“CERT Boot Camp”

"CERT Boot Camp"

http://www.ExamsAreEasy.com

Issue 8 -- Monday, February 11th, 2002

CERT Boot Camp is published monthly.

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IN THIS ISSUE:

1. A WORD FROM THE EDITOR

2. PITFALLS OF A CAREER IN I.T. AND HOW TO OVERCOME THEM (PT 3)

: Tips for Your First I.T. Job

3. EZINE SPONSOR: COMPUTERS OVER COFFEE

4. WORK SMART NOT HARD FOR YOUR CERT: IMPROVE YOUR CONCENTRATION

5. JOKE

6. CONTACT CERT BOOT CAMP

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1. A WORD FROM THE EDITOR:

Welcome to your CERT Boot Camp Ezine.

I’d like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to those

of you who have been so kind as to email me with your thoughts

and encouragement about the ezine. I love hearing from you!

Thanks also to those who have forwarded the newsletter to

friends and colleagues, it is a great help and I appreciate it

very much.

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2. PITFALLS OF A CAREER IN I.T. AND HOW TO OVERCOME THEM (PT 3)

Part 3: Tips for Your First I.T. Job

So, you've got your foot in the door and found your first IT

job! What important steps can you take to maximise the benefits

you get from this early stepping stone for your future career?

What insider secrets will help you to move forward in a shorter

timespan than might otherwise be possible?

One important lesson is humility. Don't be ashamed to say "I

don't know". Always be willing to ask questions, even if they

might seem stupid at the time. If you are eager and willing to

learn from your colleagues, then in general they can and will do

a lot to help you. A little bit of flattery will get you a long

way!

Try to see as many of your senior colleagues as possible as

"mentors". Some will be great at various technical aspects of

their jobs, others will be able to guide you in learning about

career moves within the company, and how to use office politics

to your advantage.

Take advantage of any opportunities to volunteer for tasks that

will put you in the "spotlight", and always be willing to take

on additional responsibilities. You need to sound keen and

enthusiastic even if you have concerns about how you will fit

all of these in with your current responsibilities. Yes, you

must air these concerns, but be sure to do so in a positive way,

and ideally with some suggested solutions. For instance, you

could suggest that some of your more mundane responsibilities

could be reassigned to another colleague, or that a non-urgent

task be put on hold.

Don't get me wrong, it is VERY important that you don't get

yourself into a situation where you are working too many long

hours. You must be strict with yourself and not allow yourself

to fall into the trap of working long hours. Aim to work

effectively throughout your working day and ensure that you

finish on time. Once you get into the routine of working 60 or

70 hours per week, you may find it a very difficult habit to get

out of.

Learn to be assertive. This does NOT mean being aggressive or

losing your temper. But be sure enough of yourself to try and

get the most out of your job, including training as well as

opportunities to do interesting pieces of work that will look

good on your resume. How do you do this? Remember the first

lesson of Getting What You Want, from that most reliable of

sources, the Bible?

ASK!

Ask for training, ask for new responsibilities, and be assured

that this will be looked on favorably. You may not get what you

ask for the first time, but you can be sure that your boss will

think of you next time an opportunity arises.

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3. EZINE SPONSOR: COMPUTERS OVER COFFEE

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4. WORK SMART NOT HARD FOR YOUR CERT: IMPROVE YOUR CONCENTRATION

When it is here, we do not notice it at all, but when it eludes

us it seems so hard to get it back. Concentration. That

intangible element that we need so much when we're learning. And

it can be so elusive that merely thinking about it can chase it

away!

If you ever find it hard to concentrate as you study for your

certs, try the following top tips:

1. Plan your study time out into sections with planned (short)

breaks. You could start with periods as short as 20 minutes and

build up until you can concentrate fully for an hour.

2. Have specific goals for each section of study time, whether

to read a certain chapter, or create or review notes up to a

specific point. Reaching your goal is motivating and helps you

to focus on what you are doing, and if you can exceed your goals

that can be even more exciting!

3. During each period of concentration, every time your mind

begins to wander, yank it back by saying to yourself sharply,

"Be here now!" You can increase the effectiveness of this

technique by creating an anchor to attach feelings of

concentration and being in control to that phrase (see Cassie's

book, "How to Pass Your MCSE/MCSD Quickly and Easily", for more

information on creating anchors to help you in your

certification study).

4. If you feel that you have concentrated well, reward yourself

at the end of that study period, even if it just with a cup of

tea or a short walk.

5. If you have difficulty keeping your mind on your work, for

example if you have a number of personal challenges in your life

that keep intruding upon your concentration, then you could

allocate yourself one or even two short slots of time that are

your "think time", when you can fully address the turmoil of

thoughts and try to get them in order. Then if you find yourself

fretting about your problems during study time, tell yourself,

"Be here now!" and remember that you do have an assigned time of

day to think about those items.

6. One of the best ways to improve your concentration without

really noticing is to get more involved and participate more

actively in your study. This can range from taking notes as you

read instead of just reading, to making up questions about each

paragraph you read, as you go along.

7. As you progress and continue to improve your concentration,

you may like to measure your progress by keeping a tally of how

many times you are distracted during a specific learning period.

Don't do this all the time, otherwise it could become a prop -

and a distraction in itself. But you may find it enlightening to

do once or twice a week during periods when you are actively

trying to improve your concentration. Simply make a note of

every time that your mind wanders during the measurement period.

8. I’ve saved the best for last. Here is the technique that has

helped me the most and I hope it will do the same for you. This

technique is PURE CONCENTRATION. First of all, you need to

choose an object to concentrate on. Let it be something that

inspires you – something beautiful from nature, a flower or

stone. Or an object that is important to you, or a photo of your

loved one. Take your object and go sit in a quiet place,

comfortably but sitting upright, ideally at a table. You don’t

want to be so comfortable that you start to get sleepy. Now gaze

at your object and concentrate on ONE THOUGHT for as long as you

can. Just one simple thought. It could be a positive affirmation

about yourself, "I am loving and loved," or a simple belief that

you are striving for "Life is a piece of cake – chocolate cake",

or any other simple thought that takes your fancy. Concentrate

your gaze upon your object of concentration and your thoughts

upon your thought of concentration. Try to do this for 5 minutes

to start with, gently but firmly bringing your mind back each

time it begins to wander. When you can do this for 5 minutes

easily, start to aim higher. This exercise is very beneficial

for your concentration skills, I suggest that you perform it

daily for a couple of weeks, and see how the effect spills over

into your work!

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5. JOKE

Have you heard about the doctor, engineer, and programmer who

were debating what the world's oldest profession was (other than

the obvious one)?

The doctor said that medicine was the oldest because the Lord

performed surgery in the removal of Adam's rib. The engineer

countered that before that act, the Lord had performed feats of

engineering by creating the earth and heavens from nothing.

The doctor conceded that the engineer was right and that

engineering was indeed the oldest profession. But then the

programmer interjected that programming was even older. He was

chided by both the doctor and the engineer saying that

engineering had to be the oldest, because before the Lord

engineered the earth and heavens, there was nothing, only the

Great Void, only Chaos!

The programmer simply smiled and said:

"Where do you think the Chaos came from?"

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6. 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 to:

cassiesimons@nospamExamsAreEasy.com (removing the "nospam").

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