Tag: career

The Value of Mastery

Carl Setzer
close up shot of two people wearing karategi and black belt

James Clear, the author of “Atomic Habits” has a newsletter “3-2-1 Thursday”. Each issue contains:

  • 3 short ideas from James
  • 2 quotes from other people
  • 1 question

Today’s newsletter, titled “On growing fast vs growing slow, the value of mastery, and climbing the right mountain“, resonated with me. The goal of my personal development plan is mastery, and I’m working on mastering what, exactly. Project management? IT? Web development? One of these. But this post drove home a weakness holding me back: my impatience. I want to become a master fast. And, well, that’s the opposite path of mastery. James included this quote, which I appreciated. It drives home the point succinctly.

“Mastery is the best goal because the rich can’t buy it, the impatient can’t rush it, the privileged can’t inherit it, and nobody can steal it. You can only earn it through hard work. Mastery is the ultimate status.”

~ Derk Sivers

Choosing what NOT to study is one of my core challenges right now. I’m interested in SO very much. Choosing to NOT pursue something is rather painful. But I know it’s the right decision. But, man, it’s so hard!

Have you developed mastery in something? How did you go about de-selecting what to study? Was it as hard for you as it is for me?

Ernst & Young, Meta, etc, firing folks for misuing benefits

Carl Setzer
woman organizing her belongings

The past few news cycles have featured employees being fired for misusing benefits. Whether we’re talking about EY letting people go for cheating on required education, Meta letting folks go for misusing meal benefits, companies seem to be more willing (eager?) to let someone go. I think this is related to the calls for a return to office, which some feel are about encouraging staff to resign and, thus, not receive any severance, etc.

So, what I think we’re seeing is companies looking for ANY excuse/reason to let people go. So, I would be cautious, very cautious, about giving them such. Be thoughtful and be wary.

Think I’m on to something? Or am I just paranoid? Let me know what you think.

Recruiting Weirdness

Carl Setzer2 Comments
hiring text

Though I’m not actively looking for work at the moment, I still have resumes out there. So, recruiters find me and send me opportunities. This is one I got from ZipRecruiter this morning. (There was an employer name where it’s blank, which I opted to redact)

I get many of these sorts of emails every month and I find them puzzling. Ultimately, there’s pretty much NO information here. I had to Google the company, as I had never heard of them. As they’re a staffing agency, I have no idea who the company that I’d be working for is, or if they’re even in Marysville. No salary, no job description (yeah, I could click on the link, but, um, no). If I was looking for work, or, in other words, unemployed, it might be interesting enough to run the risk of a recruitment scam.

Anyway, it’s a first-world problem and I shouldn’t complain. Recruiters ARE reaching out to me, so that’s something.

20 Years With LinkedIn

Carl Setzer6 Comments
smartphone with linkedin app

I got this email last night:

Well, that’s…amazing? I started my account in 2004, hmm? Ah, the great conflicting thoughts I have! It both feels brand new and like LinkedIn has always existed.

Anyway, it’s interesting to think about the evolution of the platform. Launched in 2003, I first heard about it in 2004 when I started at Starbucks, where I was part of a group that talked a lot about careers and their management. So the site made a lot of sense to me.

I use it fairly often but really am not a power user of the platform. I like it better than most social channels and it’s more professionally focused, but political bloviation has made its way there, too.

I enjoy the interactions I’ve had, and maintaining connections with former colleagues. I post fairly often. I mean, I don’t want to be one of the people who ONLY logs in when I’m job hunting. But I know I don’t maximize the platform. I’ve been reading several bloggers’ strategies about powerfully leveraging LinkedIn, and I’m slowly building out my plans to do “better”. I see it as a powerful career management tool, one that I can improve upon.

Are you on LinkedIn? Do you find value in it? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for reading!

Carl Setzer4 Comments
AA Milne quote featuring Winnie the Pooh: "One of the advantages of being disorganized is that one is always having surprising discoveries".

I adore, have always adored Winnie the Pooh and the work of AA Milne. But I can’t imagine anything more stressful than the surprises that come with being disorganized. Hence why I make significant effort to keep organized. I have my lists, notes, and calendars to keep me on task, to make sure nothing important slips.

That ethos helped me be rather successful as an executive/administrative assistant. And also explains why I have always liked that work. I’m lucky that way, I suppose.

Another Certificate Completed

Carl Setzer1 Comment
the word thoughts on a pin board

I’m continuing my technology learnings. Today I finished another step towards my Google IT Support Professional Certificate: The Bits and Bytes of Computer Networking. I appreciated both the review, as well as the deeper dive. Perhaps I’m weird, but I think this is rather fun.

The next course is Operating Systems and You. I love exploring command line stuff! It’s amazing how much power and control you have with such tools.

I also am slowly driving forward with my Google Project Management Professional Certificate. My original plan had me completing both by the end of the year. Well, that’s not happening. Basically, I didn’t fully grasp how much work they would take. I’m fine with this, though. However, I see value in refining my focus. I can complete more and with deeper learning if I choose one to focus on.

And that hits on my current thoughts. Which of these two should I focus on for my career path going forward. I spent the pandemic studying Computer Information Systems at Edmonds College, earning an associates degree. I enjoy my studies into the technical realms.

As I look over my career, though, I see projects. I’ve managed many of them, from events to office moves to…well, suffice it to say there’s been a variety. And I really enjoy that work. I’m still pursuing the Google Project Management certificate. Both of these are key elements in my career vision. I love technology, and I love working on projects. I see different business functions and how technology and, for that matter, project tools, add value. I think my space in all this integrates both realms.

Anyway, thanks for humoring my musings. I’m thinking pretty deeply right now on such things as I’m building out my goals and plans for 2024.

I Earned A New Certificate

Carl Setzer2 Comments
rolled white paper and a certificate on a pink surface

In my efforts to keep moving forward in my career, I’m currently working on the Google Project Management Professional certificate. Today, I obtained a new certification as part of that: Project Initiation: Starting a Successful Project. I guess we could call this a sub-certificate. I guess…

Anyway, project management has always been a key part of who I am. And I see that it will be a key part of my future. From my time in the Navy to the present day, a lot of what I do is keep projects moving. Whether its typing minutes or notes, updating tracking documents (Project or Asana), or following up with stakeholders, projects have been a key part of my career to date. And I’ve been told, multiple times over the years, that this is something people value about me. In the end, I love completing things. I love getting projects across the proverbial finish-line. And I love helping people be successful.

So, I seek to keep moving forward. Everyday presents opportunities for forward motion, and I intend to take advantage of them.

Spam Job “Opportunity” of the Day

Carl Setzer1 Comment
young woman in front of the entrance to the building

Fandango, a fellow WordPress blogger I follow, regularly posts “Spam Comments of the Week” (his most recent as of this post is here). I was reminded of that by this job “offer”:

My first thought was “do people STILL do this”? Does any company want the liability considering how people have been shot going to the wrong house? I mean, look at this list (3 of 495,000,000 results from Google).

So, no…NO I’m not going door-knocking…even here in Seattle. Even forgoing the tales of violence, I’m an introvert. The thought of knocking on stranger’s doors is pretty close to my vision of the deepest pits of hell.

Stepping back a bit, I also wonder about the efficacy of this as a marketing strategy. What sort of conversion rate do you see with this work? I doubt it’s out of the single digits. Perhaps it’s not actually “sales” but political doorbelling (tis the season, after all). But that should be clearly disclosed.

Anyway, I’m lucky that all I need to do in this situation is spend a few minutes puzzling, then move along. I’m OPEN to new opportunities, but do not NEED a new job at the moment. And, with that, it’s time for me to move along.

Job Hunting In 2023 Update

Carl Setzer
man in white shirt using macbook pro

As many of you know, I’m in the process of looking for an FTE role. Part of that is being registered on many job boards. One result of that: troubling amount spam/scam messages. This morning this one popped into my inbox (names, etc, redacted to protect the guilty…or probably just those being spoofed):

Now, I don’t discount the (very unlikely) possibility this is legitimate. However, this is laden with red-flags. First, the generic gmail account. And “click on this link” to apply”? One of the key rules of modern basic security: don’t click on links in random emails. Additionally, there are nearly zero details, other than the role title and the pay. Heck, I don’t know what city this is supposed to be located in. Which leads me to another email from this morning. Not spammy per se, but just problematic:

So, I’m pretty sure this one is legitimate, but woefully bad. First and foremost, I live just north of Seattle, about 2,700 miles from Alpharetta, GA. Secondly, is this role in Alpharetta, or Providence, RI? They’re 1,000 miles apart. My address is in all of my job posts. I’m sure the algorithms allow you to filter your recruitment searches. Please, please utilize the tools at your disposal. It’s not just my time you’re wasting.

There’s a lot of scammy behavior out there right now in the “recruiting” space. I’ve received so many “opportunities” to sell financial or pre-paid legal services. It’s frustrating and annoying. But it is the way of things, I guess.

“This is the Way” Mandalorian

Some thoughts on the job search

Carl Setzer
female candidate doing hand shakes

I’ve spent most of the past year working part-time and doing some freelancing. It’s been fun! But I’m also seeking a permanent FTE role. This has been fascinating.

I have my resume out on LinkedIn, as well as a few other job boards. I was pretty selective, as I’m not even close to desperate. I’m looking for perfect, with a small delta. Results? I’ve had a few interviews with great teams and great companies. Few. Mostly, though, I’ve received spam, scams, and just misdirected communications. I’ve lost track of how many opportunities to sell insurance or pre-paid legal services. A few crypto scams. And then there are all the opportunities in New Jersey, California, Florida, and, today, Dallas. And these aren’t hybrid roles. They’re onsite (required). I’m in Seattle. Perhaps the recruiters need better search functionality. I don’t know.

It is somewhat frustrating, but, you know, first world problems.