Dream a Little Dream

We moved to the US in August 2012. I was very excited for the move because it meant for the first time in years, I was going to be able to pursue a new job in a large area with lots of job opportunities. Since moving down here, I've been trying hard to better work-define me. I know the type of company I want to work for and there are only a handful of canned job descriptions that I submit my resume to.

While my job history does not show an escalation in responsibility, I have worked various jobs that are all connected by my ability to do technical training - whether it be for coworkers or clients. 

My last Canada-based job had me doing lots of things, which I loved. I did product research as well as content and lab development. I was also in a leadership role - a role that had me reviewing the work of junior resources and content from subject matter experts (SMEs), as well as project leading internal and client resources. Unfortunately, there was no room for job advancement and I want to move up.

After a few weeks away from this job I have realized that I miss project leadership. I've applied to senior, lead, and management positions since moving here and been called out by the hiring people for applying to the positions. They read my resume and don't see a previous job title with the similar "senior" or "manager" titles and are not convinced I can lead a group of people. I explain how I have lead various projects (sometimes as many as 12 at one time) while also managing the associated resources and keeping projects on time and budget. I even have a lovely reference letter from a previous client that supports me in a leadership role, which I provide when applying to these roles.

I KNOW I can do these jobs - if I didn't, I wouldn't have applied. 

This morning, Ms. Snipe, who happens to be my most favorite person to follow on Twitter, put out this tweet:

She got me thinking about my work luck. I don't think I have been unlucky with work. I have worked for a variety of companies - different service offerings, different organizational structures, and very different head counts. I have seen and experienced a lot and I have no regrets.

Where I am stuck now is that with almost 20 years experience in tech and training, the last 6+ as a leader, is what can I do to further prove myself as a group leader to get that manager role? 

While I am not overly aggressive, I am very confident in myself and my abilities. I would love any advice - seriously.

I Wanna Be Heard

A couple of weeks ago I blogged about presenting at BsidesLV. I am definitely excited, but am also quite nervous because I have never presented at a conference before. I am also still new to the conference scene, having only been to a handful of conferences and attended or watched a few talks. 

Even though I have only seen a few presentations, I have learned lots about what is rare at conferences:

• Great presenters
• Variety of perspectives
• Variety of topics between and at the same conferences
• Variety of presenters between and at the same conferences

What I fail to understand about conferences, is the persistent group of presenters/speakers - I will abbreviate this to PGPs. The PGPs are the same names that seem to get on the list for most of the conferences and talk about the same things. Conferences claim to be better or different than other conferences, yet I have not seen a variety when it comes to the bigger, well known conferences.

This leaves me with two questions:

• Is this a conference issue where the PGP name and/or company where they work are recognized and almost automatically accepted?
• Is it a game played by the PGPs to submit as many talks as possible to earn some air miles and share the same word with a lot of the same people throughout the year?

I've been watching my twitter feed as people mention if they have or have not been accepted for BlackHat USA this coming summer. What I have noticed is an increase in new presenters - which is very exciting. I hope there are also new topics to go along with the new faces.

You Want to Learn What?

This has been the question posed to me repeatedly while working as a technical writer, trainer, and course developer. Since graduating from college, where I learned C, C++, COBOL, and Visual Basic, software development has changed just a little bit. While I might be long out of full time college courses, I want to continue learning so that I can continue to be an asset to any company. 

I have asked for training in Flash and various programming languages and all requests have been rejected because the company-specific value-add is not apparent. Oddly enough, when an obvious need for software training has come up (client requirement) I have also never received any formal training. The approach has always been "This is what we are using - figure it out"…good thing I am a quick learner and can read a manual.

For an idea of why I think training for technical writers is required, here is a portion from the qualifications section of an active job posting for a Technical Writer:

• Minimum of 2 years experience documenting some of the following: application end-user guides, system administration guides, API guides or comparable content.
• Advanced Microsoft Office skills, especially Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and Outlook. SharePoint experience a plus. 
• Demonstrated ability to write and publish documents using FrameMaker and Adobe Acrobat Professional, screen capture software; Madcap Flare experience a plus.
• Experience documenting Java, Web Services (SOAP/REST) APIs, comfortable working with code snippets and design/functional specifications a plus

While I know lots of people do not receive company-paid training, for an occupation that requires a base knowledge of technical topics as well as various documentation tools....am I the only person at a loss here?

Back to learning Python I go...

There Is a First Time For Everything

Over the past few years, I have attended the Security Bsides (3x), BlackHat USA (1), Defcon (1), InfoSec Europe (1), and RSA USA (1) conferences. I don't even know how many conferences my husband has attended…but there have been a few to say the least :)

Of all the conferences I have attended, the most enjoyable - for it's diversity, relaxed atmosphere, and openness is Security Bsides. What I love the most about Bsides is the fact that they are not only open to, but encourage new speakers to present. How awesome is that?

I decided this year to take them up on it and have had a talk accepted! While not considered technical, the topic does impact everyone in the IT sector. Here is the information on the presentation:

• Title: Never Mind Your Diet, Cut the Crap From Your Vocabulary
  
• Abstract:
  It is never too inchoate to commence elucidating your obfuscated intelligence. Have you ever really listened to yourself or read what you have written? How many words can be reworded or dropped from a sentence to make your message clearer?
  
  As a listener and reader, it is hard enough trying to remember the various InfoSec-specific acronyms without surrounding them with various $5 words and extra, fluffy crap.
  
  In this talk, I will truly show how cheap talk is by not wasting money on wordage.

While I am confident about creating a presentation and have delivered training, I am green when it comes to delivering a presentation at a conference. I am very excited about this talk...hopefully my nerves won't get the best of me.