Emetrics SummitWashington, DCOctober 16, 2007
June DershewitzVP Analytics, Semphonic
James GardnerVP Marketing, Aquent
Successful Career Management Strategies for Web Analytics Professionals
Labor markets correct themselves Steady paycheck vs. personal fulfillment
Options, planning = confidence, motivation
Our professional skills are HOT …
… but that doesn’t make career choices easier.
June’s path to Emetrics Shattering some myths
• Job-hopping, Freelance consulting, Swiss
Army knife
Managing your career• Self-responsibility, Knowing yourself, Goals
& dreams, Confronting gaps, Living your
plan
Discussion Points
BA in math, then more
math 1999: First web analyst job 2001-2003: Web analytics
vendor, then DBA 2004-2007: Web analytics
contract work for Wells
Fargo, Oracle, CNET, Blue
Shield, etc. August 2007: Semphonic
June’s Path to Emetrics
Only a stigma if you let it become one
Find and maintain career focus Prepare to explain your reasons for moving
…you will be explaining for years Whatever you do, don’t burn bridges.
Shattered Myth #1: Job-Hopping
Not right for everyone, but perfect for some
Shattered Myth #2: Freelance Consulting
PRO CON Learn fast -- tough projects,
varied challenges, demanding clients
“Get in, get out” mindset -- less politics
Work/life flexibility Potential financial upside
Earnings volatility Imposed self-sufficiency
• Always job-hunting• Taxes, healthcare, 401k• Skill development
Can be lonely Long-term impact hard to
gauge
Knowing “a little about a lot” helps
Shattered Myth #3: Swiss Army Knife
1. Technical HTML, Javascript, web
analytics tools2. Analytical
Quantitative, fact-based3. Business
ROI, $4. People
Persuasive, results-oriented
Managing Your Career
2 How well do you really know yourself -- your
strengths, passions, and successes (and
vice-versa)?
Knowing yourself
3 What are your short-term career goals and
longer-term life dreams?
Goals & dreams
5 What are you doing this week/month to get
closer to your goals & dreams?
Living your plan
1 Who else cares as much about you and your
career as you do?
Self-
responsibility
4 What are the barriers between today’s
reality and your goals & dreams? How real
are they? How can they be addressed?
Confronting gaps
“The cold, hard, truth is that you’ve got to look after yourself.”
- David Maister
#1 Maister on Self-Responsibility:
(Thanks: http://about.davidmaister.com/bio/)
#2 Knowing YourselfYesterday:• When have you been happiest and most
successful in your career?• What did you used to dream about doing?• What have past personality or aptitude tests
revealed about you?
Today:• Do you like your current career trajectory? Are
you satisfied in your present job?• What does your future look like in the company
you work for now?• What are your favorite and least favorite parts of
the job you have now?
Tomorrow:• What skills and knowledge would you like to use
more often? What skills and knowledge would you like to learn?
• What professional goals do you hope to accomplish in the next two years? Five years?
• What would you do if you didn’t have to work for a living?
After every question, ask: “why?”
(and then “why” again)
Know (and start making known) your immediate and <12 month goals
Don’t lose sight of your dreams (or your non-professional priorities)
#3 Goals & Dreams
#4 Confronting Gaps
Confronting Gaps
What’s really between you and your future?
•Develop your own list -- specific, actionable•Consult your manager (but trust seasoned
friends, mentors, colleagues)•Separate the real from your self-created life
baggage (hint: this is quite hard!)•Create your to-do plan for the quarter, year
Should you revisit your goals and dreams? Be honest!
Every 3 months, audit yourself:
Am I making progress at increasing my value in the market?
Am I bringing the right value to my employer? Am I being fairly compensated for my
contributions? Am I mind/body/soul happy?
If not -- seek enrichment, education, and/or community (and, after much thought, seek change)
(Thanks: Stephane Hamel, blog.immeria.net)
#5 Living Your Plan
Managing Your Career
2 How well do you really know yourself -- your
strengths, passions, and successes (and
vice-versa)?
Knowing yourself
3 What are your short-term career goals and
longer-term life dreams?
Goals & dreams
5 What are you doing this week/month to get
closer to your goals & dreams?
Living your plan
1 Who else cares as much about you and your
career as you do?
Self-
responsibility
4 What are the barriers between today’s
reality and your goals & dreams? How real
are they? How can they be addressed?
Confronting gaps
Unplanned, unmanaged careers
rarely lead to professional happiness You can’t delegate: nobody cares
about your career as much as you do Getting started is the hardest part of
the journey (and it’s not that hard!)
Get Started!
June Dershewitz
[email protected]: june.typepad.comwww.semphonic.com
James Gardner
[email protected]/in/gardner
www.aquent.com
Thank You!
Email June for more career perspectives and James for Aquent career management resources (including copies of these slides)
Emetrics SummitWashington, DCOctober 16, 2007
June DershewitzVP Analytics, Semphonic
James GardnerVP Marketing, Aquent
Successful Career Management Strategies for Web Analytics Professionals
1. The cold, hard, truth is that you’ve got to look after yourself.2. You can’t assume that anyone is really looking out for your best interests (in
spite of what they may say.)3. There may be a human resources department in your firm, managers,
coaches and a mentoring system. But don’t get fooled. Your career is up to you and you alone.
4. No one will tell you what experience you should be obtaining, let alone help you get it.
5. If you want a specific experience, ask for it. 6. Better yet, just go grab it.7. Do not expect that you will be promoted because you deserve it - it is
unlikely that anyone is really keeping track. 8. If you want to be promoted, ask to be promoted.9. Generally, things do not come to those who do not ask for them.10. None of this means you should be rude, disrespectful to others, or fail to be
a team player. It just means don’t be naïve.11. In spite of what they may say, it’s up to you. You’re on your own, kid.12. Manage your own career. No one else will.
Maister on Self-Responsibility:
(http://about.davidmaister.com/bio/)
Knowing Yourself
Yesterday:• What have you liked most about jobs you've had in the past? Why?• What are the most and least appealing aspects of the companies you've worked for?• What are the reasons you've left past jobs?• What technical skills or industry-specific knowledge have you gained?• Which of your personality traits or soft skills have employers liked? Why?
Today:• Do you like your current career trajectory? Are you satisfied in your present job? Why?• Do you like the company you work for now and the goals it is trying to accomplish?• What does your future look like in the company you work for now?• What are your favorite and least favorite parts of the job you have now? Why?• Do you belong to any professional associations or participate in any career-related
activities outside your job (volunteering, mentoring, training, etc.)?
Tomorrow:• Are there other careers you have a strong interest in exploring?• Are there other companies you'd like to work for? Why?• Are there other jobs or departments in your current company that interest you?• What skills and knowledge would you like to use more often? What skills and
knowledge would you like to learn?• What professional goals do you hope to accomplish in the next two years? Five years?• What would you do if you didn’t have to work for a living? Why aren’t you doing that?