Caution – Work Zone.

We’re busy designing, coding, testing, and all-around reconstructing the MATRIX Wall. Our new blog will be up soon, so check back often!

To All the Naysayers – Yes, you CAN get a job on Twitter.

Cartoon by Hugh MacLeod

I HAVE PROOF.

Last Tuesday morning I woke up waayyyy too early so I grabbed my iPhone and scanned Tweetdeck while deciding whether to go ahead and get up or try and go back to sleep for a bit.

I happened to see a tweet from someone in the #HR community I’ve been following for at least a couple of years. She is located in upstate NY and we’d never met IRL – or even spoken on the phone, for that matter. She stated that she was looking for a contract sourcer.

I happen to know a lot of people who might be interested in such an opportunity so I DMd (direct messaged) her with my email address and asked her to share details with me.

She replied, asking if I knew of anyone, and I said I might. She emailed me and we arranged to speak that afternoon.

We had a great conversation during which she provided me with some additional insight in to the nature of the work. I told her I had a few people in mind and would reach out to them on her behalf and send them her way if appropriate.

The first person I mentioned it to had already spoken to her about it. He’s also very active on Twitter…imagine that!

Several hours later, completely out of the blue, I received the following DM from another friend on Twitter.

Top secret – just found out that I’ll be part of a reduction next week. Would love it if you kept eye/ears peeled for any opportunities.

She is located in Texas, and while we haven’t met (yet), we have spoken on the phone and collaborate on a fun “volunteer” project helping job-seekers.

I replied:

@TXFriend, reach out to @NYFriend and tell her I sent you. she’s looking for a contract sourcer – could be long-term

18 HOURS LATER, @TXFriend sent me this DM:

Yay! Great connection with @NYFriend. Signed a contract to source for her this morning. You’re awesome!

It still shocks me when I hear negative talk about Twitter…”it’s a waste of time, I don’t care what someone ate for breakfast, blah blah blah.”

1-800-GETALIFE.

I’d love to hear from others who have landed a new work project or job opportunity via Twitter…or a new client, even. Same thing, really. It’s paid work, right?

And, speaking of the power of Twitter, our most recent He Said, She Said episode was centered on this very subject. You can catch it here!

Stephanie A. Lloyd is Strategist-in-Chief, Radiant Veracity, located in Atlanta, Georgia at the intersection of Talent Strategies + Social Media. She is a National Careers + Workplace Columnist for Examiner, a division of Clarity Media Group owned by one of the largest media investment companies in the world. There she authors a highly-regarded career and job search advice column for 110 major markets nationwide. Additionally, Stephanie is a regular contributor to Recruiting Bloggers, Talent Net Live, and High Velocity, and she partners with Todd Schnick to produce the popular video blogging series He Said, She Said. With more than 15 years of experience in corporate recruiting and executive search, Stephanie works with hiring managers, HR executives, business owners, and recruiting firms on recruitment and retention strategy including how to better utilize social media for talent acquisition and employee communication.

The Project Delivery Fantasy Draft

Fall in the South is a very special time.  The leaves begin to shift from their green finery into majestic earth tones.  The air starts to cool, as if Summer is getting ready to pack up until next year.  And most importantly, the annual Rite of Fall begins again – American Football.  (Sorry Soccer, but you just can’t hold a candle to ‘real’ football.)

Best of all, it’s available in both varieties:  professional and collegiate (here’s where I feel compelled to yell ‘Go Canes’ as loud as I can).  Nothing can seamlessly dominate a weekend like football coverage, starting with ESPN’s College Gameday on Saturday morning, and ending with Sunday Night Football on NBC late Sunday / early Monday.  Football invented the tailgate, popularized slow motion instant replay, and made John Madden a video game legend.  However, it also brought an innovation to fans and nerds alike that didn’t exist before: Fantasy Football leagues.

For the uninitiated, Fantasy Football is a phenomenon, part game, part analysis, based on the idea of creating the best team possible from a predefined pool of resources.  The intention is to bring together a combination of desired capabilities, outperforming the competition, and ultimately declaring victory over the forces working against you.  To construct your team, you need to understand the rules that your Fantasy Football League uses to assign points, selecting players whose talents will provide the highest output on a week-to-week basis.  You can adjust your lineup over time, and you can trade for new members if you see the opportunity to improve your team.  Sounds like running a project, doesn’t it?

So, fast forward to work and the challenges we face in IT.  This begs the question:  why is it so much easier to build a winning team in Fantasy Football than it is in Project Delivery?  Well, I’m glad I asked…

1. The Draft Process is different – When a Fantasy Leagues prepares for the season, all the owners get into a room and select team members on a rotating basis until the draft is over.  In the real world, though, PMs don’t have the luxury of having the entire pool available when they start a project.  They have to work with who is available when the project starts, based on roll-off dates, budgets and assignment constraints.
2. League rules fluctuate – Different Fantasy Leagues use different rules to assign points for individual performances that contribute to the weekly scoring system.  However, in the real world, statistical variation doesn’t really matter.  Everything is summed up in one direct binary question:  did you get the job done or not?
3. Fantasy Football has awesome performance metrics – In football, a wide variety of metrics are available depending on the player’s position.  Running backs have yards per carry, wide receivers have yards after contact, and quarterbacks have an assigned ‘rating system’.  There are no such personal performance metrics for developers, QA analysts or BAs.  I only wish there was an official statistician who tracked lines coded per hour, number of defects per test cycle executed, and scope creep rating.
4. Only elite talent is available – By its very definition, NFL players have to be in the top 1% of performers to make it as professionals.  They have competed at their positions throughout Pop Warner leagues, high school and college, honing their skills for years in a structured training system organized by a coaching staff.  IT professionals do not have a similar system for personal development.  At best, they have mentors who can provide suggestions for development, or possibly even roles that will grow their skill-sets.  There is no parallel to the coaching staffs of College or NFL teams.  And don’t even get me started on the concept of ‘elite performers only’…
5. Team dynamics don’t come into play in Fantasy Leagues – In the process of points assignment, all that matters is ‘hard statistics’ – touchdowns scored, yards gained, passes completed, or points allowed.  However, in the IT project world, team members have to work together and meld into a functioning unit that delivers solutions on an accelerated basis.  Delivery team members have to coordinate efforts, work together, and ‘make it happen’ as a unit, regardless of personality.  That’s often tougher than coaching up a Defense…

So, I guess that’s why they call it a Fantasy League.  Having a documented personal dossier filled with objective performance metrics on every available developer, tester, project manager, DBA, and business analyst just isn’t a realistic expectation.  And, if PMs could draft talent exclusively from a pool of elite talent, chances of project delivery success would be greatly improved.   Unfortunately, though, building a Fantasy delivery team will likely remain just that – a Fantasy.  Oh well – there’s always Madden 2011.  Good luck to everyone’s teams this year (except for those I hate).

Willard Woodrow is an Engagement Manager at MATRIX Resources. He has 15+ years of information technology experience in the utilities, recruiting, telecom, and insurance verticals. His professional expertise includes business consulting, system implementation, project management, application operations, and client relationship management.

Why an iPad for Business is Just Like My Dog Max

I’ve been using a 3G iPad for business at MATRIX and find it’s a lot like my dog Max.  On somethings it deserves a “GOOOOD BOY!” and others it gets a “BAD DOG!!”

Max

Display/Multi-touch – GOOD BOY!

There’s something about interacting with your hands with the device that makes it less of a “computer.”  The display isn’t HD resolution but it looks great.  Zooming in and out, swiping back-and-forth, it’s all a highly interactive experience managed by you, the user, not someone else.

Typing – BAD DOG!

I didn’t splurge on an external keyboard, and have been thinking about getting a small Bluetooth one.  The keys on the touch keyboard, especially in landscape mode, are too big.  I would have liked a smaller set of keys with a wider keyboard, much like a netbook keyboard.  As a result, I don’t like doing email or taking notes on it, and my usage for those purposes is sporadic at best.  I did see two iPads (with Apple keyboard) prominently displayed on Entourage a couple of weeks ago.

Internet – GOOD DOG!

I highly recommend having the wireless 3G model, mostly because you don’t have to ask about a connection when you’re at a customer’s site.   The coverage (due to the larger antenna) seems to be much better than the iPhone.  Jailbreak it (legal now thanks to the US Copyright Office) and you can add the Myfi app to serve as a wireless hotspot.

eReader – BAD DOG!

I give this a bad dog rating due to the highly popular but limited support EPUB format.  If you don’t know, some libraries (such as Fulton County here in Atlanta) offers ebook downloads via Overdrive. Sounds like GOOD DOG? No, BAD DOG!!  You cannot download directly to iTunes without removing copy protection.  I wonder if this is yet another Adobe-Apple secret battle.

I am a proponent of fair use, so if you decide to decrypt your borrowed ebook yourself, please respect the author by deleting your ebook by the checkout  date.  This is a more complicated process for Mac owners than PC, so be warned.  Overdrive has an audio book app for iOS 4, so perhaps we’ll see an iPad app soon.

My Apps – BAD DOG!

One of the problems in using an iPad for business, particularly in working with customers, is that all of your apps are there for everyone to use.  So you have to go through this process of making sure everything’s logged out before you pass it around.  Even then I’ve updated my daughter’s Facebook status (My dad is GREAT!!!! <3<3<3) when she forgot to logout.  I am still apologizing for that.

There’s no concept of a multi-user iPad, so you really have to create a new library that only contains the basics and resync (e.g., remove stuff).

MobileMe – GOOD DOG!

If you don’t have MobileMe and you have three devices now (Mac, iPhone and iPad), I highly recommend it.  MobileMe automatically syncs your calendar, photos, and contacts from your Mac Address Book and Calendar to your iPhone, your iPad, and Mac.  Although you can do these things with other free tools out there, the sheer simplicity that it works across all three devices makes it worth it.

Overall, the iPad is a “GOOD DOG!”  Like all technology, it has its limitations and successes.  But it’s a good tool now and will arguably get better with time (just like Max, will get better with time).

James Garvey is a Principal Consultant for MATRIX Professional Services. He has over 15 years of consulting experience working with companies like Accenture, IBM (PwC) and several software companies. He is a technology enthusiast, spending his off-hours figuring out how to make things easier to use for his clients. You can follow James on twitter @jamesgarvey or connect to him on Linkedin.

Hiring Great Agile Teams (part 5)

This is my last post in these series. In it, I want to share “job description” materials I’ve used to define, recruit, and hire some very solid agile developers and testers. I hope you find them helpful as well as a tad fun…

Agile Developers…Wanted!

1. Are you open-minded to working in different areas of your systems (front-end, backend, middle tier) as your teams work changes? In other words, having the drive to take a “generalist” view towards your contributions within your teams?
2. Have you read The Passionate Programmer by Chad Fowler? Are you at least willing to read it and apply the lessons?
3. Are you language agnostic – quickly learning new programming & scripting languages and using them where and when appropriate?
4. Is TDD a testing practice, a design practice or a combination of both? Did you honestly answer both?
5. Do you welcome pairing opportunities within your team – with ALL members of your team (developers, testers, product owners, etc.)?
6. If you see a developer on your team writing “crappy code” do you try to help? Do you take ownership for that code? Do you make it visible within your Scrum team for continuous team (not personal) improvement?
7. Do you honestly feel (in your bones) that testing is a team responsibility? On occasion, do you willingly and cheerfully dive in and run manual test cases?
8. I hope you’re not stuck on whether lines of code or lines of test come first in TDD (at fine granularity)…I hope you agree that it doesn’t matter? What matters is that we write unit tests, not necessarily when. Right?
9. When discussing designs, do you fundamentally understand & speak in terms of well-known design patterns? Do you have rock solid OO design skills (independent of language – programming or modeling)?
10. Do you accept different points of view in design & code reviews or pairing? Really welcome & embrace it? Are you a continuous learner?
11. Are you comfortable collaborating with customers and Agile Product Owners—driving value into your User Stories and guiding them towards understanding and acceptance?
12. Do Product Owners and Testers “wait in line” to seek out your advice, opinions and help? Are you the consummate collaborator? And team player?
13. Are you passionate about software development? Are you active in your local Agile Community and do you keep current on new practices, tools, and techniques?

Agile Testers…Wanted!

1. Do you consistently break the barriers between functional testing, exploratory testing, and writing sound test automation?
2. Are you comfortable leading the testing of non-functional requirements within an agile team?
3. Are you at ease sitting down and pairing with Java developers – honing their unit tests, developing FitNesse (feature acceptance) tests, and generally making your product code bullet-proof?
4. Do you always look to test the latest “code drop” from development – so that you can provide real-time feedback to your team on what works and *gulp* what doesn’t?
5. Do you understand the Pareto Principal and Lean principals and apply them to Risk-Based testing techniques? Do you understand what I just said?
6. Are you comfortable collaborating with customers and Agile Product Owners—driving value into your User Stories and guiding them towards understanding and acceptance?
7. Do you view your job as a customer advocate—working hard to become intimate with the depth & breadth of the product and fundamentally understanding HOW it’s most used?
8. Are you a quality advocate within your agile team? Setting broad Done-Ness criteria and helping refine Sprint Goals and behaviors that drive Value and Quality?
9. If you encounter manual steps that take too long or can/should be automated, do you take the time to write a script or find a tool that makes your life easier? Then immediately re-invest that time in better testing?
10. Do Product Owners and Developers “wait in line” to seek out your advice, opinions and help? Are you the consummate collaborator? And team player?
11. Does scripted, by-rote, repetitive testing drive you crazy? And do you understand what context-centric testing is all about?
12. Are you passionate about testing? Are you active in your local Agile Community and do you keep current on new practices, tools, and techniques?

Wrap-up

I hope you’ve found this entire series to be of use for key concepts in recruiting and building agile teams. I have one final piece of advice to leave you with. Please engage your agile teams as much as possible in the interview process. Trust them in decision-making and be as participative as possible. While I’m not suggesting you have the inmates recruit for the asylum, they need to fully engaged partners in the process. Otherwise, that’s not very agile, is it?

I’m not sure where the next post will be going, so please send me your thoughts and ideas around topics of interest…

Bob Galen is the Director of R&D and Agile Coach at iContact and founder of RGCG, LLC a technical consulting company focused towards increasing agility and pragmatism within software projects and teams. He has over 25 years of experience as a software developer, tester, project manager and leader. Bob regularly consults, writes and speaks on a variety of software topics and is the author of the book Scrum Product Ownership – Balancing Value from the Inside Out. He can be reached at bob@rgalen.com or by visiting his Website www.rgalen.com.

How to Make More Money

It’s been said that if you make more money FOR your employer or customer, then you will make more money FROM your employer or customer. Learn more about the 3 strategies to make-more-money success: Be an Expert, Be in Sales, Be in Management.

Strategy #1: Be an Expert

The more you learn, the more you earn. The deeper your knowledge, the higher your income. Become “The Expert” in something people want and need by finding, joining, learning and connecting in the professional or trade association of your choice.

Invest the time to discover how you were wired. Do what you do best and like most that other people want. Is it a particular craft? Maybe the ability to sell a particular product to a specific market? Or perhaps, manage and lead in a certain industry or situation?

Strategy #2: Be in Sales

It has been said that “nothing happens in business until somebody sells something.” And that’s why sales people can make more money. In most cases, the more you sell, the more you make. You can learn how!

Whether you are master of a craft, manager of a company or minister of a church, think of yourself as being in sales. The more you can sell your ideas, the more you contribute. And the more you can contribute, the more others can contribute to you.

Strategy #3: Be in Management

It’s one thing to do a job well. It’s a whole ‘nother ballgame to manage others to do their jobs well. That’s why good managers earn good money. To learn how to earn your way into management, start with your employer and the American Management Association.

It’s one thing to be in management – planning, organizing, directing and controlling. But it is yet another to become a person others will follow. Leaders exhibit 3 qualities and 10 behaviors.

• Competence/Expertise
  • Knowing thy stuff – Competent in your craft
  • Managing things – Plan, organize and “control”
  • Directing people – Recruit, train and direct
• Character/Trustworthy
  • Meeting commitments – Be a promise keeper
  • Walking with integrity – Consistent in words and deeds
  • Serving with sincerity – Support, care for, trust others
• Charisma/Dynamics
  • Vision – Seeing a preferred future
  • Wisdom – Knowing how to get there
  • Strength – Personal energy and resources
  • Courage – Demonstrating the guts to step out

Be all Three

You can actually triple your income if you do all 3 – be expert in your craft, including selling and managing. You can make more money 3 ways. Listen to Crown Financial radio podcast for more information.

Brian Ray is founder of Crossroads Career Network, a national, non-profit membership of churches that provides online job search/ career resources and access to career groups. He is also author of the 2010 Crossroads Career Workbook, owner of Primus Consulting executive search, and former vice president for human resources and administration for Chick-fil-A restaurants.

New Hire: Ready, Set, Wait.

A used pencil holder, pens whose ink have dried up like the Mojave desert, and a waste basket with someone’s leftovers from last month. I think we have all started off jobs moving into less than ideal cubicles or offices. Once, I moved into a cubicle and found cans of chunky beef stew in the draws. Nothing says “we want you here” like the last person’s leftover can of  stew in your new drawer.

I think one of the most overlooked step in the hiring process in the on boarding of new hires. Companies spend a lot of time being thorough in the hiring process making sure they have the right candidates: personality interviews, relevant technical interviews, drug test, credit check, signing over your first-born, etc.

Once they have decided on a candidate, the process is turned over to Human Resources. HR makes sure that the new hire procedure is followed, and the new candidate gets a tidal wave of information that is meant to inform not overwhelm. However, some companies try to cram as much knowledge as they can to make sure that the new hire understands the “company way”.

Meanwhile, the new hire leaves with a card in hand and tons of questions, but have to let their ears stop ringing and their head stop spinning before they can articulate anything.

Recently I had a consultant start a new position after having given a two-week notice at their prior employer, only to find nothing ready for them when they arrived for their first day of work.

Pay attention to the details. Make a list of the things your new hire will need to be successful.  It shouldn’t take them two days to get a security badge, three days to get their laptop, and finally five days to access the system. So by my count, that first week of work amounted to very little work and a lot of waiting. (If as a consultant/new hire you see this happening, talk to your manager). Above all, as a new hire, DO NOT go to sleep at your desk as you wait for your access or laptop. Yep, that actually happened.

Managers, remind yourself of all of the things you need to accomplish for the new hire to help them “hit the ground running” as opposed to “hit the snooze button”. You will reap the rewards of a faster ROI and an overall better perception of  you and the company.

Matt Cheek is an Account Manager with MATRIX Resources with 5+ years of overall experience. He specializes with small to medium size businesses in the areas of Staffing and Recruiting, Outsourced Web Development, and Business Intelligence. You can read Matt’s blog at themattcheek.wordpress.com.

With A Resume Like This, Who Needs Enemies!

When looking for your next opportunity, don’t be your own worst enemy! OK, you have been an IT professional for some time and you know your stuff and have good marketable technical skills that should land you a great job. But, you’re just are not getting that many interviews. You could blame the market or just chalk it up to bad luck, but have you taken a good hard look at your resume? May be it worked in the past in what, well, could have been a stronger market, but now?

Dates & Degrees
Just this week I was reviewing a candidate’s resume and they listed their educational dates from “1975 to 1985”. What does this mean?  Did they graduate or just attend? After speaking to the candidate, they literally were in school for 10 years and then did get their degree in 1985.  But why would you want to advertise the fact that it took 10 years to get a degree! Simply use the month and year of your graduation date – period!  That said, if you do not have a degree, do not make it appear that you do. For most positions, a degree is simply not required and what hiring managers appreciate most is honesty and integrity.

Contracting vs. Full time positions
Some of the sharpest IT pros gain experience fast by doing contract projects for a variety of organizations. If you have done contracting, you want to be sure this experience is noted as such on your resume. Few managers get excited about an individual whose job record is like a rolling stone. But, if these are 6 mos+ contract positions, that looks better than if each was a full time, permanent position. What is more, if you had a 1+ year contract, this experience is often viewed positively. Most contract projects do not last a year. So the fact that the employer kept you around so long is a plus. Make sure you are clear on your resume which position was perm and which was contract.

Common Sense about your Job Title.
Does your resume have a job title like Software Engineer II or Systems Analyst III?  Does this title make any sense other than to those that worked in the same organization?  Use more generic job titles that would make sense to anyone.  For example, Java Developer or Senior Java Developer or Lead Java Developer.  All of these make more sense than say Software Engineer IV.

Professionalism is Paramount
Before you start sending your resume to potential employers or recruiting agencies, take a minute to review your LinkedIn and Facebook profiles and listen to your home and cell voicemail.  Today hiring manager’s have access to  more information about you before they even speak with you so be sure all represent you in a professional manner.

I hope this information was helpful. For more advice on your job search including a sample resumes, visit the new MATRIX web site.

Rob McGrew is an Account Manager for MATRIX and has been providing IT staffing and technical services for his clients for over 14 years.  Prior to MATRIX, Rob worked as a sales representative in IBM’s new business branch in Atlanta for 11 years.  Rob has a 25 year background in IT initially having done development at N.A.S.A. during the initial Space Shuttle program and also at IBM’s Robotics Lab in Boca Raton.  Rob has a degree in Computer Engineering from Florida Tech.

What Happens on Twitter Stays . . . Everywhere.

I don’t think people actually realize that what happens on Twitter can hang around like an unwelcome in-law (none of mine of course, I love all mine). If you are looking for a job, or just want to KEEP the job you have, think twice, and maybe three times about what you tweet. Social media can be a very powerful tool for finding a job, gathering information, and networking. However, it can royally mess up your career, or land you in court, if you don’t use common sense when updating.

Below are actual tweets I found by doing a few simple searches on Twitter:

1. So since my boss is a #$%*@, I have today off and may get fired tomorrow.
2. En route to work…still drunk
3. So I came to work this morning w/ my shirt inside out, my hair a mess, and kinda drunk. . .
4. From the moment I got into work today, all I’ve wanted to do is get drunk…
5. I hate my job, boss and schedule.
6. People are stupid. I hate them. My boss just walked in. I hate him too.
7. I hate when my boss trys to wear feminine color polish on her manly @*$ hands!!!!
8. One of my coworkers will realize that smell is actually his breath….
9. So according to my coworkers my new shampoo and conditioner makes me smell like im drunk? Haha how does that work?
10. Got drunk as hell last night….at work bout to pass out
11. At work but not working, wassup wit u
12. I’m having a fantastic time not working at work, lol.

Though I got a good laugh out of some of the tweets, especially number 7, I couldn’t help but think of what might happen to these people if someone in their organization saw their tweet.

I don’t mean to “scare” you so you never use social media. It’s a great tool. But just re-think that status update or tweet before you hit publish.

Adam Waid is the CRM and Social Media specialist at MATRIX Resources. Whether he’s investigating emerging technologies, driving CRM initiatives, or dabbling in video editing, Adam is constantly staying abreast of the latest marketing trends. You can read Adam’s Social Media blog at http:adamwaid.wordpress.com.

Who’s Afraid of Mr. Wolfe?

The “Go-Go 90’s” were a fascinating time for IT.  Incredible advances were made in processing power, computing languages, and the ubiquitous nature of technology.  However, there were equally fascinating trends in pop culture.  The lines of classification began to disappear.  ‘Dramedies’ started to appear on television.  Elements of Metal and Rap started to merge together, setting off a convergence of music formats.  And a new edginess took over film making, capturing the imaginations of critic and fan alike: Quentin Tarantino.

Pulp Fiction was a game changer for the industry.  It combined action, crime, and art cinema in a way not seen before, and in precious few instances since.  Pulp Fiction was the height of cool, an alternate universe of Greed and Desperation full of victim and puppet-master alike.  And while most of the conversation was dominated by the on-screen personas of Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta, there was a particular character that immediately caught my attention: The Wolfe.

Case in point: when things started to spin out of control for Vince Vega and Jules, they call their Boss, who immediately taps the one man who can fix everything and anything, the infamous Mr. Wolfe.  Impossible circumstances – no problem.  No hope for escape – par for the course.  In the quote that sums up his entire existence, Mr. Wolfe says “I think fast, I talk fast and I need you guys to act fast”.  What better project manager could you ask for than that?

Consider the man’s attributes, and I think you will quickly agree that his skills are enviable:

1. Strong Leadership –Winston Wolfe leads from a position of authority that comes from confidence in his ability to direct resources to the desired outcome.  Even when pressure-packed situations generate conflict, he is able to quickly redirect people to their goals and keep them focused on outcomes.
2. Problem Solving Skills – He is, simply put, a professional problem solver.  The Wolf assesses circumstances, marshals available resources, identifies strategies and directs participants to desired outcomes, all without Microsoft Project.
3. Dynamic Project Planning – When there is little time to perform a formal analysis phase, The Wolf deconstructs complex tasks, develops a critical path for delivery, and oversees execution of tasks to ensure success.  The ability to quickly read circumstances and understand dependencies is a powerful ability.
4. Cool Under Fire – Mr. Wolfe projects an aura of confidence and control under very daunting circumstances.   That control inspires the people working with him to respond with their best effort.
5. Repeat Business and Referrals – After saving the lives of countless clients, The Wolf’s reputation precedes him.  Clients appreciate the value he provides and consistently desire winning outcomes.  Success breeds success.

So, while he is both a technical generalist and business-vertical neutral, his skills are highly transferable from job to job.  He is disciplined, able to communicate effectively both in person and via telephone, and only works where his presence is desired.  Best of all, he doesn’t use a recruiter and has been able to develop a list of loyal clients so his opportunity funnel is always full.

Now, maybe his professional allegiance is questionable, and his career path is less than desirable.  As I always say, look for meaning in everyday experience, and work on personal improvement, just like Jules.  “I’m tryin’ really hard to be the shepard”…

Willard Woodrow is an Engagement Manager at MATRIX Resources. He has 15+ years of information technology experience in the utilities, recruiting, telecom, and insurance verticals. His professional expertise includes business consulting, system implementation, project management, application operations, and client relationship management.