De Stricker / Hurst-Wahl The Information and Knowledge Professional's Career Handbook

Define and Create Your Success
1. Auflage 2011
ISBN: 978-1-78063-055-7
Verlag: Elsevier Science & Techn.
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 294 Seiten

Reihe: Chandos Information Professional Series

The definitive guide to developing and managing a successful career in the information profession: Information Professionals and Knowledge Managers deal with significant challenges in building successful careers for a number of reasons associated with common misperceptions of their expertise and roles. In environments where they must often justify their work and value over and over again, those already in the profession need a boost and those just entering need to be prepared for a reality that may differ quite a bit from their expectations. The book is intended to give readers a set of tools and techniques with which to secure a strong career, build an effective brand, and succeed as professionals.Click Here to view the official page for this title on Facebook. - Written by opinion leaders and highly respected authorities in the field - Draws upon 50-plus years of experience in a variety of settings and roles - Offers realistic and honest pointers - no sugar-coating

A widely respected information professional working in the information industry since the late 1970s and as a knowledge management consultant since 1992, Ulla de Stricker is known for her pioneering activities, leadership, and support to colleagues through conference presentations, articles, books, and in the last several years through her Information and Knowledge Management Blog. Professionally, she assists clients in a wide range of strategic planning projects (see http://www.destricker.com).

Autoren/Hrsg.

De Stricker, Ulla

Hurst-Wahl, Jill

Leseproben

3

Knowing who you are: your ‘work personality’ and your ‘best fit’

It is not a given, but most people likely will agree that career satisfaction has a lot to do with the degree to which innate characteristics and strengths match the work we do. Therefore, we invite you now – regardless whether you are still in school or have years of work behind you – to consider those innate characteristics through questions like these:

 Are you drawn to the atmosphere of a serene, luxuriously appointed law or accounting firm or to a beehive-busy college information commons?

 Does the public service or a technology startup appeal to you?

 Is working with people on top of your list, or are you happier in front of a screen by yourself?

 Would working in a unionized environment turn you off?

 Do you thrive on working fast or prefer having time to focus?

 Do you have a fondness for ‘hallowed halls of history’, or do you find testing the latest software tools exciting?

 Do you crave structure or freedom?

 Are you happier tearing through many specific, measurable tasks or working on somewhat loosely defined projects where your individual attainment is less discernible?

As a student or new professional, you may not know the answers, and no one expects you to! Nevertheless, we suggest that taking stock of your innate characteristics may help you target job searches and articulate your strengths in resumes and interviews. Knowing what makes you comfortable and what makes you uneasy (at least at first) will equip you to deal with many an unforeseen situation at work by enabling you to work proactively on skills you are less certain you have.

In practice, many information professionals comment how they developed a sense of their preferences only after the first or second job – in fact some say they fell into a job they knew little or nothing about yet discovered they were superbly suited for and very happy in it. Our experience echoes that observation, and we stress that taking an opportunity you may feel is unfamiliar or beyond your comfort zone could lead to new discoveries about talents you possess.

In this chapter, we explore personal work styles and preferences quite apart from professional competencies. Regardless whether you work in a technical capacity, in a client support or outreach role, or as a manager, certain personality-related preferences will influence your level of satisfaction and pride at work.

Graduate school may not provide opportunities for career soul searching, but we strongly recommend getting very clear about work personality – even though we know your top priority out of school may simply be to obtain a job that pays a living wage! Whether you are pondering the next career step or assessing longer-term directions (say, academic versus private sector versus government), consider the potential match between your preferences and interests on the one hand and typical work environments on the other. Once past the first job, don’t count on happenstance although it may be a powerful factor – instead be deliberate about aiming for types of organization and types of role most likely to match your personal work style preferences.

Examples of work personalities

One friend’s work personality

Systematic and methodical. Dislikes interruptions and sudden changes. Similarly dislikes noisy, disordered environments. Likes to have ample time to complete work and prefers sequential rather than simultaneous tasks. Appreciates long range schedules. Uncomfortable with ambiguity. Spends extra time making sure every detail is correct. Takes pride in perfection and completeness and easily gets flustered if questioned. Happier working alone than in a team. Finds it stressful when needing to coordinate activities with multiple people. Easily adapts to direction and formal procedures. Plans well and meets deadlines. Desk and cubicle extremely tidy and impersonal.

Another friend’s work personality

Thrives on starting new projects and learning new things. Goes with the flow and copes well with change and surprises. Easily bored with routine. Happiest working with a group of creative people. Enjoys interaction and welcomes impromptu meetings. Finds it a chore to tie up loose ends and complete documentation. Not worried about typos. Typically has a number of projects on the go at any one time. Finds it annoying when rules or structure inhibit latitude. Big picture approach with high tolerance for ambiguity and approximation. Creative and curious, often expressing frustration at official regulations. Is challenged to meet deadlines. Desk and cubicle ‘artistically enhanced’.

On the surface, it could appear that the functions in the information professions – research, content management, cataloguing and indexing, documentation and database management, web and intranet-related work, curating and archiving, and publishing – are sufficiently similar to point to a fairly narrow range of personality types. The reality is more complex, especially as technology and society evolves to create new job functions. A more nuanced assessment of work preferences is called for.

Work preferences are personal

Our individual personalities influence how we react to surroundings, how much stress or contentment we experience in response to events or circumstances, and what types of activities are attractive to us. Below, we discuss several aspects of what constitutes a good workplace fit. Knowing what makes you anxious, content, stressed, proud, and so on is a helpful pointer when you are assessing options for your future.

Consider how comfortable you believe you would feel performing the following tasks typical for information professionals:

 responding to a request for background information for a meeting starting in 30 minutes – a meeting that will make or break a six or seven figure deal

 preparing a briefing report summarizing the current scientific thinking in a controversial matter for the purposes of a meeting three months from now

 managing a short-staffed intranet team whose members’ patience is wearing thin

 preparing the public library’s budget and work plan and defending it in front of a city council eager to slash costs

 setting up and conducting sales meetings with long standing customers of software or content who are indicating budgets are being reduced

 convincing potential customers of a brand new product or service that they would benefit from attending a product demonstration

 leading a team investigating options for an enterprise search solution

 cataloguing and indexing a historical collection of rare and precious materials

 organizing the move to new storage facilities for extremely fragile and irreplaceable items requiring, for example, low light and temperature control

 developing a mobile delivery and support project for an academic institution moving into distance education in a big way

 pioneering the use of social networking tools among teams of knowledge workers

 creating a taxonomy of the ‘correct way to name things and topics’ for an enterprise content management and search initiative

 conducting training sessions for college students to orient them about the offerings of the academic library

 conducting training sessions for policy analysts, accountants, lawyers, engineers, scientists, and other knowledge workers to orient them about the offerings of the corporate information center

 managing the records department in a public entity subject to freedom-of-information requests

 spearheading the implementation of a new document or content management system unwelcome among employees who are not aware of its benefits

 staffing a trade show booth in a marketing and sales role

 making substantive public presentations at conferences in an advocacy role.

Our fundamental approach to work vs. personal life

Just as we all have a unique personality, we all have a unique approach to work. Consider the following example statements as a way of jogging your ideas about your approach to work and career:

I work in a respectable occupation and although I don’t find it exciting, I provide for my family.

I am deeply invested in what I’m doing at work and worry about it all the time.

On weekends, I find myself longing to get back to work on Monday because my...