Tag: career

It’s the slow time of year. As I saw tweeted recently, “And now for the month when nothing gets done.” I haven’t usually felt this way at a few jobs as the budget and planning process has typically been a part of a busy month. As I’ve run SQLServerCentral, I’ve also been looking back and forward this month, trying to think about our industry and data in a long term way. I have found December to be frenetic as times as I try to get in some ski days while still getting work done.

However this year I’ve been in a situation that I think many people get into. I had a number of vacation days I needed to take, so I scheduled them a day here and there across the weeks. Between being off for Thanksgiving week, and missing almost the complete last two weeks of the year, I’m finding it a bit difficult to get into the swing of things as I have a few days back at work. It seems that work naturally slows down in teams as various people take holiday time off, but this is the first time that I’ve struggled to actually get my own work done as I’m in and out of the office on an irregular schedule.

Perhaps this is the time when those of us who don’t work in Christmas related industries can catch up on work that we are often too busy to do otherwise. Are there maintenance items you can schedule? Maybe tackle some in-depth query tuning that is needed for end of year processes? Is it the time to “scratch an itch” at work? Red Gate has their Down Tools Week scheduled this week, and it’s a time when people can tackle fun projects that improve the business, but are rarely worked on. Our SQLServerCentral Scripts plug in for SSMS came out of one of these weeks.

Pitch an idea to your boss to take a week or two and dig into something that is needed, but never prioritized. Maybe you’ll get your wish as a Christmas present.

Steve Jones

The Voice of the DBA Podcast

Listen to the MP3 Audio ( 2.5MB) podcast or subscribe to the feed at iTunes and LibSyn.

Recently we had the 60th T-SQL Tuesday blog party. This was hosted by Chris Yates, and had the theme of Something New Learned. That’s a great topic and a lot of fun to write about.

There were some great posts, and while it’s good to see people participating, it’s also the chance for everyone in the community to learn a few things. I’d bookmark some of these posts, and across the next few months, read one and dig into the topic a little. Do you know about the PSR in SQL Server? Do you know how to determine who has access to what in your SQL Server?

These posts, and many other posts written for the various T-SQL Tuesday events are a great way to dig into a particular topic area, learn a few things and help guide your learning. There have been a few times that the topic itself has gotten me to experiment with some aspect of SQL Server prior to writing something, but you could just as easily go back and look at previous topics and start improving your learning.

While there are many sites like SQLServerCentral to help you learn new skills, it can be fun to pick a single topic and dive in for a few weeks, practicing using the skill to solve some problems. This might be a great way for those of you that aren’t challenged at work to gain some new skills.

I’ve had far too many friends find the need to unexpectedly look for a new job in the last year. I never take my employment for granted, and it’s one reason I try to continue to learn more about my craft, and build skills that might be in demand. After all, you never know when your company might make a change and you’ll need to look for new employment.

Steve Jones

The Voice of the DBA Podcast

Listen to the MP3 Audio ( 2.0MB) podcast or subscribe to the feed at iTunes and LibSyn.

Interviewing is hard. We also know that most of us don’t do it well, as evidenced by the choices we make when hiring. How many people have performed at the level you expected when you hired them? There are people that outperform your evaluation, but many more underperform your expectations. I think this is partially that it’s hard to evaluate someone’s skills in a short period of time, but also that the performance someone gives is impacted by the environment they work in. That’s hard to simulate in an interview.

However, if we ignore that and look to find some method to at least evaluate a technologist’s skills, what do we do? We test, we quiz, we try strange questions. I read an account from a programmer looking to hire other programmers, titled How I ended up conducting the most successful technical interviews with a single question. It’s a good story, and it drew me in as the author followed the same path I’ve followed before.

Then he exposed his question: tell me about the best project you’ve ever created. It’s simple, and I think it probably works well. Programming is a creative endeavor and those that love doing it, keep doing it. They will have projects they are proud of, if they continue to work to improve their craft. They’ll also be passionate about what they do. I don’t know if this would work in other areas, like system administration, but I’d like to think that most people have done something they’re proud of.

However I don’t think this guarantees great workers. I guess you can evaluate the way someone approached their project, and how they dealt with issues, but passion does not always equate to great work. I’m an amateur woodworker, and I’m quite proud of my flagpole, but I’m not sure many of you would want to pay me to build one for you. My skill have a long way to go before I could make a living at that craft.

Steve Jones

This editorial was originally published on July 14, 2010. It is being re-run as Steve is on holiday.

When we go to upgrade an instance, most of us have a process. We have a list of things we need to do, things like perform a backup, copy files, apply patches, etc. There is some definite order to what we do, and the most successful people I know in technology take the time to actually write out a list of steps to be sure they don’t forget anything, checking each item off as it’s completed.

Why don’t we do that for our careers? Arguably that’s more important than some silly old server.

One of the presentations that I  give at user groups and SQL Saturdays is my talk on The Modern Resume. I talk in there about some of the things that you can do to raise your profile, build a personal brand, and become more likely to get that next job. However I haven’t really addressed the making of a plan, which is something I need to add after I saw this link on a personal development plan posted by Brian Kelley.

A personal development plan is a map for your career. A map that’s unique to you and what you want to accomplish. Whether that’s growing your skills in some area, getting a new job, or something else, the plan you build can help focus you and allow you to move clearly in the direction that’s important to you.

It’s hard to build a plan, harder to stick to it, but perhaps hardest to figure out what to write down your plan. I’d suggest that you start with some short term goals, things that will make your job easier, or provide your employer a short term payback. This is often low hanging fruit, and can help get you thinking about your career. Then move on to longer term, or larger, goals that fit the place you want to be in a year or two.

Don’t neglect your career as you grow. Give it at least as much attention as you gave that last server migration. You deserve that much from yourself.

Steve Jones