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There is no I in team

One of the first things that I had to learn when I entered the corporate ranks was that working as a team is essential to your progress and development as a professional. It was not something that necessarily came naturally for a recently graduated student. I pondered on this recently and realized that in my field of study, Computer Science and Mathematics we were conditioned NOT to share and collaborate when doing assignments, the same can be said for other technical disciplines like Engineering. Grant it there was the odd course here or there that had group projects, those instances for me were more about doing what I need to do to get the best grade for me as opposed to doing so for the general good of the group.

Why then is working well in teams such an important requirement in a corporate setting? For starters, I am the first to admit that I am not a "know it all". Having others around means that I don’t have to have the answer for every single problem I encounter as someone else may already have the solution. Sometimes it is just good to have people to discuss ideas with. It is not uncommon when both my colleague and myself analyze the same problem, come up with two entire different solutions and in a number of those case my solution turned out to be the lesser of the two. There were other instances when I mulled over a problem for days and a quick 5 minute discussion with a colleague leads me to the solution.

My examples can go on and on, however I hope by now you get the point. There are definite advantages of working in a team environment that would help you develop and share knowledge with others. This ensures that the team as a whole is productive and gets the job done. The burning question is then: if the advantages are so wonderful, how can team dynamics can be so fractious at times? The reality is that the other members of that team are competing for the same promotions, projects and pool of compensation as you are! Which means that competition can unearth the unsavory side of the corporate world. Jealousy, sabotage and envy are real and they are a major reason why people try not to over extend themselves helping their team members, lest someone else gets the glory and attention at their expense.

When working with teams there must be a common understanding.

Firstly, respect for people’s time: Co-workers should help you of they can, however don’t expect that every single time you need help someone is going to stop what they are doing to help you complete your task while theirs are still undone.

Work independently: In the beginning you may need more assistance than you would after you have settled in. However, there is a problem when you are unable to complete any task without assistance.

Improve all the time: Don’t ask the same question multiple times. You are expected to retain and build on any assistance you receive so that the next time around you are able to execute on your own.

Simply put, there is no I in team. If handled correctly, you can work well together with your team mates and still achieve your personal goals as a professional.

Until next time remember, As long as you have life, you should live it to your fullest potential.

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Mentors: Who needs them?

Mentors play a crucial role in the life of a professional however, am I the only one who has been greatly underwhelmed with professional mentorship programs? My experience with them is that companies have them because they look good on paper and it is the right thing to do, however the execution and follow through is abysmal. The idea that you can pick a set of names from a hat, pair them together (or in some cases assign groups of mentees to one mentor) and just expect that it will all work out for the good of the mentee is gallant, but it is an approach that is designed to fail the masses.

Don't get me wrong I do believe in mentorship, however I think that a lot of thought and evaluation has to go into the relationship. In my book, HOW TO MAKE IT FROM THE CLASSROOM TO THE CUBICLE, I have tackled this relationship and broke them down into the following categories:

One who has vested interest – This is someone who is helping you but will benefit from your success. So they may be conflicted into only giving you positive advice.

One who has no direct benefit – This is someone who is hard to find. They will give you honest feedback even if you won’t like it.

A sponsor – Someone who just likes you for you. They spend time building a relationship and sometimes goes beyond the call of duty to assist you. These relationships tend to span various stages of your professional life.

I subscribe to the ideal that there is somebody in your extended professional and academic network who has a characteristic or some experience that you can benefit from. Why is this important? Because if they encountered and overcame a similar set of challenges to what you are or will be facing, it will do you a world of good to learn from their mistakes and choices. Whether formally or informally you can engage them to understand their approach to determine whether or not you can adopt any of their philosophies to make your way easier. One lesson I can share is that it is hard to find one single person who encapsulates everything that you are looking for and in some instances you may need a few mentors who can advise you in various aspects. Additionally, some mentors are only for a certain stage: they may be very useful for a few years, but the advice that we get should evolve as we evolve as professionals. This could result in you having to move on.

There are many styles of mentee/mentor relationships, each having its own set of dynamics. You need to find what works best for you. That said we must understand that irrespective the mentor or group of mentors you will have throughout the course of your professional life, you have to be the owner of every decision that you make. A mentor’s intentions may be genuine but you have to live with the consequences, whether good or bad. I encapsulated how I feel about this in a quote in my book: you can take advice from anyone, but you should always make the final decision.

Until next time remember, As long as you have life, you should live it to your fullest potential.

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Time waits for no one

I woke up last Saturday morning pondering on the whirlwind week I had and wondered how quickly time went by: by the time this weekend is over I travelled about 7500 miles by air and road combined. I thought about the fact that it was already October and that the year was coming to a close, this is when the idea for today’s blog, “Time waits for no one”, came to mind.

For my friends who are in university, you may be thinking the same thing that came to my mind when I thought of this topic. The fact that as a student there are different courses and social activities grabbing for your attention and you always seem to be playing catch up. For others it is procrastination; putting off what you can do today, until tomorrow. The problem with that approach is that tomorrow, something else pops up with the same or higher priority, which is then added to the list. Before you realize, the list compounds and you are faced with multiple due dates and little or no time to get things done.

It is out of this today’s advice is borne:

Don’t put off for tomorrow what you can do for today.

It is an important ideal that transcends all aspects of life, but particularly in school, there is a greater context that needs to be focused on.

Making proper use of your time is also extremely important when thinking about building a career. Allow me to explain. What you do today has a direct bearing on what you will achieve years from now. How many times have you said to yourself, “This year I will apply to university or graduate school”? Or, “I am going to get that certification that will make me more marketable employee”? Or, “I am going to look for a new job”. Maybe it has been applying for that manager role that you keep psyching yourself out of going after.

With goals that have a longer term, like those mentioned above, it does not seem that big of a deal to defer a task to the next week or month at that actual moment, however as time goes by you find yourself with a decreasing desire to take action. As a result you would have to make double the effort to do what would have been much easier had you done so earlier. I myself have been guilty of such offences. I recall when I was writing my book, HOW TO MAKE IT FROM THE CLASSROOM TO THE CUBICLE, there were many stops and starts and with every restart it seemed harder than the time before. However, at one stage when I was not content with the progress that I had made, I challenged myself to finish. From that point onward, I became super focused and structured all my free time to get the job done. For those of you who have read the book can attest to the pride that I feel knowing that I am now an author.

As you read this blog today, think about goals that you have set years ago and that for some reason got de-prioritized because you deferred and deferred until you lost any desire to revive. Today is a good day to start a fresh and to make a concerted effort to finish. Do not be like the many, who due to their idleness ended up missing out on crucial opportunities to advance their personal and professional lives. Take up the challenge today, I guarantee it, you will be happy you did.

Until next time remember: As long as you have life, you should live it to your fullest potential.

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What is the big deal about Resumes?

Far too many individuals under-utilize this important career tool. I have seen instances where individuals were more than qualified for a particular position, but because their resume did not showcase their qualifications properly they were overlooked for an interview. So what is the big deal about resumes anyway? Today I will share with you how resumes can make or break your job search.

Before I share some advice, I will start with this; there are many resources online, so there are not many excuses you can offer for not knowing what type of resume is required for your specific professional field. I will go further on to say that my experience includes spending a considerable portion of my time on recruiting. Which means that for each of the many interviews and professional screenings I have conducted, there were scores of resumes reviewed. That number has definitely tallied into the thousands to date. Therefore it is out of this qualified experience I present these tips. Here goes:

1. Don't lie - of all of the do's and don’ts this gets you in the most trouble. If you want a definitive statement on this point, I offer this: Assume that every fact on your resume will be checked. There are some instances when a candidate can be forgiven for exaggerating or overselling his/her experience, especially in cases where they were really trying to make something mundane seem really important or significant. Generally a good interviewer knows how to get clarity on these matters. However a full-fledged lie like, graduating from a university that you did not attend or never completed is an immediate disqualification and blacklisting.

2. Be as concise as possible - resumes that are unnecessarily too long can be subject to the same time treatment as a short resume. When faced with a 3 or more paged resume I usually skip through the sections. Quite frankly, I read the current or most recent experience and then jump to the education section. Only if something in those sections catch my eye, then I reluctantly read on. If not, I move on to the next resume. This means that there may be some very qualified persons whose resumes have come across my desk, but because they were too verbose I passed them over. You have to understand that at any given moment there may be several to dozens of resumes to review, so on a light day I may be prone to spend more time on each one, but on heavier days super long resumes have very slim chances if the relevant experience that I need is not on the first page.

3. Tailor your resume to the position applied for - as a follow-up to point 2, if you do find yourself with a lot of facts to showcase pick the ones that are relevant to the position that you are applying for. In other words if you are applying to be a Financial Analyst, that job you had during high school cleaning tables at the local ice-cream shop may not make the cut. The essence of a resume is not to put every single experience you ever had (even though strong cases can be made for junior hires) but to showcase only the experience that help match you to the position that you are applying to.

4. Use a cover letter - there may be some instances that you want to be more verbose in explaining a certain part of your experience. A cover letter as an attachment to your resume is a very useful item. For example, you have taken a year off of work to travel as a volunteer, or you took time off to raise a child. You may want to use a cover letter in these cases as the time gaps on your resume may not translate well with your prospective employer. There was one in particular that I recall who felt the need to explain why they had 4 positions within 12 months, turned out to be for very plausible reasons. Without it, I would have been left wondering as to what took place. A cover letter gives you a chance to answer before any questions are asked, see this as the ultimate fail-safe.

5. Follow up - when the resume is submitted, the process has only just begun. You will be well served to follow up any application with an email or phone call. The follow up is not for the employer, the follow up is for you. Too often people just apply and don't follow up. You are leaving things to chance when you don’t follow up. When you follow up correctly and strategically, then you would not give the impression that you are stalking the individual who is processing the applications. Don't leave your future up to chance; follow up at least for a confirmation of the receipt of your application.

There is too much info on this topic to write it all in one blog, so another time I will probably share from a different perspective. However, I will like to remind you that the interview process begins once you submit your resume and in some instances you are halfway there once you get called in for an actual interview. An actual interview is an opportunity to build upon the initial impression rendered by your resume.

Until next time remember: As long as you have life, you should live it to your fullest potential.

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Don't Bite the hand that feeds you: the importance of classroom respect

Respect in the classroom is supremely important! How many of us knows or knew of someone who totally blew their shot at passing a class simply because they were consistently rude and disrespectful to the teacher? There is always that one person who just seems to go way above board while assuming that their behavior or lack thereof will not affect their ability to attain a passing grade. In most of the cases that I have personally witnessed, the individuals had the potential to pass the class however, the incidents just led to their demise.

Why is respect in the classroom important? There is an old saying of which I claim no credit for constructing, but I definitely utilize as a law to live by, "Don't bite the hand that feeds you!" In the classroom the teacher is in control of proceedings. Furthermore, they are the ones who are ultimately going to determine the grade that you are going to get. There is something to be said about being courteous to whoever is in charge of the space that you are in. This is a universal rule that will follow you throughout both your academic and professional careers.

Additionally, students must understand that depending on the course the grading system is sometimes subjective. This means that getting a good grade can be more than just passing the tests. There can other factors at play:

Home work

Class participation

Project work

Attendance

Punctuality

Quizzes

In-class assignments

Presentations

The list is just a representation of all the potential factors.

Some professors even itemize the percentage that each factor counts to your final grade. If you are one who decides to skip class, not do assignments and show up only for the scheduled tests then you are in a great deal if concern if the course you are taking is making use of all or some of the factors described above as to determine your grade.

By now I believe you get the point I am trying to make. Simply put, there are rules of engagement in the classroom. Follow them and you are half way to a good grade, failure to do so will serve you no benefit if passing is your objective.

Until next time remember: As long as you have life, you should live it to your fullest potential.

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The Twilight Zone - Sitting on the Front Row

The front row is an enigma. On the one hand: it is revered, highly coveted and most precious. Yet on the other: it is feared, treated like a plague and avoided at all costs. How can it be so polarizing? Allow me to explain.

When it comes to concerts, professional sports or an airplane the front row is prime real estate. It is where everyone wants to be and with this knowledge promoters, venue owners and airlines alike charge a premium for those who insist on sitting there. In fact, on the secondary market for front row tickets, prices reach astronomical levels and depending on the event, people will pay whatever it costs just to be there.

However when it comes to school and lectures the front seat becomes a haunted ghost town. Also, depending on the size of the classroom or the lecture hall some seats remain unoccupied, even when there are late comers.

Why the stark difference when it comes to school? It comes down to perception. It is almost understood that if you dare sit in the front of the classroom, you are a target for the teacher. There is nowhere to hide when a question is asked or if you forgot to do your assignment. This implies that being prepared to answer questions, participate in discussions and having any assignments completed on time are prerequisites for sitting on the front row. Surely this pressure is too much for the average student, why would you want to do the assigned readings or even read ahead in anticipation of a class discussion and furthermore, what does that teacher know anyway?

Ok, back to reality! Sitting in the front of the classroom is a bold statement to both the teacher and your classmates. It tells them that you mean business and that they can expect your effort to be just as strong as the statement that you are making. There are direct benefits to sitting up front:

You follow the lesson better as there as there are fewer distractions.

If the lectures are delivered without a microphone and speaker system, then you will definitely hear clearly because you are closer to the speaker.

It is much easier to capture the teacher's attention.

These are just a few and in every specific setting there are more benefits that you can take advantage of.

As I close today I want to share with you this. I had a friend in university who decided that sitting up front of the classroom was not bold enough. After the first lecture of every new course, he introduced himself to the professor by saying, "Hi, I am John (not the real name) and I am going to get an A in your class.” What he was actually doing was announcing himself to the teacher and ensuring he did not get lost in the crowd of students. Subsequent to that introduction, he would maintain a constant rapport with the professor throughout the semester. It proved to be a very shrewd idea, because in some tough classes when he needed extra credit or extra time on an assignment, he was able to benefit from the fact that he had already established a relationship with the teacher. In contrast, some students who when faced with the possibility of failure tried to build relationships with the professor despite the fact that they: sat at the back of the class, routinely arrived late and were tardy with assignments, found that it was too late. Don’t let this be you!

We will delve more into this subject next time!

Until next time remember: As long as you have life, you should live it to your fullest potential.

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The Best Advice I Ever Got

School can be a very intimidating place. It is supposed to be a place of learning and you are expected to be better off when you have graduated. School is where you make friends (and sometimes enemies) some who last for a lifetime. So how intimidating can it be? With standardize testing at pretty much every level ranging from elementary to tertiary level entrance exams, it seems as though students are pitted against everyone in their peer group from an early age, the results of which only serves to remind them of their ranking. Oh the pressure!

Imagine the nerve of the education boards to pit a student from a well to do private school versus a student from a "lowly" public school and they are supposed to be on an equal platform. One may have a tutor, parents that care and dedicated teachers behind them and the other is just scraping by with the bare minimum. Can you envision how intimidating this can get?

My mother is a very shrewd person. Having been a teacher for most of her career some 34+ years in all, I would definitely admit that she knows a thing or two about school. She has practically seen it all and she did her very best (along with my father who was also a teacher for 27 years) to ensure that I had the correct mindset when it came to school. There was one particular piece of advice that had a lasting impression on me and I will share this with you today: THE CLASSROOM IS THE GREAT EQUALIZER.

It is profound in its simplicity, but what does it mean? When many people look at standardized testing as a major problem, this piece of advice has forced me to look at it in an opposite light. The fact that in order to move to the next level everyone in your peer group has to take the same test means that you have an equal opportunity. This is reassuring because all perceived advantages or disadvantages are out of the window the moment the test begins. Something that you should be mindful of is that preparation is crucial. The students with all the trappings and support may be better prepared if taken at face value. But you should always assess your level of preparedness and take the required mitigating steps to reduce the handicap.

Another truth is that whether you made the bare minimum requirements of passing or you excelled with perfect grades; you start the next level with a clean slate. This is probably my most comforting fact about school. I can recall my days at university sitting in certain classes with "gurus", who despite the subject matter would pass with apparent ease while I would barely make the passing grade. But the pride I would have at the beginning of the next semester knowing that their A and my C from the previous class did not matter anymore and we both had to start a fresh. This definitely does not mean that you should have low aspirations, but if you know that you gave your best effort and it resulted in only a passing grade, hold your head high and move on.

So the next time you sit down in a classroom at the beginning of a semester or course, pay no mind to who is sitting next to you and whether or not they know more than you. It does matter, where they come from, their social status or what grade the made they semester before. The fact that you are exposed to the same information means that you have as good a chance as they do to moving on.

Until next time remember: As long as you have life, you should live it to your fullest potential.

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It's Back to School Time

As the school semester is about to be opened (for some it may have already started) I have decided to dedicate a series of blog postings to students, specifically targeted to high school and post-secondary students as it relates to the next big step: the world of work.

I will preface today’s blog by saying this; I do believe that most of the learning we do is done outside of the classroom, however I am not one of those free thinkers who thinks that a structured education is not required. Frankly, a formal education is pretty much a must have. School is probably the first structured environment that we all find ourselves in and if nothing else, it tells potential employers and society at large that upon graduation, you can operate in a structured learning environment. That said it is up to the individual to decipher as to how far they go into the academic journey.

Individuals who are thinking about what field of study they want to pursue are advised to research the type of employment that they want to take up when they graduate and find out what qualifications they require. Your studies should generally be aligned with what you discover. The big challenge with this approach is that many students who are about to graduate high school, or have just entered university do not have any clue as to what they ultimately want to do professionally. Hence they trend toward what they like or are good at in hopes of it paying off in the long run.

How then do you avoid making a huge mistake and or wasting time by pursuing a particular direction to then change your mind? Truth is, even with the best planning situations/ideals can change. But as I mentioned in my book, HOW TO MAKE IT FROM THE CLASSROOM TO THE CUBICLE, you can only pick one at any given time. When you get into a car, it is impossible to drive in two directions at one time and you can only focus on one destination. The only time more than one destination is permissible is when the second comes after the first, and then the third after the second. This brings us right back to the original statement of you can only pick one at any given time. The same goes with picking a field of study and launching a career. But how do you prevent wasting time?

In my experience I found that the only sure way to fully evaluate if a particular profession is right for you; is to try. Internships, externships, co-ops or full-fledged work will reveal to you the skills, time commitment, stress, etc. required for a given profession and it is very advisable that you get one as early in your matriculation as possible. That way, if you complete an internship and you realize that the particular line of work is not for you, you can think of other disciplines within the same field, or even change direction all together if it is possible. Try not to pay attention to the actual position on these introductory jobs, because if you desire to be an engineer, you are probably not going to do exactly what an engineer does during an internship, but you will be exposed to the work environment which is equally important as the job itself.

The next best thing is to learn from others. There is nothing like learning from others. It saves you the stress and it is virtually low risk. However, the important questions to consider when looking at the experiences of others are:

• How successful is this person at their job?
• What motivates them (this is important because this may differ from yours)?
• What qualifications did they need to get that position and are they relevant today?
• What were the challenges faced?

Your approach may differ, but the general theme must be the same. You will never know until you try and it is only when you have gained some experience that you will get a sense for how comfortable you are. Best wishes on the new semester. Do your best and let God do the rest.

Until next time remember: As long as you have life, you should live it to your fullest potential.

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Open for business

So it has been over 3 months since my book, HOW TO MAKE IT FROM THE CLASSROOM TO THE CUBICLE has been released and the response has been nothing short of outstanding. I will like to say a special thank you to all of you that have purchased a copy. The feedback thus far has been very encouraging and I really feel like the time that was invested in writing this book was worth the while. That said, this is still only the early days and there are new developments to look forward to. Firstly, this blog.

The premise of my book was to give advice to those who are in the early stages of their careers. However as you can tell if you have read the book in its entirety, there is something for everyone, including those who are in school, recent graduates or seasoned professionals. This blog will just be a continuation of that. Building a career is very dynamic and so too must be the advice that is required to make the right decisions along the way. It will focus on career advice, news worthy events affecting young professionals/students, answers to questions or comments submitted on this website and much more.

What else can we look forward to? The ebook is in the works, so lookout for that soon! I have had a great number of inquires about the availability of the book in digital form and the minute that it becomes available you will be the first to know.

For those who have not gotten your own copy, feel free to purchase using the BUY BOOK HERE link above and don't be left out. I promise to autograph every book that goes out. Hearing from you is really important, it will help me know the impact that the book and this blog is having. Leave a comment: share your feedback, ask a question and I can answer with a blog post.

Until next time remember: As long as you have life, you should live it to your fullest potential.