This video post is in response to two questions that I received through LinkedIn from an engineer who is looking to take their career to the next level. They were looking for advice on:
1) Making a move to a larger organization in a similar role, where I can develop my leadership and technical skills.
2) Start taking graduate level courses over the next year or two.
In the video I explain the advantages that both big and small companies provide for developing your skills plus, [Read more...]
Most of us try to follow a similar path in life, which includes graduating college, getting a job and then going onto to having a successful career. Sounds great doesn’t it? Well it would sound great if that’s the path you want to follow.
As great as it sounds to have a successful career, I believe that many people chase a successful career not knowing exactly what success means to them.
What does a successful career mean to you?
Does a successful career mean: [Read more...]
Featured Guest Blogger: Shahrzad Arasteh
Job seekers are usually happy when they’re invited for an interview; many also say “I don’t enjoy interviewing!” If that sounds like you, let’s talk about how preparing well for the interview process and reframing how you think about it can make a positive difference.
Chances are by the time you schedule the in-person interview, you’ve had at least one phone (screening) interview. Remind yourself that you are being invited for the interview because the employer considers you a candidate for the position and is interested in learning more about you. As you prepare for this meeting, review any information you have about the position and organization. Think about skills, experiences, achievements, values, and qualities you have that are a good fit for this specific company and job (and, how this company and job are a fit for you!). I recommend writing them down so you can refer to them as you prepare, and adding actual examples that demonstrate each one. [Read more...]
Scott McCreery
I guess by writing this post, I am admitting that I watch American Idol, and not only do I watch it, but I enjoy it thoroughly. The reason I do is because I enjoy seeing people do what they love to do, especially in such a supportive arena. If corporate professionals followed their dreams like these young adults and even teens are doing on Idol, I believe the world would be a much more positive place.
What can American Idol teach us about career advancement? One thing that it can teach us is that to be successful, it is important to know who you are and lean on your strengths in whatever you do.
One of the contestants, Scotty McCreery, is a country music singer. That is who he is, his voice, his roots, everything about him. In my opinion, American Idol is focused mostly around a pop music theme, and it would be very easy for someone like Scotty to try to sing pop music, specifically some of the more popular hits on the radio right now, to try to gain popularity votes, however he refuses to do that! Every single song he sings is either country, or he sings it in a country music style. He even sang Stevie Wonder’s hit, “For Once In my Life,” with a country twist and everyone loved it. [Read more...]
Death Valley
I decided to try to make the move to a company that sounded like they would be prepared to ride out the upcoming recession in May of 2008. After being let go from that company, I wasn’t sure what to do, especially since the company was supposed to have had the type of clients who would not be hit so hard by the down economy. I had always wanted to start my own company, however didn’t think I had enough experience at the time. I had also not known of any single-owner civil engineering firm that had been around for a substantial amount of time. After talking with a buddy who had a government job (public works) as well as other previous co-workers, I decided why not dip my feet into the craziness that is known as the building industry. I was able to get in contact with a civil engineer who by chance was about to close his shop because of unforeseeable events. The perfect storm brewed into what would be my first LLC. [Read more...]
William Merunka
Featured Guest Blogger: William Merunka
Follow me on my journey to become a great engineer.
Let’s connect on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/williammerunka
Going through life is an adventure that has plenty of ups and downs. Like a roller coaster, when everything seems calm and relaxing, your world is suddenly turned upside down at a moment’s notice. While some people see these rough patches as an adrenaline rush and go after them with full force, others are not so rugged, and become flustered because things did not go as planned and they have no clue how to react to the situation.
Even the greatest leaders have their world turned upside down occasionally. They key to success is not how smooth you can make the adventure, it’s how well you can overcome adversity and challenges. With a strong motivating factor, you will be able to overcome many of life’s hardships. Without motivation, you will find yourself continuously caving in and being more susceptible to further hardships. Just because you are motivated, it does not mean that you will hit a minimal amount of roadblocks and overcome every single one of them. It means that you will be ready to go toe-to-toe with the obstacle and be prepared to overcome it easier.
Some people look like they are always positive, and others look like they are constantly struggling to find their motivation. Motivation can be found in many different places, and varies from person to person. Here are a few places that you can looki for motivation. [Read more...]
William Merunka
Featured Guest Blogger: William Merunka
Follow me on my journey to become a great engineer.
Let’s connect on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/williammerunka
In order for our industry to continually advance, we need to keep ourselves educated and on top of our game. To do this we attend seminars, professional workshops, read professional magazine and/or journals and even return to school for a masters degree or continuing education classes. Sometimes we get self-centered and forget about the bigger picture. While we can educate ourselves, we also need to help our co-workers and younger generations so that the entire profession can grow, as opposed to just ourselves.
One of the groups of people that do not always get the most help in preparing for a successful career are students still pursuing their degree and the new graduate engineers. While there are numerous programs meant to introduce pre-college students to math and science fields, there still seems to be a strong push on increasing focus on math and science education and prepping the younger generations for careers in these fields. This push is even backed by the President of The United States and was one of the issues he discussed during his State of the Union address in January 2011.
Just because you may not be a teacher or have kids of your own, it does not mean that you can’t help out the younger generation. There are many ways that you can help give back and here is a short list of ways that you can help. [Read more...]
William Merunka
Featured Guest Blogger: William Merunka
Follow me on my journey to become a great engineer.
Let’s connect on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/williammerunka
As 2010 wraps up, we will try to think about the resolutions we made at the beginning of 2010 and which ones we accomplished. While we would all love to brag about all of the resolutions we made and how we accomplished them, the truth is that for a lot of people this may not be the case. This could be the result of several factors including: forgetting the resolutions because we never wrote them down, not aggressively pursuing the resolution and saying we still have time to accomplish it, or even giving up on the goal and say we will do it next year. While we can say that we will do better next year, and won’t fall into the same pitfalls again, we need to understand where we went wrong before we can begin to change our actions.
One of the main reasons we can’t evaluate our performance on reaching our goals is lack of recollection. The body works in mysterious ways, we may say we are definitely going to do something, and then a few months later forget what we were trying to do. The way around this is to write your goals on paper. When writing the goals, try to be as descriptive as possible. For example, don’t just say “get a job”, instead say “get a job with a civil engineering company focusing on water resources and working under a licensed PE who can help me with the process of obtaining my PE license”. Another good thing is to set dates, or measurable factors for the goals. If your goal is to lose weight, mention how much weight you want to lose and when you want to lose it by. After writing your goals, you should make at least 2 copies. One to hang up someplace you will see, and one to give to a friend you trust. By hanging the goals, you will be reminded of them on a daily basis and will always be thinking about them. Giving a copy to your friend makes you accountable for your goals. If you make goals and keep them to yourself, you can remove goals or alter them if you don’t feel like working on it. However, by giving a copy away, you have somebody to push you, and who can help get you back on the correct path when you start to wander off. [Read more...]
Anthony Fasano
For those of you who do not know of Brett Favre, here is a brief overview from Wikipedia. Brett Lorenzo Favre is an American quarterback in the National Football League. He is a 20-year veteran of the NFL, having played quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons (1991), Green Bay Packers (1992–2007), New York Jets (2008) and Minnesota Vikings (2009–present). Favre is the only quarterback in NFL history to throw for over 70,000 yards, the only quarterback to throw over 500 touchdowns, and the only quarterback to have over 10,000 pass attempts.
Brett Favre is most famously known for his streak of starting consecutive games as a quarterback. As of this morning Brett Favre has started 297 games in a row as a quarterback in the NFL, 92 more than the next quarterback. Favre is 41 years old now, and has strongly considered retirement at the end of each of the last few seasons. Many say that he has come back simply because he wants to extend his streak to 300 consecutive games.
I wasn’t one of them until recently, as I thought he came back because he really loved the game and thought he could still make an impact. Well so much for that theory! Towards the end of last year and almost every game this year, Favre has been banged up to the point of him saying he may or may not play next week. The truth is, some of the injuries that he has sustained this year, would have sidelined a 30-year-old quarterbacks, never mind a 41-year-old quarterback. Yet every Sunday, he trots out there and plays through the pain, his team often suffering because of this. Not only does his physical ability or lack –there-of compromise the team, but the drama of this streak creates a circus like atmosphere around the team, week in and week out. Many people say that he has the team and ownership hostage in that they have to play him because of this streak. In essence, the organization is playing Favre each week to preserve his streak, not because he is the best option for the team to win the game. [Read more...]
William Merunka
Featured Guest Blogger: William Merunka
Thanksgiving is a time of year when we gather with our friends and family, and give thanks for all of the things we are happy to have in our lives. Some people travel long distances to visit relatives or friends, and others stay home and play host while friends and family travel to their house. No matter how long or short you travel, it’s the quality time with these loved ones that matter most. One tradition that a lot of families share, is to go around the table and each person states what they are thankful for. Some of the common things that people are thankful for are family, friends, good health, wealth, and a roof over their head. With the economy’s recent struggles, being employed is also one of the big things that people are thankful for.
One of the things that we sometimes forget is the little things in life. Those moments that make us smile in the middle of a stressful day, those people who always seem to say the right thing at just the right moment, or even those people who enable us to be successful. As humans, we tend to look at the bigger picture, but forget the little things and even people that make the bigger picture possible. There are many people who help us achieve our goals through their actions; we may see them on a regular basis or only once a year; or we may only communicate with them via email. It only takes one action for somebody to make a lasting impression on our lives. Maybe it was somebody who saved your life, somebody who shares the same hobby as you, or somebody who has given you the opportunity to succeed. Whoever the person is, and no matter how they influenced your life, it is important that we recognize these people and show them that we are thankful.
Check out our Institute for Engineering Career Development. The fastest way to advance your engineering career – guaranteed! This community provides affordable, on-demand soft skills training and career development coaching for engineers.
Anthony Fasano, P.E., aka Your Professional Partner, founded Powerful Purpose Associates after he realized that it was the development of his soft skills that helped him to become an associate partner at a reputable engineering firm at the young age of 27. With history as a civil engineer, Anthony is now a nationally recognized executive coach and inspirational speaker, specializing in the areas of engineering career development, as well as leadership. He uses his highly effective coaching and speaking techniques through affordable programs to help engineers develop their soft skills, work through blocks, prioritize effectively, set clear goals and achieve their maximum potential.
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