Today I did a guest post over at the SQL Server team blog and you can click here to go read it for yourself. Go ahead, I can wait.
Done?
Good.
I listed out three things that you can do right now to jumpstart your career. Of course there’s more ways than just those. Some of my favorite ones include: writing, speaking, and never eat alone.
If you are not writing (or speaking), get started. The simple effort of improving your communication skills will serve you well and I always finds leads to greater job satisfaction. No, not for that lousy job you have now, but for the next job. You know, the one that will be better because they need someone with good communication skills. Yeah, that one.
And never, ever eat alone. Check out this email I sent back in 2004:
—–Original Message—–
From: LaRock, Thomas W
Sent: Thursday, October 21, 2004 2:11 PM
To: Kinsel, Allen; Wright, Patrick
Subject: hermits
OK, I’ll be the first one to send off a quick email to the others. No reason for all of us to be anti-social.
It was nice to meet both of you while at PASS this year. I hope that we can stay in touch from time to time.
I received an email requesting some info about myself for volunteering for PASS. I decided to walk the walk and sent back some info so I should be getting involved with a committee or two of some sort. Hopefully we will be able to stay in touch through PASS, if not through regular email.
Best,
Thomas LaRock
Database Administration Manager
Had I chosen to eat alone at the 2004 PASS Summit I am certain my path would have been very, very different.
I need to put some of the lessons of that book (never eat alone) into better practice. It’s definitely worth the time to read and think about the principles Ferrazzi outlines.
KBK,
Agreed. Unfortunately, I work from home now!