Job, Job, and more Job
It seems like that's all I think about lately. I think it's because I'm so ready for the next phase of my professional life.
Home is good, family is good, finances are stable. That's given me time this past year to think about what kinds of work I'd rather be doing, and how what I already know can get me there.
I let one of the heads of my company know the direction I want to take, and got an encouraging response. I like IT, but I am way more interested in the operations side of things. I hope things work out where I am. I really love the people I work with. They are truly fabulous. They are so smart, funny, and generous with helping each other. But I did make up my mind after talking to a couple of folks I trust to look elsewhere if it takes them too long to let me make the transition. I've defined what "too long" means to me, too. I just feel the time is right.
Meanwhile, I know there are things I need to work on to be ready if I get a shot at pre-sales. I tend to sell myself short, being too modest about how good I've gotten at what I do. I've been doing this for 11 years, and yeah, I know what I'm doing. I work in a male dominated industry, and the guys always point out their success stories. As much as chest pounding turns me off, I've noticed that they are the ones who get promoted. I also need to stop being the passive, sweet, cheerleader and start acting more confident. I need to let go of those old fashioned images of what makes me a lady:)
I also need to study up. Both on the new technology we use, on business, and presentation skills. The tech & business studying is easy enough: read books, do test cases in my home lab for the IT concepts. For the other stuff, I'm going to start going to Toast Masters at least once a month. I've got to get over my public speaking anxiety. I may try to write a white paper or do a presentation for one of the local software user groups, too. That last one may be a late this year, or next year goal.
I didn't really mean to make a bunch of New Years resolutions :) Do they still count as that if I started working toward this a few weeks ago?
Home is good, family is good, finances are stable. That's given me time this past year to think about what kinds of work I'd rather be doing, and how what I already know can get me there.
I let one of the heads of my company know the direction I want to take, and got an encouraging response. I like IT, but I am way more interested in the operations side of things. I hope things work out where I am. I really love the people I work with. They are truly fabulous. They are so smart, funny, and generous with helping each other. But I did make up my mind after talking to a couple of folks I trust to look elsewhere if it takes them too long to let me make the transition. I've defined what "too long" means to me, too. I just feel the time is right.
Meanwhile, I know there are things I need to work on to be ready if I get a shot at pre-sales. I tend to sell myself short, being too modest about how good I've gotten at what I do. I've been doing this for 11 years, and yeah, I know what I'm doing. I work in a male dominated industry, and the guys always point out their success stories. As much as chest pounding turns me off, I've noticed that they are the ones who get promoted. I also need to stop being the passive, sweet, cheerleader and start acting more confident. I need to let go of those old fashioned images of what makes me a lady:)
I also need to study up. Both on the new technology we use, on business, and presentation skills. The tech & business studying is easy enough: read books, do test cases in my home lab for the IT concepts. For the other stuff, I'm going to start going to Toast Masters at least once a month. I've got to get over my public speaking anxiety. I may try to write a white paper or do a presentation for one of the local software user groups, too. That last one may be a late this year, or next year goal.
I didn't really mean to make a bunch of New Years resolutions :) Do they still count as that if I started working toward this a few weeks ago?