Job Hunt- Mission Accomplished!

Sorry for the gap between posts- I've been focused on working through a job offer that will get me back to work (and probably blogging less).

Here are the numbers:
* 4 months "in transition"
* 11 resumes sent
* 6 initial interviews
* 5 follow up interviews
* 1 job offer (accepted!)

During my job search, I spoke to people in the career counseling business, people who have been out of work recently, people who know people who are out of work, people who have ever known people out of work, and I kept hearing the same reaction- Whatever you're doing, keep doing it!

I'm no job search expert, but that won't stop me from blogging about it. I think my successful job search came down to three guiding principles:

1. Figure out what you want, and focus your efforts on that: I make it easy for others to find and use information. I looked at a number of jobs where that was either the theme of the role or where I felt I could apply that theme. 
2. Network, network, network: This one is obvious. Your network can't help you if they don't know you're looking. Let them know and people will volunteer to give a hand. You never know where you're going to run into the right job- it could be through LinkedIn, it could be from a former colleague, it could be in the stands at a Little League game. Keep talking and keep listening.
3. Don't let yourself get overwhelmed: I preach Less is More. If you've cultivated a network (even a small one) and you let people know, you're going to hear a lot of advice. Most of it is probably not for you, so listen carefully, thank everyone for their help, and figure out what you think works best for you. I decided to keep a list of all the possibilities and options I heard, while spending my time working on a few opportunities at a time. I didn't apply for jobs where I didn't meet the key requirements and/or didn't have a network connection; these aren't worth the time it takes to apply and manage them. Eleven resumes in four months may sound lazy to some, but I call it ruthlessly efficient.

I secured a leadership role where I'm in charge of managing authoritative clinical content so clients can find and use information to make the best decisions about cancer treatment options. This role fits my criteria for "the right opportunity"-  I get to use my strengths and skills, follow my passion, have a leadership role and a positive impact on patient health while reducing healthcare costs, and work at a small, innovative company surrounded by very smart people.

Mission Impossible? Mission Accomplished!

Writing? Can Do!

I think there are 3 rules of good business writing:

1. Know your audience.
2. Be concise.
3. Other than basic rules of grammar and spelling, there are no other rules.

I was excited to find a new book at the Library that sets down similar rules. Can Do Writing (by Daniel and Judith Graham) provides a 10-step system for effective business writing. The book guides you through the Graham's process to produce effective, concise communications for your target audience.

Can Do Writing helps you with the critical details of defining your target audience, developing and organizing your ideas, and drafting and editing to make it easy for your readers to understand what they need to know and do.

It's a quick read (of course) and there's a lot there to help you become a writer who makes information easy!

Exactly My (Power) Point!

I enjoyed Dona Wong's response to the NY Times article about PowerPoint.

Bulletpoints may lead to the demise of society, but probably not.

Does the format/tool you use make it easy for your audience to understand (and act on) your message? If the answer is "Yes", then you're using the right tool, whether it's PowerPoint, Word, email, just you on a podium with Arcade Fire playing in the background...

It's not the tool, it's the story you tell and the way you tell it. Even my kid knows that!

Great Minds...Post Alike!

I was going to talk about writing effective emails today, but since Oliver Fontana just did, I'll point to his Less is More Email post at Power Presentations.

Purpose, Actions, Supporting Info: Sounds right to me and, since Less is More, I'll leave it at that.

Tools of the Trade: Project Charter

When I manage projects, I like to keep my team focused on project business goals and timeframes, while minimizing the amount of information they need to deal with to deliver. In a project, you have a Business Problem and Solution and I keep them front and center in every meeting and discussion. Most importantly I create a simple Project Charter and get agreement from the team and project sponsors to use it as the guide for what we do and how we do it.

The Project Charter consists of :

• a simply stated Project Background and Business Problem (3-4 sentences)
• the proposed Solution (2-3 sentences)
• major milestones, with timelines
• key expected Issues and Risks (5 bulletpoints or less)
• Project team members, roles, and contact information
• Project oversight committee members, roles and contact information
• Communication Plan (communication types, methods, roles in a simple table)

One page is the ideal, but the Charter usually rolls into a second page.

I use the Charter to initiate the project and I point to it when we need to figure out how to handle problems, whether to change the Project Plan or Design, and how to know if we're on track to provide a real Business Solution.

To me, projects are about solving real business problems, rather than simply implementing technology or process because it's on our annual objectives. The Project Charter helps the team and the oversight group make sure we deliver something valuable.