Conjunction Junction – make that your function

If I was to sort and group my email Sent folder by Subject text, “30 Second World Famous Introduction” would be one of the most used texts.  I just finished sending another one of these networking “blind dates”.

I talked about this in a longer post in 2009 (20 Job Search Answers You Need To Know | #4 How do I start to network?) but I wanted to hit this specific topic again (because it is so important).

To quote that post (and myself): 

(Connecting people) is something I strongly believe in (and do at least once a week). This is all about hooking-up folks whenever you can - WITH NO STRINGS ATTACHED. Whether you call it pay it forward or Instant Karma (as I prefer to), connecting others in your circle expands your circle, too.  So if you know two people that could benefit from meeting each other – hook them up. 

I often hook-up people with my “Blind Date Introduction” email I am fond of sending (just did it last night). 

The email comes in 4 parts and goes something like this:

• The set-up:  Why I think you two should meet
• Person 1 Bio:  How I know you and why you are special
• Person 2 Bio: How I know the other person and why they are special
• Contact: Provide each others contact info with a note to contact the person (or not) as they both see fit

If you do only one thing in 2011 to grow your network – make connecting people that one thing.

Stop Asking Bozo Interview Questions

Let’s start with an admission: I have asked stupid interview questions.  I’m not proud of it. But now – I’m in bozo recovery.

Before recovery, the bozo question I often asked (that I nicked from another bozo) was, “if you could be on a cover of a magazine, what cover would it be”?  That, of course was before the TMZ, broadcast yourself on social media era). 

After a year of asking that question, I got some good answers (PM Network) and some answers that I didn’t know quite what to do with (Dog Fancy) .  But then -  I just stopped. 

No - I don’t find salvation from some great epiphany (or reading a blog post from a bozo like this one), I stopped because I realized that whatever answer they gave me to that question – it had no bearing on whether I would hire them (there were no obvious screen out answers like I want to be on Hustler magazine).

Hey man, Jaws was never my scene and I don’t like Star Wars

I was reminiscing about those Bozo Questions of Interviews Past after reading the CareerBuilder post Star Wars or Star Trek? Questions you just might hear in the interview .  It was all about bozo interview questions – with one being “which do you like better, Star Wars or Star Trek”?

Really?

In addition to the bozo question of the title – it offered up a few more:

“I was once asked what I would bring if the department had a potluck.” - Amanda L.

“What color is your brain?” - Connie B.

“Which Winnie the Pooh character do you relate with the most and why?” - Celie H.

“If we asked you to wear a bumble bee costume, walk around and hand out candy to employees, would you do it?” - Lisa M.

Oh boy.

I’ll add one of my own (that I witnessed):

“If it was a dark alley at night, and I was a little girl, would you throw rocks at me”

Can I throw them now?

Incoming (Prepare for the bozo, not the question)

The CareerBuilder post went on to offer some more great examples and some good suggestions on preparing (like bolt if they ask you an illegal question).  But really, I don’t think you can prepare for a question a bozo may ask.  You just need to be prepared for the bozo on the other side of the desk. 

That preparation looks like:

1. Prepare for what you can Get your ducks in a row for the questions that are legit (and you are likely to get).  If you’re not sweating “why do you want to work here?”, you’ll have more time to side-step the bucket of confetti when it comes your way.
2. Breathe  When the bozo question hits you – just breathe.  Take a moment to formulate an answer.  Really – the answer shouldn’t matter and probably won’t.  If your job hinges on “I like Star Trek because Tribbles are cute” – it may be best to move on either way.  Answer calmly and as intelligently as you can (just don’t say you like the Cardassians – or heaven forbid that you like The Kardashians).
3. Don’t answer wrong  Don’t miss obvious wrong answers.  If you are asked, “What outdoor activity do you hate the most?” – don’t answer fishing if there is a large, taxidermied carp mounted on a board behind the hiring manager’s desk.  No reason to give a bad answer when other good answers (Lacrosse) are available in that spot.
4. May not be a bozo question Some questions may just appear to be bozo-filled but may be legitimate questions.  If I ask you how would you get out of a stuck elevator, for certain jobs, that type of thinking may be important to know (your McGyverness if you will).  Based on your prep work – you should be able to deduce what they are looking for.

Outgoing (If you have orange hair, a bright red nose, and big floppy shoes and are asking the questions)

For those of you still asking the bozo questions:

1. Stop it Right now.
2. Don’t Be a Shock Jock You have heard it before, right?  I ask off the wall questions to see how people handle stress in their job.  BS.  You ask them because you are a bozo.  That’s artificial stress that likely has no indication of how they will handle real stress, or the real stress in the particular job.  You’re not probing – your dangling people (like Michael Jackson did with Blanket).
3. Don’t Be Lazy Devise your interview question that get you the answer you need.  Using our stress example above, ask some probing questions about how they handled stress.  That looks like this: “talk about a stressful project were you had to resolve the problem…how did you resolve it, be specific…give me an example where a resolution did not go well, be specific….).   That should give you a better idea on how they think more than the “Boo!” approach.
4. You’re not Zappos  Zappos is a very unique, very successful, and has a well-defined company culture.  So when Zappos asks a candidate something like “On a scale of 1-10, how weird are you? Why did you choose that number?” – they can use that information to evaluate candidates (and after reading Tony’s book, I bet the second half of that question is the more important part).  At your company, how weird someone is more likely will determine the size of their cubicle.  That brings us to our next point…
5. Be genuine  If your inquiry is on the edge of a bozo question (but you think it is important in the evaluation) put the candidate at ease.  Loosen the jar (not the one with the pop out snakes) and let them know it is coming.  If you’re not a bozo in the delivery, they won’t freak out and will be able to give you a more telling answer. 
6. Stop it I mean it

Tell us (Shameless plug for Comments)

Have you asked a bozo question?  What made you stop?  What is the oddest question you were ever asked?  What is the weirdest answer you gave?

Please – leave a comment (share the bozoisty).

Quote | Purpose and Direction

Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction – John F. Kennedy

I gleaned this quote out of my recent read of The Kennedy Detail (that I reviewed the other day).   Seemed like a fitting quote to start the New Year off right.

What is your purpose and/or direction in your life in 2011?   Where will you go – be it personal, professional, physical health, financial health or mental health?   Do you have a plan, a goal or your own roadmap?  Am I sounding like the Theme from Mahogany yet?

Hopefully between swigging eggnog and digging yourself out of the nationwide blizzards, you’ve had some time to think of questions like these (and others you have asked yourself).

I welcome you to 2011 and wish you all the success in progress towards those goals.

Happy New You Year!

Quote | I don’t need anyone great

During coffee today with a buddy who is a killer sales professional in the staffing world, he shared a quote with me that I just love.   One of his clients was looking for a contract developer to add to his team and offered:

I don’t need anyone great, I need someone to get the work done

Remarkable.  Instead of good to great, we’re going from awesome to good.

Looking for a completely adequate developer?  That’s an awesome strategy for an adequate product, adequate growth and adequate ROI.  Let’s print the t-shirts right now!

I’m all for people who can get work done, but adding average people to your team is never a good idea.  Role players need to be awesome in their jobs as well.

Whether it is and FTE or 10-99, adding someone based on bill rate or salary (to a point, of course) alone is really a bad idea.  Base your decisions – and coach them up to –on what value they can bring.

Start what you (want to) finish

As I finish an awesome first week at the new job, a recent drawing (bottom) from Nicholas Bate’s blog came to mind.  As Nicholas often does, it quickly and simply paints a business reality (in this case - getting stuff done).

As simple as it is, so often folks overlook the reason that they have not finished something yet –– because they haven’t started!  Hello!?!

I had two recent personal projects this year that followed this simple methodology:  running a half marathon and landing a new job opportunity.

Put one foot in front of the other

This year, I decided to finally get serious about my running passion and take the first step (as it were) toward my ultimate goal of completing a (full) marathon by first completing a half-marathon.   There were a lot of excuses to overcome (had gotten WAY out of shape, time crunches, whatever). 

But, I gutted it up (or more accurately dropped the gut) by getting a plan, applying focus (getting up at 3:00 am to run in the dark before work requires focus), making a decision (mix in a salad, big boy), abandoned excuses (it’s too hot, I am tired, I am sore) and got started (as slow,painful and embarrassing as running 1 minute/walking 1 minute in public is).  

Without starting, I would have never reached the finish line (literally) - which I did.

Westbound and down (loaded up and trucking)

This same, simple process was in play for my job search project.  Do you need to find a job?  It starts with a plan (network, network, network), focus (triangulate the search on opportunities that fit your passion, your talents and what there is a market for), a decision (Curtain #1, Curtain #2 or Curtain #3), abandoning all excuses (the economy, too much competition, I hate wearing a suit, change is scary) and then it comes down to just starting (and for those that know me - all my job searches start in the same place).

So – if your next big thing is floundering (your new project, your new program, a new product, going after a new market, starting your own company, getting your MBA, a job hunt, a house hunt, a spouse hunt, writing a blog post, writing a book, cleaning the house or that weight loss plan that keeps losing out to Ladies Night), there’s one thing to do: start by starting. 

You can’t finish, if you don’t start.

Joel Not on Software | Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen

As he announced earlier this week, Joel Spolsky is retiring from blogging today – on the 10^th anniversary of his blog, Joel On Software. Joel was one of the pioneers of blogging (especially on the geek side of the world) and his content has been a welcome sight in my Google Reader over the years.

I’ve talked  about Joel often in the past decade (on this blog, other blogs and in countless emails and presentations). I share his views on the simple approach to the art of creating software, how to make the interface user-centric and how to create a start-up company the right way (hire Über-talented people and you’ll find a way to make a product people will buy).

Additionally, Joel gave the simplest advice to any hiring manager on what you look for in a candidate you are interviewing (which I nicked last year for my own post):  

1. Smart
2. Get Stuff Done

He later turned The Guerrilla Guide to Interviewing into a book (a must for all IT hiring managers – but useful to anyone in the talent acquisition realm).

I love Vegas every moment (how long ‘ave I been on?)

My friend Angie loves to clown me to this day about the time she and I went to the Better Software Conference in 2006 (primarily to see Joel as the keynote speaker). Not only did we eschew the pool and slushy drinks to attend that session, but I was a like tweener at a Hannah Montana concert (or so so she tells me). Of course, we also joke about the $22 drinks at Mandalay Bay (but that’s a story for another day).

Jumping the Virtual Shark

It seems to be growing sentiment that blogging has jumped the shark.

Although it has served him well (he’s not cutting coupons), Joel talks about the failure and unfilled promise (and linkage back to the business success) of blogging in a piece this month in Inc Magazine (Let's Take This Offline):

The big-hit technology companies from the past 10 years tend to have pathetic blogs. Twitter’s blog, like Facebook’s and Google’s, is full of utterly boring press releases rewritten to sound a little bit less stuffy. Apple’s employees produce virtually no blogs, even though the company has introduced several game-changing new products in the past decade. Meanwhile, hundreds of Microsoft’s employees have amazing blogs, but these have done nothing to stave off that company’s slide into stodginess.

Don’t give up on it just yet.  Blogging has a relevant place in the mix. But like any content and brand-building channel, it is not the only content delivery system to use and you need to be speaking to your customer in the right places with the right messages (and where they are!).

So long and thanks for all the fish

Finally - good luck Joel on your new endeavors.  I look forward to following you in other mediums and make sure to line up more keynotes in Vegas (I’ll come – probably Angie will, too)

Read to Write

For years, my pat answer to folks who ask me, “How can I write better?” has been: by writing. If you want to blog, start blogging (the practice makes perfect axiom – unless you’re talking about Kenny G or something).

That is true for other forms of writing (a slide deck for the boss, a business case for your latest project or a whitepaper on your idea that will save the company millions and get your picture on the cover of Newsweek). The repetition improves the voice of your writing as well the quality (assuming you are getting feedback and striving to improve).

Wendii at Manager Tools (in her post this week) reminds me of the other half of the pie - which is 90% of the effort (as Yogi Berra or Norm Crosby might say): inspiration. Where do you get your ideas from (again whether that’s for your blog or the next product for you company)?

The answer is simple: read (and read a lot). Wendii explains:

Lots of input seems to help with output. Talk (or write) a LOT. Explaining things to others helps you consolidate them in your own mind and find new ways of putting things together.

My co-workers and wife will attest that I have that talking a lot part down.

I will add to her note to also read a lot of different things (inside and outside your industry or knowledge – and comfort zone). Reading someone like Scott Berkun or Joel Spolsky will expose you to a lot more than  software development (for example Innovation myths in Schoolhouse rock). 

And look, she was right. By reading Wendii’s post, it gave me an idea for this piece.