On Careers
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Dear Coworkers: Step Away From My Cube
Continue reading… 0 CommentsIs it just me, or do offices never seem to have an adequate amount of space for all workers?
I'm not even talking about comfort. I mean literally having enough desks and chairs to go around. People always seem to be shoehorned into a corner near a fridge, or offices are shared when they should be solo. And let's not forget about the shrinking distance between cubicles.
At $100 a square foot in major metropolitan areas, I can almost forgive companies for dehumanizing us into sardines. However, what excuses do their suburban counterparts have? From urban centers to quiet suburbs, I've repeatedly seen this phenomenon, regardless of ZIP code.
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How to Take Criticism Without Getting Defensive
Continue reading… 5 CommentsIf your manager takes the time to give you constructive criticism, responding defensively is the worst thing you can do.
I once managed a woman who responded to any constructive criticism by throwing up an impenetrable wall and insisting she knew what she was doing. As her boss, I knew her performance needed work—and her refusal to hear what I was saying made it impossible for her to get the help she needed to improve. I finally asked her one day: "When you picture yourself 10 years from now in your career, you probably picture yourself knowing more than you do now, having more skills, and generally having advanced, right? How do you think that happens if you don't let yourself learn things along the way?" She seemed genuinely shocked.
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10 Ways You'll Erode Trust
Continue reading… 12 CommentsOne of the most important characteristics of a truly successful person is the ability to inspire and maintain trust. Many otherwise decent people erode trust by slipping into these habits:
1. Make a commitment to another person and later switch your position without giving that person timely and explicit notice. You may have a good reason for that switch, but that won't matter much if the other person feels betrayed.
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What a Scathing Exit Review Can Do
Continue reading… 3 CommentsI'm in HR, and when I quit my last job voluntarily, I put on the exit questionnaire for reason, 'Dishonest and deceitful practices by executive management,' and for suggestions for management, 'Practice what you preach about equal opportunity and nondiscrimination.' The company's disregard for the job posting policy led to my eventual decision to leave. (This time, it had affected me directly). In short, they were The Bad, Evil HR Organization.
My questions are: Could my blunt and honest responses haunt me in my search for a new job? Does employment blackballing exist? The company doesn't give references other than date of hire and last title, as a matter of policy, but I know good recruiters can get more info if they try, and following policy isn't this HR organization's strong suit.
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Lessons in Networking
Continue reading… 2 CommentsYour career will live and die on the relationships you create. Some relationships will help you get your next job; others will help you complete an important project. We learn early in college that networking is vital—and establishing the relationship can be the hardest part. Soon after we begin our career, we learn the importance of not burning a bridge.
But how often do we think about actively maintaining a relationship? Here are a few key points I've learned that are helpful to maintaining those connections vital to your career:
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How to Manage an Office Full of 20-Somethings
Continue reading… 27 CommentsIn my company of nearly 100 employees, 75 percent of them are under 30. Can you imagine?
Not sure where I heard this before, but managing them is like towing your wagon with 100 cats—sure you can do it, but the reins management will kill you.
If managing the under 30 workforce is killing you, here are 10 tips:
1. Be authentic. Be yourself—don't try to be one of them, or someone you are not. They can smell insincerity.
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A Midyear Career Checklist
Continue reading… 1 CommentI've always been envious of the fact that my wife is a teacher. It's not the summers off or the chance to "make a difference." What has my admiration is the fact that each school year has a beginning, middle, and end. Most professions work in a never-ending cycle without any sort of regimented time frame. That means it's important to create your own time benchmarks and hold yourself accountable to them. With half the year already over and out, I suggest the following midyear checklist:
• Plant seeds for a raise or promotion. Many people wait for the beginning of the year to make their requests. But by then it's too late, as most budgets are prepared months in advance.
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9 Ways to Start Your New Job Right
Continue reading… 9 CommentsHow you handle your first few weeks on a job can set the tone for your entire stay at the new company. Here are nine ways to set yourself up right:
1. You might be overwhelmed by all the new information: Don't freak out about it. I have a theory that you can only retain one third to one half of the information that's thrown at you during your first day on a job if the environment is a fast-paced one. This is normal. Eventually it'll all come together.
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Workplace Wisdom Found in Fiction
Continue reading… 4 CommentsYou can read the Management-Flavor-of-the-Month bestselling biz books and not pick up the insight found in many works of fiction. (Of course, some of those business books are works of fiction, but that's another essay.) Try these on for size:
Ethics: The Warden by Anthony Trollope. A good man gets trapped in an ethical dilemma.
Ambition: Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. It may be impossible to avoid feeling sympathetic as Brutus is led into betrayal.
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To Be Humble Is Good Except...
Continue reading… 1 CommentWe have been asked to complete, prior to our annual reviews, a questionnaire in which we grade our performance for the prior year and set goals for the future.
Should I be humble and minimize what I really think and feel I do for the company, or should I be honest in my response? I don't want to seem narcissistic, but I can point to many positive and money-saving "wins" that I have accomplished this past year.
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Why Career Change Starts Now
Continue reading… 1 CommentOne of the biggest lies people who are unhappy with their careers tell themselves is, "I want to change careers, but I can't." It's a great excuse to sit and wallow in misery without actually having to do anything about it.
It's also a flawed perspective.
Ninety-nine percent of the time, what they really mean is, "I want to change careers, but I can't right now." And because they can't right now, they project that to mean, "I can't ever." Of course, if they take that view of things, they're absolutely right.
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Boost Your Career With a Hobby
Continue reading… 1 CommentBy definition, hobbies are activities that yield pleasure or relaxation outside of your occupation. A great hobby can make you forget about the fires at work that may require attention when you return to the office. At first thought, hobbies might not seem appropriate in the workplace. However, the right hobby can be integrated into your career, causing greater job satisfaction. The benefits for you are easy to recognize—you get paid to do something you usually enjoy doing on your own time. You may also gain a positive reputation for being good at your hobby and successfully meshing it with your career.
I integrated my love of photography into my daily job in marketing communications. I love taking pictures—and everyone knows it. I am the go-to person for photography and imagery in my department. Not only am I using my skill, which makes me personally happy; I am saving money for the company by using my own professional camera to take pictures for presentations, for stock photos, and for our intranet. I am building a portfolio of professional imagery and getting to develop myself as a photographer while having fresh imagery for my own presentations and assignments.
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The One-Sentence Motivator
Continue reading… 6 Comments"Be the man you dreamed you could be when you were a little boy."
I am not sure who said it originally, but I first heard it at a speech given by Mike Vance, the former head of creativity at Walt Disney World. Speaking of whom, how is this for a reference? "Mike Vance is one of the most creative guys I have met in a long time," said Walt Disney (HIMSELF). When Mike talks about creativity, people listen.
That one sentence has stuck with me for, what...cough, 33, cough, years. I have said it numerous times, but mostly I have internalized it and tried to live my life by it.
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7 Workplace Fears
Continue reading… 5 CommentsIt's not just horror movies that give folks the willies. From natural disasters to a floundering economy, there's no shortage of workplace fears. Since going to the office is such an integral part of our lives, and an anxiety-provoking one at that, I think it would be interesting to discuss common work terrors.
Here are a few common ones that have hit the Jobacle inbox over the years. Check them out and please tell the U.S. News community what freaks you out in the comments section below.
GETTING FIRED: The economic downturn has certainly added fuel to the fire. How will you break the news to your family? Pay the mortgage? Find another job? This is the powder keg of panic, potentially leading to a bevy of unpleasant, catastrophic thoughts.
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How to Follow Up After an Interview
Continue reading… 15 CommentsOne of the most common questions I get asked is whether, when, and how to follow up after a job interview. Following up in some way is nearly essential. Yes, you can get a job without it, but if you're in competition with other top candidates, following up to reiterate your interest when the other candidate doesn't can sometimes clinch the deal for you. Here's how to follow up well:
Send a thank-you note immediately. E-mail is fine for this and has the advantage of arriving faster, but handwritten notes are still appreciated (and are increasingly unusual so will stand out). And if there are multiple interviews, send a thank-you note each time.
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What Would You Tell Tom?
Continue reading… 1 CommentConsider two employees: Maria and Tom.
Tom is more creative than Maria. He can come up with 12 different ways to handle a project, while Maria may find four or five. His insight can be stunning. During his time with the organization, Tom has attracted a sizable group of admirers, along with an equally large group of enemies, possibly because Tom is utterly convinced of the correctness of his positions. He loves to have the last word.
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Management School With Miss Arti, Preschool Teacher
Continue reading… 1 CommentI had the opportunity to attend a fabulous management training seminar last week. OK, it was really a field trip with my daughter's preschool class. But I'm thinking that her teacher could make huge bucks on the side doing management training.
Here's what I learned from Miss Arti's School of Management.
1. Before the trip, she paired up the children. Each 3-year-old was paired with a 5-year-old. What do we call this? Mentoring! Instead of having the teacher hold hands with all the younger children, she assigned each a mentor—someone who has done the field trip thing before. Someone who can explain about how much fun the bus ride will be.
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Why You Must Choose Change Over Inertia
Continue reading… 0 CommentsHave you ever wondered why so many people who are unhappy with their work are so resistant to actually changing it?
One reason is that change is often fraught with uncertainty, which can make it seem scary and potentially painful. As wired as humans are to minimize pain, they choose the dull ache of their current situation over the pain potential of change.
Imagine you're unhappy with your work and you're fantasizing about a new career. You put your two options on a scale to weigh them against each other. On the one hand, you can stay with the familiar discomfort of a job you don't like. On the other hand, you can choose the potential pain and fear of making a significant change.
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How to Use Your Vacation Time
Continue reading… 1 CommentWhile most articles for young professionals provide tips for work, an all-too-often ignored aspect of work is not working at all. After graduating from college, working 40 to 60 hours a week is tough! When I graduated, I had two weeks to move before starting my job, and I'm sure I'm not the only one in a similar situation. It's only when you've worked for a few months that you realize how much free time you had in college. For most newly corporate types, two weeks a year and holidays are all the time we have to free ourselves from our cubedoms. We've all heard that Americans don't take as much vacation as the rest of the world; in fact, surveys report 35 percent of Americans don't even use all of their meager allotment!
As an American corporate worker, I was pretty used to my two weeks of paid vacation and eagerly awaited receiving more. After relocating to London, suddenly vacation took on new meaning with five weeks to use up. The fact that my U.S.-based manager has been working 15 years longer than me but still has less vacation makes me think a little more tactfully about how, when, and where I take time off. I've come up with a few tips that I think you can apply to your vacation scheduling to benefit yourself and your company.
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42 Rules For Your First Week
Continue reading… 5 Comments1. Show up on time.
2. Wear clean clothes.
3. Don't ask about the vacation policy.
4. Keep your opinions to yourself.
5. Don't surf the net.
6. Don't complain.
7. Assume goodwill in others.
8. Be mindful of the hierarchy.
9. Learn the company's history.
10. Remember coworkers' names.
