On Careers
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6 Rules for Savvy Office Navigation
Continue reading… 1 CommentJack is a close friend of an influential vice president and goes hiking with the VP’s family. Maria was an aide to a governor, and although her job has nothing to do with legislative matters, she is shown enormous deference on the subject. Harold and Gretchen may seem friendly at the department head meetings but they can barely stand to be in the same room. Carl has retired on the job and is generally disregarded. Ramon is brilliant, but seven years ago he had an open dispute with Dennis--who is now CEO. Ramon and Gretchen have an alliance against Harold, and yet Jack is one of Harold’s allies.
Many workplaces resemble a tangled cobweb of relationships.
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Still On the Payroll, But Not Getting Paid
Continue reading… 4 CommentsI work for a small-to mid-size company and have been told that I am not being laid off, but I also did not get my paycheck because the company does not have the funds for payroll for their management staff. Can they do that? Would this be a de facto layoff? Can they really just expect me to work for free and refuse to lay me off so that I can’t collect unemployment?
Well, obviously they can because they did. Should they have? Of course not. Can you do anything about it? Maybe.
A company that doesn’t have enough available cash to meet payroll is in serious financial trouble. I doubt their logic is, “We won’t pay people but we won’t lay them off either, so no unemployment for them! Bwa-ha-ha.” I’m guessing their thought process is more like: “Oh crud. We don’t have any money. We need our employees or we won’t ever get any money. I’m sure our employees are willing to hold out. After all, we’re like family here.”
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What to Do Instead of Worry
Continue reading… 1 CommentFear is everywhere. Open up a newspaper, flip on the TV, click over to any political blog, and you’ll be hit smack in the face with reports of the latest layoffs, prognostications on why the stimulus will or will not work, and rants about the bonuses of executives whose companies we are now bailing out.
You worry: How is all this going to affect me? You open your monthly bills and wonder: How would they get paid if I lost my income?
You could turn off the news and go get some exercise, you could practice counting your blessings, you could start to economize in many small ways, you could beef up your networking. These are all good things to do, yet you still worry.
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Anonymous at Work: When You Don't Want to Stand Out
Continue reading… 2 CommentsOver at Chris Brogan’s blog today, I wrote a guest post on how you can avoid being anonymous at work. There are 10 things in my list, but I am sure there could be lots more.
This is an issue that divides. Some want to be anonymous at work, preferring to keep their heads down while they do good work and contribute as members of the team.
Others don’t. They want to be the best they can be--and they seek recognition, either from others or from their own internal self.
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Should You Switch Jobs in a Recession?
Continue reading… 11 CommentsYou hate your job. The work is boring, your boss annoys you, you share an office with someone who insists on taking all her calls on speakerphone, and you're pretty sure the guy down the hall uses your photo as his screensaver.
Or maybe you like your job all right but you saw a higher-paying opening at another company that you'd be perfect for.
But in such a bad economy, should you think twice about switching jobs?
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Fix the Door and Save Yourself
Continue reading… 3 CommentsOver the years, in his many lectures on excellence, Tom Peters has observed that if you lower an airline tray table and find coffee stains, you start to wonder about the condition of the plane’s engines.
I remember that line every time I go to the auditorium of a local government agency. A side entrance door is broken. It can still be opened and shut if sufficient force is applied and you’re willing to ignore a loud screeching noise, but if you use a wheelchair your chances are nil.
Two years have passed and that door is still not fixed. Indeed, no repair effort has been made. I’ve talked to the manager about the door. He agrees it is a problem, but then he turns his attention elsewhere. You can tell that in his eyes, it is not that big a deal. After all, there are other ways to get into the building.
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Do You Love 80 Percent of Your Job?
Continue reading… 1 Comment“Work is a four letter word,” goes the conventional thinking. It’s something to be endured so you can pay for those precious few hours of fun on the weekend.
It’s probably no great surprise that I don’t see things that way. In my world, work is a four-letter word, just not one that gets edited out in family-friendly shows. It’s a four-letter word--just like love, and kind, and play.
Michael Wade’s post last week, Not All Jobs Can Be Fun, got me thinking about the flipside of the negative expectation of work – the expectation that if we just find the right job, it will all be wondrous and fulfilling. The angels will sing, and everything will be sprinkled with magic fairy dust.
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Moonlighting: One Way to Outsmart the Recession
Continue reading… 12 CommentsYou have a job. Good news! But you don’t like the job. Or it doesn’t pay a living wage. Or it doesn’t offer health insurance. That’s bad news.
Have you considered moonlighting? It’s not as hard as it sounds. In fact, moonlighting can be not only the answer to your underemployment woes, it can be the path to greater job satisfaction and fulfillment.
The secret to successful moonlighting is simple: Job B needs to provide what Job A lacks.
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How to Stop Debating the Stimulus and Begin the Rescue
Continue reading… 5 CommentsToday in Denver, President Obama will sign the stimulus and recovery bill into law. All I can say is: Finally.
Admittedly, I was on the fence--teetering, if not leaning slightly, to the right on this issue. I do know the government is the one remaining participant in the economy who can do something to get things moving again. I am just a bit worried that economic incentives are slowly being squeezed out of our economy, a situation eerily familiar to what happened in Atlas Shrugged. But, hey, let’s all do what we can to make it work and in the process get everyone back to work.
I am not going to complain any more, even if my suggestion wasn’t taken. (The idea, as presented here, was to simply grant every proven entrepreneur $100,000 for business expansion and general purposes. That might have been stimulative. At least, to me.)
Moving forward, here are five suggestions on our next steps--the rescue phase:
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Paranoia on the Way to the Vending Machine
Continue reading… 0 CommentsThe journey from my desk started innocently enough. I was on the prowl for a bottle of water and something sweet. As I traversed the fluorescent-lit hallways, debating between Twizzlers and a granola bar, I couldn't help but notice all of the closed doors.
This was no coincidence. EVERY door was shut--indiscernible voices leaking through the door jams.
Something was up.
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Beware of Post-Interview Impressions
Continue reading… 1 CommentThe interview went off without a hitch. All the questions were well-handled. Vibrations were positive. A couple of interview panel members even showed the candidate where his office would be and asked him which desk he’d prefer.
He left believing the job was his.
He never heard from them again.
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Working Overtime: Should You Put it Down on Your Timesheet?
Continue reading… 3 CommentsI am an office manager for a law firm. The job was posted full-time. Upon accepting the position, I negotiated a part-time schedule (32 hrs/ week). Although my work scheduled is 32 hrs/week, there are weeks when the work cannot be done in that amount of time and I have worked 36-39 hours in a week. I submit to our payroll company for all the hours worked. Am I correct in doing so?
Absolutely! In fact, you would be breaking the law if you did not submit all hours worked.
Sometimes employees feel like they are doing a favor for their employer by not recording all hours worked. Or, if they made mistakes during the day, feel it's only right that they not charge for the extra hours needed to fix it. While it can seem like the "right" or "fair" thing to do, it actually opens up your employer to huge fines for violating the Fair Labor Standards Act.
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In Tough Times, Take Time to Fill the Well
Continue reading… 0 CommentsOne of the most common themes I hear these days is the feeling of stress and anxiety. People are worried about the economy. They’re worried about their jobs, and whether or not they’ll still have them next month.
When that anxiety starts to build, it can be easy to just grit our teeth, hunker down, and try to make it through. Nothing wrong with that in the short-term, but so often that sets off a chain reaction where the tension ratchets up and, figuratively speaking, we forget to breathe. The more tension we feel, the more anxiety we feel. It’s a vicious circle.
Over time, that tension and anxiety is depleting. The longer you’re immersed in it, the more it drains your energy. And that has a negative effect on every aspect of your life, both work and personal.
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How to Be a Stand-out Job Candidate
Continue reading… 3 CommentsIf you’ve looked in a newspaper lately you may have seen a photo of long lines of showered, coiffed, and dressed-for-success people clutching briefcases or laptops and looking very, very unhappy.
They are waiting in line at a job fair.
Their glumness is understandable. Now is not a great time to be out of work. But you know what? They shouldn't be scowling. They should be smiling.
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How to Write the Perfect Thank-You Note After the Interview
Continue reading… 12 CommentsI love Generation Y.
They cut to the chase, no matter the topic. If the career advice is all theoretical and nonspecific, they want to know exactly what you meant. Create a simple elevator pitch? Great, how would you do mine? I should do “thank you” letters after the interview? Great, what should it say?
Simply writing a thank-you note puts you in the top 10 percent of job seekers, since most applicants don’t bother. But here are five things that should be in the letter that follows a job interview:
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When Your Coworker is Fired
Continue reading… 3 CommentsA reader writes:
How do you deal with it when a coworker is fired? Today I was talking with my coworker and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He went into a meeting with our boss, and next thing I knew he was gone, and an E-mail was sent to the whole department saying that as of today he no longer works here. I don't know what happened, but it surprised me, worried me, and made me nervous about my job.
It's unnerving when a coworker is fired, especially when you don't know why it happened. If you didn't see it coming, does that mean that you could be fired out of the blue too?
First, keep in mind that just because the firing came as a surprise to you, it probably didn't come as a surprise to your coworker. It's extremely rare for someone to be fired without any warning (except in particularly egregious cases, like embezzling or, say, punching someone). In most cases, the employee has had numerous conversations with her manager about whatever the problem is and what needs to change. If the employer is at all responsible, the person has also been explicitly told that she could lose her job if the problems aren't fixed.
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Not All Jobs Can Be Fun
Continue reading… 3 CommentsI was once mildly chastised by another consultant for implying that work is not necessarily fun. He noted that all work is--or should be--fun.
Call me a pessimist, but I don’t buy that for all jobs. Some jobs are downright unpleasant. Any attempt to put a happy face on them only adds to the unpleasantness.
Some “all work is fun” advocates may argue that the job itself is not the problem. The difficulty lies in the way it is structured or staffed. If only the coworkers, supervision or responsibilities were changed, the workplace and specific positions would be much more enjoyable.
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Develop a Two-Way Help Habit
Continue reading… 4 CommentsI have written here before about the importance of the support of others on the path to your career dreams. This past week, I’ve had the message driven home--just how important that is, not only in our careers, but in our lives.
Since last Wednesday, I have been frustratingly incapacitated. I’ll spare you the details, but it has to do with complications from a kidney stone and multiple trips to the emergency room. I’ve been stuck at home, and reliant on the help of friends (and yes, I’m slowly feeling better, thanks).
For someone as fiercely independent as I tend to be, feeling so dependent--even temporarily--has been a challenge. But it has also been a learning opportunity that is focusing my attention on the importance of offering and accepting assistance.
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When Calling in Sick is the Only Way to Take a Vacation
Continue reading… 4 CommentsI work for a hospital that gives generous PTO (paid time off) benefits--they can be used for sick days, vacation days or personal days. Since I am rarely sick, I have several weeks saved up. However, I work in a department where coverage is an issue. Even though there are 30 of us, only 2 can be out at the same time. Additionally, requests for vacation are frequently denied and there are strict rules about who can take off when--and you can’t ask more than 60 days in advance, which means you may or may not get to attend your brother’s wedding.
As a result, people who call in “sick” (regardless of how sick they really are), get to use all their PTO. Those of us who try to schedule time off can rarely have it. Any way around this?
In the first place, I am not a fan of PTO plans. I prefer separate buckets for vacation, sick and personal days. (Although, honestly, what is the difference between vacation and personal? I’ve never quite understood the need to separate those things out.)
I’m also a huge fan of using vacation days—and having others use vacation days. You want employees that are happy. Employees who take vacation are happy. Happy employees are better workers. Honestly, they are.
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Can You Learn to Love Coworkers From Hell?
Continue reading… 3 CommentsLast week we talked about five ways to love--or at least like--a job you hate. But what if the problem isn’t the job, rather, it's the people you do the job with?
Awful coworkers can make your life at work ... awful. But you may need to stick with that work for now, so consider these questions:
Is the coworker needling you just to see you react? Your task, then, is to simply refuse to engage. For example, if he asks, “Didja get any last night?” fix him with a brief hard stare and then continue to work. Consistently behaving in an adult fashion makes the coworker look like the naughty child he, in fact, is.
