

Test drive your dream job

This is interesting. One of my Twitter friends told me to check out Vocation Vacations.

Related tags: getthatjob get+that+job job+hunt job+search career+advice networking daniel+johnson+jr twitter vocation+vacations

Career strategies for using MySpace, Facebook and other social networking sites

I've listened to Peter Clayton's interview with Steven Rothberg two days in a row, because it's got me thinking about my own career strategies for using social networking sites, as well as my portfolio blog. You need to listen to this, too.

From the shownotes at TotalPicture.com:

Did you know that MySpace is the 3rd most visited U.S. website and that the average age of a MySpace user is 35? Check out this interview, which covers an overview of CollegeRecruiter.com, and an in-depth analysis - from a career strategy perspective - of MySpace, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Second Life.

Click on the player to hear the 39-minute interview:


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Alternate links that get you the content:

• Direct download (mp3) from the Total Picture Radio site
• Total Picture Radio shownotes
• Odeo audio page
• PodShow+

Related tags: getthatjob get+that+job job+hunt job+search career+advice networking professional+development daniel+johnson+jr


Find thousands of Bilingual jobs at LatPro.com.

Ron Hittle inspired me with one sentence

"To touch the soul of another human being is to walk on holy ground." - Stephen R. Covey, via QuotesBlog

I met Ron Hittle about 3-1/2 years ago at a career workshop at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio. I remember that it was an encouraging and inspiring time for me, since I was really struggling for direction in my career. The encounter and events since then have showed me how powerful connecting with one person can positively affect another.

That year I also met a recruiter in the Dayton area, and we've exchanged e-mails and phone conversations over the past three years or so, having become part of each other's professional network.

She mentioned early on that I must have met Ron Hittle.

"How did you know that?" I asked.

"From then ending of your voicemail message," she replied. "I do that, too."

Imitation, it's been said, is the sincerest form of flattery. This recruiter and I at different times had adopted Ron's way of closing a message as our own.

It's a little bittersweet that I share all of this, because a few moments ago, she called me to say that Ron Hittle passed away this weekend. He'd retired some time ago and had been dealing with some health issues, but it still came suddenly. My thoughts and prayers go up to the family, as well as those who knew Ron well. He will surely be missed.

As I mentioned, I didn't know Ron that well, but he left a lasting impression on me just from one statement from his voicemail message, because it points to my own ability to do something about my life versus letting something happen.

If you've received an email from me or have heard me sign off on my mostly music podcast, you probably already know what I'm about to say.

Most people I know usually end a conversation by saying, "Have a great day!"

Ron Hittle would say, "Make it a great day!"

Thanks, Ron. I think I will.

Related tags: getthatjob get+that+job job+hunt job+search career+advice networking professional+development daniel+johnson+jr ron+hittle sinclair+community+college


Find information on Diversity recruiting at DiversityJobs.com.

Happy Birthday JibberJobber!

I just found out from Jason Alba that tomorrow is the first birthday of JibberJobber, a career toolset used by many - including yours truly - to manage aspects of a job search and networking relationships. I have yet to delve into the unchartered territories within the tool, but I have to say that it is EXCELLENT for managing the minute details of a job search.

If you haven't yet checked it out, click on the link on the sidebar. You certainly get a lot with a free membership; with the premium membership you naturally get more.

Update: Jason wrote a bit about the birthday on the JibberJobber Blog.

Related tags: getthatjob get+that+job job+hunt job+search career+advice networking jibberjobber daniel+johnson+jr jason+alba

Job Searching vs Career Management

Jason wrote a great article about changing the way we approach job searching and career management:

I frequently think about how we think of our job transitions - we are supposed to have lots of them during our career.

I’m completely intrigued by the people who have forgotten what a forced transition is like, or by those that feel totally secure in their job (or their ability to find a new job) - and their reactions to a “job search.”

I'm finding that Career Management was easier when I was looking for work. Now that I'm working, it's harder and harder for me to stay in that mindset. I'm spending more time thinking about projects at work than my own career management.

But I try to do a little bit every day to manage my career, whether it's setting up a lunch appointment with a friend, or use my LinkedIn URL as I comment on this and many other posts. I also maintain a portfolio blog. I also look for other ways to share what I'm learning about career management.

I don't want to be misled into a false sense of job security. Right now work is going strong, but I still need to keep my eyes on the big picture.

What practical things do you do every day to manage your career?

Related tags: getthatjob get+that+job job+hunt job+search career+advice networking professional+development daniel+johnson+jr career+management jibberjobber

Twitter got her a job!

"Twitter got me a freelance job." -- Karina Longworth

Karina Longworth, who writes on her blog Vidiocy, sent that message to folks following her on Twitter. Read more about the details at her blog post: Vidiocy >> Twitter Got Me A Job

Related tags: getthatjob get+that+job job+hunt job+search career+advice networking twitter

Make a Personal Connection!

Chris at LifeHack.org recently shared some thoughts on effective networking ("Meet People NOT Business Cards - lifehack.org"). If you're like me, you've tended to use these events as opportunities to amass a big collection of business cards. But that's not the point of the meeting, really, is it? Here are my comments to the article:

I hear you, Chris. I just read something along the same lines in Keith Ferrazzi's book Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time. If you collect a bunch of business cards without making a personal connection, you're left with a phone list from which to make cold calls.

Now, let's transfer these thoughts into collecting contacts on internet social networks, okay?

I see people blindly adding friends on social networking sites like MySpace, LinkedIn, Twitter, and others, the same way people collect business cards. There are various reasons to do this; the most obvious is to make themselves look important, which is something that motivates some people. If people see someone with lots of contacts, they will begin to think of them as an expert in their field. I'm a bit torn on this myself, to be honest.

Just remember that the personal connection is what matters. What are you doing right now to make and reinforce the personal connection with your contacts? What are your thoughts on the effectiveness of amassing large numbers of contacts?

Related tags: getthatjob get+that+job job+hunt job+search career+advice networking social+networking daniel+johnson+jr

For Victory You Need Many Advisers

Proverbs 24:5-7 (New International Version)

5 A wise man has great power,
and a man of knowledge increases strength;

6 for waging war you need guidance,
and for victory many advisers.

7 Wisdom is too high for a fool;
in the assembly at the gate he has nothing to say.

Where am I going with this, you might ask? Check out LinkedIn: Answers You can search the vast wisdom of people in your network and across the LinkedIn userbase for answers to questions you have, and you can ask questions of your network.

So go assure yourself a victory and seek out advice from others who can help you.

Related tags: getthatjob get+that+job job+hunt job+search career+advice networking professional+development daniel+johnson+jr linkedin

Job-hunting success stories uncovered during lunch

It appears to be so easy for the coworkers in my department to eat their lunches at their desks. We work on a floor below most of the company, and I've made an effort recently to head upstairs to the break room to eat my lunch with other people.

I have also spent time asking some of my fellow employees about their work. This is probably made easier to do because these individuals were all recently hired. I like to ask about their work backgrounds, and how they found out about the job they have now.

I'm finding that people are so much more interesting as you get to know them than they initially appear on the surface. Isn't that so true?

Here are some recent examples how some of these people got that job:

• J. worked for a worker's compensation managed care group that our company has used. Her boss knows our VP of Operations personally, since they regularly eat business lunches together, etc. When that company recently downsized, J. was left unemployed. That afternoon, her boss ate lunch with our VP of Operations, who also knew of her work, and, since we had a position to fill, hired her on the spot. So she was unemployed for 1 whole hour!
• S. had worked for over 20 years for the LA Times circulation group before retiring in 2001. Needing to supplement her income, she worked as a temp for a payroll processing company in California. Friends in Ohio begged her to move here, and she did so last fall. Having heard about our company while at her previous job, she stopped by the office, having seen the sign from the highway. She went in and asked for a job, for which, the company indeed did have an opening.

Related tags: getthatjob get+that+job job+hunt job+search career+advice networking daniel+johnson+jr

Got That Job!

Hey! I am writing to inform you of my recent success at landing a job. That's right. Uh huh. (pardon me, while I do a happy dance.):

Before I say anything else here, I need to be clear that the opinions expressed here are my own and do not reflect those of any employer, past or present.

On Tuesday, January 2, 2006, I'll be going back to work full-time. I'd like to tell you some of the things I feel helped me secure this job.

First, I'd worked with the company before as a full-time employee, and, although laid off in August, I'd made what I felt was a very valuable contribution to the company. Even after that time, I'd done some independent contracting work for them, further adding value to them.

I kept a good relationship with former coworkers and supervisors, often chatting with them at least once a week. They even offered to reach into their own networks to help me out.

Fast forward a couple months, and I get offered to come back. Now, since I'd had time to do some market research, I'd found out that I had been getting paid below the market rate for others with the same skills and experience.

I also began to seek the advice of others whose opinions I trust. When approached with an initial offer, I didn't just accept it. I opted to look at other things, such as a cost-benefit analysis to determine whether it would be better to stay an independent contractor versus being a full-time employee. Some of these valuable people in my network helped me work this out.

I also feel it was valuable that I didn't try to negotiate from a position, but instead on factual principles. What does that mean? I meant that in everything, as I presented my concerns and questions, I relied on facts - number of miles to be driven, mileage reimbursement rates, etc.

It was a nerve-wracking experience, but one I'm glad I went through. I'm really glad to be going back to work.

What that means for this blog is that posts may become more erratic. But stay subscribed to the feed, and you'll know when I do update.

Related tags:

getthatjob get+that+job job+hunt job+search career+advice networking professional+development dan+johnson success+stories

Connect with Long-lost Contacts This Holiday Season

Anyone else remember this jingle:

Reach out, reach out and touch someone
Reach out, reach out and just say 'Hi'

I remember the commercials on TV and the radio, encouraging us to call friends and family.

I bring this up because we are now in the midst of the holiday season, which is a great excuse to get back in touch with people in your address book, contact list, or other network list. So why not reach out and touch someone in your network this season?

Related tags:

getthatjob get+that+job job+hunt job+search career+advice networking professional+development dan+johnson

Greater Cincinnati's Best Places to Work

The Cincinnati Business Courier reports:

Four companies were named Thursday, from 16 finalists and more than 130 nominated companies, as Greater Cincinnati's best places to work.

Receiving their awards before a luncheon audience of nearly 500 at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center were the Castleton Group, Cincinnati Airport Marriott, Cincinnati Marriott North and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

...

Greater Cincinnati's Best Places to Work program, open to any company based in the 15-county Greater Cincinnati region with 10 or more employees and companies not based here but which have at least 75 local employees. The program has been conducted by the Courier each year since 2003.

I might need to tap into my network to see if I know anyone who works at these companies.

Related tags:

cincinnati cincinnati+business+courier best+places+to+work castleton+group cincinnati+airport+marriott cincinnati+marriott+north children's+hospital+medical+center getthatjob getthatjobonline get+that+job job+hunt job+search career+advice networking professional+development dan+johnson

Blog Carnival - Networking After Sudden Job Loss

Jason of the JibberJobber Blog, the current "host" of a blog carnival, asks:

Yikes! You just lost your job! You’ve been so busy at *work* that you don’t feel your network is as strong as you would like it to be! What are you going to do with (and to) your network in the next 6 weeks as you begin an aggresive job search campaign? And, outside of your network, what job search tactics will you employ? Or your best networking tips related to job searches.

I was placed in this situation at the end of August this year. I immediately went to my LinkedIn profile, updated it, and started sending emails to my contacts. Unfortunately, I have not been proactive in being my own career manager, and I haven't kept in touch that well with the contacts in my network. So I mostly sent out "touching base" types of emails, mentioning the recent change in my circumstances where I could, and depending on the relationship with the contact.

I've began looking for other people to add to my network, based on the new relationships I'd formed since I'd last updated my network. I think I'm having to continue to explore different ways to find jobs. I hate having to post a resume blindly online and apply for specific job postings blindly. I much rather enjoy the interactivity from social networking. At the same time, I'm finding that I shouldn't limit myself by not going about the traditional methods of networking.

The other thing I've found from recently finding myself back in the job market is that my skills are not as current as I'd like them to be. So I'm looking at ways to hone them.

I guess that's all I have to say right now.

Related tags:

getthatjob get+that+job job+hunt job+search career+advice networking professional+development dan+johnson blog+carnival jibberjobber

What I Love About Searching for Work, cont'd

In a previous post, I talked about how much I've come to enjoy networking, not only for a job search, but just in general.

Someone commented at that post, asking two questions, which I'll try to address as best as I can, hoping you other readers can contribute (tap, tap, is this mic on? ;), after the jump:

Even though I am completely comfortable asking for ideas/help about a problem I'm working on at work "Has anyone else ever hit this error?". I simply can't bring myself to make me,myself or I the topic of the conversation, as in "I'm thinking of trying to start...." I am just completely uncomfortable with it. I can do it over the Internet, but not face to face with friends/relatives.

I'm not sure why I feel that way, but I think it's because with people I already know I'm worried that they will either feel obligated to ACT interested/enthusiastic OR that if they are in any way negative before I've gotten off the ground with my idea, that I won't have enough momentum to keep going.

Any suggestions?

Some people are introverted and some are extroverted; it's just how we're all made. I think in general I'm more extroverted than introverted. I believe it's important to have enough confidence in yourself that, when around friends and relatives - others with whom you're close - to be able to bounce off your ideas, even just to ask them for their opinions. I'm learning that I need to be my own biggest fan, because I know what I have to offer others better than they do, and it's my responsibility to convey that.

My second question is, can you give me an example of why you like LinkedIn? I just wasn't inclined to type in a pile of info about myself unless I had a more specific example of how I might benefit.

I like to use LinkedIn to connect with colleagues and friends professionally, especially recently as I've found myself back in the job market. I'm letting my contacts know what I've been doing and what I'm looking for, and they can search their networks, too. I've been able to strum up a few job leads, as a result.



Hope this helps, and let's keep the conversation going!

Related tags:

linkedin, getthatjob, get+that+job, networking, job+search, social+networking, professional+networking, extrovert, introvert

Current Openings from a contact in my Network

Dennis, one of the contacts in my LinkedIn network, has some openings he's trying to fill:

Automotive Electrical Engineer - IN
Business to Business Sales - IN
Chemist - IN
Application Engineer - CA
Information Technology Manager - GA
Information Technology Manager - IN
Logistic Professional - IN
Machine Maintenance Technician - IN
Mechanical/Project Engineer - WA
Automotive Production Supervisor - IN
Automotive Auto-Cad Designer - IN
Food Mfg Production Supervisor - WI (bi-lingual HUGE plus)
Sales Account Representative - OH
Human Resources Executive - IL
Bi-Lingual HR Generalist - IN

If you want more information, please let me know.

How to tap your company's hidden network - April 1, 2006

Ooooh. This is a really good article with some tips on how to really get things done in a company. I think it's useful whether you're currently employed or not.

If you're currently employed, you can consider how to apply this at your job.

If you're not currently employed, you can consider how this works or might work at companies where you're applying.

Maybe I don't know what I'm talking about, but I still think it's worth your consideration.

How to tap your company's hidden network - April 1, 2006