Tag: work

  • A Long Overdue Brain Dump

    A Long Overdue Brain Dump

    Certainty is such a mirage. Predictability convinces me that I have stability, but when the disruption comes, I realise that I was simply taking comfort from probabilities. But that’s what life is about, isn’t it? The probability of everything. The probability of good fortune keeps us chasing and the probability of death stops us in our tracks. The present moment is invested in whatever we believe those probabilities to be.

    Sometimes life is so curiously challenging that death looks like a welcome break from the norm. The consistency of struggles and the ease that follows. After each cycle, the struggle that follows the ease is what I preempt, and I lose sight of the ease when I have it. That’s how my tolerance and my tenacity wears down. What doesn’t kill you certainly makes you more brittle. I often feel the brittleness creeping in.

    Clarity of thought has been elusive. Moments of inspiration and conviction form and then flee and then form and then flee. Is this what menopause must feel like for a woman? The tease of comfort followed by the taunt of its ugly sister?

    I need to revisit my timeline from before seven years ago. That was the last time I wrote anything that continues to resonate with me now. There were a few isolated thoughts that I scribed in between, but nothing worth revisiting in the awkward silence before bedtime. The silence that flirts with the failures of the day and caresses the hopes of tomorrow.

    There was a time when I thought in prose. The vivid nature of the imagery my words conjured in my mind before leaving my body used to offer me some respite from the madness of me. Now it simply echoes it. My echo chamber is empty. It doesn’t even taunt me with my own whispers any more.

    I’m always on the brink of something amazing. Then I watch an enthralling movie and contemplate the genius of the mind behind the story while questioning the value of my ramblings in its shadow. I need to abandon the legend in my mind before my story will find its own path. I pause at intersections for too long these days. I used to choose a path the moment those intersections came into view, yet now that contemplation continues for much longer after my arrival at that point. Something is amiss and I suspect the answer lies in what is amiss. How do you find an answer that is hidden in the question?

    Late night ramblings or early morning hopes carry the same burden of promise and anticipation. Its fulfilment lies in the fading tenacity and resilience of the rambler and thus appear like an iridescent mirage flirting with the horizon but never reaching out. Opportunity rarely reaches out. It most often sits in the shadows waiting expectantly while not revealing any clues of its willingness to be courted or wedded. It’s an obstinate grunt that shuns the smiles of my hope while grabbing my ankles as soon as I turn to walk away towards the next intersection.

    This grid of madness grows more uncomfortable each day. Am I the village idiot? The one who has a place and a purpose, but never a captive audience, only a fleeting joy passed on to others while my own cup remains unfilled. Or is that the ingratitude that stifles my progress? The pretense of generosity of spirit that cloaks the need for celebration. I’m not alone in such pretences. I see you, clearer than you see me. But I see me reflected in you and I find it distasteful, that my recognition of your weakness is a reminder that I must know such weakness first to recognise it in you.

    This city of solitude is quiet in all the wrong spaces, and rowdy where it matters least.

  • CV Writing – Part 2 of 2

    In the previous article we focused on what not to do in a CV, which in many ways should give you an idea as to what to do. However, to ensure that there are no incorrect assumptions around this, here’s my list of key points that should be noted when compiling or updating your CV.

    1. Cover Letter – While this is something that I generally despise, it is required by many recruitment agencies before they will even consider your application. So keep it brief but focused on your qualifications and experience relative to that specific position that you’re applying for. A generic cover letter will probably not do justice to your CV, so as painful or tedious as it may be, review your cover letter for each application to make sure that you draw their attention to those qualities of yours that you believe makes you the best candidate for the job.
    2. Chronology of Experience – Many people get this wrong by placing it in ascending order sorted by date from their first position to their current position. The preferred order should be for your latest position first, since that would be most relevant to the job being applied for, and then working backwards to the beginning of your career. This makes it easy for the recruiting manager to be exposed to your current level of expertise without losing interest after browsing through potentially irrelevant roles that you may have filled in the past.
    3. Summary of Employment – When you find that you’ve got quite a lengthy and colourful career behind you, you may want to reduce the earlier roles to just a summary table rather than going into detail about that cashier’s job you did when you were trying to get through university almost 15 or 20 years ago. Remember to keep it relevant, so not every part time role you filled needs to be explained in detail in your CV. This table would therefore include just the name of the company, your job title, start and end dates of employment, and possibly reasons for leaving, if that may add value. Otherwise leave it out and rather discuss it in the interview instead, if the need arises.
    4. Training History – Another area of pain, too many people include every internal training course that they attended. If that training is specifically relevant to the position being applied for, and that position is internal to the company you’re at, then include it. However, if it is an application for a position at another company that does not use those systems, then either remove it, or position it relative to the skills that were acquired that could be applied in your new role. I prefer to keep the training list limited to just industry recognised courses or certifications with a footnote summarising the type of additional training that may have been received over the years.
    5. Proficiency Table – Another useful but often abused piece of information is a table that indicates your level of proficiency in various standard business applications, platforms, or skills that may be relevant to your career path. This should ideally indicate the name of the application or skill, the amount of years of exposure, the level of expertise (e.g. Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, Specialist, Expert, etc.), and when last used. Include the version of the application or tool if necessary. This table can be a combination of both skills and business systems or applications, but once again, relevant to the position being applied for. You don’t want to bother a recruiting manager for a professional role with your qualification as a hairdresser or dance instructor, if you know what I mean?
    6. Readability and Layout – This is something that I emphasised much in the previous article and I need to emphasise it again. When compiling your CV, remember that it is usually intended to be read by someone that does not know you, and that is probably wading through stacks of CV’s from people applying for the same job. A professionally written CV using business language and not slang or unnecessary techno jargon is what will appeal to a seasoned manager. Do not assume an overly familiar tone in your writing. Don’t try to be hip and cool. Keep it structured and relevant.
    7. Business versus Technical – One thing that works well for me, especially when applying for management level positions, is to separate the job outputs into Business Deliverables versus Technical Deliverables. If you get this right, it will demonstrate a clear understanding on your part relative to what the business value is of the role you’re fulfilling versus what the technical or commodity skill is that you’re bringing to the table.
    8. Title Page – Last but not least, ensure that your title page is professional and not corny. If you intend to include any graphics, please, for the love of all things sacred, do not use cheesy clip art from MS Office. It may seem cute to some, but you’re not trying to be cute. You’re trying to present a professional image of what you have to offer. So look at some of the standard Title Page templates in MS Word for ideas if you’re not creatively inclined. If you intend to use a photo, make sure it’s not a photo that belongs on a social networking site like Facebook or Twitter. Use one that looks professional but not creepy. So as a rule of thumb, if it looks like it belongs on Police Files, or in your passport, it’s a no-no as well. Consider how you want to be perceived, and then truthfully reflect that in a recent photo that represents that image. If you thought you looked really attractive in a photo that was taken 5 or 10 years ago, but it doesn’t quite reflect your current state, don’t use it. You’ll only set yourself up for internalised ridicule when you walk into the interview room looking nothing like the image that you portrayed in your CV, which will give the impression of dishonesty and being out of touch with reality.

    I hope that helps in your search for that ideal position that will bring out the best in you. And if it does help you to land that ideal job, remember us little folk when you make it big. Good luck!

  • Uninspired

    The ‘inspiration’ tag on Tumblr is really un-inspirational. I guess that’s a sure sign that I’m scraping the bottom of the barrel looking for something that will flirt with my imagination this evening. Work is becoming tedious, not because there isn’t enough to challenge me creatively, but because I work with people that fail to see potential, and only see solutions being possible from external consultants.

    It’s the same old thing about life, isn’t it? We can hear the same advice from a million people, but until we hear it from someone we’re willing to listen to, it will never hit home. That’s the frustration of what I do. The industry insists on following frameworks and methodologies, while I insist on taking a logical approach that allows an organic growth of skill in the organisation. But most fail to see that logic because they lack the real world experience to approach any problem without a text book in their hands. 

    I hate people who study theory for a hundred years and then pretend to know it all. All they know is what someone force-fed into their empty skulls. The day they can apply a fraction of what they learnt parrot-fashion is the day they stand a chance of making a meaningful contribution to good governance. Until then they’ll just tediously regurgitate buzz words and bullshit until they have a room full of morons nodding their heads in unison with a vacant stare and a pathetic smile that reveals the vacuous nature of the space between their ears. 

    The worst part of this post is that there’s probably no one on Tumblr that even knows what the hell I’m ranting about. Yet another frustration with choosing a career in an obscure field. 🙁

  • I can attest to the truth of this. We see it in the corporate environment throughout. Holding on to principles or ethics proves to be severe career limiting decisions these days.

    Psychopaths flourish in top management positions as bad times persist

  • Erm…that’s like saying that if you’re a vegetarian and you stand in front of a raging bull, it won’t charge at you. Hmmm…nah, that won’t work. That’s like expecting life to treat you well just because you’re a good person. Hmmmm…nah, that doesn’t happen. So me thinks this is crap.

    (Source: http://only-the-unloved-hate.tumblr.com/)

  • I sit here and witness the endless cycle that has played out so many times before. First the engagement, then the enlightenment, the burst of enthusiasm coupled with commitment to common goals, followed by empowerment, only to be destroyed by shameless politics. This is the cycle that my career has gone through on more occasions than I care to remember.

    And so it is again. Having spent the last year unravelling the chaos in this place, we established much needed controls and protocols to achieve a level of stability and predictability of IT systems never before achieved in this organisation, but as always, the lack of a comprehensive people change management programme threatens to undermine all the work that was done simply because the naysayers and whiners that refuse to break out of their comfort zones will hang on for dear life to every last strand of their political connections to try to undermine the changes that are sweeping through their backyards.

    This is a rant about corporate governance, corporate politics, and spineless incompetence that plagues most organisations these days. In such a climate, it’s never about hard work, nor innovation, creativity or taking one for the team. It’s only ever about towing the line according to the political will and appetite of the ill-informed.

    The kind of stuff that complacency is made of.