Direct Your Career - The Professional Guide to a Better Career

Get ready for that interview!

December 25, 2011

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

Divide and Conquer Management Style

December 23, 2011

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

Praise in public – criticize in private

December 22, 2011

How often have you seen it? The belligerent, screaming boss who ridicules the staff in front of everyone. Maybe you’ve seen in a restaurant. The owner is ranting at the waitress in front of customers. Maybe you have been in a store and heard a supervisor make a quiet, snide remark at a cashier for something he or she did. Maybe your boss lost his temper at work and screamed at you in front of you co-workers for doing something wrong. Maybe you are that kind of boss. Maybe you “dress down” your employees in staff meetings, or make fun of them in front of your boss. Maybe you make them look bad in front of customers to make yourself feel better about yourself. Is that you? There is no place in business for that sort of behavior. Whenever you as a fully functioning manager are required to handle a sticky situation, it is incumbent upon you to handle it privately, quitely, profesionally, and in a dignified manner. People who are treated with dignity will accept your critique in a dignified manner. People are ridiculed will harbor resentments that will affect their future performance and morale. On the other hand,

Authenticity – are you always authentic?

December 21, 2011

What does being “authentic” mean? In this case, I mean to ask, are you qualified to do your job? Do you have the skills or experience to perform the duties you are being paid to do, or are you what people call a “poser”, or an imposter. I Won, I Won! There are many people who luck into their jobs. They hit a sort of lottery of circumstances that almost drop their jobs into their laps. Often, they are in the right place at the right time. Or, they inherit their positions because their bosses simply left. In some cases, people get their jobs because they are likeable, or to say it more politically incorrectly, because they are attractive. So what happens when people get these jobs that they do not deserve? Well, any number of outcomes are possible. In the best scenario, the poser learns the job. They have enough time, intellect, and work ethic to study hard, ask for help and take advice. There is nothing wrong with that, as many people need time to learn their positions. The best example of that is when someone is elected President of the United States. There is nothing that can

Do you know where the greatest treasures in the world are buried?

December 20, 2011

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

Is college worth it?

December 19, 2011

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

Seven things that have been replaced in the last 20 years

December 18, 2011

Just for fun, I put together the following list of common items that you will be hard pressed to ever see again, but were incredibly common just 20 years ago. 1) Phone Booth Once common on every street corner, airport, and hotel lobby, you will be hard pressed to find one. They were so important to society, that Superman originally used phone booths to change out of his street clothes as Clark Kent and into his Superman costume. 2) Floppy Disks When I first came into business, there were 7 inch, 5.25 inch and finally 3.5 inch disks that would fit inside your computer that would be where you backed up your data. You can put a box of floppies on one flash drive today. 3) Slide Rules Believe it or not, every engineer and engineering student had a slide rule in his brief case. It was a manual device that was used to do complex mathematical calculations. It cost as much as $100 in 1990 and was replaced by a free calculator. 4) Video Cassette Recorder (VCR) Ah yes, the VCR. You cannot go to a yard sale today and not find someone trying to sell you a $500

Get ready for that interview!

December 17, 2011

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

NIH – Not invented here!

December 16, 2011

NIH is something that permeates bad management and bad businesses everywhere. Basically, it means that if you or a member of your team did not come up with an idea, then you immediately discount it as being bad, or unworthy. I know you have encountered NIH yourself, but maybe you didn’t realize it. What you talkin bout Willis? Well, let’s say you have had a consultant thrust upon you. This consultant was hired to help you to do something that you feel you are doing just fine, but management wants you to do it better, or minimally to ensure or validate that you are doing it as well as possible. Well, the consultant begins by interviewing you and members of your staff. Each time the consultant asks a question that seems to challenge you, you immediately answer with “We’ve tried that before, and it just doesn’t work here.” Even if you haven’t ever tried it you dismiss it because the idea was “not invented here” so it can’t be any good, right? Each time the consultant suggests anything, his ideas are not taken seriously. I often encourage managers to “open the kimono” when it comes to consultants or new thinking.

The Best Management Personalities

December 15, 2011

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 there, 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

Job hunting in a tough market!

December 14, 2011

In recent weeks, several of my clients have asked my help in finding them a new job. They each have different reasons for wanting to change jobs. Some just want more money. A few are not comfortable with the financial health of their current employer. And, I have one entry level client and one recently “outplaced” client that just need help getting started. Finding a job is not necessarily that hard, but finding the right job does take a plan. There was a time in the recent past when people would just shotgun resumes or respond to every job ad they saw. That method does work, but it is a lot more painful in terms of time, and success. If you think about it, you need to hit the right company at the right time looking for your credentials. Odds seem a little against you. So, it is best to create a plan of attack, and to work your plan. This will take how long??? The first rule of thumb that people need to know in the job search is that, as non-scientific it may be, you should expect to spend about one month per $10,000 of salary hunting for

Handling Criticism from Your Superiors: Listen, Learn, and Improve

December 13, 2011

The following article is a guest post by Mariana Ashley. Criticism within certain jobs varies highly, based mostly on the temperament of your superiors. Some supervisors will be very generous with their criticisms, some will overdo it, while others may leave you completely in the dark in terms of your progress. While most criticism on the job is certainly meant to be constructive, here are a few tips for handling and learning from any sort of criticism that comes your way. 1. Never take it personally. Even if a supervisor takes particular pleasure in heaping on the criticism, never take it as a personal attack. If you take criticism as an affront, then you’ll be less likely to improve and abide by your supervisor’s requests. Taking things personally whether or not it was meant to be, and most of the time it isn’t will only give you more of a headache than it’s worth. 2. Ask questions often. The best way to make the most of the criticism that you receive from your boss is to ask questions about what you can do to improve. This demonstrates a willingness to listen and openness to making appropriate changes. It also clears

I need a job!

December 12, 2011

In recent weeks, several colleagues have asked my help to find a new job. Finding a job is pretty hard, but with some skill it can be made easier. Most people just shot gun resumes until one sticks. That does work, but it is a lot more painful. How Long Will it Take The first rule of thumb that people need to understand is that as a non-scientific rule of thumb, it takes about one month per $10,000 of salary to find that new job. If you do a quick calculation, that means it would take about 6 months of job searching, sending resumes, and interviewing to find a $60,000 job. That is pretty long, so it is important that you are organized. Your Job Search is a Full-time Job Second, depending on your current job status, looking for a job can be a full time job. If you are currently employed, you can look part-time by searching job boards, answering, ads, and networking. You can work a couple of recruiters in your industy, but don’t work with more than two or three. If you are out of work, then work your job search for eight hours a day. -

The Best Management Personalities

December 11, 2011

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

Career and Management

Get ready for that interview!

Divide and Conquer Management Style

Praise in public – criticize in private

Authenticity – are you always authentic?

Do you know where the greatest treasures in the world are buried?

Is college worth it?

Seven things that have been replaced in the last 20 years

Get ready for that interview!

NIH – Not invented here!

The Best Management Personalities

Job hunting in a tough market!

Handling Criticism from Your Superiors: Listen, Learn, and Improve

I need a job!

The Best Management Personalities

Other Career Tools