At the risk of sounding totally out of touch with the struggles millions are going through during the pandemic I miss being able to travel. One of the things I miss most about “the before times” is being able to crisscross the country and occasionally travel internationally to meet and connect with VMUG members. I’ve still been able to connect with lots of members, but I think everyone can acknowledge that the virtual thing lacks a lot of fidelity versus in-person conversations.
Getting to see some friends and fellow techies I don’t get to see often was a highlight of VMworld Europe 2019. I hope I get to see them again in 2021.
I’ve been fortunate to have conversations with thousands of VMUG members from all different backgrounds and industries – people with multiple VCDX certifications, CIOs, engineers, administrators, and students just looking to start on their IT career journey. I’ve even been fortunate enough to be able to follow some members who fundamentally reshape their careers by taking advantage of the opportunities and resources available through VMUG and the vCommunity. Being able to stay in contact with these folks as they progress has been an absolute privilege for me.
Often, these conversations start by talking about technology as we discuss what projects we’re both tackling and how we’re trying to solve problems and persistent pain points for our organizations. After a few minutes I’ll notice that we’re no longer talking about what work they’re doing in the office, but the office itself. One of the common things I hear from members is that they struggle being typecast in a specific back-office IT administration role. While many revel in being the person “behind the curtain,” being able to pull levers and make an infrastructure bend to their will, there are others who want to be recognized more broadly for institutional knowledge, leadership skills, or technology strategy skills.
Once I realize we’re having that particular conversation, I try to get the person I’m conversing with to clarify their immediate and longer-term career goals. I have found that many people tend to be frustrated with where they are but are unable to clearly articulate where they want to end up. To put it bluntly, it’s awfully hard to figure out what direction you need to start traveling in when you don’t know where you want to go. Sometimes folks have an idea where they want go but don’t know how to get there – or more specifically don’t know how to get started. For instance, they may be a vSphere administrator but they really want to get into Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) because they see the direction of IT operations and want to be on the cutting edge.
Those kinds of conversations are the fun ones because I can offer some thoughts on how to get started or connect them with a VMUG Leader or mentor who has started down that path. What I love about these situations is that they get connected with the tools and resources to help them grow – it’s just up to them to take advantage of them. If I know one thing about many VMUG members it’s that they’re a self-selected group of IT professionals that have a strong desire to learn and grow.
Sometimes, though, I’ll hear from people that they genuinely enjoy what they do but they don’t particularly like where they do it. It’s tough to get good numbers on this, but I would suggest that roughly half of the people I talk to that are looking to make a career change and are more interested in changing employers than changing roles. That easily places it as the most common thing I hear – this is especially true after I deliver my “What Your Boss Wants” session at VMUG UserCons. There’s something about that particular talk that gets people to think that maybe their current management isn’t treating them as if they’re a valued member of the team. I’m not sorry for planting that seed in their head, by the way; I have little to no sympathy for managers that berate their team instead of leading them.
Almost every time I hear that they’re unhappy with their management or employer, I give them the same advice: “go get another job.” Before I move on, I want to be clear that while I don’t give that advice lightly I want people to realize that employment isn’t a life sentence; you are free to switch your employer at any time and for any reason that suits you. It may not always be in your best interest and you need to decide for yourself if it’s the right move – but it’s always an option on the table.
If you do decide to leave your employer though, the next challenge is being recognized in your field as an expert that another company would want to hire. This can be especially tricky if you’ve been at one employer for a long time and haven’t built a strong professional network of people who know you, your character, and your work quality outside of your employer. It’s likely not a surprise that many jobs are very competitive right now, especially with unemployment running higher than it has in years. The reality is that employers likely have more candidates to select from so if you want to change jobs you will need to stand out to get the interview and/or get hired. On top of that, the often-repeated statistic is that 80% or more of new jobs are found and filled by professional network contacts and not by applying - so standing out and being known outside the four walls of your company is real career asset.
The best way I know how to stand out is to be generally known of outside of your company. Even if you aren’t actively looking for a new job you should consider making sure you have a voice and positive reputation in the wider IT community, at least in your area. Traditionally, that means you need to consider the most dreaded of activities for an introvert: networking. Yes - actually meeting people and having conversations with them to build your network of people who know you. I know that for some of us this sounds painful, but it’s a sure-fire way to get people outside of your company to recognize your name.
I’m not going to go into a ton of detail about how to network as I think there are lots of great resources on this. One that I have gotten value out of is New Business Networking by Dave Delaney. I do want to give you some advice if you’re really reluctant to get started or have a strong hang-up around intentionally meeting and greeting people. I know first-hand that starting a conversation with someone you don’t know can be incredibly nerve wracking for many people. In order to help you get over that hump, I want to give you a suggestion. Once this whole Covid thing blows over (and it will eventually blow over), go to a free event that caters to your career. Clearly, I’m partial to VMUG events because I think they’re a great place to meet thought leaders in IT - but you can start at any event. When you get to a point where food is being served, force yourself to sit at a table with one or two other people at it that you don’t know. Just ask if you can sit there – they’ll say yes. Inevitably there will be a lull in the conversation - just ask where people work and what they think of the event. Once they answer, they’ll ask you where you’re from. Congratulations – you just made a contact. When you get up to leave hand them your contact card, especially if you enjoyed talking to them.
If networking isn’t your strength (and it’s absolutely not mine, so I empathize), what else can you do to try to build “a brand” for yourself? Well, the beauty of living and working in the 21st century is that you really have a ton of options to build a brand without needing to muster the courage to open a conversation with someone face-to-face. In fact, there are a ton of things you can do from your living room, starting right now.
First, you can write a blog. Now, you may be thinking “Come on, man – you blog every week and you’re biased.” Guilty. I’m biased towards blogging because I think it’s a great way to find a niche and drop some content out there. It also has super low startup costs and requires no particular skill other than literacy. You’re reading this, so you already qualify. And if you hate writing and have a particular gift for oration, you can always start a podcast. If you have a background in TV production you can always make videos. Both of those require a level of patience that I don’t possess, but are great ways to put yourself out there.
I still use a Betamax VCR, so video editing is probably not in the cards for me, but if you have this skill, it’s definitely a great way to stand out.
If blogging sounds like something you’d like to do but you don’t know how to get started, I would suggest that you start by thinking about something you’re well skilled in and then focus on writing content geared around that. Of course, I acknowledge this is often easier said than done. I struggled with writing a blog for two years before I actually launched this one, and a lot of that was because I couldn’t figure out exactly what I wanted to write about. My best advice is trying to find a niche that is underserved and write about that. If you happen to be a whiz at running Kubernetes in a non-profit environment using only open source – that’s a great thread to follow. If you spend a lot of time working through endpoint management with VMware Workspace ONE, and know all about how to make 10,000 laptops sing the same tune – that’s another great thread. The point is find something you know about and then just start documenting your knowledge.
Once you’ve started blogging, podcasting, or vlogging you need to get people to know it’s out there, so use social media to get your work in front of readers, listeners, or viewers. I’ve found that I get the most traction on Twitter and LinkedIn, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t experiment with other options. The important thing is to make sure you’re getting the message out there to people other than those you work with on a daily basis. I have not been so bold as to join a LinkedIn group and post my stuff there, but I’ve absolutely seen people do it. One person I have known professionally for a long time explicitly asks people to like and share his content. If I’m honest, I think it’s a great, assertive way to go about it - but I’m just not ready to ask for that yet.
Okay, let’s say you don’t want to be a blogger or a vlogger – how then do you get your name out there? Well, you can certainly make an attempt by being on professional social media more – commenting on current trends and news stories in your industry. Many different industries have various “chats” on Twitter that you can jump into without an invitation. I like #CIOChat on Twitter and there are absolutely others that you can participate in that are geared towards your interests and skillsets. These require very little forethought and preparation; you just jump in and start chatting. I’ve seen a few people promote projects they’re leading on LinkedIn and get some great feedback and comments I have not personally done this, but it seems like a great way to get exposure.
Finally, my favorite way to get your name out there is presenting at professional meetings and conferences. This does a few things for you at the same time. First, you start getting recognized as an expert in your field. For better or worse, the person with the presentation remote is generally viewed as the expert in the room - meaning that you will automatically be attributed as someone knowledgeable and valuable in the topic you’re presenting on. Additionally, you get the benefit of being able to effective script (or at least rehearse) your talk. I find that one of the most stressful things about talking to someone you’ve not met before is trying to on-the-fly adapt to a conversation. Presenting doesn’t have that challenge as you’ve got it all planned out before you start.
One of the best benefits about presenting is that you will almost certainly end up getting to know the other presenters. Many events have an opportunity for the speakers to connect, and I’ve found that most people who present at a VMUG make a point to go see other presenters’ talks. I have found in my career that some of the people who have had the biggest influence on how I think about the IT industry are people that I’ve met while speaking at VMUGs or other conferences.
Now, before you start arguing that you can’t just waltz into VMworld, Microsoft Ignite, or any of the other major conferences and nab a speaking session - let me just say that the benefits of speaking at an event are almost the same at a mega-conference as they are at a smaller, local event. In fact, if your job is to build some better notoriety in the area that you live in, then a local event might be more effective than a large one where you may not even have anyone from your area in your audience. I admit that I’m biased, but if your topic has to do with cloud, cloud-native applications, virtualization or even modern device management or work from anywhere, then I think a fantastic way to start presenting is to present at a local VMUG meeting. These events are usually under fifty people and they’re all both interested in your topic and have been universally supportive every time I’ve been there.
Presenting at VMUG UserCons has been a true career accelerator for me, and one of the things I most enjoy.
Even when it’s not in Australia. But especially when it’s Australia.
Once you have a few of those smaller events under your belt, you can start to look at a larger event like a VMUG UserCon, where you can have up to a thousand people in attendance (though you may only be presenting to 50 – 75 depending on how many come to your session). If that sounds like something you’d like to get started with, I have some great news – the 2021 VMUG Call for Content is just now starting and you can check it out and submit a session for consideration on the VMUG website. This is the way to get on the agenda at virtual and (hopefully in later 2021) in-person events in your area, and around the world. Sometimes, you can even get your travel costs supported if your session is in demand.
Let me end with this: building your brand and reputation outside of your office is smart if you have a desire to work somewhere else, but it’s not at all a replacement for having a good reputation within your company. Remember: you’re almost always going to need a reference from your current employer before a new company is going to take a chance on hiring you, so your best plan of attack is going to be to make sure that you’re doing great work in the office and letting people outside your office know that it’s happening. If you put those two things together, you’ll be a superstar in and out of your office suite.
Some questions for you:
Do you feel like you have a positive reputation outside of your office? Why or why not?
Which of the methods above seems like the most effective way to build some notoriety? Which one is the most appealing to you?
What’s one tip, trick, or piece of information in your head that you would like to tell people about. Will you write about it? If so, let me know and I’ll link to it from this page!
