Wow... I'm speechless... I mean, we know one another, and you've known about JibberJobber for a long time, but this post really was awesome... thanks Brad, for sharing this with your clients and your blog readers! What an excellent way for me to start the day :) Jason Alba CEO - JibberJobber.com

I'm late to comment on this (I just saw it linked from the Execunet LinkedIn Group) ... wow, I'm totally flattered! Thank you for the plug for JibberJobber, and thank you for the high ranking! -- Jason Alba :: JibberJobber.com - organize your Job Search :: "LinkedIn for Job Seekers" DVD (not just for job seekers) :: http://www.ImOnLinkedInNowWhat.com/dvd ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Awesome links Mike, thanks for posting these (and including mine)!

adorable family!

Heather, you are right on with your gym analogy. Whether someone is in a job search or not, LinkedIn is the place to be for professionals. I love your advice and your caveat :p Jason Alba CEO - http://www.JibberJobber.com Author - http://www.ImOnLinkedInNowWhat.com

Mike, this is a great review, I appreciate the time you took to read and think about the book. Facebook isn't going to be for everyone, and I'm glad that our book helped you make a more educated decision! - Jason Alba

Ok, I'm a dork - I still don't get how you do the ratings/rankings... although I think it's the bomb that JibberJobber is in the top 4 :p Jason Alba CEO - http://www.JibberJobber.com Author - http://www.ImOnLinkedInNowWhat.com

Mike, it's a great milestone. You know what makes me smile? After all these months, after getting the You Get It award, and after accepting a senior level position with a new company, I was wondering what you would do with the blog. I'm happy to say that I still think that "YOU GET IT!" Congrats on keeping it going, and improving the conversation as you go! Jason Alba CEO - JibberJobber.com Author - I'm on LinkedIn -- Now What???

Mike, this is a very flattering post - thanks for taking the time to go through the book and put this post up :) Jason Alba CEO - http://www.JibberJobber.com :: self-serve career management ::

This is easier as a policy issue than it is as a technology issue. Show me a company that has combated spam completely, and I'll show you a company that has a lot of false positives (ie, legitimate e-mails that are in the server spam folder). You are not going to figure out how to say which of the billions of sites are good, and which are not. Shoot, even ISPs can't get this one right... shall I say it's impossible, technically? Because once you block a legit site that the VP wants he's going to be knocking on your door, wondering why he can't have access to it. I agree, of course, with the previous comments. On top of that would be some common software to give reports to someone what sites are being accessed and by who. allowing them to go out is one thing, not monitoring (with proper records) is another. Signing the contract is nice but knowing that IT is watching you, with good records, is the key, imho. Jason Alba CEO - JibberJobber.com :: self-serve relationship management ::

When I was a programmer I was supposed to write some documentation on an application I made. It was my first time doing this and I wrote a very thorough set of instructions. When my boss saw that I would write "left-click" she told me that if we tell the users every single little thing to do, then they'll expect that level of instruction for every single thing we do. "to open your e-mail, first turn on your computer..." That is an exaggeration but you get the point. To address another side of this question, with a younger workforce that is pretty tech-savvy, and a ton of resources (user group forums, searchable (electronic) user manuals, etc.), how much training do we really need to give? Of course there's a difference between training an entry-level clerk (needs training), a mid-career professional (I'm guessing won't need much training), and an older exec that is used to having a secretary (needs technical training)... My two cents. Jason Alba CEO - JibberJobber.com :: self-serve career management ::

I worked at a company where one division developed an Access database to duplicate (rather, complement, with a lot more features) the ERP/Financial system. It was very intricate, and Corporate wasn't really jazzed about it. But corporate wasn't meeting their needs. It was out of their hands. This attitude prevailed in what was supposed to be a centralized organization, where it was better (cheaper, faster, more appropriate). As the IT Manager I couldn't do anything but laugh ... in essence they came up with something that was BETTER for them than we had (well, the folks before me). It's a darn shame that so many people feel unempowered in their jobs because they have to wait for months and months to get a functional tool from IT... especially now days with such simple yet powerful technology. Of course, this was a few years ago, maybe my CIO thinking is rusty :p Jason Alba CEO - http://www.JibberJobber.com :: self-serve career management ::

Heather, that is really cool recognition - congratulations! It's really cool to read about your first four years, you've obviously done a great job :) Jason Alba CEO - http://www.JibberJobber.com :: self-serve career management ::

I agree, this is an excellent post, I'm going to look into those other book recommendations! Jason Alba CEO - JibberJobber.com :: self-serve career management ::

Karin, you are very clever. In fact, I think that you are the first to figure out that you can put "other stuff" in this area. I am using the 30 seconds area to put bio's of Jason Alba and JibberJobber, so when I'm asked for either one I can just login and find the various versions. Thanks for sharing this with your readers! Note that the "category" is a premium feature, but free users can do all the rest you mention, and have unlimited entries :) Jason Alba CEO - www.JibberJobber.com

[blushing] Mike, thank you :) You are a good man and inspired me as I saw you navigate through your transition. There is a lot others can learn from you - I certainly have learned a lot! Jason Alba CEO - JibberJobber.com

Cindy, the numbers on changing jobs, companies and industries are staggering. And on the call with Netshare you talked about shorter time-periods for CFOs, if I remember correctly. I'm excited that more people are looking into career management, with "transitions" being a large part of that, rather than just trusting their companies to take care of them. Thanks for an insightful post. Jason Alba CEO - http://www.JibberJobber.com

Mike, this is an excellent post, and one I needed to read. I have started to close my Twitter window just because it was a distraction (valuable, yet distracting!)... and am doing some kind of system (well, I can't describe it so maybe it isn't a system) to manage my e-mail. One thing you didn't touch on here is the why. For me, one of the "why I'm addicted to e-mail, etc." is because it's easy. And I feel productive to be so responsive. But I often neglect things I need to do in order to be responsive, and that is bad (going back to Covey's quadrant). Thanks for the reminder :) Jason Alba CEO - JibberJobber.com

Heather, this has been an excellent series. I remember when I left a job with the federal gov't to take an internship in private industry (from clerk to programmer) I had a few people who thought I was nuts - I was giving up tenure, vacation, sick leave, benefits, and even a bit of income (I went from 40 to 20 hours a week). But it was a career move. And it was absolutely the right choice. One thing that helped me with all of the negative feedback was one thought: "Are you going to pay my bills? Because if you aren't your contribution to this decision-making process is not valued as much as if you were going to pay my bills - forever." Jason Alba CEO - JibberJobber.com

Like Dan, I have been in IT for a number of years. I love your perspective, and the practical wisdom that you share. I can't read a 100% techie blog because that isn't my interest, but I have always been interested in executive strategy + IT and this is a terrfic blog to get good, meaty content. I don't have any requests to change, just wanted to share what I like about your blog.

Hi Karin :) Great link out to your post in January. Its nice to know that people I think would qualify to be my mentors have their own mentors - that they are continuing to sharpen their own saws.

These are great resources - thanks for sharing them :)

These things are so funny - its fun to learn weird stuff about you (and others I follow)... here are my five: http://www.jibberjobber.com/blog/archives/295

It is a well-deserved award Mike :)

@Paul (aka: MN Headhunter) - thanks, I have to admit that I DON'T do geography (even though I moved about every 3 years :p). I still get Montana and Wyoming mixed up and I've lived right next to them for over 10 yrs. And, no comment on Canadian accents. @Dan - you are right, still snow and ice, I try to not get out anymore (hope to come out after April). Houston was a BLAST, and Texans are cool :)