ask me! ask me!

... as a person who got a b.s. chem eng (in 1986) doing environmental-related work, i wanna yip/yap about my work like this dude did. (and if you are going to be looking for a job, maybe consider asking these Qs, also!)

[and you also can see
my yip/yap for my non-job]

1. How long have you been at your job and what do you do there?
. hmmmm? nearly a dozen years. as an independent consultant and business owner, i work with energy projects doing air quality and environmental communications work. (and btw, i've had four previous jobs, so i could stroll down memory lane, but i'll stick to the program.)

i consult with companies that want to/that do "stuff" with power generation where stuff includes --- evaluate (from an environmental/air quality perspective) possible projects to finance, construct, operate, modify, purchase, sell, etc. --- prepare paperwork to get needed government approvals for projects --- form and manage project teams that work on projects --- and every once in a while, I get to write about technologies, projects and general environmental/energy topics. I'm sort of a lower-priced regulatory/legal type ... and a higher-priced paper-pusher ... both needed in the power industry, so it happens.
2. What's the best aspect of your job?
. working with a variety of people, of course! and secondly, owning my own business, so i get to choose my projects, clients, and vendors - and align choices with my overall interest in the environmental and energy field.

3. What's more important: salary or job satisfaction?
. too easy a question! job satisfaction!!! one can always get a salary - any ol' salary ... it may not be the salary you want (or think you deserve), but jobs are out there, and they inherently pay you. however, being satisfied with your job - that's a personal choice; choose to find a job that is satisfying. don't believe that someone can simply pay you to be satisfied with your job. understand that job satisfaction is what YOU make of it!

4. What's the best career advice you've ever received?
. recently, it was ... "don't just do the do - do the think! anyone can punch a calculator"

oh! and one other, back in 1982 - "make sure always to help someone else realize his/her potential." (from toni at cal) maybe that's a "life" advice, but i think it also applies to one's career.

from the lighter side - other advice ...
"having no work and incurring costs is bad." (gotta love bad grammar, at that) and
"nothing is impossible for the person that doesn't have to do it." (gotta love logic)

5. What's the best way a fresh-out-of-college employee can impress you during their first week on the job?
. by listening and asking questions. but i guess as importantly, i also should be listening and asking questions of him/her. know what i mean?

6. How did you learn to work with staff members outside of your department? [Reword - for context as a business owner - "How did you learn to work with other subcontractors?"]
. i haven't mastered this skill (IMO), but to date, i have a sincere interest in what others do, how i can help them, how they may be able to help me, and how we may be able to do things together. inherently, i have structured my business so that i practically have no choice but to work with others. said differently, my business affords me the opportunity to work with others outside of my field or area of expertise. how else will i continue to learn more about positively affecting the environment?!

7. What trait do you admire in co-workers? [Reword - for context as a business owner - "What trait do you admire in other consultants with which you work?"]
. first, i thought of answering this with 3 traits ... technical competence, consistency, and commitment ... all of which i do admire. but more over, i have to say ... authenticity and forthrightness. i guess that's 2 traits. simply put, when one's character, values, beliefs and candid approach shine through his/her work - moving forward environmental objectives - it's exhilirating and energizing.

8. How do you relieve job frustration?
. a few different ways ... i may - take a walk - talk about my feelings with someone - sit, deep breathe, center, focus - write about the frustration to understand how to overcome and manage my feelings of frustration ... and ultimately, i will confront the situation.

9. What one thing do you know now that you wish you could have known when you first started your job?
. i'll answer this from 2 perspectives - (a) as a career path and (b) as a business owner/consultant.

first of, as a career path - i do air quality regulatory/compliance work - it's not as much about being out & about with among the technologies, project sites, and the environmental attributes of a project - it's got a huge component of paperwork, documentation, deadlines, recordkeeping, legal stuff, accuracy (and precision, at times), negotiations, bureaucracy, and communications. turns out, i'm pretty good at this stuff.
secondly, as a business owner/consultant - i can be on projects where i get to be around the technologies, project sites, and environmental attributes of a project. got that issue addressed! ... and to more specifically answer the Q, there is enough work to go around. i still don't understand the ultra-competitiveness that exists among those in the environmental and energy consulting arena. there are times i just shake my head out of disbelief. talking about the ultra-competitiveness is an WHOLE OTHER SUBJECT, so i'll save that for later.

thanks for reading!

now go ask future employers ...
or just in informational interviews ...
these questions!!!

r|thoughts on hrw! ...

thoughts on j's hrw!'s
"networking abuse results in failed background check" ...

GIVE IT A READ, WHY DON'T CHA?! ... the closing statements include:

"The results of this failure to conduct research were that the investigator’s time was wasted, my time was wasted, the acquaintance’s application was delayed, and my impression of the friend is that she carelessly offers names just for the sake of offering them. She saved her own time by failing to do research and giving the reference a head’s up at the cost of everyone else’s time. That was inconsiderate and poor networking."

... AND YOUR THOUGHTS?

MY THOUGHTS? generally, the HRW!'s message is a perspective of time spent/wasted for requesting/providing a character reference. a job candidate had to provide to a prospective employer character references. the person named to provide a reference was neither notified nor qualified (from her perspective).

in short, i think - - - moving the experience forward - - - the message also can be stated as ...

check-in before hand

BE PREPARED ... references for a work position (e.g., full-time, part-time, internship, volunteer, etc.) are important and should be valued. being prepared for all phases of securing work experience is important. these phases may simply be described as ...

• before, e.g., job search, screening, qualifications
  
• during, e.g., job interview
• after, e.g., follow-up, references, salary/benefits negotiations
  

just as time and care are spent completing an application, interviewing with an organization, researching the organization's corporate philosophy and social responsibility (!), and dressing up for interview, the efforts **after** the interview also contribute to evaluating a prospective employee's fit.

at a minimum, remember THREE (3 - trois - tres - san - ...), have at least 3 professional and 3 personal references. you may be asked to complete a form to fill-in the names/contact info of references. a few common ways to categorize references:

• PERSONAL REFERENCES
  
• PROFESSIONAL REFERENCES - generally former managers/supervisors, peers, team members, etc.
  
• ORGANIZATION REFERENCES - i've seen a person provide references of colleauges in his/her volunteer groups, absent 'formal' work experience.
  

in all cases, keep the contact information up-to-date.

IT'S A GOOD THING to be considered a reference ... as well as quite a responsibility. those asking a person to be a reference, respectfully check-in. those giving a reference, respectfully respond.

double-whammy with past interns

[copied from my ReLo blog post ...]

yesterday eve, 2 events with interns circa 2004 + 2005 + 2006 ...

[just missing christina ('05), who is 3rd from the left in this pic and mike ('05) (aka woodside mike) who gave us pretty flowers.]


event #1 at zocalo's -
from l to r: frederick ('04, '05), self, jesse, amabelle ('04, '05, '06), jennifer ('04), brian.
[excuse for their signature handshaken margarita]




[excuse for their 'tears of a prophet']

event #2 at parallel 33 -

from l to r: self, todd, margaret ('05, '06)

[more about r|interns,
and monikers for last decades interns!]]

r|intern: ReLo respite

... with the relocation from SD to BA as the main hubub, r|intern is a bit dormant ... pending plans for the 2007 summer internship. unconscious mutterings are helpful for me to remember to post on r|intern...

... but for some folks who have asked more about r|intern --- what we'll do when up in the BA --- in short - we will have a 2007 r|intern position.

[pedis during the mini-r|break - we gotta get pedis !]

i'm tossing around updates to the position description, qualifications, application, and self-evaluation - all to improve the internship experience for us and for r|intern.

meanwhile, i'll be taking topics addressed on jengyee's blog, hello real world!, and posting some of my thoughts on topics she chats about.

hope to keep it fresh ...

an intern once offered up ...

his
little words o' wisdom.

[he's one of the guys in this pic]

and as for Mr. J --- nice write-up in Cal's Engineering News.