Jim, I have seen your “Catch 22″ demo. You clearly mentioned that SAP HANA will be the right choice to break into SAP world as it doesn’t require much experience. Only thing I should be very fast in learning. I think I can do it. I need your guidance. I am really confused how I can be benefited by purchasing “SAP MM Inventory Management Training tutorial”. Please guide me. Thanks, Baljeet

 

From the language you’re using here, I feel like you need more general information about how to get a job in SAP. It’s a process, and I lay this out for you in Breaking Into SAP 3.0. (BITSAP 3.0)

You want to rush right into technical training, but you don’t understand the relationship between SAP, MM, and HANA — if you did, then you would understand how MM-IM training could fit into a training program that would allow you to get a job as a SAP HANA consultant.

Stay tuned for more information on Breaking into SAP 3.0.

Truly, Jim

I am currently a SAP MM user in my job and would like to go for SAP

consulting job in the future. I am preparing to take the SAP training

courses to be a certified MM associate. But from your clips about sap

career, is it better to go for SAP HANA instead of SAP MM?

I think you’re awfully fortunate to have some experience in SAP. Many of my students come to me with zero experience in any relevant field, so the fact that you are already working in and around SAP will be extremely helpful as you move into consulting.  One reason for this is that without realizing it, you have already been immersed in the business vernacular – the language of SAP. If I were to tell you “Go to MIGO and back out that posting ASAP…” you probably know what I mean, whereas my neighbor would probably not understand.

I think you’re perfectly situated to learn about and move into HANA work. I think you may find it to be more technically oriented than MM functional work. But the skill set is new and there are many opportunities there.

I hope this helps.

Jim

Watch this.

http://breakingintosap.com/students/cart/

Now, more then ever, putting SAP on your resume means getting a raise in salary or hourly rate. For many years we have seen rates in decline, with spikes here and there for very precious or very new skills. But now we’re seeing rates go up in all areas of SAP.  ABAP rates, for instance, are on the rise. Basis and Project Management skills, in particular, should see a push for higher rates.

So when a recruiter asks if you can give a better rate — say “NO,” or my advice: increase your rate by 10%.

Many of us have gotten so used to giving concessions in our earnings that it somehow feels strange to ask for more. But believe me, it feels great when the client comes back and says, “Not a problem.” Which is exactly what they must do in this market to retain SAP talent.

I’m happy to deliver good news when I can. Time for me to catch a plane.

Ciao, Jim

Watch Jim’s Triangle of Trust video on YouTube

I have sent out over 100 resumes, and never hear back from recruiters, who now ignore my phone calls. They ignore my emails. What am I going to do? I’ve been looking for a job for 5 months! This economy is horrible!

Nothing could be further from the truth about “the IT economy.” There is an absolutely vibrant market for IT skills and if you’re ready and willing to learn, there is a job for you here.  I wanted to say a few things about how things feel when you’re on the inside, when you have stable and in-demand skills — and I want to tell you what happens when you are on the right track. For one, you should be receiving no fewer than 5-6 unsolicited email notes per day asking for you to send an updated resume, and these notes should be from recruiters or other people with actionable jobs. You should also be receiving at least 2 phone calls from recruiters asking if you’re available to start work.

Are you sending out resumes and not hearing back?  Cut it out!  I never send out unsolicited resumes, never have, and never will. If you’re not receiving a half dozen unsolicited emails per day, and if your phone isn’t blowing up, then you’re off the reservation. You’re doing something terribly wrong. What is it? This is a more complicated answer, part of what you learn as a student in Breaking Into SAP (when I offer the program – we’re currently sold out.)

But know this – when you’re doing the right things, people will be hunting you down for your skills, and they’ll practically beg you to join their projects.

I hope this helps.

Truly, Jim

P.S. In the next couple of weeks I may put together a waiting list for the next batch of students for Breaking into SAP – so watch the blog and get on the list when it opens!

SAPCOOKBOOK has had a part in training literally thousands of SAP professionals worldwide, and I’ve learned you’re a smart, conscientious, independent-minded bunch of people.  In light of the global jobs crisis, it feels somewhat glib talking about “how to be picky about your clients,” but I feel like it’s important for us “SAP people,” and in particular my students, to have a global conscience. To have a soul, so to speak. I’d like to raise your awareness that the work you do is really important – can impact all 20,000 individuals in an organization (or 100,000?) and if you’re going to spend precious time away from your family, away from doing the other things you’d like to be doing, then, damn it, I don’t want you contributing to organizations that think it’s cool to wreck the planet or who represent the forces of evil in this world.

OK, so how do you go about selecting clients?

1. What do they sell? is it a force for good in this world? Or evil?

I’ve famously and publicly decided that I will not work for companies who make things who’s sole purpose is to kill people. Gun manufacturers. Weapon systems manufacturers. These kids of clients. Have I had large offers from these guys? Yes. Could I be richer today? You bet.  But I’ve learned in my long career (after, yes, in my dark past, working for several of these types of organizations) that since their product fundamentally ignores that value of human life, that management also fundamentally ignores the value of human life. I’m encouraging you to think along the same lines when deciding about who to work with.

Are there good people working in these organizations? You bet there are. Do they think much about what they’re contributing to in this world? I doubt it. They just figure that they are such a small piece of the larger puzzle that their work doesn’t matter somehow. But I’m here to tell you that it does matter.

Now what you think is evil might be a little bit different from me. Maybe you hate puppy dogs, or commercial fishing operations, or maybe you think mining companies are up to no good. You might even disagree with me, and love nuclear weapons manufacturers. I’m not trying to tell you to avoid one evil in particular, just to decide for yourself who you will and will not work for, and to cultivate a mindset that your work and your contributions are important.

If you’re working in SAP, again, your work has a huge impact on organizations – how they process the fundamental transactions that keeps them going. I just don’t think you should contribute to companies that make stuff that is designed to kill people or that you think is fundamentally evil.  I’ve had some bad experiences with weapons systems manufacturers, for instance, that basically boil down to the fact that at the core of their business, they don’t value human life.

They’re not worth your time. Pass on these clients.

2. Does your client want you to do something stupid, dangerous or that will harm the public?

Have you ever been asked to do something that you knew, fundamentally, was just not a good idea? Or wasteful of time and resources?  And by stupid I mean – does not add to a quality work product, does not make the company more efficient, does not contribute to a body of work of which which you could later be proud? Does it eliminate jobs, rather than make people more effective?  This stupid thing that you’re being asked to do – and I’m sure this has happened to you, could it quite possibly make things worse for the people who work in this organization?  As a SAP professional, I encourage you to take your skills elsewhere if management repeatedly requires you to do stupid stuff.

This applies double for organizations where you have expressed your concern, only to be ignored.

3. Does your client do regular harm to its own workers?

You read that there are these companies out there who do ridiculously inane and destructive things. To their own workers.  Consulting companies often fall into this category, and are particularly not worthy of your time since often they’re little more than a “middle man,” and after you’ve been working for your client for any amount of time, doing high-quality work (which I know you do) they often express to you their disdain for the consulting company, and would like to hire your directly, if they could.  Of course they can’t because they’re under a ridiculously punitive NDA or non-hire. We’ll get to those later.

When a company that marks up your work by a factor of 10 or 20, and then actively tries to punish you or an employee for doing good things for a client – this company does not deserve your help.  I’m thinking of the big hardware manufacturers who have grown large consulting organizations by importing labor from cheaper and cheaper sources. The employment and human resources practices I’ve heard of coming out of these companies is astounding. That’s why I will never work for them. That’s why all of the very smartest people I know are quitting them to become independent contractors, unless they’re at the partner level and above, and they feel like they’re trapped (and they probably are, since the partners can make so much at these companies.) So if you hear about a company that regularly screws over their employees – please take a pass.

Many times we can feel like we have no choice about where we work. And so when we see some business practice that we’re less than prod of, we give our clients a pass. Now, more than ever, we SAP people have a chance to have an impact on the world around us. If we see something wrong – speak up. If management refuses to address the wrong, we need to move along and find another place that respect some basic ideas: don’t do evil, don’t do stupid stuff, and treat your workers right.

This certainly isn’t rocket science, but I hope this helps inform your next client decision.

Jim Stewart

Publisher

SAPCOOKBOOK

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