The past 2 weeks, like 9/11, has fundamentally changed the world we live in. Like a series of dominoes, destined to fall down, the various power-houses of the financial service industry have all begun to give way to the momentum created by the mortgage sub-prime debacle. Roll up your sleeves, because your job search just got really hard-core. Now, more then ever, you must re-evaluate your strengths and weaknesses as an employee so as to put your best foot forward. Refine what you can bring to the table, perfect the message, and be focused on delivering it consistently. Anthony […]
Career Advice
11 posts
I have long been a huge fan of Patrick Lencioni’s book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. I highly recommend reading it at work and more importantly, seeking executive sponsorship to read it as a group and discuss how it’s teachings can be incorporated into your own organization. The message of the book is to be accountable and have enough trust in your business relationships that you can get in each other’s face about the quality of your deliverables. Like any good book, it gets referenced a lot and I was recently thinking about Leadership versus Management. There is a […]
I have a friend and former colleague that has been fighting cancer this past year. I am reaching the age in my life where such things can happen and as I witness these happenings, I am reminded how we really are. . . all of us. . . dying. Youth is beautiful, vital, and life affirming which makes it so powerful a force to have in a company. When individuals are young, things are done with the spirit of ‘why not?’ versus ‘why bother?’ Although many young companies learn the tough lesson of choice; they learn the lesson of […]
Another little gem brought to you by the Gmail Value Chain. . . Whakate. It posits itself as a community and project focused on the designing of one’s life. Positioning itself against David Allen‘s Getting Things Done. I am a huge fan of David Allen and my copy of GTD is very worn. Maybe that is the point of Whakate when they say that GTD is too complex a system. I have read David’s book, will tell you that I value it, and yet really have little to show in my external daily life that I give it so much […]
I was quite surprised, but pleasantly. . . that the Labor Department was dead on with how to approach a job search. I recently came across a resource online and it suggests in the article that: “Directly contacting employers is one of the most successful means of job hunting. Through library and Internet research, develop a list of potential employers in your desired career field. Then call these employers and check their Web sites for job openings. Web sites and business directories can tell you how to apply for a position or whom to contact. Even if no open positions […]
It’s very important to remember that any job search or career change will take an inherent length of time. Gone are the days when 10 years ago you could have not just one but multiple job offers inside of 24 hours. In the hay day of the technical boom that was a distinct reality. Consistent networking will land you your next job. Focus on following up with people that you meet out-and-about and resist making assumptions about silence. People are moving at 110 mph these days and it’s a challenge for anybody to keep all the plates spinning in their […]
The most difficult thing to experience when searching for a new opportunity is awaiting feedback. You must keep your cool in the face of little to no feedback. This is a must! Accept the fact that you may never know ‘Why’ a particular company doesn’t pursue you and it has nothing to do with you specifically. Jumping to the conclusions will tear you up inside so resist the urge. I always tell candidates that if it’s meant to be, it will happen. This may sound trite and axiomatic, but the fact is that if a particular company does not handle […]
I was looking for comments today since last night I put up my initial version of www.bradbushnell.com. Somemone noted that my tag line at the top was a bit intense: ‘run hard, or go home.’ I know what this individual meant and ultimately he felt that it was a decent statement because it was meant constructively, but I feel that further explaining is needed. I recently read Seth Godin’s ‘The Dip.’ I mentioned it before on the blog. The spirit of the book is just that – be fully committed or seek another venue. It’s challenging to live life consistently […]
I just read a post out on the Internet which was written barely a year ago which does a pretty good job of explaining what the value of a recruiter is in your overall search strategy and then goes on to explain the difference between a contingency and retained search recruiter. Check out the post at your leisure. Cheryl Lynch Simpson advocates for retained search in the end exclusively and in doing so glosses over some basic facts. There is not inherently greater value in retained versus contingency, each has it’s place, features, and role. Retained firms establish arrangements with […]
There is one lesson, consistently, I mean consistently mismanaged by most technologists: their network. Ironically, it’s what gives birth to the staffing industry because when it comes time to move on to a new position, individuals are at a loss on who to call. It’s not surprising. Many of the individuals which are highly successful in technology or finance and accounting tend to be extremely introverted people. They focus on the task at hand; they grind away until the resulting product or deliverable has a sharp point on it. Ironically, the very skill set that enables them to produce that […]