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Making the Leap

August 27th, 2011 Matt Baril 6 comments

 

Well, I've done it. After talking about, preaching it, blogging about it, encouraging people to do it, I finally did it. As you probably know, I've been working at SAP, the largest business software in the world, for almost a year and a half in the business development department at an entry level position. Ever since I had talked to Peter Tingling and wrote a post about working in a Zoo vs. the Wild, the idea of leaving the corporate world was with me. In December however, I had an interview at SAP for a better internal role and was told I should expect to be promoted before the new year. With this news, I wasn't planning on moving anywhere any time soon. Well I was planning on moving desk, but that was about it.

Unfortunately things didn't quite happened that way, but I started training sessions and mentoring sessions in February and was mostly trained by the end of March. Unfortunately bad timing and many layers of decision makers meant that by June, I was still in my old role and that was my breaking point. I know my more experienced readers and colleagues will say I'm a typical millennial who can't wait, and I guess they're right. Yes, thank you for your feedback… I know. Anyway, in June I started applying on jobs as I needed new challenges and something exciting, a job I could learn from, a job I could feel I was contributing something and making even a small difference. Here again you can detect my typical millennial's sense of naivety… So I decided I would be looking for jobs in new startups in Vancouver.

Sometimes it feels like if all the stars align at the right moment and one night I came back home and checked my LinkedIn and I had 3 job listings on the right panel (which was a BETA feature BTW, I think this is a great idea from LinkedIn). One of them was Inside Sales Executive (the same role I was desperately waiting for at SAP) for a company called Visier Inc., a company I had never heard of. I clicked on the link to discover it was exactly in the same industry as SAP BusinessObjects, it was literally a block away from my current job, it was a startup and most important of all: it was founded, managed and run by ex-SAP employees with one of the founder and CEO being the ex-CEO of BusinessObjects. For those of you who don't know, BusinessObjects was the leading Business Intelligence company in the world and was acquired by SAP a few years ago. And Visier was founded by BusinessObjects' CEO and literally all 14 employees were ex-SAP employees looking for new challenges. I just couldn't resist and applied right away.

So to make a long story short, I applied, went through 2 interviews and got the job. The only problem, if you can call that a problem, was that I actually had been promoted to my new role at SAP, finally. So I had an interesting dilemma, on 1 side I had SAP, a well-known and respected corporation who I knew was offering me a stable and certain future with the best pay, benefits and perks in the industry and the city. On the other side I had Visier, a highly promising startup with everything to be built from the ground up and a motivated and dynamic team.

I'm not going to lie, I lost sleep over this, but I ended up leaving SAP on my 2nd day in my new role, a record they told me. I joined the company a little over 1 week ago and I don't regret it at all! The challenge, the freedom, the opportunities, everything I missed so much in my corporate career Visier has. I've also found my inspiration to blog and will publish a few posts in the next weeks about making the leap based on my experience and my conversations with other people.

 

So here I am my friends, writing to you from the wild and looking forward to the journey!

 

What about you? Have you found your piece of Wilderness yet or leaving the Zoo seems too risky?

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Success Builds Networks, not the Other Way Around

February 1st, 2011 Matt Baril No comments

 

I haven't posted on my blog in quite a while and I won't blame anyone or anything for that, I've been involved in many projects for the last few months and decided to prioritize my projects and unfortunately the blog was put on the back burner. I still get comments and emails from people who use the job feed and I'm averaging 10-15 unique visitors a day, so I'm glad to see the blog hasn't died and some people find the job feed useful!

As some of you may know, my friend Evan Bleker and I started a small venture called Taste of Vancouver Tours about 2 months ago and I've invested most of my energy and time in our project. I have learned a great deal and faced many challenges already, but I enjoy every single step of it. It's finally time to apply what I've learned from school, books, case competitions, conferences, mentors, etc. And well as you probably expected, it's more difficult to execute than simply debate something in a classroom setting. You need some guts, good resistance to sleep deprivation, patience (which I lack), motivation, dedication when everything goes wrong, negotiation skills, marketing skills, project management skills, etc. The last 2 months have been very interesting to say the least.

The fact that my blog hasn't been updated for a few months and the creation of Taste of Vancouver Tours are actually related, but not because of a time constraint, it was a thought that was the catalyst.

I believe we, in the western world at least, live in a "container" world. We're more concerned about the container: what things look like and how people talk and present themselves than the "content" in that container: what we actually know and the quality of our thought process. Take this quote as an example, you've probably heard it 1000 times by now: "It's not about what you know, it's about who you know". I actually have a problem with that and I think it's fundamentally wrong. Why would you hire someone based on the people he or she knows rather than what he or she knows. The answer is you wouldn't. This quote misses the point: success attracts people and successful people will have broad networks. It doesn't mean that having a broad network wil make you successful though. You can know a lot of people in your field, if you're not successful at what you do, it's not going to be of any help.

So, a few months ago, I decided I would stop "shouting" in the blogsphere, hoping someone would hear me. I decided to spend my resources to act, execute and deliver. It's not that easy, but it's a lot more fun and I figured there are already many people shouting hoping for your attention, hoping to convince you they're worth listening to. I rather spend my time building something, filling up the container. If I'm successful, the rest will follow.

 

I will end with this quote I found on The Economist website this morning: "Also, they [potential MBA candidates] will recall that the most effective way to build a network is not to go to school, but to be successful".

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Do You Work in a Zoo or in The Wild?

July 19th, 2010 Matt Baril 1 comment

 

Last Friday, I had a beer with Peter, a friend of mine who teaches at SFU and started his own company called Octothorpe Software which makes software to help anyone from individuals to Fortune 500 make better decisions. We were talking career path when Peter asked me: "If you had the choice, would you rather work in a zoo or in the wild?" Now, that got me thinking. Every time you meet Peter, you can be sure to be intellectually challenged and learn… a lot.

 

The Zoo

The zoo, on one hand, is this place where you're fed, pet, washed, and treated well just for being there. You're not asked to do much except for being there and doing that one show every day to impress the visitors. You're not asked to make any decisions or take any risks and will not be put down unless you do something absolutely stupid like biting the hand that feeds you… The staff in the zoo expects loyalty and will, in return, make sure you have all you possibly need.

The Wild

The wild, on the other hand, is a different story. Living from one kill to another, being emaciated during the hard months, feasting during the good ones. You can get killed at any time, but developing and relying on your peers and making up your own pride will increase your odds of you surviving. You enjoy your freedom and the fact that you don't report to anyone, but yourself. You also know you have to stay on top of the game, always keep a sharp eye open and plan for the next day. Having cubs to feed increases the consequences of your potential failure and keeps you up at night.

 

As Peter pointed out, there is nothing wrong in working in a zoo and it actually fulfills many people's aspirations. The only thing I would warn you against though, is to be careful not to be let loose after many years in a zoo. Your chances of surviving in the wild are decreased, a lot. You'll be fat, your reflexes slow, your natural instinct vanished, and your enthusiasm to run after big games dead. Even more important, you won't have anyone to rely upon to come to your help. It must feel quite lonely out there in such conditions. If you can have a plan, or multiple backup plans to ensure you do not end up in the wild after many years in a zoo, then you're safe. Otherwise, if you're like the rest of us and don't have a bulletproof position in a zoo, make sure you keep your eyesight clear, your instinct alert, your body fit, your claws and your fangs sharp and most importantly, keep your passion unaltered. Retiring in a zoo as opposed to starting your adult life in a zoo might also help you develop the necessary skills to survive in the wild and then enjoy the zoo.

 

So, do you work in a zoo or in the wild?

 

I found Peter's analogy very inspiring and thought I had to blog about it. If you like this, make sure you send a message to Peter to say thanks.

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Be a Sexy Job Seeker and Increase your Odds of Getting the Perfect Job

June 6th, 2010 Matt Baril 11 comments

 

All my life, I've been extremely lucky in my job hunts and career opportunities. Unfortunately, I have many friends who are not so lucky and are currently looking for a job, it actually seems like most of my friends are looking for jobs in the Vancouver area right now. Luck, determination and hard work have been the main factors of my career opportunities, but I think everybody works hard and is determined, but there are ways to put odds on your side and increase your luck. I thought I would share resources and tricks that have helped me and some of my friends to put odds on our side.
 
 
1. Be resourceful. There are some really nice tools out there that can keep you on top of things really easily without much effort. Use them! The first thing you need is a good way to know about the relevant jobs available in your area, and in 2010 there are 3 websites you cannot leave without for job hunting:

These 3 websites are what we call aggregators (read this post to understand why you should love them) and a search will fetch and provide you with results from many different websites. If you're looking for tech jobs in Vancouver for example, they will go on many job boards in Vancouver and do a search based on the keywords and the area you entered. That means you don't have to do and redo all these searches on all these website everyday. You can also save your searches and subscribe to the RSS feed, so you don't even have to go back on the website at all, the job postings are just delivered to your RSS feed reader. If you don't have an RSS feed reader, I would recommend Google Reader. You can even make the RSS feeds to be emailed to you on a regular basis with free services such as feedmyinbox. For instance, you could get up in the morning, open up your email client and apply on all the relevant jobs posted within the last 24 hours while having your breakfast. Cool eh?

If you're more into technology, you can use Yahoo! Pipes. That's like the Lamborghini of all the tools you can possibly have. It lets you make your own feed instead of using on of the web sites mentioned above. You can aggregate your own feeds, search, filter, sort, etc. That’s the tool I use for my job posting on this blog which displays the 150 most recent tech jobs in Vancouver in real-time. Yahoo! Pipes is free.
 
 
2.     2. Use LinkedIn. LinkedIn is just the most awesome social networking tool for jobs. I know many people who complain about it, but I think they just don't know how to use it. I've had 3 job offers since January through LinkedIn. Jobs I did not ask for, the companies came forward and offered me a job or an interview. There are also a lot of jobs available on LinkedIn (you can find them through simplyhired.ca as well) and now you can follow companies (brand new of a few days). So if you're interested by one company you can follow them, and when they open a position or when someone leaves, you can apply on the job even before the company advertises for the job. Having a complete profile on LinkedIn also adds credibility to your application, especially if you can get a few recommendations. Anyways, my point is that LinkedIn is just great! If you decide to join, add me: http://ca.linkedin.com/in/mattbaril.
 
 
3.     3. Own and use your dot com. This might be pushing it a bit, but having a website helps as well. My website is a blog and there is quite a bit of content, which means that potential employers can surf through it and read bits and pieces to see my English proficiency, my capacity to write, think and how disciplined I am to keep the blog up-to-date. It helps in two ways: an employer can find you through your blog, but it can also add credibility to your application. In my interview at Elastic Path, a company I worked for during the Olympics, the HR person kept talking about my blog and she asked me only one interview question, the rest of the 45 minutes were spent talking about my blog which she pulled up on her screen. But, a personal blog is a lot of work and I know people who have used their website differently and have had some success as well. I went to school with this guy called Cody Watson and I like what he has done with his dot com. It's pretty simple, it takes few hours to put together, but it looks really professional and helps for the first impression.
 
 
4.     4. Always apply on all jobs, even those you’re not too fond of. This is probably the most important mistake people make, not applying on all kind of jobs. Don’t be picky, you don’t have a job for god sake, just apply on everything you think is related to your area even though it’s not the dream job. There are many reasons to do so:
  • You can practice your interview skills and will not have the pressure you would usually have if you really wanted the job.
  • You will have feedback on your resume and the experience you have that is most appreciated by employers. If you don’t get the job you can even ask why and know where you’re falling short.
  • And most importantly, you’re much sexier when you have a job. People are people and hiring someone who doesn’t have a job seems like a risk. If that person was that great he or she would have a job right? Right… so get a job to make yourself more attractive. It also shows you are motivated, ambitious and driven. Once you have a job, you can say things such as: “I love working for company ABC, they have provided me with XYZ kind of experience and treat their employees very well. However, I feel that with my background and experience I could add more value and be more useful to a company like yours by doing ABC. As you can see from my resume I have already worked on projects similar in scope and have had great success.” Well now you are lot sexier than by saying: “I’ve been spending the last 2 months looking for a job, but couldn’t find the right fit.”
5.     5. Spend 8 hours a day looking for jobs. Finding a full time job is a full time job. You should set targets for yourself such as sending 10 resumes a day. Once you have the right tools set up for you, you can easily get 100 jobs per day into your inbox or RSS feed reader. Pick the 10 most interesting and apply. Make a couple of cover letters for different kind of roles you are interested in and tweak them to make it sound personal. It will take you less than 10 minutes to apply on a job with a “personal” cover letter. Count about 3 hours to do so and applying on 50 jobs per week should get you anywhere between 1 and 5 interviews per week. You can then spend the next 5 hours of your day for sharpening your interview skills (free job centre resources), having real interviews, tweaking your website, making new connections on LinkedIn, joining new groups on LinkedIn, networking at different events, blogging, volunteering, taking courses/classes/certifications. Every single hour should be an investment in your career and a step forward, something that will lead you to a job or will enrich your resume.
 
 
There is definitely a big part of chance in the process, but you can improve your odds of finding a great job if you do the above. You will also need someone to support you, a wife, a husband, a friend, a parent for the times when everything goes wrong. The week you will have sent 50 resumes and went to 3 interviews and get nothing in return will be a tough week, but it’s not the end of it. Keep working at it and you’re putting the odds in your favor and sharpening the saw.
 
 
What are your tricks and tips to become a sexy job seeker and increase your odds of getting the perfect jobs? What do you think doesn't work versus what really works?
 
 
Good luck all!
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Working on Stat Holidays Makes no Sense

May 17th, 2010 Matt Baril No comments

 

We have a stat holiday coming up next Monday here in Canada and it got me thinking once more as I had the choice to either work or stay at home. I personally hate working stat holidays and I've never quite understood some of my colleagues who will just accept working any stat holidays to make a little extra cash. I just can't understand because it simply doesn't make any economic sense.

Working on a stat holiday basically means that you're ready to do the same work you usually do, with the extra pain of losing an opportunity to spend time with your family and your friends, for half the wage you usually get paid. You get 100% of your wage if you stay at home and 150% if you go to work, which means that in fact, you're working for 50% of your regular salary.

Obviously, if you find holidays boring, if you badly need money, if your employer pays 200% for stat holidays, or if you're forced to work during holidays, then it might make sense to go to work, otherwise you're getting screwed over…

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