Why are you Waiting to Network?

My dad has worked for the State of Iowa since 1960 (although he retired 8 years ago, he still contracts part time).  Can you imagine 54 years with the same employer?  

Dad started as a field child welfare worker and nine years later was the head of the Child Protective Services division of the Iowa Department of Human Services.  By the time he retired he was the #2 guy over Iowa's Department of Human Services, the largest state organization in Iowa.  He worked hard, sacrificed, and was rewarded with a fulfilling career spanning six decades.  

My how the world has changed.  Today your employer will not carry your career cradle to grave. Even government jobs - the last bastion of employer stability - no longer can guarantee you a life long career. Your career stability will come from you, not your employer. I’m not saying you won’t have a fulfilling career.  Because you can. I’m not saying you won’t have to work hard & sacrifice.  You will. 

What I am saying is you should always be looking for potential opportunities.  The average Gen X / Millennial will likely have a new employer every 4-5 years over the course of a career. There's no excuse for not wanting to expand your network.  We live in a hyper connected world where online and real time relationships can be discovered and nurtured with ease. Whether its a Google hang-out or Hack-a-thon, it's never been easier to network.

If you are not networking you are stunting your career growth.  The best time to plant a tree was 20 year ago. The second best time to plant one is right now. Don't wait any longer - make it a point to meet 3 new people this week. You never know where it will lead.

Side bar: CPS sent a case worker to our house when he was chief because of my 8 year old shenanigans.  “Say, aren't you my boss’s boss’s boss’s boss?”

Technology Project #fail

Yesterday the Kansas City Star published an AP story called "Builders of Obama's Website Saw Red Flags." This week Obama admitted there's some "kinks in the system" and apparently "no one is madder" than him. I don't think he's right on either point. Everything I've read regarding the technical structure of the system leads me to believe it's more poor design than "kinks." I'd also argue there's plenty of "mad" to go around with regards this debacle.

Maybe I'm wrong, but isn't healthcare.gov essentially a portal to Healthcare Exchanges that insurance companies & the government have been furiously building since ACA was passed in 2010? Sign yourself up, answer a few questions, and the data interface magic should do the job.Unfortunately it appears that those in charge of the interface magic apparently weren't thinking. This article by Will Oremus over at the Slate gives you a glipse of how poorly the project was executed. 500 million lines of code is likely to lead to a lot of dead ends and broken links.

There's plenty of good reading on this subject regarding its cost and what they're doing to fix it. Even NSA leaker and current Russian exile Edward Snowden made an offer to fix it in exchange for immunity.

As a guy who spends a lot of time the technoloyg space I find this whole situation as facsinating as troubling. The "kinks" in the system have nothing to do with the law itself. It's simply an example of an incredible failure on the part of nearly everyone involved in building an enterprise system.

I think healthcare.gov will be an example of how not to handle a major technical project for years to come. Lets just hope they can get it figured out, and soon.

Would love to hear your thoughts on what went wrong.

Permanent Positions

Few things in our lives upset the apple cart as much as an unexpected job change. I've had the experience of going into work in the morning and walking out with my things in a box before lunch. It's not fun. If you're currently on furlough from the government you know the bills don't stop. Most people don't like change so we all seek stability in our lives. Which from a career perspective means a permanent position to many people.

But what is a permanent position? Most people would define it as a job where an employer hires you directly to their payroll. In my business that's called a "direct hire" which is far from a permanent position. My father got his MBA from the University of Iowa and started working for the state of Iowa in 1962. He retired in 1997 and still spends several hours a week consulting to the state writing grants. That's a permanent job. Unfortunately in today's marketplace its unheard of that someone works at the same company for 40+ years, even if it's the government.

We all know someone that took a job directly with an employer and was looking again within months - some within days or weeks. Conversely, I know people who have been with their employer for over a decade after getting their start as a temporary resource (aka contractor). Whether it's direct to the employer payroll through internal or agency recruiters, or working as a contractor, the mechanism employers use to fill positions in their organization is not always related to the long-term viability of the position.

Permanent positions are a myth in today's market. In the 1960's when our parents went to work, career stability came from their employer and it's pension program. Today career stability comes from your ability to port your talents, ability, and background from one employer to the next. In that sense a consulting career is a great training ground to go in, get the job done, and move on.

I'm not saying ditch all direct to employer opportunities and become a contractor. If you haven't already, start developing relationships with several recruiters that work in your "space" and listen to what they have to offer from time to time. Not considering contract / contract to hire work means you miss out on pportunities that can build your abilities and increase your future marketability.

The question you ask yourself when a recruiter calls should not be "is this a permanent position?" The question you need to ask is "will this help me grow and position me to get where I want to go?" The best way to answer that question is through the discovery process with the recruiter and their client.