Crimes of the Cubicle

I like to keep on top of news and tips for the workplace. Salary.com just posted a great guide of 15 Crimes of the Cubicle.

Sure, many people have done at least 1-2 of these, but it's a great idea to make sure that you're not a "chronic cubicle criminal."

Acing the Interview

I get a real kick out of following interesting people on Twitter. One of those is a user called "@TheSuccessKing." They provide great resources for anybody who is career-minded and entrepreneurial.

They recently linked to an article that highlighted interview concepts and guidelines which can be easily missed by candidates of all levels. It's a list of 10 rules to live by when interviewing for a job.

Too often, us recruiters find ourselves interviewing candidates that haven't fully prepared for the interview. Step 1 in this article, which I have always been a proponent of, is to have a compelling story. Tell me about your successes. More importantly, be prepared to talk about your stumbles, but don't leave them that way. Demonstrate to me how you overcame adversity, and what you learned in the process. Everybody makes mistakes - we just care about how you recovered from them.

Additionally, Step 8 (Sell Yourself) provides a different way to look at another of my recommendations. While the article recommends using USPs (Unique Selling Propositions), I have typically found that to be easier said than done. I tend to be very hard on myself, so thinking of my strengths doesn't always come very easily to me. I would recommend that you create MSAs about yourself. In other words, what have you Made, Saved, or Achieved in your previous jobs? If you haven't had a job in the professional arena yet, what about in school, or on projects that you took on by yourself?

Key points? Don't be afraid to brag in an interview. It's your chance to set yourself apart from the competition.

Forbes and Bixly Have a Connection

A couple of months ago, Forbes published an article of the 5 most sought-after personality traits in new-hires. They were: professionalism, high-energy, confidence, self-monitoring, and intellectual curiosity.

Interestingly enough, these are areas that we tend to have opinions on. We don't typically require that a new hire have a college degree in order to work for us as a developer, or in another role. What we do require is a base amount of knowledge, coupled with a burning, passionate desire to gain more of it.

We also place a bit of a different cultural value on each of these traits. Professionalism is always expected in terms of interactions with colleagues, clients, and anybody else, but we don't require you to wear a suit and tie.

High-energy? It's something that everybody here has. Part of working in a startup environment is an “all hands on deck” mentality that permeates the culture. You will find yourself constantly challenged, so attacking new tasks with enthusiasm is required.

Confidence is also a must-have. As a developer, project manager, or anybody in a client-facing role, you will find yourself having daily interactions with clients from around the world. You must be prepared to explain your progress on your tasks so far, what you expect to complete next, and also an understanding of what obstacles might get in your way.

Self-monitoring is another way to describe someone with strong self-knowledge and self-motivation. You should be able to describe your accomplishments to date, as well as what you see yourself doing in the next 5 years. Career-mindedness is a highly valued trait here.

Intellectual curiosity is probably one of the most important and underrated qualities that we look for. We don't expect you to know how to fix a problem right away, but we do expect that you will put in the time to figure it out. Time-tested methods to fix problems are always appreciated, but sometimes, finding a new way to do things can be even better.

End-of-Year Success Review!

We're very fortunate to have had some great success this year at Bixly. The end of the year is always a great time to reflect on some of our successes. We really want to share these with you, and show the opportunities that exist here!

1. We launched our Business Process, Human Resources, and Quality Control departments
2. We have made solid progress as our Sales and Marketing team continues to build on their successes, and open new roads for us to develop business relationships
3. We have begun implementing our Belt System for developers
4. We launched our internships (http://careers.bixly.com/internships/) program!
5. Our recruiting method for developers allows you to learn more about what we do as you pursue a position with us. It's a great learning opportunity whether or not you join our team.

Does Facebook Matter?

Social media is considered a vital frontier in multiple facets of business.

Marketing departments utilize social media as a critical part of their outreach. The return on investment can be stellar, since the barriers to entry are relatively low (all you need is a free account to get started). Furthermore, a solid profile and brand strategy can very rapidly boost a company's visibility, and subsequently boost their revenue from sales.

However, there's a flip side to the positives associated with marketing a company on social media. When a profile and brand aren't properly managed, negative publicity will also spread like wildfire, and can deliver a serious negative hit to the company.

How does this apply to your career? According to Forbes, employers and recruiters are reviewing your Facebook profile more than ever. Many job candidates aren't too thrilled about it, mainly because Facebook is portrayed as a social engine, not a professional one. However, any prospective employer will want to know as much as possible about their candidates.

Look at it this way: your Facebook profile is your personal brand. It's where many people publicly display the most about themselves, and it's your chance (along with a great LinkedIn profile) to truly build your personal brand and image in the public sphere. Get it right, and you'll have another great part of your personal profile secure. Get it wrong, and you'll find yourself headed the way of the company with a poor brand strategy.

The Skype Interview

I spend a lot of time reading career advice articles so that I can share the information with the rest of the world.

CareerBuilder recently hit the nail on the head when they mentioned 8 Important Tips for Skype Interviews. We use Skype here on a regular basis, so the tips and etiquette that are mentioned directly apply to our company.

Some highlights:
- If you are in a video interview, it's best for you to look directly at your webcam, not at your screen. If you look at the webcam, it will look like you're making eye contact.
- Make sure that whatever is behind you is warm and inviting. If you can't do that, then at least make it look professional. It's probably best to not leave your Metallica poster up directly behind you.
- Test your audio and video in advance! We set aside time to speak with you, so therefore, we would hate to see delays occur due to technical difficulties, especially if they can be avoided.

Why Prolance?

As a recruiter, I interact with plenty of developers who wonder whether they should pursue freelance positions, or consider a position where they can be a Prolancer. Here are Five Prolancing Benefits, and then maybe you can decide which path you'd like to take.

FIVE PROLANCING BENEFITS

1. Supervision: Bixly’s “Prolancing” model guarantees that you have the best access to a constant source of projects, as well as our own internal learning resources. This means that between client projects, we like to keep you busy learning, and working on our own internal development projects. Compared to freelancing, where you have to worry about where your next paycheck is coming from after your current project ends, we believe that we give you a much more favorable employment experience.

2. Quantifiable Career Progress: We have a belt system here at Bixly, much like the karate belts that you may have worked so hard to earn in life, assuming you're a fan of martial arts. We took that to the next level. Our developers can demonstrate that they have sufficiently conquered Python, Django, and multiple libraries by moving up our standardized belt system. Oh yeah, and with increased performance comes increased career opportunity.

3. Ticketing & Workflow: We use the Agile Management method. This means that we assign you tickets anywhere from 1-7 days in advance, based upon your current task load and client needs. You will have to be quick on your feet, but you also get that vision of where the project is headed in the long view.

4. Dedicated Project Manager: If you choose to freelance, you're on your own when it comes to project flow and planning. You're also responsible for all facets of client communication. By working as a Bixly developer, you will have a dedicated Project Manager who oversees communication and planning with our clients for you.

5. Knowledge: We really work hard to foster learning among our employees. You get the chance to constantly learn new skills, and even participate in our own company Tech Talks! We have online meetings between developers where you get the chance to learn new skills from other developers within our company, and can also showcase the superpowers that you have.