Keep up to date

As we move through our careers it's very easy to get funneled down a track and before you know it you're not where you want to be.

Regardless of your company and their performance management cycle keep your focus. Develop your personal roadmap of where you want to be in 6 months, 1 year, 3 years and beyond.

I have found that I have become stale quickly working as a solution agnostic Business Analyst. I need to get and keep current with technology as well.

I decided that one asset I would like to build out is Microsoft Dynamics CRM experience. A quick walk around he web and I stumbled across the Wellington MS CRM 4.0 user group.

Don't forget to keep plugged in to existing skills and build out hooks into new skills that you have identified.

Tools at your finger tips:

• Google Alerts
• Podcasts
• User Groups (physical and online)
• White Papers available from vendors, distributors (TelecomAsia) and bodies (NGOSS, IIBA)
  

Keeping the CV current

One of the challenges as you get more experience and your broaden your skills is keeping your CV (resume) up to date for when you apply for new roles.

I find this particularly problematic as I have both a technical side, a functional side and a strategy/consulting side.

Keeping track of the various roles and for each role the main strength and achievement got me thinking about storing and re-building as and when I apply for a new role.

Over the next weeks the plan is to build a repository with appropriate tags/labels that will allow me to pull the information onto a dynamic CV. This will allow me to better match the keywords in the job posting with a tailored CV for that role. Should help me get the foot in the door.

Watch for updates.

Manager Tools: Getting the Basics right

I've said it before and I'll say it again Manager Tools is great. Mike and Mark have been providing fundamental advice for 2 years with their weekly podcast and I have tried to spread the word.

The problem that I experienced when I first found them was where to start. When I looked through the back catalogue I initially want to get the basics out. Since then I have been through and listened to everything and eagerly await Monday for the next installment.

The problem for MT Newbies is now addresses with the the core podcasts bundled up into the basics series.

This will lead you through the foundations of MT

• One to Ones
• Feedback
• Coaching
• Delegation
• Running Effective Meetings
• Solution to a Stalled Technical Career

A good introduction for newcomers to help build the context for many of the other podcasts and even a great refresher for those who have been listening for some time but would like to brush up their skills.