Posts Tagged ‘jobs in information technology’
Thursday, May 7th, 2009
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IT Leaders Need To Take Action When A Reorganization Occurs
So there you are, doing a great job of being the best IT Leader that you can be and all of a sudden, everything changes around you. You’ve been reorganized!
In a recession (like we are in now), reorganizations are common either before or after a layoff. Just when you though that you knew what you were supposed to be doing and what everyone else was supposed to be doing, the music plays and everything is different.
When a reorganization occurs, the worst thing that you can do is nothing. You’ve got to realize that it’s almost like starting to play a game all over again. You’re going to have to quickly adapt to this new world and as you’re doing this you are going to have to take a long hard look at the future of your job.
Eileen Gunn over at the Wall Street Journal has taken a look at what we’re supposed to do when a reorganization happens to us. She’s got some tips that just might help us out:
- First Meetings Count: Just like a first impression, your first meeting after a reorganization can be critical. This is a time for you to be bold – ask the questions that everyone else is thinking. However be careful, your new management may not have all the answers. Don’t drill them too hard if they start grasping for answers.
- Look Inside: This is probably the best time ever for you to sit down with yourself and do an inventory of what you bring to the new world order. You need to make sure that your skills match what your boss is looking for – if they don’t, then you are going to have to change.
- Meet The Big Guy / Gal: If the reorganization has resulted in you having a new boss, then you’re going to want to have some one-on-one face time with them as quickly as possible. Basically, you’re going to have to interview for your job even if they don’t ask you to do so. You need to show them what you can bring to the table so that they will know what you are capable of.
- Deal With It: You may not be happy with the new world order that has resulted after a reorganization; however, you don’t run the world (yet). The quicker you get over feeling this way and become a valued contributor once again, the more secure your job and career will be.
Reorganizations happen for a variety of reasons and they always seem to come at the worst time – just when we almost had everything figured out. They are a part of life and these suggestions can give us the tools that we need to turn these changes from pitfalls into opportunities.
Have you been through a reorganization lately? How did you feel about where you ended up after the dust had settled? Did you change your behavior starting with the first meeting? Have you met with your new boss yet? Leave me a comment and let me know what you are thinking.
Tags: acceptance, assessment, Boss, career, employee, employment, information technology, inventory, it, it career, it careers, IT Management, IT manager, jobs in information technology, leader, manager, reorganization, skills
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Thursday, April 23rd, 2009
Outplacement Services Can Help The Laid Off IT Leader
Dang it, you’ve been let go. It really doesn’t matter the reason why – just the fact that your (former) employer decided that they could get along without your services can really sting. However, before the door swings close behind you for the last time, the ball is in still in your court and you need to know what to do with it.
As IT Leaders, we are a pretty arrogant bunch. A recent survey by the global outsourcing firm Right Management found that seven out of 10 job seekers thought that they knew exactly what they needed to do in order to land their next job. However, once they went through the outplacement service, that number dropped down to two.
At most firms, when a layoff sweeps through and you get caught up in it, you will be offered the services of an outplacement firm. Many of us poo-poo this because for one reason or another we think that it won’t be of any help to us. That’s where you’d be wrong.
If you find yourself in this position, here’s what you need to do in order to make the most of the outplacement service that has been offered to you:
- Don’t Drag Your Feet: You’ve been let go, get over it and don’t delay starting to use your outplacement service. The longer you wait, the more competition you will face.
- Pick Your Consultant Carefully: You can always ask to meet with a different consultant so make sure that the one that you’ve got is the right one for you. Consider things like track record, background, experience in your industry, and of course their current workload.
- Do Your Homework: You’ll probably be asked to complete personality tests and career assignments. Do them! This is the time for you to make sure that the next job that you get is really the right one for you.
- Stuff Yourself: The outplacement firm probably offers many different types of classes, workshops, seminars, and networking events. This is your best chance to find out if things have changed and if your type of job is now located in different parts of other firms.
- Don’t Work Remotely: Although in this day and age it is possible to work with your counselor online, try not to. Instead go into the office and meet with them face-to-face. This will help to build a stronger relationship with them and who knows what other professionals you’ll meet there.
Nothing can make the initial pain of being let go from your IT job hurt less. However, as with so many things in life, the pain fades over time. You need to make sure that you get moving right off the bat so that by the time your pain has faded, you are already in your next job.
Have you ever used outplacement services that were offered by your former employer? Did you have a good counselor? Did you choose to meet with them face-to-face or did you do most of it online? How did it all turn out for you? Leave me a comment and let me know what you are thinking.
Tags: career, employee, employer, employment, information and technology, information technology jobs, it, it career, it careers, IT Management, IT manager, IT professional, IT Staffing, jobs in information technology, leader, manager, motivational, outplacement, outplacement service, professional staffing, self motivation, staffing solutions
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Thursday, March 19th, 2009
Trophy Kids Require Special Attention From IT Leaders
A lot has been written recently about the next generation of workers that is in the process of entering IT departments right now (I’ve done my part!) However, what’s been missing is a fundamental understanding of what an IT Leader is supposed to do once they are there.
Ron Alsop who writes for the Wall Street Journal has taken some time to study what this arrival means for all of us and he’s written a book with his answers in it called The Trophy Kids Grow Up: How the Millennial Generation is Shaking Up the Workplace. He’s got some suggestions on just how to go about managing this new type of IT worker.
One of the key differences between the millennials and the current workforce will be seen in company loyalty – it basically won’t exist. The millennials have high expectations about what a company should provide them with (rapid promotions, flexible work schedules, etc.), but firms should expect very little loyalty in return.
The current economic climate not withstanding, millennials will leave an unfufilling job in an instant. Most firms are aware of this and retention is high on their list of issues when it comes to dealing with this generation of workers.
You might be thinking that the trophy kids will stick around for the same reasons that most of today’s workers don’t leave: it’s scary out there without a job. However, you’d be wrong. The millenials have their parents to fall back on. They haven’t burned their bridges behind them and they know that they could always move back home for a bit if things get tight.
The good news here is that the millenials have been raised to work hard. Competition is in their blood. If a job engages them, then they will be willing to work hard at it. Firms have to show these new workers that their job will end up making a difference and that the company values their work.
Do you have millennials in your IT workplace (are you one of them)? How is is it going so far – smooth running or choppy waters? Do you feel that their (your) expectations are in line with what the company can offer? When the economy improves, do you think that they’ll stick around or will they leave? Leave me a comment and let me know what you are thinking.
Tags: baby boomer, Baby Boomers, employee, information technology, information technology jobs, it, IT Management, IT manager, jobs in information technology, manager, millennial generation, Millennials, motivation, motivational, personnel, promotion, recruiting, retention, trophy kids
Posted in Millennials | 2 Comments »
Thursday, March 12th, 2009
Managing The Millennial Generation Will Require New IT Manager Skills
Remember that Jack Nicholson line from the movie that was made from the Steven King book “The Shining”: “.. Here’s Johnny…“? I seem to recall that he delivers this line as he stands at a door with an axe in his hands trying to break into the bathroom. I suspect that many IT managers feel as though they are trapped in that bathroom and the millennial generation is on their way in.
Ron Alsop who writes for the Wall Street Journal has taken some time to study what this arrival means for all of us (hopefully no axes involved) and he’s written a book with his answers in it called The Trophy Kids Grow Up: How the Millennial Generation is Shaking Up the Workplace. He’s got some suggestions on just how to go about managing this new type of IT worker.
The first thing that needs to be realized is that the millennial generation is going to want much more attention and guidance from IT Leaders. This may come off as arrogant behavior, but it’s not. The millennials got so much affirmation and positive feedback when they were growing up that when they enter the workplace they come across as being needy.
Unfortunately this need for more guidance goes hand-in-hand with the fact that millennials generally don’t take suggestions for improvement very well. Blame this on their parents. IT managers are going to have to still deliver the good with the bad, but they are going to have to be careful to focus more on the good stuff.
Millennials are an interesting mix when it comes to doing work. They are used to having precise guidelines (“rules”) that establish a structured situation with provides them with the order that they so desperately need.
However, at the same time millennials want a flexible work environment that allows them to balance their work and personal lives. A good way of thinking of this is that they don’t view work as a place you go, rather work is something that you do.
All of this is enough to make an IT manger long for the old days when he / she was an individual contributor. However, their is an upside to all of this. The millennials have a solid grasp of cutting edge technology – it is a part of their life outside of work. They tend to work very well in teams and they get along well with baby boomers because they remind them so much of their own parents.
You’ve got hard workers here who will get the job done as long as an IT Leader points them in the right direction. That’s why YOU are the IT Leader.
Do you have millennials in your IT workplace (are you one of them)? How is is it going so far – smooth running or choppy waters? Do you feel that their (your) expectations are in line with what the company can offer? When the economy improves, do you think that they’ll stick around or will they leave? Leave me a comment and let me know what you are thinking.
Tags: baby boomer, Baby Boomers, employee, information technology, information technology jobs, it, IT Management, IT manager, jobs in information technology, manager, millennial generation, Millennials, motivation, motivational, personnel, promotion, recruiting, retention, trophy kids
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Thursday, March 5th, 2009
Are You Ready To Have The Millennial Generation In Your IT Department?
Even though the world currently looks like it is upside down, there is a much larger change going on that will have a much longer impact than this temporary financial crisis: the arrival of the millennial generation into the IT workplace. Are you ready?
Just to make sure that we’re all talking about the same thing here, the millennial generation were born between 1980 and 2001. With the baby boomer generation getting ready to walk off into the sunset, the millennials are the new kids in town and they are getting ready to shake things up.
Ron Alsop who writes for the Wall Street Journal has taken some time to study what this arrival means for all of us and he’s written a book with his answers in it called The Trophy Kids Grow Up: How the Millennial Generation is Shaking Up the Workplace. He’s discovered some eye-opening things that all IT Leaders need to be aware of.
If we had to describe the millennial generation’s view of work, the word that everyone seems to use is “entitled” – they want it all and they want it now. What are they asking for? How about: higher pay, flexible hours, promotions within a year, and more vacation/personal time. Why do they think that they’ll get it? Studies show that nearly half of the millennials have a “…moderate to high superiority beliefs about themselves.”
What’s up with these guys / gals? Where did all of this come from? Blame it on the parents (and teachers and coaches). This is the generation that was constantly told that they were the best, the ones that got trophies even when they didn’t win, and were rarly criticized in order to not damage their self-esteem. Now they are in your IT department…!
But hold on. Remember that the millennials have a solid grasp of cutting edge technology – it is a part of their life outside of work. They tend to work very well in teams and they get along well with baby boomers because they remind them so much of their own parents.
These are hard workers who will get the job done as long as an IT Leader points them in the right direction. How best to do that will be covered in another post…
Do you have millennials in your IT workplace (are you one of them)? How is is it going so far – smooth running or choppy waters? Do you feel that their (your) expectations are in line with what the company can offer? When the economy improves, do you think that they’ll stick around or will they leave? Leave me a comment and let me know what you are thinking.
Tags: baby boomer, Baby Boomers, employee, information technology, information technology jobs, it, IT Management, IT manager, jobs in information technology, manager, millennial generation, Millennials, motivation, motivational, personnel, promotion, recruiting, retention, trophy kids
Posted in Millennials | No Comments »
