Rewiring respect for IT

(This week's Frankly Speaking -- now with links!)Why don’t IT people get more respect? On this Labor Day, things are actually looking better for people who work in corporate IT. Budgets aren’t quite so tight. Companies are hiring. Interesting IT projects are getting a green light. But when it comes to how our fellow employees think about us, IT work is a train wreck. Users break the rules we set up, ignore the proc­esses we develop and generally act as if we’re clueless in what we do.

E-mail etiquette: To reply or not to reply, that is the question

That's the thing about etiquette. Everybody thinks they're polite, and it's the other guy whose behavior warrants correction. Doug Schweitzer thinks it's rude not to reply to e-mail:It takes just a second to say "Got your message. I'll get back to you soon." My question: Why should I reply just to say I'll reply some other time? My own complaint is the exact opposite. In fact, I hesitate to e-mail those people who seem to reply immediately to every single message. It's like playing tag. You're it!

E-mail etiquette: To reply or not to reply, that is the question

That's the thing about etiquette. Everybody thinks they're polite, and it's the other guy whose behavior warrants correction. Doug Schweitzer thinks it's rude not to reply to e-mail:It takes just a second to say "Got your message. I'll get back to you soon." My question: Why should I reply just to say I'll reply some other time? My own complaint is the exact opposite. In fact, I hesitate to e-mail those people who seem to reply immediately to every single message. It's like playing tag. You're it!

E-mail etiquette: To reply or not to reply, that is the question

That's the thing about etiquette. Everybody thinks they're polite, and it's the other guy whose behavior warrants correction. Doug Schweitzer thinks it's rude not to reply to e-mail:It takes just a second to say "Got your message. I'll get back to you soon." My question: Why should I reply just to say I'll reply some other time? My own complaint is the exact opposite. In fact, I hesitate to e-mail those people who seem to reply immediately to every single message. It's like playing tag. You're it!

Email etiquette

Before the advent of email, when you received a phone message from someone, it was common courtesy to return that call when a response was warranted. With email taking center stage as the communication medium du jour, you would think the same modus operandi would apply. Not so, as I've (especially, lately) sent email to which I've received no response and/or simply been ignored. When I've telephone called in follow-up, the response is, "I got your email but haven't had a chance to respond." It takes just a second to say "Got your message. I'll get back to you soon."  My wife seems to think that unlike telephone messages, email messages are easier to postpone responding to and are even more easy to blow off entirely.

Email etiquette

Before the advent of email, when you received a phone message from someone, it was common courtesy to return that call when a response was warranted. With email taking center stage as the communication medium du jour, you would think the same modus operandi would apply. Not so, as I've (especially, lately) sent email to which I've received no response and/or simply been ignored. When I've telephone called in follow-up, the response is, "I got your email but haven't had a chance to respond." It takes just a second to say "Got your message. I'll get back to you soon."  My wife seems to think that unlike telephone messages, email messages are easier to postpone responding to and are even more easy to blow off entirely.

Email etiquette

Before the advent of email, when you received a phone message from someone, it was common courtesy to return that call when a response was warranted. With email taking center stage as the communication medium du jour, you would think the same modus operandi would apply. Not so, as I've (especially, lately) sent email to which I've received no response and/or simply been ignored. When I've telephone called in follow-up, the response is, "I got your email but haven't had a chance to respond." It takes just a second to say "Got your message. I'll get back to you soon."  My wife seems to think that unlike telephone messages, email messages are easier to postpone responding to and are even more easy to blow off entirely.

Phishermen need not apply

I feel bad for the job seekers who were victimized after posting their resumes and personal data on the Monster.com jobs website.  Apparently, recruiters who were looking for job candidates via Monster were the first to be targeted. The personal information (including passwords, address, phone number, etc.) those recruiters had received from job seekers was grabbed by the hackers.  The hackers then sent e-mails to the job seekers whose suspicions weren't aroused due to the fact that the messages they received seemed a legitimate response to information they'd voluntarily posted with Monster.

Phishermen need not apply

I feel bad for the job seekers who were victimized after posting their resumes and personal data on the Monster.com jobs website.  Apparently, recruiters who were looking for job candidates via Monster were the first to be targeted. The personal information (including passwords, address, phone number, etc.) those recruiters had received from job seekers was grabbed by the hackers.  The hackers then sent e-mails to the job seekers whose suspicions weren't aroused due to the fact that the messages they received seemed a legitimate response to information they'd voluntarily posted with Monster.

Phishermen need not apply

I feel bad for the job seekers who were victimized after posting their resumes and personal data on the Monster.com jobs website.  Apparently, recruiters who were looking for job candidates via Monster were the first to be targeted. The personal information (including passwords, address, phone number, etc.) those recruiters had received from job seekers was grabbed by the hackers.  The hackers then sent e-mails to the job seekers whose suspicions weren't aroused due to the fact that the messages they received seemed a legitimate response to information they'd voluntarily posted with Monster.

SAP technical consultants, in high demand, can make $85 an hour

The high-impact, high-tech contractor jobs in greatest demand nationwide, and their average hourly pay rates (first quarter, 2007):Aerospace Engineer: $49.98 Civil Engineer: $38.73 Clinical Research Associate: $49.42 Database Administrator: $57.36 Functional Consultant: $78.40 Hardware Designer: $65.63 Java Developer: $55.62 Mechanical Engineer: $42.47 Network Administrator: $38.77 Project Manager: $58.65 SAP Technical Consultant: $85.53 SAS Programmer: $52.77 ----------Base: Database of 5,000 technology professionals at more than 1,000 U.S. companiesSource: Yoh Index of Technology Wages, Yoh Services LLC, Philadelphia (www.yoh.com)

SAP technical consultants, in high demand, can make $85 an hour

The high-impact, high-tech contractor jobs in greatest demand nationwide, and their average hourly pay rates (first quarter, 2007):Aerospace Engineer: $49.98 Civil Engineer: $38.73 Clinical Research Associate: $49.42 Database Administrator: $57.36 Functional Consultant: $78.40 Hardware Designer: $65.63 Java Developer: $55.62 Mechanical Engineer: $42.47 Network Administrator: $38.77 Project Manager: $58.65 SAP Technical Consultant: $85.53 SAS Programmer: $52.77

SAP technical consultants, in high demand, can make $85 an hour

The high-impact, high-tech contractor jobs in greatest demand nationwide, and their average hourly pay rates (first quarter, 2007):Aerospace Engineer: $49.98 Civil Engineer: $38.73 Clinical Research Associate: $49.42 Database Administrator: $57.36 Functional Consultant: $78.40 Hardware Designer: $65.63 Java Developer: $55.62 Mechanical Engineer: $42.47 Network Administrator: $38.77 Project Manager: $58.65 SAP Technical Consultant: $85.53 SAS Programmer: $52.77

Building relationships with customers is vital

Relationships in the IT business are vital if you want to sell something.  And that lesson is becoming more and more ingrained in me every day.  My company hired me back in Sept-Oct 2006 timeframe as the first employee in the Houston office, and we got a sales guy not too long thereafter.  Our task has been to grow the territory almost from scratch.  So as we have started down that path, we have run into a few roadblocks where local IT consulting companies have great relationships with their customers, and those customers are less than willing to use someone new.  And while I respect that viewpoint, it is also very frustrating to someone trying to break in to those customers (of course, I say that at the same time I am trying to build those relationships to keep other companies out).

Building relationships with customers is vital

Relationships in the IT business are vital if you want to sell something.  And that lesson is becoming more and more ingrained in me every day.  My company hired me back in Sept-Oct 2006 timeframe as the first employee in the Houston office, and we got a sales guy not too long thereafter.  Our task has been to grow the territory almost from scratch.  So as we have started down that path, we have run into a few roadblocks where local IT consulting companies have great relationships with their customers, and those customers are less than willing to use someone new.  And while I respect that viewpoint, it is also very frustrating to someone trying to break in to those customers (of course, I say that at the same time I am trying to build those relationships to keep other companies out).

Building relationships with customers is vital

Relationships in the IT business are vital if you want to sell something.  And that lesson is becoming more and more ingrained in me every day.  My company hired me back in Sept-Oct 2006 timeframe as the first employee in the Houston office, and we got a sales guy not too long thereafter.  Our task has been to grow the territory almost from scratch.  So as we have started down that path, we have run into a few roadblocks where local IT consulting companies have great relationships with their customers, and those customers are less than willing to use someone new.  And while I respect that viewpoint, it is also very frustrating to someone trying to break in to those customers (of course, I say that at the same time I am trying to build those relationships to keep other companies out).

Lamenting about the shortage of personable and professional geeks

I have been in the consulting / reselling world three times in my career, and each time I hear the same lament: "We can't find people who are technical AND can talk to people!"  And the truth of the matter is, you're right!  Those people are hard to find.  Here's an excerpt from an article at eWeek:"We continue to get very good response to ads that we place in various media, but the number of people responding who we could consider for our practice is very small," said Howard Cohen, president and chief operating officer of LAN Associates Network Solutions, in Central Islip, N.Y. "We could be too demanding, but we need a cross-section of professional, personal and technical skills," said Cohen, who added that finding people with all three is difficult.

Lamenting about the shortage of personable and professional geeks

I have been in the consulting / reselling world three times in my career, and each time I hear the same lament: "We can't find people who are technical AND can talk to people!"  And the truth of the matter is, you're right!  Those people are hard to find.  Here's an excerpt from an article at eWeek:"We continue to get very good response to ads that we place in various media, but the number of people responding who we could consider for our practice is very small," said Howard Cohen, president and chief operating officer of LAN Associates Network Solutions, in Central Islip, N.Y. "We could be too demanding, but we need a cross-section of professional, personal and technical skills," said Cohen, who added that finding people with all three is difficult.

Lamenting about the shortage of personable and professional geeks

I have been in the consulting / reselling world three times in my career, and each time I hear the same lament: "We can't find people who are technical AND can talk to people!"  And the truth of the matter is, you're right!  Those people are hard to find.  Here's an excerpt from an article at eWeek:"We continue to get very good response to ads that we place in various media, but the number of people responding who we could consider for our practice is very small," said Howard Cohen, president and chief operating officer of LAN Associates Network Solutions, in Central Islip, N.Y. "We could be too demanding, but we need a cross-section of professional, personal and technical skills," said Cohen, who added that finding people with all three is difficult.

Workplace chemical exposure can last a lifetime!

In his blog, Martin MC Brown talks about how laser printers pose a possible health risk. I could not agree more, although today's printers do have better filters. Provided you change them on time, filters help catch some of the unused toner particles which contain all manner of chemicals that can't be good to inhale. Having examined physiology, physics and biology, I'm always fascinated about any health risks posed by pieces of office equipment. As a young man, I worked in an electronic assembly plant building and cleaning electrical components for over half a year.  One piece of equipment that was a health risk was the vapor degreaser we used to strip and clean residual flux off circuit boards.