Professional Geekery

Weekly Challenge: Time To Move On

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I want you to imagine your ideal job, position, or personal business.  What's it like?  What do you do each day?  Why do you like it?

Now, hold that image in your mind, with as much detail as possible.  Write it down if it helps.

Now, I want you to come up with reasons you'd want to leave that job, position, sell or change the business, or otherwise alter your great, wonderful, perfect situation.  Write down the reasons you'll eventually want something else.

Everything changes, and what we want may not satisfy us as we ourselves change.  So take a moment to ask what will change your mind once you're in an ideal job – that way you can prepare for what's next.

– Steven Savage

Weekly Challenge: The Next Step?

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I want you to speculate on your success.

Really, sit down now and outline an image of success for one of your projects or jobs.  What is that perfect job, ideal game release, fantastic costly, etc.  Pick something and describe it to yourself.

Mull it over.  Feel it.  Enjoy it.

Now . . . what happens next?

What happens when that Tripe-A game ships?  That novel comes out?  What happens when you get that ideal job with that ideal company?

What's your step after that?

We often focus so much on success we miss that past the milestone is the rest of our lives.

So take a moment to look at what happens when you reap your rewards – and find out what's next.  You may be surprised at what you have planned – or what gaps you face.

For that matter, how far out do your plans go?

– Steven Savage

Weekly Exercise: The Core Of Networking

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Good at networking?  Bad at networking?  Either way, you're gonna have to network in your career, and frankly, it's lot of fun.

This Weekly Challenge is to start taking a look at how people connect with you.

How they connect with you?  Yep, forget you connecting with them.  We're going to look at why people connect with you.  We're going to look at why people WANT to connect with you.

Good networking is fun, friendly, and win-win.  If you realize that you have something to offer then you can find it easier to connect with others – because you're thinking about them.  No one wants to connect with someone who's selfish.

So here's your challenge:
Write down all the reasons that people would want to connect with you and get to know you.  There may be:

  • Skills you can help with.
  • People you know.
  • A cheery demeanor that perks people up.
  • Etc.

Go on and don't be modest.  After all this is about other people isn't it?

Now look over this list.  Remember in the future when networking, you have something to offer other people.

– Steven Savage