Just Introduction

I received some sage advice from an engineer at work today... as far as career development goes. We were on the subject of things to do to make yourself stand out with co-workers so that you can become the go to person. Some people don't want that, but the way I look at it is, its all about experience. The more you're involved with, the busier you are, and the more transferrable skills you can acquire... as long as you enjoy the projects you are working on. He prefaced with a disclaimer which basically meant think about this, don't necessarily do it, but he went into a story about a co-worker he once had that was always very respectful of his superiors yet VERY opinionated, and was quick to let people know when things were going off track. My friend approached him and said, "Aren't you worried they'll fire you for some of the things you do and say?" He replied, "I go to work everyday as if its going to be my last day." Reason being that only with that mentality will you push the envelope, seize opportunites, and alert people to potential problems without fear of what happens next. It almost forces you to be the worker you should be, but aren't. I thought it was interesting.

On my first day of college, when my parents were "letting go," my dad said, "Look Justin, this is how you meet people." I had no idea what he was talking about but I watched... he walked up to a classmate that I had not yet met, and said, "Do I know you from somewhere?" And that's how it all started. Its not as easy in a club or bar, but in certain situations it works really well. All you need is a little conversation starter like that... you find out what part of the country they are from, and other possible places or organizations they are in where paths may have, but of course never did cross.

Well today, I took a page from that book. It wasn't planned out, but it worked really well. See the "I'm new here" conversation starter is getting old. So, I flipped it, and if I see someone I want to talk to I ask them if they are new here. I know they aren't, its usually someone I've crossed paths with in the building before... but its a great conversation starter, because they reply... "No, I've been here X years. I'm on the Y team. Z is my manager." That's a whole lot better than going up to them and interrogating them with "Who are you and what team are you on."

Well, at least I don't sit at my desk and think of these things. They actually keep me pretty busy. But as I've mentioned before, I sit in a lab with one other person, so I don't get to meet any of the 2000+ people that work in the technology building I would otherwise sit in. So when I do go over there (once or twice a week) I try and talk to as many people as possible.

~JL