On Careers
-
What to Do Before You Ask for a Raise
Continue reading… 2 Comments1. Overperform. If you are simply doing the job you were hired for, that might not be enough. These days you have to not only do that job but do it exceptionally well. I mean, not just exceptionally well...more like, no-one-has-ever-done-this-job-like-this-before well.
2. Timing Is Everything. It always seems to happen that someone will ask for a raise at exactly the wrong moment. The company has a poor sales month or quarter—a bad time. Your boss is under the gun for a big new project from his boss—a bad time. It's like the girl who gets grounded and the very next day asks to go to her first overnight party—bad timing.
-
5 Signs You're About to Be Fired
Continue reading… 1 CommentIt's always baffling to me how many people don't realize when they're in danger of being fired, even when the signs are all there. When it finally happens, they're stunned and seem never to have seen it coming. So here are five signs that your job might be in danger:
1. Your boss tells you. With the exception of one horrible mistake, every time I've fired someone, I've warned them ahead of time that that's what would happen if their performance didn't improve—and sometimes people are shocked anyway. If your boss tells you your job is on the line, she's not kidding.
-
4 Ways You're Failing to Coordinate With People
Continue reading… 1 CommentWhat is a sure way to make enemies and damage your career?
Fail to coordinate with people.
A common charge that is tucked within allegations of insensitivity is that the offender has dropped others on their head. That seldom comes from excessive communication. Here's how this problem arises:
1. You make a commitment, change your mind, and then don't tell those who are relying on your original words that you've flipped. You may have had noble reasons for the shift, but that probably won't erase the embarrassment felt by those who relied upon your word.
-
When a Coworker Is Never at Work
Continue reading… 1 CommentMy colleague and I need some help. We have an employee in our department who has been out about 30 days this year! This also happened last year and my company has not followed proper protocol to dismiss the employee. We consistently have to pick up the slack, however she continues to get away with this on technicalities, such as being out two days, coming in one day, and being out two more. We require a doctor's note for three consecutive absences. We have brought this to our company's president as well as Human Resources and nothing has been done, meanwhile we fired an employee for doing essentially the same thing. Any suggestions or input would be appreciated!
Here's what you do: You and your colleague sit down and document every instance of absenteeism that you can recall over the past six months. Write it all up in an E-mail. Check your spelling and grammar.
-
Finding Peace Amid Crisis
Continue reading… 2 CommentsBetween world events, the changing environment, and the current financial crisis, there's a growing sense of anxiety and fear in the air. It's almost palpable, and it can be hard to resist joining in.
But being consumed by fear is debilitating. It sucks us dry and leaves us feeling frail and vulnerable. It's bad enough when that fear is of something we have some degree of control over (like fear of failure in a new career), but when it's directed at areas where we can have no reasonable expectation of control, it can leave us feeling helpless.
-
The Best Way to Stop Sexual Harassment
Continue reading… 28 CommentsEditor's Note: Blogger Karen Burns posted a followup to this post. You can read it here.
It's a fact of life. Sexual harassment is never going to go away. You will always need to know how to deal with it.
First and foremost, don't allow it freak you out. Remaining calm is the best way to hang on to your power, and sexual harassment is all about power.
You have a choice of responses when a person of the opposite (or not) sex makes untoward advances. You can give him/her the evil eye and say: "I'm sorry? I didn't hear you." Or even: "Do you mind repeating that?" You can threaten to report the incident to the powers that be. You can ignore the advances, although this seldom works. You can just simply say, "Cut it out."
