Tag: career2

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

Earlier this week I got a notice that I hadn’t completed a task this year. It’s one that I’ve rarely finished in the past, and probably not in any year in the last 10. However I decided this year that I should buckle down and get this done. I’m proud to say that I spent about an hour working on the task and got it done.

What was the task? Taking all my vacation.

I’ve got some amazing benefits from Red Gate Software, and my holiday allowance is one of them. However I’ve often struggled to allocate out my time, and with travel and my concerns over keeping this site running, I usually carry over a few days. I often sell a few back as well, and I’m actually glad that there are limits on both of those actions. If left to my own devices, I might become much more unbalanced than I have been in the past.

I had a couple of weeks left, but to keep SQLServerCentral running in top form and ensure that you are getting information to help you improve your SQL Server skills, I can’t disappear on short notice. As a result, I’ve spread out my time off across the rest of this year and will be absent a number of days in December. Some is real vacation, some are days off that where I’ll have to decide what I want to do with the time.

I know far too many people in technology skip vacations or don’t plan enough time off. I’ve been trying to get better at this each year, and I’m happy to say that I’ve finally managed to use up all my holiday for 2014. Don’t be like me. Schedule your time off and take it. Recharge, refresh, and enjoy the rest of your life. Remember that you work to live, you don’t live to work.

Steve Jones

The Voice of the DBA Podcast

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