soft skills development

Thinking About Presentation Skills in IT

On Wednesday, I posted a mini-review of Alan Carroll’s book The Broadband Connection, which aims to help IT professionals prepare, deliver, and manage more effective and compelling presentations to audiences of all kinds. In some back-and-forth about that review with the publisher’s rep, I got to thinking about my own experience in presenting to audiences of various types and sizes, and how I myself came around to developing a set of creditable presentation skills.

For many newbie presenters, their focus is entirely on the material. Do they know their stuff? Are they familiar enough with what’s on the slides that they can talk about them fluidly and accurately? Have they prepared for questions? Practiced their delivery? and so forth…

What’s missing from this focus, and what Carroll spends much of the coverage in his book on adding to the picture, is the audience to whom the presentation is to be delivered. Although he wraps up his advice and behavior coaching in transpersonal psychology language, his most important points can be summarized as follows:

• Make eye contact with the audience. People need to feel like you’re interested in and talking to them, not to an empty room.
• Don’t talk all the time, with no breaks. People need time to digest what you’re telling them, and to think about what you’re trying to convey.
• Check the audience members’ facial expressions and body language to see how you’re doing: are they bored? confused? Do they “get” what you’re talking about? Do you see signs of interest?
• Interact with the audience: Get to know peoples’ names, then use them. Ask questions. Solicit input. Provoke opinions and information sharing from the audience, particularly if they’ve either failed or succeeded in trying to address issues, develop solutions, or implement systems that you are trying to explore and explain.

I could go on and on, and if you find this stuff interesting, you should definitely check out this book, too. But the key is to understand ultimately that it’s not what you know, or how much ground you can cover, that really counts when you give a technical (or other) presentation. What really counts is what you can give to your attendees, and what they can take away with them when the presentation is over. If you remember that basic principle, and increase your efforts to get your messages across, you will improve your presentation skills immediately.

After You Get Certified, the Real Work Begins

In reading over an interesting story by Lynn Lawton (international president of ISACA and the IT Governance Institute) at Certification Magazine entitled “I’m Certified…Now What?” I was reminded that while earning an IT certification does have intrinsic value, it’s what people actually DO with those credentials that really counts. For those in or facing this situation, I’d recommend reading her story, which is filled with good advice and suggestions (though it will soon become obvious to readers that her own organizational affiliations have dictated the certifications and subject matters she chooses and uses as examples to illuminate her coverage).

Beyond all the things that she mentions: getting the word out, displaying a framed certificate, asking for a raise or looking for a new position, and so forth, there is one more thing I’d like to encourage those preparing to earn a new credential, or those who’ve just passed the bar to same, to consider: how to describe their newly- or soon-to-be-earned cert in a variety of situations:

• Quick hit: In sales lingo an “elevator pitch” is a very brief but compelling version of your story that you can deliver in 30 seconds or less — the time it takes to ride an elevator in a sizable office building. Using the popular CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) cert as an example that might go something like: “As a CISSP, I’m qualified to design, review, and oversee implementation of corporate or organizational security policies, including physical security, software security, and Internet security. I can also work with HR and training organizations to make sure employees understand the need for and value of information security.”
• Cover letter/resume copy: This usually boils down to a paragraph that explains what the certification covers and why it has value. For the CISSP that could be expressed as: “The CISSP is built around a common body of knowledge that covers access controls, communications and network security, security management, security for software and systems development, cryptography and related encryption techniques, security architecture and models, operations security, business continuity and disaster recovery planning, security-related rules and regulations, ethics, and investigations, and physical security. This credential qualifies its holders to help research, forumulate, implement, and audit security policy for an entire organization or company, and to make sure that policy as stated and as implemented agree substantially with one another.”
• Interview/promotion/raise discussions: Whereas the other items are amenable to quick, accurate examples, this topic should involve at least 5-10 minutes of conversation, so I can go only into the broad outlines of what goes into such a conversation. This is where you have to explain the content of the certification, and justify its value to your interlocutor in terms that demonstrate some kind of value add to his or her organization. Thus, instead of saying: “I know how to select a VPN for remote access that will provide encrypted access to internal information resources and assets,” you might start with such a statement, but then go on to add “This will protect Internet traffic from unauthorized snooping or access, and make sure any private or confidential information that traverses a remote access link remains safe from unwanted disclosure.” You might even want to add some discussion about SOX, HIPAA, or PCI (as relevant) to mention how this protects the organization from potential liability that unauthorized access can incur. Hopefully, you get the idea: tell them what’s in it for them, if they choose to make use of your cert-related skills and knowledge. If you do a good job, they’ll be eager to jump at this opportunity.

Overall, the idea is to sell yourself while also explaining and exploring the value of your certification and the knowledge, skills, and experience it’s led you to develop and acquire. Good luck with your new or upcoming credentials: take this approach to obtain the best return on your investment in earning it!

The Lessons of History

I find myself in a very interesting work situation right now. Because of a couple of books I wrote in the mid-90s — those halcyon days when computer books flew off the shelves, and good writing work on relatively advantageous terms was easy to find by today’s standards — I find myself now tasked with reconstructing who built what bits of technology precisely when and how they did it in a period from October 1993 to October 1995. It’s been incredibly interesting and informative, and has caused me to rethink what happened back then as well as I how I conduct business in the here and now. Let me explain…

Lots of IT wit and wisdom emerges from being immersed in the current milieu. Today, for example, this might mean pondering hot topics that “everybody” knows about and lots of people are digging into. If you want a couple of for instances that are pretty right now to illustrate, think about virtualization and Windows 7. Generating plenty of buzz, attracting lots of users, and exciting ample interest from those whose job it is to plot a technology course for the next 12-24 months.

Dealing with this stuff in the here and now is pretty easy. But digging back into the there and then raises questions about how information gets distributed, who did what when, and how all the pieces of common knowledge were used to create workable production technologies upon which business activity could safely rest. What I’m learning is that although lots of people understand how information handling processes and activities work in a loosey-goosey kind of way, only a few really understand in depth how they work in detail, and can go out and build such things.

That’s why I keep coming back to the notion of learning by doing. Intuition and understanding things in general will get you only so far. If you really want to master a subject area, you have to put those faculties to work and build or make something that works. I find this insight as helpful in learning new operating systems (Windows 7) as I find it useful in figuring out what to do with virtualization (creating images of multiple hard disks in a virtual machine requires creating one giant virtual disk, then using partition management software to carve it up into individual drives of the proper size and number) for testing, rapid deployment, or remote clients to use.

Thing about what you can do with what you know, and you’ll get further than if you simply keep packing away interesting and potentially useful bits of knowledge. Only if you put that information to work can you ever know if it’s worth anything, or good for something.

Social Networking Picks Up Job Search Mantle

In her most recent (4/6/09) article, entitled “Social Networking Emerges as Job-Hunting Tool” regular ITCareerPlanet contributor Esther Schein, picks up and runs with an idea that’s crossed my mind many times in the last year or so — namely, that the various social networking sites offer great tools to IT professionals seeking work, as well as ample opportunities to catch up with old classmates, colleagues, and friends. I’d have to observe that this becomes increasingly true for social network members as they get older (for the younger set the emphasis is more on “social” than “networking,” while for those of use higher up on the age ladder, myself included, the emphasis is far more often the other way ’round).

And despite Schein’s observations to the contrary, my own experience is that Facebook and MySpace remain far more social than networking oriented in this sense, whereas other, more professional sites such as LinkedIn, Plaxo, and so forth, naturally assume the job search mantle because they’re rather more professionally oriented anywyay. This by no means detracts from the value or import of the article, and isn’t meant as a major cricitism of Shein’s excellent story: there’s no denying that social networks can be very useful to job seekers, especially during the early phases of reconnaissance and targerting where personal connections can make a huge difference in identifying opportunities, and making the first cut between the “nahs!” and the “let’s look at this resume/appliction more closely” stages of candidate qualification.

Shein also observes that once you target a prospective employer, the social networking sites can let you learn a lot about current employees, especially when it comes to understanding the prevailing work ethic, typical employee profiles, corporate/organizational culture, and other aspects of life as a worker at the target company or organization. Of course, this kind of information also leads naturally into interview preparation should an indication of candidate interest provoke a similar sign of interest from a prospective employer.

Personally, I’ve found LinkedIn to be a great way to reconnect with former colleaues, co-workers, and co-authors. In my own case, it hasn’t led me to any job offers, but it has led to numerous consulting and writing gigs, some of relatively long standing and nice remuneration. Working social networks for work purposes turns out to be a savvy and workable approach to today’s job market. If you haven’t done so already, I urge you to give it a try, with LinkedIn at the top of the list. And of course, that leads to my final words on this subject here: always treat your presence on social networking sites as both personal and professional, and don’t post (or say) anything you wouldn’t want a current or prospective employer to see! Otherwise, those words and images could haunt you for years and years to come…

A Small Silver Lining?

Although I enjoy writing these blogs, I sometimes find myself wondering if they have any real impact. In the case of my Friday the 13th blog “How Can You Get a Job that Requires IT Experience, When You Have None?” I got a very nice email back from the person whose original correspondence with me served as its impetus. I reproduce most of it next, then follow up with some comments and observations:

Thank you for blogging about my experience. Before I made the decision to go down the IT path, I found a job for a PC-Tech-like job. A company needed an individual to handle PC/laptop upgrades. They stated A+ preferred but not required. I applied for the position and in my cover letter I listed out the same experience as in my email to you. Needless to say I got no response from the company but that is when I finally decided to get A+ certified. Being 38 years old and going back to school to start over was very difficult, at first. I knew that I could do it but was it where I should go career-wise? In other words without technically being in the field, should I try it?

Years back when I first started college, I took a career profile test to see what suited my personality. The results came back auto technician or detective. I am a car guy for sure and like guns too but, I have this thing about being shot at. So, for years I did car stereo, body shop and auto parts work until I finished college( Associates in Marketing). I spent 11 years at BMW (11 years at one car dealership is pretty much unheard of, tremendous turnover), then 11 months at a Porsche dealership as a service advisor, which felt like 11 years.

A majority of the jobs that I see now want years of experience with the certifications. I know that I have a good bit but not wanting to sell myself short, not enough PC and networking yet to be on my own. That is why I am looking for job environment that has some supervision. Like a large company that does PC and laptop exchanges, were I would transfer files, set permissions, network settings….etc. I did create a profile on ADP’s web site since they support car dealerships like Reynolds&Reynolds and also on RIM’s (Blackberry) site. I know that with some good mentoring, I will excel very quickly. When I started at BMW, I had to learn a lot on my own which taught me so much. I was skipped over several times for training yet I was still able to figure out and diagnose the cars. I have found a few possibilities on Dice, which does seem like the best tech job web site out of all the ones I have been on. I will keep you posted.

I see some emerging glimmers of hope in this reply and some good positive attempts to find work as well. I also continue to see more evidence of highly relevant experience that he’s still hesitant to claim. I’d urge him to make as much of that experience as possible, to stress his abilities to learn, solve problems, and deal with complex systems even in the absence of formal training to learn them.

I’d also urge him to look beyond Dice and other job sites, to ply his own personal network to look for opportunities. I’d also urge him to look for forums and message boards online where others are asking questions about tools and technologies he knows, and posting helpful information to answer those questions. This not only gives him a chance to flex some intellectual and problem-solving muscles, it will also give him something to point to in a job interview or cover letter as evidence of technical skills and a willingness to help and work with others (key ingredients for IT personnel of all stripes). I also recommended that he research PC repair depot operations in his local metro area, because such operations always have need of qualified repair technicians. So do big technology outlets such as Fry’s, Best Buy, Office Depot, and so forth. My final word to him: leave no stone unturned in your search for work. One job will surely lead to another thereafter.

Dancing About Software Architecture

Every now and then a book comes along that reshapes how people look at the world in which they live and work. Surprisingly to many, a work of traditional architecture by Christopher Alexander called A Pattern Language, ultimately led to the seminal software architecture book by Erich Gamma, et al called, Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software. This latter book has spawned countless imitators in many different areas of the software development world from business software to database to programming languages galore. Interestingly, this is more than just a “me-too” phenomenon: Alexander’s original insight that certain elements of design repeat in many different places and ways (which defines what he calls a “pattern”) actually works as well, or better, for software where pattern is rampant and visible almost anywhere someone with an analytical bent might care to look.

The latest entrant in the Design Patterns parade comes from Microsoft, in the form of a free e-book. It’s called patterns & practices Application Architecture Guide 2.0. It does for .NET Framework based applications what the other books do for different niches: explain how to identify, codify, and use recurring patterns in an interesting and productive way when it comes to creating software architecture, designing applications or services, or building such things (for .NET-based code, this usually means working in Visual Studio with a suitable programming language and add-ins galore to help speed and manage the development process).

If you want to get a deep insightful look into the notion of pattern and how it shaped a genre of software books, read Alexander in the original. If you want to understand why it had such an impact on the software biz, check out the Gamma Design Patterns book. If you want to put this metaphor and method to work with .NET grab the patterns & practices e-book: unlike the other two titles, it won’t cost you anything, either. Whoda thunk you could say something like that about Microsoft?