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Issue 10 -- Wednesday, July 10th, 2002

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IN THIS ISSUE:

1. A WORD FROM THE EDITOR

2. HOW TO IMPRESS YOUR COLLEAGUES AND YOUR BOSS

3. SPONSOR: BRAINBENCH - FREE ONLINE CERT TESTS

4. DARE TO LOSE TO WIN!

5. JOKE: WHY E-MAIL IS LIKE A MALE REPRODUCTIVE ORGAN

6. CONTACT CERT BOOT CAMP

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1. A WORD FROM THE EDITOR:

Firstly, many thanks to all of you who took the time to respond

to my little poll last time. It was really interesting feedback,

and I'll include something about it in the next issue.

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2. HOW TO IMPRESS YOUR COLLEAGUES AND YOUR BOSS

(While still having a life!)

There are better ways to forge forwards in your career than

doing long hours. Doing long hours MAY impress some bosses (on

the occassions when you get lucky and the boss happens to be

staying late the same time you are!), but it does untold damage

to other areas of your life, like family and friends.

So what is the better way? You want it all, and rightly! You

want a happy family and a good social life, and still to

progress your career and get good pay rises. And you deserve to

have all that!

The first thing to do is to change your mindset, and think more

like your boss.

When you come into work each day, pretend that you ARE the boss.

Pretend that the building and contents are YOURS, pretend that

the staff work for YOU. You will soon find that you care more

about your work and your colleagues, and the caring will shine

through for all to see. (It helps a whole lot if you actually

like your boss, if he's someone you would want to emulate. If

he's a git, maybe it would be easier to just pretend you have

his job...).

Do each day all that you can do without rushing, and do each

task carefully, thoughtfully and as successfully as you can. If

you genuinely feel that you have to rush just to get everything

done within the working day, make it a project to reduce your

workload. Learn to delegate! By investing the time to teach

other team mates to complete some of the tasks you have taken on

- the ones you have mastered and are no longer learning from -

you can find the time to think more widely about your job role.

You may even find you are able to expand your job and take on

new responsibilities.

If you don't have the authority to delegate, ask for it! Most

employers realise that knowledge sharing is a good thing, for it

reduces their exposure.

As you go about your job, think outside the box. Put yourself in

your bosses' shoes. Think about the effect of what you do - and

don't do - on your company's profits.

Strive to focus on the customer's needs more than your technical

colleagues do - this is easy! Most tekkies have little

comprehension of their customers' business. Make it YOUR

business to understand your customers. There is no value in

creating a technologically excellent solution if it does not

serve the customer's needs. You would be amazed how many

technically intelligent people fail to grasp this simple fact.

With these small steps, you can start impressing those around

you - especially your boss. Next month we'll look at how you can

fine-tune your communication skills to get even more results,

and more pleasure out of your job than you thought possible...

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4. SPONSOR:

To help your CERT Boot Camp Ezine stay free, please pay a visit

to our sponsor, Brainbench, for FREE online certification tests.

They have ALL SORTS, so give them a try, you've nothing to lose!

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

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5. DARE TO LOSE TO WIN!

Here in the UK, the country is slowly recovering from the throes

of soccer-madness. I don't really understand the game (being a

girl! :) ), but I watched a program about soccer the other night

and it was fascinating. It was all about the psychological

training used by Sven, the manager, for the England team. It

could be summed up by the phrase, "Dare To Lose To Win!"

Sven taught his team that before you can win, you have to lose

the fear of failure. Only then can you perform at your peak.

The same applies to technical exams, or any other challenging

endevour. Think about the next exam you are planning to take,

and ask yourself now: "What if I fail?" Realise that the world

will still be there. Realise that you will still be alive, and

hence will be able to try again. Realise that you will not lose

your loved ones. In fact, it is not that drastic. Accept that

failing an exam is no big deal. Internalise that feeling, really

believe it. If the thought of failing still fills you with

dread, think about some real tragedies that could befall you,

and compare that with failing - not so bad, at the end of the

day.

Once you have accepted that you can live with the worst that can

happen, you can relegate your fear of failure to the dustpan.

Then you can focus all your energies on doing everything you can

do to pass. The philosophy is: "If I fail, it's no big deal. I

will still love myself and will cope with it and remain upbeat.

So I don't need to think about that any more. I will think only

about the fact that I'M GOING TO PASS and will do everything I

can to ensure that happens." In other words, "Dare To Lose To

Win!"

Sadly for the England team, they really did lose :( , but on the

other hand they got further in the competition than a lot of

people expected!

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6. JOKE: WHY E-MAIL IS LIKE A MALE REPRODUCTIVE ORGAN

10. Those who have it would be devastated if it were ever cut

off.

9. Those who have it think that those who don't are somehow

inferior.

8. Those who don't have it may agree that it's neat, but think

it's not worth the fuss that those who have it make about it.

7. Many of those who don't have it would like to try it (e-mail

envy).

6. It's more fun when it's up, but this makes it hard to get any

real work done.

5. In the distant past, its only purpose was to transmit

information vital to the survival of the species. Some people

still think that's the only thing it should be used for, but

most folks today use it for fun most of the time.

4. If you don't apply the appropriate measures, it can spread

viruses.

3. If you use it too much, you'll find it becomes more and more

difficult to think coherently.

2. We attach an importance to it that is far greater than its

actual size and influence warrant.

1. If you're not careful what you do with it, it can get you

into a lot of trouble.

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7. CONTACT CERT BOOT CAMP

Do you have any Cert, techie or career questions? Do you want to

share your thoughts? Would you like to share a top tip with

other subscribers? If so, please send Cassie an email at cassiesimons@nospamExamsAreEasy.com (removing the "nospam").

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