There were many years that I was involved with a Team of IT Professionals. What is most imperative in any team oriented environment is being able to form a trusted relationship with each of your Team Members. You want to build a positive atmosphere so that it makes a fun and professional environment. Over the years, I have seen teams on both sides of the spectrum , there may have always been one or two extremely negative people trying to influence things in a different way. What I have learned is that those individuals often have some insecurity going on with them and decide to project that onto others so it's best to let those negative remarks slide but do something to try to make it a positive approach.
First off, in order to be trusted as a Team Member it's imperative to be a positive influence over others meaning you want to ensure that all team members are going to learn what they need to learn and grow within the atmosphere. This is not to say that everyone is not going to have their good days and bad days. Several things to stay away from if you want to be a respected team member:
1. Never gossip or complain about a person behind their back. This always leaves room for people not trusting you and even if you have very valuable information to offer, it might turn on deaf ears because of anything said that might be viewed as putting down another person. Keep in mind that everyone is at different levels of knowledge and unless that person does not express any interest in what they are currently doing, it's imperative to find out some things first before jumping to conclusions.
2. Never assume anything about Team Members. Having an open line of communication is important with them. For example, if I happened to know something valuable about a certain process or fix, I would share that information for anyone who is interested. If I was not sure of the information's validity, then I would take the time to research into it. That's what I love to do.
3. Everyone's learning curve is a little different. Some may take a little longer than others and it's imperative to be patient with them when in a technical support role.
4. If faced with a situation where a customer is calling into complain about something and one specific person is mentioned, take the time to quickly apologize about the situation without putting down that other team member. After the call, then it would be appropriate to approach the other team member to inform them of the situation but it's best to do it in a way where they understand that you are really helping them.
One prime example is of a person who approaches another team member who may be venting about management or someone else. You're better off refraining from those complaints so this person feels comfortable approaching you instead of feeling that you are not approachable. It's often better to take your concerns to management directly so that everyone feels like there really is a team and not this big division. While nothing is perfect and everyone has their good and bad days, you want to make sure that everyone is on the same page.
5. Helping others out in a team is very important instead of leaving some hanging. If I'm helping out in a team, then I also expect to be helped out as well during peak times. Make it a two way street and not a one way street where only certain members of it can call the shots. I think that it's imperative for everyone to have a role on the team and maybe a specialty that they can bring to the team.
6. Don't pretend to know something that you may not really know. I prefer it when someone is eager to learn something new and can honestly admit when they are stumped about something. It's often best to find someone on the team to ask questions about a certain process instead of wasting time trying to figure something out or trying to bluff it.
I'll never forget a time where I was very interested in helping the team out with this new automated fix. There was something going out in the field where the clients would call in because their paint mixing system reached a halt as soon as they started pouring the mix. Another former team member had researched into the situation with a 3rd party vendor and it had been discovered that there was what is known as a serial mouse issue. Most of the devices that connected to the CPU unit were using serial ports to connect. Paint Mixing is a very precise procedure so it must be done with great care. What was happening is that the Microsoft Serial mouse was detecting the serial ports at the same time that the mix was taking place and it would disconnect the paint scale. There was a registry fix for this and the other team member provided that information. I decided to go a step further to consider the following:
1. Save money for the company
2. Save time on the phones for other team members
3. Save clients peace of mind that the fix would be conducted properly
Now there were several choices we had: Since there was no remote assistance at the time: walk clients through registry fix which I felt would make them feel uncomfortable, have them ship the CPU unit into the local branch office of this company (expensive shipping costs), and not to mention, waiting for that CPU to take up to 3 days to ship in.
So based on the advice that I had heard at several different Team Lead meetings to "think outside the box", I decided to brainstorm, research, and test out the solution. I had thought about a previous company and how they had handled their deployment issues with upgrading their software. Since most clients with the exception of a few with a large network infrastructure, I decided to automate the process. In most cases, Microsoft would have a Windows patch but I had to think that most of these clients did not have internet access and we did not support it at this company.
I spent time going over it with a few managers and this other team member and was given advice to take the time to test it on some systems there that were setup for a testing environment. So I went ahead with it and after getting the approval, as soon as more calls starting coming in, I went ahead and started sharing with team members the fix. The best way to get this out there was to have this file copied to a CD and then send out to the client. The walk through went much more smoothly because it only required a double click on the file instead of this 6 step process which in my opinion could produce negative results. Clients felt relieved that it did not take nearly as long to fix and that the fix was permanent. This fix was already added to the current images that resided on the servers, however, this fix needed to be addressed to images no longer stored on the servers.
After several months when they carefully observed things, they decided to give me another opportunity to learn how to put together these images on the next rollout and it was a very exciting process.
There are several other examples, but I'm saving those for other blogs, I just thought that I would share what I feel is important in a team environment. Keeping things positive and an open line of communication as well as respecting each other's strengths is very important to team growth.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Local Seminars for Week of October 19th
Last week, there were several events that I attended were the following: First I attended a Board Meeting of the Greater Cleveland PC User's Group. I met with President Bert Boyd, Vice President Jim Evans, SIG Co Ordinator Karl Kuhn, and Treasurer Ed Biesiada last Monday evening to discuss the future events of The Greater Cleveland PC User's Group. Generally these Board meetings are held periodically to help drive the direction that this group is going in. Next General Meeting will take place on Saturday, November 14 at CSU between 9:30AM to 12:00PM. If interested in joining this group to receive some information on the latest in IT Technology, feel free to visit our website at http://gcpcug.org to find out more.
On Tuesday evening, Sam Nassir's SIG group WPF met at Beacon Hill Building in Independence where current SIG member, Sarah Dutkiewicz, gave an excellent presentation on Silverlight version 3.0. She has a blog with many different articles that can be found on http://www.codinggeekette.com. Following this presentation, a group gathered at Mavis Winkles afterwards to discuss many different things related to IT including the launch of Microsoft's latest operating system Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2. Sam has another SIG group, C#/.NET meeting this Tuesday, October 27th from 6:30 to 8:00PM subject "Production Debugging". Also on Thursday, October 29th, Stephen Toub will be giving a presentation on Parallel PG MNG from 6:30 - 8:00PM.
On Wednesday, Bob Coppege, CIO of Simplex Technologies had speaker, Mark Geyman, of Ohio Biz gave a presentation on giving Small Businesses a strong marketing presence online with his extensive research and experience in Directory Business. After this event, I attended the Workforce Development event out in Twinsburg where various colleges and technical schools merged together to encourage individuals who maybe in transition to consider returning to school and get their degrees and certifications updated. Also featured at this event were assistance with healthcare finances, resume writing, job interview techniques, and different breakout sessions for those interested in getting into a specific field.
On Thursday, Avvenire Solutions, a company based out of Brecksville hosted an event in the morning at Microsoft Center giving presentations on the following: Windows 7 , Server 2008 R2, and Microsoft Office 2010.
Saturday, there were several events. One being at Cuyahoga Valley Career Center held by The Brecksville Chamber of Commerce where several local businesses met to demonstrate what their businesses have to offer to the community. There was also a pancake breakfast to help raise funds for the Brecksville Community.
In the evening, Benedictine High School's German Club held their Octoberfest. Festivities included a festive meal, followed by music/dance, and a raffle. My family was pleased to participate in the event and were happy to win some outstanding prices including 2 free tickets to see the Cavs for next month.
That's the summary for the past week. Stay tuned for next weeks blog.
On Tuesday evening, Sam Nassir's SIG group WPF met at Beacon Hill Building in Independence where current SIG member, Sarah Dutkiewicz, gave an excellent presentation on Silverlight version 3.0. She has a blog with many different articles that can be found on http://www.codinggeekette.com. Following this presentation, a group gathered at Mavis Winkles afterwards to discuss many different things related to IT including the launch of Microsoft's latest operating system Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2. Sam has another SIG group, C#/.NET meeting this Tuesday, October 27th from 6:30 to 8:00PM subject "Production Debugging". Also on Thursday, October 29th, Stephen Toub will be giving a presentation on Parallel PG MNG from 6:30 - 8:00PM.
On Wednesday, Bob Coppege, CIO of Simplex Technologies had speaker, Mark Geyman, of Ohio Biz gave a presentation on giving Small Businesses a strong marketing presence online with his extensive research and experience in Directory Business. After this event, I attended the Workforce Development event out in Twinsburg where various colleges and technical schools merged together to encourage individuals who maybe in transition to consider returning to school and get their degrees and certifications updated. Also featured at this event were assistance with healthcare finances, resume writing, job interview techniques, and different breakout sessions for those interested in getting into a specific field.
On Thursday, Avvenire Solutions, a company based out of Brecksville hosted an event in the morning at Microsoft Center giving presentations on the following: Windows 7 , Server 2008 R2, and Microsoft Office 2010.
Saturday, there were several events. One being at Cuyahoga Valley Career Center held by The Brecksville Chamber of Commerce where several local businesses met to demonstrate what their businesses have to offer to the community. There was also a pancake breakfast to help raise funds for the Brecksville Community.
In the evening, Benedictine High School's German Club held their Octoberfest. Festivities included a festive meal, followed by music/dance, and a raffle. My family was pleased to participate in the event and were happy to win some outstanding prices including 2 free tickets to see the Cavs for next month.
That's the summary for the past week. Stay tuned for next weeks blog.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Recap from week of October 12th
I'm back again this week to give a summarization of the events that I had visited last week. Back on Monday, October 12th, Microsoft was in town giving presentations on the release of the following products: Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, and MS Exchange 2010. Various IT Professionals and Developers from different companies around the Northeast Ohio area attended to get a sneak peak of what is about to be released come October 22nd.
There were various breakout sessions, in the morning, mostly for the Developers, and during the afternoon, for the IT Professionals. Since I had attended several presentations between Sogeti, Avvenire, and Simplex-IT Technologies on Windows 7, I decided to go with the Server 2008 R2 session. Matthew Hester of Microsoft put on a nice presentation in the afternoon which focused on the Administrator's roles with the Server. He gave a hands on demonstration of the migration from Server 2003 to Server 2008 R2 which was very well presented. Everyone who attended was presented with a licensed copy of Windows 7 Ultimate version.
Some additional websites to check out and learn more about the latest in Microsoft technology are the following: Windows 7 Springboard http://www.microsoft.com/springboard, Talking About Windows http://www.talkingaboutwindows.com/, and Windows 7 Webcasts and Podcasts http://www.microsoft.com/events/series/technetwindows7.aspx
Another event that I chose to attend was a meeting presented by ISACA.org which it members consist of professional IT Auditors on a global level that form together to discuss best practices for what they specialize in. This group caught my attention because there was a gentleman by the name of David Hadley who gave a very informative presentation on U.S. Cyber Security. After the presentation, they did have a networking event of where various professionals meet from different companies to exchange their ideas on the subject matter.
This is a very interesting way to network with individuals with companies that individuals may be targeting in order to learn more about them.
Next week, there will be some interesting events that individuals maybe interesting in attending. On Wednesday, October 21st, there will be some breakout sessions out in Twinsburg at the following location:
Education and CommunityResource Expo
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
TWINSBURG HILTON GARDEN INN(I-480 at SR 82)
8971 Wilcox Drive,
Twinsburg, Ohio 44087.
This event is for those in transition or thinking of starting their own business. For more information, visit the following website: www.uso.edu/resourceexpo. This basically covers everything from A-Z on career transition, education, finances, etc.
Another event that I plan on attending that might be of interest to others is the Brecksville Expo on Saturday, October 24th from 9:00AM to 3:00PM.
Sam's group will also be presenting WPF for the C#/VB.Net group on Tuesday evening with the following details:
Topic: Introduction to Silverlight, by Sarah Dutkiewicz, MVP
Level: 100
Date: Tuesday, October 20, 2009, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PMClick here to set a reminder in your Outlook calendar!
Location: Beacon Place Conference Center
Beacon Place Office Building
6055 Rockside Woods Blvd, Lower Level
Independence, OH 44131.
Finally, on Thursday, October 22nd, Avvenire will have another Windows 7 Presentation up at Microsoft Center between 9:00AM to 11:00AM.
That's all the news now for the upcoming week.
There were various breakout sessions, in the morning, mostly for the Developers, and during the afternoon, for the IT Professionals. Since I had attended several presentations between Sogeti, Avvenire, and Simplex-IT Technologies on Windows 7, I decided to go with the Server 2008 R2 session. Matthew Hester of Microsoft put on a nice presentation in the afternoon which focused on the Administrator's roles with the Server. He gave a hands on demonstration of the migration from Server 2003 to Server 2008 R2 which was very well presented. Everyone who attended was presented with a licensed copy of Windows 7 Ultimate version.
Some additional websites to check out and learn more about the latest in Microsoft technology are the following: Windows 7 Springboard http://www.microsoft.com/springboard, Talking About Windows http://www.talkingaboutwindows.com/, and Windows 7 Webcasts and Podcasts http://www.microsoft.com/events/series/technetwindows7.aspx
Another event that I chose to attend was a meeting presented by ISACA.org which it members consist of professional IT Auditors on a global level that form together to discuss best practices for what they specialize in. This group caught my attention because there was a gentleman by the name of David Hadley who gave a very informative presentation on U.S. Cyber Security. After the presentation, they did have a networking event of where various professionals meet from different companies to exchange their ideas on the subject matter.
This is a very interesting way to network with individuals with companies that individuals may be targeting in order to learn more about them.
Next week, there will be some interesting events that individuals maybe interesting in attending. On Wednesday, October 21st, there will be some breakout sessions out in Twinsburg at the following location:
Education and CommunityResource Expo
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
TWINSBURG HILTON GARDEN INN(I-480 at SR 82)
8971 Wilcox Drive,
Twinsburg, Ohio 44087.
This event is for those in transition or thinking of starting their own business. For more information, visit the following website: www.uso.edu/resourceexpo. This basically covers everything from A-Z on career transition, education, finances, etc.
Another event that I plan on attending that might be of interest to others is the Brecksville Expo on Saturday, October 24th from 9:00AM to 3:00PM.
Sam's group will also be presenting WPF for the C#/VB.Net group on Tuesday evening with the following details:
Topic: Introduction to Silverlight, by Sarah Dutkiewicz, MVP
Level: 100
Date: Tuesday, October 20, 2009, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PMClick here to set a reminder in your Outlook calendar!
Location: Beacon Place Conference Center
Beacon Place Office Building
6055 Rockside Woods Blvd, Lower Level
Independence, OH 44131.
Finally, on Thursday, October 22nd, Avvenire will have another Windows 7 Presentation up at Microsoft Center between 9:00AM to 11:00AM.
That's all the news now for the upcoming week.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Networking Some Insights
I was not going to start another blog until Sunday which was going to be on a different topic altogether. I will still blog about that event next week, however, I decided to discuss a little bit about networking while in transition or while looking for business prospects. I attended some very good sessions on this through various places one being at "The Employment Connection Center" with Bonnie Dick, and a few others through small business group presentations such as the "JLG-Event". There were also some ideas coming from different resources along the way.
Now even while you are not necessarily looking for anything, you most likely already have a network of people with whom you can turn to when that situation does present itself. For example, some business professionals may already belong to a specific organization such as a group of Accounting Professionals who are more often working for different businesses, or whatever other groups that you might belong to. There are also different leaders within our communities who are always interacting with others who might be of great help to you.
There are a few things you might want to take into consideration.
First, it doesn't hurt to try to get into one of Bonnie Dick's presentations to hear her suggestions on the subject matter.
Secondly, I've been hearing many great things about the 30 second commercial. The 30 second commercial is a brief introduction of who you are and what you do. It should highlight at least 3 of your greatest strengths and as the title implies, be long enough to give people an idea of what your skills are but brief enough to not make the person listening to you so uncomfortable that they start tuning out on what you are saying.
Several bad examples that I have seen mentioned at some networking events were the following:
1. People just stating that they are in transition and that's it. They say nothing else and it's difficult to even point that person in any direction.
2. People who have rambled on for beyond 30 seconds and try to spend 40 minutes engaging in conversation with people with a bottled drink in one hand and just constantly talk about themselves.
3. People who go there and hide in a corner with someone that they know and only spend time conversing with the person whom they do know. While it's imperative to still greet people that you may have met before at other events, don't let that completely consume your time if your goal was to meet some other individuals in the process.
4. People who immediately say that they don't need that person even though maybe that person that they don't feel can help them just happens to know the right person that you just happen to be looking for.
5. Individuals who have at the most inopportune time just broadcasted themselves on video in a middle of a discussion on Project Management shouts "I need a job" while trying to share his knowledge on the subject matter which just so happened to fall on deaf ears because everyone was just too shocked to listen after he blurted out his first sentence.
Word to the wise, if you find yourself trying to gracefully exit away from these individuals, just simply look them in the eye and say: "Well I wish you the best of luck", then shake their hand and move on.
Now there are certain events that I've heard termed: "Speed Networking". I'll admit that I did attend one of those events and I must say that I was not that impressed with it. One one of the reasons being is I felt that I was racing against the clock and no one was really listening. The reason being that the room was already noisy enough with so many people in it trying to blurt out an introduction of themselves and a coach holding the timer and pushing people to move onto the next table. There is not much relationship building going on at that time and people are just throwing out their business cards to get to the next table in time - which was advised by someone else is something which you do not want to do.
Another presenter at a JLG Event had mentioned back in July's presentation is that you don't want to come across as being a sleaze. What he meant by this statement is the person who feels that he has to go around the room and hand out his business card to everyone without finding out the needs of the individuals that he is handing his cards out to will not get very far. The reason is he is looking at the quantity alone instead of also including the quality of possibly building good relationships with individuals. Like someone had mentioned, you don't have to meet every single person in the room to reach your goal. You also want to take the time to listen and engage in conversation with that other person that you have met to find out what they are there for.
Networking is not just about meeting new people, it's not just about looking for jobs, it's about building relationships with people so that eventually something good comes out of it. Also another suggestion is just don't collect the business cards after some event and do nothing with them. Keep in touch with the people that you do meet if any interest happens to be there. Network with others while not even looking for a job or a new client.
Another piece of helpful suggestion is take the time to research the companies that you may be looking to either work for or service. There are plenty of online resources that can help you out with this, however, that's not the only way that you can find out information about these companies. While having informational interviews is one approach, how about attending some events where these companies happen to be putting on some type of presentation on their products and services? Now you might ask who would be attending these events? Mostly their potential clients who just so happen to be working for other companies. Let's say you go to these events without stating that you happen to be in transition but you are interested in the subject matter that is about to be discussed at this event. While you are there, if the opportunity presents itself, you can actively participate in the discussions that might occur and can think of any value that you might add to that discussion. In this way, you are getting yourself in front of people without really mentioning that you are actively searching.
The reason why I bring this up is because there are several things going on here:
1. You are keeping yourself up to date with the latest trends within the industry in a different way besides going online to research that information. Companies can see from your participation in the event that you are interested in them.
2. You might just happen to get a call from your target company asking you to provide feedback on what was presented at the presentation. Opportunity here for at least an informational interview and it expresses your sincere interest in them if you happen to follow through with some feedback.
3. You are getting in front of other people prior to them possibly even having a job opening at the time. So by the time that you have already build some type of memorable and positive relationship with them, and they are actually looking for someone who matches the skills that you have to offer, your one of the first who comes to mind. Sure they will still post the job opening, however, they might already have you in mind for that position if you bring value to what they are looking for.
4. Also, dress like you are there for business. It does not necessarily have to be a business suit, but something that one would wear in a business office environment on a daily basis.
It's imperative to create business cards with your contact information so that when someone is interested in setting up a meeting with you, they have a convenient way of contacting you.
The last point that I would like to mention. Let's say that you are just starting out in a new contract project or you just so happen to land in the career that you were pursuing, don't stop t he networking process there. This would be the time to build your relationships with the people whom you are working with. Some people have mentioned to me that they didn't get anything out of their last jobs but I often ask, did they try approaching management about other projects? First you want to build this trust relationship with them and prove that you can handle the tasks at hand that you sold them on when you agreed to work for them. After a certain period of time, if you see another project that you would like to become involved with, then express your interest to them. For example, there was one place where they only had one person who was imaging these laptops and that person did not have a trained backup person to fall back on in case something happened to them. I brought this up with the supervisor at the time and gave my key strengths on what I could bring to this project and she gave me the approval to go ahead with it. From there, I started building several other skills to bring enhancement to my existing skill set.
My theory has always been that the opportunities are definitely there, my question would be, how did you go about seeking that opportunity? If the answer is that you never received that opportunity, then maybe this person did not make an effort to go directly to the decision maker and present themselves as the key person for that particular opportunity. Don't wait for these key decision makers to come to you, find ways that you can present the idea to them and go to them and ask. It never hurts to ask.
Now even while you are not necessarily looking for anything, you most likely already have a network of people with whom you can turn to when that situation does present itself. For example, some business professionals may already belong to a specific organization such as a group of Accounting Professionals who are more often working for different businesses, or whatever other groups that you might belong to. There are also different leaders within our communities who are always interacting with others who might be of great help to you.
There are a few things you might want to take into consideration.
First, it doesn't hurt to try to get into one of Bonnie Dick's presentations to hear her suggestions on the subject matter.
Secondly, I've been hearing many great things about the 30 second commercial. The 30 second commercial is a brief introduction of who you are and what you do. It should highlight at least 3 of your greatest strengths and as the title implies, be long enough to give people an idea of what your skills are but brief enough to not make the person listening to you so uncomfortable that they start tuning out on what you are saying.
Several bad examples that I have seen mentioned at some networking events were the following:
1. People just stating that they are in transition and that's it. They say nothing else and it's difficult to even point that person in any direction.
2. People who have rambled on for beyond 30 seconds and try to spend 40 minutes engaging in conversation with people with a bottled drink in one hand and just constantly talk about themselves.
3. People who go there and hide in a corner with someone that they know and only spend time conversing with the person whom they do know. While it's imperative to still greet people that you may have met before at other events, don't let that completely consume your time if your goal was to meet some other individuals in the process.
4. People who immediately say that they don't need that person even though maybe that person that they don't feel can help them just happens to know the right person that you just happen to be looking for.
5. Individuals who have at the most inopportune time just broadcasted themselves on video in a middle of a discussion on Project Management shouts "I need a job" while trying to share his knowledge on the subject matter which just so happened to fall on deaf ears because everyone was just too shocked to listen after he blurted out his first sentence.
Word to the wise, if you find yourself trying to gracefully exit away from these individuals, just simply look them in the eye and say: "Well I wish you the best of luck", then shake their hand and move on.
Now there are certain events that I've heard termed: "Speed Networking". I'll admit that I did attend one of those events and I must say that I was not that impressed with it. One one of the reasons being is I felt that I was racing against the clock and no one was really listening. The reason being that the room was already noisy enough with so many people in it trying to blurt out an introduction of themselves and a coach holding the timer and pushing people to move onto the next table. There is not much relationship building going on at that time and people are just throwing out their business cards to get to the next table in time - which was advised by someone else is something which you do not want to do.
Another presenter at a JLG Event had mentioned back in July's presentation is that you don't want to come across as being a sleaze. What he meant by this statement is the person who feels that he has to go around the room and hand out his business card to everyone without finding out the needs of the individuals that he is handing his cards out to will not get very far. The reason is he is looking at the quantity alone instead of also including the quality of possibly building good relationships with individuals. Like someone had mentioned, you don't have to meet every single person in the room to reach your goal. You also want to take the time to listen and engage in conversation with that other person that you have met to find out what they are there for.
Networking is not just about meeting new people, it's not just about looking for jobs, it's about building relationships with people so that eventually something good comes out of it. Also another suggestion is just don't collect the business cards after some event and do nothing with them. Keep in touch with the people that you do meet if any interest happens to be there. Network with others while not even looking for a job or a new client.
Another piece of helpful suggestion is take the time to research the companies that you may be looking to either work for or service. There are plenty of online resources that can help you out with this, however, that's not the only way that you can find out information about these companies. While having informational interviews is one approach, how about attending some events where these companies happen to be putting on some type of presentation on their products and services? Now you might ask who would be attending these events? Mostly their potential clients who just so happen to be working for other companies. Let's say you go to these events without stating that you happen to be in transition but you are interested in the subject matter that is about to be discussed at this event. While you are there, if the opportunity presents itself, you can actively participate in the discussions that might occur and can think of any value that you might add to that discussion. In this way, you are getting yourself in front of people without really mentioning that you are actively searching.
The reason why I bring this up is because there are several things going on here:
1. You are keeping yourself up to date with the latest trends within the industry in a different way besides going online to research that information. Companies can see from your participation in the event that you are interested in them.
2. You might just happen to get a call from your target company asking you to provide feedback on what was presented at the presentation. Opportunity here for at least an informational interview and it expresses your sincere interest in them if you happen to follow through with some feedback.
3. You are getting in front of other people prior to them possibly even having a job opening at the time. So by the time that you have already build some type of memorable and positive relationship with them, and they are actually looking for someone who matches the skills that you have to offer, your one of the first who comes to mind. Sure they will still post the job opening, however, they might already have you in mind for that position if you bring value to what they are looking for.
4. Also, dress like you are there for business. It does not necessarily have to be a business suit, but something that one would wear in a business office environment on a daily basis.
It's imperative to create business cards with your contact information so that when someone is interested in setting up a meeting with you, they have a convenient way of contacting you.
The last point that I would like to mention. Let's say that you are just starting out in a new contract project or you just so happen to land in the career that you were pursuing, don't stop t he networking process there. This would be the time to build your relationships with the people whom you are working with. Some people have mentioned to me that they didn't get anything out of their last jobs but I often ask, did they try approaching management about other projects? First you want to build this trust relationship with them and prove that you can handle the tasks at hand that you sold them on when you agreed to work for them. After a certain period of time, if you see another project that you would like to become involved with, then express your interest to them. For example, there was one place where they only had one person who was imaging these laptops and that person did not have a trained backup person to fall back on in case something happened to them. I brought this up with the supervisor at the time and gave my key strengths on what I could bring to this project and she gave me the approval to go ahead with it. From there, I started building several other skills to bring enhancement to my existing skill set.
My theory has always been that the opportunities are definitely there, my question would be, how did you go about seeking that opportunity? If the answer is that you never received that opportunity, then maybe this person did not make an effort to go directly to the decision maker and present themselves as the key person for that particular opportunity. Don't wait for these key decision makers to come to you, find ways that you can present the idea to them and go to them and ask. It never hurts to ask.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Pesky programs yet harmless
The topic for today is going to be about malware programs. The one that I am going to feature today is called "Windows Protection Suite". While the name of it sounds so sweetly sincere close to Microsoft products, beware because it's very misleading by it's name. It's harmless yet very annoying and can make people feel the sense of insecurity that their system is being attacked by an actual virus. The truth is that it is not and may end up costing people a little bit of money in the end to have the pesky thing removed when it may not cost a thing.
I remember the first case of this program while I was working at Parker. We spent a little bit of time on the phone with it because there is another legitimate program titled "Windows Defender" which is a valid product of Microsoft. I believe that this particular program is still free.
Here is the symptom of the "Windows Protection Suite" annoyance. Approximately every 5 minutes, it generates this alert window trying to convince you that you have a virus on your system. Then it asks you if you would like to activate the product. If someone attempts to click on it, it may ask for your credit card information which you wouldn't want to give out anyway. While there are many spyware programs out there that try to lure you into spening between 30 to 60 dollars on a legitimate Ad/spyware removal program, there are better ways to get this removed.
I'm not about to give the manual removal of this software because if I did, you are liable to consult your PC technician. Windows Defender which is free has been known to remove this program. There is one step prior to running the scan and that is to stop several processes through the task manager first.
First press the following keys simultaneously: Ctrl + Alt + Del.
Then select "Task Manager"
Click on the Processes Tab
Find the following files: snl2w.exe std.exe
WindowsProtectionSuite.exe
WI345d.exe ppal.exe uninstall.exe
WI345d.exe CLSV.exe
End Process on each one. You can only end them one at a time.
Then run the scan on your adware/spyware removal program of choice and follow the steps given in the program.
This should completely remove this program from your system.
I remember the first case of this program while I was working at Parker. We spent a little bit of time on the phone with it because there is another legitimate program titled "Windows Defender" which is a valid product of Microsoft. I believe that this particular program is still free.
Here is the symptom of the "Windows Protection Suite" annoyance. Approximately every 5 minutes, it generates this alert window trying to convince you that you have a virus on your system. Then it asks you if you would like to activate the product. If someone attempts to click on it, it may ask for your credit card information which you wouldn't want to give out anyway. While there are many spyware programs out there that try to lure you into spening between 30 to 60 dollars on a legitimate Ad/spyware removal program, there are better ways to get this removed.
I'm not about to give the manual removal of this software because if I did, you are liable to consult your PC technician. Windows Defender which is free has been known to remove this program. There is one step prior to running the scan and that is to stop several processes through the task manager first.
First press the following keys simultaneously: Ctrl + Alt + Del.
Then select "Task Manager"
Click on the Processes Tab
Find the following files: snl2w.exe std.exe
WindowsProtectionSuite.exe
WI345d.exe ppal.exe uninstall.exe
WI345d.exe CLSV.exe
End Process on each one. You can only end them one at a time.
Then run the scan on your adware/spyware removal program of choice and follow the steps given in the program.
This should completely remove this program from your system.
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