Archive: August, 2016
Posted by tomdowd - August 30, 2016 - News
Be organized. You should track every move you make to help facilitate
the tactics needed to land the big job. Every job description you
apply for should go into a folder (paper or online depending on your
style), while every piece of contact information gathered via LinkedIn,
email, etc., should go into your contact repository. Beside it, include a
potential action to call, send an email, check out their webpage, or read
their LinkedIn profile, for example. You never know when you will use
it or need it. It’s a good idea to create a tracking sheet that includes who
you contacted, the date of actions taken with the outcome, and follow-up
date with next steps. I liked to transfer my written notes to a central reference
location to keep everything in one place for summary purposes and
for efficiency with my next steps.
Job-seeking Tracking Example can have the following columns:
Contact Name Company Contact Made (email, phone) Date
Next Follow-Up
Date
Follow-up
Action
Comments
Thomas B. Dowd III’s books available in softcover, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only):
- Now What? The Ultimate Graduation Gift for Professional Success
- Time Management Manifesto: Expert Strategies to Create an Effective Work/Life Balance
- Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job…A Reference Guide to Finding Work
- The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a Professional in the Corporate World
- From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide received the Gold Medal at the 2013 Axiom Business Book Awards in Business Reference
- The Unofficial Guide to Fatherhood
See “Products” for details on www.transformationtom.com. Book and eBook purchase options are also available on Amazon- Please click the link to be re-directed: Amazon.com
Do you know about Avanoo.com? Two-to-three minute eLearning programs that can change your life.
When Your Job is to Find a Job—and Yourself
Manage Your Time—Don’t Let It Manage You
MP3 Downloads of “From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide” are available at Apple iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, Emusic, Nokia, Xbox Music, Spotify, Omnifone, Google Music Store, Rdio, Muve Music, Bloom.fm, Slacker Radio, MediaNet, 7digital, 24-7, Rumblefish, and Shazam “From Fear to Success” MP3 on CD Baby
Posted by tomdowd - August 23, 2016 - News
To use a sports analogy, if you run with a ball on your own
from point A to point B, it will take you longer than simply
kicking it or throwing it to another person already at point
B. We try to do too much on our own. Whether we want all the glory,
think we can do it better, or simply just want it done, there is value
in getting others involved. This chapter isn’t about dumping, or even
delegating. It’s about teamwork. Depending on your position, you may
still have to supervise, validate the work, or make sure it gets done, but
you should find opportunities to avoid doing everything on your own.
Think about the expertise you have surrounding you. Do you
have the right people working on the right tasks? Start to keep a
list of contacts with their specific expertise so that you can quickly
reference it. If you are part of a team effort, schedule time with your
peers or co-workers, particularly if you’re all depending on each other’s
contributions. The benefit of a routine get-together is that it allows
people to obtain consolidated information in one sitting as opposed to
communications going back and forth with “reply all” emails that can
take up valuable time.
It’s important to have a meaningful and added-value manner for
people to get updates. If it’s not a meeting, at least create a consistent
time each week for a progress summary with everyone’s contributions.
The goal is to create a routine in which people know when and where
updates and answers will be given, which reduces surprises and questions
like, “Where do we stand on project A?” If you do set up a progress
report email, be sensitive to the amount of time it’s taking everyone.
You want meaningful content, but not time wasted for emails that go
unread or administrative tasks that take away from actually completing
the real work.
Once a routine meeting or progress report is established, clearly
define roles and responsibilities. This will hold people, including you,
accountable to meeting the deadlines and keeping people informed
of status updates. Knowing who is doing what and when is a critical
component of time management.
When dealing in team situations, it’s also important to divide and
conquer. Not everyone needs to be at every meeting. Have someone
who attended the meeting provide an update and any key deliverables
to the collective group. Also, it’s important for you to schedule actual
work time for yourself and/or sub-group to ensure time is not all spent
in meetings relating to what is being asked of you. As for meetings
taking up all of your day, you have the right and obligation, whether
you are the organizer or not, to question when meetings have run
their course and are no longer valuable. Don’t have meetings to set up
meetings. Look to get rid of time-wasting tasks.
Understand the importance of working as a team. A group of
people can get more done in less time than one person if the process and
roles are managed well. It is obvious, but is not always done effectively.
Thomas B. Dowd III’s books available in softcover, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only):
- Time Management Manifesto: Expert Strategies to Create an Effective Work/Life Balance
- Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job…A Reference Guide to Finding Work
- The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a Professional in the Corporate World
- From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide received the Gold Medal at the 2013 Axiom Business Book Awards in Business Reference
- The Unofficial Guide to Fatherhood
See “Products” for details on www.transformationtom.com. Book and eBook purchase options are also available on Amazon- Please click the link to be re-directed: Amazon.com
Do you know about Avanoo.com? Two-to-three minute eLearning programs that can change your life.
When Your Job is to Find a Job—and Yourself
Manage Your Time—Don’t Let It Manage You
MP3 Downloads of “From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide” are available at Apple iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, Emusic, Nokia, Xbox Music, Spotify, Omnifone, Google Music Store, Rdio, Muve Music, Bloom.fm, Slacker Radio, MediaNet, 7digital, 24-7, Rumblefish, and Shazam “From Fear to Success” MP3 on CD Baby
Posted by tomdowd - August 16, 2016 - News
Similar to the SWOT Analysis blog, the multi-generation plan takes the
brainstormed strategic ideas from the SWOT analysis and turns them
into tactical ideas. We are often asked in interviews, “What would you do
on day one?” The multi-generation plan answers what you will do on Day
30, Day 60, and Day 90.
I like to create a simple grid with columns labeled 30 Days, 60 Days,
and 90 Days. The rows along the left side can be labeled and organized
any way that you want. My favorite labeling method usually revolves
around how I would address needs specific to people, process, and technology
in my new role, while more technical roles are better suited to use the
DMAIC methodology from process design in the category column (e.g.,
design, measure, analyze, improve, and control). Again, you’re invited to
use what works best for your particular situation.
More than once during the job search process, a hiring manager was
impressed with the plan and actually used it—even when I wasn’t hired.
The plan leaves a lasting impression and differentiates you. I don’t always
share it unless it naturally fits into the conversation. My goal for doing
this work is related to being prepared, and having a literal plan of attack
for when I get hired. On my first day of work with my new employer,
I was able to turn my multi-generation plan into a task list, and hit the
ground running. Please note that due to the length of time to complete,
it’s recommended to be selective in the use of this tool. However, it is
highly suggested for use with the best leads.
Thomas B. Dowd III’s books available in softcover, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only):
- Time Management Manifesto: Expert Strategies to Create an Effective Work/Life Balance
- Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job…A Reference Guide to Finding Work
- The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a Professional in the Corporate World
- From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide received the Gold Medal at the 2013 Axiom Business Book Awards in Business Reference
- The Unofficial Guide to Fatherhood
See “Products” for details on www.transformationtom.com. Book and eBook purchase options are also available on Amazon- Please click the link to be re-directed: Amazon.com
Do you know about Avanoo.com? Two-to-three minute eLearning programs that can change your life.
When Your Job is to Find a Job—and Yourself
Manage Your Time—Don’t Let It Manage You
MP3 Downloads of “From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide” are available at Apple iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, Emusic, Nokia, Xbox Music, Spotify, Omnifone, Google Music Store, Rdio, Muve Music, Bloom.fm, Slacker Radio, MediaNet, 7digital, 24-7, Rumblefish, and Shazam “From Fear to Success” MP3 on CD Baby
Posted by tomdowd - August 9, 2016 - News
Investing time to do something ahead of time saves time. Few people
invest the time to read all their emails all the way through. For
the most part, I am one of the few. I’m often asked how I manage
my time effectively. One critical way is that I don’t skim email—there’s
too much risk of missing critical information or creating more work
by asking questions that are answered within the text. I read them start
to finish, including the attachments. The easy argument for why not
to do this is information overload, or that we don’t have time. I agree.
However, taken in the context of the touch-it-once principle I cited in
the last chapter, this becomes more manageable.
I’ve learned that by staying ahead of my emails, I garner incremental
time to invest in other places. I also avoid wasted time digging for
answers on my own, because I know where and who to go to for
information. If you don’t know, invest time to learn. It saves time when
you know the go-to contacts to fix certain problems. Additionally,
you aren’t wasting time asking people to resend information or asking
questions that are answered later in the email that you chose not to
read thoroughly.
Effective immediately, be the person who reads one-hundred
percent of your emails from top to bottom, and invests time to read
the attachments. There are often pre-determined assumptions that
an email isn’t relevant, or even portions of an email aren’t relevant.
However, reading it will allow you to make your own determination.
If you find a pattern, you can decide to stop getting them or have a
conversation with the senders about their messaging so it saves both
of you time. Remember, you are attaining a competitive edge by
gaining knowledge, while saving time because you may be becoming
the subject-matter expert.
Next, you should schedule an hour once a week to learn another
piece of your own business, take an online class, or meet with someone
in another line of business. Another option is for you to dedicate this
time to reading interesting articles or less urgent inbox items that come
in during the week. You can insert the article right into the appointment
for that dedicated time. This is your chance to be curious, learn from
peers, and get lingering questions answered—all while saving future
time.
When you become the go-to person and have the answers, you
actually save time. We say we don’t have time. What we’re really saying
is we’re not willing to find the time, to invest the time, to actually save
time.
Thomas B. Dowd III’s books available in softcover, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only):
- Time Management Manifesto: Expert Strategies to Create an Effective Work/Life Balance
- Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job…A Reference Guide to Finding Work
- The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a Professional in the Corporate World
- From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide received the Gold Medal at the 2013 Axiom Business Book Awards in Business Reference
- The Unofficial Guide to Fatherhood
See “Products” for details on www.transformationtom.com. Book and eBook purchase options are also available on Amazon- Please click the link to be re-directed: Amazon.com
Do you know about Avanoo.com? Two-to-three minute eLearning programs that can change your life.
When Your Job is to Find a Job—and Yourself
Manage Your Time—Don’t Let It Manage You
MP3 Downloads of “From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide” are available at Apple iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, Emusic, Nokia, Xbox Music, Spotify, Omnifone, Google Music Store, Rdio, Muve Music, Bloom.fm, Slacker Radio, MediaNet, 7digital, 24-7, Rumblefish, and Shazam “From Fear to Success” MP3 on CD Baby
Posted by tomdowd - August 2, 2016 - News
It is imperative to differentiate yourself.
One way to do this is by being more prepared than any other job
candidate. According to Wikipedia, a SWOT Analysis is:
“…a structured planning method used to evaluate the Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or in a business
venture. A SWOT analysis can be carried out for a product, place,
industry or person. It involves specifying the objective of the business
venture or project and identifying the internal and external factors that
are favorable and unfavorable to achieving that objective.”
SWOT Analysis is most often credited to Albert Humphrey, who led
the work through the 1960s and 1970s based on data from Fortune 500
companies. The following is a high level description of the characteristics
of each of the main components:
• Strengths: What are the differentiating factors that are advantageous
to the proposal?
• Weaknesses: What are factors that are a disadvantage relative to the
team, process, business, or product?
• Opportunities: What features could be exploited to the advantage
of the team or product? This is often related to controllable and
internal to the company.
• Threats: What external factors, often outside of the control of the
team, business, process, and project that can be a concern?
I started integrating SWOT analysis by creating four blocks on one
sheet of paper and brainstorming specifics related to the company role for
which I was applying. One of the main reasons was to see if it would be a
position I would like, a position I could succeed in, and a position where
I could have an immediate impact.
When I first talk with people about SWOT analysis, they think it’s a
fancy way of kissing up. Actually, the primary goal for me when doing the
analysis was not to benefit the people I was potentially interviewing with;
I needed to believe I was a good fit for a role before I could have a genuine
conversation convincing someone else that I was the right fit. The SWOT
analysis became a tool to allowing me to do that. If the secondary goal is
to show your work and how you prepared for the interview, it can only
help in the goal to differentiate yourself.
I defined each block so I stayed focused and consistent within its context.
Since SWOT analysis was originally created for project settings, it’s
important to understand how it can be used effectively in the job-search
process with a little modification and clarity.
– The strengths represent the skills you can bring.
– The weaknesses are specific to the role, the department, or even the
company, based on your insight gathered from interview preparation,
from articles, current/past employers, and other factors.
– The opportunities should be a direct reflection of the action you can
take to address the weaknesses (internally focused).
– The threats are more externally focused and most of the time are out
of your control. For example, could new federal regulations create
issues in the industry you’re looking to get into?
Historically, the SWOT has had great results for me by ensuring that I
was fully prepared for any interview and knew that the job was definitely
something I wanted. In some cases, when asked how I prepared for the interview,
I might mention the SWOT analysis I completed. On more than
one occasion, the interview became focused around the SWOT work itself.
When that happened, I knew I had the advantage by discussing a
document that I had put together, and in many cases, took some control
over the flow of the interview. Although you should never manipulate an
interview, having some control to play to your strengths can be the extra
advantage you’re looking for.
Thomas B. Dowd III’s books available in softcover, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only):
- Time Management Manifesto: Expert Strategies to Create an Effective Work/Life Balance
- Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job…A Reference Guide to Finding Work
- The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a Professional in the Corporate World
- From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide received the Gold Medal at the 2013 Axiom Business Book Awards in Business Reference
- The Unofficial Guide to Fatherhood
See “Products” for details on www.transformationtom.com. Book and eBook purchase options are also available on Amazon- Please click the link to be re-directed: Amazon.com
Do you know about Avanoo.com? Two-to-three minute eLearning programs that can change your life.
When Your Job is to Find a Job—and Yourself
Manage Your Time—Don’t Let It Manage You
MP3 Downloads of “From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide” are available at Apple iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, Emusic, Nokia, Xbox Music, Spotify, Omnifone, Google Music Store, Rdio, Muve Music, Bloom.fm, Slacker Radio, MediaNet, 7digital, 24-7, Rumblefish, and Shazam “From Fear to Success” MP3 on CD Baby
