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Is there such a thing as Professional Loyalty?

This is my first post in quite some time. Please note that I have not been negating my commitment to helping others maximize their potential. I recently conducted a two-day Career Development workshop and a forum where I gave the key-note, that I spent several months preparing for. I am happy to say that the feedback has been outstanding. The ideals and philosophies that I have been sharing on this blog and in my book, How To Make It From The Classroom To The Cubicle, have been put into practical form. The exciting news is that there are more training workshops and forums already scheduled! Contact me and I will gladly provide details.

Today though, we will talk about an important topic as you consider the pathway to professional success: Is there such a thing as Professional Loyalty? In government based jobs such as teaching, fire services, law enforcement, etc., it is still common place to see individuals enter and remain for their entire career within the same office or district. However outside of this the story is very different. Gone are the days of entering a job out of school and staying within the same organization or in the same location for an entire career. It still happens but is much more infrequent. Recent graduates and those who are about to enter the workforce must be prepared for this reality, but what about the rest of us?

In a very dynamic economic climate things change rapidly. One day your company and industry can be high flying and the next year management may decide or forced to close up shop. There is also the disturbing trend of massive layoffs or compensation cuts simply to balance the books; which results in employers asking employees to achieve more with fewer resources. The long term employment outlook is being impacted by economic factors that are beyond the control of the employees. Employees now have the responsibility to consider these factors alongside their career advancement aspirations when deciding if they should leave or go. With this in mind, employers may decide to offer promises of future rewards if employees stay loyal, however what should you do?

The answer is not so simple, but here are some assessment criteria that will help you determine whether to stay or go:

Just because others are being let go or are leaving voluntarily does not mean you must do the same.

When people leave, a vacuum is created, meaning that there are things that they previously did that aren't getting done anymore. That means that there are potential opportunities for you to take advantage of. If the premise for leaving is to get more opportunities, then there is reason to stay in a case like this. However, if time is passing by and you are aggressively trying, but not getting access to those opportunities or management has made promises that seem to be indefinite, then it is time to move on.

You were hired to fill a position, with a promise for career growth and things are threatening to become stagnant.

Ask for time frame commitment. We all know that things change especially in the life of a company. Business needs evolve, priorities evolve and management is always trying to keep things aligned. Though context may change, a commitment for employee growth and development should not. As a manager I have learned that when there are no opportunities, make one. In other words management should NOT go back on promises made when it comes to employee advancement. If over a period of time nothing is happening the manager should bring it to their employee's attention so that things can be re-evaluated. However, if after doing so, the attitude and actions do not match promises made, then you know that it is time to go.

Growth can be achieved organically or via transplant.

Just like in botany, there comes a time when decisions have to be made as to whether there is room for growth or if the only opportunities exist elsewhere. It is really up to you as the employee to make this assessment. Very few employers would be pragmatic enough to make this call for you as such a decision is really in the best interest of the employee only. Sometimes the move can be a different role within the same organization. Contextually it is a new job, but consider that the culture, general work environment and the aforementioned economic factors would probably be the similar if not the same.

Fundamentally, loyalty is a two-way street. As an employee, you should be as loyal as the employer is loyal to you. If things are not exactly perfect, but there is constant reassurance from management that they will honor their commitment to you, then that is worthy of holding on to. However, if there is nothing but empty or broken promises and a general apathy to your overall growth, then RUN! Unfortunately in my tenure I have seen many folks stay when they definitely should have left and companies allow promising employees to leave when there was good reason to incentivize their staying.

I will summarize it by saying as long as you have evidence as to why you should stay then stay, but if after an honest assessment you determine that there is no commitment toward your growth AND there are no opportunities for you to take advantage of, then it is time to move on. To simply answer today's question, yes there is such a thing as professional loyalty; it is a shared responsibility between the employer and employee.

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

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Practical ways of becoming and remaining successful: Don't measure your success with that of others

Today marks the last edition of the series, Practical ways of becoming and remaining successful. It is entitled: Don't measure your success with that of others. In this installment we explore the perils of trying to measure ourselves using someone else's measuring stick. Based on the first blog in this series (link here) the goals that we set for ourselves on the quest for success must be personal-- which implies that the success that we are to discover must also be personal. The best way to explain this is the use of a sports analogy.

The journey to success is often likened unto a race, which conventional wisdom tells us there must be a winner. If that is the case, does it imply that in this 'race' toward success all of the other participants are destined for failure? Does it also mean that we all should give up once someone is officially declared the winner? I say not so! If you have ever witnessed a men's 100 meters dash at an Olympic athletics competition, you would see that when the race is over there is more than one person celebrating. Why is that? Well if you understand a fundamental dynamic of success then it will make sense. If coming in second place is the best that you can do, then you will be doing yourself a disservice by not being comfortable with that fact. You see, you will never be happy if all you do is keep comparing yourself to other people. I am not saying that they can't serve as a source of inspiration, but to have an obsessive compulsion in trying to match up or even outdo the competition in every aspect is very unhealthy. It is under such conditions that jealousy and greed are developed, which can result in cutting corners to make up the shortfall.

On the other hand, there are those of us who are working night and day trying to live up to some unrealistic expectation that may not likely come to fruition. And it’s not because you don't have the desire, but maybe it just was not meant to be. The best example is a parent-child relationship. A parent may have lofty aspirations for their child to become a doctor. What then happens to a child who wants to be a chef, but enrolls into medical school simply to please the parent? His/her parent’s desire is not going to compensate for the hardships they may endure. This is why setting your own goals is important. The ideal scenario is when a parent can help a child to set goals and then provide support in helping them to attain those goals.

Handling your success can be summarized into the common expression- be comfortable in your own skin. It doesn't mean that once you make your decision the process will then be easy. Please be warned that this could be quite the contrary. It means that once your planning is over, you enter this race with the understanding that there will be challenges and times of second guessing and even major frustrations. However, knowing that the dream that you are chasing after is all yours, gives you the inner strength to keep running and a greater sense of satisfaction when success does indeed come.

So what have we learnt from this discourse:

Setting goals is the most important step in being successful. After all, with no finish line how can you tell if you have made it. The goals must be challenging yet realistic. Don't bite off more than you can chew all at once. Break them up into smaller goals so that there is a continual sense of progress.

Once the goals are set the work begins. There will be obstacles, good days and bad, however you must believe in yourself! Trust in your ability and most importantly trust in your gut instinct.

Acting like you belong is a take on the old adage, think like where you are headed and not where you currently are. It is simple, yet revolutionary. It tells you that you cannot be bogged down by your perceived differences and or weaknesses. You either belong or you don't! It is your decision.

Focus, focus, focus - Do not take your eyes off of the finish line! Anything or anyone who is in your way needs to be removed.

Lastly you alone can determine what success is. Chasing after someone else's dream will only lead to a life of frustration.

If this series has been insightful please leave a comment or send me a message. If any questions may have arisen while reading this series, by all means send me questions and I promise I will answer them.

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

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Practical ways of becoming and remaining successful: Eliminating the noise

Today our journey continues with the fourth installment of the series, Practical ways of becoming and remaining successful: Eliminating the noise. We are almost to the end with only one more remaining. If you are joining this discourse and have not read the others that preceded, I recommend that you go back and read them once you have concluded reading today's offering. It is really important that you get the entire picture of what is being communicated in this series. Now let us begin with today’s message.

I submit to you that you that your ability to eliminate the noise has a direct bearing on the level of success that you can attain. It also impacts the timeline in which you can see this success. Distractions and a lack of discipline are lethal dream killers, which leave many individuals who once were loaded with potential, wondering what went wrong. Focus then, is a powerful and necessary character trait one must develop. To better understand focus, let us examine the image above of a racehorse.

As you may have noticed in the picture the horse is wearing blinders or blinkers. In general if you have ever carefully observed a horse race you would notice that most if not all the horses where blinkers. Have you ever wondered why? The answer is encapsulated in the very nature and anatomy of a horse's eye. It is said that the equine eye is the largest of any land mammal. It has the ability to see a staggering 350 degree range of monocular vision. However most of this vision is peripheral, which is relatively poor. As a result a horse is easily spooked when it is approached from its periphery and tends to rear on its hind legs or take flight as a defensive strategy.

I did some research to find out why race horse owners see it fit to put blinders on their horses and this is what I discovered:

Blinders help the race horse run in a straight line. Because of its vision a horse has the propensity to run in a diagonal line, so blinders reduce the peripheral vision and keeps the horse's focus down the track.

Blinders help the race horse from being spooked by the other horses in the race. Remember it is in the horse's nature to be alarmed by objects that are moving in its periphery, which means that a horse race is the perfect environment for a horse to become unsettled.

Blinders prevent immature horses from turning around and looking at its rider. Imagine how dangerous this can be for both horse and rider if this occurs at full speed in the middle of a race.

From these examples it is evident that blinders help a horse to keep focused, by keeping its eyes looking forward and reducing distractions at crucial moments. The same ideology is applicable to you. Are you so prone to distractions that you easily lose focus and begin placing your attention in other directions apart from your goals? Or are you easily spooked by competition? The moment you realize that there are others vying for the same position, same prize, same promotion and same job, you get scared and your instinctual reaction is to take flight? If this describes you today then you are in need of proverbial blinders. You need that ability to block out all of the distractions and noise that can take you off your course.

As I close, I challenge you to do some soul searching in order to identify all of the distractions that are preventing you from living out to you full potential. It is only after you have identified these distractions that you can create a plan to block them out. Remember what distracts you may not necessarily distract me, so this exercise requires a serious self-assessment. I guarantee you that eliminating the noise will make a world of difference as you continue on your quest to success.

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

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Practical ways of becoming and remaining successful: Self Belief

In today's blog we are on number three of the series entitled, Practical ways of becoming and remaining successful. We will focus on the ever important subject of self-belief.

Talent, ability, skills, training and opportunities are all essential elements that one must have to experience success. However, I submit to you that the absence of self-belief is a sure way to retard any potential achievements. Believing in one's self is bigger than just about the ability that you have. It is a catalyst that keeps you in the game when all the signs around you point to failure. I came across a study recently which was spearheaded by Dr. Carol Dweck of Stanford University in California. It was entitled Growth Mindset, and if you do some searching online you will find some good information. The idea behind this study is that an individual's drive, discipline and determination toward achieving can help make up the talent or intelligence gap when compared to their contemporaries. The study tracked students from a young age for a number of years and found that children who were identified as having comparatively less ability than their peers were able to make up that achievement gap. And in some cases supersede those who were significantly more advanced at the same starting point.

In other words, students were able to effectively make themselves smarter by simply believing and willing themselves into working harder.

Isn't this simply outstanding? How many times do we limit ourselves to societal standards and groupings? This thinking has caused many persons to view themselves less capable than others and effectively stunt any growth and development, by quenching all belief and desire to achieve. The study also goes on to demonstrate that those who were labeled as having advanced intelligence and ability have to fight the tendency to be lax when it comes to discipline and desire. Why? See, it’s easy for someone to believe in themselves or their ability when they never really faced major challenges. But how they cope when the challenges do come is extremely important. Be reminded that someone on the other side of the spectrum would have been facing challenges all their lives, so they would already have experience in dealing with them.

That said, it does not matter where on the ability scale you find yourself. The potential for you to advance and achieve beyond your societal labeling depends on you. You must have that self-belief that pushes you past the purported limits and be the over achiever that you have the potential to be.

So where are you today? Have your eyes been opened to the fact that the one thing you are not born with or that you could get qualified in is essential to maximizing your natural talent, academic achievements and professional qualifications? Yes, self-belief is a trait that you have to extract and perfect yourself. No one can force you to believe more in yourself. You can only be inspired to do so. My hope is that after reading today's blog you are inspired and begin to chart a course beyond your initial expectations.

It is never too late!

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

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Practical ways of becoming and remaining successful - Acting like you belong

In today's blog we are going to continue with the series, Practical ways of becoming and remaining successful. Today we will focus on the second installment entitled, Acting like you belong.

I attribute a large portion of my ability to think successfully to my dear mother. More specifically to the advice and support that she gave during my formative years as a student. My mother was an elementary (primary) school teacher for some 34 years and she was and still is loaded with wisdom from her vast experience. Let's face it, after all that time she should know what she is talking about.

Probably the single greatest piece of advice she ever shared with me was; the classroom is the greatest equalizer. Allow me to expound on this concept. Having been a teacher for all those years she was able to determine that all the perceived advantages that one student might have over another student, did not automatically guarantee more success. And by perceived advantages I mean; a stable home, parents that care, a family that values education, a family who has the means and willingness to help their child succeed, etc. The idea is that, if you work equally as hard, or harder than the student sitting next to you, then you give yourself an equal opportunity to be successful.

Don't get me wrong, there is overwhelming evidence that tells us that a child from an unstable home is unlikely to be as successful as a child from a stable home. However, as my mother would often quip, disadvantages are ready made excuses. And I take it further by saying excuses are excuses. The only one who suffers when you ultimately don't succeed is you. So excuses are simply your justification for doing so.

This mindset has continued with me as I transitioned from academia to the professional ranks. Despite the fact that there are no more physical classrooms, the philosophy remains the same and translates into, what I call acting like you belong. In the professional world the odds are likely to be stacked against you. There will always be people with more years and better quality experience, more degrees or qualifications from better schools, more connections and the list can be never ending. Today's blog is to ensure that you too adopt this principle.

You become your greatest enemy when you itemize these perceived disadvantages and allow them to psyche you out. Acting like you belong is basically assessing these disadvantages, formulating a plan and working toward overcoming them. For example, if you get hired for a job, the experience and qualifications of everyone else should not have any effect on your ability to exercise your duties. What you should assess is how effective each individual is and what role their experience and qualifications play. In fact, it helps you realize what you are missing and what you should consider doing to get you where you need to be.

In closing, acting like you belong is all about you. Even though others can help provide motivation, you are the only one that can implement the changes required for settling in. Doing so will boost your confidence by removing any self-doubt and also by shaping the perception of others toward you. Ultimately what matters the most is how you see yourself! So today, make a decision to act like you belong. Look past your disadvantages, setbacks and mistakes of the past and take the first step to overcoming them all.

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

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How often should I revisit/review my goals?

Welcome to this installment of The Weekly Wisdom blog, today's posting is a follow up from last week's entitled, Practical ways of becoming and remaining successful - having a vision. The response has been overwhelming and I thank you for your support. Why not tell a friend about this site? Share it on Facebook or Twitter and let us go on this journey of personal development together.

Of the responses from last week I got this message from Kwesi C: I enjoyed today's blog. Thanks for sharing! A 'vision board/poster' really keeps my attention on my intentions and provides clarity. My question today is, how often should this 'vision board/poster' be updated?

Kwesi C, thank you for this thought provoking question. Let us start off by exploring the fundamentals of goal setting.

For the purpose of this discourse allow me to make an illustration, by differentiating dreams and goals. In the context of building a career, a dream is something that you would like to achieve. It can be any kind of achievement, but the essence of a dream is the fact that you have a strong desire to see it come to pass. One such example; you would like to write a book one day. A goal on the other hand is something you would like to achieve by a certain time. To put it more succinctly, a goal is a dream with a time limit. Using the same example; by the end of next year you would like to have written a book. You see the difference, in the first case years can go by and your dream is still valid. But with a goal, if the end of next year is upon you and you have not yet written a single paragraph then you can be certain that you have failed miserably. But why is this important for us to understand?

Let me further explain by using another example: imagine you are about to go on a road trip. Your dream is to drive across the United States from New York to California and it does not matter to you how long it takes. Statistics show that this drive should take about two full days of direct driving to comfortably complete this journey. However, what would you do if an entire week has passed and you have still not arrived to California? Based on the original guidelines, nothing. You are destined to keep on driving and hopefully get there one day. This is what happens when we chase after a dream, we work and work and hope that one day we get there.

However let us revisit this same example in the context of a goal. You have a desire to drive from New York to California. The first thing you must to do is research by asking questions like: how long would the trip take? Based on that you can determine what route you take-- will it be the fastest or the more scenic route? Are there stops along the way that you must make? How much will the trip cost? These questions are just the beginning. What they help to do is provide checks and balances so that you can measure your progress along the way. For example, if the trip takes two days, by the end of day one you should be able to determine whether you are on course. If you decided to take the scenic route, and you have already passed two days it gives you an opportunity to re-plan. In response you can return to a more direct route and bypass any remaining stops that you intended on making.

You see, goals allow you to measure your progress, especially in terms of time. If the time has expired and your goal is not done, it forces you to re-plan. If you have completed on time or before schedule, then you move ahead and start planning the next goal. That said, your vision board must reflect the same.

You should revisit your vision board as often as required to ensure that your goals are accurately reflected. When goals have been achieved you can cross them off as completed. And as long as the remaining items things are still relevant then it can remain unchanged. My advice to someone whose goals are very dynamic (i.e. changes month by month) is that you can use a vision board that is equally as dynamic, like a dry erase board. The idea is to have something that you can put up and regularly update without diminishing its effectiveness.

As you may notice in the goal setting example above, the time factor forces you to implement checkpoints along the way. These checkpoints more readily facilitate regular adjustments to your plan, as opposed to waiting until you get too far off course to make those adjustments.

As I conclude today, be reminded that as long as those items on your vision board are still relevant, then there is no need to change. However, if things have changed so too must your vision board. So after reading both last week’s and today’s blog here is what you need to do:

1. Write down your goals

2. Look online for tips on how to create a vision board that suits you

3. Create a vision board (no need to get too fancy)

4. Tell a friend about this website and ask them to sign up for the mailing list by leaving a message on the “Contact Us” page

5. Share this and other postings from this site that you like on Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites

6. Leave a comment or send a message to express how this blog has impacted you

7. Send me questions that you want answered and I will add them to a future posting

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

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Practical ways of becoming and remaining successful - having a vision

Today we are going to begin a series of blogs entitled, Practical Ways of Becoming or Remaining Successful. In this installment we will explore the topic of Having a Vision. I have been asked countless times by students and working professionals this question: How did I know what I wanted to be career-wise? The truth is, at least in my case, there were a number of iterations before I finally decided. Before I expand on this point any further let me define success. Success is simply: achieving a goal. On your march toward being successful, you will have to face numerous cycles of goal setting and achieving. This is why having a vision is important. Knowing where you want to ultimately be, will determine how many cycles are required in getting there.

Let’s get back to my story. My first career choice was to be a university professor. After that desire waned, I really wanted to become a medical doctor. But alas, that was also short-lived. As time went by and as I got a little more experience I became decided on a career within the Information Technology field. More specifically programming. You are probably wondering why so many changes? Well I have learned that in setting a vision for yourself you must do some sort of assessment as to what it will cost you to get there and then how well suited you are to that particular career. In my case, the fact that I ended up in Information Technology meant that I was pretty good at mathematics, problem solving and that I had a penchant for torture! All kidding aside, it is obvious that if you are not quantitative by nature you are probably not well suited for a career in Information Technology.

The assessments can be very deep, like future earning potential or job availability in your city or region. Or they can be really simple, like in my case with becoming a university professor. My parents were both teachers and I could not convince myself that a life of teaching was for me. Whatever the criteria, you must be sure that you do not set yourself up for failure by ignoring the warning signs. Apart from telling you what you are or are not well suited for, an assessment can also let you know how much work is required for you to attain your goal. For example, if you are not quantitative by nature and you want to pursue a career in Information Technology, you need to train and practice for as long as is required to develop this skill. This concept can be applied to any career.

In my book, How to Make it From the Classroom to the Cubicle, I used a very interesting analogy to stress the importance of setting goals and having a vision for yourself. I described a scenario where a pilot gives his customary post-take-off greeting to passengers over the plane’s PA system, stating that there is no destination. Imagine how terrified you would feel as a passenger on such a flight, knowing that a sensible pilot will go through all of the motions, including taking off, without having a final destination. Well unfortunately, this is exactly what we do when we embark on a career with no end goal in mind. Some people literally float from job to job with no real long-term plan. The result is the same as in the aforementioned flight. You can either fly around until there is no fuel left and crash, or you can make an emergency landing before a fuel crisis but end up miles off course.

So then, what do I suggest? Create a vision for yourself. I mean this in a very literal sense. As a first step, write down the things you want to achieve and when you would like to achieve them. In our house we have created a poster with everything we want to achieve and pinned it on the wall close to our bedside, so that every day we look at it we have a reason to get out of bed. Why is this important? Seeing where you are aspiring to be everyday can motivate you much more than just leaving thoughts floating around in your head. We get so busy or tired sometimes that we may forget why are doing what we are doing. But having that visual aide in plain sight every day helps build us up when we are down and discouraged. It also can help to suppress negative thoughts as we constantly fill our minds with images of our destination.

I will end with this. One pitfall you must avoid is chasing after the goals that someone else has set for you. This is very dangerous and can lead to a life filled with frustration and void of fulfillment. Another major pitfall is to sit idly by waiting for something big to happen. Nothing just happens when it comes to career building and if you are not proactive, then you reduce the probability of reaching your end goal.

Thank you for reading today’s blog, your feedback is very important to me so please leave comments below or submit any questions you would like answered by clicking here.

If you would like to get a copy of How to Make it From the Classroom to the Cubicle please click here.

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

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Why Internships?

Hi, my name is Deon and I am a product of internships. I saw a funny picture circulating on the internet recently. It was an image of a chicken and an egg. The egg was wearing a graduation cap and what seemed to be his hen mother cutting a very forlorn figure on what is supposed to be a joyous occasion. The caption read, "To get a job you need experience, and to gain experience you need a job". I have to admit at first it seemed really hilarious. Then after a few days pondering on it, it seemed less funny and more of a humorous take on a very serious issue.

Every year thousands of students graduate from university with their diplomas in hand. Their reward-- an arduous job search that is rife with uncertainty. As far as I have noticed, things have definitely evolved since the days of my post-graduation job search. One of the most overwhelming factors is the number of experienced hires that have flooded the market. Years of systematic layoffs have impacted hiring practices on two fronts: there are fewer jobs and more graduates to go around and secondly, there is stiff competition from the experienced hire community. Another difference I have observed is that many hiring managers have scaled back on the number of "fresh graduate" hires. The reason? Budgets that were once set aside for comprehensive training programs have been reduced and in some firms cut all together. Instead, recruiters are looking for hires who can contribute from day one, which usually means that the new graduate without any experience sometimes gets overlooked. What then is the answer to this dilemma? You guessed it, internships.

An internship is defined by dictionary.com as: any official or formal program to provide practical experience for beginners in an occupation or profession. Internships were invented to give soon to be, as well as newly minted graduates an opportunity to gain some useful experience. The concept is great. It gives young professionals valid experience with which they can bolster their resumes and get a leg up on others who have none. Internships can start from as early as high school. I remember my first internship. It was in high school back in the day. I worked as a graphics design artist for an advertising agency. It was a very insightful experience and I learned a lot during that summer. The biggest lesson? Graphics design work was not for me. It was not that I was not good at it, I was decent. But those who I worked with were so much better, talented and artistic. It helped me realize that it was something that I was good at but not passionate about, which is a feature that makes internships so valuable.

Internships not only give you an opportunity to get some experience, but as in my case, it also serves as a dry run into the industry or the company that you are interested in. Lucky for me, I had my first while in high school, which gave me ample time to change the academic qualifications that I would then pursue. However, many college students find themselves switching majors based on internship experiences as well.

The benefits of internships are also great for the organization. As a hiring manager, an internship gives you an opportunity to assess a potential hire much more effectively than an interview ever would. With an interview, you have to make a decision based on evidence. But, you are also taking a risk that hopefully what you observed during the hiring process will actually work out in the long term. With an internship, you get some extra time and you don't have any long-term commitments to make a full-time hire. If you like them you can move forward, if not you can move on.

When it comes to internships, experience is more important than pay. I have known individuals who have turned down excellent internship opportunities because they simply could not afford to work for very little pay. My advice is that the onus is on you to make it work, as long as you are getting the right experience. Any experience, and I mean any experience is better than none at all. Even if your internship is only for 2 half days a week, the learning on the job has much more developmental value than sitting in a class room.

I close with this, I fully endorse internships. If possible one should have at least a few before graduating college, starting while in high school. Nothing could better prepare you for work than actual work. Some places have formal programs, others have co-ops which offer students credit toward their graduation requirement. The rest may depend on the manager or department to make it happen. Whatever the arrangement, just remember it takes a considerable time commitment on the part of the employees to facilitate an intern, so maximize it!

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

Tags: career, Deon, Deon Duncan, Deon E Duncan, How to make it from the classroom to the cubicle, job search, self development, weekly wisdom