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Career Quiz: Look Around, Are You in Siberia?
Tweet Share on Facebook January 9, 2009 Comment (3)One of the most important things you can do for your career is to look around.
I don't mean gazing at the horizon and fantasizing about that dream job you hope to land some day. I mean the foreground, which is often less pleasant and where you may be find career warning signals.
If you see a team of highly competent and upwardly mobile folks, then that's a good sign. If you see a collection of characters who will never be promoted and who have been dumped into their jobs from elsewhere, then you should scramble to a dog sled—for you are in Siberia.
Siberia is not reserved for fools or losers. It often contains very talented people who, at some point, crossed a person who could exercise the power to exile. Regardless of the reasons behind the presence of any of its inhabitants, Siberia is career-confining. There is an unwritten understanding within the organization that the Siberians (and this apparently includes you) aren't going anywhere.
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Are You Using Introspection as a Form of Procrastination?
Tweet Share on Facebook January 8, 2009 Comment (1)As a career coach, I'm a big fan of introspection and self-exploration. One of the main reasons people come to me is to find the clarity to move confidently toward a career that lights them up, and that all starts by looking inside.
But there comes a time when exploring and thinking and noodling cease being productive and become just another way to procrastinate. We get so caught up in what's going on in our heads that we forget to simply start taking steps to make it happen. At some point, if we want to create something new, we have to take action.
Action creates opportunity. There are countless doors out there that will never ever open up to you unless you take the first steps. There are people you will never meet, and opportunities you will never discover, and possibilities you will never experience if you don't start moving to put it into motion.
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When a Work Reward Is Totally Unrewarding
Tweet Share on Facebook January 8, 2009 Comment (8)Few people would turn down money of any amount. And most people want recognition that they've gone above and beyond on some project. Because of this, many companies have "reward" programs where a manager or other employee can grant a cash reward to someone for a job well done. These are usually small rewards, and, for the most part, they seem to work well.
Except when the reward given isn't proportionate to the effort given.
A friend called me tonight and shared with me that she had received one of these monetary rewards. For months, she and her team had been working horrendous hours, frequently until 2 a.m. The project was a huge success, and rewards were promised.
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How to Keep Your Job in '09 by Working Like a Freelancer
Tweet Share on Facebook January 7, 2009 Comment (4)Is hanging onto your job one of your big worries for 2009? If so, you're not the only one.
It seems no one feels really safe anymore. But don't despair. Take a cue from a segment of society that has never enjoyed much employment security—freelancers.
Freelancers know that the key to keeping their paychecks—and their sanity—is proving their value to their clients every single day. They never forget that they need to consistently be a client's best "employee." They're always looking for ways to promote themselves. They know they can't afford to get too comfortable. They are basically always looking for a job, and that is where their strength lies.
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HR Gives Your Résumé 20 Seconds
Tweet Share on Facebook January 6, 2009 Comment (6)Twenty seconds. That's how long, on average, your résumé is reviewed.
This is why it is often the form, and not the substance, of your résumé that gets the most attention. So, you'll have to make yours errorproof, clean, and well designed just to get past the first five seconds.
Next, be sure your résumé highlights experience relevant to the job. This means making your résumé fit exactly the company and the position. I understand that it takes a bit of extra work to make a custom résumé for each job opening. Obviously, if you are going to broadcast your résumé out to hundreds of employers HOPING to get noticed, this will not be possible. But this generic résumé blasting hardly ever works.
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When You Can't Give a Positive Reference
Tweet Share on Facebook January 5, 2009 Comment (17)I love to serve as a job reference for most former employees. But I've also occasionally been asked to be a reference for employees I can't honestly recommend. Here are some ways to handle reference requests when you can't recommend the candidate:
1. Whenever possible, warn the employee in advance that you won't be able to provide a positive reference. You may still receive calls from reference checkers who go outside the list of references provided by the candidate, but this should minimize it.
2. If you get a call anyway, you have the option of only confirming the person's title and dates of employment. However, be prepared for a savvy reference checker to ask if this is your policy across the board or just for this candidate.
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How to Get Your Company to Pay for College
Tweet Share on Facebook January 5, 2009 Comment (1)It's early in the new year, and that means that well-intentioned, business-minded folks will be looking to better themselves. One way that is accomplished is by continuing education.
My employer offers a pretty generous benefits package, but unfortunately, tuition reimbursement is not among the perks. I've been thinking about how to approach management to make a case for myself. Here's what I have so far. Any other ideas?
Ways to lobby for tuition reimbursement:
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The Impostors: When Business Leaders Fear They'll Be Found Out
Tweet Share on Facebook January 2, 2009 Comment (3)Their achievements are indisputable. They are regarded as successful by their peers. But none of this matters.
They think they are impostors.
I have met many of them. These insecure souls dismiss their accomplishments with a variety of excuses:
- "I lucked out."
- "I smooth-talked my way into a promotion."
- "They overestimated my skills."
- "My competition wasn't that strong."
- "I had connections."
When asked which skills they would need in order to be a true achiever instead of a fake, they cite a skill that is somewhere out there, one that others possess. The missing skill of one "impostor" may be held by another "impostor" in the very same profession and work environment and vice versa, but each person claims that his or her skill is meaningless. They are convinced the real substance is elsewhere: "The other people are the ones who know what they are doing. I'm simply a sham."
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Forget New Year's Resolutions, Make 52 New Week's Resolutions
Tweet Share on Facebook January 1, 2009 Comment (6)I'm not a big fan of New Year's resolutions. I love using the new year as a time for reflection and for looking ahead, but as a tool for meaningful change, New Year's resolutions stink. Roughly 90 percent of them fall flat, leaving a trail of failure and frustration in their wake.
I think it's time for a different spin. Instead of a grand commitment to change that loses steam by the end of January, make a commitment to constructing 52 New Week's Resolutions over the coming year.
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The Most Important Thing You Can Do for Your Career in the New Year
Tweet Share on Facebook December 31, 2008 Comment (2)You're probably seeing a lot of articles this week with headlines like "Ten Best Career Resolutions for 2009."
"Update your résumé," they'll advise. "Acquire a new skill." "Do more networking." "Work smarter, not harder."
Good ideas. But here's a better one: Have a Plan B .
