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Persistence – Don’t leave before the miracle happens

May 10, 2012

I learned the hard way that the primary key to success is not talent. It isn’t brains, looks, or education. It isn’t any of the things that you are taught growing up. No, the key to success at any level is persistence. To succeed, one needs to continually strive to get what they want. And when I say continually strive, I don’t mean work harder, etc., I mean picking yourself up when knocked down and continuing the fight until you get what it is you want and to expect and learn from your failures. Some people call it suit up and show up. When I was a freshman in high school in 1776, I played soccer on the school’s soccer team. I didn’t go out for soccer because of some deep love of the game. No, as an American I played soccer because I knew it would force me to get into excellent physical condition for my first sport love, basketball. Even then I understood my own shortcomings and knew that if I didn’t have someone or something driving me to workout, I would not have been in good enough shape for basketball. Before each practice, our soccer coach made

Career advisors (aka In-flight Consultants)

May 9, 2012

I have had far too much experience in my career with people who believe everything that they see and hear is fact, before actually doing any research to find out the truth. I have had bosses, co-workers, subordinates, and friends who will declare something as fact when the facts are actually in opposition to their point. I will give some examples of someone’s perception being their reality. Some years ago there was a new fad in toys called pogs. It was a game where you would try to flip disk shaped pieces of plastic into a cup. Our CEO at the time came back to the office and said he had a conversation with a 16 year old kid on a flight who told him that pogs were the next big thing. A 16 year old kid? Our CEO then ordered the toy buyer to go out and corner the market on pogs. He directed him to buy millions of dollars of the stupid little game. The buyer argued that we should test the product before buying that many, but the CEO over-ruled him and forced him to move ahead. Well, I’m sure by now you have guessed the end

The Best Management Personalities

May 7, 2012

As I have studied careers, business, and management over the years, I have come up with four personality types of leadership. The first is positive, the next two are neutral to negative, and the fourth is a disaster. The first management personality type is the manager who wanted to be the boss, and once there, likes being the boss. This personality type is normally very qualified for the job. They have a comfort level around their employees and around their peers. This is a very effective manager. The second and more neutral personality is one that wanted to be the boss, but once their hates it. They campaigned or pursued the job for much of their career, and in fact may have spent many years preparing for it. But, once there, for some reason they found that they really dislike or hate the job. Maybe they don’t like the politics. Maybe they don’t like dealing with or directing people, maybe they were very good at the job they had, but found management was not what they thought. This manager is effective, but not great. The third management personality is also neutral to negative. This boss who doesn’t want to be

Are you ready for your Interview!?!

April 30, 2012

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 read my book "The Professional Guide to Creating a Killer Resume" and 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?

Gratitude in your attitude

April 19, 2012

One important and often overlooked factor in your job search is gratitude. “Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can – there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did.” Very few people understand the moment they are in, good or bad, will bring them grattitude in the future. Understanding that is the key to a happy life, but also the key to getting what you really want. If you are unemployed, you most likely are not feeling grateful for very much. The pressures that come along with unemployment make it hard to feel grateful. But, that attitude also comes through in your job search. Whether it is in a phone interview, a face to face interview, or just that you have stopped working hard on your job search, that lack of gratitude will negatively affect your success. The same holds true if you are under-employed or just not happy with your current job. The feeling that you will not have success will most assuredly play itself out and continue to bring you a lack of success in your job or job search. Periodically, throughout the day, and everday, say out loud “I am very

What does your resume say about you?

April 15, 2012

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

Should you ever take a counter offer?

April 11, 2012

The great thing about looking for a new job is that you will eventually find one. You get to enjoy the rush and stress of interviewing, the code words you have to use to break away from work so you can go on an interview without burning a vacation day (dental appointment = interview), and finding that one person you trust to tell them how it went!! When can you start? Then comes the moment of truth when you get the offer. The compensation is a little less than you wanted, but 15% more than you make now, and you don’t have all that baggage from your current job to carry along with you. Nope, when you start the new job, you have all the credibility and respect you deserve. But then you go into your manager and say “Frank, I have some bad news. I have taken another job.” You then prepare for the worst. You think old Frank is going to erupt into a cacophony of expletives telling you how ungrateful you are!!!! But, no. He looks sad. He isn’t happy, but he isn’t mad. He is, how should I say it? Disappointed. Why would you leave him?

The Tazmanian Devil

April 5, 2012

One of the first things I learned in business about people is that there are marathon runners and there are sprinters. What I mean by that is that some people can only work on a project or hold a thought for a short period of time before losing their focus and moving on to something new. By moving on, or sprinting to the next project, they leave the actual work to the marathon runners, you know, the guys that just plod along making sure everything is working. There used to be this cartoon character on TV that I loved called the Tasmanian Devil. You could tell he was about to burst onto the scene because in the distance you heard this whirl of wind and could see a dust cloud up in the sky. As he got closer, all you could see was this tornado looking thing approaching until it came to a sudden stop. The Devil would stand still, looking side to side only with his eyes, keeping very still, before spinning away to another location to stir things up. Everyone was afraid of the Tasmanian Devil. *********************Advertisement********************* Are you tired of sending out resumes without a response? Interviews

Do only what YOU can do, not what you both can do

April 3, 2012

As employees traverse the career ladder, they are always faced with an interesting dilemma. Because they are often spawn from the same river as are their co-workers, they usually have the same or similar skill sets. Unfortunately, the newly promoted co-worker must have a toolkit of somewhat superior skills, therefore the promotion. The dilemma they face is to not fall onto the superior skills of their former position as a matter or course, but to step up to their new, albeit higher calling. People under pressure cannot help but to fall back onto their instincts. If they are good accountants, they cannot help but to fall back on being a good accountant when things get tough, even if they are now head of accounting. But, if the new head of accounting is being a good accountant, who is being the new head of accounting? The point I make is that if you are doing things that your subordinates are capable of doing, who is doing the job that only you can do? Here is the bottom line, if you are a Chief of something, only YOU can be the chief. If you are the Head of something, only you can Head it up. But, if you are performing the duties that

Should you go back to school for your MBA?

March 18, 2012

Many of my career clients often ask me if they should go back to school for an MBA. Most of the time they are asking as a result of some negative experience they just suffered. It usually comes while they are looking for a job and aren’t getting offers, or even interviews. Probably Not Generally, my answer is no, don’t go back. Why would I discourage someone from getting more education when the conventional wisdom might say otherwise. Well, it is because you must examine your motives whenever you do anything. If you are going back to school because you feel the additional knowledge will make you a better employee, then yes, you should go. But, if you are using it to add a pedigree to your resume, then forget it. The MBA might get you in the door and could possibly get you to the finals, but your work experience and the chemistry you create with the hiring authority is what will get you hired. I am not a big fan of the industry of higher education. College is a business. The business of college is to collect tuition, turn out graduates, and recruit new ones. There are two

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Career and Management

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