Career

Make Sure You Use The News

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We post a lot of news here.  That's part of the service we provide to our fellow geeks, after all – calling out and analyzing news for people.

So I want to encourage you to do something WITH the news.  The news here.  The news elsewhere.  Whatever method you get news, you need to act on it and need to get in the habit of acting on it.

What do I mean?  Well it's easy to get news.  We geeks have news feeds, RSS, aggregators, social media, Twitter, and everything else.  We're constantly getting news – good news, relevant news, news that's important.

But getting news is one thing.  It's acting on it that makes a real difference.

So get into the habit of acting on news:

  • If you see a story you should read, don't just read it – ask what it means for you, and perhaps act on it.
  • If you hear about a company that sounds good then check their job listings, and send them a resume, or pass the lead onto friends and family.
  • For that matter if a story is relevant, just pass it on.
  • If the story links elsewhere, follow.  If you want to learn more go do a web search for a few minutes.
  • Does it mention a good book?  Download a sample or buy the thing.

Simple?  Sure. It's all stuff we think we should be doing – but we have to get into the habit of using that news.

So get active – news is only news you can use when you use it.

– Steven Savage

Convention Idea: The Hall Of Education

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Behold, the Hall of Education!  Go forth and learn!

OK, that sounds corny.  No, I wouldn't use that introduction for . .  well anything . . . but that's what I've christened an professional-geek oriented Idea I want to suggest for your conventions.

The Hall of Education (come on work with me here).

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I Have a Job They Don’t: Invite Them

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So after a bit of a break, it's back to the "I have a job they don't" series, where we look at just what you, the employed, can do for those who don't have a job.

This week?  I want to encourage you to involve people in a project.

Your unemployed friends are quite likely to A) need to learn more skills, B) need to network, and C) feel depressed.  Involving them in a project is a way to address all of those issues at once.

Maintaining a blog?  Invite them to blog for you to hone their writing, get work out there, and meet your readers.

Running a con?  See if they want to help out, and give them a chance to use whatever relevant skills they have for big, public event.  In some cases it might be worth listing on a resume or a LinkedIn profile.

Run a newsletter?  Come on, your friend with the Tech Writing skills can help with formatting!

If you're any kind of geek, you're always juggling a few projects.  Inviting your job-seeking friends aboard gives them a lot of benefits.

Best of all, it helps you stay friends – which can be tough in times of economic stress.

– Steven Savage