IMG is nothing?

Guy Kawasaki has a great post “How to Get a Job on Craigslist” that is really useful for anyone trying to get an interview. The majority of new grads and young professionals are going to be relying on the web for their job search. While this makes the search process a bit more efficient, it also makes the competition a lot steeper.

My personal favorites from Guy’s post are:

Write a cover email that addresses the position.

This should be a no brainer. You want to stand out in crowded field, then your reply to the ad needs to tell them that you’re qualified and that your resume is worth a thorough read. For new grads, this is critical since you may have holes in your experience or qualifications.

Apply really well.

You need to understand what the employer is looking for and make sure you address that need. Its fine to have a stock resume on file, but before applying tweak it to make sure you emphasize the experience or knowledge that the employer is emphasizing their need for. Also, make sure that you send them what they ask for.

There is a great article in the International Herald Tribune, written by seven U.S. soldiers about what Iraq is really like. While its not a glowing critique of our time and activity there, it is a logical and measured assessment of where we are, what we do, and what needs to change.

The Iraq war as we see it

Here are a few of highlights [comments by yours truly]:

“In short, we operate in a bewildering context of determined enemies and questionable allies, one where the balance of forces on the ground remains entirely unclear. (In the course of writing this article, this fact became all too clear: One of us, Staff Sergeant Murphy, a U.S. Army Ranger and reconnaissance team leader, was shot in the head during a “time-sensitive target acquisition mission” on August 12; he is expected to survive and is being flown to a military hospital in the United States.) While we have the will and the resources to fight in this context, we are effectively hamstrung because realities on the ground require measures we will always refuse - namely, the widespread use of lethal and brutal force.”

[I’ll raise a toast to Sgt. Murphy and his recovery. The rest of you keep your heads down, so I don’t become an alcoholic.]

“The most important front in the counterinsurgency, improving basic social and economic conditions, is the one on which we have failed most miserably. Two million Iraqis are in refugee camps in bordering countries. Close to two million more are internally displaced and now fill many urban slums. Cities lack regular electricity, telephone services and sanitation. “Lucky” Iraqis live in communities barricaded with concrete walls that provide them with a sense of communal claustrophobia rather than any sense of security we would consider normal. In an environment where men with guns rule the streets, engaging in the banalities of life has become a death-defying act.”

[Why don’t we hear this stuff when Petraeus goes on Fox News?]

“We need not talk about our morale. As committed soldiers, we will see this mission through.”

[You guys rock and I wish we weren’t making your jobs harder with poor strategy.]

Thanks to the Men & Women of the U.S. Armed Forces. We’re proud of you.

Before I went to college, I already knew that the job for me couldn’t be like my father’s. I didn’t want the hours and though I might make less, I’d have to be happier.

He made good money, but also turned gray early. You never knew when he’d make it home or what mood he’d be in (I was supposed to know his mood, but rarely guessed right). I often felt like an employee (I called him “Boss” until he asked me to stop). 

In college, I found that most of my friends had come to similar conclusions about what type of work they’d do and what they wouldn’t give up (read: ‘me’ time or personal-development).

Since moving into my adult-life, I’ve worked some insane hours but have also walked away from jobs that would have made my father nostalgic. Jobs that seemed to insist on the grind for its own sake, or, that created stress without ever creating solutions.
Brazen Careerist ran an article that I think spells out the difference between how/why I work now and how/why my Dad worked then.

New financial data highlights generational rifts

Don’t let the title fool you. I promise no graphs.

Read it and let me know your thoughts about what she’s saying. I’ll probably come back to this topic soon.

Read this post from Brazen Careerist a few days ago, wanted to comment then, but just couldn’t put my ideas into words. Since then, I’ve been scanning the comments and there is some good stuff there. Before I start, let me tell you about the post by Ryan Healy. Ryan wants people to realize that the whole work/life balance idea is flawed. He thinks that what we want professionally, personally, socially, etc. has to fit together and that no aspect can really take precedence over any other. He uses the contrast between the advice given to his girlfriend by her boss and that given by her mother to illustrate how confusing this can be.

At the office full of twentysomethings where my girlfriend, Niki, works, everyone was comparing their salaries, and the owner of the company got really angry. And his being angry made for a tough week, so Niki asked him if she could take Friday off.

He said, “If you’re going to be successful you need to start putting your career before your life.”

Of course she took the day off.

When she told her mother about the situation, her mother said, “If you don’t put your life before work you will never be happy.”

Hearing this conflicting advice from two of the most influential elders in your life is confusing. What does Niki’s boss say to his kids when he gets home? Does he tell them to put work before life? What would Niki’s mom say to young people she works with? Would she tell them to go home early?

From this point onward, Ryan talks about how he doesn’t even try for a work/life balance. I’m not going to quote his full article, nor continue the summary. You can read it yourself. But his post got me thinking.

I’m an entrepreneur who also works (almost) full-time for another outfit. This means that no matter what hour of the day, or day of the week I have work I can be doing. Lucky for me, I like what I do across the board, but there are still days when I’d rather be watching Naruto episodes or napping. Like Ryan, I’m young (26 vs. his 22) with no wife and kids. But even without those pulls on me, I find there has to be a division between work and life.

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