Successful Unemployment

Dear All,

I recently gave an interview to an editor of Magazine for Professional Engineers (from NSPE), about how engineers and other technical professionals can further their careers by utilizing various social media tools. The interview was published in the May 10th, 2010 issue of the magazine.

During the interview,  I gave a number of specific examples of how Linkedin, Twitter and blogs have helped me become better-known as an expert in my field of work.

I also gave advice on how various social media outlets can help technical professionals get a new business of the ground, or simply further their professional career. Now I’d like to share these tips with you!!

Here are some excepts form the interview article:

“If you enter into social networking trying to sell [yourself] of every blog post, tweet and Facebook update..you will fail miserably..and then complain that social networking is a waste of time.”

“If you use social tools to provide relevant, interesting information to the community you serve, she says, you will increase your company’s credibility or your standing as an expert in the field.”

If you would like to read more about how to get started with social media, in order to grow as a professional scientists or engineer, the  PDF of the entire article is here:

http://mvpmodelingsolutions.com/PE_Mag_Interview.pdf

And in case you’re wondering, my company  ”dedicated to improving engineering R&D processes” is MVP Modeling Solutions (not sure why the editors decided to remove that from the article).  I also have no idea why the editor choose to use YouTube snapshot of prison inmates dancing to “Thriller”…or why they decided to plop it next to my photo.  A bit disturbing,  if you ask.  I am still thankful to have been interviewed by the magazine!

Please let me know your thoughts!

Cheers,

Masha

Dear Readers,

Many of you who have listen to the audio part of the Successful Unemployment Toolkit, know the importance of public speaking, when it comes to finding or keeping a job as a science or engineering professional.

Now I would like to offer You an opportunity to be a presenter at the American Chemical Society Fall 2010 National Meeting and Exposition in Boston.

I am organizing a session at 2010 ACS Fall meeting, titled: Computer Modeling – The Wave of the Future. The session is co-sponsored by the Division of Computers in Chemistry, Division of Chemical Information, and Division for Small Chemical Business.

Why you should care:

I am selecting speakers for this session and it is a wonderful chance  for many of you to:

-Present yourself as an expert in chemistry, biochemistry, engineering and/OR small business development area

-Network with industry professionals in chemical, biochemical and engineering industry

-Grow professionally

-Boost your resume

-Learn what’s new in the chemistry field

-Develop you communication skills

Why might you want to do any of these things? (If you do not know the answer already, you REALLY need the info in my Toolkit!) All of the above can be instrumental in helping you get a job, grow your business, or help you become a more valued industry professional.

What you need to qualify:

- Ability to travel to Boston and attend ACS meeting on August 22-26 (you’ll be responsible for your own travel expenses).

-Be working (or have worked) in area of computer modeling that has something to do with chemistry, biochemistry, biology or chemical or bio engineering

- Be able to say something about how modeling and simulation can help small businesses (I’d be happy to help you with this part, just contact me at masha@mvpmodelingsolutions.com, if you’re stuck on this one)

I am interested! What to do next:

If you have any questions for me about presenting at ACS, please submit them in comments below. I promise to answer all of them! If you are seriously thinking of presenting, please contact me at masha@mvpmodelingsolutions.com.

Finally, please pass the link to this post to any of your colleagues or friends who are looking to grow as a technical professional!

Best of luck!

Hi Guys,

Hope everyone’s job search/ professional improvement is moving along!

The download option for the Toolkit has been a hit! No need to wait for it to arrive in the mail – now you can download the audio MP3 tracks and the pdf Guide, right to your desktop!

This week I have been asked to write a guest post on Sales Aerobics For Engineers (http://blog.salesaerobicsforengineers.com/).

I am frequently asked where I received my education and training that helped me launch a successful business and understand sales/marketing and customer relations. On this post I answer the following questions:

-How well equipped were you, as a PhD engineer, to undertake a business development role in past companies you worked for as well as your current consulting company?

-As an undergraduate, how many courses did you take that cross-trained you to speak the language of business, as well as engineering?

-As a graduate student, were you encouraged to take marketing, sales or economics courses as well as grad engineering courses?

-What is the biggest disconnect, then, in terms of undergraduate engineers coming out of school and entering the workforce? Is this disconnect different after receiving a graduate degree? Why or why not?

-Should the structure of engineering education be amended in the future to create more engineers who are capable of assuming business development functions in today’s global economy?

-What advice would you give undergraduate engineering students in terms of preparing their skillset for a successful entry into the workforce?

(If you can’t read the embedded article below,  take a look at this site:

http://blog.salesaerobicsforengineers.com/2010/02/what-they-didnt-teach-you-in-engineering-school.html)

This article is a must-read for everyone hoping to advance their career. I recently wrote it for www.Simple-Talk.com, an on-line magazine for System Administrators and Programming professionals.

If you can’t see the article here, simply visit this link:
http://www.simple-talk.com/sysadmin/general/the-art-of-dealing-with-people/