J2 Thought Leadership
Why Can’t I Find a Job if Tech Talent is in Short Supply?
By Andy Thatcher, VP, J2 Solutions
The talent gap doesn’t mean that it’s easier to get hired.
The Fake Debate of Scrum Master or Project Manager
The debate about whether a project needs a Project Manager or a Scrum Master is not a useful deliberation for moving projects forward.
Formal Education vs. Experience
By Vijay Khatnani, Managing Partner, J2 Solutions Hiring in our industry isn’t as black and white as one might think. There are many factors that go into what makes a good associate, so finding a great one requires evaluating the talent on several layers. Recruiters...
Know Your Worth
By Andy Thatcher, VP, J2 Solutions Knowing your worth and value is vital if you're going to have success and happiness in your life. When was the last time you looked around to see what else was out there for you professionally? If you haven’t looked lately, now is...
The Well-Rounded Leader
By Sanjay Khatnani, Managing Partner, J2 Solutions There is so much buzz in our industry about “soft” or interpersonal skills, and it’s for a good reason. These skills include communication, motivation and organization, among other highly valuable people skills. Soft...
Soft Skills
By Vijay Khatnani, Managing Partner, J2 Solutions The buzz around the tech world is true. There are more jobs available then there is talent. This means it’s harder to attract and retain the type of talent your company needs and both candidates and current...
Hiring: A Two Way Street
By Andy Thatcher, VP, J2 Solutions There are 107,000 tech job openings currently available, according to CompTIA, and that number is projected to continue growing well into 2019. Employers need to make sure they’re ready to navigate the hiring frenzy to come, if...
Staying Ahead of End-of-Year Talent Evaluations
By Vijay Khatnani, Managing Partner, J2 Solutions Now that we’ve entered the fourth quarter and the end of the calendar year is just around the corner, it’s a good time to evaluate open projects. Everyone is asking the same questions: How are your projects...
The Evolution of Leadership
By Vijay Khatnani, Managing Partner, J2 Solutions There are countless articles on Leadership and how to be a better Leader in today’s rapidly evolving tech space. Is Leadership itself evolving at a similar pace? What has changed? In order to dive a little deeper into...
PM’s vs. BA’s
By Sanjay Khatnani, Managing Partner, J2 Solutions There are several areas where the job of a Project Manager and a Business Analyst can blur. Still, it is crucial that the project have both roles assigned regardless of your team size and resources - for the sake of...
5 Ways to Become an Empathetic Project Manager
By Andy Thatcher, VP, J2 Solutions As we learned from Vijay last month, emotional intelligence is a must-have for a successful project manager. Today, I’m putting that topic under the microscope as I hone in on what I believe to be the cornerstone of emotional...
The EQ Factor: Why Emotional Intelligence Matters for Project Managers
By Vijay Khatnani, Managing Partner, J2 Solutions In a previous blog, I discussed the importance of assessing a candidate’s emotional intelligence (EQ) in the hiring practices of managers. Emotional intelligence has come to the forefront of our working environment,...
Always the Student: How Sharpening Your Listening Skills Makes You a Better Project Manager
By Sanjay Khatnani, Managing Partner, J2 Solutions Last month, Vijay discussed the importance of mindfulness for project managers—and what we discovered was that the act of being mindful can make you not only more successful, but also kick your skillset up a notch....
Want to Be More Productive at Work? Stop and Smell the Coffee!
By Vijay Khatnani, Managing Partner, J2 Solutions As we move through the winter months, many of us are still in the throes of working to maintain our New Year’s resolutions. This time of year represents a new beginning for most of us—a fresh start. It’s a time to ask...
IT Department Bottlenecks: How to Get Rid of Them Once and for All (Part 2: Why Culture Matters)
By Sanjay Khatnani and Vijay Khatnani, Managing Partners, J2 Solutions Last month, we reviewed best practices for overcoming barriers to a successful IT program. Today, in part two of this two-part series, we’re taking the topic one step further by delving into the...
IT Department Bottlenecks: How to Get Rid of Them Once and for All (Part 1: Overcoming Barriers to IT Success)
By Sanjay Khatnani and Vijay Khatnani, Managing Partner, J2 Solutions A truly effective IT department can mean the difference between driving business-aligned IT decisions that keep your business ahead of the competition and a reactive IT function that’s focused on...
How Artificial Intelligence Sells More Pizza and Why It Matters to You
By Sanjay Khatnani, Managing Partner, J2 Solutions featuring guest contributors Brianna Bird and Angelo Brutico Business Process Management is one of today’s most discussed business topics—and a key ingredient to a company’s overall success. Today, I’d like to discuss...
Business Process Management: Why You Need It and How to Get Started
By Vijay Khatnani, Managing Partner, J2 Solutions As we head into Q3, I’d like to discuss a topic that is widely growing in the business community but not being given the credence it deserves. I’m talking about Business Process Management – otherwise known as BPM. In...
Eight Tips for Successful Event Networking – Put That Pile of Business Cards Aside
By Vijay Khatnani, Managing Partner, J2 Solutions Last month, Sanjay wrote a blog about the value of networking, and what it should be versus what it’s become in the age of the emoji. At J2 Solutions, one of our core values, the development of personal relationships,...
Networking in the Age of the Emoji
By Sanjay Khatnani, Managing Partner, J2 Solutions Over the course of my career, I’ve forged countless important business relationships that are meaningful to me—both on a personal and a professional level. But lately I’ve noticed a trend in the way “networking” as a...
Managing the Millennial: Collaboration or Chasm?
By Vijay Khatnani, Managing Partner, J2 Solutions As we were planning for 2017, I started to think about how our workforce has evolved over the past several decades—and the new trends that are emerging. I’m talking about the generational groups that make up that...
Beyond the Resume: Hiring the Best IT Employee
By Sanjay Khatnani, Managing Partner, J2 Solutions As the year kicks into gear, many organizations set their sights on bringing in new talent. But what goes into effective recruitment practices? What should employers be thinking about when it comes to hiring...
The 5 Pillars of Powerful Project Management
By Vijay Khatnani, Managing Partner, J2 Solutions Recently, J2 was involved with a project for a large media company that wanted to implement PeopleSoft’s Human Capital Management (HCM) software. Along the way, there were the typical nuances, intricacies and political...
What Makes A Good Project Manager? A Good Gut.
By Sanjay Khatnani, Managing Partner, J2 Solutions Today’s businesses can’t afford to waste money or fall behind schedule. That’s why they hire a project manager—to ensure the shared objectives of a project are met, on budget and on time. But what qualities make up a...