Managing your Career

Joint meeting with the BCS Young Professionals Group (YPG)

Monday 1st November 2010, 6:30 pm.

Presenter: Daniel Cohen, IBM.

Room 4.33/4.35, University of Edinburgh Informatics Forum, 10 Crichton Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB - map (click on Informatics Forum in the list of buildings).

This event is free of charge and open to all. It is suitable for anyone from students upwards.

Synopsis

Managing your career has never been more important. It is unlikely that you will work for the same organisation your entire career, either as a full-time or contract employee. You are the only one that knows your long-term goals, aspirations, and what you want to do on the way.

Through the IBM career mapping framework, Dan Cohen (IBM Managing Director for Barclays Integrated Account), will describe how one of the largest employers in the world assists its employees in managing their careers. The framework aims to align the employees desires and strengths with the myriad possibilities and training options available.

There are two main tools you can use to drive your career - networks and documents (resumé, curriculum vitae, impact biography, and short biography). Dan will cover the importance of both, when to use them and how to craft them.

Whether you are seeking your first, next, or last role, and are looking within your current employer or elsewhere, your abilities and professionalism are key; and you are worth more than you think! Dan's presentation will show you what the recruiter is looking for, why, and how to demonstrate that through the tools at your disposal.

This presentation has been given to over 5000 people both within and outside IBM, and the tools it describes are used by more than just IBM. Whether you are responsible for solely your own career, or also supporting that of others, Dan will impart invaluable advice.

About the speaker

Dan Cohen is General Manager of The Barclays Integrated Account, responsible for leveraging all products and services in the IBM portfolio for the mutual benefit of Barclays and IBM. He is accountable for customer satisfaction, revenue and profit associated with the worldwide business Previously, Dan held the position of Vice-President for IBM’s Finance Sector Accounts across all of Greater China. Dan drove high client satisfaction and record growth whilst implementing transformational change in the management team. This increased morale to record highs across the geography while changing over 80% of the management team over a 2 year period. For 6 years prior to that, Dan help the role of Managing Director for The Royal Bank of Scotland Account and drove record results and turning around the relationship. The team achieved Supplier of the Year within 2 years. Dan’s 25 year career, has spanned 4 international assignments over 12 of those years. Previous experience cuts across almost all of IBM’s business units including products and outsourcing services across multiple cultures in the U.S., EMEA and Asia Pacific He has invested a great deal of time in pro-bono work at board and practitioner level including Board positions at The International School of Beijing, Prince’s Trust Edinburgh, Chemocare, Volunteer Development Scotland and The Trenton Women and Children’s Shelter to name a few. Dan holds a bachelor of science degree in chemistry from Emory University. He lives with his wife, Jennifer and children Alexander, Julia and Jack in the UK.