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Six months gave a reasonable work break after years of working, not quite enough, yet long enough to make it memorable.

It would be wonderful if companies consider sabbatical leave as a way for employees to refresh mind and soul; and return more productive.

With six months, it was possible to do meaningful learning related to a field.  Beyond blogging, I had enough time to try out creating app, an epiphany through hands-on learning on software as service and Agile software approach;  tried new education model and did volunteer services; let alone many hobbies I enjoy.     Time and relaxed mindset injects the creativity and energy into life about many interesting things in life.   There are still so many things on the list I could have wanted.  Life has been a lot more busy!

Then, a good position brings challenges, rhythm, and rewards.   One cannot get everything.    I am back to work.

There are many wonderful job seeking services that help people to formulate convincing stories in interviews –  in format of problem-solutions-results (PSR); or situation-obstacles-achievements-results (SOAR).   And it is effective.

In as much as such an approach aces interview, these techniques reflect bias towards established and stable companies for job seekers with years of experience.  Companies are all different –  Let’s say Type I for the established, stable, big, structured companies;  Type II for the rising, fast growing, most-admired, exciting companies.

Type I: PSR and SOAR could be effective if you show how the past experiences can solve the current problems of the job position .  If you know your area, the interview is not too hard, though many candidates are prepared in similar manner.   Questions like “tell me a time when you have to deal with ….?”, “how would you handle ….?”  could show up.

Your CURRENT VALUE matters more.

Type II: Some of these are companies with like 1-2000 job-applicants ratio.  You feel winning a lotto if granted with an interview.   Here, it may not be so much what you did in the past, more what you are capable of on-the-spot.  Sometimes, there are books like “Are you smart enough to work in . . . ?.  This is where the brain-teasing questions start, like give me an evacuation plan for San Francisco? give me a plan to increase credit card enrollment; or how to measure 9 minutes when you have only hourglass of 4 and 7 minutes?   You kind of get it.   It is like “are you smart and capable?”.   It also has questions about your passion – this is where like “what kinds of cell phones do you have?”, “what are the books you are reading?”, “teach me one thing you are passionate about”.  The idea is simple, the companies want people who are smart, learn fast, adapt to changes, solve unpredictable problems and love the work.

Your VALUE SLOPE matters more.

Type II interviews are intense, could-be-fun, could-be-embarrassing and heat up your brain … Isn’t it also a good reflection on how you feel  if you work in these companies?

Which types of companies would fit you more?

Agile is becoming one of the most spoken buzzword in the field of IT, software development and project management; and is becoming a fast-track ticket to many new positions.   You name it – Agile methodology, Agile development, Agile project management.

Dictionary defines Agile as : 1. quick and well-coordinated in movement; 2. active; lively; 3. marked by an ability to think quickly; mentally acute or aware.   Is it the formula to get a project or software product done quicker, with well-coordinated and lively team?

Around 2001, a reformation moment arrived in sotware engineering with the Agile Manifesto and declaration of Agile Alliance, and it was posted as :

“We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it.  Through this work we have come to value:

0  individiduals and interactions over processes and tools

o  working software over comprehensive documentation

o  customer collaboration over contract negotiation

o  responding to changes over following a plan

That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more”

Associated with Agile is often a term called SCRUM, where a 2-day or so training orientates you with the roles and the activities to 2-week release cycles called SPRINT.   Would the SCRUM SPRINT get you closer to the Agile Manifesto?  I think it depends – it enables interactions and responding to changes, but is it an obvious formula to produce working software, or enable customer collaboration?

In the area of project management,  if your previous experiences do not name the way of doing it as Agile, does it mean that you are out of the door of all Agile-related positions?   Many organizations value the items on the left more, it is worthwhile to compare your way of getting things done against the Agile Manifesto.   Maybe you are closer to Agile than what you think; and that you bring good techniques on how to achieve collaboration, interactions and responding to changes.

January 2013 is part of the history.   Aside from the unbelievable run in the stock market, are your year resolution and new goals done and dusted?  Are we serious in achieving them?

Goal settings and the commitment to achieve them do not come hand-in-hand; and at times, people set goals that are shy of the real purpose.  It is easy to think that we want something when we do not really want it.   Let’s use “obesity” as the situation.  More  research is showing that obesity is a growing problem for the younger generation.  We may wish for healthy weight and yet wish more for the pleasure in food.  We may wish for health but wish more for little exercise to keep up.

Some people set their goals around weight.   How is the goal to “achieve the optimal weight” compared to the goal to “reduce the weight by 10 or 20 or 30 pounds”?   There are many success stories around “weight loss in such and such period of time” and the impressive differences in the “before and after look”.

Say the goal is to “reduce the weight by 10 or 20 or 30 pounds”, there are numerous commercial products.   So a person gets from 200 pounds to 170 pounds, very impressive.   At 170 pounds, the goal is done and dusted.   What happens next, the goal no longer exists, and chances are the weight is back up to closer to 200 pounds sooner or later. Then it becomes the goal again and it can be achieved again.

Say the goal is to “achieve optimal weight”, it is a scary goal to declare, it is a different approach and level of commitment.  It is no long like a project that has start and end; and at the end, one can revert.  It requires an ongoing effort and attention; and may even a change of living style and habit to achieve and sustain.

The common goal of job seeker is “to find a job”.  Obviously so.  Is the goal to get a job ASAP or to land on something that is in line with the overall career objective.   It requires different commitment and willingness for the latter one.

I was in a conversation that comes up once in a while to mature job seeker.  Tough questions like “how do you see yourself compete with younger ones?”, or other more politically correct questions.  The perception is that one learns faster when we are young;  young guns are better; and there are scientific evidence that our brains cells stop to grow at certain age, so on and forth.

If you know of a professional tennis player, chances are that you have heard of “Roger Federer”.   According to some poll, he is the second most respectable person just behind Nelson Mandela. (by the way, the movie Invictus on Mandela is a good one).   Even if it is debatable if Roger Federer gains that level of global respect,  his record is not controversial.    He has countless records on the number of tennis tournaments won, 17 majors won, 300+ weeks at number one  on the ultra-competitive individual sport of tennis.  In short, his number of records is by itself a record.   How does he sustain the level of excellence, now at age 31 approaching 32?  At age 31 in 2012, he regained the number 1 spot from the generation in the age of 25 or 26; and he is a better player than a few years ago.   How could he go against the natural path when tennis professional are thinking of hanging up the rackets after 30?  I believe his secret is his passion in what he is doing, his motivation and belief to be better, more so than his own natural talent.  Many accomplished tennis stars lose the passion and motivation, and rapidly comes down. It is not a skill deterioration, it is the going away of the desire.

In our career, when we lose the passion, motivation and the belief, it becomes harder to compete.

To those tough questions “how could you compete?”  I believe it is not the ability but the desire and motivation.  Assuming you apply for the position, it may already prove the desire is there.

To the contrary, one has the ability to learn smarter, faster, grasp the big picture and apply the learning better with experience, but we don’t see that happen often.    It may not be the ability but the desire and motivation.

Most people have a much longer career than the short tennis career.  The challenge is – how do we keep  up our interest and motivation?  Next time when the tough question shows up, it may become your shining moment.

January so far has been quiet in terms of job opportunities.

Stock price pattern may not reflect the company’s performance pattern.  In similar ways, less job openings does not translate to quieter moments for job seekers.

There are a few things that actually keep job seekers pretty busy.

There are the job seekers’ groups or networking, often offerred by Career Transition Services Agency.  Non-profit job seekers’ groups typically require some time commitment and showing up.

The one I went to, expects a 4-hour service commitment every week; plus some weekly meetings.   That is not petty time.  The idea is to  expand network and to improve some skills.   It is one of the better ways to broaden the social or professional circle in a secure setting.   The different types of profession and the diverse industries of these professionals, I have met in the last few months, far exceeded the diversity in the past ten years and more.

In such a setting, the positivity is crucial when the weekly meetings take place.  I would rate these groups on the amount of positive energy the leaders can bring.  In this group, the organizer does a very good job to plan guest speakers in the meetings, with relevant soft topics.

For those who have been in between jobs for a while or for a few times, it almost feels natural to develop bitterness or disappointment.  I think job seekers’ group makes a difference to give the members a lift every week in addition to providing services to improve job search skills.