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A CIO's Voice
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Thursday, June 4, 2009
Monday, June 1, 2009
I Was A Gamer At Heart Until I Grew Up
I spent time with my 6-year old nephew last weekend. He really is into his Wii and all things Wii.
I started to reminisce about when I was around his age. There were two major events that stood out in my life at that time. The first was watching Star Wars for the first time on the big screen and the second was getting our first video game console. My father initiated both events. What else are dads suppose to do but expose their kids to events that are life changing? Thanks dad.
My father was an avionics engineer for the US Army. Our house was always filled with wires and circuits. I remember at an early age of having a basic understanding of circuitry and electronics. My dad was a tech guy at heart. He was always tinkering and building some electric contraption in our house much to my mother’s dismay.
I was around 7 when my father exposed my brother and me to video games. There was a local pizzeria that had those big arcade games that you could play for twenty five cents. He inserted a quarter for us and the screen and sounds came alive. My brother and I were amazed and entranced. We were hooked. Going out for pizza became a routine for us. Not for the pizza but for the thrill of playing Space Invaders.
Shortly thereafter, my father brought home our first game console from Radio Shack. I remembered it was big and had only three options for games (hockey, tennis, and ping pong) all of which looked alike. There were only two directions you could move-either up or down. My brother and I played for hours. We were masters of the monochrome lines and pixel square balls.
One Christmas we got an Atari 2600. It was light years from our previous beige game console. Graphics were better, sound was better, and we were able to move in more than one direction. My brother and I again became master of all things Atari – Pac Man, Defender, Missile Command. We were unstoppable. We played for hours and often got yelled at by mom an ddad for spending too much time. Parents didn’t understand that you were not someone until you cleared a level and you were god if you finished the game. It was all about school yard bragging rights.
Then we got a Genesis console. This time I was older and started to discover girls. You really cannot meet a girl sitting in front of a video game. And most girls were not into video games. None-the-less I played, simply to get the upper hand on my brother and continue our sibling rivalry. Who was better? That answer is different depending on who you speak to. Since this is my blog - I was the better gamer. :)
In high school I was not too much into games. My pursuits were more of the female kind. But in the back of my mind I often heard the call of the video game.
As I got older and started working, I decided to revisit the console to see if the same mystic was there. My how technology has changed? I purchased a Dreamcast, Playstation, Playstation 2, and Xbox over the years. The graphics were realistic but the games were more difficult. Worlds where you could move in any direction. Online gaming where you are playing with people on the other side of the planet. I had to spend days to figure how to play. I didn’t have this kind of time anymore. I had to work to pay my mortgage.
The excitement was not there as it first was all those years ago. Had I become jaded or just gotten old? So I put away my game consoles. 30 years of playing video games. Of saving the planet from invading aliens, vanquishing zombie armies, and blasting asteroids in deep space. I was a veteran of the game console, a joystick jockey. I now leave the fighting to the younger generation. I am now a veteran who spins tales of battles past and how the younger generation has it too easy. A generation that has never heard of Atari 2600, Pac Man, Defender or know the thrills of seeing a monochrome stick move across the screen.
P.S. On nights when my wife is not home, I sometimes pull out my console from the closet and plug it in. I come out of retirement to relive the days gone by – the glory days of when I was a gamer. ;)
I started to reminisce about when I was around his age. There were two major events that stood out in my life at that time. The first was watching Star Wars for the first time on the big screen and the second was getting our first video game console. My father initiated both events. What else are dads suppose to do but expose their kids to events that are life changing? Thanks dad.
My father was an avionics engineer for the US Army. Our house was always filled with wires and circuits. I remember at an early age of having a basic understanding of circuitry and electronics. My dad was a tech guy at heart. He was always tinkering and building some electric contraption in our house much to my mother’s dismay.
I was around 7 when my father exposed my brother and me to video games. There was a local pizzeria that had those big arcade games that you could play for twenty five cents. He inserted a quarter for us and the screen and sounds came alive. My brother and I were amazed and entranced. We were hooked. Going out for pizza became a routine for us. Not for the pizza but for the thrill of playing Space Invaders.
Shortly thereafter, my father brought home our first game console from Radio Shack. I remembered it was big and had only three options for games (hockey, tennis, and ping pong) all of which looked alike. There were only two directions you could move-either up or down. My brother and I played for hours. We were masters of the monochrome lines and pixel square balls.
One Christmas we got an Atari 2600. It was light years from our previous beige game console. Graphics were better, sound was better, and we were able to move in more than one direction. My brother and I again became master of all things Atari – Pac Man, Defender, Missile Command. We were unstoppable. We played for hours and often got yelled at by mom an ddad for spending too much time. Parents didn’t understand that you were not someone until you cleared a level and you were god if you finished the game. It was all about school yard bragging rights.
Then we got a Genesis console. This time I was older and started to discover girls. You really cannot meet a girl sitting in front of a video game. And most girls were not into video games. None-the-less I played, simply to get the upper hand on my brother and continue our sibling rivalry. Who was better? That answer is different depending on who you speak to. Since this is my blog - I was the better gamer. :)
In high school I was not too much into games. My pursuits were more of the female kind. But in the back of my mind I often heard the call of the video game.
As I got older and started working, I decided to revisit the console to see if the same mystic was there. My how technology has changed? I purchased a Dreamcast, Playstation, Playstation 2, and Xbox over the years. The graphics were realistic but the games were more difficult. Worlds where you could move in any direction. Online gaming where you are playing with people on the other side of the planet. I had to spend days to figure how to play. I didn’t have this kind of time anymore. I had to work to pay my mortgage.
The excitement was not there as it first was all those years ago. Had I become jaded or just gotten old? So I put away my game consoles. 30 years of playing video games. Of saving the planet from invading aliens, vanquishing zombie armies, and blasting asteroids in deep space. I was a veteran of the game console, a joystick jockey. I now leave the fighting to the younger generation. I am now a veteran who spins tales of battles past and how the younger generation has it too easy. A generation that has never heard of Atari 2600, Pac Man, Defender or know the thrills of seeing a monochrome stick move across the screen.
P.S. On nights when my wife is not home, I sometimes pull out my console from the closet and plug it in. I come out of retirement to relive the days gone by – the glory days of when I was a gamer. ;)
Saturday, May 30, 2009
AOL and Time Warner Split – FINALLY!
I was never a big fan of this merger back in 2001. It just didn’t seem right. You didn’t need to be a M&A expert to know this would not have worked.
I have been an AOL subscriber since 1990. I remember using AOL v1 over dial up. The glory days of chat rooms and email. When you would get diskettes in the mail for an upgrade. AOL has been good to me.
This week, Time Warner Inc. said that it will finally split off AOL, fully unwinding the disastrous 2001 deal that joined both powerhouses.
My how times have changed. For those of us in tech we knew this would not have been a good marriage.
That was then and this is now. What is ahead for Tim Armstrong, former Google exec, and the man that must helm the ship. Well he will have to rebuild the AOL brand. Rebuild a company that has suffered from staff turnover, internal squabbling, a major decline in subscribers, and a decline in ad sales. And he has to face the juggernaut that is Google and new kids on the block like Bing and Twitter.
The task ahead will not be easy. Only time will tell if AOL will survive in the coming years.
I have been an AOL subscriber since 1990. I remember using AOL v1 over dial up. The glory days of chat rooms and email. When you would get diskettes in the mail for an upgrade. AOL has been good to me.
This week, Time Warner Inc. said that it will finally split off AOL, fully unwinding the disastrous 2001 deal that joined both powerhouses.
My how times have changed. For those of us in tech we knew this would not have been a good marriage.
That was then and this is now. What is ahead for Tim Armstrong, former Google exec, and the man that must helm the ship. Well he will have to rebuild the AOL brand. Rebuild a company that has suffered from staff turnover, internal squabbling, a major decline in subscribers, and a decline in ad sales. And he has to face the juggernaut that is Google and new kids on the block like Bing and Twitter.
The task ahead will not be easy. Only time will tell if AOL will survive in the coming years.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Bing Is Coming. Are You Excited?
When I first heard the name I thought it was referring to Stanley Bing in Fortune magazine. I like his writings and want more. But no….
It is Microsoft’s new search tool (http://www.Bing.com). This new service will be rolled out worldwide by June 3, 2009. This is Microsoft’s challenge to Google’s dominance.
According to Microsoft Bing is a new search experience and consumer brand, outlining a new approach to helping customers use search to make better decisions.
This “Decision Engine” approach focuses initially on four key user tasks and related areas: making a purchase, planning a trip, researching a health condition or finding a local business. How about finding a job? I am all in for that. Maybe a developer could sneak that in for the unemployed. That function might be a big hit.
Like all things Microsoft, the surface is shiny and full of eye candy to suck us in. Microsoft is great at appealing to our basic human senses but fails to engage us long-term. I will leave what is behind the curtain for others to judge.
I will try Bing when it is released next week to see if it really is the Google Killer or will it be the next Vista destined to be a monumental failure. Only time will tell.
Good luck Microsoft. We will be watching
It is Microsoft’s new search tool (http://www.Bing.com). This new service will be rolled out worldwide by June 3, 2009. This is Microsoft’s challenge to Google’s dominance.
According to Microsoft Bing is a new search experience and consumer brand, outlining a new approach to helping customers use search to make better decisions.
This “Decision Engine” approach focuses initially on four key user tasks and related areas: making a purchase, planning a trip, researching a health condition or finding a local business. How about finding a job? I am all in for that. Maybe a developer could sneak that in for the unemployed. That function might be a big hit.
Like all things Microsoft, the surface is shiny and full of eye candy to suck us in. Microsoft is great at appealing to our basic human senses but fails to engage us long-term. I will leave what is behind the curtain for others to judge.
I will try Bing when it is released next week to see if it really is the Google Killer or will it be the next Vista destined to be a monumental failure. Only time will tell.
Good luck Microsoft. We will be watching
Into The Cloud – An Executive Summary
Cloud computing is the latest buzzword bandied about the web these days and often attributed to different things. The simplest answer is this technology uses scalable and virtualized resources over the Internet. The functions and usability is generated from within the Internet or “cloud” (which is the symbol used to represent the Internet on network diagrams).
Applications like SAP and Oracle have always been too expensive and complicated to maintain. They require datacenter space, power, cooling, bandwidth, networks, massive amounts of storage, and a team of professionals to install, configure, and run them. All of which costs money.
Cloud computing allows your business to run your applications in a shared data center. This costs less because you do not need to pay for the all the people, products, and facilities to run them. In addition, applications are more scalable, more secure, and more reliable. When you run applications in a cloud, you do not buy anything. It is rolled up into a predictable monthly subscription. You pay for what you use.
There are positives and negatives to cloud computing. All of which will need to be weighed before an organization engages in cloud computing. I will discuss some of these points in future postings.
Applications like SAP and Oracle have always been too expensive and complicated to maintain. They require datacenter space, power, cooling, bandwidth, networks, massive amounts of storage, and a team of professionals to install, configure, and run them. All of which costs money.
Cloud computing allows your business to run your applications in a shared data center. This costs less because you do not need to pay for the all the people, products, and facilities to run them. In addition, applications are more scalable, more secure, and more reliable. When you run applications in a cloud, you do not buy anything. It is rolled up into a predictable monthly subscription. You pay for what you use.
There are positives and negatives to cloud computing. All of which will need to be weighed before an organization engages in cloud computing. I will discuss some of these points in future postings.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Did You Hulu Today?
Okay. I am not a big fan of watching movies on my computer. I get tired of sitting in my chair in my office. And my kitchen is downstairs. So a quick jaunt for popcorn or a cold beer becomes a journey. Also I have a great sound system on my TV. So even though I have an iMac the sound will never compare.
On occasion and when I am killing time I do like to watch a quick clip of my favorite episode of Family Guy.
Hulu allows you to watch television when you want it and where you want it for free. I am not just talking clips but full-length episodes. And you can fast forward, pause, etc. And the quality is great.
I am not sure what there business model is or how they plan to make money. But that is not my concern once I get my favorite episodes of Family Guy.
On occasion and when I am killing time I do like to watch a quick clip of my favorite episode of Family Guy.
Hulu allows you to watch television when you want it and where you want it for free. I am not just talking clips but full-length episodes. And you can fast forward, pause, etc. And the quality is great.
I am not sure what there business model is or how they plan to make money. But that is not my concern once I get my favorite episodes of Family Guy.
10 Biggest Tech Failures of the Decade
Time Magazine recently published what it judges to be the 10 biggest tech failures of the decade . The article mentions several of the industry’s best-known names lost significant market share and competitive edges as a result of launching products that turned out to be duds. As IT executives we are very familiar with these products.
Microsoft Vista
Gateway
HD DVD
Vonage
YouTube
Sirius XM
Microsoft Zune
Palm
Iridium
Segway
Microsoft Vista
Gateway
HD DVD
Vonage
YouTube
Sirius XM
Microsoft Zune
Palm
Iridium
Segway
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
WSJ Article - The New Résumé: Dumb and Dumber
There is a great article in the Wall Street Journal today about resumes and how job hunters are dumbing them down to get interviews. It is sad, but the current state of affairs in the search for jobs.
The New Résumé: Dumb and Dumber
The New Résumé: Dumb and Dumber
Résumés – Are You Lost? Here Are Some Clues
As a follow up to my post “Resumes-Are You Lost?” I received some great comments. When I wrote the post it was more of a humorous look at resumes and the confusion around them.
Being confused about resume is part of looking for a job. There is no magic bullet when it comes to resume writing.
Chris Osborn wrote the following:
Does the advice help tell your story? For instance, does the advice relate to something significant in your background or qualifications that might help market you for the sort of role you seek? If the answer is “yes”, then I suggest following the advice. If the advice is more about format or the style of the resume, I suggest polite listening, and then take only the advice that makes intuitive sense to YOU.
It is your resume, so you need to own it. After all, you are the person who has to deliver the goods in an interview or networking meeting.
So – my advice (and take only what you want!) is to:
1. Tell your story. Make sure the resume makes the statement you want to make about your qualifications for the targeted opportunity.
2. Make sure your resume shows how and what sort of value you can add in your next role.
3. Use the stories you would most want to tell during an interview as guides for accomplishments.
Lui Sieh wrote the following:
The lesson(s) is that “our story” is complicated and so we’ll need to have different versions of it. I frequently had 2-3 resumes depending on the audience and my target role. For headhunters, it’s about the “key words” – because that’s how the HR system works. For personal networking with potential hiring managers, it was more about the experience and the story should fit more to how they would like to know/read about your story. Sometimes, I had to ‘dumb down’ my resume as well – just to get in the door.
To summarize...Resumes are about your “Brand”. Focus on what your strengths are and try to create a story about yourself. With this approach, your accomplishments, capabilities, and talents yield a resume that is very focused and direct. In today’s job market, that is extremely important because of the exact and specific requirements of the jobs available.
Good luck...
Being confused about resume is part of looking for a job. There is no magic bullet when it comes to resume writing.
Chris Osborn wrote the following:
Does the advice help tell your story? For instance, does the advice relate to something significant in your background or qualifications that might help market you for the sort of role you seek? If the answer is “yes”, then I suggest following the advice. If the advice is more about format or the style of the resume, I suggest polite listening, and then take only the advice that makes intuitive sense to YOU.
It is your resume, so you need to own it. After all, you are the person who has to deliver the goods in an interview or networking meeting.
So – my advice (and take only what you want!) is to:
1. Tell your story. Make sure the resume makes the statement you want to make about your qualifications for the targeted opportunity.
2. Make sure your resume shows how and what sort of value you can add in your next role.
3. Use the stories you would most want to tell during an interview as guides for accomplishments.
Lui Sieh wrote the following:
The lesson(s) is that “our story” is complicated and so we’ll need to have different versions of it. I frequently had 2-3 resumes depending on the audience and my target role. For headhunters, it’s about the “key words” – because that’s how the HR system works. For personal networking with potential hiring managers, it was more about the experience and the story should fit more to how they would like to know/read about your story. Sometimes, I had to ‘dumb down’ my resume as well – just to get in the door.
To summarize...Resumes are about your “Brand”. Focus on what your strengths are and try to create a story about yourself. With this approach, your accomplishments, capabilities, and talents yield a resume that is very focused and direct. In today’s job market, that is extremely important because of the exact and specific requirements of the jobs available.
Good luck...
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Culture – CIO to CIO
Culture is very important in any firm. A good CIO is one that understands, respects and does not fight it. I have tried to be a student of understanding culture. After all, I was head of IT for an America subsidiary with a foreign parent. Let us just say there were times when there was a culture clash. Culture became an important factor in my job and understanding it allowed me to excel at what I did.
Every company, department, organization, and profession has its own set of norms, values, beliefs, and accepted ways. These elements come together to form the culture of the organization. To really understand culture, a CIO must understand that culture is ever changing and not static.
An effective IT leader recognizes the importance of culture and seeks to leverage it. A CIO that fails to perceive the significance of culture often misses opportunities to improve IT and its overall effectiveness and how it is perceived by the business.
What specifically should a CIO do to influence culture? First, they must assess and analyze a company’s existing culture. Second, they must reinforce elements of that culture. Then CIOs can use this knowledge of culture to maximize and improve IT performance.
Every company, department, organization, and profession has its own set of norms, values, beliefs, and accepted ways. These elements come together to form the culture of the organization. To really understand culture, a CIO must understand that culture is ever changing and not static.
An effective IT leader recognizes the importance of culture and seeks to leverage it. A CIO that fails to perceive the significance of culture often misses opportunities to improve IT and its overall effectiveness and how it is perceived by the business.
What specifically should a CIO do to influence culture? First, they must assess and analyze a company’s existing culture. Second, they must reinforce elements of that culture. Then CIOs can use this knowledge of culture to maximize and improve IT performance.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Are You Twittering? If Not You Are Missing Out
As a technology executive, I must admit, I am a little amazed by Twitter. It is a free tool that let’s everyone else who are also tweeting know everything you want them to know in the space of 140 characters. 140 characters does not sound like alot but it is.
What are you using Twitter for or better yet what can you use Twitter for? It is after all a tool and tools in the right hands can move mountains.
What can you use Twitter for:
1. Getting the word out. If you are blogging then it is great medium to update everyone that you updated your blog or web site.
2. Looking for a job. Use #tweetmyjobs or go to the website. Do searches and find people or companies that are Tweeting. You will be surprised who is out there.
3. Follow other people's tweet that interest you. You never know what may come out of it.
Steps to get Twittering:
1. Like your other profiles, make sure your profile is friendly. Keep it professional.
2. Add a picture of yourself. It makes your profile more real. It adds a face when you tweet.
3. Start following people you are interested in. Do a search and just follow people. Treat it like a social networking project.
4. Update your Tweet at least once a day.
5. Have fun...
So what are you waiting for? Go out and start tweeting...
What are you using Twitter for or better yet what can you use Twitter for? It is after all a tool and tools in the right hands can move mountains.
What can you use Twitter for:
1. Getting the word out. If you are blogging then it is great medium to update everyone that you updated your blog or web site.
2. Looking for a job. Use #tweetmyjobs or go to the website. Do searches and find people or companies that are Tweeting. You will be surprised who is out there.
3. Follow other people's tweet that interest you. You never know what may come out of it.
Steps to get Twittering:
1. Like your other profiles, make sure your profile is friendly. Keep it professional.
2. Add a picture of yourself. It makes your profile more real. It adds a face when you tweet.
3. Start following people you are interested in. Do a search and just follow people. Treat it like a social networking project.
4. Update your Tweet at least once a day.
5. Have fun...
So what are you waiting for? Go out and start tweeting...
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Disasters From A to Z
It amazes me that in this day and age there are firms out there with absolutely no disaster recovery plans. I am not talking about a comprehensive 200-page manual but just a simple calling tree. How can any business operate without some level disaster recovery preparedness?
Let’s first define disaster. I would define a disaster as any event that adversely affects your operations. These events can affect your computer operations in any number of ways. Recovery back to normal operations can take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours.
Having worked in NYC for my entire career, NYC has been the center of many events. Many of which I have been through.
Here is a list of disasters that a firm should be prepared for:
Acts of God, Air-conditioning failure, Arson, Blackouts, Blizzards, Boiler explosions, Bomb threats, Bridge collapse, Brownouts, Brush fires, Chemical accidents, Civil disobedience, Communication failure, Computer crime, Disgruntle employee, Denial of Service, Earthquakes, Embezzlement, Explosions, Falling objects, Fire, Flood, Hardware crash, High winds, Heating/cooling failure, Hostage situation, Human error, Hurricane, Ice storm, Interruption in public service, Internet outage, Coup d’état, Pandemic, Water main break, Terrorism, Labor dispute, Lightning strike, malicious destruction, Military operations, Mismanagement, Personnel non-availability, Plane crash, Phishing, Public demonstrations, Buggy software, Radiology accident, Railroad accident, Sabotage, Sewage backup, Snowstorm, Software failure, Sprinkler failure, Telephone problems, Theft of data, Transportation problemsVandalism, Viruses, Water damage, Worms, Gas leaks
Let’s first define disaster. I would define a disaster as any event that adversely affects your operations. These events can affect your computer operations in any number of ways. Recovery back to normal operations can take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours.
Having worked in NYC for my entire career, NYC has been the center of many events. Many of which I have been through.
Here is a list of disasters that a firm should be prepared for:
Acts of God, Air-conditioning failure, Arson, Blackouts, Blizzards, Boiler explosions, Bomb threats, Bridge collapse, Brownouts, Brush fires, Chemical accidents, Civil disobedience, Communication failure, Computer crime, Disgruntle employee, Denial of Service, Earthquakes, Embezzlement, Explosions, Falling objects, Fire, Flood, Hardware crash, High winds, Heating/cooling failure, Hostage situation, Human error, Hurricane, Ice storm, Interruption in public service, Internet outage, Coup d’état, Pandemic, Water main break, Terrorism, Labor dispute, Lightning strike, malicious destruction, Military operations, Mismanagement, Personnel non-availability, Plane crash, Phishing, Public demonstrations, Buggy software, Radiology accident, Railroad accident, Sabotage, Sewage backup, Snowstorm, Software failure, Sprinkler failure, Telephone problems, Theft of data, Transportation problemsVandalism, Viruses, Water damage, Worms, Gas leaks
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Résumés – Are You Lost?
Wikipedia Definition - A résumé is a document that contains a summary or listing of relevant job experience and education. The résumé or CV is typically the first item that a potential employer encounters regarding the job seeker and is typically used to screen applicants, often followed by an interview, when seeking employment.
A Curriculum Vitae (loosely translated as course of life) provides an overview of a person's life and qualifications. It differs from a résumé in that it is appropriate for academic or medical careers and is far more comprehensive. A CV elaborates on education to a greater degree than a résumé. A résumé is tailor-made according to the post applied for. It is job-oriented and goal specific. One of the key characteristics of a proper résumé is conciseness.
(Definitions pulled from Wikipedia)
Those of you that read my blog know that I have been out of work since September 2008. During this time I have met with or consulted with a variety of professionals: large scale recruiters, boutique recruiters, career coaches, life coaches, outplacement counselors, professional résumé writers, human resource professionals, etc. It is interesting to hear each professional’s take on what the resume format should be.
Here is a short list items that have been said to me - in no particular order:
1. Keep your resume to 1 page
2. Keep your resume to 2 pages
3. Senior executives should summarize on their resume
4. Use details to convey your accomplishments
5. Use bullets points
6. Don’t use bullet points
7. Use dates sparingly
8. Use dates where you can
9. Have a summary statement that is eye catching
10. Don’t use a summary statement it is out dated
11. Use tag words to pop up on searches
12. Don’t use too many buzz words
13. Quantify and qualify your work experience and its impact to business
14. Use hard numbers
15. Don’t use specific numbers
16. Use more business jargon
17. Your experiences should be painted in broad strokes
18. Be creative
19. Take chances
20. Resumes should convey “Shock and Awe” (This is my favorite)
See what I mean? It is confusing. I have revamped (totally overhauled) my resume several times based on the advice I was given. Honestly, while I have been around for sometime and have years of experience under my belt there are only so many ways to say something.
With millions of Americans out of work and the only thing to represent you is an 8-1/2 x 11 piece of papyrus, what should the resume format and message be? If the professionals cannot come to a consensus, how is the average Joe/Jane suppose to know?
Is the resume out-dated in these times?
A Curriculum Vitae (loosely translated as course of life) provides an overview of a person's life and qualifications. It differs from a résumé in that it is appropriate for academic or medical careers and is far more comprehensive. A CV elaborates on education to a greater degree than a résumé. A résumé is tailor-made according to the post applied for. It is job-oriented and goal specific. One of the key characteristics of a proper résumé is conciseness.
(Definitions pulled from Wikipedia)
Those of you that read my blog know that I have been out of work since September 2008. During this time I have met with or consulted with a variety of professionals: large scale recruiters, boutique recruiters, career coaches, life coaches, outplacement counselors, professional résumé writers, human resource professionals, etc. It is interesting to hear each professional’s take on what the resume format should be.
Here is a short list items that have been said to me - in no particular order:
1. Keep your resume to 1 page
2. Keep your resume to 2 pages
3. Senior executives should summarize on their resume
4. Use details to convey your accomplishments
5. Use bullets points
6. Don’t use bullet points
7. Use dates sparingly
8. Use dates where you can
9. Have a summary statement that is eye catching
10. Don’t use a summary statement it is out dated
11. Use tag words to pop up on searches
12. Don’t use too many buzz words
13. Quantify and qualify your work experience and its impact to business
14. Use hard numbers
15. Don’t use specific numbers
16. Use more business jargon
17. Your experiences should be painted in broad strokes
18. Be creative
19. Take chances
20. Resumes should convey “Shock and Awe” (This is my favorite)
See what I mean? It is confusing. I have revamped (totally overhauled) my resume several times based on the advice I was given. Honestly, while I have been around for sometime and have years of experience under my belt there are only so many ways to say something.
With millions of Americans out of work and the only thing to represent you is an 8-1/2 x 11 piece of papyrus, what should the resume format and message be? If the professionals cannot come to a consensus, how is the average Joe/Jane suppose to know?
Is the resume out-dated in these times?
Monday, May 18, 2009
Networking 101 - How To Work A Room
So I have been attending various networking events around the tri-state area-events that specifically cater to senior IT executives.
I was a little apprehensive to attend functions like this because I really did not see the value for myself. Can a room full of other out-of-work IT executives provide any good leads? We are all looking for the same type of job. If anything, this is my competition. Why would anyone help the competition? But I digress….
People would come up to me and recite their resume – their elevator pitch. I have to be honest, I am not good with names and I am definitely not good remembering the intricacies of your last job. I am, however, good at remembering trivial details about a person. I think most people are good at that.
Here are a couple of points to consider when you are planning to attend a networking event:
1. What are you trying to get out of the event? Is it knowledge transfer, critique of you resume, making contacts? Go in with a game plan.
2. Don’t regurgitate your résumé to people. Honestly, the people I remembered the most were the ones that just talked about themselves, not the ones that spoke about managing a global ERP implementation. It makes it easier to remember you in a room full of other people that have also done ERP implementations. Know your audience.
3. Be yourself. Not your last job.
4. Be happy. You are in a room with other people out-of-work. It makes no sense to cry about your situation. Everyone is going through similar or worst ordeals in this economy.
5. Carry some business cards. Go to Kinkos (or FedEx Office – whatever they are calling themselves these days) and make 100 business cards for $30 and put your information on it and hand them out to people as you talk to them. A business card still goes a long way. Have fun with it be a little creative. And do not forget to add your LinkedIn profile address and blog.
I would like to hear stories from you about the networking events you attend and any tips you may have.
Happy networking…
I was a little apprehensive to attend functions like this because I really did not see the value for myself. Can a room full of other out-of-work IT executives provide any good leads? We are all looking for the same type of job. If anything, this is my competition. Why would anyone help the competition? But I digress….
People would come up to me and recite their resume – their elevator pitch. I have to be honest, I am not good with names and I am definitely not good remembering the intricacies of your last job. I am, however, good at remembering trivial details about a person. I think most people are good at that.
Here are a couple of points to consider when you are planning to attend a networking event:
1. What are you trying to get out of the event? Is it knowledge transfer, critique of you resume, making contacts? Go in with a game plan.
2. Don’t regurgitate your résumé to people. Honestly, the people I remembered the most were the ones that just talked about themselves, not the ones that spoke about managing a global ERP implementation. It makes it easier to remember you in a room full of other people that have also done ERP implementations. Know your audience.
3. Be yourself. Not your last job.
4. Be happy. You are in a room with other people out-of-work. It makes no sense to cry about your situation. Everyone is going through similar or worst ordeals in this economy.
5. Carry some business cards. Go to Kinkos (or FedEx Office – whatever they are calling themselves these days) and make 100 business cards for $30 and put your information on it and hand them out to people as you talk to them. A business card still goes a long way. Have fun with it be a little creative. And do not forget to add your LinkedIn profile address and blog.
I would like to hear stories from you about the networking events you attend and any tips you may have.
Happy networking…
Keeping It Simple – The 3 ‘S’ Rule
I was talking to a new network manager the other day. He was picking my brain for ideas on how best to manage his small network. He is a staff of one and therefore must be everywhere all the time. We have all been there at some point in our careers so I wanted to give him some help to calm his fears of being overwhelmed.
When I first started in IT, I was schmoozed by many a vendor. What did I care at the time? I did not know better and this was a time when everyone was beating down my door. Aahhh the good ole days….
One of the first tools I needed was tool to monitor my core/edge and server heart beat. Many vendors came in and I paid a lot for various software and hardware packages to do the job. I won’t name names but after the first three or four months the various solutions I purchased seem to fail, break or go berserk. Of course the vendor was nowhere to be found or blamed my environment. My CFO was not happy with me. Lesson learned. Don’t be swayed by salespeople.
I found a product by chance because I was tired of coming in on the weekends for false alarms and outages. The product was WhatsUp Gold by Ipswitch (http://www.whatsupgold.com/). I started using this at version 2 and now they are up to version 12.4 at the time of this post.
What attracted me to Ipswitch was its simplicity. You can perform a simple heartbeat with very little traffic congestion being generated. You can have it email you when equipment goes down. And you can have reports generated on the health of your network. There is an annual service agreement based on the number of devices being monitored which gives you phone support and updates. It is far cheaper than what other products cost. Whats’Up has a very small footprint. Once up and running it required very little care and feeding. And is this not what we all want.
What’sUp saved me many times. As my department grew we expanded monitoring for each group so they would be able to monitor their equipment accordingly. As a manager I was able to get a snapshot of my entire environment to show how healthy the environment was doing. 100% uptime is a great number to throw around to corporate management.
So what lesson did I learn from all this and what lesson should new IT managers follow - Keep It Simple. Bells and whistles are great but too much of a good thing is not. Any new product should follow the 3 ‘S’ rule - Simple, Stable and Scalable.
Once you follow this you will be a happier IT person. Good Luck
When I first started in IT, I was schmoozed by many a vendor. What did I care at the time? I did not know better and this was a time when everyone was beating down my door. Aahhh the good ole days….
One of the first tools I needed was tool to monitor my core/edge and server heart beat. Many vendors came in and I paid a lot for various software and hardware packages to do the job. I won’t name names but after the first three or four months the various solutions I purchased seem to fail, break or go berserk. Of course the vendor was nowhere to be found or blamed my environment. My CFO was not happy with me. Lesson learned. Don’t be swayed by salespeople.
I found a product by chance because I was tired of coming in on the weekends for false alarms and outages. The product was WhatsUp Gold by Ipswitch (http://www.whatsupgold.com/). I started using this at version 2 and now they are up to version 12.4 at the time of this post.
What attracted me to Ipswitch was its simplicity. You can perform a simple heartbeat with very little traffic congestion being generated. You can have it email you when equipment goes down. And you can have reports generated on the health of your network. There is an annual service agreement based on the number of devices being monitored which gives you phone support and updates. It is far cheaper than what other products cost. Whats’Up has a very small footprint. Once up and running it required very little care and feeding. And is this not what we all want.
What’sUp saved me many times. As my department grew we expanded monitoring for each group so they would be able to monitor their equipment accordingly. As a manager I was able to get a snapshot of my entire environment to show how healthy the environment was doing. 100% uptime is a great number to throw around to corporate management.
So what lesson did I learn from all this and what lesson should new IT managers follow - Keep It Simple. Bells and whistles are great but too much of a good thing is not. Any new product should follow the 3 ‘S’ rule - Simple, Stable and Scalable.
Once you follow this you will be a happier IT person. Good Luck
Friday, May 15, 2009
Qualities an IT Manager Should Possess
Whether your title is CIO, VP, or just plain IT Manager, you should certain qualities that allow you to manage an IT shop effectively. If you are striving to manage your own department then these are the qualities you should have and be proficient at:
• Think like a leader. Stimulate ideas. Encourage staff. Bring out the best in people.
• Treat Information Technology as a service. All facets of technology under your responsibility should be function smoothly.
• Ability to Communicate. Demonstrate the ability to intelligently articulate ideas and strategies.
• Be an Agent of Change. Business is not static and therefore IT should not be static. Because you will need to align technology needs, you should constantly be evaluating technology solutions. By treating technology has an organic discipline you are better able to be an agent of change.
• Think like a leader. Stimulate ideas. Encourage staff. Bring out the best in people.
• Treat Information Technology as a service. All facets of technology under your responsibility should be function smoothly.
• Ability to Communicate. Demonstrate the ability to intelligently articulate ideas and strategies.
• Be an Agent of Change. Business is not static and therefore IT should not be static. Because you will need to align technology needs, you should constantly be evaluating technology solutions. By treating technology has an organic discipline you are better able to be an agent of change.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
12 Secrets To Finding a Job in a Down Economy
Yesterday I attend my first TENG meeting. The Technology Executives Networking Group. LLC (TENG) http://www.theteng.org. TENG is a great forum with various chapters across the country.
Last night they had 3 speakers come to discuss recruiting and how best to market oneself.
Let me paraphrase some of what was said:
1. Senior executives should not post their resumes on free sites like Dice, Monster. There are unscrupulous recruiters out there who will use your resume without you approving.
2. LinkedIn should be used wisely and discretionarily. Do not add contacts for the sake of adding contacts.
3. Keep your resume to a one page. Senior executives by their very nature should be able to summarize information including their career history. This forces you to remove the fluff and keep your information current. Who cares if you interned at Company XYZ in your senior year of college.
4. Your resume should be like a first date. Only provide enough information to get a second date. Anymore and you have the possibility of scarring of the other person.
5. If you have been working for sometime, it is not necessary to provide college information. Use this space for details about your current position. Again, who cares about your GPA 15 years ago.
6. Create an eye catching summary statement. You are selling yourself. SO SELL YOURSELF!
7. Be creative. In this market, you have to stand out from the pack.
8. Stay in contact with your network. Send periodic updates to them.
9. Be wary of recruiters that cold call you. They are just trolling for information or mining you.
10. Job postings on web site usually mean the position has been filled. Very few senior executives get jobs via websites.
11. Build relationships with some recruiters. Have a handful of recruiter names in your rolodex that you have met and know your skillset.
12. Take chances. In a down economy, those that take risks get big rewards.
Last night they had 3 speakers come to discuss recruiting and how best to market oneself.
Let me paraphrase some of what was said:
1. Senior executives should not post their resumes on free sites like Dice, Monster. There are unscrupulous recruiters out there who will use your resume without you approving.
2. LinkedIn should be used wisely and discretionarily. Do not add contacts for the sake of adding contacts.
3. Keep your resume to a one page. Senior executives by their very nature should be able to summarize information including their career history. This forces you to remove the fluff and keep your information current. Who cares if you interned at Company XYZ in your senior year of college.
4. Your resume should be like a first date. Only provide enough information to get a second date. Anymore and you have the possibility of scarring of the other person.
5. If you have been working for sometime, it is not necessary to provide college information. Use this space for details about your current position. Again, who cares about your GPA 15 years ago.
6. Create an eye catching summary statement. You are selling yourself. SO SELL YOURSELF!
7. Be creative. In this market, you have to stand out from the pack.
8. Stay in contact with your network. Send periodic updates to them.
9. Be wary of recruiters that cold call you. They are just trolling for information or mining you.
10. Job postings on web site usually mean the position has been filled. Very few senior executives get jobs via websites.
11. Build relationships with some recruiters. Have a handful of recruiter names in your rolodex that you have met and know your skillset.
12. Take chances. In a down economy, those that take risks get big rewards.
Mac OS X 10.5.7
I just updated my iMac with the new update 10.5.7. So far no issues.
Like previous updates, this updates the general OS. Enhances the stability, compatibility and security of the OS. There is no added functionality or new features.
It is rumored that this is the last update before Snow Leopard is released later this year. So far this is the most stable OS I have worked with. I am not naming names but you can figure out whom I am speaking about.
I am looking forward to the Iphone update later this summer.
Apple just keeps on improving on something that is already perfection...
Like previous updates, this updates the general OS. Enhances the stability, compatibility and security of the OS. There is no added functionality or new features.
It is rumored that this is the last update before Snow Leopard is released later this year. So far this is the most stable OS I have worked with. I am not naming names but you can figure out whom I am speaking about.
I am looking forward to the Iphone update later this summer.
Apple just keeps on improving on something that is already perfection...
15 Tips to Using LinkedIn
1. Keep your name simple. Do not add extraneous information.
2. Your profile should be managed like a professional website. Formatting should be simple and clean and filled with tags that are search friendly.
3. Add a photo and keep it professional. Headshots are the best. Photos add personality to your profile.
4. Update the section “What you are going now” at least a few times a week.
5. Personalize your "public profile" to reflect your name. This allows greater search ability.
6. Make sure the jobs you choose to list compliment each other.
7. "Experience" is a great place to show your accomplishments. Be creative and aggressive. Take chances.
8. List your certifications and licenses.
9. Get Recommendations.
10. Join groups that are relevant to you and invite those members to become your contacts.
11. Add contacts that are of value. Do not build up hundreds of contacts. It reflects poorly on you.
12. Use "Answers" sections to position yourself as an expert and to get exposure.
13. Use Answers section to get free advice.
14. Always be courteous.
15. Give back. If someone you do not know contacts you for information provide information to that person. A helping hand will go a long way to building relationships.
2. Your profile should be managed like a professional website. Formatting should be simple and clean and filled with tags that are search friendly.
3. Add a photo and keep it professional. Headshots are the best. Photos add personality to your profile.
4. Update the section “What you are going now” at least a few times a week.
5. Personalize your "public profile" to reflect your name. This allows greater search ability.
6. Make sure the jobs you choose to list compliment each other.
7. "Experience" is a great place to show your accomplishments. Be creative and aggressive. Take chances.
8. List your certifications and licenses.
9. Get Recommendations.
10. Join groups that are relevant to you and invite those members to become your contacts.
11. Add contacts that are of value. Do not build up hundreds of contacts. It reflects poorly on you.
12. Use "Answers" sections to position yourself as an expert and to get exposure.
13. Use Answers section to get free advice.
14. Always be courteous.
15. Give back. If someone you do not know contacts you for information provide information to that person. A helping hand will go a long way to building relationships.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Belief in Yourself
I am not one for motivational ideologies but I read and interesting discussion on LinkedIn today (http://www.linkedin.com/groupAnswers?viewQuestionAndAnswers&discussionID=3204760&gid=48613&commentID=3450705&trk=view_disc). The discussion turned more towards the frustrations people are facing in their job hunt.
It lead me to start thinking about people and what impetuous carries us through tough times. You read about how people turn to their faith and family to get them through ordeals. We turn to things that are stronger in our lives to help us move forward.
Over the last several months, I have read and met people that have been out of work or will soon be out of work. It is frustrating to say the least, especially if you have been working for a long-time and had seniority and a career. All that is gone. And you are like 12 million other people out of work.
It is important to believe in yourself first. It is only you that will get you through these times. In a year or two when the economy recovers and chugging along and we are all working again, we will look back and say we made it. We are stronger, wiser, and better people for it.
That which does not kill us only makes use stronger…
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Disaster Recovery – A Beginners’ Guide
I have built several and moved several production and disaster recovery datacenters over the years. If you have been charged with this task and are in the initial planning stages this guide should help you get started.
First, you will want to rationalize and ask yourself what you want your DR site to accomplish?
Do you want to recover all your processes or only critical ones? Do you want to be operational for only a few days or for several weeks/months? Different businesses have different requirements so I would recommend forming a DR/BCP committee comprised of IT and business people. It will be important to get their input and requirements.
Once you begin asking yourself these questions you then will need to figure out if you need to recover all your servers or only a few. Again what is critical/not critical? Then you should start putting together a budget of costs: opex/capex to present to management and get approval before proceeding.
I have seen budgets make or break a project. But when it comes to DR planning, the sky’s the limit. So plan carefully and know your target audience.
Here is a brief list of some costs that I have encountered to get you started.
• Are you building your own DR site from scratch or outsourcing to a DR firm.
• Software licenses. Some vendors require you buy additional licenses for servers.
• Are you going to build DR servers with fault tolerance or not.
• Travel costs to and from site.
• Will the site be manned 24x7.
• Copier/fax/ printer costs.
• Maintenance costs of your equipment
• Security
• Hot/cold site costs
• Declaration costs
• Networking costs
• Replication costs
• Server Cosst (option for OS preload, Image loads, etc)
• Test time costs
• Data backup costs
• Locker costs
• Consulting costs
Once you have answered your questions and put hard numbers to your requirements then the next step is to build a disaster recovery site.
So good luck…
Monday, May 4, 2009
Blogging – The New Way To Make Friends
No Debt World Travel
Brian Peters discusses how he can travel the world on the cheap. It is great to see how someone travels the world on very little and have a great time doing it. Read about his adventures here at NoDebtWorldTravel.com
SSP BPI Group
Chris Osborn is a Senior Coach with SSP BPI Group. His blog contains information about a variety of coaching topics such as the current job search market, success stories, use of social networking sites, etc. Read his blog here at SSP BPI Group
Lindaraxa's Garden
Julieta Cadenas was a Wall Street veteran who now turns her attention to food and entertaining. Read her blog here at LINDARAXA'S GARDEN
Thursday, April 30, 2009
My Affair with My iPhone
It has been a year since I have been having an affair with my phone – my iPhone. I have been using cellphones since the mid 90s. I remember when battery life was nonexistent and they weighed more than most toasters. My how technology has changed…
I was in the market for a phone since I moved to an iMac two years ago. A phone that I was able to synch my contacts and calendar with – reliably. This has always been a unicorn among cellphones. How do you get your information on a mobile platform and be able to synch successfully each time.
I was able to accomplish this through the iPhone. I migrated my contacts and calendar to Microsoft’s Entourage. I am not wild about Entourage but it does the job I want.
The iPhone has become more then my cellphone. It has become my mobile assistant. I use it to check my email. Yes I check all my email automatically every 15 minutes. I need real time gratification.
I am not big on purchasing apps from the store because I get bored pretty easily but there are a few free apps that have become indispensable.
All Wall Street types should have the Bloomberg app. It keeps me up-to-date on financial news. The Wall Street Journal is also another great app for news.
Google maps has been great in finding my way around. I stopped using my bigger GPS device because it has become easier to use the iPhone.
With the new OS, Apple has made the device faster and battery life last longer. I now get a full day of usage before I have to plug in. Kudos to Apple for listening to their customers.
The only issue I have with the phone is typing. My fingers seem a touch to big to type. So I am constantly retyping. I could only imagine what other people with larger fingers must go through.
Any forward thinking professional should get one. Trust me, within the first week you cannot live without your iPhone.
Don’t tell my wife – but my iPhone and I are going out to dinner tonight. ;)
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
100 Days - A Secret Guide
This week President Obama reached 100 days since he took office. While many political pundits consider this milestone antiquated it is an important metric which all executives especially IT executives should use to gauge their performance.
What should a new IT executive have done in his/her first 100 days?
1. Listen to what the business is telling you. Spend time with business leaders and just listen to them. It is important to understand the business process and the players involved. Yes, politics will be important.
2. Meet with your staff and business leaders regularly. Get to know them. Their strengths and weaknesses.
3. Repair broken relationships quickly especially if they are business relationships.
4. Speak in business terms and stay away from the latest tech buzz words.
5. Assess IT’s capabilities. Are they in line with business goals? If not, what needs to be done to get it in line?
6. Freeze projects when appropriate until you can get up-to-speed. Put together a hit list of projects that have gone off track with a cost/benefit analysis.
7. Stabilize operations and get your processes to a minimum level that is acceptable and manageable.
8. Articulate IT’s goals and objectives. Develop a mission statement and business plan.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Secrets of Enterprise Security
Securing an environment, any environment, is daunting to most. When dealing with corporate networks a layered approach is the most effective means of deterring threats.
The following is a list of technologies that you should have in your environment:
1.Intrusion detection
2.Network access control
3.Spyware detection and preventions
4.Security and event log management
5.Antivirus
6.Data loss
7.Software patching
How one goes about dealing with each bullet above depends on manpower and available budgets. I have seen some firms spend millions to secure their environment but still remained vulnerable. I have also seen some try a total umbrella approach. Again, this was a failure. There is no magic bullet to enterprise security.
The best approach is to understand your environment then talk to your peers on how they are securing their environments and then formulate a plan that best fits you.
Securing any environment should be organic in nature. I strongly believe that enterprises are constantly growing and changing. Solutions you implement should also grow and change with your environment.
Here is quick list to get started:
1. Inventory your whole environment. Know what hardware and software you have.
2. Have a base image for your desktop PCs and servers. This image should be secured.
3. Lock down your core/edge network. Lock all open/unused ports.
4. Conduct penetration tests. Conduct these tests frequently and when possible, have outside vendors conduct them for you.
5. Monitor and review your logs – all your logs frequently.
The following is a list of technologies that you should have in your environment:
1.Intrusion detection
2.Network access control
3.Spyware detection and preventions
4.Security and event log management
5.Antivirus
6.Data loss
7.Software patching
How one goes about dealing with each bullet above depends on manpower and available budgets. I have seen some firms spend millions to secure their environment but still remained vulnerable. I have also seen some try a total umbrella approach. Again, this was a failure. There is no magic bullet to enterprise security.
The best approach is to understand your environment then talk to your peers on how they are securing their environments and then formulate a plan that best fits you.
Securing any environment should be organic in nature. I strongly believe that enterprises are constantly growing and changing. Solutions you implement should also grow and change with your environment.
Here is quick list to get started:
1. Inventory your whole environment. Know what hardware and software you have.
2. Have a base image for your desktop PCs and servers. This image should be secured.
3. Lock down your core/edge network. Lock all open/unused ports.
4. Conduct penetration tests. Conduct these tests frequently and when possible, have outside vendors conduct them for you.
5. Monitor and review your logs – all your logs frequently.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Family Video Conferencing – Continued
This weekend I visited some family that had recently flown in from Dubai. The topic came up of video conferencing and how it has brought the family closer together.
As technologists, we sometimes forget how much technology impacts people. It is one of the reasons why I pursued a profession in information technology. By helping my family keep in contact over long distances it shows the power of technology to bring people together.
If your PC does not have a camera and you are not using an iMac with a built in camera then the product I recommend is Logitech’s Quickcam Pro 9000 (retail USD 99.99). I have used Logitech’s products in the past and they are solid products that are well thought-out and function as advertised.
I recommended the Quickcam Pro because of its ease to install and set up. My mother-in-law was more then able to install on her 6 year old computer. She was up and running within 5 minutes. Quickcam has true plug-and-play. No drivers required to get started.
Quickcam has a few nice features that I found nice:
1. It has a small foot-print but is not cheap in construction.
2. It has rubber grips that prevent it from sliding and the ability to raise or lower the camera manually.
3. It has auto focus and lighting features which improves video quality and a built in microphone.
4. Last, the Quickcam software has numerous functions that truly enhance the overall video experience.
5. The video quality is great and surpasses the quality that other webcam products offer.
If your family is not video conferencing then you are missing out. Get started today!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
A New York Chief Information Officer’s Search
Over the last several months I have started growing my “brand” to increase my exposure to the world. In my search for a new job, there are a few processes that one needs to have in place.
First, you have to network. It sounds hard and it could be depending on how you go about it. Never forget the people you worked with or went to school with. That guy in the mailroom might be working at a better position at another firm. Your college professor might be working as a consultant now and remembers what a good student you were. Always keep a rolodex of contacts and try to stay in touch with them periodically. Never burn your bridges unless you really have to and even then do not do it. And always enlist your friends and family. They are a good source to network for you.
Second, get on social networking sites like LinkedIn or Facebook. I have recently gotten on Facebook and I am still trying to find my way around as a tool. LinkedIn is a must for any professional. I have grown my network ten-fold without leaving my house. As a tool you can target individuals and groups that meet your interests. Your profile should always be up-to-date and you should have recommendations and connections to people.
Third, if you are an executive you should be writing. Whether in print or online you should do so. This gets your name out and grows your reputation and brand. It also keeps you thinking and your mind active. Starting a blog is free and easy to get started. In this day and age there is no reason not to be publishing something.
Fourth, join professional groups. I belong to TENG and as a group I think they are fabulous. Groups bring together people with similar backgrounds and interests. Do a search on Yahoo groups to find those relevant to you. Also Meetup.com is also another site that has groups that might be of interest. It is not necessary to join only professional groups but join those that are fun like golf or photography. Who knows, your golf club group might have people that can help you.
Fifth, subscription sites like The Ladders or Bluesteps should be approached cautiously. I have had some success with sites like this but overall I do not recommend them. Also free sites like Dice and Monster are a total waste for anyone with a lot of experience.
Sixth, have a handful of recruiters ready. Most senior level jobs, when available, are usually sent through a recruiting agency. So it is best to have a few that know you on your call list. Always remember, recruiters do not work for you but for their clients.
Last, it is important to give back. If you do land a position, remember that are many more out there without work. If you can help someone then you should. You will sleep better at night.
First, you have to network. It sounds hard and it could be depending on how you go about it. Never forget the people you worked with or went to school with. That guy in the mailroom might be working at a better position at another firm. Your college professor might be working as a consultant now and remembers what a good student you were. Always keep a rolodex of contacts and try to stay in touch with them periodically. Never burn your bridges unless you really have to and even then do not do it. And always enlist your friends and family. They are a good source to network for you.
Second, get on social networking sites like LinkedIn or Facebook. I have recently gotten on Facebook and I am still trying to find my way around as a tool. LinkedIn is a must for any professional. I have grown my network ten-fold without leaving my house. As a tool you can target individuals and groups that meet your interests. Your profile should always be up-to-date and you should have recommendations and connections to people.
Third, if you are an executive you should be writing. Whether in print or online you should do so. This gets your name out and grows your reputation and brand. It also keeps you thinking and your mind active. Starting a blog is free and easy to get started. In this day and age there is no reason not to be publishing something.
Fourth, join professional groups. I belong to TENG and as a group I think they are fabulous. Groups bring together people with similar backgrounds and interests. Do a search on Yahoo groups to find those relevant to you. Also Meetup.com is also another site that has groups that might be of interest. It is not necessary to join only professional groups but join those that are fun like golf or photography. Who knows, your golf club group might have people that can help you.
Fifth, subscription sites like The Ladders or Bluesteps should be approached cautiously. I have had some success with sites like this but overall I do not recommend them. Also free sites like Dice and Monster are a total waste for anyone with a lot of experience.
Sixth, have a handful of recruiters ready. Most senior level jobs, when available, are usually sent through a recruiting agency. So it is best to have a few that know you on your call list. Always remember, recruiters do not work for you but for their clients.
Last, it is important to give back. If you do land a position, remember that are many more out there without work. If you can help someone then you should. You will sleep better at night.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Family Video Conferencing - Seeing Is Believing
After I got married, my family size increased and became more geographically diverse. Keeping in touch via telephone was okay but too be honest I am not much of a phone person. Video conferencing was a tool a tinkered with from time to time. Having an iMac, I had iChat to play with. It was great if the other person on the other end had an Apple. But let’s face it; it is not a true Apple world yet and most of my relatives use PCs.
I have worked with Citrix, WebEx, and more sophisticated VC systems at work and all were great for the business community with support personnel onsite to support it. However, at home and for personal use required a more unsophisticated way of conferencing. Let’s face it, would your great aunt in Iowa be able to troubleshoot communication link problems or understand video compression algorithms.
So I did an Internet search and came across Skype. Yes that Skype http://skype.com/ . Skype has a function for video conferencing. It worked great for international video calling. The drawback was it was only a one-to-one solution. We could not do group video calls which was vastly more appealing to my family.
I discovered Oovoo http://oovoo.com/. It was easy to install and worked with both Windows and OSX. It allowed 6 way video calls. There were a few drawbacks.
A. International calling did not work well. Due to bandwidth limitations the video and audio became unintelligent. This was not an Oovoo issue but a local bandwidth issue.
B. If more than 3 people got on, an echo appeared. It forced us to mute our microphones when not in use. It made having free flow conversations a little difficult.
C. After the first month, Oovoo limits your subscription to 3 users at once and reduces your video quality to standard instead of high definition. 3+ users required a paid subscription. Free is still the best plan for any service. Having only 3 people on at once was not a bad thing it actually cut down the echo problem and made the session more manageable. The video quality, at least in my opinion also did not adversely affect my usage. Standard or high def seems to have very little difference.
So if you are looking for a universal piece of software that works with PCs and Macs, easy to install, easy to use then I highly recommend Oovoo.
Are Financial IT Executives Being Blacklisted?
Interesting phenomena I am seeing more of these days on job postings – requirements state very clearly that no one with financial services experience will be considered. Why is that? I felt compelled to ask the poster as to why would IT executives with financial experience be excluded from applying to that position?
If anything, I would think that a recruiter would want someone with that level of experience. We have been charged with protecting massive amounts of financial data, supported demanding executives, kept trading floors online, built robust data centers with N+1 redundancy, figured out how to set up market data architecture, prepared for disaster recovery and business continuity, dealt with armies of auditors and ever changing regulations, supported front and backoffice systems, and designed architecture with redundancy to prevent outages.
Our experience and knowledge is universal and should be sought after purely from the high demand/high pressure environments we worked in. Firms should strive to have people like us supporting their environments.
If anything, I would think that a recruiter would want someone with that level of experience. We have been charged with protecting massive amounts of financial data, supported demanding executives, kept trading floors online, built robust data centers with N+1 redundancy, figured out how to set up market data architecture, prepared for disaster recovery and business continuity, dealt with armies of auditors and ever changing regulations, supported front and backoffice systems, and designed architecture with redundancy to prevent outages.
Our experience and knowledge is universal and should be sought after purely from the high demand/high pressure environments we worked in. Firms should strive to have people like us supporting their environments.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Today Was Not A Good Day - But It Is Friday
I am not sure if this is good or bad. But I do feel a bit disappointed today.
I got three phone calls from three different recruiters for three different positions.
The first was for a director of infrastructure. The position came to me through an IT organization I belong to. I was a little suspect of the recruiter but decided to send my resume in. To my surprise I got a phone call immediately there after. He wanted me to “tweak” my resume, send back to him and follow up. I did and the next day I followed up. I called and emailed but no response. I was able to get him on the phone. He did not remember me or the position. I spent a few minutes explaining everything again. He said he will send my resume in a follow up with me in a fee days. It has been a few days, I called and left messages and email but no response.
I got another call from a recruiter that I had linked with this week. He said he got a position that was right for me and sent me the job description. It was great. Everything I was looking for: good location, good salary, good description that fit my background. The recruiter will follow up with me the next day. I was a little weary based on my previous experience but I wanted to not come across desperate. So I waited and to my surprise I got a phone call the next day. The message was short but I felt something was wrong. So I called back. The firm wants a “hands on” person--very hands on; Cisco engineer, windows admin, dba, dmz, CIO experience -- literally a jack of all trades. The job description and my research on the firm hinted that this was a large firm. Not a good idea to have one guy doing everything. I told the recruiter that I was hands on but with the sophistication of enterprise architecture, my skill set is not at that level anymore. I am more management with an understanding of how things work in an enterprise environment. The recruiter apologized for not having all the facts about the position. He will keep me in mind for other positions.
Last, I got another call for a VP of technology. The recruiter called me and asked how me how many people did I support in my last or any position. I told him the amount and said this position required someone who had supported 500+ users. It would have been easy for me to lie but my professionalism took over. Yet another position which I was not right for. I don’t understand if you support 50 or 5000 people it is the not quantity but the quality of the support you provide.
So I did not get an interview this week but I was called 3 times from recruiters. Are things picking up? If so great, I can wait for the right position to come along.
I got three phone calls from three different recruiters for three different positions.
The first was for a director of infrastructure. The position came to me through an IT organization I belong to. I was a little suspect of the recruiter but decided to send my resume in. To my surprise I got a phone call immediately there after. He wanted me to “tweak” my resume, send back to him and follow up. I did and the next day I followed up. I called and emailed but no response. I was able to get him on the phone. He did not remember me or the position. I spent a few minutes explaining everything again. He said he will send my resume in a follow up with me in a fee days. It has been a few days, I called and left messages and email but no response.
I got another call from a recruiter that I had linked with this week. He said he got a position that was right for me and sent me the job description. It was great. Everything I was looking for: good location, good salary, good description that fit my background. The recruiter will follow up with me the next day. I was a little weary based on my previous experience but I wanted to not come across desperate. So I waited and to my surprise I got a phone call the next day. The message was short but I felt something was wrong. So I called back. The firm wants a “hands on” person--very hands on; Cisco engineer, windows admin, dba, dmz, CIO experience -- literally a jack of all trades. The job description and my research on the firm hinted that this was a large firm. Not a good idea to have one guy doing everything. I told the recruiter that I was hands on but with the sophistication of enterprise architecture, my skill set is not at that level anymore. I am more management with an understanding of how things work in an enterprise environment. The recruiter apologized for not having all the facts about the position. He will keep me in mind for other positions.
Last, I got another call for a VP of technology. The recruiter called me and asked how me how many people did I support in my last or any position. I told him the amount and said this position required someone who had supported 500+ users. It would have been easy for me to lie but my professionalism took over. Yet another position which I was not right for. I don’t understand if you support 50 or 5000 people it is the not quantity but the quality of the support you provide.
So I did not get an interview this week but I was called 3 times from recruiters. Are things picking up? If so great, I can wait for the right position to come along.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
IT Audits - Don’t Be Afraid
In this economy there will be more emphasis placed on audits. If you are working for a financial firm then you probably have an internal audit group. You are also audit by an external audit firm, maybe the Fed, and if you are an international firm-foreign regulatory agencies. In some firms, this leads to an environment of constant audits.
If you are a large IT shop then it makes sense to form an audit team comprised of your various department heads to work with and answer questions from the auditors. Keep it small. It is important to speak with one voice. This team should consist of one or two business leaders. During an audit, there will be times when some type of risk will be discovered that will lead to process or management change that has the potential to affect business operations.
If you are a smaller shop, then this process will fall upon the senior IT person. Again, some representation from the business should be included.
It is important for IT to document everything: every process, every procedure, and every diagram. If you have not already done so, do it now. If is just good due diligence. Auditors love documentation. The more you give the more they love it. It also keeps them occupied. Most audits only last for a specific period of time. How can anyone come and look at every aspect of your network? And discover everything. If you are a good administrator then you know were your risks are and you have taken steps to mitigate or removed them from your environment. In these environments, auditors will find very little if anything. And when they do it will be minor and easily correctable.
If you are a large IT shop then it makes sense to form an audit team comprised of your various department heads to work with and answer questions from the auditors. Keep it small. It is important to speak with one voice. This team should consist of one or two business leaders. During an audit, there will be times when some type of risk will be discovered that will lead to process or management change that has the potential to affect business operations.
If you are a smaller shop, then this process will fall upon the senior IT person. Again, some representation from the business should be included.
It is important for IT to document everything: every process, every procedure, and every diagram. If you have not already done so, do it now. If is just good due diligence. Auditors love documentation. The more you give the more they love it. It also keeps them occupied. Most audits only last for a specific period of time. How can anyone come and look at every aspect of your network? And discover everything. If you are a good administrator then you know were your risks are and you have taken steps to mitigate or removed them from your environment. In these environments, auditors will find very little if anything. And when they do it will be minor and easily correctable.
Business and IT - We Need To Talk
I have been privileged in my career to work with seasoned executives who understood technology and knew how to use it to grow their business. These were not techies but people that saw the power of the computer as a tool.
The fundamental problem that leads to a break down between business and IT is the lack of communication from both sides. The questions that should be asked and answered are the following:
· What are the expectations that need to be met?
· Are there clear goals that can be achieved?
· What information should IT be reporting on a regular basis and in what format?
· What metrics are helpfulful?
· Are the goals of IT aligned with those of the business?
It is important to establish an effective relationship between your business leaders and your information technology group.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
From Architect To CIO
I was born on March 31, 1972 in Brooklyn, New York. My father was an avionics engineer in the U.S. Army and my mother was a nurse. I grew up in a middle class family. Both parents were born in Trinidad. My grandparents were born in India. Where exactly has been lost. We were indentured servants brought to the Caribbean to harvest sugar cane and have been there since. We have no ties to India.
My father served in Vietnam; one of a handful of Hindus that served. He is American through and through. My mother was trained in England and is also an American. So I am first generation American along with my younger brother.
We moved from Brooklyn to upstate New York when I was 4. My father’s unit was transferred, so the whole moved for a better life. I started school and was one of a few minorities in elementary school.
In high school I discovered industrial drafting and fell in love with it. From there I started taking architectural drafting classes. When my senior year rolled around and the time came to figure out where and what I was going to study I knew I wanted to study architecture.
Architecture like any other sophisticated practice has many sub disciplines i.e. medicine or law. I decided I wanted to be a designer and focused my efforts on understanding the concepts of solid and void and circulation-all concepts which are important to a successful building. Along with this understanding, any design student must learn how to present, project management, engineering, interior design, and history. I graduated and started working immediately as a draftsman/designer.
Like any graduate, I had big dreams to one day design the next famous building. However, I quickly learned that one has to pay bills. I learned that architects do not make huge salaries and work on smaller scale projects. When I graduated there were very projects where there was mass building. Most of the buildings being built were going up in Asia.
I joined a small firm that was specializing in network implementations in architectural, engineering, and construction firms. They needed someone with an architectural background to help transition these firms to CAD and computer networks. This is how I got involved in computers, networks, and data management. It was great. I learned how to repair computers and printers, how to set up networks, how to transition a firm from paper base processing to electronic processing. I was able to leverage my education and training and make money doing it.
Then in 1997 I joined a financial firm on Park Avenue. Not knowing anything about banking or financial services. This firm was a subsidiary that specialized in middle/large ticket leasing and offered specialized finance to corporate customers. They wanted someone to come onboard and help manage and grow their technology and help move from a paper base process to electronic. So I joined. I was a one man show. I did it all: building servers, racking them, backups, antivirus, email, etc. I was all hands on. I had designed and built a stable network with capacity to grow as business grew. Management loved it. They had a stable infrastructure that allowed them do conduct business. Twenty four hours a day, seven days a week I worked and I loved it.
Business started growing and there was a demand for more sophisticated systems: general ledger, accounting, market data, firewalls, disaster recovery sites. So I had to hire more staff to meet demand. Eleven plus years later, I had managed a successful IT operation that had weathered: Y2K, 9-11, blackouts, datacenter outages, upsizing and downsizing, a merger, branch office build out in London, increased regulatory process, and all the intricacies that come along with managing and IT department in a global organization.
So this is my story about how I went from building buildings to building networks.
Monday, April 13, 2009
324000 Minutes and Counting
I was laid off on September 1, 2008. I spent the first month sleeping and catching up on my thoughts. It felt great not having to worry about getting up a 5am, riding the train, managing an IT department, worrying about network outages, politics, staff issues, etc., etc. My wife loved having me home. She enjoyed my cooking, cleaning, doing the laundry. All the things that I enjoyed doing.
I began looking for a job in mid September. I followed the usual process that all executives follow: updated my resume, updated my contacts lists, write cover letters and elevator pitches. I contacted the recruiters that I remained in contact with that had a good reputation. I was getting a lot of inquires about my background and my prospects of finding a new position looked good.
Then things fell apart in October when the economy began unraveling. My phone stopped ringing and my inbox was empty. No one was returning my phone calls or emails. Positions that I had interviewed for and felt that I was going to get had vanished. I started to worry and wonder.
It is now April 2009. I spend 2 hours every morning, seven days a week, scouring websites, email, LinkedIn, working my connections - my network. Keeping my hopes up that the economy will improve and jobs will return. Since October I have met many executives that have been laid off.
With the encouragement of my wife, I have decided to write this blog to offer advice, guidance, and some humor to other executives who have been charged with managing information technology - for those that are still employed and for those who are unemployed like me.
I began looking for a job in mid September. I followed the usual process that all executives follow: updated my resume, updated my contacts lists, write cover letters and elevator pitches. I contacted the recruiters that I remained in contact with that had a good reputation. I was getting a lot of inquires about my background and my prospects of finding a new position looked good.
Then things fell apart in October when the economy began unraveling. My phone stopped ringing and my inbox was empty. No one was returning my phone calls or emails. Positions that I had interviewed for and felt that I was going to get had vanished. I started to worry and wonder.
It is now April 2009. I spend 2 hours every morning, seven days a week, scouring websites, email, LinkedIn, working my connections - my network. Keeping my hopes up that the economy will improve and jobs will return. Since October I have met many executives that have been laid off.
With the encouragement of my wife, I have decided to write this blog to offer advice, guidance, and some humor to other executives who have been charged with managing information technology - for those that are still employed and for those who are unemployed like me.
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