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Long-Windedness: A Job Interview Killer
Tweet Share on Facebook March 30, 2009 Comment (7)There’s always at least one candidate in any hiring round who might otherwise have been qualified but who kills their chances by being way too long-winded. This is especially common in phone interviews (perhaps because candidates who do this don’t make it to the in-person stage).
I did a phone interview with a candidate last week who gave five-minute answers to quick, basic questions that should have taken 30 seconds or less to answer. For instance, at one point, I asked him if his work on a political campaign was paid or volunteer – an either/or question – and received a response so long I finally cut him off. Later, I told him directly that I only had a few more minutes to talk and wanted to get through some additional questions and it still didn't cut short his long, rambling response.
You might think, “Well, some people are long-winded, but it doesn’t mean he wouldn’t do a good job.” The problem is that, at a minimum, it signals that you're not good at picking up on conversational cues, and it raises doubts about your ability to organize your thoughts and convey needed information quickly.
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The Art of Exploitation By Committee
Tweet Share on Facebook March 27, 2009 Comment (2)Two weeks after the first committee meeting, you came to a rather sad conclusion: You are doing most of the work.
You didn’t want this to happen. You hoped the work would be roughly divided with the three other committee members, but, when no one else spoke up, you found yourself volunteering this idea and that. By the time the first meeting was over, you walked away with all of the work and some general promises from the others to help.
That was your first mistake. The responsibilities of each team member should have been clarified from the start, but rather than crawl out of the hole, you decided to dig deeper. You did all of the extra work, thinking that once the others saw your enthusiasm and effort, they’d pitch in out of an inherent sense of fairness.
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What Traffic Cops Can Teach Us About Management
Tweet Share on Facebook March 26, 2009 Comment (4)Yesterday I had the, ummm, experience of driving to the Newark, N.J., airport. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the path to get there--suffice it to say that you are fortunate if you can keep in that state of being for the rest of your lives. It is, shall we say, unpleasant.
On my trip I ran across three different police cars. I watched how they approached their responsibilities and I realized it was a good analogy for managing people. I assume (and I realize this is a big assumption) that their goals were to make the roadways safer by enforcing the speed limit (65 mph). Now, don't get into a snit because this assumption is undoubtedly simplistic, just hold on with me for the management analogy.
The first police officer drove an unmarked black car with a "For Sale By Owner" sign in the back window. (Complete with phone number.) I only knew he existed because he pulled some poor person over. Until that point, people had been sailing by at a good 75 mph. (Not that I was doing that. I don't speed. Cross my heart.)
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7 Ways to Be a Good Boss in Bad Times
Tweet Share on Facebook March 25, 2009 Comment (2)It’s never easy being a good boss, but it’s even harder in times like these.
The work, however, must go on. So, how do you, as a boss, keep people happy and settled enough to be productive? Well, here are seven ideas to get you started:
1. Be upfront. When employees come to you with questions and worries, do your best to address them. Honestly. Even if the best you can say is: “I don’t know yet.”
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When the Job Search Gets Too Frustrating
Tweet Share on Facebook March 24, 2009 Comment (2)So a job seeker asks: What do I do when I get depressed about my job search? I have sent my resume out to hundreds of companies in the last few months and I have not gotten one single interview. This is so frustrating.
Most career coaches give good advice, i.e. "Hang in there." or "It's not you, it's this economy," and "Keep trying, re-do your resume, try networking, volunteer more." You get the picture.
I have some more advice for this particular job seeker. Maybe I am feeling all curmudgeonly today.
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How to Disagree With Your Boss
Tweet Share on Facebook March 23, 2009 Comment (84)A reader at Ask a Manager recently wrote to me about a situation where she felt her boss was asking her to do something utterly nonsensical.
Often in this situation, people have one or more bad reactions: They stew about silently, or they just disregard the boss's instructions.
Neither of these is a good option. If you disagree with your boss, you should offer up your own viewpoint. (Disclaimer: This assumes your boss is sane and reasonable, not a tyrant or a lunatic. If she's one of those, that's a different topic.) Often, workplace disagreements arise when two people have different pieces of information about something. It's possible that you know something your boss doesn't know. Figure out what that might be, tell her, and see if that changes anything. At the same time, be open to new information she might give you that might change your own viewpoint.
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Almost Succeeding But Not Quite Failing
Tweet Share on Facebook March 20, 2009 Comment (2)Even the most successful careers can be dotted by failures. It is axiomatic that we learn from setbacks far more than from victories. The person who has never received the career equivalent of a stomach punch may be less prepared to deal with adversity.
With a conventional failure, one fails, regroups, and then moves on. But what of that territory between success and failure which gives the benefits of neither? A clear-cut failure tells you what doesn’t work and jars you toward other endeavors or approaches. The not-quite success yet not-quite failure, however, may leave just enough hope to keep you mired in what is really a hopeless effort.
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Why We Laugh When a Joke's Not Funny, and Other New Job Lessons
Tweet Share on Facebook March 19, 2009 Comment (6)Two lemons were in the shower. The first one said, “Pass me the soap.” The second one said, “What do you think I am? A typewriter?”
Ha! Ha! Ha! Excuse me while I wipe the tears of mirth from my eyes. Isn’t that the funniest joke you’ve ever heard in your life? No? (Note to my younger readers: A typewriter is a keyboard where you type directly onto paper. Isn’t that the strangest thing you’ve ever heard of in your life?)
Well, back in the dark ages when I was in high school, this was a favorite joke of mine and my friends. We found it hilarious. Not the joke itself, mind you, but watching how people would try diligently to figure out what was so funny about it. If you told it in a group where most everyone was in on it, you could almost guarantee that the new “victims” would laugh at it.
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The Best Career Path Has Options
Tweet Share on Facebook March 19, 2009 Comment (2)One of the things I often hear in my work helping people find careers that light them up is a feeling of being trapped. They have a goal they want to reach, a dream they want to achieve, but they don’t feel like they’re able to do it. Or, even worse, they just feel flat out stuck in an unpleasant situation they want to change.
That’s an incredibly disempowering feeling. It’s stressful, and it feels hopeless. It drains their energy. And often, it’s also completely untrue.
If you find yourself feeling trapped or stuck, ask yourself, “What are my options?” Go ahead and start writing them down. Brainstorm and make a laundry list. Once you have written down the possibilities that came to mind immediately, take it one step further. Say, “OK, now, if none of those was a possibility, what else could I do? How else could I reach my goal?” Tape your list to the wall where you can see it and keep adding ideas as they pop up.
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How to Hold On To The Job You Have
Tweet Share on Facebook March 18, 2009 Comment (2)Take a look at any news source these days and you’ll be smacked in the face with the latest unemployment figures.
They continue to go in the wrong direction (up), making it hard not to get trapped in the general atmosphere of free-floating fear. Pundits throwing out words like “depression” and “apocalypse” don’t help.
But you are only one person. You only need to hold on to one job (or, if you’re a moonlighter, two). Your task then is to be such a rock-solid member of the team, and do such superior work, that you keep that job.
