A former student came back from Thailand after teaching for a whole year and requested a letter of recommendation for graduate school. Her email prompted me to write about what I share with my staff about the idea of owning their careers. I emphasize that they have choices, some harder than others and that it takes planning and preparation. My career path which I will describe below may not be a typical one and may not be the ideal one for anyone, but it’s a path I chose for myself. I have gotten advice in the past that I was making the wrong moves. In retrospect, I am glad that I followed what I wanted to do and my experiences have proven to be very valuable in my current job.
Career
Book Review – The First 90 Days
The First 90 Days by Michael Watkins is a very practical book for any leaders in transition. Personally, this is a book that has helped me transition from my manager to an associate director position.The advice and tools provided in the book just make sense.
The premise of the book are as follows:
- Assess your strengths and weaknesses and identify personal vulnerabilities
- Diagnose your situation and understand its challenges and opportunities
- Negotiate a productive working relationship with your boss
- Secure early wins that establish credibility and create momentum
- Build your team and connect with influential support coalitions
Interviewing Don’ts!
In my career, I’ve played the role of the interviewer and interviewee many times. When I’ve interviewed for positions, I always prepared a lot, learning about the company, the job description and prepared answers for every potential questions I could be asked. Throughout the years, I have compiled questions and answers as a Powerpoint slides for myself which includes introduction, behavioral questions, personal strengths/weaknesses, reasons for leaving current job and motivation for the position I am applying for, technical questions and questions specific to the position. I have shared this to my friends and staff as well.
Starting a blog – Why was it so hard?
It should have been so easy to start blogging given all what I want to share about student affairs, technology, about my life but for some reason, it took me months to convince myself to take the leap and finally do it. I had so many reasons why I shouldn’t blog. What if I say something to offend my co-workers/boss? What if I get ridiculed for what I have to write? What if I sound stupid? Friends and co-workers think I know a lot about technology but I feel I know very little. I guess it’s all a matter of perspective. When you’re surrounded by techies who can recite the 7 layers of the OSI model or software design patterns like they’d known them since birth, it’s a little intimidating to share thoughts.