On Careers
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It's Time to Say Thanks—to Your Boss
Continue reading… 5 CommentsWhen was the last time you thanked your boss?
You may think your boss should be thanking you! After all, aren't you the one who puts up with the long hours, low pay, conflicting demands, confusing instructions, harassment, insecurity, and lack of recognition?
Even if not, even if you like your job, times are troubled. You may feel safer at work keeping as low a profile as possible.
So is it a good idea, especially now, to remind your boss of your existence with something as banal as a "thank you"?
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The Crucial Job Interview Meet and Greet
Continue reading… 3 CommentsFrom time to time, someone will bring a job candidate by my office. I am supposed to do the typical meet-and-greet deal, which I dutifully do.
I have rarely met a job candidate that handled this situation gracefully. I generally get a "nice to meet you" mumble, mumble, mumble a la Ozzie Osbourne.
These chance meetings are CRUCIAL for a job candidate. Yet, most fail due to lack of planning. Or they believe the job interview is over-and are trying their best to get out the door and have no time to be nice to some random person they just met.
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Why Bosses Call Us In to Their Offices
Continue reading… 2 CommentsThe class went "oooh" and "ahhh" when the note came down from above.
"Andrew G.R., please report to the principal's office."
Busted.
The blood rushed from my face as I journeyed to meet my maker. I walked down the narrow, fluorescent-lit corridor with my mind racing. How did he find out?
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Why Poor Performers Don't Get Fired
Continue reading… 17 CommentsAlmost everyone has had the experience of working alongside someone who is a chronically poor performer—and then puzzling over the question of why nothing is being done about it.
The answer is that nothing is being done about it because your manager isn't doing her job and is allowing her desire to be nice and avoid difficult conversations to trump her fundamental obligations as a manager—obligations like holding the bar high and expecting people to adhere to it, warning them when they're falling short, and taking action when warnings don't work.
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Mission Creep: Hey, Who Changed My Job Responsibilities?
Continue reading… 0 CommentsAt some point in your career, you'll encounter mission creep.
Sometimes, it's more like mission leap. You take on a project, and then ugly things quickly surface—matters that those charming souls who lured you into the task failed to mention. What initially seemed like a simple matter becomes a poisonous swamp.
As bad as mission leap is, at least it seizes your attention. You know that you're swatting snakes and gators. Mission creep, however, can be just as dangerous but much harder to detect. You take on an assignment and don't notice as it slowly shifts into an entirely different and more complicated world. An obvious challenge is that the resources and personnel dedicated to the original mission may be inadequate for the new one. The political support may also be missing. You're working on a project that has ceased to exist, but you're still responsible for the scope of its new incarnation.
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When a Rejection Holds Promise
Continue reading… 0 CommentsI had an internship for a large accounting firm. I applied for a regular position and did not even receive an interview for the one position availabl e. The start of the rejection E- mail seemed like a stock standard reply, but the second half spoke of specific things in my application, my strength as a candidate, and said that I should apply again for positions with the firm in the future.
Do you believe the Recruitment Partner was being genuine about me re-applying or just trying to apply salve to the wound? Logically, seeing as time is money, surely the Recruitment Partner would not waste time sending a quasi-personalized email, but still I do not really want to latch onto false hope. If I am not a suitable "fit" for the firm , then I understand — what can you do if the hole is round and you are a square peg? However , I do not really know what I should do in this scenario.
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How to Get Out of Your Negative Spin Cycle
Continue reading… 0 CommentsHave you ever found yourself stuck in a negative spin cycle when things go wrong? If you're anything like me, maybe you tried something new and fell on your face, and then got sucked into continually beating yourself up about it. That happens to most of us at some point. We take things personally, overreact, and wind up stuck in a negative loop.
One way to break free of that spin cycle is to use your "inner observer." Your inner observer gives you an objective snapshot of the situation. It doesn't get caught up in emotions or self-talk. It just takes a big-picture view and asks: "What's really going on here?"
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9 Layoff Signs to Watch For
Continue reading… 5 CommentsLike a nasty virus, fear of job loss is in the air. Don't panic! But do watch for these signs:
1. You start seeing memos about the company's "new direction." Not necessarily bad—can be harmless or can bode ill. Take a wait-and-see attitude.
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Career Advice: Dad’s Best, and Worst, Pearls of Wisdom
Continue reading… 0 CommentsI recently asked a number of folks to share the career advice their dads gave them. For more of these "conversations," visit my personal blog, www.whatwoulddadsay.com.
The best advice my dad—a self-made entrepreneur now retired from the grocery retail business—has ever given me is that when you're in doubt about a serious decision or situations seem uncertain, "buy time."
—Sue Markgraf -
Letters of Recommendation Are Worthless
Continue reading… 11 CommentsSomeone has to break it to you, so it's going to be me: Please stop with the letters of recommendation. Don't attach them to your resume and don't offer them up at the interview. I know you feel good about them but, unfortunately, they aren't useful.
Shocking, but true.
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A Call for Courtesy at Work
Continue reading… 0 CommentsI know that some of the following sins may seem obvious, but apparently that clarity has still not reached a sizable number of people in the workplace. I keep hearing from workshop participants about the friction these issues continue to create.
1. Text-messaging during conversations. Do we even need to explain why this is rude?
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When Your Job Search Gets No Traction
Continue reading… 1 CommentI have been job searching the past few months and have landed a few phone interviews. All have gone very well, with plans for follow-up phone calls to schedule interviews. Great, right? Well, wrong. These HR people are not calling me back. I sent thank you E- mails and check in once a week or so, but I'm not getting anywhere. But they aren't saying, "Sorry, we are moving ahead with other candidates," either. So, what's going on?
What's going on is that you are under the mistaken impression that these companies' priorities lie in filling the posted job. This is not an illogical assumption, by the way.
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Networking Tip: Ask 'How Can I Help You?'
Continue reading… 4 CommentsWith today's economic uncertainty, relationships and the potential doors they open are more important than ever. So it's a wise investment to put time and energy into expanding their reach. And that means networking.
Contrary to a common perception, good networking isn't about who can help you and how. In fact, it's not about you at all. It's about the people you meet. The most amazing networkers I know constantly keep this one question in mind:
"How can I help you?"
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How to Stop Worrying, Even in a Recession
Continue reading… 6 CommentsMaybe you have a good job. Maybe you have money in the bank, under your mattress, or buried in a very deep hole in your backyard. But even if you do, it's still hard not to get caught up in the general tenor of the economic times—and start to worry.
Worry at night. Worry in the morning. Worry all day long.
Worry distorts your vision of reality. And it interferes with your work, your family life, and your health. Which only makes you worry more.
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At the Job Interview, Beware of Gotcha Questions
Continue reading… 2 CommentsJob interviews are tough because the applicant is trying hard to impress the interviewer, who often has a lot more experience with interviewing. The interviewer has likely interviewed hundreds of applicants, while most job seekers are thrilled to get, what, one interview a week? It is easy to mess up.
Gotcha questions are not questions like: "What is the square root of 144?" The kind of gotcha questions I am talking about are those that just take a bit of experience in handling. A favorite gotcha question might be, "Where would you really like to work?" Now is not the time to give some other company's name—your sought-after place to work is right here. No one wants to be the candidate's second choice. Often these gotcha questions are not really designed to trip you up, they are simply the getting-to-know-you type of questions that you must handle correctly or they will have "gotcha."
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Why Companies Don't Respond to Job Seekers
Continue reading… 8 CommentsOne of the biggest complaints I hear from job seekers who write to me at Ask a Manager is about companies that don't respond to job applicants: no rejection, nothing.
There's a real divide on the issue. Job seekers think it's incredibly rude, while many companies feel perfectly justified in not putting resources into dealing with candidates they're no longer interested in hiring.
Personally, I think it's inexcusable—throughout the hiring process but particularly after a company has engaged with an applicant in some way, like a phone interview or an in-person interview. It's callous and dismissive and lacks any appreciation for the fact that the candidate is anxiously waiting to hear an answer—any answer—and keeps waiting and waiting, long after a decision has been made.
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How to Blow the Interview With Bad Questions
Continue reading… 4 CommentsThe moment arrives in the job interview when the interviewer leans forward and asks: "Do you have any questions?"
This is one of the most dangerous moments for the job applicant.
What the question (often) really means is: "Do you have any simple questions that I can easily answer and which will not make me reconsider my tentative decision to offer you the job?"
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5 Things the Election Taught Us About Job Interviews
Continue reading… 1 CommentWe've just completed the world's longest job interview, otherwise known as the presidential election. Everybody I know is elated—that the election is over. What they don't realize is that watching an election is a fabulous way to learn what not to do in a job interview, regardless of your political affiliation.
Here are 5 things not to do if you're up for election, ummm, a new job:
1. Go negative on your opponent. You may think it will make you sound knowledgeable if you are able to detail the faults of other candidates who are vying for the same job. "Hey, I worked with Bob before, and he's light on statistical abilities," you might mention. If an interviewer hears this, he or she might (might) believe you and investigate Bob's skills, but it's more likely he or she will think you are a jerk who is trying to hide your own lack of skills in some other area.
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The Career Change Kiss of Death
Continue reading… 4 CommentsWhen it comes to pursuing your dreams, the notion that "the time isn't right" is the kiss of death. Instead of taking action to move toward the career you really want, you end up sitting and waiting, hoping that things will change and the time will be right...someday.
The trouble is—that perfect day when the stars align and everything is ready for comfortable change almost never comes. There is always something getting in the way. There is always something less than preferable about your circumstances. There is always something that you need to know, or do, or have, or...well, you get the picture.
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How Obama Got Hired
Continue reading… 3 CommentsWe've just witnessed one of the longest and most arduous job hunts in the history of job hunts. Thousands of interviews. A résumé-vetting process from hell. Reference-checking you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy.
Not many people would or could work that hard to get a job. But Sen. Barack Obama did, and congratulations to him. Job hunting yourself? Here are three tips you can pick up from President-elect Obama:
