Between opportunities

People notice

jenmy — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 02:28:40 +0000

People notice what you say, how you say it, how you interact with other people, what is said about you. Especially if you’re seen as a leader in a company. In order to grow and learn, it’s imperative to take what you like most about a person’s habits and try to emulate. Take notice of things that could be improved upon and learn from it.

Someone from my work told me something he was told “I know people watch me from the moment I step on to the parking lot to the time that I leave the parking lot.” It sounds like a show but I think it’s just about being more aware of one’s actions and its impact.

Liar Liar Pants on Fire

jenmy — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 02:51:01 +0000

I debated between this title and “honesty is the best policy” but I thought the rhyme was more catchy.

I was always taught to tell the truth because the truth will always come out. So if you tell a bunch of lies, you’ll get caught in the web and look pretty foolish. In any job search book they always tell people not to lie on their resume or cover letter. However, I’ve seen in many cases that it’s not true. The truth will always come out. It’s a pretty small world out there and people can do their research pretty easily. I’ve heard of people making up organizations/committees, stretching the truth about responsibilities and making up degrees/diplomas. It happens because people get desperate thinking that with their current qualifications they can’t get a job they want. Well lying isn’t going to make it better. People can tell when people are lying because of the holes in stories, the shifty eyes and general lack of confidence.

Lying is too much work and people will get found out sooner or later. Once that happens bring the extinguisher out because someone’s pants are on fire.

Satisficing: Why being content can result in satisfactory work

jenmy — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 03:07:14 +0000

In university I was taught the word “satisficing” in my organizational behaviour course. It means to simply take the best at the moment or to make the best decision possible with all the information we have. Someone today said to me “it seems like having a job and having a dream job you actually want are two completely different things.” That to me seems like a waste because 3 months down the road you’ll realize that the job you took because you “satisficed” is a living nightmare. Personally, I think there are too many people in positions where they are completely content with where they are and see a job as a job and not as a position to improve their career. To each his/her own but a job is not a job but a series of career decisions to challenge oneself and improve one’s skill set. My previous employer once told me “you want to be waiting at the bus stop when that opportunity comes along. Who knows when the next bus will come by?” If one is satisficing then one is not expecting a bus to come by and outputs satisfactory work. In hiring people, I think it’s key to hire people that want to move up in their career. It means the person shows ambition to move up in their career and he/she will strive to do their best so he/she can move up. Some people are content with where they are and choose not to wait for the bus and let is pass them by. If you don’t want to miss the opportunity then make sure you’re dressed to play and on time.

Business is Business

jenmy — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 00:48:57 +0000

Business is business. Some people take business decisions personally like they are personal vendettas against someone. In reality we’re in business to make money and if the company isn’t finding that their goals are being met then it’s time to make a business decision for better or for worse. There’s a lot of good workers out there but it’s a matter of finding the right mix of skills, personality and attitude. I personally believe that if you have the right attitude and you’re willing to learn then you can do almost anything. It’s the attitude that is most difficult to change.

I have reached my one year anniversary at Extreme Brandz which seems somewhat unreal as it’s been a very quick year. I sometimes forget what month it is since time seems to be flying by.

Summer winding down

jenmy — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 02:34:33 +0000

So…it’s been a few months. It’s been a mix of being busy and not finishing posts (I have about 4 I started but never quite made it to the post stage). Another part of it is wanting a bit of privacy.

I have reached the point where I’m no longer able to count all the months that I’ve been at Extreme Brandz on my hands. I’m almost at a year. It doesn’t seem that long but part of that might be that I’m so busy with projects that I don’t really notice the time. Today I found a magazine article about one of the projects that I worked on which filled me pride. In other news, I did dragon boat during the summer and participated in three races. Two of those races my team placed first in our division. The last race was super tight and my team won by 0.47 of a second. I got my first metal in years. It’s pretty awesome!

Lately I’ve been thinking about attitudes and how it’s so difficult to change them. I am a true believer that people can change if they want to. As individuals we all have the power to control our reactions, choices and attitudes. If the underlying issue of a problem is the attitude and the person refuses to change, what do you do? A complete paradigm shift is needed. You can teach people almost any skill. You can’t teach someone to have a positive attitude. I rather deal with someone who has a great attitude and low skill than someone with a crummy attitude and high skills. What’s the point in which you cut your losses?

How to accept failure

jenmy — Mon, 17 May 2010 23:56:00 +0000

I can’t seem to figure out if being a keener is from nature or nurture. In high school I was the big fish in the small pond and then university turned that around and made me the regular size fish in a super intense pond. The pressure I put on myself is high and it’s not from my parents. If anything they were very laissez faire about my life and the decisions I made. They didn’t force me to do anything which allowed me to pick my true passion. Perhaps it’s the lack of their pressure that pushes me to pressure myself. It’s fine for a while until a small slip up happens and then guilt and pressure comes crumbling down like a house of cards. Okay, so that’s a bit dramatic. I suppose it’s a learning lesson and it allows me to become a better and stronger person. The glass is full – half of air and half of water.

Don’t let the fear of failure prevent you from succeeding.

The importance of customer service

jenmy — Fri, 07 May 2010 04:19:40 +0000

The way I understand customer service is that I pay someone to provide me with a service or product in exchange for money. I give them my hard-earned money in good faith that the person or company will fulfill their end of the bargain and provide me with a product or service with friendly customer service in a timely manner. If I do not receive this then I try to make it known my displeasure and take my hard-earned money elsewhere. My expectations are not *that* high that people can’t achieve them. It’s just a standard expectation.

Sadly I’ve been disappointed recently. In a Canadian chain coffee shop I often frequent, I ordered a strawberry lemonade smoothie. I was being served by a lady who I wasn’t a huge fan of before because she isn’t the friendliest of servers. She took my order and started making me a drink. Another lady ran my order through the cash register and I was handed a drink. I was offered an Italian soda. I politely informed the lady who made my drink that it wasn’t what I ordered. She argued that it was and when the lady at the cash told her it wasn’t she gave me a dirty look and took the order from the person behind me. It’s sad because that one server who may or may not have had a bad day just turned me off from the entire company as a whole. The front line staff of any company represents the brand. Poor operations can kill any marketing program and can kill a business. Hiring the right people with the right attitude is key.

How to organize and manage your e-mails

jenmy — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 02:59:01 +0000

Life seems to passing me by. The weeks go by extremely quickly. I’m still shocked that it’s April let alone almost the end of April already. At work everyday is a different day which I enjoy. At the beginning of the day, I look at my Weekly Activity Report which outlines my long-term and short-term goals. I write down my daily goals that I want to achieve along with the meetings that I have and the little things that come up. It seems that it’s the little things that come up and take a portion of my time. E-mail is a big part of that. Part of me thinks that it’s manageable and a useful tool but another part of me things that sometimes it can hinder my goals for the day when more urgent things take place which you find out via e-mail. When I really need to concentrate, I close Microsoft Inbox and focus at the task at hand. Sometimes I wonder how business was conducted before the invention of e-mail. Below is a list of things that I do to manage my e-mails. If you have any other tips or comments, please leave them. I’m always looking for a way to become more efficient.

Review your daily goals and meetings before opening up your e-mail because sometimes it’s like Pandora’s Box
Separate out e-mails either by person or project depending on your type of work
Download or file things immediately from your inbox into your harddrive otherwise you’ll be digging through your e-mails later
Be descriptive in e-mails so you know what to search for later on
Try to keep e-mails brief
Only copy people on e-mails that need to be copied on it
If you can call someone instead, do it because it’s more efficient and it adds a personal touch
Turn off your e-mail when you need to focus on a task
Star items that require follow-up
Set time aside every week to follow up with people and follow-up with the starred e-mails

I read a great Globe and Mail segment about e-mails where a personal organizers answers various questions:
How to organize and manage your e-mail

Happy Anniversary Blog!

jenmy — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 02:30:20 +0000

It’s been a year since I started this blog! Happy anniversary blog!

My life is very different from what it was last year and part of it is the new job. I’m happy with the direction I chose and the people in my life. It’s all about positive energy and positive people in my life. It makes a world a difference.

One year = 72 posts. I’m hoping to keep this blog but I may be changing the tune in the future. Perhaps less about job search/Gen Y and more about thoughts about marketing. We shall see. The goal is to continue with a post a week.

Tools That Make My Life Easier

jenmy — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 02:40:46 +0000

It’s been three weeks since my last post. Eeks! Life has been very busy and I still think about the blog. It’s about balancing everything together.

This post will be slightly nerdy but it’s about the tools that I use at work that make my life so much easier.

Yousendit.com

It’s a great website to send large files to other people. You can sign up for free and send files for free. Of course there’s a paid membership but as long as your files aren’t too large and you don’t require a read receipt, it’s an awesome free tool.

Scanning files

This is not a new tool but I love it so much. I use it when I need to send files such as signed documents, purchase orders, or revamped designs.

Sharpies

Very useful when designs have to be changed.

Anyway, thought I would share the tools that make my life easier. It’s the simple things that make it so much better.

The other day my horoscope read:

“Make sure that what you have to do gets done properly. Don’t cut corners or your reputation will suffer in the long-term.”

I thought it was pretty good and very relevant to work.