This is going to be a short blast. Should I have used Twitter instead - ha ha!
I'm off on a vacation for a little restin' and relaxin' before starting up again. I'm not sure how much time I'll have to blog, given all of the activities lined up with the kids (hang at the beach, horseback riding, etc.). When I get back, though, I'll clue you in a bit more on my next adventure in employment (do I need to change my blog title?)....
Cool site of the day: "Moment to shoot Somali pirates had come" (really, anything to do with this topic is cool)
"Even as details about the daring rescue were still emerging, U.S. national security officials were trying to assess whether it might lead to an escalation in violent tactics along the Somali coast, and were warning that a surge in pirate activity would be difficult to bring under control."
My response - Let's just see how violent these pirates get if, when they try to escalate violent tactics, they start getting picked off one by one with head-shots from our NAVY SEALs!
Monday, April 13, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Unemployment - I hardly even knew ya
It's been a while since my last post....and for good reason. At least I think so. Here's what's been up for the past week.
Last Thursday I reached out to a colleague at WF. I needed a reference and thought she would be a great person to provide one for me. While I was IMing her, she asked in I was interested in returning to the Wholesale side of WF. I told her that I would be, if it was the right position, working for the right person. Well, it turns out that she needs people in her group. Now, this person is in the top 5 of the people I respect at WF-Whsle - she's smart, dynamic, polished, and really motivated. Plus, she brings an air of fun and openness to the workplace. We agreed to meet for coffee the next day (and I 'never' go into the city on Friday).
Friday's coffee was a great chance to reconnect and catch-up. Oh yeah, we also spent most of the time taking about the help she needs in her group. Turns out that there's a need to help integrate the Wachovia online portal into the WF online portal (the CEO). One thing led to another and we concluded the 1st round interview and moved right into the 2nd round interview (you know, talking about things that are taboo to cover in the 1st interview - stuff like start date, salary/rate, etc.). One other thing, I also chatted with her Wachovia counterpart at 8am that morning. He seems like a good guy - smart, to the point, engaging, and....he went to Penn State (home of Joe Pa - my 2nd favorite college football team, behind USC).
So, long story made short - I start working on 4/24. My time being unemployed will be a total of 7 wks or so.
Do I feel like I've been unemployed?
The severance from C2P has helped me to not take a hit in the wallet - thank you C2P (esp. Brian and Matt)!
Honestly, I've been so busy with trying to find a job that it's felt like I've been working these past weeks. Although, it is nice to be able to walk to pick-up my daughter from school each day. The early afternoon mountain bike rides are nice, too.
What's my new job going to be?
I'm going to save this for a future post. So keep checking back for new posts.
Cool site of the day: San Francisco Business Times (I've re-found this site the past week or so - it's good, not a lot a bull)
Last Thursday I reached out to a colleague at WF. I needed a reference and thought she would be a great person to provide one for me. While I was IMing her, she asked in I was interested in returning to the Wholesale side of WF. I told her that I would be, if it was the right position, working for the right person. Well, it turns out that she needs people in her group. Now, this person is in the top 5 of the people I respect at WF-Whsle - she's smart, dynamic, polished, and really motivated. Plus, she brings an air of fun and openness to the workplace. We agreed to meet for coffee the next day (and I 'never' go into the city on Friday).
Friday's coffee was a great chance to reconnect and catch-up. Oh yeah, we also spent most of the time taking about the help she needs in her group. Turns out that there's a need to help integrate the Wachovia online portal into the WF online portal (the CEO). One thing led to another and we concluded the 1st round interview and moved right into the 2nd round interview (you know, talking about things that are taboo to cover in the 1st interview - stuff like start date, salary/rate, etc.). One other thing, I also chatted with her Wachovia counterpart at 8am that morning. He seems like a good guy - smart, to the point, engaging, and....he went to Penn State (home of Joe Pa - my 2nd favorite college football team, behind USC).
So, long story made short - I start working on 4/24. My time being unemployed will be a total of 7 wks or so.
Do I feel like I've been unemployed?
The severance from C2P has helped me to not take a hit in the wallet - thank you C2P (esp. Brian and Matt)!
Honestly, I've been so busy with trying to find a job that it's felt like I've been working these past weeks. Although, it is nice to be able to walk to pick-up my daughter from school each day. The early afternoon mountain bike rides are nice, too.
What's my new job going to be?
I'm going to save this for a future post. So keep checking back for new posts.
Cool site of the day: San Francisco Business Times (I've re-found this site the past week or so - it's good, not a lot a bull)
Friday, April 3, 2009
Flip-flop on Twitter?
Those of you who are loyal readers (both of you - ha ha) know that I've been bagging on Twitter. Well, I've been reading up on Twitter and even attended a Webinar (previous post). While I'm still skeptical on the merit of Twitter for personal use, I'm starting to think there may be some good uses for companies.
There have been a couple recent articles about Twitter - mostly around Google possibly buying the company:
- Twitter To Google? Too Soon
- Twitter buyout talk continues
Also, I read a great book on Search a while back. I definitely recommend this book: The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture
I see some parallels btwn Twitter and Google - especially the power of being able to search all of the Tweets that take place daily (it's gotta be millions). Now, as more people learn that their Tweets are becoming part of a vast data store to be mined by Twitter and/or marketing and sales companies, will there be a backlash? It's one thing to be able to gather data on impersonal searches, but to mine data on someone's Tweets is a different story - whether or not they are anonymized. Can't wait to see...
Cool site of the day: PowerMeter (a cool service from Google that is, unfortunately, not yet available....but read up on it)
There have been a couple recent articles about Twitter - mostly around Google possibly buying the company:
- Twitter To Google? Too Soon
- Twitter buyout talk continues
Also, I read a great book on Search a while back. I definitely recommend this book: The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture
I see some parallels btwn Twitter and Google - especially the power of being able to search all of the Tweets that take place daily (it's gotta be millions). Now, as more people learn that their Tweets are becoming part of a vast data store to be mined by Twitter and/or marketing and sales companies, will there be a backlash? It's one thing to be able to gather data on impersonal searches, but to mine data on someone's Tweets is a different story - whether or not they are anonymized. Can't wait to see...
Cool site of the day: PowerMeter (a cool service from Google that is, unfortunately, not yet available....but read up on it)
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
A Frenzied Day......and It's only 10am!!!
Today is busy for 3 reasons:
1. 7am webcast for Finextra PaymentsLive! - This bombed. The streaming feed was problematic throughout - well, at least for the first 30 mins. I dropped from the cast, as it wasn't working efficiently. Plus, the webcast will be available on Finextra in a couple of hours.
After watching the replay, if this is any good I'll blog about it. Stay tuned....
2. 10am webcast for Twitter for Businesses - I know, I know, I've been trashing Twitter for a long time. Ironically, the Finextra webcast used Twitter for questions, comments, etc. Since the webcast bombed, I don't have an opinion on the use of Twitter in this manner. I'm still convinced Twitter is a bomb.....for personal usage. However, there are some uses that may be viable for businesses. None are new, they just leverage the Twitter platform to be more efficient. Examples include: direct marketing (opt-in, of course), customer feedback (like forums, but easier), opt-in public group instant messaging to name a few. In my opinion Twitter may be a good option for businesses, but Twitter should just white-label their services - there's no need for people to know it's 'powered by Twitter'. Maybe more on this later....we'll see.
3. A bunch of follow-ups from the BayPay event last evening. This was a very cool event last evening. It was held at the Google campus - very cool, right up there with the Microsoft campus. There were probably 100 people at this event. I spoke with a handful and was able to do some serious networking - as a result, I have a ton of follow-ups, so my fingers will be aching from my typeing and dialing. I'm back to be optimistic that I'll be able to find something soon - wish me luck!
Cool site of the day: BayPay (probably only 'cool' if you're a Payments geek, like me)
1. 7am webcast for Finextra PaymentsLive! - This bombed. The streaming feed was problematic throughout - well, at least for the first 30 mins. I dropped from the cast, as it wasn't working efficiently. Plus, the webcast will be available on Finextra in a couple of hours.
After watching the replay, if this is any good I'll blog about it. Stay tuned....
2. 10am webcast for Twitter for Businesses - I know, I know, I've been trashing Twitter for a long time. Ironically, the Finextra webcast used Twitter for questions, comments, etc. Since the webcast bombed, I don't have an opinion on the use of Twitter in this manner. I'm still convinced Twitter is a bomb.....for personal usage. However, there are some uses that may be viable for businesses. None are new, they just leverage the Twitter platform to be more efficient. Examples include: direct marketing (opt-in, of course), customer feedback (like forums, but easier), opt-in public group instant messaging to name a few. In my opinion Twitter may be a good option for businesses, but Twitter should just white-label their services - there's no need for people to know it's 'powered by Twitter'. Maybe more on this later....we'll see.
3. A bunch of follow-ups from the BayPay event last evening. This was a very cool event last evening. It was held at the Google campus - very cool, right up there with the Microsoft campus. There were probably 100 people at this event. I spoke with a handful and was able to do some serious networking - as a result, I have a ton of follow-ups, so my fingers will be aching from my typeing and dialing. I'm back to be optimistic that I'll be able to find something soon - wish me luck!
Cool site of the day: BayPay (probably only 'cool' if you're a Payments geek, like me)
Friday, March 27, 2009
Design the Life You Want
I ran across this article and found it very interesting.
It's short, to the point, and outlines what actions you'll need to take next.
I have yet to take these actions, but it's on my list.....
Here's the article.
It's short, to the point, and outlines what actions you'll need to take next.
I have yet to take these actions, but it's on my list.....
Here's the article.
A Good Day in the City....and Follow-up Today
Yesterday was a city day, so no posting.....but, lots of stuff to follow-up - so today is busy, busy, busy.
I started off with a lunch meeting in the city. The location was Unicorn, which I can totally recommend. The mtg consisted of 2 recruiters, a hiring manager (finally), and me. The discussion was very positive, with good dialogue btwn the 4 of us. The hiring manager seems solid, dynamic, and someone I could work with effectively. However, the end result is the same I heard from my last in-person interview.....they like my resume, the interview went well, but there is not currently an open position - although, they expect one to come along shortly.
I guess the good news is that the hiring manager thought enough of my resume to warrant a sit-down, even without a open position. I just hope that a project or two is approved in the near future, so that the hiring manager needs to bring on someone like me.
I spent the rest of the day taking in the vibe of the city - the faster paced environment helps me to 'stay in the game' and make sure I'm motivated to find that next job. I must have sent myself about 10 emails for follow-up items today: people to call, sites to review, ideas to pursue, etc. I also met with a couple of friends/colleagues to keep in the loop on the goings-on in the payments space. Again, to keep me sharp.
So, I'm closing this week still unemployed. I'm still optimistic, as I feel I'm close and it's just a timing thing now. Keep me in you thoughts!
Cool site of the day: Pimp This Bum
I started off with a lunch meeting in the city. The location was Unicorn, which I can totally recommend. The mtg consisted of 2 recruiters, a hiring manager (finally), and me. The discussion was very positive, with good dialogue btwn the 4 of us. The hiring manager seems solid, dynamic, and someone I could work with effectively. However, the end result is the same I heard from my last in-person interview.....they like my resume, the interview went well, but there is not currently an open position - although, they expect one to come along shortly.
I guess the good news is that the hiring manager thought enough of my resume to warrant a sit-down, even without a open position. I just hope that a project or two is approved in the near future, so that the hiring manager needs to bring on someone like me.
I spent the rest of the day taking in the vibe of the city - the faster paced environment helps me to 'stay in the game' and make sure I'm motivated to find that next job. I must have sent myself about 10 emails for follow-up items today: people to call, sites to review, ideas to pursue, etc. I also met with a couple of friends/colleagues to keep in the loop on the goings-on in the payments space. Again, to keep me sharp.
So, I'm closing this week still unemployed. I'm still optimistic, as I feel I'm close and it's just a timing thing now. Keep me in you thoughts!
Cool site of the day: Pimp This Bum
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
First Networking Event.....
Monday I posted about an event I was going to attend, called ECO TUESDAY. Well, I attended the event last night. I kind of knew I'd be stretching myself with this event, as I don't have any experience, background, etc. in the whole Eco/Green space. However, I thought it might be interesting to explore this area while on my job search - plus, meeting new people can't hurt. Turns out, it wasn't my cup of tea. The audience was very grassroots focused, with many people owning or working for small businesses. I was hoping it would have more of a mix of corporate people, looking to understand how their medium-large business or start-up could become more Eco/Green friendly. I still want to check out this angle, so if anyone know of any groups or organizations meet to network and discuss such topics, please let me know.
Today is a down day - down being a 'less active' and not necessarily 'bad' description. I'm up in San Rafael, working to set-up my day in the city on Thursday. I have an interview lined up, along with a lunch meeting, plus an after-lunch coffee meeting. Hopefully one of these meetings will lead to landing my next job. Wish me luck!
Cool site of the day: Boxee (well, the site isn't that cool, but the concept is)
And.....check out the back and forth btwn some random and Mark Cuban (here's another Cuban link) debating Boxee. This one is right up there with Jon Stewart vs. Cramer.
Today is a down day - down being a 'less active' and not necessarily 'bad' description. I'm up in San Rafael, working to set-up my day in the city on Thursday. I have an interview lined up, along with a lunch meeting, plus an after-lunch coffee meeting. Hopefully one of these meetings will lead to landing my next job. Wish me luck!
Cool site of the day: Boxee (well, the site isn't that cool, but the concept is)
And.....check out the back and forth btwn some random and Mark Cuban (here's another Cuban link) debating Boxee. This one is right up there with Jon Stewart vs. Cramer.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
Posts
