Meet Dick

Dick Bolles that is. For those of you who are not familiar with Dick Bolles, he is the author of What Color Is Your Parachute? What Color Is Your Parachute? 2008: A Practical Manual for Job-hunters and Career-Changers I let someone borrow my copy of this book, which was an older version many years ago, and I seriously feel lost ever since. If you haven’t heard of this book you probably did not need it or something.

I think that everyone should have a copy. Keep in mind, this book is not one of those pseudo Tony Robbins books on the clearance shelf. Not that I think Tony Robbins is b.s. but I think some writers and motivational speakers try to be like him and they suck. Trust me, I have bought those books and I should have known better when they were on sale for $6.00 at the bookstore. Anyway, to give you an idea about what this book can do for you. You can use this book to prepare for an interview. This book is seriously like a career bible. It will give you the pointers and guidance so that you can take the right path on your interview, have the right attitude, exude confidence, and give the right answers so that you can land that job. Use the career finding tools. The most unique section in this book is where you can list interests, lifestyle preferences, skills, which will narrow down what career path may suit those requirements and/or needs that you have or think that you have. I consider this part career therapy. It’s like you might have all these thoughts in your mind but the method in which Dick Bolles designed the activity really organizes all your thoughts and ideas about how you visualize your future life and career. For example, someone may think they want to work for a non-profit but also have a 5 series BMW in the stars. Is that possible? Well I’m thinking it is not likely but depends on your education level and what YOU really want to do for a job. Use this book if you are thinking of changing careers. The sad part about career changers that I have met, including myself is that most of us spend our lives fooling ourselves into following a career path that we know is shit but to be practical, stable, recession proof (what ever that means) we stay. This really sucks but does not have to be the end. I know you’re miserable but before you quit your job read this section in the book.

THE ULTIMATE REFERENCE WEBSITE!!!!

You can go to this website to get latest news headlines, about what the top 100 U.S. newspapers are, or would like to know the number of war casualties in Afganistan and/or Iraq. The best part is that the designer of this webpage managed to fit all the links on the homepage. I think this is so cool that I recommend that you book mark it as a favorite for sure. I also don't think it would be a bad idea to set it up as your homepage.

http://www.refdesk.com/

For Analytics (Scientific Analysis) professionals

What is analytics? Analytics = Scientific Analysis.

Most of the research I do is general and not specific to certain markets or niche fields so I turned to my super nerd of analytics correspondent for his input.

With the economy being so volatile, especially for those in data-oriented fields (scientists, engineers, other geeks that do math or applied math) it is important to keep these things in mind (some may be obvious).

1) We all know you're a nerd and don't expect you to be friendly but DO build and maintain a strong network of contacts in your field.

Social network for Analytics professionals: AnalyticBridge.com

2) It is also crucial for you to keep up with the pace of changes and stay on the cutting edge of what's new.

Don't know how to? Well maybe the people you meet in your network can let you know. Work on your social skills, and yes this means you should brush your teeth and take a shower regularly, which means every day.

Don't have friends? Here are some links to do the research online for you homebodies out there:

Analytics:
http://www.analyticsmagazine.com/

Operations Research and Management Science Today:
http://www.lionhrtpub.com/ORMS.shtml

Information Management:
http://www.information-management.com/

Intelligent Enterprise:
http://www.intelligententerprise.com/

3) Don't have a job or need a new one? Try these links and hope for the best. I'll have my fingers crossed for you ;).

Job search engines for analytics professionals:
http://www.analyticrecruiting.com/list_category.asp
http://www.icrunchdata.com/
http://www.numericjobs.com/

More job search engines:
http://www.dice.com/
http://www.socaltech.com/company.php
http://www.simplyhired.com/
http://www.careerjet.com/