Professions of a Silicon Valley Double-E
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Linked-In sponsored event features Guy Kawaski and Fake Steve Jobs
Interested in Startups? Blogs? or connecting with others who are?
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- Linked-In is hosting a LinkedIn Answers type event featuring Q&A with Guy Kawasaki (former Apple evangelist) and Fake Steve Jobs a.k.a Dan Lyons (widely read tech blogger, senior editor at Forbes and author of "Options"). The questions for the event will be suggested by LinkedIn users ( http://tinyurl.com/yoplqg). Further event details below:
- Do RSVP so we can get some clarity on how much pizza we should order :)
- * LinkedIn Q&A Event | Confessions of Fake Steve Jobs
- * Date & Time: November 6 @ 6 pm.
- * Venue: Computer History Museum, 1401 N. Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View, CA 94043 (right next door to our office)
- RSVP on Upcoming | http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/300951/
Labels: events, networking
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Thursday, August 16, 2007
Conference Attendance
All too frequently I hear from folks who have been told by management that they cannot attend or (even if accepted) present at a conference. The reasons vary from cost to schedule. Naturally we accept this if the reason happens to be "you can't disclose this" - but it shouldn't necessarily mean that you can't attend such a conference.
Should you take vacation, and pay to attend yourself? At this point you should look at the value of that conference to you knowledge, skills and network. After attending many such events I often have a hard time putting a value on them. But in my mind, attendance is practically NOT optional. I will go to great lengths to make sure I can go.. Either by participating in the event organization and planning, or by presenting at some point. Certainly I make sure my manager (and prospective employers) know that I will attend if at all possible.
Thus my involvement in the IEEE. I have accepted and internalized that value to such an extent that non-participation is un-imaginable to me. For you it is probably not yet the case, and its worth an attempt to think about and articulate the reasons.
Why I [attend|plan|present|travel|organize] Professional Events:
I think that covers most of MY reasons for going.. Will I see you at a meeting?
jbd
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Should you take vacation, and pay to attend yourself? At this point you should look at the value of that conference to you knowledge, skills and network. After attending many such events I often have a hard time putting a value on them. But in my mind, attendance is practically NOT optional. I will go to great lengths to make sure I can go.. Either by participating in the event organization and planning, or by presenting at some point. Certainly I make sure my manager (and prospective employers) know that I will attend if at all possible.
Thus my involvement in the IEEE. I have accepted and internalized that value to such an extent that non-participation is un-imaginable to me. For you it is probably not yet the case, and its worth an attempt to think about and articulate the reasons.
Why I [attend|plan|present|travel|organize] Professional Events:
- Meet People - By now most of these folks are friends, or at a minimum, long-term acquaintances. These are the folks solidly in my network, that I help, and am helped by as we navigate our careers. Whether we are connected on linked-in or have never even shared each others business cards. The more often you see each other around, the smaller, and yet larger, this industry gets. When times get tough, these relationships will be, are, have been "our" buffer. Tough times include the times your team needs help as well as when you or your team needs work.
- Learn. Engineering is a field where you must CONSTANTLY be learning new things. Even if you just learn who the experts are in some arena that is not your own, when YOU have to interface with that later, you have more familiarity with that area, and a broader range of folks to go to. You ALSO get a better feeling for which papers you can put more trust in. The moment you close your mind off to learning new things is the start of the end of your career - at least that this engineers humble opinion.
- The Unexpected. This is the SAME reason that Nassim Nicolas Taleb says its better to live in a city than in a small town. You don't know WHAT new idea, person, book or discussion will happen at the meeting. The more often you can be in a situation where you can encounter these unexpected goodies, the luckier you will be. Of course disasters can be Black Swans too, but you can minimize this risk by preparing well when its YOUR turn to be the presenter.
- An archive of expertise. While certainly not the same as a daily blog, which Penelope Trunk says is a MUST today, the archive of papers, presentations, seminars that you give over time, becomes a log, or portfolio, of your expertise. It demonstrates your communication skills, AND experience to those who must or might work with you in the future. Certainly one of the things I look for in a prospective employee is what they have published over time. And I think that might override concerns about the embarrassing photos they forgot to take of their facebook account.
- It makes you a better employee - more knowledgeable, more capable.
- It reflects well on the organization. It will make hiring easier.
- It increases your loyalty to the organization.
- It is good publicity for your company.
- It makes you a more desirable person to hire away,
- and provides more opportunity to meet those folks.
I think that covers most of MY reasons for going.. Will I see you at a meeting?
jbd
Labels: career, IEEE, meeting, networking
¶ Permanent Link to This Post 4:57 PM0 comments
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Can Working the Net help you Net better work?
IEEE Santa Clara Valley GOLD/PACE Networking Dinner
Date: Tuesday, March 6 2007 Time: 7:00 – 9:00 pm
Leveraging Social Internet Sites
for Career Development
Location: India Grand Buffet
1214 Apollo Way, Sunnyvale, 94085
Buffet Dinner Cost $10 Beverages extra cash or credit payable on site
RSVP requested to j.david@ieee.org : Include Name for Badge and if IEEE member or not.
or Leave a comment or visit this event on eventful.com at http://eventful.com/events/E0-001-002922461-9
For many years, researchers who study those who make successful job transistions report that “personal contacts” were critical to the success of their search. Career Columnists regularly recommend NOT waiting until faced with the next Career transistion to start building the relationships that make the contacts “personal”. Social Networking web sites are providing new ways to get and stay connected.
An overview of two of these sites, Linked-In and Facebook will be presented by local IEEE members, along with activities to enhance the discussion at tables.
Bring a stack of your business cards, and join us for a fun evening and make some new friends.
Agenda:
Networking Activity: led by Will Lumpkins
Will is Director of Engineering at Pragmatics Technologies in San Jose, and is the President of the IEEE Consumer Electronics Society, as well as an advisor for the IEEE Santa Clara Valley Consumer Electronics Chapter. His interests include Science Fiction, and Games.
Presentations:
FaceBook: D. Desai Intersil Corporation
Linked-In: Jonathan David Jonathan is a Mixed-Signal Design Verification specialist with Scintera Networks in Sunnyvale, and worked at Cadence Design Systems for several years after moving to San Jose. He is currently serving as the Santa Clara Valley PACE chair, and is active with the CAS and SSC chapters. Most of his favorite authors write Science Fiction.
Open Discussion and networking
About GOLD:
The GOLD Chapter of the IEEE-SCV Section aims to create opportunities for Graduates of the Last Decade to network and learn more about topics of interest. It also aspires to promote career development for new-to-the-industry members.
About PACE:
PACE promotes the professional interests of IEEE's U.S. members and provides a mechanism for communication of members' views on their professional needs. Section and Chapter activities include workshops on career issues (networking, career planning, career transitions, personal financial planning); skill training workshops (entrepreneurship, effective speaking, technical writing), and Government Policy as it affects Engineering and Technology.
More information on local activities is available at
http://ieee-jbdavid.blogspot.com or http://www.ieee.org/scv/PACE
There will be a brief Volunteers Planning Meeting prior to the event starting at 6:30pm – those interested are invited to arrive a little early for this.
Help us Publicize this event, forward this announcement to others, and/or print out this flier and post on your company bulletin board.
0 comments
Date: Tuesday, March 6 2007 Time: 7:00 – 9:00 pm
Leveraging Social Internet Sites
for Career Development
Location: India Grand Buffet
1214 Apollo Way, Sunnyvale, 94085
Buffet Dinner Cost $10 Beverages extra cash or credit payable on site
RSVP requested to j.david@ieee.org : Include Name for Badge and if IEEE member or not.
or Leave a comment or visit this event on eventful.com at http://eventful.com/events/E0-001-002922461-9
For many years, researchers who study those who make successful job transistions report that “personal contacts” were critical to the success of their search. Career Columnists regularly recommend NOT waiting until faced with the next Career transistion to start building the relationships that make the contacts “personal”. Social Networking web sites are providing new ways to get and stay connected.
An overview of two of these sites, Linked-In and Facebook will be presented by local IEEE members, along with activities to enhance the discussion at tables.
Bring a stack of your business cards, and join us for a fun evening and make some new friends.
Agenda:
Networking Activity: led by Will Lumpkins
Will is Director of Engineering at Pragmatics Technologies in San Jose, and is the President of the IEEE Consumer Electronics Society, as well as an advisor for the IEEE Santa Clara Valley Consumer Electronics Chapter. His interests include Science Fiction, and Games.
Presentations:
FaceBook: D. Desai Intersil Corporation
Linked-In: Jonathan David Jonathan is a Mixed-Signal Design Verification specialist with Scintera Networks in Sunnyvale, and worked at Cadence Design Systems for several years after moving to San Jose. He is currently serving as the Santa Clara Valley PACE chair, and is active with the CAS and SSC chapters. Most of his favorite authors write Science Fiction.
Open Discussion and networking
About GOLD:
The GOLD Chapter of the IEEE-SCV Section aims to create opportunities for Graduates of the Last Decade to network and learn more about topics of interest. It also aspires to promote career development for new-to-the-industry members.
About PACE:
PACE promotes the professional interests of IEEE's U.S. members and provides a mechanism for communication of members' views on their professional needs. Section and Chapter activities include workshops on career issues (networking, career planning, career transitions, personal financial planning); skill training workshops (entrepreneurship, effective speaking, technical writing), and Government Policy as it affects Engineering and Technology.
More information on local activities is available at
http://ieee-jbdavid.blogspot.com or http://www.ieee.org/scv/PACE
There will be a brief Volunteers Planning Meeting prior to the event starting at 6:30pm – those interested are invited to arrive a little early for this.
Help us Publicize this event, forward this announcement to others, and/or print out this flier and post on your company bulletin board.
Labels: career, GOLD, meeting, networking
Link ¶ Permanent Link to This Post 12:00 AM0 comments
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