First of all, let me be the first to give you a hearty welcome to EMC! Sure, I know I’m not the first person to welcome you and I definitely won’t be the last, but it goes without saying that welcoming is an experience I’ve found occurring countless times since joining this amazing organization!  

Disclaimer: The following diatribe is not created by someone who has ‘drunk the Kool-Aid’ nor have I lost my objectivity of what is reality and what indeed isn’t.   Everything is founded on real fact and experience, whether my own or others I have interviewed and had discussions with.  So if you think this is all some single sided touting, feel free to call me out on it, it isn’t. ;)   If you happen to be someone who is looking to join the organization – the following tips can apply to you as well, as a preparation of what kind of organization you’re aiming to be a part of.

Here you are, whether it is your first day, first quarter, first year, or first whatever or beyond – You’re part of a championship team now!    But this jibber jabber isn’t preparing you for anything unless you have something concrete to work with, what to know and what to expect!    Let’s see how well we can tackle that journey!

What to Expect

• If you had any negative preconceived notions of what life is like or what to expect – You may want to find out just how much truth there is to that
  • Personal Story: I had impressions of the business – going back over 10 years, these impressions stuck with me (a stigma which is not too uncommon when someone gets that ‘bad taste in their mouth’ even if it wasn’t their mouth, but instead someone else’s.)   Thus I was apprehensive and wanted to confirm the truth of these matters, even so far as bringing it up in the interviewing process – citing specific detail of enormous negative consequences, not only what I believed, but what I had heard from countless others over the years and even the recent past.    End result was that not only were most of these facts unfounded or outright wrong, but that they were very much no longer the case.   The ‘’true’ situations going back over 10 years were long gone and replaced by a culture so upstanding that those of you with history might look and be surprised that the business culture had changed so dramatically.   Thus the old adage of calling EMC “Evil Machine Corporation” in my mind has been CLEARLY replaced with “Encouragement Meets Culture”  (or fill in the blank of your own positive statement, because frankly you’ll find numerous potential acronyms to work with!)
• Encouraging and persistence in ensuring that you succeed
  • If you like to work alone, do that and be successful!   However, you are surrounded by peers of equal or even greater ability than yourself!  (Are you used to that?! People who rock just as much as you do? Get used to it!)  You’re bound to find countless OMFG Intelligent, Passionate, Engaged, you name it! People who come to work with the same level of drive which got you to where you are in life and will take you to your next steps.   Asking for help is not a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength and acknowledgement of your ability to get things done.   Don’t shy away from it because you will succeed, whether under your own weight or by carrying the burden with others!   More hands on the shovel builds a bigger bunker, and two or more GREAT heads is better than one!
• Education, Education, Education!
  • You ever get that feeling “Wow, I feel stagnant, I haven’t had any training or education in a long while”.  Yea, that is not an EMC story.  Actually quite the opposite.   I cannot speak for every role, but education is such an ingrained part of your daily, weekly, and quarterly lives that it’s not a question of “Will I get educated” It’s requisite for you to be constantly educated and as an equal with your peers in the organization and industry.   However, your education is not solely in the hands of leadership.   You have the power to invest in yourself and have access to quite possibly the most comprehensive library of education (digital!) resources you may have ever seen!   We care about educating our employees who have so many diverse skill-sets that it does not stop with technical knowledge found in IT degree classes, but instead dives much deeper…into relevant verticals, industry skills, and ‘soft’ skills which help keep the wheels turning in the world, let alone within any individual industry.     You have the tools at your disposal to help you lead and become a leader.
• Leadership that breeds and enables leaders
  • Grace Hopper once said “You manage things, but you lead people” which is an excellent example of the kind of leadership around here!    Have you ever heard of a successful model of ‘upper management building managers’ as opposed to ‘senior leadership developing thought leaders’    People who are followed are leaders, unrecognized or not.   (alright, not a lot of depth on what to expect there, but your results will definitely vary – All of my leadership ROCKS, so, take that with NaCl ;))
  • I don’t know about you but leadership recognition, women’s rights, GLBT and work place diversity are both very important to me.  So it rocks that these programs exist:
    • Keeping Working Mothers Happy
    • Our Commitment to Diversity
    • EMC Women’s Leadership Forum – EMC World 2009 WLF Panel Discussion
    • Grow with the Leader
    • Job Opportunities for Students and Recent Graduates
  • So, to sum this part either be led, or follow – but leadership is not an area you’ll find particular weakness here, I’m a testament to that :)
• Social Media Awareness like no other!
  • “What’s this whole fandangled facebooker thing? I’m confused by the twitter! Linked what? I’m not letting you in!”   These are all terms you’re far less likely to hear at EMC which not only has it’s finger on the pulse of social media, it damn near innovates with a lot of it, and leverages it to the maximum for core efficiency!
    • Personal story:   I dabble a little in Social Media, Yea I’ll evangelise on the subject and have delivered numerous presentations at various venues at lengths upon each of the core mediums for it, but I do not speak of it in a bubble.    In my previous life, I was reached out to, contacted and recruited through my profile on LinkedIn – I know what a lot of you will feel “Yes! The value of LinkedIn, this is why I need to update my profile!” And I absolutely agree, fill out that profile, fill it with relevant data, you’d be remiss not to.    However, how on earth does this story end?   One fateful day I’m sitting there at home doing some work, and I receive a phone call! (Oh my! :))   It turns out the hiring manager for a position had looked on his Facebook Network, looking at folks and peers and through a few clicks, and a google search against my name ended up at my blog where I keep a fairly current copy of my resume online (No, it’s not for job hunting! universities usually require a recent resume when you teach or deliver speeches there :)) but poof! A Phone call!   To tell you the truth, had it been an ‘inquiring recruiter’ I likely would not have given it much thought nor considered things, but when the hiring manager takes the value and power of his team into his own hands – That is the kind of team *I* want to be a part of!
    • Okay, back to TwitterBookIn…. :) I haven’t done the full math yet (I will soon!) though I’m hardpressed to find a single organization with as many advocates speaking out on behalf of it, and representing while taking an active and considerable role in the lives of the customers and community.    Whether it’s Chad Sakac and his great tweets and blog posts, Chuck Hollis and his unique way of getting the community talking, or Polly Pearson and her constant finger on the pulse of brands and culture at large – This is only a handful of the numerous other people you’ll find active on Twitter, FaceBook, LinkedIn, Blogs and more!
    • What do you mean I can get my job through Twitter?   Whoa, hold on there partner, did I say that? Okay, I guess I could say that ;)    There have been numerous success stories of people who leveraged twitter as a tool in order to aide in their job hunting, recruiting and insight into the business process.   And I don’t want to come across saying that EMC has a tendency to recruit heroes of industry who also happen to leverage Social Media and Blogs, because that’d be weird with that whole list of new hires I have below who ALSO happen to be very active in that space. ;)

What to know

• Your peers are your greatest asset, and don’t forget that.   
• Everything you know, is potentially right – But put it in context!    If you think things can be done better, and can prove it – that kind of insight may help you, your peers and the business do things better.   Don’t be shy to express your opinion, you may see things a different way, whether right or wrong – Learn the right way but be open minded!
• This is not a job, this is a career!  Career’s have potential, growth, upward mobility, etc! (You fill in this for me, your words not mine!)
• Invest in yourself and it will pay dividends, because the business will continue to invest in you over and over again.

What to know for Expats

• This is not (fill in blank of previous company)   Yes, I know probably HALF your team came from the company, but this is not there :)
• Remember when it was like pulling teeth to get the right thing done?  Yea, swap that – Do the right thing, it’s not only good to do, it’s the only way
• Security, Security, Security:  The pro’s and con’s of owning the best of breed security company in the world is… Don’t send confidential data externally, even on accident! (I’ve warned you!)
• Your relationships are your greatest asset.  Your peers and colleagues will get you through hard times, your relationships will keep you afloat in the storm.  Build and Re-build them.
• I love you and welcome to the company? Err.. Wait, that came out right.    No, but seriously. It’s great for you to be here! The longer you are in the industry the MORE people you’ll recognize ;) and if they’re not here today, your friends from the past may very well join you tomorrow ;)

A few final tips for looking new hires

• EMC is not a storage company.  (Wait, What?!?) Yea, that’s the stance I stand by firmly! Sure, we have the best of breed storage in the industry with unparalleled innovation across all bounds, but we are more than a storage company.    Did you know that we own RSA, the best of breed in security? VMware the hands down best virtualization stack on the planet?   I’d deduplicate the following statement but with Avamar and DataDomain in the mix, I can choose to do it at the source or the target!    Oh, did I forget to mention the other MASSIVE slew of products and solutions? No, I’d rather whet your appetite for more to learn and discover that on your own (World Class Consulting organization with a heavy focus on business process?!) Okay, I’m done.. for now! ;)   But seriously.   The opportunities here are boundless.   I usually describe the depth of breadth of solutions as “as many products if not more than microsoft” and the fact of the matter is.. I’m not even sure how many products we have, that’s just how many things we do (oh, did I mention excel at? :))
• Be sure to read 100 Job Search Tips from Fortune 500 Recruiters – Whether you decide to pursue a career at EMC or not, this book will improve your career hunt for the future and give you the upper hand on any everyone else by providing that insight that is often unknown about the hiring process
• Ask.    If you’re interested in what the work life balance is like, or how the products are, or what this or that is – Ask.   You can hit me up on any medium (social media, email, phone) and I’d be glad to answer your questions, and get you in touch with others who can also provide insight as well.   But it’s up to you to ask the questions, to get that insight, to take your career in your own hands.
• I could keep adding tips all day long, but I want to get this published, so if you feel I’ve missed something epic, let me know and I’ll gladly add it!

And last but not least, I would like to heartily welcome some of our newest hires (that I’m aware of!)    Scott Lowe, Ed Saipetch, Rick Scherer, Gilda Farvid, and Dave Cipparone!    So, welcome to the team and may every day be as amazing as the days I live out :) 

Did you hear the announcement?! This is pretty sweet if you ask me! (Ooh! Ooh! Ask me! Ask me! :))   EMC Shrinks Midrange Storage Delivering Twice the Capacity in Half the Floor Space to Optimize Resources in Physical Data Centers  The literal important parts of this announcement are:

EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC), the world leader in information infrastructure solutions, today announced new high-density configurations of its market leading EMC® CLARiiON® CX4 and EMC Celerra® Gateway systems systems, delivering twice the capacity of previous systems in half the floor space optimizing precious and expensive data center space and resources. Additionally, the more compact midrange storage systems will support high capacity 2 terabyte (TB), low power SATA disk drives, which consume significantly less power than previous generations.

The new high-density configurations combined with 2 TB SATA drives, high performance enterprise flash drives, and EMC storage efficiency technologies—like disk spin down and EMC fully automated storage tiering (FAST)—enable customers to more easily manage the growth of storage-intensive applications. These comprehensive solutions, unique in the industry, are designed to reduce power consumption and cooling costs, and significantly reduce physical space requirements and satisfy weight considerations in today’s data center or remote office locations. Customers can achieve this substantially greater storage density within their existing datacenter power and cooling schemes.

Key Facts:

• High density CLARiiON CX4 system configurations offer up-to 390 2TB, 5,400 and 7,200 RPM SATA drives and high performance flash drives in a single rack using half the floor space and number of power connections required for the same number of drives in conventional racks. Customers wanting to enable CIFS and NFS can deploy the more compact CLARiiON CX4 systems with high density Celerra Gateway systems.
• The energy-efficient 5,400 RPM 2TB SATA drives provide twice the capacity while consuming over 60-percent less power per GB than 1TB 7,200 RPM SATA drives.
• High density CLARiiON CX4 configurations also support 1TB and 2TB SATA disk drives, as well as enterprise flash drives, which store data on electronic memory rather than spinning disks.
• The more compact CLARiiON CX4 configurations also support EMC spin down technology—which powers down inactive disk drives—saving 65-percent of the power required by traditional spinning SATA drives.
• The high density configurations offer full access to all disk drives from the front of the storage system’s rack. The sliding design enables the front enclosures to be moved forward, providing easy access to enclosures and drives in a second ‘slide out’ tier.

"Physical space constraints present significant challenges to IT administrators facing the task of managing 50-percent or more information each year," said Rich Napolitano, President, Unified Storage Division at EMC. "We’ve developed the industry’s most comprehensive compact storage system. In addition to an innovative hardware solution that reduces floor space requirements, EMC offers software that makes the most cost-effective use of the storage system and ensures that the right information is on the right media at the right time. In doing this, we’re helping our customers address the challenges of managing significantly more information, more efficiently, using less power and with more automation."

Availability & Services

The new high density CLARiiON and high density Celerra Gateway configurations, which are based on EMC CLARiiON CX4 systems, are available today worldwide. EMC will make high-density EMC Celerra unified storage system configurations available later this year.

Additionally, EMC Global Services offers a complete suite of services from assessment to implementation to migration to help customers quickly realize the value of their new high density CLARiiON CX4 and Celerra Gateway storage system. EMC also provides services targeted to help customers fully leverage EMC FAST technology on the new configurations to optimize system performance, further increase capacity utilization and improve service levels.

So, the highlights –

• CX4 and gateways
• Twice the capacity, half the floor space while consuming 60% less power than 1TB 7200
• 2TB disks + EFD = more FAST for your buck!
• Drive Spin down, but we’ll have to see that in action relative to how many drives are in use in this scenario

Oh, and I’m sure you can clearly read the rest! So you tell me what you think? Do you see enhancements of how this will dramatically impact your CLARiiON today on the floor for the future and beyond?   Seriously reducing drive counts has it’s SIGNIFICANT benefits, especially when considering the heavy utilization of SATA 1TB’s and how you’re using them on the floor today.

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Hey guys, it’s been a long while since I’ve done a Post-Mortem on an exam.. I just didn’t feel like it from the last few betas I took – So here you go, with so much interest in the Hyper-V exam here is my post-mortem analysis and not to mention what I felt about it, and why I said “Wow” :)

Pro: Windows Server 2008 R2, Virtualization Administrator

About this Exam

This exam validates a candidates knowledge of Microsoft virtualization technologies.

Audience Profile

Candidates should have one to three years of experience using Microsoft virtualization products, including Hyper-V, System Center Virtual Machine Manager, and Remote Desktop Services (RDS), in a Windows Server 2008 R2 infrastructure. Candidates for this exam are IT professionals who have jobs in which managing or deploying virtualization technologies is their main area of responsibility.

Credit Toward CertificationExam 70-693: Pro: Windows Server 2008 R2, Virtualization Administrator: counts as credit toward the following certification(s):

Microsoft Certified IT Professional: Windows Server 2008 R2, Virtualization Administrator

So, there is the high level view of the exam as listed at Pro: Windows Server 2008 R2, Virtualization Administrator and one of the most useful tools you will find on that page is the “Skills Measured” tab which happens to give you a comprehensive overview of what kind of content there is on the exam – If you follow that list and rule, you will indeed be prepared if you study against the skills measured!  I do want to note, I HIGHLY encourage you to check out the ‘Skills Measured’ from TS: Windows Server Virtualization, Configuring – Seriously!  – A slight disclaimer here.. I mistakenly wrote the reference material against last years 70-652 TS: Windows Server Virtualization, Configuring – But take it for what it is.. Combine the two ‘skills measured’ from both exams and your chances of passing will increase exponentially!

Now what may be beneficial is a comprehensive understanding of… competitive pressures? Would you call it that? I have to say, I saw a damn lot of another vendors virtualization product (Some might call it, the largest virtualization product in the industry, not to mention the most deployed)   In the “Installing Hyper-V” section, as seen in Skills Measured, it mentions very briefly a coverage of clustering, storage – shared and otherwise – accounting for 14% of the exam.  To me it honestly felt more like 45% of the exam had some focus on Storage or Clustering.  I haven’t seen that much iSCSI, and FCP touted in a long time! (Take my NFS and CIFS Please! – Oh, yea while not mentioned, you probably want to ensure you’re up on the entire protocol stack, grin :))

Next, if you look across all 4 Skill areas, you’ll notice SCVMM is included in there.   Yea, there’s a reason for that.   Infact, I’d be surprised if there were any questions which DIDN’T include SCVMM! I say ‘mostly’ in jest, because it makes you wonder ‘Is this Hyper-V, or a purely SCVMM exam?!?” :)

As far as annoying faults in the tests go, I only found one major syntactical error which I reported, but on the whole the test itself was well formed and the questions were free of Grammatical mistakes.   Now, let’s get into the Wow section.

Perhaps I was a bit hasty when I said “Wow” about this exam.  Perhaps I should have placed myself more into the category of WTF?!?   So, feel free to see an intermingling of my thoughts on the exam now :)   The questions were well formed, perhaps even a little too well formed.   A number of them looked as though they were struggling to find examples of what WASN’T the right answer, because they were all pretty damn easy to answer in and out!   Am I saying I passed? There’s a pretty good chance, but I place no bets!    If you are NOT up on the competitive landscape as far as where Hyper-V plays in the industry, you better be to take this exam.  I wasn’t sure if I was sitting for the VCP, a minor in Citrix, or if this was infact an actual Microsoft Exam! (Yes, I know it was a Microsoft exam because all of the questions WERE very well formed, and a number of them… were sadly still written to the old adage of ‘Choose the microsoft answer’ ;)

This exam also included the recent name changes to products, so I commend it’s accuracy!    And the intimate level of focus on VDI – was quite amazing, but sadly I reach a saddening point.

If I am to fail in this exam under any circumstances? It is because of the number of ‘it depends’ questions they had in there.   What does that mean?   I’m sure providing details about how many interfaces you should have and factual information backing it is PERFECTLY okay, I can sign off on that – No problem, albeit Best Practice and ‘minimal acceptable’ is further subjective.   But when it comes to degrees of scale and how many VM’s I can actually host on a particular server?   Without raw details, a breakdown of workload, and not to mention this isn’t a different vendors solution so the pure economies of scale require me to be EXTREMELY conservative.   I’m not being negative I’m being factual, we all know that – and we know JUST how subjective things are when it comes to VM density.   With that said be very careful, I have no guidance there other than try to find out what the proverbial ‘microsoft answer’ is for what density looks like I’ve always seen it published as ‘not as much as others’ and some of the deployments in the exam outright scared me – And I don’t get scared by technology, I put fear into it’s heart!

I’m FAIRLY certain I didn’t say anything which violates NDA, since pretty much everything included here is referenced in the Skills Measured page Pro: Windows Server 2008 R2, Virtualization Administrator but incase I did… don’t spank me! preferably fix the questions which are wrong (glares in Liberty’s direction ;)) And… Well, have a good time – Use of the technology and understanding these skills are pretty much all you need in order to pass!

Now on a personal note! I’m going to be running the Boston Marathon in a few months in order to raise money for disabled children and every single dollar helps, so if you can help me in my cause these children and their families will greatly appreciate it!   Even if you can only afford $1 that’s perfectly fine! The more people who contribute the better!

http://www.firstgiving.com/cxi – Help sponsor my run in the Boston Marathon on behalf of disabled children!

So, thank you all and I hope you find something useful from this post-mortem and truly every $1 helps, and I greatly appreciate it!  Thanks!

So, I promised you guys in Iomega ix4-200d data reconstruction, ssh and more! that I would expose the password to login to the ix2 and ix4 as soon as I could.    Well, your wait is finally over!

Let’s start as you normally would, by logging into the support console!

http://192.168.1.1/support.html

Whoa, what’s that I highlighted there and even tossed in an arrow?! Can I MAKE it any more straight forward? Psst.. Click on Support Files :)

Ooh, what’s that little guy down there? Dump? Yea, I didn’t even notice this before (because I had shell access myself ;)) but this is for your benefit!

The system will go through "Gathering system state…"

Why yes, I did go mad with clicking colors and arrows in the win7 version of MSPaint.. Okay, but I digress. :)

Click that bad boy, which will include dump data about your system! Download it, and open it!

Drill down into the dump –> config –> etc –> and open up the file named “shadow”   (dump-20100107225620.tar.gz\dump-20100107225620\config\etc)

Find your shadow File in there, and lo and behold, you will have your Iomega root users hash!    Now it’s just a matter of cracking it!

It is beyond the scope of this article to tell you how to actually crack the pwd.. (giggle) go here, download john the ripper and you’ll do just fine :)

Taking my seed from my system and running it through a simple alphanumeric search, I come up with username root, password soho! That was easy! That works if you have NO Password set!

Through a collaborative effort with @randyjcress @Kiwi_Si @VirtualisedReal and @gabvirtualworld we were able to determine that by using soho and whatever password you use on the system, that should do it! And really, the credit does primarily go to @randyjcress for leading us in that specific direction so props randy! :)

ie: admin pwd is apples, so login using sohoapples – This is still undergoing verification, but I thought I’d share it out there, while we sort it out!

Disclaimer: The means to perform all of these tasks has been replicated and verified in the wild without requiring any intimate knowledge of the inner workings of the system. 

Hopefully you’ve been able to take advantage of the tips from NYE Resolution #1 “Getting Fit and watching what I eat” because this one is likely to take your professional career to new leaps and bounds!   For those of you who know me about careers know that I’m almost ultra-annoying on this particular topic!  Whether you’re one of my friends or mentee’s where I take an ‘oh too much focus’ on your careers and trying to take you to the next step(s) usually with a 5-10 year plan, or you’re someone I just met who’s out of a Job (RIF’s are a bitch!) and I just want to help – It’s total win-ville here, so let’s take advantage of not only staying relevant but driving things to the next step!    As always my own personal disclaimer: This is not a resolution for me, this is PART of my life.  I’m fortunate to OMFG love my job, have a great team I work with, have an amazing community and audience to evangelise to which is constantly growing every day.   Do I take advantage of these steps I’ll be mentioning? I always stay aware of them and continually build up my own career as well, so you’ll be getting it from my own and the others I’ve worked with experiences!  So let’s get started!

Finding a job

This is not always as harsh a situation as it seems, but the particular audience this speaks to are people who have been RIF’d, people who have never even had a formal job (re: college graduates or esteemed HS drop outs), or even people looking to change careers (such as going from a train engineer to being a systems engineer!)   But where do I start?

I would be remiss if I did not highly advise you to read this amazing FREE book! (No registration required!) 100 Job Search Tips from Fortune 500 Recruiters read it, and then read it again as it will apply in all of these roles but will definitely give you the guidance you need to get yourself started and start getting organized.   You’ll come across references to having a profile on social networks, and while many will be mentioned – the top three sites I HIGHLY advise you ensure you have a filled out profile on are LinkedIn, FaceBook and Twitter.   And just so I can use some relevant examples of exactly Why?!    Several years ago, I was found and recruited by someone who found me on LinkedIn.   Most recently I was found via FaceBook which lead to my resume on my blog, and last and most importantly… I’ve helped numerous people get jobs which all started and ended with Twitter – So don’t dismiss the hype! I’ve met those guys, don’t be them!

The following area speaks directly to those who have been RIF’d and/or those who happen to have families.

• #1 – and this is important.  Now is NOT the time to have some kind of stupid pride or EGO!  
• DON’T go it alone – There are lots of people out there who CAN and WANT to help. 
• DON’T bear this burden on your own. 
• DO accept the charity of references and contacts with recruiters.  
• DON’T default to ‘what I did in HS’ or something if you were a highly qualified, passionate and driven person, GET the contacts you need to get yourself employed again.
• DO file for unemployment.   IMMEDIATELY actually.  We are STILL in a recession, so expecting a job to manifest over night may not be practical unless you’re highly sought after and even then, those bills aren’t going to pay themselves nor will your table fill itself with food unless you have a horn of plenty (If so, let me know I need a vegan one :))
• DO ask for help, there’s never been a better time to not have any stigma associated with losing your job, again – people WANT to help their friends

Now, hopefully you’re not all in the same situation where you’ve been RIF’d and are instead just looking for a job or career change – we’ll call you hs/college graduate, or career changer.

So for you career changers or graduates, take the following words of wisdom with a grain of low sodium salt! (WTF?! :))

• Be current.  Ensure that your Resume AND your online presence and profiles happen to reflect you, and especially in a positive light – Any recruiter who is serious WILL google you
• Be relevant.  If you’re just out of HS or College – that 3 month internship with a business is relevant, but those 6 weeks working at McDonalds? Not so much
• You have to ask yourself – Will the information in my resume help me get this job? Do they care about this information.
• Even when changing careers, having a history of being a part-time house sitter isn’t going to get you the next big break in your career you’re looking for.
• If you have to ask “Is this really relevant to the job I’m looking for” then the answer is no, and leave it off.
• If you are an Eagle Scout, or similar long and arduous journey in your youth which you can share stories and experiences of? Leave it IN!

Let me discuss that for a moment.  You’re saying my years as a fry clerk at McBurgers isn’t relevant but my time spent collecting badges is?   Honestly, Eagle scout and equivalent is the closest you get to saying someone if committed to a journey, they stick it out, they come prepared, they can get things done, and they understand steps in a process – equal to certification.   Long ago I questioned this but Eagle scouts are like Green Beret’s or even Ninja’s – experts in their own right who have gone the test of time and can extol those virtues elsewhere in life.

And for you tech or even graphics folks here are relevant and non-relevant items (though if you can defend them in your case I will stand down :))

• Tech: Seriously? You’re putting MS DOS 5.0 on your resume?  We all CLEARLY know that MS DOS 6.22 was the best and ONLY version worth mentioning.  If you’re going to put EXTREMELY dated material on your resume to show longevity (which I respect) don’t show ignorance and choose the worst possible version since DOS 3.3 (which rocked mind you)
• Graphics:  You want to show you’ve been doing this awhile, I get that. But Harvard Graphics? SERIOUSLY? Harvard Graphics? It’s not 1985, I don’t want to hire you 25 years ago!
• Tech: Random gibber jabber of versions and code really tells me nothing, unless you actually deliver your resume IN C# or something, don’t try and confuse me by telling me a bunch of keywords (Key words CAN and ARE important, but not 100% keyworded resumes)  Instead, entice me with something we can engage in a story about!
• General: Keep it interesting.  Draw me in somehow, not telling me that you like black and white movies, but a discreet line in there intended to make the interviewer laugh (in a field respective way) where they clearly know you meant a joke like “I know chmod” will help lighten the mood.  I’d probably specifically want to talk to the candidate who gets resume humor :)
• General: Most importantly, if there is something you DO NOT want to have a job doing, DO NOT put it on your resume.   I leave more off my resume than I put on, including voicemail systems, fax, pbx, Wireless, systems management, operations – I can do these things but I am an architect, a designer and above all an evangelist – let’s not stray from our paths :)

Going back to the points above, if I had three additional things to say and was limited to a word each I urge you to be Positive, Passionate, and be Professional and if I could slap one more into the fold which doesn’t start with P (that was sheer coincidence!) I cannot urge you enough to BE YOURSELF!   You’ll be happier and more positive passionate and professional for it!

Be Honest, and Don’t lie

This deserves it’s own highlight and mention as this is something I would discuss with candidates I’ve mentored over the years.   (I’ve had some initially argue the two mean the same thing, they don’t)     When you’re looking for this newfound job regardless of the circumstance you need to be honest with yourself, honest with your resume and honest with the people you’re talking to.   You don’t want to end up like Cisco Fatty who mind you was honest to a fault, but if they were honest with themselves they wouldn’t have been considering an improper fit driven only by $$.

Don’t lie.   Falsifying a public document such as your resume is no way to get a job, as it will come back and bite you – and the truth is FAR easier to remember than a lie!  Do not lie in an interview! If you don’t know something, say it, however also be honest that if it’s something you COULD know, you can certainly learn [be warned though depending upon the interview this could be perceived as not being prepared, so it’s a double edged sword.. it’s usually just better to know what they’re asking in the first place ;)]   Also, don’t claim to have done something you never did.   We once interviewed a guy who claimed he built out a whole series of systems – so during the [group] interview when one of our interviewers decided to ask the candidate details about this build he was unable to provide details, twisting and turning in the wind in a torrid rain of lies.  Oh, why did the interviewer ask? He had actually built those systems when employed in the environment the candidate claimed to have done the work.   I cannot stress it enough.  Don’t lie. :)

Keeping and upgrading your job

I had excellent plans of breaking these two out into two separate sections, but seriously – they’re the exact same thing effectively! And frankly the people who are usually good at keeping their job are typically the types sought after to upgrade their job (whether within the company or moving to a whole new business!)

I am so fortunate that this very exact topic was covered by the smart and amazing Polly Pearson with  "How To Get A Better Job?" A post for employees and job seekers alike. which if you read nothing more from this post – Be sure to read her post, it will change your perspective on career changes with real hard actionable information you can act on immediately!

Oh, and I would be remiss to not mention 100 Job Search Tips from Fortune 500 Recruiters again – you thought it was important finding a job? It’s even more relevant when it comes to upgrading or literally just keeping your job!

So here are some tips from me which fall into the realm of both keeping and upgrading – ultimately staying relevant is what it comes down to:

Get Certified

The best example I’ve ever found of the illogical failure for people to get certified is this: Did you ever go to school for 4 years, get all of your credits and yet choose to fail to get your diploma because you feel “I have the experience, I really don’t need the piece of paper”.   Any qualified person who chooses to not get certified because they ‘know it’ is like saying that the experience (while VERY important) trumps your college diploma.   Now putting that to the side a moment and still comparing college.    Did you know that for each Microsoft certification exam you complete, it could be worth 1-3 credit hours?  Oh, and the PMP is worth even more.   But wait, are you seriously telling me that the EMC Proven Professional Expert certification is worth 50% of the Masters of Information Technology at some schools?  So put your ego aside a moment, and if you really DO know the knowledge prove it with an exam and you’ll make your resume ALL that more credible.

Certification shows that you not only know information, but it also proves that you invest in yourself, your employer and your future.   It typically says to employers “Whoa, hey they likely stay up on their technology and perhaps even read a book and care about their job”   Nothing says you care, like investing in yourself which turns around into better productivity!

I know I’ve said this one an infinite amount of times, but I still do have discount vouchers for Microsoft Exams – 10% for the entire world, and 20% for some places (USA, England, etc)

Get Networked

The first thing I say every morning when I wake up is “I’ve met enough people, my network is big enough, I don’t need to meet or know anyone else” which is usually followed by me telling myself that I obviously know everything and I don’t have to prove anything so I’ll never show anyone that.     Yea… I don’t have that conversation, and anyone who does either needs a wake up call, or has actually ascended and hats off to them – Breaking from your physical form to go pure energy is harsh and definitely requires your dedication!

So what does this mean? How do I get networked? WTF IS NETWORKING, IM CONFUSED! err.. Whoa, hold on there!  Let’s cover some real basics

• Use LinkedIn.  And that doesn’t mean spend every waking hour staring at everything linkedin.  But fill out your profile, add a picture (shows commitment) and connect with people you actually know.  Chances are, people you know are on LinkedIn! And people you’ve known over the years, they’re probably out there too, so reconnect with them.
• It’s not about who you know, it’s about who knows you.   That rule doesn’t always apply, but in order to be ‘introduced’ to someone, someone else has to know you, so the more of your associates, friends, colleagues and more that you’re connected to – the easier it will be for people to get to know you :)
• Use Facebook.   I’m in no way saying you need to have a hybrid personal/professional FB Profile like I do.  At the very least, HAVE a profile, put a picture, post things on occasion so people know what’s going on with you! This does default back to the ‘its not who you know but who knows you’ remember you can get a job off of Facebook :)
• Use Twitter.  Do you know how many of your peers are out there twittering about their daily jobs? Even talking to others!  Countless people use Twitter as a means to solve problems, learn new things and wait, what? Network with people!   Not everyone in the world is on twitter, and the ones who are, are typically sharp and moving forward.. move with them :)
• Attend Trade shows, conferences, conventions.   Whichever happens to apply to your circumstance.  Is there a user group for whatever it is you do? Go attend a meeting! Meet your peers! Your peers strangely are NOT only the people you work with, you may find that something you or your business are doing could be done better – result, you’re the winner! :)
• Visit a Toastmasters club.   Yea, I know you’re the best presenter in the world, would you mind delivering this keynote to 20,000 people? kthxbye! (Okay, I wouldn’t mind! Got a keynote, I’m there!) But if you find yourself not as comfortable presenting to large groups of people, OR you want to meet and watch others speak to improve Attend a toastmasters meeting in your area!
• Find a mentor, collaborate with a peer – Talk to others who are in the position you want or you see accelerating like you’d like to.   Find out how they got to where they are today and what kinds of steps you might need to take in order to get there.   You are in charge of your career not your manager or anyone else.  Take charge.

I hope you’ve found these various steps useful in taking charge of your career with this new years resolution  (feel free to mention what works well for you in the comments) these few steps alone can make a paramount difference in your career, family, future and well being for the rest of your life.    I wish you the absolute best and let me know how I can help :)