http://directyourcareer.com/blog from MEA Strategic Solutions, LLC Fri, 18 May 2012 16:19:00 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://directyourcareer.com/blog/what-do-you-know-about-your-employees.html http://directyourcareer.com/blog/what-do-you-know-about-your-employees.html#comments Fri, 18 May 2012 16:19:00 +0000 Mike Anderson http://directyourcareer.com/blog/?p=767   Charley Charley, a new retiree-greeter at Wal-Mart, just couldn’t seem to get to work on time.    Every day he was 5, 10, 15 minutes late. But he was a good worker, really tidy, clean-shaven, sharp minded and a real credit to the company; obviously demonstrating their “Older Person Friendly” policies.  One day the boss called him into the office for a talk. “Charley, I have to tell you, I like your work ethic, you do a bang up job. But, being late so often is quite bothersome.” “I know boss, and I am working on it.” ”Well good, you are a team player. That’s what I like to hear. It’s odd though your coming in late.   I know you’re retired from the Armed Forces. So, what did they say if you came in late back then?”  ‘‘They said, ‘Good morning, Admiral, can I get you coffee, sir?”’ What do you know about your employees?  Some of them have skills and talents that are far beyond what you see of them day in and day out. The Problem Several years ago, I had an opening for a computer programmer.  One of the computer operators approached me with an [...]]]> http://directyourcareer.com/blog/what-do-you-know-about-your-employees.html/feed 1 http://directyourcareer.com/blog/do-you-know-where-the-greatest-treasures-in-the-world-are-buried.html http://directyourcareer.com/blog/do-you-know-where-the-greatest-treasures-in-the-world-are-buried.html#comments Fri, 11 May 2012 10:20:09 +0000 Mike Anderson http://directyourcareer.com/blog/?p=276 I heard a guy ask once “Do you know where the greatest treasures in the world are buried?”They are not buried in the diamond mines of Africa.They are not buried in the oil fields of the middle east.They are not buried on sunken treasure ships deep in the Atlantic. No, they are buried in the billions of graves all over the world, along with the books that were never written, the businesses that were never started, the athletes that never reached for the stars, relationships that were never fulfilled, and many more unfulfilled dreams because the people buried there took their dreams with them to their graves, afraid to fail. We are each blessed with so many talents that come standard with who you are. The irony is that most us don’t know what that talent is because it is something so natural and easy for us to do that it just doesn’t “can’t” be a talent.Talents are obvious, right?I used to listen to people sing and think “oh, I would love to be able to do that.”I used to see beautiful art and think “oh, I could never do that. I don’t have that talent.”I never thought I had [...]]]> http://directyourcareer.com/blog/do-you-know-where-the-greatest-treasures-in-the-world-are-buried.html/feed 2 http://directyourcareer.com/blog/get-ready-for-that-interview-2.html http://directyourcareer.com/blog/get-ready-for-that-interview-2.html#comments Sun, 06 May 2012 07:11:46 +0000 Mike Anderson http://directyourcareer.com/blog/get-ready-for-that-interview-2.html So, you’ve spent hours and hours searching job boards for openings. You contacted all of your friends, joined social sites like LinkedIn, and expanded your network. You’ve tweaked your resume to the point that you are really happy with it. And you’ve sent it out more than a dozen times. All that hard has work paid off and you’ve finally received a call back. They want you to come in for an interview. Yikes! Are you ready? Preparation You have 72 hours to prepare for your interview. I guess its too late to lose ten pounds, or work on your tan, huh? Too late to get that MBA or latest certification I suppose. But, all is not lost because there are many things you can do that your competition is not doing, and I will tell you what that is. What to wear First, you need to decide what you are going to wear. No matter what the dress code is of the company to which you are applying, you must dress in business attire. For men, that means you need a conservative dress shirt, a tie, and a suit or sports coat/blazer. Make sure all of your clothes fit [...]]]> http://directyourcareer.com/blog/get-ready-for-that-interview-2.html/feed 0 http://directyourcareer.com/blog/chain-of-command.html http://directyourcareer.com/blog/chain-of-command.html#comments Fri, 04 May 2012 03:48:21 +0000 Mike Anderson http://directyourcareer.com/blog/?p=260 I spent four years in the United States Navy. I learned a great many useful life lessons during that time, but the most significant lesson I learned was to respect the chain of command. In a military context, the chain of command is the line of authority and responsibility along which orders are passed within a military unit and between different units. Orders are transmitted down the chain of command, from a higher-ranked soldier, such as a commissioned officer, to lower-ranked personnel who either execute the order personally or transmit it down the chain as appropriate, until it is received by those expected to execute it. In general, military personnel give orders only to those directly below them in the chain of command and receive orders only from those directly above them. Thank you sir, may I have another? The concept of chain of command also implies that higher rank alone does not entitle a higher-ranking service member to give commands to anyone of lower rank. For example, an officer of unit “A” does not directly command lower-ranking members of unit “B”, and is generally expected to approach an officer of unit “B” if he requires action by members of [...]]]> http://directyourcareer.com/blog/chain-of-command.html/feed 1 http://directyourcareer.com/blog/get-ready-for-that-interview-3.html http://directyourcareer.com/blog/get-ready-for-that-interview-3.html#comments Tue, 01 May 2012 00:41:59 +0000 Mike Anderson http://directyourcareer.com/blog/?p=729 http://directyourcareer.com/blog/get-ready-for-that-interview-3.html/feed 81 http://directyourcareer.com/blog/is-college-worth-it-2.html http://directyourcareer.com/blog/is-college-worth-it-2.html#comments Sat, 28 Apr 2012 23:03:46 +0000 Mike http://justmike70.wordpress.com/?p=94 Obviously, that is a loaded question.  I can assure you that all of the people who have dedicated their lives, professions, and livelihood to education will and should give you an emotional “YES”!  But what of the rest of us that worked hard in high school to get good enough grades to get into a top notch university?  What about the parents and students who pay something south of $100,000 to get a four degree with absolutely no promise of a job afterward?  And lastly, what about the 60 credits you are required to take, called electives to augment the 60 credits of your major so as to give you a well rounded education?  When is the last time you used “The Planets, Stars and Universe” in your new job as an accountant? You need to go to the Business Office I have always held that there are two parts of  the university environment.  There is the education part, the one we all understand whereby college professors teach classes, do research, and publish papers.  This is the part where crotchety old people who don’t work in the real world, essentially inculcate young heads of mush with the important facts they [...]]]> http://directyourcareer.com/blog/is-college-worth-it-2.html/feed 0 http://directyourcareer.com/blog/what-does-your-resume-say-about-you.html http://directyourcareer.com/blog/what-does-your-resume-say-about-you.html#comments Fri, 27 Apr 2012 22:32:31 +0000 Mike Anderson http://directyourcareer.com/blog/?p=200 As a career coach and senior executive, I can’t tell you how often I hear people say “I just don’t know what to do with my life.” It is a very tough question, and I am here to tell you that that question is not always coming from high school seniors either. Many of my clients, men and women in the 40′s and 50′s still express the same concern. Their dilemma is very understandable since we really receive little or no actual guidance on this subject in our youth. High school guidance counselors are geared more to making sure you get into college if that is what you want to do. Most people simply seem to either trip into their careers, or have their careers chosen for them by their parents. Choosing a job is not that hard. Anyone can do it. Just look around you and say “I want to be that when I grow up.” But, choosing a career that you will enjoy for a long time, if not the rest of your life is a true challenge. It does take a little planning on your part though. The plan will also take on a different form depending [...]]]> http://directyourcareer.com/blog/what-does-your-resume-say-about-you.html/feed 6 http://directyourcareer.com/blog/divide-and-conquer-management-style.html http://directyourcareer.com/blog/divide-and-conquer-management-style.html#comments Thu, 26 Apr 2012 21:52:03 +0000 Mike Anderson http://directyourcareer.com/blog/?p=250 I guess you could say that all managers can be put into general management styles. Some are funny. Some are yellers. Some are dictators. Some manage by committee. Some never communicate face to face, but via email. So I suppose that since people are different, so should there be a variety management styles. One of the most dysfunctional management styles I have seen is what I call the Divide and Conquerer, aka the D&C. The D&C is a manager that chooses to have no structure in his life. He conducts no staff meetings, no structured one on one discussions, any meetings that are scheduled are without an agenda and normally called at the last minute so you can’t prepare. The D&C likes to walk around a facility and get his information by talking to staff, junior managers, or in some cases, complete strangers. He asks for opinions and tries to piece together the “truth” much like I would imagine a cold war era CIA agent has to get his information from a variety of enemy sources named Natasha and Boris. He never believes anthing his staff tells him and pits one against the other.He never gets the whole picture, but [...]]]> http://directyourcareer.com/blog/divide-and-conquer-management-style.html/feed 1 http://directyourcareer.com/blog/is-college-worth-it.html http://directyourcareer.com/blog/is-college-worth-it.html#comments Wed, 18 Apr 2012 13:19:25 +0000 Mike Anderson http://directyourcareer.com/blog/?p=240 Obviously, that is a loaded question. I can assure you that all of the people who have dedicated their lives, professions, and livelihood to education will and should give you an emotional “YES”! But what of the rest of us that worked hard in high school to get good enough grades to get into a top notch university? What about the parents and students who pay something south of $100,000 to get a four year degree with absolutely no promise of a job afterward? And lastly, what about the 60 credits you are required to take, called electives to augment the 60 credits of your major so as to give you a well rounded education? When is the last time you used “The Planets, Stars and Universe” in your new job as an accountant? I have always held that there are two parts of the university environment. There is the education part, the one we all understand whereby college professors teach classes, do research, and publish papers. This is the part where crochity old people who don’t work essentially inculcate young heads of mush with the important facts they will need to succeed in the real world. Then, there is [...]]]> http://directyourcareer.com/blog/is-college-worth-it.html/feed 1 http://directyourcareer.com/blog/what-does-your-resume-say-about-you-2.html http://directyourcareer.com/blog/what-does-your-resume-say-about-you-2.html#comments Sun, 15 Apr 2012 10:40:43 +0000 Mike http://justmike70.wordpress.com/2008/05/19/what-does-your-resume-say-about-you/ I have read thousands of resumes in my career as a C-level executive. To be honest, I usually read the first couple of lines and scan the job titles of the candidate in an effort to glean what I am able to as quickly as possible. Do you know why? Not because I am too busy or too lazy to read them. No, it is because they are often so boring and poorly formatted that I can hardly get past the first few lines. Read me! To get hiring authorities to read your resume, candidates must find ways to create an eye appealing format. Whether you are an entry level candidate, or a senior executive, the first two people that read your resume are generally completely unqualified to make a determination as to whether or not you are qualified for the position for which you are applying. Executive Recruiters or internal HR staff only know on a superficial level whether your qualifications match up with the requirements of the job. Normally, knowing that is that is the job of the hiring authority, but only if your resume has passed on to them through the hands of the first level gate [...]]]> http://directyourcareer.com/blog/what-does-your-resume-say-about-you-2.html/feed 4