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Career Advice From a Tech Expert: Interview with Forough Ghahramani

What career advice can you give to engineers that hope to reach management levels in managing their careers?

Top ten tips include:

1. Obtain management and project management skills both through education as well as professional experience – technical skills coupled with business/management skills are critical to success in management.

2. Understand how to gather, analyze, and manage data – data analytics is a very important skill for all professionals, especially for managers. Information is power and therefore, understanding the significance of data and having the expertise in data analysis to convert data into information to make knowledgeable decisions is the key to successful management.

3. Develop strong verbal and written communication skills.

o To be effective communicators, engineers, scientists, and researchers must learn what it takes to translate – the language of technologist/engineer/scientist into concepts and analogies that can be easily understood.

4. Work collaboratively with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.

5. Employ a novel and adaptive thinking approach to your role, and continually create new solutions and ideas beyond that which is rote- or rule based.

6. Become skilled in cognitive load management. Become adept at sifting through large amounts of information to eliminate “noise” and focus on what is most pertinent.

7. Recognize the importance of an organization’s ability to be nimble and therefore, continually try to get the team out of doing things the same way just because that is how it has always been done to “how can we do this better and more efficiently.”

8. Capitalize on the strengths of each team member and try to mix up the different groupings of team members. This helps make the team more dynamic as well as promotes individual development.

9. Develop the ability to see the organization in relation to the wider environment and stand outside the organizational culture to come to conclusions and actions that keep the organization responsive and healthy.

10. If you believe in the work that you are doing, you will be motivated to work hard to accomplish the goals.

Should students starting out in school or their careers focus on a specific technology or take a broader approach to the industry?

It is important to pursue an academic field that will make one marketable to get a job. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, students who pursue “STEM” (science, technology, engineering and math) related disciplines are in high demand right now.

It is important to note, however, that while having the technical skills required for the job is an important factor in getting the first interview and ultimately the first job, the following attributes and skills are significant factors in reaching career success:

* Novel and adaptive thinking

* Analytical skills

* Computational thinking – ability to translate large amounts of data into abstract concepts

* Understanding and communicating across multiple disciplines (known as transdisciplinary)

* Virtual collaboration

* New media literacy – visual, audio and virtual media are surpassing traditional text-based media

* Demand for blend of project management and technical skills

* Cross-cultural competency – be able to operate effectively in different cultural settings

* Communication skills (oral and written) – employers recruit those who are articulate, concise and have strong written skills. Verbal skills are important, while the new generation does most of their communicating without talking, “talking” has not gone away in business

* Leadership and team skills

* Time management

* Conflict management and resolution

* Facilitating and managing change

* Social intelligence and empathy – connecting to others in a deep and direct way

Therefore, it is important to develop the broad base of skills to complement the specific skills for the student’s’ discipline. Soft skill traits can be just as crucial as the technical skills.

What opportunities are you seeing most unfilled in the industry, and any insight into why?

The opportunity for a better collaboration between industry and academia to enhance student’s and educators’ learning/teaching experience.

* Mentoring opportunities from industry to educational institutions – involving both students and teachers.

o For example, in healthcare and biotechnology, early partnerships with local pharmaceutical, medical, healthcare, and biotechnology institutions is key to developing the necessary workforce and successfully placing students.

* Promote summer education workshops for teachers and guidance counselors in the industry with the ultimate goal of raising awareness in major influencers of future generation of scientists and engineers.

* Given the gap between public understanding and public perception of biotechnology, genetic engineering or gene mapping, researchers should take an active role in helping to educate and inform the public.

o Not all scientists are in the teaching profession, but all scientists can teach by sharing their knowledge and expertise with others. Whether it’s giving a presentation to students in on ‘career day,’ serving as a mentor for an aspiring biologist or talking to a local civic organization – being able to communicate effectively about your research and your scientific discipline is essential.

What type of work should students look to perform as part of internships?

I believe any type of exposure to a professional setting will provide valuable experience for the student. It is important that the organization has made a commitment to dedicate resources to spend time with the student, provide meaningful work to the student, and therefore, there is a specific outcome expected of the experience so that the student has something to show for their time.

Keep the following in mind:

* Goals are defined

* Work experience is varied

* Experiential learning is accompanied by discussion with professionals

* Access to mentors is available

It is when learning is infused with examples from the biotechnology/engineering/scientific/business setting, and students are able to practice hands-on technical/management skills on a regular basis that a program has the greatest impact on a student pursuing a job in their field of interest.

Biotechnology has been one of most popular fields when discussing job growth and opportunity. In your role as an educator, have you seen a large number of career changers entering the field? Are they finding opportunities after school as readily as traditional students?

We have several health sciences programs at DeVry University, including health information technology (HIT) and neurodiagnostic technology (NDT), and those areas seem to attract career changers.

Other popular fields generally include healthcare as well as pharmaceuticals and biotechnology and the types of jobs these offer range from a medical writer to a product/process developer to a bioinformatist.

Career changers oftentimes tend to be more mature, have more confidence as well as experience, while not in their current field of study necessarily. However employers are gravitating towards these types of students due to those characteristics described earlier that differentiates them from their less experienced academic peers.

Therefore, many times the career changers have a competitive advantage. In addition, the HIT and NDT programs engage students in practical settings and not only enable participants to develop high levels of competency in basic industry skills, they also provide participants with the opportunity to understand different aspects of the field.

How important are advance degrees in the biotech field?

Interdisciplinary skills including biology, information technology, mathematics, and analytics are all extremely important for success in the biotechnology field. There are few degree areas that offer all or a subset of these in one undergraduate degree, such as bioinformatics. Therefore, advanced degrees are necessary to acquire a combination of these necessary skills.

For those who aspire towards management, advanced degrees in management and business administration are also necessary for complementing the science/technology expertise with management skills.

How competitive is biotech for the mature career changer? If any, what challenges does an older group face?

As I mentioned, in response to a previous question, a mature career changer in many instances has a competitive advantage over traditional students in biotech and healthcare, based on maturity, confidence, communication and leadership skills.

The challenges include:

* Proficiency in use of technology

* If they have not used their math and analytical skills for a long period of time, this serves as a challenge for them

* Requirement for interdisciplinary skills

What are the top 3 things a 2013 graduate in this field should be doing now to prepare for his or her job search in this field?

* Develop a network of contacts (professors, friends, parents of friends, friends of parents, family, and neighbors, etc.)

o Inform people know that you are about to graduate and are looking for a job before you actually graduate

o Create a professional social media profile (i.e. LinkedIn)

o Look into professional organization memberships

o Good networking is about building solid, trusted relationships that are long-term, not short-term

* Develop and market your brand: what are your key differentiators, how do you want people to perceive you

* Think ahead – create a 3-5-year plan

For more information on careers of the future and ways to advance in your job search, visit www.devry.edu/know-how.

Author: Forough Ghahramani

A transformational business leader, engineer, and entrepreneur, Forough Ghahramani is an associate dean of the College of Business and Management and the Keller Graduate School of Management at DeVry University and is the founding director of the New Jersey Center for Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship.

Prior to her current role, Forough was a senior systems architect at Hewlett-Packard. Forough’s diversified career experience includes higher education management, strategic planning, management consulting, business analysis and organization-wide information technology planning.

Forough has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics with a minor in biology from Pennsylvania State University. She also holds a master’s in business administration from DePaul University as well as a master’s degree in computer science from Villanova University.

by Bianca Thompson

What is not so Human about Human Resources?

Why in the world would you expect Human Resources to be “Human”? Are we not the super heroes of each company? We are in place to serve the best interest of everyone remotely involved with our company which includes a very lengthy list. Let us start with senior management, middle management that believes they are senior management, actual middle management, senior staff level employees, entry-level staff that believe they are senior level, actual entry level staff, interns, recruiters, vendors, clients and let us forever remember each and every one of our job seekers, our candidates for employment.

If you have not gathered by now, I am a bit Sassy. This comes straight from the hip of Sassy HR Girl. I do my best be a straight shooter while blogging. Why else do it, right? We each get our share of smoke blown ice cream castles with no lines, no waiting. So, let’s not have that mirage during blog time.

Now, back to the issue of Human Resources or shall we call it Human-less Resources? We are a special breed. We willingly took the bait to serve our fellow co-workers and whoever else that may be in need of our services…everyone. Most HR professionals really do love people and love the role of HR. Now we may not like every individual that we serve all the time. That’s right! I said it. We do not like everyone all the time. The HR smile is sometimes hiding the secret desire to flip someone off or masking the fact that we may have placed someone’s issue at the bottom of our “to do” list because they are somewhat of a “workplace turd”. Every company has one and sometimes several. You know who they are because their face is now plastered in your mind and you are possibly smiling, laughing or grunting right now at the thought of this “workplace turd”.

There are many mountains to move in HR which most of whom we serve, want the mountains moved precisely and quickly. Everyone’s issue is the most important issue to them and hence should be to HR. Super HR hero flying to the rescue of all that need us but wait Super HR hero forgot their cape today and there’s a run in their tights. Ughhhh! My effort to paint a quick picture of how Human Resources may not be so “Human” or actually quite the opposite, we are simply human.

We have great days. We have not-so-great days. I won’t say bad days because I was taught that I don’t have time for a bad day. I may have time for a bad moment or a minute but never a whole day.

So now you get the picture of the HR crazies. How can this help you in your job search? Let’s start with a focus on Don Miguel Ruiz, The Four Agreements. 1) Be impeccable with your word; 2) Don’t take anything personally ; 3) Don’t make assumptions; and 4) Always do your best. Listed below are four of Mr. Ruiz agreement cards that I would like you to ponder. While pondering, remember the HR crazies and all that is expected of your potential new HR team.

1. Be Impeccable with Your Word—Let go of self-judgment and blame. Being impeccable, you take responsibility for your actions, but you do not judge or blame yourself for anything. Your need or desire for a job is simply that…a need or desire. Be mindful of the words you speak to others and yourself regarding your search for employment. Your words matter.

2. Don’t Take Anything Personally—Ignore the opinions of others. Whatever people do, feel, think or say, don’t take it personally. Others are going to have their own opinion according to their belief system, so whatever they think about you is not about you, but is about them. If it were up to HR professionals, we would ensure that everyone is employed. I have never met an HR professional that likes to tell job seekers “No.” This is why we sometimes drag our feet with a delivery of these type of calls. Is it right to drag our feet? No, but it is human. No simply means no. It truly is not personal. It is business. It’s a very competitive job seeker market and employers really do have an upper hand sometimes. Let your attitude of self-worth shine ever more.

3. Don’t Make Assumptions—Ask for what you want. Find the courage to ask for what you want. Others have the right to tell you yes or no, but you always have the right to ask. Likewise, everybody has the right to ask you for what they want, and you have the right to say yes or no. Kill all assumptions. There are so many things happening with companies that sometimes require a constant shift of processing or of people. It is always okay to ask questions. How else will you truly know? You may like the answer or you may not. Take on the spirit of the Courageous Lion from the Wizard of Oz and simply ask instead or tormenting yourself with assumptions that you later believe as truth.

4. Always Do Your Best—Your best is changing all the time. Your best will depend on whether you are refreshed in the morning or tired at night. Your best will be different when you are happy as opposed to upset, or healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstances, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret. Your best is always good enough. Each interview is different. No two are the exact same. Maybe similar but never the same. You may shine one day. You may glisten the next day. We are never the same. Each day brings a different element and hence a different you.

Sassy HR Girl

by Mark Anthony Dyson

3 Things to Remember If You’re Unemployed Like I Was

Editor’s note: Drew Tewell is our contributor today. Since I met Drew Tewell, we talked daily or have exchanged ideas through our common social channels. His latest book is The Dream Job Program: Get the job you want.

“Tough times never last, but tough people do”

Robert Schuller

Being unemployed is not easy. I can say this from experience. I have only been at my current job for three weeks.

Today I want to share with you three things to remember if you’re unemployed.

1. You will find another job

This is very important. When you are unemployed, things can seem hopeless. But you must not lose hope.

In my search for another job, one of the things I did was to focus my job search. What I mean by this is that I picked one position, employment recruiter, to go after.

Having a focus for your job search will help to concentrate all your efforts and make them more effective. Meaning, you will find a job faster.

2. This is only temporary

Even though it may feel like you have been out of work forever, and even though there may be no end in sight, this to shall pass.

Another tip to help you find a job faster is to schedule your job search. I spent some time in the morning, before my son woke up, and some time in the afternoon, while my son was taking a nap, looking for work.

Having a schedule and sticking to it will help keep your job search a priority among all the other things you have going on in your life.

3. Your dream job is waiting
If you currently find yourself unemployed, why not take some time to discover and land your dream job.

And when I say dream job, I am not talking about getting your one and only “dream job”. The fact of matter is that you will probably have many more jobs spanning over your entire work life. What I am talking about is you getting the job you want at this age and stage in your professional life.

My final tip is actually the first thing you should do if you want to find a better job than you had before and that is to figure out what you want in your next job.

Years ago, after being fired from a job I didn’t like, I took some time to figure out what I wanted in my next job. I wrote down 3 things:

I wanted a job where I could help people.
I wanted a job where I could make more money.
I wanted a job where I could work with young people (I previously had a positive experience working with and mentoring youth).

I ended up targeting organizations that worked with young people and calling them directly. One of the organizations that I contacted had an opening that they were looking to fill immediately. I ended up landing a job helping people, making more money, and working with young people! In addition, this is where I started helping people with their work and careers, which is what I still do.

If I had not taken the time to figure out what I wanted in my next job, I may have never found that opportunity.

So if you are unemployed, be encouraged and remember:

You will find another job.
This is only temporary.
Your dream job is waiting.

Consider putting into practice the tips I mentioned. And before you know it, you will be talking to the right person at the right time who is hiring for the job you want.

Question: What advice would you give someone who is currently unemployed?

The Dream Job Program by Drew Tewell

If you are currently unemployed, or you just don’t like your job, and you would like to discover and land your dream job, go to dreamjobprogram.com.Enter your email address and you’ll get a FREE copy of my book, The Dream Job Program: Get the job you want (which sells on Amazon).This is the same material that I took my coaching clients through. The only difference is they paid me hundreds of dollars for it.