Double Journey

As a manager in my company, I have to do a lot of interviews.  It surprises me how often I interview people who don’t have much idea about how to get through even the simplest of interviews. Now in defense of some of these candidates, I often see people for junior positions.  Many of these people are either freshly out of college or on their second job.  But even then, it still is surprising how some people perform.

Probably  most common mistake I see in people consistently make is to not engage with the interviewer.  People naturally like people they can have a good conversation with.  If you are answering questions too succinctly it can be a problem.  I was on an interview the other day where I was basically trying to guide the candidate down a certain path.  This candidate was answering my questions, but they were not doing much more than that.  I was hoping to have a dialog with the person to delve deeper into their background and skill set, but it was almost impossible without me doing all the talking.  I even went so far as to asking a purposefully vague question in hopes this person would ask me to clarify.  It is a technique I like to use to see how people deal with ambiguity and how good they are at asking meaningful questions.  No such luck.  The person just answered the question.

So my advice is simple.  It just involves

• Asking lots of questions - If you are asked a question, ask a question right back. There are no perfect interview questions.  Almost everything in life can be clarified.  I like it when people are confused about my question.  It shows they are paying attention and that they are being thoughtful about their response.
• Talk and be verbose - Don’t go overboard with this one but remember that this is a conversation.  You should probably be talking as much as the interviewer.  There are times I have gotten the interviewer talking more than myself by asking the right question.  More often than not, I do well in those interviews.

So don’t be shy.  You would be surprised how often interviewers wouldn’t mind a helping hand for themselves when trying to get through an interview.

I was chatting with a friend today that I hadn’t talked to in a while.  We were just discussing how things were with each other and the conversation eventually turned into how she was doing at her job.  She has been in the job for a while, and I know she has been thinking about leaving for a long time.  But as we talked it came up that she was thinking of looking for a job out of state.  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing until she explained that California has just gotten to expensive to live in.

And to a large degree she is right.  She is, like me, part of Generation Screwed.   She does OK by most standards, but she is, like me, a renter.  She wants to get married, raise a family, and eventually own a home.  Of course those in the generation face the daunting problem of saving a small fortune to buy a house.  Coupled with the high taxes and high gas prices in California, no wonder she is thinking of leaving.

It really makes me wonder how bad it is for those in California less fortunate than me.  I have started thinking about how I can save money when faced with these economic uncertainties.  Now for me, most of this is psychological in nature (more on that later), but for many many people it is a stark reality.    California is a very expensive place to live.  For many people, all the benefits of living in California don’t outweigh the lower standard of living. How does the average person achieve the American Dream in California?  How is it possible to start out, pay off loans, stay out of debt, save enough to buy a house, save enough to send your kids to college, and then save enough for retirement?  I find it difficult enough as is with a high salary, no kids, and no debt, I just can’t imagine how it must be for those faced with multiple challenges.

So what happens when more and more people start feeling this way?  Is it possible that we see a migration out of California?

I often think that my generation is getting the very short end of the stick.  I’m sure lots of people feel that way about their respective lives, but it is an odd thing for me.  You see, I’ve always done very well, but I think I’ve done very well despite some pretty big obstacles put in front of people my age, 30.  Here is the quick list of what 30 year olds today have a right to gripe about

•  Tech Bust of 2000 -  Right before I graduated college and was about to enter the working world, the tech bubble was in full swing.  the Dot Coms of the world were producing millionaires for people with my exact skill set.  Of course, right when I graduated, tech mania subsided, the bubble burst, and lots of my peers lost their jobs.  I even technically lost my job.   So right when it was most important to have a job, since few, if any, of my peers had a safety net, we were losing our first jobs.  The jobs that would set a foundation for the things to come.
• 9/11 - One short year after I graduated, we had 9/11.  This changed the face of the United States and brought on an even wider economic slowdown than the tech bubble bursting.  Our lives became a little more frightening and a lot more inconvenient.  It brought changes to our government and our lifestyles which I frankly don’t really care for.  A few years down the road it even helped re-elect one of the biggest idiots we have ever had as President ….
• George Bush - Can you believe that this has been the man who has been President of the United States my entire adult life?  If that doesn’t show you how screwed my generation is, I don’t know what does
• The Housing Bubble - This one might just be the worse one of all.  My combined household income would, according to wikipedia, qualify me to easily be in the top 5% of households in the United States.  If we took into account how much I have in savings …  Well let’s just say I’m not doing half bad.  Yet I don’t own a home.  I don’t because ever since I was able to afford it, it hasn’t made any economic sense to buy.  Prices were just too high.  Most people my age probably could not even really afford it until about 2005, but by then housing prices had skyrocketed to unprecedented levels.  To make matters worse, many of my peers bought anyway!  So now, they are losing their shirts as home prices fall.  Since they just bought, they have no equity.  Many of them will be foreclosed on, ruining their credit for years to come.
• The end of Pensions and the Collapse of Social Security - Pensions as we know it are done.  My generation now faces the very daunting taks of an unsecure retirement.  Many of our parents have guaranteed income the rest of their life thanks to generous pension benefits.  My mom retired in her early 50’s and has a pension that will pay her 1/2 her salary for the rest of her life.  No such luck for me.  I’ll be saving for retirement by myself with no such guarantees.    To make mattes worse, my generation will be the one to have to deal with the Social Security mess.  Fantastic!
• Inflation - I’ve written before and I’ll say it again.  Inflation is very, very bad.  It has been dormant for almost my entire lifetime.  But right when it matters most, when people my age should be starting to accumulate wealth for retirement, it springs back to life.

I could go on and on.  These problems aren’t like the Great Depression or a World War (although we have had to deal with a very long, protracted war even though we reached “Mission Accomplished” years ago) but still.  While these problems haven’t really affected me personally, I’ve seen their effect on my friends.  It makes me think that things are even worse for us than I believe since I myself have never felt the pain first hand.  What do you think?  Am I part of generation screwed or am I making a bigger deal about this than it really is?

Today, former Phoenix Sun’s coach Mike D’antoni was announced as the new coach for the New York Knicks.  It had been rumored for several days that he was the front runner both for the Knick’s job, as well as the Chicago Bulls vacant coaching position.  The owner of the Bulls, Jerry Reinsdorf is quoted as saying,  “I’m disappointed in him. I don’t know what else we could’ve done. He chose to go to New York knowing there was a good chance we would make him an offer. If he had really wanted to be in Chicago, he would’ve waited. Instead, he misled us. It’s not the end of the world, but it is somewhat rude.“

Not sure what type of people Jerry Reinsdorf is use to hiring, but they can’t be very good.  As an employer, you have to expect that people are not showing you all their cards.  Good people have options.  That’s a fact.  For some reason Jerry Reinsdof thinks that good people will just sit around and let him take his time to make a decision.  That’s just not how the world works.  You have to EXPECT that people are going to look elsewhere.  You have to EXPECT that they are going to listen to other offers.

Here is the thing that is the most hypocritical.   What was Reinsdorf waiting on?  By all accounts, he had a meeting to discuss the job with D’antoni.  If he was so certain he wanted D’antoni, why didn’t he make an offer right then and there?  He clearly didn’t make one because he said himself, “there was a good chance we would make him an offer”, not “we made him an offer”.   Clearly he wasn’t sure.  In all likelihood, he probably wanted to interview a few other candidates himself.  So he is upset because D’antoni looked around for other opportunities but he himself was going to do the same thing.

Here is a news flash to employers, don’t expect prospective employees to tell you all their options.   If you really want them, then make it a good offer and make it quick.  Good people don’t stay unemployed for very long.  Just look at my situation.  I WANTED to stay unemployed for a little longer, and it was all to easy to find a job.

I wrote this post a while ago and never posted it.  However now is as good as ever, especially given my distance to the situation.

1. I didn’t want to be in Seattle - This was a relatively minor reason but a reason nonetheless.  I am at the point in my career that I was seriously thinking about what to do the next five years.  Being in Seattle wasn’t really on the list of things.
2. Broken promises - I came to Microsoft with certain expectations and certain things were told to me would happen.  They didn’t happen.  I’ll leave it at that.
3. I just didn’t enjoy work - I know it is work, and that you shouldn’t expect it to be a party all the time, but I’m the type of person who wants to really enjoy my work.  Give that I am the type of person who works long hours and spends most of my time at work, it is important that I enjoy what I do.
4. The wrong things are rewarded - I saw a few instances of people being recognized for things and behaviors which I just didn’t think were appropriate.  It honestly seemed to me that it paid off to be a jerk.
5. It was too hard to get things done -This was a combination of things.  Part of it is just being at a big company with large interest to protect.  Part of it was people trying to do other people’s job for the sake of increasing their scope.  Part of it was just being a very small fish in a huge Windows/Office Ocean.
6. Slow Career Growth - Probably the biggest reason I left.  I thought about where I wanted to be and how long it would take me to get there.  Today’s Microsoft is not the Microsoft of old.  Microsoft is top heavy with people with long tenure.   Microsoft’s employee base was doubling every few years.  You could advance simply because of the rising tide.   That’s not the case anymore.  It would have taken me twenty years to get where I wanted to be.  No way I could see myself working there for the next twenty years.

I could probably go on, but this outlines the biggest reasons.   Don’t get me wrong, there were plenty of reasons Microsoft can be a great place to work. The resources are fantastic, the benefits outstanding, and the quality of people who work there is generally pretty high.

It wasn’t an easy decision to come to, even though I knew it was the right decision.  Looking back, I absolutely made the right choice. I can say that even though I have issues with my current job.  The problems I was encountering were deal breakers.  I could have stuck around and just “floated” along.  It would have been easy not do much work and just get by.  But it just wasn’t me.  Besides, the opportunity cost was too high.  Every day I stayed at Microsoft was a day I wasn’t doing something else.  I just couldn’t have that.

I want to say thanks to my friend Rick who provided me with a fantastic piece of software, Paint.NET.  It’s what I used to crop the above picture.

Today I wore a very nice green shirt to work. I actually got complimented on it several times today. To one of my co-workers, I mentioned that it was the same shirt I wore to my job interview for that company. I then told him how I wore it for the specific reason that it was green, and the company’s corporate color is green. I was trying to play a Jedi-mind trick by showing the people who were interviewing me that I was “one of them”.

It must have worked because I got the job. I’m sure it had nothing to do with my qualifications, it all had to do with my great green shirt. But it got me thinking about things I do when in a job interview. Here are some of the basics.

• Look the part - Dress up. I don’t care if it is a casual environment, come looking like you mean business.
• Come prepared - Nothing turns people off more than you not knowing something about both the company and the industry
• Ask questions and listen carefully - You can almost always tell the answer someone is actually looking for by the way they react to you. You need to size up your interviewer. Figure out what they are in there to figure out about you and what is important to them. Focus on that.
• 90% of the time, it isn’t what you say but how you say it - I’m always told I interview well. It really isn’t what I say, but the fact that I speak well and confidently.
• Agree, A LOT - This is something you should do in general when trying to convince anyone of anything. You should almost always agree with someone, even if you disagree. By that I mean you need to find something you agree with in what they are saying or at least make it known that you understand or empathize with them.

And of course, wear a shirt or blouse that matches the corporate colors.

I was talking to a co-worker the other day about a new hire he just recruited. The new hire was to start in two weeks because he had given his two weeks notice. My coworker than told a story about how, at his former job, they required him to work the full two weeks, even requiring him to work half a day since he had told his former employer in the middle of the day.

I couldn’t believe this story because giving two weeks notice is a courtesy. It is absolutely not required, and anyone who tells you otherwise is just wrong.  Now to be fair, if you will use this employer in the future as a reference, you probably want to leave on good terms.  In addition, I am a strong believer that you never burn your bridges, you never know if you will come back or where your paths may cross again.

Now, I’ve always given the courtesy of two weeks notice.  On a interesting side note, I once went to talk to my boss to tell him I was quitting.  He actually told me I didn’t need to give him the notice because he knew that his boss was coming in to town to fire him.  If I wanted to leave the next day, I was free to do so.  Sure enough, the next day his boss came to fire him.

I’ve been on the other side of the table too.  I’ve had an employee come to give his resignation and not give me two weeks notice.  He did give me one, but even if he hadn’t I wouldn’t have blamed him.  I am a strong believer that people need to do what’s best for them.  If it was necessary for my employee to leave sooner for a good reason, I support that 100%.  It hurt a little bit, but the truth of the matter is is that there was probably not even two weeks of work for him to do.  As soon as he gave notice, I couldn’t have him work on any new projects, I just needed him to document the current stuff he was working on.  After he did that, there really wasn’t much left for him to do.

Now here is the thing.  Most employees are at-will employees.  That means your employer can fire you at anytime and for any reason without giving you any notice.  It is the norm for an employer to fire an employee without any notice.  Employment is a two way street.  So if your employer isn’t going to have any remorse seeing you leave without notice, why should you feel bad when the tables are turned?

What are your thoughts on the matter?  Do you think an employee should always give two weeks notice?

I wonder how much of a stigma still exist for people who work in tech? At times in the past, and probably still today, it was considered an occupation that only geeks and nerds would have. Images of scrawny cubicle dwellers in glasses spending hours in front of their computer are synonymous with IT workers. (And now that I think of it, it pretty much does describe a lot of my coworkers)

But is there a better job that is available to the masses than working as a computer engineer? Think about it for a second. In all the companies I have worked for the following is true

• Computer Engineers are well paid
• Computer Engineers have extremely flexible hours. They can come in late and leave early if they wish, so long as they finish their work
• Computer Engineers can easily get away with doing very little if they choose (see picture)
• Computer Engineers have physically undemanding jobs
• Computer Engineers are allowed, and usually encouraged, to take breaks during working hours (Foosball and Video games are the norm at my work)
• Computer Engineers are in demand and thus jobs tend to be pretty plentiful

Its hard to think of a job that can be as easy (if one chooses) and pays as well as those available in the tech industry. Now while I greatly respect the job, I don’t feel many other people do. I know when I was single and trying out the dating services I purposefully avoided saying I was a Software Development Manager. It paid off. Talking to my girlfriend afterwards, she told me she was already concerned that I went to Princeton, and that if I had stated what I did, her first impression would have been that I was too nerdy.

Now you would think that women would love to date a computer engineer and that it wouldn’t be a turn off. After all, it is a well paying, secure job, that still would leave time for her or their family. But I guess its just hard to overcome the image of Dilbert and Wally.

What do you think. What are some of the best jobs that an average American can have?

I’m about three months into my new job.  Like any job there are some good and there are some bad, but I will be honest and say I’ve been frustrated at my job much more than I should be considering I am in what should be the honeymoon phase.

I think my biggest problem is probably a mismatch in expectations.   This is something crucial to get right whenever you start a job and it is something that I unfortunately did not do well here.

This company has the exact opposite problem I had at Microsoft.  Microsoft moved too slow for me; this company moves to fast.  I was expected to come in and start making some pretty big decisions and contribute right from the start.  For someone in my position, who has to understand the product, technology, and process to do his job effectively, this put me in a very awkward position and quite frankly hurt my credibility.   I needed time to get my bearings and learn the ropes.  It would have been foolish of me to come in and start making changes left and right.  Even with what I know now and the problems that are evident, it is clear that some people aren’t open to changing things.

Managing expectations, it is something everyone has to do well in every job.  It is even truer the higher you go up the food chain where expectations become big and every missed expectation is magnified.

This is probably something you really need to nail down before accepting the job.  I’m usually pretty careful about this and I would argue I was even with this job.  There are some things you just can’t know before you really start a job, but you should still do your best to get a lay of the land.  I suggest you do the following (which I did)

1.  Ask what your success criteria will be in 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year
2. Who will be assigned to help you learn the nuances particular to any company
3. Do you have any immediate deliverables?
4. Who will help you with those deliverables if your ramp up time is longer than expected?

It is my strong suggestion that you limit your responsibility and deliverables immediately after starting a new job.  Biting off too much when you start can be frustrating for all involved.  I have to say this is one thing that Microsoft did well when I started.   I literally had no responsibility the first month I got there.   In about month and a half in, I was expected to deliver my first deliverable and even then it was small and manageable.  Only after I went through my first full cycle (about 6 months in) was I really expected to drive and deliver.

I’m one of those people who in theory, don’t really believe in tipping yet I do it anyway, even when I get horrible service.   The side of me who doesn’t really believe in tipping believes so because I believe I pay for a service up front.  The price of the service is built in into my bill.  When I go to a restaurant, I pay a premium to eat there.  If they wish to charge me more to cover the salaries of their workers, so be it.  But I do not feel obligated to do the job of the owner of the restaurant, which is to pay his workers.  While some may argue that the wait staff is paid less  because tips are factored into their pay, I simply respond that again, I’m not responsible for other people, however callous that may sound.  Pay is between an employer and an employee, and if the employee is not being paid enough, it should be brought up with the employer, not the customer.

With all that being said, I always tip, even when I’m generally unhappy with the service.  Not sure why I do it, but something just compels me.   Perhaps it is a sense of guilt, although I like to think I live my life pretty guilt free.  For whatever the reason, I almost always tip and it is almost always quite generous.  However, I had cause tonight to not tip.

My movers came to deliver my stuff to my new apartment.  I tipped the crew at the origin and planned to tip the crew (who was different) at my destination.  However, the guy who showed up was clearly unorganized, and wasn’t sure what was my stuff and what was another persons.  He also shows up woefully understaffed, he brought only one other guy with him.   Since he showed up at 7:00 p.m., I decided to help lest he be here till Midnight.  What upset me even more was that it was very clear that many of my belongings were mishandled and not treated with care.  There were boxes with water damage (most of the contents were safe however), there were boxes labeled “This End Up” that were upside down, they dropped the bed (that was thankfully covered in plastic) onto the wet grass.  The list goes on and on.  So I decided to not tip them.  I felt bad for about 30 seconds, and then I got over it quickly.  I’m up typing this at 1:30 a.m. because they left at around 10:30.

So what do you think.  Do you always tip?  Are there times you don’t?  Why  not?