Direct Your Career - The Professional Guide to a Better Career

Email protocol at work

February 6, 2012

Email may be one of the most effective and efficient forms of communication since the telephone. And, it can be one of the leading causes of workplace problems since the rumor mill. When used correctly, email is a truly wonderful tool, but it is also a way of sending impersonal, and unnecessarily harsh communiques that, at a minimum can hurt someone’s feeling, and at its worst, be cause for termination My way or the highway An email is a monologue. It is a one-sided litany of streaming thought that does not allow for point by point discourse or debate. Emails should be used in the same way as paper memos were in their day When used at their best, emails can impart news, updates, reports, and general information. They are also used to ask “Want to have lunch?” or “How about that game last night?” Those uses are generally innocuous, and cause no harm. But sometimes, emails can take on a more sinister meaning. You can’t see me! I have seen emails that are used to criticize others. Words that could never be said face to face, or even over the phone are hurled at the recipient at the speed of light. In many cases, the response is just as or even

Good, better, best

February 5, 2012

I have been in business for a little while now. As I gained more responsibility and rose higher on the org chart, I found that not only did I get better looking, smarter, funnier, and ever taller, but I also found that people needed my permission, or at least my opinion to get things done. Money, Money, Money Many times during my illustrious career, my staff would be bring me proposals that required me to spend the company’s money to get something done. I take spending the company’s money very seriously. I learned that from a boss that once said in response to the comment “c’mon boss, it’s only a $1000″, to which he replied “Really? If you think $1000 is not a lot of money, then write me a check.” Anyway, I got the message that every dollar spent was a dollar of profit that some poor sales guy had to make up in sales. Actually, for every 10 cents of profit you want to spend, your sales people have to generate $1 of sales, if your margins are 10%. So, driving the example up a little further, to spend $1000 of company money, your sales guys need to

Are You Unemployed – Take action – ANY action

February 4, 2012

Many years ago, the U.S. economy was suffering through a recession. It was not as bad as many previous recessions, but to be honest, if a recession has affected you, the size of it isn’t really important. Whether unemployment is 5%, 8%, or 10%, if you are unemployed, it is 100% for you. During that recession, I remember articles about the lengths unemployed people will go to to get jobs. I was impressed with the guy who volunteered at the YMCA a few hours a day to stay busy. I loved the guy that decided to help out at his church, or simply the woman who contacted her kids school to read to little children. The one story that really impressed me was the unemployed executive. This unemployed executive reportedly spent more than a million dollars of his savings to cover his and his family’s expenses while he was looking for work for more than a year. That million dollars represented all of his savings. When the article was written, he bemoaned the fact that if didn’t find a job in a month, he would be out of money, have to cut back, and put his house on the market.

Should you ever quit one job before having another?

February 3, 2012

Every so often, I have the opportunity to speak to a somewhat desperate person who will ask me if I think they should leave a job that they absolutely hate before finding a new one. They are truly miserable. They will often tell that they have been working hard to like their job, or have tried even harder to find a new job. Well, the short answer to this complex question is, no. Don’t quit. Even if you really do hate it. What makes you think your new job will show sooner if you are unemployed? Trust fund baby? Unless you have a significant trust fund, are waiting for a royalty check from your recently published memoirs, or you have the winning lottery ticket in your hand when you resign, leaving one job before you have another is near professional suicide. Suicide Mike? That seems a bit harsh. Jobicide? Ok, maybe suicide is a little over the top, but it could jobicide!. As a hiring authority I look for red flags in resumes, and gaps in employment are easy flags to spot. I don’t mean gaps while you were in high school or college, I mean professionally. I like to

Looking for a job is a full-time job

February 2, 2012

Yes, you've heard it before. Looking for a job is a full-time job. Well, it is true. Have you also heard that you should expect to take you one month for every $10,000 of salary that you expect? That means that if you are looking for a job that pays $60,000 a year, you should expect to be looking for six months. Six months!!! This can take forever!

Anger Management at Work

February 1, 2012

As you can tell from previous articles, I am big on telling stories and big on asking you to learn to control your emotions. My reason for saying so is that I have seen countless examples where people have said or done things “in the moment” that they wish they could take back. In many cases, the outcome was career limiting, if not fatal. The Family Jewels When I was a youngster, I was watching a pro boxing match on TV one Saturday with my Dad. That was a treat back then because boxing wasn’t on TV very often and there was no pay per view (or Don King!). The match was going along great for one boxer who was just dominating the other guy. Suddenly, the boxer who had been losing hauled off and hit the better boxer with a terrible low blow. It looked intentional and hurts me now just to rethink it. I honestly wince as I play back that cheap shot in my mind. After the affected boxer got his wind back, and his testicles descended back into their original anatomical position, the fight resumed, but something had changed. The boxer who’d been hit with the

The hidden secrets of applying online for jobs?

January 31, 2012

Many, many companies today have taken to accepting only on line job applications. It reduces paperwork, resume reading, and all the time it takes to decide whether or not you are qualified. It gives those wacky, overworked HR guys time to have a second cup of coffee, a quick smoke, follow-up on harassment complaints, reduce your benefits, and weed out lesser qualified candidates without ever having to read the application. I just love technology, don’t you? The On Line Application But there are some secret things you need to know about filling out an online app. The most important thing you need to know is to make sure you use important keywords in the application that are very particular to the position for which you are applying. You see, that great software not only creates a nice little online resume for you, but it looks for words in your application that it can match against a job description or position announcement in an effort to hook you up or kick you to the curb!! For example, if you want to work in a restaurant, make sure all the keywords pertaining to restaurant work are in the work history part of

Will ya wait til I put down my coat?

January 30, 2012

Have you have ever been pounced upon by a boss or co-worker who meets you at the door before you’ve gotten to your cube with a caffeine fueled request? 7:45 a.m. Walking to your cube “Hey Mike – can you get me a copy of the year end sale report for socks as soon as possible? I need it for a meeting at 9? Huh? Will ya? Will ya? Will ya? MIKE!!!!” Ok, I may be exaggerating a little bit, but the premise is true. You arrive in the office, a little early even only to be met by Gerry who has been there since 5:30 a.m. Gerry always arrives at 5:30. He is a former Marine and just can’t help himself. Somehow he seems to have this natural radar, because he seems to know when you are walking down the hall, and you have been ambushed by him before. You have even gone so far as to try a different path to your cube, and walked quietly, but to no avail – Gerry knows. Or how about this one? You yourself have been in the office since 6 a.m. It is 4:50 and you are tired and getting ready

Performance appraisals should be boring, not a surprise

January 29, 2012

For many years, I have been against annual or semi-annual performance appraisals, sometimes called reviews. The idea that once a year you and your boss sit down face to face and talk about how you did the entire previous year just seems unnatural. The business guru Dr. W. Edward Deming agrees with me. Surprise!! I have had no bad experiences with reviews. I haven’t had a bad review or a surprise review. I simply believe that there is little if any value in this annual display of power whereby you are talked to by your boss about what should be discussed every single day of your career. I cannot imagine what would happen if your boss actually said “Bill, on October 13th at 3:45, you came back a few minutes late from your break. On January 3rd, the spreadsheet you gave me hand an error in it. So, I have to give you a low grade, and therefore no raise.” ******************Advertisement********************************* Tired of sending out resumes with no response? I can help! Download The Professional Guide to Creating Killer Resumes Step by step instructions on how to create a professional resume! ************************************************************** Could you imagine the surprise? Why wouldn’t he

Are you a Chicken Little?

January 28, 2012

There are many versions of the story of Chicken Little, but one such story line is that a chicken named Chicken Little is hit on the head by an acorn while eating lunch. In her panic, she comes to the irrational conclusion that the sky is falling, and decides she must warn the King. On her way to see him, she meets up with many other animals, namely Henny Penny, Cocky Lockey and Goosey Loosey. When she encouters them, she screams ”the sky is falling, the sky is falling!!” and even gets them to join her on the way to warn the King. Finally, they come across Foxy Loxy, a sly fox who offers the chicken and her friends his help. The fox is not a good character, and uses their fear to take of advantage of them. How does that apply to you? Every office is full of Chicken Littles. They go around the office spreading rumors, gossip, and creating fear. They ask questions with a hint of the worst possible outcome, and sew seeds of discontent. I had one such friend years ago. Each conversation would start in the most normal way. We would talk sports or the weather, sometimes even family. Then, he would ask the question. “Did

Fitness – Physical, Emotional and Spiritual

January 27, 2012

One of the secrets to Turbo Charge your Career is being fit. I am not talking about joining a gym necessarily. I am talking about getting physically, emotionally, and spiritually fit. Pump Me Up To be physically fit, all you need to do is eat food that is good for you. You know what that means. If not, go to http://thetennisdad.com/blog and my son Ryan will help you. Also, it means getting enough sleep, and limiting your alcohol consumption. I recommend you quit alcohol completely, but moderation is fine as well. And stop smoking. Today. For exercise, walk around the block to get your heart rate up. Use it or lose it!! Emote with me baby The next key is emotional fitness. This is a complex subject that I address in my book, but basically it means clearing up all of your emotional baggage. Address your relationship problems. Apologize to those you have hurt, get over the men or women who have hurt you, and resolve to address all future mistakes immediately. There is a lot to this to process, but making amends and dealing with mistakes quickly is very important to emotional well-being. I See Dead People The part

Dress for Success

January 26, 2012

Several years ago, I was having a discussion with one of my staff. The conversation went all over the place, but he finally blurted out “You know, I just can’t figure out why I don’t get promoted. I am as good as anyone around here. I know more than a lot of them. How did you get to the top??” I feel pretty, oh so pretty!! His question surprised me a little bit. This employee, by his appearance alone never gave me, and I’m sure anyone else the impression that he wanted to be part of management. What I mean is that this gentleman was in his later 30′s, but looked like a throw back to 1965. He was bald on top, and what was left was long, un-styled hair that he pulled back into a pony tail. He had a very bushy mustache that never looked trimmed. He only shaved every two or three days, and had a perpetual five o’clock shadow. And lastly, he wore “ironic” tee shirts, faded jeans, and sneakers, canvas boat shoes actually everyday, that were well “broken in”. The irony was that this man was very smart and very talented at his profession. The

IT is hard, but why is Retail IT So Much Harder?

January 25, 2012

I have been in IT for my entire career, and I love it. Right out of college, after studying computer science at Indiana University, I got my first programming job in a hospital, and I loved that job. I loved writing programs and watching my users’ faces light up when I made their lives just a little easier. I loved a clean compile after days of cleaning up bugs and syntax issues. Yes, I love IT. Throughout my IT career, I worked in several different industries. I worked in healthcare, insurance, distribution, manufacturing, and retail. Mostly, retail. I held many different technical positions during my time, ranging from the help desk to programmer, and eventually to the top position, called the Chief Information Officer (read that while letting the words echo ceremoniously in your head). The CIO is the big cheese. Each industry in which I have worked, has its own challenges, and its own rewards. In healthcare for example, it seemed we had endless access to great doctors, nurses, and technicians. I remember once telling a doctor, while eating lunch in the cafeteria that I had a pain in my neck, and he scheduled me to come by that

When should I discuss compensation?

January 24, 2012

Yes, that is a tough question. You don’t want to be too forward and ask before you have even had an interview do you? No, of course not. You do want to seem assertive and show interest in the position, and asking makes you seem worldly, right? Well maybe, but not automatically. It can also make you seem inexperienced and greedy. The real answer is you don’t ask. You have to go on interviews without having any idea what the compensation is. Quite often there is a phone interview and your current compensation may come up as a question. If you must answer, then you must, but you should avoid it anytime you can. “But why oh guru of the job market? Won’t I be wasting everyone’s time if we are far apart?” you ask. Yes, it is possible that you are way over or way under the compensation for the job, but if that is true then someone made a mistake in qualifying you for in the first place, or you did in applying for it. A phone interviewer should determine from your current job title and level of responsibility if you two are in the same ballpark salary-wise.

Career and Management