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My ideal job
Uhm... well maybe more of a description of my skills and the way I'd like to put my skills into action. Let me start with myself.
- First of all I'm a thinker
- I'm reflective on myself and on my environment
- I'm a reader
- I'm a learner
- I like to investigate
- I like doing research
- I like asking questions
My skills:
- I've got a MSc in Communication Studies. That doesn't tell you much:
- I'm well trained in conducting scientifically sound research
- I can conduct quantitative and qualitative research (I prefer the latter)
- I'm well trained and experienced in interviewing people
- I'm not only educated in Communication, but partly in Philosophy as well. Therefore I often reflect on more basic questions around certain topics.
- I'm technology friendly. That means I adopt new forms of technology rather quickly and look for the opportunities it brings and the impact and effects it can have on human behaviour and communication.
My beliefs and interests:
- My main interest is the use of communication technology in all types of settings.
- The way people communicate influences the reaction and attitude of the other.
- There should be more emphasis on relationships and communication along those relationships within organizations, whether profit or non-profit, private or public etc.: the way an organization communicates influences the attitude of their employees, customers and stakeholders
- I'm interested in the theories that develop around Knowledge Management.
- A good way of learning and sharing knowledge is by having good conversations (the sharing of visions, storytelling). Blogs are one of the possibilities to share knowledge and have good conversations asynchronously.
- I'm interested in education in general. Hence my project 'blog in the classroom'.
So what tells this about what I'm looking for?? First of all I'm more on the research side of the spectrum. I like digging in to a topic, question or problem and in the end come up with an answer or solution for it. My role in organizations is more of the advisor rather than being a manager. In the last few years I've been pretty successful in doing it my own way. I sort of sculpted my education myself, chose my own courses and created personal ones. My main fear when I work for some company is that I will have to let go of my own ideas and vision. Therefore I'm looking for a place in an organization where I can learn how the real world works (university is a very protective place to move around), but others appreciate me for my knowledge and ideas and take me seriously as a partner in conversation. The working field can be anything from e-learning to advising companies on their internal communication flow.
Meeting in Traveler
We just had our first virtual BlogWalk meeting in Traveler, a digital space. It was way too short (only one hour) to come to a real discussion, though it was good fun. One really gets a feeling of presence of the other, more than through using the telephone (or Skype). That also makes it harder to multitask through the proces. It was difficult to make notes in the wiki and try and join the conversation at the same time. As soon as I leave the screen of Traveler, my avatar's eyes are closed so people can see I'm doing something else. That doesn't feel very comfortable. Some of us didn't try the space out beforehand so it took some time for people to get used to it, but it amazed me that it was not that hard to have conversations with six people regarding server delays. Sometimes people start talking at the same time, but we already knew eachother from the 'real' meeting so that didn't feel rude or uncomfortable. Great to experiment with and do more in the future!
Does history repeat itself?
OK, normally I don't get mad at what other people write about the Dutch and Dutch culture. Today in my normal routine of skimming through my RSS-reader Jeroen Steeman blogged about a column of Cal Thomas. He thinks the Dutch have hit rock bottom now that one of our respectable hospitals has made a protocol for euthanizing babies when there is no hope of survival for the baby. (note that this news is not an issue in the Duth press!) Of course, as a respectable citizen of America and employee of Fox, Mr. Cal doesn't agree with such a policy. The thing that strikes me though is that he dares to compare euthanasia with the mass murder in WWII. Oh yeah, we're really selecting our babies on their genes, mr. Cal! And we do it in such an amount that we (the Dutch) end up murdering 6 million babies in five years time. Thank you very much for this well written column. Somehow it doesn't surprise me that this man is working for FOX news. Anyone seen Outfoxed??
Olympus announces Music Player
Olympus announces a new music player, m:robe 500, that combines music and digital photography. (via Marketingfacts.nl) Though not sure whether it has a built in microphone, it sure is a step closer to Suw's dream.
Job search continued
It's been a while since I last blogged about my search for a job. The good news is that just last week I had an offer from a university to enter their PhD-program. The bad news (but maybe it's good news as well) is that I rejected this offer. There are several reasons why I didn't take the offer, but mainly my gut feeling told me not to. In the past, I once made a big mistake not trusting my own feeling and relying too much on other peoples judgment. After a long period of therapy and building self-confidence I'm proud I made such a decision.
In the meanwhile I've been keeping an eye out for more job openings that only slightly catches my interest. Only now I've come to realize how much time goes into searching all the relevant vacancy sections (you know, there is not one single portal that searches all the others), skimming through the vacancies, deciding whether anything is relevant to me and after that writing a letter. My biggest handicap is that my skills and knowledge are on the intersection of multiple disciplines (e.g. organizational communication, external communication, psychology, social research, journalism, philosophy etc.) and therefore I have to search all the different sections of the vacancies.
The worst part I haven't mentioned yet: so many vacancies, yet so little for people who are newbies to the job market... I think I'll have to focus more on meeting the right people who can direct me in my search, based on trust. (BTW: I'm still working, rather thinking, on my 'ideal job-description'. Hope to publish it soon!)
