Recession = change, that’s all

While the recession is evident around us, it does not mean it’s impossible to get a job that pays well and gives you satisfaction. It just means that a lot of businesses are forced to take stock of what they have now and what they will be doing over the next few years, forcing a paradigm shift to leverage on anything and everything they can come up with.

And this is not just because everyone other company is doing it. It’s also because entire markets are changing.

The question about jobs during a recession is not about whether you can or cannot get one. It’s about asking what change is going to happen and where you feel you can provide the most benefit in such a opportunistic time as this.

What skills that was useful in getting a job before the recession will most likely apply to getting jobs during a recession. The only difference is understanding the needs of the shifting job market – and not just emerging ones but the “holes” left by people who have moved on from “traditional” jobs.

It’s not scary, it’s like a date

I can’t help but recommend Bolles’ 2009 revision of “What Color is Your Parachute?”. It’s a job-hunter’s classic, and I’ve not seen a book quite like it – because it really gets to the point, and it covers a lot of ground. The only negative comment I’ve heard about it was from some Amazon reviewer who criticized Bolles’ religious reference every now and then, which I felt was completely baseless.

To be honest, I think that if you have never been in various types of jobs, or have never faced the reality of being assessed for employment, then the whole process can be daunting and scary. But seriously, it doesn’t have to. Simply because it’s all about people searching for each other. Like a romantic date, it’s always scary the first time.

It takes a lot of verbal exchange, thinking, manners, courtesy, inquiry, exploration, patience and good old-fashioned friendship. But you never stop doing it. It’s just something that you constantly have to keep working on.

And if you want my opinion, the internet job application process doesn’t quite help with that. Simply because buttons and websites don’t talk back. They’re just lazy ways to send a resume off. There are much better ways to find opportunities for work… and not just any kind of work, but the kind of work that’s the stuff of dreams. The solution? Just keep talking to people, and be open about your needs and wants.

In fact, even if you’re already IN a job and fear for your life so much so that you never ever want to consider moving even though you’re so sick of where you are now… I think you should reconsider. Simply because there are a lot of exciting things happening right now, that have not been happening for the last few mundane years. You just need to keep your eyes peeled and look in places you haven’t thought possible.

Recession – a melting pot of opportunists and scammers

What pisses me off are companies like TheLadders.com who charge an exhorbitant amount of money to “fix” your resume, baiting on people who are in a need for that “one golden interview”. There are better ways to spend that cash. Seriously. Just search Google for “theladders scam” and you’ll see what I mean.

It’s kinda like Swoopo. Not quite scammish, but getting there.

During the recession there are two camps – people who are scared shitless they will do anything to salvage whatever’s left of their potential future, and then there are people who understand that the changing seasons just means renewed perspectives and look forward to a refreshing start.

The good news is that you get to choose which camp you’re in.

Related: Business Week Article – “Help Wanted: What That Sign’s Bad”

More so, I feel lost about this blog. How can I assume to have any advice about work, when I don’t even have a regular job?

Job responsibilities are like scout badges you don’t get in graduate school

All my working friends have very fixed schedules – I understand, because the corporate world lives between 9 to 5. It’s very different executing work in practice than it seems in books. There is constant pressure for employees to perform and meet deadlines – a whole system depends on this. If I screw up my assignments, no one else bears the pain (except maybe those who have put their faith in me).

By not being a part of this pattern of work makes me feel like I’m no longer a part of who I used to represent – the workplace, practitioners, and employees. It’s as though job responsibility acts as a “qualifier” for status – the more responsibilities you have, the better you look in other people’s books.

There are almost no scout badges in graduate school. Previous working experience does blur that line a bit, but there’s almost no politics. To some people, that sounds utopian. But politics is real and unavoidable, and we don’t cover this in class.

The gap between academia and the workplace

I also find that there’s a wide gap between academia and the workplace. Ideally, we want this gap to be bridged well so that we can put into practice the stuff that’s learnt and researched. But this is not always the case.

Company goals and academic goals are two very different things, even though they do contribute to each other at times. This conflict makes it hard for students to compare between what’s taught and what’s practiced.

I subscribe to a lot of blogs and forums in the field I am interested to pursue my career, but I find I have no credibility whatsoever, because I’m not doing the ‘real’ work. The credibility that academic folks impart onto students are often based on academic work, which aren’t always a true reflection of what happens in industry.

Associations, events, blogs, and message boards

I’ve been getting my share of the user-experience (UX) industry goings on through associations, events, blogs and message boards. Even though London is small in comparison to the US UX industry, folks here use the Internet enough to get attention, plan meetups, and share ideas – which are all good to pick up on.

Sadly, though – I feel that not a lot of companies are into making full use of students or interacting with them, apart from getting them to fill up questionaires and showing off how good their brand is, and of course, to attract top talent.

Not all practioners are like that, of course. Associations have student discounts to encourage membership, and their events don’t discriminate between students or practitioners. But students tend to take the backseat – as though we were meant to view things from the sidelines. There’s no PR, no real discourse and interaction, no synergy.

Maybe it gets better over blogs, twitter, and LinkedIn. I have yet to find out.

Reprise

The reason for this post is because I love the brazencareerist community, and I’ve learnt so much from people I haven’t met, I’m encouraged to keep sharing my side of the story – because it is as much as adventure to me as it is to another person reading it. I believe that despite my being in graduate school, my career and life goals are very much alive and kicking – and that’s what this is really all about.

Thanks for reading, and for coming back.

I might be too quick to judge here, but I don’t think my career has taken a back seat just because I’m in graduate school. The reason why I’m here is absolultely clear – I need a better guarantee into the field of Human-Computer Interaction, and a Masters in HCI has generally been sought after by practitioners.

But just in case you might want to gain more confidence in deciding to get a Masters, think again.

Avoid Graduate School for careers in traditional roles

This particular report based on the UK industry noted that “traditional graduate occupations may be reaching saturation point”, and that “new graduate occupations might still be growing”. If you are in a more traditional role such as Finance, Accounting or Project Management, it may be better to obtain professional certifications rather than a Masters degree. The reason is because they offer more effective training with less money and less time, and they generally hold their value quite well. I hold a PMP accreditation for Project Management, and it’s internationally recognized as a proper qualification for practitioners in the field. It’s a better deal than a Masters qualification, especially if I’m practicing and not into academia.

For emerging industries, maybe

A Masters is OK for the HCI industry, because it’s a relatively new field. I know at least one person who’s been in the industry for a few years tell me verbally that demand for HCI practitioners is increasing internationally, such that they’ve had to import them from various places because there isn’t enough talent locally (she was speaking of the Australian market). She also remarked that HCI has traditionally been established by academia and found its way into the corporate world, such that skilled practitioners were previously researchers with Masters or PhD qualifications, causing a large gap in the industry. In fact, from a recent survey, there are more HCI practitioners with Masters degrees than there are Bachelors. For more emerging jobs, take a look at this article from US News and World Report on Best Careers 2008.

Graduate School isn’t about taking a break

In my perspective, graduate school is about a career extension, not a career overhaul or a career upgrading. I don’t think employers buy that anymore, and they are less likely to substitute experience for credentials (1, 2, 3, 4). This of course, again, depends on whether this experience is mostly gained in the workforce. If it requires complicated mathematics and in-depth study, it may change the game a little. But in short, don’t do it just because you think it’s going to get you a better salary.

Graduate School closes doors?

Penelope Trunk wrote an article about how graduate school closes doors instead of open them. While I don’t agree with her completely, I do agree that the cost of graduate school is very high now, and that it will influence the decisions you make past graduation point. This does limit your options quite a lot. Graduate school is not just expensive, but taxing too. It’s not easy to launch a startup while you’re busy writing that thesis.

In a sense, if you have the means to innovate and start fresh without challenges and limitations of a particular environment (could be graduate school), then what you need is motivation, discipline, and a sound way of getting things done… not a Masters qualification.

If you’re 200% sure, go for gold

If you’re darn certain a Masters degree is for you, give it your 200%. I am one happy camper, and I am relishing the learning, intellectual discourse, networking, and potentially unlimited opportunities that this new field can offer me through this Masters programme. But that means I’ve had to form new habits of planning my schedules properly, strategizing my studies, make full use of my networks, and be more focussed about my goals.

When a friend first recommended it to me, I thought it was a boring history book (I was naive). It is a history book, but a brief one – about the 21st century. Friedman’s argument is that the US is losing ground to the rest of the world, particularly the East (esp. China and India), who have leveraged globalization, digitization, advances in logistics technologies and services, mobility, and the emerging flat-world culture.

I like the book, because it summarizes my observations of life, the world, and people in the last 8 years. I don’t like it because it’s highly US-centric, and offers very little help for other countries, particularly developing nations.

But it’s useful for us here in the East, especially if you are still oblivious as to why jobs are still moving to India and China, and what you can do to remain employable.

So, I’d like to offer my suggestions for employees and citizens of countries who fit this profile:

• have cheap, replaceable jobs
• are focused on easily commoditized services or products
• are unsure of how your jobs will improve over the next 5 years
• experiencing the effects of political instability
• perceives higher or further education to be of no or little value
• don’t give a hoot

1. Read the book, for crying out loud

Don’t waste your time observing the world from the surface. Friedman’s work is notable, and few of us will get the chance to interview high ranking individuals who can provide solid clues and insights to our future.

The book provided me yet another set of reasons why I believe Malaysian jobs are still stuck in the 20th century. Other books, such as “All Marketers are Liars”, and Phil McKinney’s innovation podcasts, all point to this fact. They sources may be American, but they talk about changing world, and that’s everyone.

2. If your job is insignificant, you’d better deal with it

As a software engineer, my job is insignificant. If I quit today, tomorrow there will be a hundred candidates lining up to take my job. Are you a call-center operator, an accountant, a graphic artist, a tutor, an illustrator, an employee whose job is easily outsourced? If so, your job might seem insignificant to companies, to employers, and to consumers.

Friedman argues that capitalism has forced companies to run leaner, forcing job outsourcing, insourcing, and automation to take place. Those who will get to keep their jobs fall into these four broad categories:

1. special workers – Britney Spears, Bill Gates, Madonna
2. specialized workers – stem cell researchers
3. anchored workers – doctors, barbers (localized)
4. really adaptable workers

Most of us will fit into 4, otherwise we’d be out of a job or remain in a really terrible one. I don’t like how the tone of the book leans toward jobs alone (or lack of), because I’d rather talk about having a fulfilling career. But there’s no career if there’s no job.

3. Go back to school

Don’t get a Masters or a PhD for the certificate. Do it for the smarts.

I used to believe that learning on the job was sufficient to get ahead in life, but now I disagree. The future belongs to specialists who can adapt, who relevant within a particular domain. A higher education allows you that time and space to learn and get ready to build something big.

Although Friedman argues that being versatilists are good candidates for the flat world, I want to do more than just survive. You’ll need specialization if you’re ever going to establish yourself in any career of the future. Forget about learning on the job. The internet isn’t very good for learning in depth, because there are too many distractions.

Firstly, there’s transparency with LinkedIn. I get to choose what people see on my profile. It beats having to speak to headhunters who call me from a secret database of people, because they will never tell me how they got my phone number. I feel less threatened if a headhunter contacts me through LinkedIn rather than a random phone call.

Secondly, LinkedIn is like a personal career blog – headhunters read my profile like a storybook, because I put effort to make it read a certain way. I’ve found that all my new acquaintances on LinkedIn were like career conversations that sort of pick up where I left off. People who get in touch with me talk to me as though they already know me. So, I react in the same way. It really saves a lot of time, and it’s more pleasant talking to people that way, even during a first meeting. This just beats first time phone conversations, where time is wasted explaining to the headhunter my interests and goals.

Thirdly, it feels more appropriate for someone to introduce opportunities through LinkedIn than over the phone. LinkedIn is a good place to meet people. I invest quite a bit into building my presence in LinkedIn, though not very thoroughly. I got my profile to 100% completeness. I also spent time writing recommendations to people, subscribe to groups, and answering questions. Somehow I feel better when someone wants to speak to me over a network that I’ve already built an interest in, and I can view their profile too.

Fourthly, I get a better sense of what value I portray to people who want to meet me over LinkedIn. I don’t get this with headhunters who call me over the phone. To those people, I’m just a guy with 8 years of Java experience in the telecoms industry. But with LinkedIn, those who got in touch with me seem to understand me better, and it’s rewarding to know that they’re trying to match my goals, instead of just my skills, with their requirements.

I do agree to some extent with Jeff Pulver that LinkedIn isn’t as good as Facebook for social networking (if even for business), but I prefer it that way. I like how LinkedIn is really designed with that corporate no-nonsense feel. I’d be embarrassed if a potential employer read odd posts on my Facebook Wall. I prefer to keep my work and personal life a bit more separate than others. I don’t mind employers reading this blog, though.

Finally, it’s true that blogging about your career helps your personal brand. But LinkedIn is that glue that holds everything together. One guy I met mentioned that he got my contact through my blog, while he was looking through my profile. He picked up on a few articles I posted, and we had a good chat. I don’t blog about industry topics that much on my blog, but there was something authentic and consistent across the profile and the blog posts. People get a better sense of connection about that.

Resources:

• Three Ways to Use Social Media for HR Needs
• What are the Big Trends in Recruiting for 2009?
• When a Company Hires You They Endorse Your Brand
• Recruitment Agencies: A Response

He and his wife mans the stall and does the work. They hire an indonesian helper to wash the dishes. Their stall costs RM1k per month to rent from the restaurant (it’s a restaurant with a few stalls, the restaurant owner leases stall space to each stall hawker).

Life is simple for them. Simple but hard.

Hardly anyone I know these days wants to start a food stall. Maybe because the perception of it is so alienating. Instead, we settle to become accountants, marketing executives, software programmers, lawyers, doctors, auditors.

At 44, the chicken rice seller now owns two cars, some properties, and who knows what else. He has the Kelisa I sold to him and the new Honda Civic that looks like a doorstop. He probably bought the Civic with cash too. I found out he’s also financing some homes, perhaps for investment. Outside of the food stall business, he probably lives his life just like everyone else.

I asked him why he’s been selling chicken rice for the past 14 years. He says it’s just how he got into the food business and doesn’t see himself doing anything else.

So I think it really doesn’t matter what you do as long as you enjoy it and can earn a decent living. It’s a lesson I learnt from the chicken rice seller, so that I don’t overcomplicate life and careers for myself.

Take it from me – I’m jack of all trades, master of none.

I do fairly good pencil portraits. I used to freelance doing graphic design. I also used to play in a college rock band, fronting the vocals and rhythm guitars. I founded a college newsletter when I was 18. I’m quite good at resume writing. I absolutely love writing and I maintain 2 blogs. I’m a software engineer by profession, but I also am a certified project manager from PMI. I have experience in more than 2 dozen software languages. Now I’m thinking of building a social network. And writing an e-book. And offering resume writing services. On top of that, I think I’m pretty okay in husband-wife relationships. And in children education. And cars. Oh, and I scuba dive.

I’ve never had a problem thinking about ideas. The problem is getting them to work. There are only a few ideas that have really taken off the floor, and that only happened because the conditions were appropriate. One of them was the college newsletter I founded, Taylor’s College ADP’s “Flipside”. As far as I know, it is still in operation today. By my time with college newsletters is far gone.

Everything else I’ve started hasn’t gone very far. Some are still standing, but getting it to the next level requires real dedication, and I’m too interested in too many things to pursue one thing for a long period of time. A lot of this has led to burn-outs. I’m making a decision today to make the change.

If you’re young, and you want to get ahead in life, generalize enough to get the job done, and spend more time specializing. Choose ONE thing that is close to your heart, and defines you best as a person. It could be something that’s related to your current job, or not. It doesn’t matter. In the course of time, this is that ONE thing that will remain part of you no matter what.

For me, it really has to do with computers. And the Internet. And design. These three things put together are really all I have really cared about in my life, from the very start.

It’s not about service to the world. It’s not about earning big bucks. But it’s something people should know you for, and something you’ll feel confident being associated with, for better or for worse. It’s like marriage, but it’s a profession, not a relationship.

If you’ve already started asking yourself HOW you should be generalizing, don’t worry – it’s really simple.

Just choose not to do anything that’s not related to that ONE thing you want to specialize in.

If you want to specialize in art, forget being an expert chef. If you want to be the world’s best pet enthusiast, forget about being the world’s best accountant.

I’m not trying to dumb down your strengths. I’m sure, with the proper dedication and time, you’ll get to be all that you can be. But there’s not enough time in the world to do everything.

My aunt used to say, “anything, but not everything”. And she’s right. You’ve got the passion, but you don’t have time.

Don’t get sidetracked. You have only one life. Choose the right battles. Make the memories count.

Don’t waste it by diluting the experience with too many things.

Resources:

• Expand your opportunities by finding a specialty
• Take the risk of specializing in order to stand out

If it’s a simple case I can answer over one email, it’s free. If you want a highly polished piece, I might charge a small fee for the effort.

Resume writing is a skill I’ve honed over the years. I’ve been through three jobs in the past, but I’ve constantly updated and polished my own resume for upkeep, and for each job that I apply for, I tune my resume to maximize impact.

I’ve never had to sit through more than 2 interviews before getting a job. That being said, my resumes are very focussed because I know exactly what I want in a job, and while the resume gets me the interview, the interview gets me the job. I always know what I’m getting into because I enjoy getting into the interviewer’s mind.

One of the reasons why I’m not as apprehensive about interviews is because people are always looking for a match. It’s like dating. This is why matchmaking feels so much like an interview. You’ve got a personal bio, which is probably all in text, and says everything about you from your pet peeves to the last movie you watched that you loved despite everyone else hating it.

Resumes can be used to handle idiosyncrasies in unique ways. This is what I call “weirdness matching”. You’re trying to match your idiosyncrasies with your potential employer’s. The resume is the first part – a resume fit for Google will look different than one that’s fit for the Red Cross. This is where idiosyncrasies can play a part.

Anyway, I’m looking to increase my readership as well. Tell your friends you heard about this guy who writes resumes for his wife and now wants to write resumes for the whole world. They might get a kick out of that and drop a comment for fun.

Or maybe you can.

I would admit it feels really frustrating to be in the Dip.

So here’s the thing about mentoring. I’ve read a lot about how necessary they are. And to be honest, I’m not sure if I have one. Which means I’ve pulled myself ahead just this far, with just enough help from some people.

Only two or three people come to mind. The first is Jian, my ex-colleague and then team leader for a project that sent me to Bangkok for three weeks. We got along very well and we’re still close friends to today.

Every major decision I made in my career went through Jian, who’s a little more senior than me. He provided advice where necessary and listened when I talked. I felt that having someone who listens helps a lot. Not many people will give you time like that.

The other person is my cell pastor, Koon Hee. He provided me a lot of support and insight into the necessary things in life – marriage, finances, goals, promotions, etc. He didn’t have to understand the work I was doing. This is why career advice applies to almost any kind of job.

His advice was a lot more important than what bosses will talk to you about – the finer things in life. Careers are a reflection of a person’s life, and that life is filled with other things that make it complete. This is why joining a good church helps.

The last person is Charles, an ex-colleague who shares similar values, and strangely, we discovered each other while blogging. I found out that he’s been so much ahead of the game than I have, and yet… the issues we’re both working through still remain the same. Finances, relationships, careers, goals, etc. Of course, he has a lot more “war stories” than I have, and that’s what I admire in him – he walks the talk.

Authenticity is a hard game to play, and nobody plays to win. It’s about achieving dreams, and the stories we gain from it. It’s so hard that only a select few play it, but those who do live very interesting lives that are second to none.

Charles is that sort of person. He’s not a pop star. He’s not on the front page news. He’s not a multi-billion dollar CEO. But he’s bigger than life, to me at least, and I can speak to him any time of the day. That’s real, and precious, in a way.

Good mentors aren’t bought. They’re found. Relationships like these need investment, as they’re real people. As real as you are. In order to find them, you have to communicate yourself as a brand. In fact, you won’t need so much to find them, as they’ll find you. All you have to do is to continue pushing the boundaries of life, and making yourself available to people. You’ll never know who might find you something worthy of an investment.

Resources:

• The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick)
• Have respect for those who came before…
• The Value of Naturally Developed Mentorship
• Job hunt tip: The mentor matters more than the company
• Six Habits of Highly Effective Mentees
• You need a mentor now; here’s how to get one

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My first resignation was extremely low-key. I didn’t tell anyone short of one or two people, until the very last day. One person in particular got offended that I didn’t tell her I was leaving. She saw it as indifference, and that she was a nobody to me, although we got along OK at work. I told her that she didn’t get singled out, since I told almost no one about it, but I also apologized for any ill feelings. The rest didn’t care that much.

My second resignation took place in light of a downsizing exercise of the startup company I was working for. Although the company prepared new roles for us at an affiliated company, I wasn’t the only person leaving. But when I told my boss about it, he was concerned and asked me a lot of questions. The others were mostly silent. But everyone understood and supported my transition.

Resignations are about managing relationships

I don’t think I’ve ever burned a bridge before in my life, but I’ve dealt with all sorts of reactions and people change their views as time goes by.

I still have many of my ex-colleagues on facebook and on IM, and we talk occasionally. Most people get over the fact that a job is still a job. It’s not like Bobby running away from home.

This time though, I took more effort to manage my personal and professional relationships about my resignation.

Tell your managers ahead of time

Firstly, the moment I made the decision to leave, I told my line manager and my CEO about it, months ahead in advance. I know this doesn’t play well with everyone, but I’ve always managed the relationships with my line manager and my CEO to be able to do this. I feel it’s only important to take responsibility for the company’s needs and its people. This is because most HR departments are mostly a function of finance.

I was a senior member in the team, so losing me would mean a gap in the leadership and technical lead area. Still, they didn’t counter offer me anything, but I did get friendly support on my decision.

This is what it’s like to manage your own career, which is how it’s like in most companies

You’re expected to make your own choices, and unless a specific culture or policy has been put in place, communicated, and encouraged, it’s a norm for people to make up their minds to just get their work done, go home, come back the next day to do the same thing.

Prioritize your relationships accordingly

Secondly, the sequence of which I informed people of my resignation was based on my relationship with them. This depended on their authority, how close I was to the person, and on circumstances. Bosses and managers came first. People who were close to me came next. Next were people who worked with me on a project that had a stake in my work. After that came the rest of the team, and then the whole world (which is why I’m writing now).

Some say it’s politics. Some say it’s being nice. I just think it’s important.

Invest in people

I didn’t do this for my first job because I was a noob, but relationships will become more important than a resumes as years pass. Even LinkedIn CEO Dan Nye says this.

Thirdly, I told people why I was leaving. I’ve been accepted to pursue a Masters in HCI in the UK. There are many good reasons for me to do this, so when people asked, I told them. This was okay because I wasn’t going to a competitor firm, and it made sense.

People want the comfort of understanding that their decisions are sound

Almost everyone I spoke to understood my conviction and supported my decision to leave. They also clarified their own positions and didn’t feel threatened by my departure.

No employee should be afraid to leave a job for the right reasons. If it’s well-managed, it can be beneficial and amicable. You just need the right perspective and some effort.

Resources:

• How to be a star performer: 4 things to get good at

• Office politics is about being nice

• 6 Signs You Don’t Care about Workers
• How to quit a job: 5 steps and 2 warnings

• 9 tips for quitting a job gracefully

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