Direct Your Career - The Professional Guide to a Better Career

Compensation – what are you really worth?

December 10, 2011

The question employees continually ask themselves, since the Egyptians hired the guy to beat the drums so the slaves would all row together is “Am I being paid fairly?”. People have an interesting way of valuing their skills. They will determine their worth by usingeverything from seniority to “I heard that a drummer in Khartoum, with no rhythm makes twenty thousand Dinar more than me for the exact same job. Dat is some major boo sheet man.” There is some science, but also some art in determining what the worth of your services is. Market value is definitely one source of research. For example, if you live in Chicago, and you are a computer programmer with ten years experience, you can pretty much figure out what other people with your skill set and experience are making. You can find out by going to salary.com or monster.com and searching on your job, your geographic location and your experience. If you do that, you will be able to see what the average pay in Chicago is for what you do. If you are underpaid, you can approach someone in your company to suggest that you may in fact be underpaid. If you

Divide and Conquer Management Style

December 9, 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 Conqueror manager, 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. Pssst…got any gossip? The D&C likes to walk around a facility and get his information by talking to junior staff, mid-managers, or in some cases, complete strangers. He asks for opinions, dismisses fact, and tries to piece together the “truth” much like I would imagine a cold war era CIA agent would but getting his information from a variety of enemy sources named Natasha and Boris. The agent or the D&C never believes anything his direct reports tell him, and

Gratitude in your attitude

December 8, 2011

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

Just Another Manic Monday (and your job search)

December 7, 2011

I got up this morning and had a somewhat odd flashback to a time about ten or fifteen years ago. Like most people, I never liked Monday’s. After spending a weekend doing what I wanted to do, and maybe sleeping a little late, I had to get up early and head back to work. The only exception to that rule was when I was looking for a new job. In the old days (or back in the day as they say now), I would be somewhat excited about Monday, because I had spent Sunday pouring over the Sunday want ads looking for jobs. Because newspapers ruled the day at that time, the Sunday classifieds was where you would see America’s largest companies advertising for their best jobs. You could search the ad in alphabetical order or by job class and find the best openings. The companies would give you the skill set and experience for which you needed to apply, and their contact information to submit a resume. Most wanted resumes via “snail mail” (the post office) or via fax. Some really advanced companies had email, but few had any online application systems. The Monster But all that changed when

Annual Performance Reviews

December 6, 2011

In my opinion, one of the biggest wastes of management time are annual performance reviews. I know, I know that is heresy. “Mike, isn’t it true we need let our staff know where they stand? Where they can improve?” you ask. Yes, every single day. Each and every day your direct reports should know where they stand. Reviews are an institutionalized exercise to overcome bad management. You know, the guys that never get involved in what is happening and stay in their offices. I do these reviews, because it is part and parcel of the bonus or merit raise process, but they are a waste of time, encourage fear, and cause people to leave companies because the marginally competent managers gave them an unfair, low rating. No, I think reviews are ridiculous, but I do them. Click here to Subscribe to Direct your career! by Email What do you think? Visit http://www.directyourcareer.com often for FREE offers!

Managing IT Projects

December 5, 2011

Managing IT projects can be a very challenging task. Setting user expectations about the time frame in which you are going to deliver the project, and determining the cost in time and resources is very important. Without doing that, you are sure to disappoint and therefore fail. I used to tell my staff that if you are one day early with a project, you are a hero. If you are on time, you have met their expectations. But if you are one day late, you have failed. They would often look at me as if I had two heads when I would tell them that. How can one day make so much of a difference? The timeliness of delivering projects make such a big difference because it is the contract you have agreed to with your business partner. They have little interest in how complex the project is, or even how much it costs. You are the expert, and they expect you to tell them those things. Then, they expect you to deliver. But projects can be complex, and the requirements often change. Lets play house! Lets use an example to demonstrate my point. Lets say you want to build

The Tazmanian Devil

December 4, 2011

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 you inspire fear, or do you inspire confidence?

December 3, 2011

I have worked with and for a lot of people. Each brings his or her experiences and personality to the position they hold. That life experience shapes that person and their reaction to the stresses of the day. One of the bosses I had in my life was a tyrant. He felt compelled to humiliate subordinates and inpire nothing but fear in his workers. That fear paralyzed decision making, and prevented people from doing their best. Most of his employees spent half their time looking over their shoulder to see if they needed to protect themselves, therefore only spending 50% of their time doing their jobs. Their productivity was terrible. Fear not! I like to inspire confidence in my people. I know that when my direct reports are confident in me and that I will not undermine every decision they make, they will grow and lead their own areas more effectively. I have had some team members make some rather bad decisions that I had to help clean up, but I would rather do that than to be the bottleneck, making all those decisions myself. I think that the managers that rule by fear are probably pretty insecure in their own skills.

Birds of a Feather – who hired him?

December 2, 2011

Many years ago, I attended a business seminar in Florida. In between each of the major speakers, there were small “break-out sessions” where like minded people could discuss topics of interest to them. These sessions were called “birds of a feather” meetings. For my younger readers, there used to be a common saying that went “birds of a feather, flock together”. Basically, it meant that like minded people always seemed to hang out together. I never forgot that concept, because it is the basis for social order, even in business. Things Are All Flocked Up! Managers and employees seem to “flock together”. Most managers hire people with whom they are comfortable. They seem to have the same values, work ethic, and general overall view of the world. In general, they are usually not much smarter or significantly less intelligent than the boss either. Basically, most managers hire people just like themselves into key positions. ******************Advertisement********************************* Get “The Professional Guide to Nailing Your Interview!” Download The Professional Guide to Nailing Your Interview! Step by step instructions on how to get the job you want. **************************************************************** Normally, if not taken to the extreme, this concept works out fine. It is especially effective

Business is a benevolent dictatorship

December 1, 2011

Many of us living in the western world have been raised under democratically elected governments. The basic premise of majority rule permeates nearly every organization in which we participate from student council to the garden club. We elect the club’s president, secretary and treasurer, and limit their terms in many instances to ensure that we don’t create some sort of accidental dictatorship. Unfortunately, when people come into the workplace, they expect some semblance of those democratic principles to be in place in the company as well. But, they are often surprised to find that business is basically a benevolent dictatorship. Yes, a dictatorship of unelected officials who are chosen by a business junta to run the business in the best interest of share holders, or the owners. Now, this is not a bad thing. You just need to understand what this means for you. ******************Advertisement********************************* Need some help getting ready for your interview? I can help! Download The Professional Guide to Nailing Your Interview Step by step instructions on how to ace any job interview! ************************************************************** In my opinion, this really is a good thing. In a highly effective company, the decision making is efficient and very quick. In a

What does your resume say about you?

November 30, 2011

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

My boss is horrible!

November 29, 2011

It is a pretty widely held management belief that people leave bosses, not companies. Most of us can find something socially redeeming about our jobs, our colleagues, and the company we work for. Most employees are not particularly demanding when it comes to raises, benefits, work assignments and workload, even the hours we are asked to put in. No, most of us will just go to work and find something good about it. It is human nature. There is one exception to that postulate, and that one exception is a bad boss. Yes, the dictatorial, unfair, idea stealing, bad breathed, body odored, unpleasant boss will generally run people off in droves. Sometimes employees will just leave the bad department, but most times they leave the company. Why? Because there is way too much risk in trying report this behavior (other than some sort harassment issue), and it is impossible to tell your boss to use mouthwash. It is more prudent to move on. Years ago I had that boss. He was ill-tempered, foul mouthed, short fused, smelled bad and demeaned everyone he spoke to. It was a nightmare to have meetings with him because you knew he was going to

Don’t go in the cave!

November 28, 2011

Have you ever noticed that every company seems to have at least one employee that cannot find anything good at all about coming to work. They hate their job, management, their pay, HR, the guy in the next cube, the cafeteria, their career, and everything, but you of course. Until you leave, and the next person is ok and you’re not!! I worked with this guy once that I thought was a great guy, we’ll call him Eyeore. Well Eyeore was always ok for the first ten minutes of any conversation. He knew sports, politics, and the weather as well as anyone. But if you stayed longer than ten minutes, something happened. Eyeore would go into the cave of depression, and he wanted to bring you with him.”Good morning Eeyore.”"Good morning Mike.”Ten minutes of healthy banter, but then:”Did you hear the company is for sale? Heard they have a buyer and they’ll be shutting down this office.”Now, that is pretty tough news early on a Monday. Come on in… I used to fall right into that trap and go right into that cave with old Eyeore. I would get all worked up, scared, down, and maybe even start asking others

Email protocol at work – don’t hit send yet!!!

November 27, 2011

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. 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. 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

Career and Management