Voice of the DBA

Author: way0utwest

  • Watch Your Mouth

    It’s one way to control what you say

    I give a talk on branding and resumes that has been well received over the last few years. In it I cover the ways in which you can use networking, blogging, and other ways to improve the chances that employers will want to hire you. There are lots of jobs available, and lots of candidates, but finding a good fit is hard. I would argue that disclosing more about yourself, and your interests, is a good way to help find a good fit with an organization.

    One of the cautions I raise in my presentation is that you should be aware of how you present yourself, and the impressions you make. There are no right or wrong ways to do this, but there are ways that reflect differently on you to different people. As such, I do urge you to think about the implications of your actions, your posts, and the way in which you communicate with others. If you are looking for a job, it doesn’t make sense to unnecessarily restrict your options because of the things you say or write.

    I ran across this slide show on profanity and cursing at work. I’m not offended by off color language, but some people are, and they often won’t let you know that you’ve created a poor impression. If the data is accurate, the majority of people think regular cursing creates a negative impression. Whether you think it’s a lack of control, unprofessional, or anything else, it still is a negative impression. It’s also one of the things that caused some HR groups to eliminate candidates.

    These days there is competition for jobs, and if you find the job you really like, do you want to diminish your chances because of a few colorful words? You have the freedom in the US to say what you want, and I support that, but you also get the responsibility of handling the consequences. I’d argue a few colorful words aren’t worth giving someone a reason to choose another equally qualified candidate over you?

    Steve Jones

    The Voice of the DBA Podcasts

    We publish three versions of the podcast each day for you to enjoy.

  • The Field Museum – SQL in the City 2012 – Chicago

    Chicago is a neat down. My first PASS Summit was in Chicago, back in 1999. My wife joined me with an infant son, and we took in the last baseball game of the season that year at Comisky Park. This year I was hoping to take in a game at Wrigley Field, but the season will be over for the Cubs when I arrive in Chicago on Oct 4.

    I’m arriving for the SQL in the City 2012 – Chicago event, part of our SQL in the City US Tour. We’ll be holding this one at the Field Museum, right near the lake, so guess where I’ll be running? I’ll likely job in San Francisco on Thursday before I leave, so my run along the lake will be a crack of dawn run on Friday, Oct 5. I’m hoping to convince Brent Ozar (b | t) to come with me, but I suspect he might want to sleep in before his session at the event. Maybe Jes Borland (b | t) will come instead.

    Those two, along with the incredible Powershell guru Allen White (b | t), Grant Fritchey (b | t), and a number of Red Gate developers will be speaking with me at SQL in the City 2012 -  Chicago. A bunch of great sessions are packed into one day, teaching you about SQL Server, inspiring you to try new tips and tricks, training you The Red Gate Way.

    2012_London_cThe Red Gate Way is a great location, good content, debate and discussion, answering your questions, and feeding you well. We talk about ways to make your job easier, give you new ideas to consider, and make learning fun. It’s our way of participating in, and improving the community.

    And it’s free. Just register and come down to the Field Museum on Friday, Oct 5, 2012. If you’re really ambitious, follow me on Twitter and plan on a  6:30am run along the lake. It might be cold, so dress appropriately, and we’ll do 2 miles, looking out over the water.

    Register today if you can come. I hope to shake your hand in Chicago.

    This is part of my SQL in the City series, covering a few thoughts on the US tour.

  • Dare to Disagree

    This talk on disagreement and openness is very thought provoking. I tend to agree with it, but at what point does disagreement become disharmony? How do you teach the skills to argue and disagree passionately, but do so rationally and still come to a resolution on how to move forward?

    As an example, it seems in politics we have no problem with argument and disagreement. What we lack (in my opinion) is the critical thinking and civil debate we seem to lack.

    Update: I intended the political comment to be an example of where we disagree quite openly and vocally, but don’t discuss facts. It wasn’t intended as a political statement.

    Dare to Disagree

  • Shadow IT

    shadow
    Do you have shadow IT in your organization?

    When I started working as a system administrator over 20 years ago, I worked for a central IT department at a remote facility for our company. Four of us managed a network of 1,000 nodes, with multiple servers under a boss that decreed we needed to respond quickly and effectively to requests made by clients. They came to us often, expecting results, and we delivered. I assumed all IT groups worked like this. Almost a year later I worked at another facility and was quite surprised to find a different situation.

    In the other location there were also four people and 1,000 nodes, but the IT group only managed around three quarters of those nodes. Different groups had their own servers and applications they managed. There were machines under desks in one department, where the desk’s owner was tasked with working half his time on department work, and half his time on technology issues. I only found out about this when one of them asked me how to solve a few problems; I then realized he was managing his own IT services for his group.

    Shadow IT is still around, and in some cases it’s growing. That can be a problem, not only for IT staffs who have less demand for services, and thus staff, but also for the security and data integrity of an organization. Someone managing IT operations part time may not understand the security or data issues they create, face, or just may not have time to deal with. They also won’t necessarily have the experience to work efficiently and effectively on administrative needs, though I know a central IT staff will necessarily do a better job.

    As a data professional I get concerned about Shadow IT groups, which might hoard their data, or even keep around data that’s gotten stale. I worry they’ll lose systems and then come to me for a solution to recover the data, often without having managed backups. Most importantly, I worry they’ll make a mistake, cause a business problem, and not only will I need to clean up the mess, I’ll share in the blame for not helping them build something they needed in the first place.

    Shadow IT is usually the result of a non-responsive central group. I’ve always made it a point to try and help people get the tools they need to work. Sometimes blanket policies prevent this from happening, but by making friends I can usually get Shadow IT people to consult with me and listen to suggestions and ideas. It isn’t perfect, but if I can get them to make regular backups, it’s a win.

    Steve Jones

    The Voice of the DBA Podcasts

    We publish three versions of the podcast each day for you to enjoy.