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

june@semphonic.comblog: june.typepad.comwww.semphonic.com

James Gardner

jgardner@aquent.comlinkedin.com/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?