March 2023

Building your First Resume

As a tech executive, I often get asked by soon to be college graduates, what should I put on my resume to stand out.

First, if you are going into an IT career and you’ve done an internship, that’s a big plus. Second, if you’ve attended on campus career fairs and met big companies who are doing campus recruiting, you’ll have received some good exposure to what companies are looking for in talent. If you have not done these things let me help with some thoughts.

Adapt your resume.

For your technology major, professors often discuss how your skills apply to industry. Research key companies and explore their main web pages. Uncover their initiatives to gain insight. When applying for jobs, carefully read the job description and adapt your resume accordingly. Be honest to avoid issues during interviews. Look for jobs that align with your education, emphasizing the projects and specific skills you learned on campus to compensate for lack of industry experience.

Factor in soft skills.

Once you have the technical part of your resume worked up, lace in the soft skills. Soft skills are the communication, presentation and people management skills that technical people tend not to be the best at.

Yes, understood, you want a technical job. However, many employers are looking for well-rounded technology professionals. If you can emphasize and prove that you have outstanding communication skills, it’ll put you ahead of many of your peers who are relying on their technical skills alone. Also, if you have aspirations to lead and make your way up the executive ladder, having the soft skills are going to be a must.

In future posts I’ll provide some specific resume content to help you with your bio.

It’s Okay to Ask Questions

I was reading a funny story about Henry Kissinger. If you don’t know who Dr. Kissinger is, you are probably too young. He was the Secretary of State during the Nixon Administration and considered one of the smartest SoS’s ever.

Henry Kissinger’s speech writer handed Kissinger the latest speech for him to review. Kissinger wrote on the paper, “Is that the best you can do?” The speech writer rewrote the piece and handed it to Kissinger for his thoughts. Kissinger wrote the same thing, “Is that the best you can do?” The speech writer did two more revisions with the same responses. Finally, frustrated, he told Kissinger that it was the best he could do. Kissinger said, “Okay, now I’ll read it.”

Moral of the story: unless you like doing a lot of unnecessary extra work, make sure you understand what the boss is saying. It’s okay to ask questions.

Blind Spots

As a tech exec, it is crucial to minimize blind spots in relation to your employees. Maintaining awareness of their performance and motivations can be challenging, especially when they are highly competent and motivated to please you. Avoiding blind spots requires careful attention and consideration.

What I’m talking about is that you rely on a person (or people) who really do a great job and get the work down for you. In your presence they are the most respectful and smartest person you’d ever meet. However, with peers this person is a complete jerk. He talks down to the people he works with, nobody wants to be on a team with him; however, no one will tell you about it because they see how much you like this person. You have promoted this high performer because you are pleased with the work, and this has sent the wrong message to the staff. More of your team start to act like this person thinking it’ll be the way to get ahead. But the person you have as your right-hand is really a cancer. They have totally tanked the moral of the team.

Be fair to your team members.

The key lesson is to cultivate an open mind and treat all members of your team with fairness. Strive for equality in assigning tasks, allowing opportunities for growth and development among everyone. While there will inevitably be standout individuals, take the time to know each team member and avoid overt favoritism. An ideal approach is to leverage the expertise of your top performers by appointing them as mentors, fostering a holistic and contented team dynamic. By embracing this mentoring mentality, you can create a more comprehensive and fulfilled team overall.

As a leader, it is important to maintain a certain level of professional distance from individuals within your team. Developing personal connections is valuable, but it is crucial to avoid the perception of favoritism, as it can disrupt team dynamics.

Tech Executive Power – Don’t Use it to Harm Others

I was reading the book, “The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene.” And although this is a really good book that a budding tech exec needs to read, I’m also saddened by it.

The book emphasizes the importance of executives mastering the 48 laws of power to achieve success. These laws shed light on cunning techniques, such as ensnaring a fellow leader to undermine their influence, that many may find distasteful.

To pursue a successful tech executive path to the top, it’s crucial to comprehend the principles outlined in this book. Effective leaders utilize these techniques, which have been proven to work. However, it doesn’t imply that you must apply them exactly as described in the book, especially the historical examples that highlight similar approaches to advancement or removing obstacles in your path. Remember, adaptability is key.

Reality is that many leaders reach where they are because they crave and use power in order to be successful.

Power techniques can be ruthless, and many inexperienced leaders will struggle to deploy these. However, even if you don’t use them, knowing that others do will help you avoid the pitfalls.

Click here for a post on finding your leadership style.

Employee Appreciation Day?

As a tech executive, it is important to recognize and appreciate the contributions of your employees every day. Interestingly, today happens to be the official holiday known as National Employee Appreciation Day. Take this opportunity to express gratitude to your hardworking team members!

I find it strange, but here’s the explanation from the website: “National Employee Appreciation Day“, on March 3, reminds leaders, including us technology executives, that strong employer-employee relations are at the core of any truly successful business. Having a great relationship with your employees is an important aspect of being a manager, and appreciating their efforts can go a long way towards making workers feel valued.

Take some time on National Employee Appreciation Day to connect with your employees, offer authentic praise, and listen to their experiences.

Do we really need to remind managers that they should have a relationship with their employees?

Reality is you are successful because of the people who work for you. The more you know about the people who work for you the better you can align them with what they do best. If your employees feel appreciated and feel that you have their best interests at heart, they’ll do great things for you and the company.

Every day should be Employee Appreciation Day… Talk to your team regularly and have an open and honest relationship.