Archive for August, 2008
Improving Your Day Job: Making a Change
August 29th, 2008. Published under In the Workplace. No Comments.
Sometimes you have the opportunity to find another job within your company. While saving a lot of paperwork and hassle, these jobs may be hard to find. You can maximize your opportunity to move around your company by doing a little investigating and networking.
The first step is to understand your company and its various departments. You can use your company directory, annual reports or other company publications. The second step is to find a way to extend your network into the areas that are most interesting. You may have already made a few contacts, but every area has its “person-to-know” who should be your main target. Sometimes being a little more outgoing on the elevator or in the cafeteria will help you make necessary connections.
It is a good idea to know what you want to ask or say when you stumble upon an opportunity to talk to your target contact. This is an opportunity to get more details about other areas in your company, build relationships, sell your skills, and put yourself in the running for any positions that might come open in the near future. Networking and knowledge can move you closer to landing a better job.
Improving Your Day Job: Altering Your Mindset
August 27th, 2008. Published under In the Workplace. No Comments.
Often when we dislike our jobs, we are stuck in the mindset of “I can’t.” It seems that we can’t escape our job descriptions or our daily routine. However, the only thing we can’t escape is our own negative mindset. As long as you accomplish your assigned tasks, you should be able to help with other projects and broaden your experience range.
You have the power to change your approach to work. Take the initiative when an opportunity presents itself. If you volunteer for new opportunities, you might find tasks you enjoy more than your daily assignments. Hidden prospects may reveal themselves if you are proactive at work.
Even if you despise your current employer, you can choose to see it as an opportunity for personal growth. Every day you remain in a bad job, you show yourself you can persevere through adversity. Improve your transferrable skills, so when the time comes you are readily employable elsewhere.
People recognize those who take initiative. If you show enthusiasm toward your work, you are more likely to be chosen for greater opportunities. Even if you can’t change your working situation, change your focus. Don’t wait for things to happen to you - make them happen.
Improving Your Day Job: Doing Your Research
August 25th, 2008. Published under In the Workplace. No Comments.
Research isn’t just for the job search. You can improve your current circumstances by getting in-depth information on your industry, your profession and your projects. Many people find their way into jobs that they are not specifically trained for. For example, Peter graduated from college with a degree in English. He had taken no business classes at all, but after graduation he found a job with a local non-profit organization. He became very involved with the organization’s mission and began reading everything he could about non-profit management, grant writing and fundraising. He increased the diversity of his daily tasks and, when his direct superior decided to leave, he was offered a promotion.
If you are uncertain where to begin, start looking for articles about your company using a news search engine. Look at what your industry competitors are doing. Find trade journals and take the time to learn technical terms and tactics. If you are still unsuccessful, stop by a local newsstand and pick up a copy of Business Week, the Wall Street Journal or another business magazine which looks relevant to your company. These general publications should give you the leads you need to enhance your understanding of your company and your job.
Keep Your Calm: Dealing with Confrontational Clients
August 22nd, 2008. Published under In the Workplace. No Comments.
Even if you enjoy your coworkers and your boss is a saint, angry clients and customers can still make your work life difficult. Dave Kahle, a sales consultant and motivational speaker, equates dealing with confrontational people to cracking a hard-boiled egg.
The customer’s anger is like the shell of the egg, the hardest part to break through. Kahle advocates letting customers vent their frustrations because it will help calm them down. If you listen carefully, you can capture the basic problem. When antagonists pause for breath, empathize with them and make a connection. If you are calm, you can maintain control of the situation.
Next, identify the root problem, the white of the egg. Get the details from the customers and apologize for the inconveniences that have occurred. While it may be tempting to place the blame on your company’s infrastructure or the customer’s misunderstanding, avoid this temptation as it won’t help the situation.
Finally, it is up to you to solve the yoke of the customer’s problem. If you can’t do it immediately, let customers know when you will get back to them. Following this process will minimize the conflict and will help you deal with difficult customers effectively.
Dealing with Difficult Bosses and Supervisors
August 20th, 2008. Published under In the Workplace. No Comments.
So you’ve just landed your dream job, your coworkers are friendly, and everything seems peachy, except the fact that your boss seems like an ogre in his corner office. Bad boss syndrome happens to most of us, but we don’t have to be victims; we can manage our managers.
The first step is to open the lines of communication with your boss, by setting up a meeting to discuss your role in the company. This meeting may help you understand why your boss seems so intimidating. Try to find common ground which will help you communicate with your boss in the future.
Your coworkers can be the best allies in this situation. By making connections and gaining their trust, you can get valuable information about pertinent projects. If you succeed in your projects, you will demonstrate the leadership skills that your boss is lacking. You will also prove that you are dependable and responsible, which may lead you to other opportunities.
If there is no way to manage your boss, you may need to talk to the human resource officers in your company to find an alternative position. If active efforts cannot improve the working situation, you need to find a position more conducive to your personal growth.
Dealing with Your Coworkers
August 18th, 2008. Published under In the Workplace. No Comments.
Even if you love what you do, the people you work with may not share your opinion. While your coworkers can become your good friends, they can also be your worst enemies. Try these tips to keep the peace at your newest job.
Test the waters: Starting on day one, observe your coworkers, looking for existing cliques and conflicts. Until you have a sense of the larger social scene, treat everyone equally. It is best to be a neutral party until you can make your own decisions about who to trust.
Be a good worker: While this may lead to some envy among your coworkers, it improves your standing with your new boss. He or she will be more likely to listen to your comments later on.
Don’t play their games: If your coworkers are being petty and trying to involve you, leave the situation. Find a way to maintain your neutrality and avoid public confrontations with others at work.
Don’t get too involved: When you get personally involved with your coworkers too quickly, conflicts from your personal life may worm their way into your workplace. If possible, maintain distinct personal and coworker social circles for the first few months on the job.
Once you have passed your probationary period, you will have a better grasp of the social dynamics of your workplace, and you can begin to alter the role you play.
Doing and Knowing What You Love
August 15th, 2008. Published under Career Satisfaction. No Comments.
Doing what you love seems deceptively simple. We should know what we love, but we often confuse this with what others expect us to love, what we do to fill our time, and what we merely like.
Our friends, family and society have expectations of us which vary greatly. If you look at practically any program on television, you will see what society currently expects us to want and love. These images influence our behavior, even if we do not completely understand it.
Sometimes we are pressured to make our hobbies into more than they are. My friend Jen is a crafter in her spare time. She has a flair for making adorable dolls, but once she started taking commissions, her hobby became a chore. In this case, Jen didn’t really love what she was doing. Making dolls was a pleasant time filler, but it was little more than that. In time, she came to take up scrapbooking instead, but has not tried to start up a cottage business again.
When you truly love what you do, you get a sense of joy the moment you begin. Something you love will energize you and make you feel better about yourself, what you’re doing and life in general. Loving your career will bring harmony into your life; in and out of your workplace.
Determining What You Value
August 13th, 2008. Published under Career Satisfaction, Uncategorized. No Comments.
Several of these posts have mentioned that you need to know what you value before you take a job. Often, we think of our values as principles in the back of our minds that govern our actions. However, letting our values marinate in our subconscious means that we may not understand why we act in certain ways.
In college, I took an ethics course, and our main project was to evaluate our moral system and apply our values to some kind of ethical dilemma. I was surprised when it took me several hours just to sketch out some of the major issues. The exercise has given me great guidance in figuring out the role I play in life.
To begin laying out your values system, do the following:
- Think about your family upbringing and religious background. What were the major lessons and principles you learned from these sources? Are they right?
- Consider how you treat others. Should you act in this way? Is this how you want to be treated?
- Remember how you have been treated. Do you approve?
After you have answered these questions, ask yourself “Am I consistent?” If you are, you have a clear understanding of your principles. If you aren’t, you need to think more about what is important to you. If you understand your moral framework, you can choose a job that will not weigh on your conscience, making you more satisfied.
Why Should You Take a Job?
August 11th, 2008. Published under Career Satisfaction. No Comments.
A large part of career success lies in knowing yourself and finding work that agrees with your values, desires and strengths. Be careful about choosing a career until you know yourself and the company or industry you might work for well. You should ask yourself three questions: “What do I value,” “What do I enjoy,” and “What do I need to do in order to feel challenged or fulfilled in my work life?”
The next step is to look at potential jobs and careers. Do the companies and industries share your values? Will the work be challenging or fulfilling? Will you like what you do? These questions may not be easily answered. If possible, ask your extended social network if they know someone who works at your target company. A connection like this may give you more valuable information about the internal reality of that company. If you don’t have any personal connections, schedule an informational interview to speak directly with someone in the company.
Through knowing yourself, you understand what situations will best suit you. While money is often the immediate motivation for a career, it rarely leads to personal satisfaction. If you enjoy what you do, it is no longer work - it is just part of your life.
Why Did You Really Take this Job?
August 8th, 2008. Published under Career Hunting, Uncategorized. No Comments.
Financial Pressure
The average amount of debt per household in the United States is $14,500 (not including mortgages) according to Bankrate.com. Many Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck, so it seems impossible to quit an unfulfilling career. If you are one of these people, you must plan your career moves carefully.
- Begin sending out resumes to your new field of choice immediately. If you are lucky, you will line up a new job which uses your strengths more fully. Remember, if you change career fields, you may take a pay cut.
- Analyze your spending. Many people have small habits which add up to great costs, like your morning cup of coffee or that burger for lunch. By cutting out these habits, you will have more money left at the end of the month and will soon be in a more secure financial position.
- Find a part-time job in addition to your full-time job. While this may not be feasible for everyone, it will increase your income and your financial stability. You might also find a part-time job in your new career field which will give you valuable experience and better chances at the premium jobs when you are ready to switch careers.
By reducing your financial burdens, you will have more freedom to find a job you love. And as the old saying goes, if you do what you love, the money will follow.