My wife recently posted a tweet that got me thinking: “I keep waiting for life to get back to normal. Today I realized “normal” is stuck at 5 years ago.” I have been feeling the same thing and longing to get back to a sense of things I had 5 years ago.
What was it about 5 years ago that made that seem normal? And what is it about the last 5 years that has caused us to long for the sense of where we were back then? These questions actually kept me up all night. I came up with my theses, but I had to actually face the actual truth to get to the bottom of how I was feeling.
5 years ago, we lived with a sense of promise, a sense of optimism that we are struggling to rediscover now. A large part of it was both personal and financial growth we were experiencing. My employer was an integrated part of our lives; I was moving up the ladder and had a great boss. We had a predictable pattern to our day, the week. We had a sense that we could plan and forecast our lives to look out two or more years. We developed a sense that we were on a path to both success and enjoying the stability we felt in things.
The last year has been a bumpy road for me. In an effort to makes sense of all the things that have happened, I have tried to map lessons I learned from getting through the rough spots. Specifically, my career life has been very rocky. Both the economy and the psychology of my last company has delivered as many lessons as it did hard times.
But in the end, I am stronger for it and also a better professional. The question I have is should I be open about lessons learned? Should I blog about the experiences I had with my last employer? Sharing my experiences is personally cathartic, but it would also help others who might be in similar situations. Sharing personal experiences can be a dangerous thing, but is a greater good served to the community by sharing the good, bad and really bad?
Let me know your thoughts.
~DK
I recently joined The Ladders to increase my exposure to the job market, but I am having second thoughts about its value. Its central purpose is to expose you to exclusive opportunities and recruiters for executive level jobs, but it seems to be a business seeking to monetize its users at every step by offering hard-sell services such as resume writing and other services beyond the monthly subscription. Moreover, the aggregated exposure you gain from paying for The Ladders service is far less robust than LinkedIn’s free account.
The bottom line is you need a strong active network of people to find work. Relationships are how you gain access to unadvertised opportunities. When it comes to posted jobs, sites like LinkedIn, Indeed and the various free job boards offer nearly all the information you pay for in The Ladders.
Expect the Best
I have had a charmed career since it began. I came into the workforce amidst a strong economy and that prevailed for over a decade. The last three years, however, have not been good for me. After a long and very enjoyable career at Move.com, I decided to take on the start-up world. As many of you know, start-ups are volatile and I was in the midst of a tanking economy when I made the switch.
I took much for granted when I made the change. I assumed my luck and past experiences would prevail and everything would be just fine. But, that has not been the case. Now, I am faced with job changes and being laid off. Re-entering the job market when jobs are scarce and being told I am over qualified for many of the jobs I am interested in is a humbling experience I never planned for. Getting my foot in the door takes longer and the number of opportunities are much more limited. So, what do I do?
I recieved lots of advise on this front. I have been told to “dumb down” my resume and lower my expectations. But this is counter to how I am wired. I worked hard getting my skills up to were they are. Having high expectations has always delivered high results in the past. So why should I lower the bar for myself?
Free=Freedom?
I recently embarked on an unexpected adventure that has resulted in a substantial perspective change for me. After losing my job to a downsizing, I took no time to get busy doing something to keep me sharp and maintain a productive existence. A friend of mine recently started an amazing company, but he is in bootstrap, start-up mode; he needs to be lean and focus resources on his product. So a typical job was not in the cards at this time. Speaking over dinner, we both decided that I might be able to help him dial some things in for his company.
I didn’t expect to fall in love with the job, the product and the people there, but I have. The vibe, the freedom and the belief that the company is on to something amazing are the perfect combination for a life changing experience. The only downside is that income is a delayed thing–and I have immediate needs.
Resume Anxiety
Everyone has an opinion about what a great resume looks like, but no one seems to agree on a single definition of great. As many job seekers, I have solicited feedback from many people on how I should word, organize and format my resume. And like others, I find myself working with conflicting advise and opinions. Even when I have complete trust in the advise of all the people from whom I have gotten feedback, I still am left with substantial–material differences of opinion.
Here are some examples: I have a robust and diverse background. I have been a project manager, a product manager, an executive and a consultant. In recent years with the volatility on the economy, I have had to be flexible in the types of roles I take. I am capable of many things, so how do I convey what I am really good at. As an example, I have a Masters degree, I am a veteran and have a current PMP certification. How should I highlight those things? I have had VP level jobs and been a general manager, so how do I tie that into my more functional abilities? Do I put my education first or my work experience? Do I use bullet points or should I use a more narrative format? Do I even mention I have a PMP when applying for non project management jobs? Should I de-emphasise my executive experience or my functional experience?
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Starting a e-commerce business is easier than ever with cloud e-commerce platforms out there like Shopify and OrderCup. I am doing some technical consulting with a local product start-up, Sockwa. While getting product into stores is the ultimate goal, the e-commerce strategy is key to the success of the business and lucky for Sockwa, affordable and powerful e-commerce platforms are readily available in the cloud.
At Sockwa, getting the product out on the web was a snap. Shopify offers amazing features for the price and it has tight integration with order fulfillment and CRM tools readily available in Ordercup. Both platforms do a great job exchanging data keeping up with inventory, shipping and customers is ridiculously easy.
The big hurdle is overcoming having your data stored locally. It was a bit of a stretch initially, but in the end, the freedom that comes with having all your data in the cloud and the maintenance of the application being in the hands of the SaaS providers keep Sockwa focused on the core mission, creating a revolution in footwear.
I’m really excited for Sockwa’s future and having the e-commerce strategy dialed in with cloud services makes the future even brighter.
~DK
Embrace Open Source
Open Source Software might be just the thing to get those creative juices flowing when you have a creative itch to scratch. Conventional wisdom will tell you that web product development needs to follow specific steps; industry standard prescribed phases and deliverables may prove valuable, but also can impede creativity. The cost of starting without pre-developed tools can switch focus to building the tools and not the product. The product manager may then elect to work in the abstract and put ideas on paper in a technical vacuum before making choices on platform or functionality. Buying a technology platform before you know what you need is expensive, but open source platforms might just be the thing that frees the web product mind from cost and constraints get the ideas on the screen as quickly.
2009 and 2010 have been rough years for me. Employment has been extremely tough as options are slim and employer behavior has been caught up in recession/recovery mode. But, job hunters have also been caught up in recession/recovery mode. We job hunters have been compelled to make some serious compromises and taking whatever comes along. A tight labor market seemed to create an opportunity to get talent for less money and fitting them into roles below their skill sets. This ultimately leads to tension, especially when things pick up.
Because of the scarcity of opportunities and badly needing employment, I have made some unwise compromises in my choices for employers. Ultimately, the “fit” was not great and I was just hunkering down to see if I can make it work. It ultimately did not and being in the wrong place is not good for either you or your employer.
As you might have noticed, I have been slacking on keeping the blog active. Its been too long since my last post. The good news is that I have landed in a very good place professionally which is keeping me from blogging on a regular basis.
I have to admit that how I ended up in that place had a lot to do with this blog, but also had a lot to do with not burning bridges.
I will post more soon.
~DK
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