Polly Pearson's Blog

Does LinkedIn Spell "Disloyalty?"

My friend Lindsey Pollack put out a blog recently entitled,“Why you should use LinkedIn (if you aren’t already.”)  It built upon a NYT article titled, “At social site, only the businesslike need apply.”

According to the NYT:  “The average age of a LinkedIn user is 41, the point in life where people are less likely to build their digital identities around dates, parties and photos of revelry. LinkedIn gives professionals, even the most hopeless wallflower, a painless way to follow the advice of every career counselor: build a network. Users maintain online résumés, establish links with colleagues and business acquaintances and then expand their networks to the contacts of their contacts."

A couple weeks ago the Savvy Gal herself, Diane K. Danielson, (co-author with Lindsay Pollack of the Savvy Gal’s Guide to On-line Networking) came in to speak with the women of EMC on the subject of networking. She covered several of the tools available to build your network, and the logic for doing so from a professional and career-building standpoint.

After her presentation, we had a Q&A session and talked about culturalnorms inside a company for the happily employed with tools like LinkedIn.

PHOTO: Diane K. Danielson, CEO of the Downtown Women's Club, writer and author.

Question:  If you put yourself out on such a site, it could be a signal that you were somehow disloyal or in the market looking for a job?

Answer:  My view is that it is more than“okay” to be on LinkedIn and other networks like EMC’s internal "EMC ONE" where you can connect and further value for yourself and your company.  It no longer means you are disloyal or in the market looking for a job. I've found it can mean the opposite. (If you’re a professional who is not on LinkedIn by now -- or a company who blocks its use inside the firewall, --  I  start to question if you 'get it'.)

I’m still discovering what it can do for me and my company every day. (I suspect I am a major 'under-user' of the tool.)  Following are a few of the cool things I have experienced or discovered with it:

1. I  met an EMC customer the other night at Fenway. We chatted briefly. The next day, he sent me an invitation to connect on LinkedIn. That was very cool. Anything that ties me or my company more to a customer and enables us to have a closer affinity in any way, shape, or form is a good thing in my book.
2. I researched customers I was scheduled to meet with to see who we might have in common. Regardless of what State they were from, I saw we had at least one person in common. It was tremendous to have such an immediate ice-breaker.
3. My company and I are easier to find. Let’s say we met briefly at a business event. You remembered my name but not my company or some combo of the two. If you Googled “EMC Polly” or “Polly Pearson,” my LinkedIn profile would pop up at the top of the search page.  (I still have work to do --. if you Google “Polly,” I’m trumped by Polly Pockets and the movie “Along Came Polly!”)
4. It is easier to stay connected and build relationships with your professional contacts. Let’s say you got a patent, wrote a book, launched a product, had a baby, or got promoted – what a great and easy way to keep your professional contacts up to date!
5. An EMC new hire and I decided to have lunch recently. Prior to the lunch, I received an interesting email from her. She told me she saw, via LinkedIn, that we were both at Boston College and at Assumption College during the same years.  So while we never actually met until recently, I found it fascinating to discover – 19 years hence -- that we were in the same place, on the same day, and in the samegraduation ceremony. With this established, you can imagine how much more we ultimately had in common … which, it should go without saying, will serve our business relationship well. (I suspect internal use of LinkedIn-like tools could be a business norm in the years ahead.)

The issue, as I see it, is keeping your profile up-to-date. It still feels a bit awkward in a selfish / self-promotional way, and we all have lots of other "real" work on our plates.

You can find me, and my somewhat neglected profile, on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/pub/3/333/928.

--------------------Talk Back: ------------------------------------

Do you think LinkedIn remains scary? Are you keeping your profile up to date? If so, what motivates you -- and what is your system -- for doing so?

Everyone’s My Customer: The New EMC

I worked with an author recently who is finishing up a mainstream business book on employee engagement. She is including EMC as a best practice company.  After spending some time researching what the company does and its reach in the market she declared, only half joking, “I know what EMC stands for now – ‘Everyone’s My Customer!’”

It made me smile as it is a great way to summarize the tremendous expansion of the role and the reach EMC has successfully accomplished during the past several years.

 Today, our customer base continues to be the largest and most valuable companies on the planet – 97% of the Global S&P 100, for example. Our customers are also medium sized companies and branch offices; computer resellers and retail stores; professional services companies and IT heavy weights;  small companies; and consumers like you and me.  (My husband loves his “free and awesome” EMC Mozy backup!)

When I saw this image in our soon-to-be-published 2008 Annual Overview and read the description of EMC next to it (see below in bold), the “Everyone’s My Customer” quote appeared front-of-mind again.

Take a moment to read the some of the words in that EMC world image: ATM Operations -  Airline Reservations - Currency Exchange - Credit Card Approvals - Insurance Claims Processing - Online Loan Applications - Wikis - Home Backup of Personal Data - Video Surveillance - Research - Drug Discovery and Development - Blogs - Content Publishing - Customer Buying Pattern Analysis - Enabling eGovernment - Securing Prescriptions - Medical Records - Preservation of Digital Publications - State Agency Web Sites - Digitization of Paper Records - Portals - Regulatory Compliance - Film - Documents - Archival Collections - Genealogical Resources -  Case Law - Development of Digital Repositories - Development of Metadata Standards - Development of Models - Training - Broadcast Content - Museum/Gallery Exhibitions - Digitization of Books, Journals and Newspapers - Video - Email - Websites - Online Games - Chat Rooms - Photographs - Broadcast content - Genomic Research - Telemetry - and more.

As I tell my mother, "You can't go an hour in your day without EMC somehow having a role in your life."

No wonder EMC has been growing about 30% (CAGR) since today's new college freshmen were born!

EMC’s Role in the World:  Information has the power to illuminate our world. But for this to happen, information must be intelligently and efficiently stored, protected, and managed – so that it can be made accessible, searchable, shareable, and ultimately, actionable. Wherever individuals and organizations are using information to imagine, discover, create, and build relationships, you’re very likely to find EMC – its people, technology, products, services, and partners – working behind the scenes to make this possible by making information fit and ready for use. The result is information that reveals its true potential, illuminating what’s possible and moving the world forward.

Quiz: What are the Best Companies to Work For?

Electronic Design, “The authority on Emerging Technologies for Design Solutions” recently released its list of the Top 100 employers.  The rigorous 12+ screen evaluation formula, including financial strength, patents filed, design influence, and employee input is found below.

 

How well do you know these companies? Can you guess the correct answers?

 

 

QUIZ: 

The following are a sampling of well known companies from the Top 100 Employers List. Match the companies on the right with The Top Employer Rank on the left. The Top Company, as determined by the formula below, is rated #1, and so on.

I’ll give you a hint to get you going:  Apple is #1.

Give yourself 10 points for each one you get right and let me know how you do.  Answers are found at the bottom of the post. No cheating.

See the formula which determined the ranking scores below. More selection details can be found at this URL: http://electronicdesign.com/Articles/ArticleID/19019/

Ranking                      Sample of Top 100 Companies
     
#1 __Apple___              AMD  

#2 __________             Apple  

#3 __________             Cisco  

#5 __________             Dell  

#6 __________             EMC  

#9 __________             GE  

#16 _________             HP   

#18 _________             IBM     

#21 _________             INTEL  

#25 _________             Juniper 
 
#33 _________             Microsoft  

#47 _________             NTAP  

#55 _________             Pitney Bowes 

#79 _________             Raytheon  

#89 _________             SUN  

The formula used to determine the ranking covered:

• Employee growth percentage (2007 versus 2006)
• Sales growth percentage (2007 versus 2006)
• Operating profit growth percentage (2007 versus 2006)
• Operating profit margin improvement points (2007 versus 2006)
• Long-term debt to shareholders equity ratio improvement points (2007 versus 2006)
• 2007 total number of patents issued
• Percentage change in patents issued (2007 versus 2006)
• 2007 stock price closing as a percentage of 2007 stock-price high
• R&D expense change percentage (2007 versus 2006)
• Design influence on semiconductor spending dollars (2007)
• Design influence on semiconductor spending percentage increase (2007 versus 2006)
• 2007 ED Reader Profile Survey bonus points

Bonus points were then awarded based on employee responses to five questions on its 2007 Reader Profile Survey:

• How many job promotions have you achieved at your current place of employment?
• Do you feel that you are being challenged intellectually with the engineering projects you work on at your present job?
• To the best of your knowledge, what is the engineering employment outlook at your company in the coming year?
• Do you feel that your organization is more focused on employee retention this year as compared to a year ago? How would you rate your present job security?

Full Story:
http://electronicdesign.com/Article/ArticleID/19021/19021.html&feed=Top20

Answers: Sun 55; Raytheon 25; Pitney Bowes 79; NTAP 18; MSFT 5; Juniper 3; Intel 21; IBM 47; HP 9; GE 16; EMC 2: Dell 33; Cisco 6; Apple 1; AMD 89.

EMC -- second only to Apple -- in a Best Place to Work quantifiable ranking inclusive of patent filings, design influence, R&D budget, sales growth, and employee opinions -- that's cool!

-------------------------- TALK BACK

How did you do? See "Table 2" for the entertaining findings at the following link: http://electronicdesign.com/Articles/ArticleID/19019/

But what if you don’t WANT to manage people? Techies Read On!

 

So you’re a techie and you’re brilliant at your job...

You’re fully engaged, doing A+ work and everyone loves you. What does your boss do?  Promotes you to a Manager. Now you get to do performance appraisals; have regular 1x1s where you get to listen to staff complaints;  figure out how to motivate others; balance budgets; split pennies between people at annual compensation review time; figure out career development plans for other people; cut budgets and sometimes staff; and tell the boss who’s performing well and who isn’t. You get to do all that and the job you used to have (the one you love), in your spare time.  And if you manage to do all that well enough for long enough, they’ll likely promote you to a Director! Then you might even get to do less of what you’re actually good at.

The Wake Up Call

This is what happens at most companies. One day EMC woke up and realized that this model isn’t always in the best interest of the star player or the company.  What to do?

EMC created another career path for our technical professionals. We allowed them to be recognized for their amazing contributions and allowed them to keep making such contributions!

We created new titles – Distinguished Engineer and Fellow.

• "Fellow" is a VP equivalent within the technical individual contributor track. Fellows will be nominated and selected from EMC’s technology elite who have demonstrated not only deep technical knowledge but, even more importantly, the potential to broadly affect EMC’s global business.
• "Distinguished Engineer" is a Senior Director equivalent within the technical individual contributor track. Distinguished Engineers will be nominated and selected for demonstrating deep expertise in one or more technical domains of importance to EMC.

And Established a Gala Induction Ceremony, too

  Last year I had the pleasure of being at (okay, I crashed it) the Gala where our new Distinguished Engineers and Fellows were announced and showered with love. The CEO was there. All of the Chief Technology Officers from across business units were there. EMC’s SVP and Uber CTO, Jeff Nick, hosted the affair. The newly inducted were flown in from around the world along with their spouses. We dined in the penthouse of a Boston establishment while live music played and Beef Wellington was served. Photos were taken. Elegant awards given. Coffee table books containing the DE and Fellow bios and the names of all the EMC patent holders with 5 or more to their name were handed out.

PHOTO: EMC's 2007 Induction Gala Honorees. Newly inducted Distinguished Engineers and Fellows pictured with Jeff Nick, EMC CTO, and Joe Tucci, EMC CEO, center front as well as Jack Mollen, EVP of HR front row far right.

EMC Uber CTO Jeff Nick just announced this year’s DE and Fellow program. Here is what he sent out (Jeff, hope you don’t mind my sharing this. I thought the external technical talent might like to know about this cool program too … just in case they’re interested in working at a company that cherishes what makes them tick while making it easy for them to do more of it):

“EMC's well deserved and global reputation as a top-tier technology company has been years in the making. It's the direct result of having tremendously talented engineers around the world who develop innovative technology, products, and solutions that contribute substantial value to our customers and set the standard for the industry.

To help us continue to fully engage our engineering stars from across EMC's global business, while attracting even more technical talent to EMC, we're announcing the rollout of this year’s EMC Fellow & Distinguished Engineer Program.

The EMC Fellow and Distinguished Engineer Program provides formal recognition and an extended career path for EMC’s top technical talent through two prestigious positions: Fellow and Distinguished Engineer.

Through the community of Fellows and Distinguished Engineers, EMC can more fully leverage the ideas, inventions, and development efforts of our technical leaders and spur the creation of more cross-domain solutions for customers.

We anticipate selecting the 2008 Fellows and Distinguished Engineers by the end of August and formally recognizing them in October at EMC’s second annual Innovation Conference. 

It's our great fortune to have many talented people with innovative ideas and the ability to execute—not only within our engineering organizations, but across our company in every function. The EMC Fellow and Distinguished Engineer positions are one way we salute the importance of talent to EMC's growth and future prosperity.

Jeff

How cool is that?

Calling all brains:  at EMC we let you do what you’re good at! Is there “developer love” in your workplace?

Career Management, Excellence & Self-less Giving: Meet VJ Manickham

Can you think of a person whose very being somehow has the invisible ability to change the atmosphere and energy in the room to one that is tangibly soothing and positive?   I had the pleasure of meeting such a person a few years ago – her name is VJ Manickam. 

She’s had many roles at EMC since joining in 2002. I met her when she worked in our Massachusetts-based headquarters in Human Resources’ Information Systems group. Today, she is a Lean Six Sigma and “Total Customer Experience” Change Agent working out of her home country of Singapore for EMC’s Asia Pacific Japan  (APJ) & Centers of Excellence business functions. 

Her story is one of taking charge of her career, appreciation of mentors, hard work, world travel, self-less giving to others, intellectual excellence and award-winning contributions to EMC.  (Just before I posted this story it occurred to me to ask her if she had any career tips to share. One of her answers surprised and delighted me as it came from such a humble person. Read on to find out what she said.)

I’m delighted to introduce to you the wise and kind soul of VJ Manickam:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What do you like to do in your spare time, outside of EMC?

I recently worked in a variety of shelters that challenged me in different ways.  I flew to Vietnam for a week to volunteer at a couple of orphanages and helped mentally and physically-challenged kids as well as street kids.  The people in Vietnam are very hardworking and gentle.  The international volunteers I met at the guesthouse I stayed in Ho Chi Minh couldn’t  have been nicer.  I came away more knowledgeable about these charities and now have special memories.

I also like to cook exotic dishes and bake, and host dinner parties for my friends.  I love people and have friends from all cultures.  It is so gratifying to see people of varied backgrounds, gathered together to celebrate each other’s uniqueness and enjoy the company.

Besides meeting people of all cultures, I enjoy traveling with no expectations. I love adventures and the unknown.  Next stop – a culinary tour in Asia in August 2008.

What do you do to inspire and encourage your EMC team?

I’m a change agent.  I instill a mindset for my team to do things in a pro-active manner, with a logical sequence.  We go beyond providing adequate service – adequate is a “dirty” word because it’s not enough.  We need to show our customers the “Wow” factor and go the extra mile, not be stuck in a silo.

I am surrounded by competent, outstanding colleagues who create the “Wow” factor!  They don’t say to themselves, “What’s in it for me?”  These colleagues have the natural DNA which has become second nature for them to “go beyond” in servicing our customers.  This style eliminates frustration as well as develops a synergy which other functions understand; we’re better able to help each other.  We don’t do things for instant gratification -- we expand our horizons.  By helping others, we also develop ourselves as well as redefine who we are.

Another dirty word is “manage.”  I do not manage people.  I influence them.  I roll up my sleeves and Walk the Talk.

Do you feel different about working at EMC than other companies you’ve worked for?

Certainly …the whole Lean Six Sigma experience has been a great journey for me as I’m  learning about other businesses, and being able to work with people across different geos/divisions.  I’ve had an incredible manager/mentor, Scott Casavant, whom I worked with, and who selflessly developed me over the years. It is the warmest place I’ve ever worked. My boss and colleagues are like my family.

The opportunities are present for anyone at EMC if one has the right attitude.  The right attitude determines the altitude for career development at EMC.

 

How has the company supported your career development?

I take charge and drive my career, but I put in that effort.  I have been so fortunate to have great mentors.  I also don’t believe in luck; I’ve done the legwork and worked hard.  Scott, my boss and mentor has been my teacher and strongest pillar of support.

Would you recommend working at EMC to a friend?

Absolutely!  At EMC, the sky is the limit – it’s like “help me to help you.”

What inspires you about EMC? What keeps you here?

I continue being effective because EMC let me spread my wings into this global, strategic position.  I like variety, and love people on all different levels.  The opportunities to expand your horizon are boundless.  But you have to be working at the right aptitude with the right attitude; if you don’t go beyond with the “Wow” factor, you don’t go.

What is one “cool” thing you’ve worked on recently at EMC?

I helped transform the APJ Partner Support Center team to improve business processes to create higher levels of customer satisfaction, quality and productivity and was awarded the Partner Support Center MVP Award for Q1 08.

 

 

Do you have any career tips for others?

1. Take Risks: if you win, you will be happy; if you lose, you will be wise. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
2. Branding: Talent is not enough. Focus on raising one’s profile. Start looking outward.
   - How are you perceived?  
   - What is the value you bring to your organization?
   - How aware are others of this value?
   - What mental pictures/perceptions come to mind when your name is mentioned?
   - How do you raise your profile without overshadowing?
3. Leverage your strengths in order to move from successful to extraordinary.

 

Before EMC: VJ grew up in Singapore and dedicated her early years to helping raise her two sisters and put them through college (today, one is a lawyer and the other is a lecturer.)  She has worked as a Social Worker with the Singapore Children Society; an orthopedic surgery Research Assistant at the National University of Singapore; an Air Traffic Controller at Singapore Changi Airport; and a Guidance Counselor at Canadian International School.  She paid her own way through Ryerson Polytechnic University in Toronto, finishing her undergrad in 3 years. She finished her graduate studies at Clarkson University in New York in 1 year.

She currently maintains a home in Worcester, Mass and in Singapore.

 

PHOTOS:  1) VJ at a School for the Blind during her recent vacation 2) VJ with International Volunteers in Vietnam 3) At a school in Ho Chi Minh for girls 4) Singapore's Skyline 5) On a boat to Mekong Delta

 

------------- Talk Back:

Has this story brightened or enlightened your day? If so, what part of the story spoke to you?

Diverse Reality: A Day at EMC and in a "Tech Gossip Rag"

Worldbeat, Salsa Dancing, Gay, Lesbian, Pakistani, African, German, Dominican and more in a day at EMC

A "tech gossip rag" recently published a list of the 10 Worst CEOs "according to employees." 

The CEOs named were from these companies:  IBM, Microsoft, eBay, HP, EMC, EDS, AMD, VeriSign and Symantec.

Humm.  Those are some pretty successful companies up there. Companies that likely set a high standard for performance. Companies where not everyone will thrive or be successful.

But aside from that the list was based on, in EMC's case, 11 employee reviews. The publication featured one of these employee reviews which called EMC out on diversity. For the analytical rock stars out there reading this, we have about 40,000 employees.

The Real Deal

Let me give you the real deal on how 34,400 EMC employees rated us in a recent survey. We don't have a question specifically on the CEO so I'll point to our overall satisfaction rating from our annual employee survey, taken in October 2007, as something likely more telling and more comprehensive. This rating was 82% out of 100%.  The large magazine that is famous for its best places to work guide surveyed EMC employees in July of '07 and came up with roughly the same, 83% overall satisfaction rating. Employees rated EMC higher than our benchmark composite of IT companies in 25 of the 26 questions each of these companies ask in their annual surveys. We're not perfect. We have a lot to improve. And I think we're doing some pretty cool stuff to do just that.

Diversity and a Day at EMC

Take the subject of diversity -- seeing that this publication brought it up -- the following recaps an hour of my day yesterday:

------------------------  On my way down the hall from my office at lunch time I noticed a flier taped to the wall titled, "3rd Annual Summer Salsa Cruise" hosted by the EMC Latin Leadership Interest Team.

I rounded the corner to our Starbucks Cafe to find it filled with DJ-spun, Worldbeat music and a massive EpcotCenter-like "'Round the World" display inclusive of beaming people, sights, tastes and sounds. My first visit was to Morocco where upbeat Moroccan EMCers wearing native clothing brought Morocco to life for me.

My next visit was Pakistan. Three EMCers wearing native Pakistan Tunics showed me around a mini-Pakistan and told me their stories. One man has been with EMC nearly as long as me; he joined in 1992; another in 1995; the other in 1999.

Next, Malaysia. Here, a young Malaysian EMCer told me he started in our cafeteria as a cook. Today he's a technician working on his master's degree (with EMC tuition reimbursement.) Once his degree is complete, he's looking to work out of one of EMC's Asia Pac regional offices.

My tour continued to the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Portugal, Germany, Ireland, and more -- with the loud rhythms and effusive EMCers casting a celebratory spell over all visitors.

I was elated at the display of EMC's rich and vibrant diversity.

I returned to my office to find this email: 

"We are pleased to announce the formation of the EMC Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Allies (LGBTA) affinity group, an EMC employee circle for the LGBT community, its allies, and employees with LGBT family members. This employee circle joins our existing community of employee circles including our Black Employee Affinity Group, the Women's Leadership Forum, EMC Latin Leadership Interest Team, EMC Connections for New Employees, our Asian Employee Circle, and the Indian Subcontinent Employees Circle."

And this email:

"New Session for the Women's Leadership Forum 'Lit Lunch' (Book Club):  'Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office:  101 Unconscious Mistakes Women Make That Sabotage Their Careers' by Lois P. Frankel.

How cool is that?

 

------------------ Talk Back

What are satisfaction levels like at your company?  Are you doing anything to embrace diversity or doing other cool things to make the company an even better and stronger place to work?

Resumes Are No Longer Enough; A Stand Out Story with Second Life

 

 

I was entertained recently when a new college grad told me how much time he put into his resume and cover letter and how mad he was that the company he sent it to didn't respond as he might expect. Did he really think that's how it worked?

 

The hard truth is that a lot of resumes sent into a company's website or to a recruiter never get read.  Do send resumes. That's not the point.  Just know that having a resume represents the basics alone. So how to you stand out in the job race?  And how does a company stand out in the war for top talent?

 

You Stand Out.

 

An example: EMC had two great experiences with career fairs in Second Life. We got a couple of super hires from the effort -- a developer with a key IT skill set and a financial controller who had experience with large, global, and dynamic organizations. On top of that,  the brand ripple effect blew away expectations like the special effects of a Will Smith blockbuster.  The ripples are still spreading by people who participated, saw the coverage of it on TV , heard about it on National Public Radio, or spoke to anyone who might have participated -- whether hired or not. Everyone won in this adventure.

 

EMC is not alone in the Virtual World Success Club. Sodexo and Amazon have made career connections as well. Here's a link to the Amazon story as told by a recent hire as a result of the Second Life Recruiting event.  It is a great read.

 

Following is the story of one of EMC's Second Life hires. We would not have found each other if it were not for this "Stand Out" medium.  No method of 'stand out' stays new forever. The name of the game is to be seen or known in addition to your resume in order to stand out from the crowd (but not in a crazy way; jobs mean business).

 

Further your brand to capture attention today -- employment brand and personal brand alike.

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

“I had reached a point in my career where I needed a new opportunity—a place where I could be more creative and face some new professional challenges,” Yevgeniy (Eugene) Gorelik said.

He had been at a start up and found it light on resources, training, development and career potential. He had been at a big, established company and found it lacked innovation and drive.  He knew he wanted a job where his creativity could thrive … a place that respected innovation provided great training, resources and career opportunities.

 

An excerpt from EMC’s Intranet, “ChannelEMC,” featuring Eugene’s and EMC’s Second Life recruiting adventure follows:

The deciding factor

“At the time the EMC virtual career fair was advertised, I was interviewing with Genzyme and Google,” said Eugene. I was looking for a company where things are not set in stone. EMC's involvement with the Second Life world illustrated the fact that—even though it’s a big, well-established IT company — it’s also open to new ways of doing business. For me, the virtual interview was the deciding factor in choosing EMC. It provided evidence of leading edge technology and innovation. That’s what I was seeking in my next place of work.”

A “fun and exciting experience”

Eugene’s Second Life experience began when he clicked on the Monster ad, submitted his résumé, and quickly heard back from an EMC recruiter with an invitation to set up a virtual appointment at the fair. The recruiter also offered training—just in case

Eugene felt a little unsteady on his virtual feet.

“She told me how to teleport to the EMC facility, where I met Polly Pearson and a number of other people from EMC. Then I followed the recruiter to the interview area, where we talked for a half hour. It was a fun and exciting experience—not what you’d usually expect at a job interview,”

Eugene recalls.

The Second Life experience was followed by a meeting at the EMC bricks-and-mortar facility. Soon he was offered his current position.

“I thought this was a very creative approach to hiring, which gave me a really good feeling about EMC,” he says.

It just gets better

Now that Eugene has been at EMC for several months, I recently circled back with him and asked what his experience has been.  He said that he believes EMC’s real life persona has lived up to its virtual image as a company that supports creativity and innovation. “When I have an idea, people are always ready to listen,” he says. “And, if it turns out to be a good idea, there’s a lot of support for implementing it. That’s just what I wanted.”  Eugene has also become a huge fan of EMC’s training and development resources, the MBA tuition reimbursement program and all the on-line technical training modules we offer. 

Learn more: EMC’s Peter Quirk blogs about virtual worlds and EMC’s Second Life career fairs at Peterquirk.wordpress.com.

EMC’s Second Life career fair has so far resulted in more than 16,000 Google hits and international media coverage (print, TV, and radio).

 

Second Life is a registered trademark of Linden Research, Inc.

Where PASSION Lives

Twitter nuggets made my day richer today.  The people I follow led me to three great blogs and a super piece of music. I found within these nuggets a common theme which is a nearly consistent thread in my own life (everyone has to be reminded every now and then!):  Follow your passion fearlessly, focus your message, leverage your strengths -- and you will find that anything becomes possible.

 

http://pulverblog.pulver.com/archives/008246.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKfDwChOoHI&feature=related

http://www.chrisbrogan.com/

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/

 

Are you deploying passion fearlessly?

 

Feel free to find me on Twitter under the catchy name, "pollypearson."

The Experience of a New College Hire at EMC: "Rule Maker" Regan's story, continued

 

Ever wonder what life would be/could be like going from college straight into a FORTUNE 250 company?  The following interview reflects the experience, feelings, and results-to-date for class of 2007’s Julie Regan.  It also shows how much opportunity EMC still has for increased brand awareness!

[I didn’t set out to write two profiles on Julie for this blog. There were two interesting stories that emerged from our interaction though, so what the heck.]

 

PHOTO: Julie Regan with dad, Tom Regan, at the Boston Marathon Finish Line, April, 2008

She ran the road from Boston College to EMC, literally.

Julie Regan joined EMC in the summer of 2006 as an Intern. In 2007 she graduated from BC and began work full-time for EMC in the inside sales group.  Currently, she is ramping up for a new assignment to be among a team to develop an inside sales operation in our Santa Clara office.   Over lunch a couple weeks ago I asked her some questions about her background and her experience to date with EMC.

What do you do in your spare time?

“I go to New York and bargain in the garment district for beads. I make jewelry.   I hang out with friends and family.  In college, my sport of choice was track. I wasn’t a big runner; I did the high jump and the hurdle. I used to watch the Boston Marathon runners each year running through campus. I made it a goal to run it. I met that goal in April.”

What was your major and how did you do in school?

“I graduated from BC with a 3.4 from the business school. I could have done better I guess but I was also the captain of the track team. “

How did you find EMC or EMC find you?

“For my job search I applied at finance companies – JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs. No one in my circle knew what EMC was. One afternoon I saw a sign that said “Free Pizza” – we just came in from track practice and were like ‘Hey! Free pizza!’”

“The people I met from EMC were the key draw for me. I also saw financial stability, a global company, and opportunities – cross-functional opportunities -- the ability to meet people and go to other places.”

“I never thought of IT sales as appealing. The culture and the people sold me.”

“After my internship in 2006, I started here full-time in September of 2007 as a Sales Associate. I am currently preparing for my next role as Back Up, Recovery and Archiving Specialist out of the Santa Clara Office. Definitely a challenge, but exciting!”

Do you feel you make a difference at EMC? How do you know?

"I know I make a difference at EMC. Every day I generate tangible demand for EMC which can be tracked directly to sales appointments for the sales force, revenue for the company and results for our customers."

Why do you like working at EMC? 

“I make things happen. I can get a diverse career and the ability to make a difference. As a company, we recognize change and lead it. That’s great. ‘Exhilarating’ sums it up! It is vibrant and proactive. Not people telling you what to do. The energy and the empowerment we get as young people to take control of our little business within this big business. In high school or college: I honestly had no idea what I was going to do – if you work hard and enjoy it, opportunities open up.

What is the coolest thing that’s happened to you at EMC? 

“I asked for something I wanted and they actually said, ‘Yes.’ I’m moving across the country to California! That is pretty cool.”

What inspires /keeps you at here?

“The opportunity. It is important to earn the right to ask by working hard and real opportunities present themselves.”

Of the value propositions for working at EMC, which value prop most resonates with you?

“’Feel the Pride and have Fun.’ We have so much fun in inside sales. We also make a difference. I closed a $150k deal. The sales rep that I partner with said, ‘Thanks for that call you made.’ “

“The company is changing the world. I feel a part of that.”

[I was entertained to learn that Julie’s specialties in college were the “High Jump” and the “Hurdle.”  That’s funny-good prep for life at EMC.  That she watched the marathoners as they journeyed from EMC’s home in Hopkinton through her Newton campus was also rather poetic.   Running the marathon seems to be just one of the life goals she has been hitting as of late.]

------------ Talk Back: What was your transition from college to company like?