June 21, 2006
Being Nice Pays Off
At least according to this Newsweek article. It doesn't surprise me that the idea is being promoted by two women.
At first women wanting to rise through the ranks of corporations were forced to fit in with the guys - be tough and competitive and work twice as hard just to prove that we could cut it. But as we've become more established, we've started to assert ourselves. In all spheres of our lives, women have always succeeded by helping out other people and asking for help when we needed it. In other words, being nice to each other. Now we're bringing it into the workplace. I think that's really cool.
Posted by Louise at 05:14 PM | Permalink
June 08, 2006
Advice for New Graduates
Curt Rosengren asked for contributions to his new group blog, Collective Genius. He asked for advice for new grads. Here's mine ...
Cliches are cliches for a reason - they're so true that people say them over and over until they become overplayed.
This is certainly true of the phrase "it's not what you know, it's who you know." We've all heard it so many times that it barely registers anymore. But it should. Because it's a fact.
Sadly, I am much older than you (as my brand new eye wrinkles will testify!) and during my former career as an HR executive, I heard the same thing thousands of times: "how did he/she get that position when he/she is such a [insert abusive word of your choice here]?"
The answer, of course, is that they knew the right people.
Over on Career Hub, we highlighted two recent surveys about executive job search. One found that 43% of positions were filled as a result of networking. Another surveyed headhunters and found an even higher number filled their openings through networking - an astounding 63%.
So, while it's important to work hard and develop your skills, the single most effective thing you can do to ensure future success is to build and maintain a thriving network. Stay in touch with everyone. Look for ways to help others. Share your goals with friends, family, neighbors, hairdressers, random strangers in the street. Always be generous with your time and ideas. Ask for help when you need it.
It really is all about who you know.
Posted by Louise at 12:04 PM | Permalink
April 07, 2006
Accident or Design?
Billie Sucher asks an interesting question over on Career Hub. Did your career happen by accident or by design?
In my case, I left college with no idea what I wanted to do. My love of music led me to an entry-level job in a record store, the company promoted me into HR, I did well, and eventually I parlayed that experience into helping people find jobs and started Blue Sky Resumes. Perhaps none of this would have happened if I had loved shoes instead of rock music!
Posted by Louise at 10:55 AM | Permalink
November 15, 2005
Are you at Your Max?
I found this great entry on Seth Godin's blog about Local Max vs. Big Max. I can't excerpt because it won't make sense until you read it. Then it will.
Posted by Louise at 12:31 PM | Permalink
September 24, 2005
Leaving the Fast Track
In an interesting article for the Chicago Tribune, Barbara Rose writes about the rising trend of successful executives walking away from senior-level positions in favor of a different lifestyle.
CHICAGO - On an ordinary workday, a father mowed his lawn with his sons. A mother belted out Billy Joel tunes on a grand piano. A daughter cared for her elderly mother.All of them were top executives who walked away from high-paying jobs at an age when many are just getting going -- in their mid- to late 40s -- to make new lives that suit them better.
Members of a privileged minority who can afford to stop working for pay, their motivations for jumping off the fast track are as varied as their personalities. What they share is a conviction that their worth extends beyond their roles as corporate strivers.
They are part of a broader trend in American life where more workers are questioning how they spend their time and the tradeoffs associated with demanding careers, workplace experts say. Watershed events such as the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks and corporate scandals spurred many to reassess their priorities.
``Many people have reached a point where going to work for a paycheck is not really cutting it anymore,'' said Anita Sharpe, co-founding editor of Worthwhile, an Atlanta-based magazine about meaningful work.
I run my business, Blue Sky Resumes, with my husband. Both of us walked away from executive positions to start up our business. It was certainly a risk, but it was one that has paid off for both of us. I relish the small pleasures of life now, such as reading the newspaper in the morning, or cooking dinner in the evening. I no longer struggle with the hour-long commute each way. I no longer worry about office politics, or whether my CEO is making the right decision for the business. We work from home, as do the freelance employees who make up our virtual business. If I want to bake bread in between phone meetings, I can do it. On a sunny day, we can get up and take a walk in the middle of the day. But best of all, we control our workload. If things get too busy, we can turn down new clients for a while. If a strategic partnership isn't going well, we can walk away.
Like many of the people featured in the Chicago Tribune article, we are not looking to conquer the world. We just want to enjoy our lives. For us, that meant walking away from corporate life.
Posted by Louise at 02:21 PM | Permalink
September 15, 2005
Is this what you want?
Recently, several interesting business opportunities came my way. My first reaction was to jump at all of them - after all, who doesn't want to grow their business? But on closer evaluation, some of these opportunities were not quite right for my company. As I built up to the decision to say 'no' to one company, I was tense and worried - but the moment it was done, I felt as though a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders.
The sense of relief reminded me of the last time I looked for a job. Four years ago, before I decided to start my business, I was out interviewing with various companies. One company was very keen to hire me to run their HR function. Everyone was very nice, but the job was just not for me. The culture wasn't right, the job wasn't exactly what I wanted, and the pay was much lower than I was used to. But despite all these flaws, I agonized over my decision. What if this was the only offer I got? What if I had misjudged the company? What if all the future opportunities they were promising really did materialize?
In the end, I listened to the persistent little voice that told me to run far, far away from that job and - once the decision was made - I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that it was right.
So what does this all have to do with you? I guess I just wanted to remind job seekers that it's important to consciously choose what you want to do, and that it's OK to say 'no' sometimes.
Posted by Louise at 06:11 PM | Permalink
September 03, 2005
Pros and cons of blogging
Regular readers know that I am a big advocate for blogging as a career development tool, but this Philadelphia Inquirer article highlights the need to be careful about what you say online:
For the moment, much of the news falls into the "cautionary tale" category. Earlier this month, a California automobile club fired 27 workers for posting messages on the Web that offended coworkers. Not long before, a Boston University instructor was fired for blogging about a distractingly attractive student; a blogging nanny was fired for telling too much about herself and her employers, and a New York beauty editor lost a new job because of blogs about the fashion industry.
Does this mean I'm crazy to encourage blogging? I don't believe so, but I think that the key is to be hyper-aware of your audience. As the Inquirer points out:
All bloggers ... would be wise to write as if their bosses, future bosses or grandmothers were reading over their shoulders.
Use your blog as a way to show your knowledge, expertise and potential value to other companies. Use your diary to blow off steam about your boss or the crazy new company policy that's driving you up the wall.
Posted by Louise at 01:11 PM | Permalink
August 15, 2005
Long Days
Last time I went to visit my family in England, I was shocked at how early most people left work. 5 o' clock on the dot and everyone was packing up to leave. At the time, I worked for a corporation and leaving before 7 pm would have been frowned upon, even on a normal day without any particular crises. Things got worse when a workaholic President joined the company. He arrived at 6 am and rarely went home before 11 pm. I continued to leave at around 7 or 8 pm, but started to feel paranoid as I pulled out of the parking lot and always wondered if he would come looking for me after I'd left.
Now that I run my own business, I do things very differently, so I was interested to see this post by a fellow entrepreneur, Zane Safrit.
Zane points out the absurdity of the belief that meetings and long hours equal more productivity.
I worked at a company where this 'reality' (actually it was a nightmare) grew steadily until my day was completely spent in meetings. Just meetings. Maybe one in 10 produced a result. Most were to meet about what hadn't happened since the last meeting. But there was no time to accomplish the goals from the prior meeting so we had to have a meeting to address the impact, then reset timelines (reset the adrenals, really) and then meet in the hallways to commiserate about the absurdity of it all.
Of course, it isn't easy to cut back on your hours - especially if you're not the boss - but it's worth trying because there is a high price to pay for the strain we place on ourselves every day and at least some of it may be self-inflicted.
Posted by Louise at 02:46 PM | Permalink
August 14, 2005
Bored at Work
In studying our website traffic, I've noticed that we have considerably higher traffic during the week, and that our peak period is the middle of the working day. Consider that our site is all about resumes and career advice, and you can see there's a problem for America's employers. But that's not all. I've also been helping a friend moderate an entertainment-related web forum and guess when the site is busiest... yes, on weekdays!
This article from the Washington Post might explain why so many people are visiting websites when they should be working.
"We know that 55 percent of all U.S. employees are not engaged at work. They are basically in a holding pattern. They feel like their capabilities aren't being tapped into and utilized and therefore, they really don't have a psychological connection to the organization," said Curt W. Coffman, global practice leader at the Gallup Organization, whose large polling group measured employee engagement.
And while overworked and overstressed employees may feel as though a little boredom would be a relief from time to time, that's not necessarily the case.
Boredom is "one of the biggest contributors to work-related stress," said Douglas LaBier, a business psychologist who runs the Center for Adult Development in Washington. The less someone works at work, the more pressure they feel.
So, hopefully those people who surf our website because they're bored at work will actually be inspired to go out and find a more suitable job.
Posted by Louise at 01:08 PM | Permalink
August 06, 2005
Party Pooper?
CNN ran a piece last week about the downfalls of summer parties:
With the corporate retreat and outing season upon us, workers are stepping out of their cubicles and into the less-charted territory of playing golf, tennis or barbecuing with their colleagues.These outings have led to such awkward moments as the purchasing analyst whose slippery grip on his golf club sent his division's vice president to the emergency room or the marketing director whose bathing suit top came off during a game of beach volleyball.
Add in families and alcohol, and the potential for embarrassment multiplies. As when your spouse warmly greets your boss, mentioning that the person with him now (his wife) was not the woman he was with at the Christmas party or when your 3-year-old daughter advises the CEO that he'd do better in the sack race if he weren't so fat.
This piece took me back to my former career in corporate HR. No matter what the function (Christmas party, summer picnic or drinks after work with the boss) there was always at least one person who embarassed themselves. I remember at one female employee who was terminated as a direct result of her behavior at a Christmas party. After watching her, the CEO simply did not believe she could be trusted in her position as personal assistant to the company's CFO, and she lost her job the very next day.
So, if your company's throwing a summer bash, make plans to behave yourself in advance!
Posted by Louise at 12:06 PM | Permalink
July 28, 2005
Looking Good?
USA Today reports that your appearance can have a dramatic effect on job search success and salary level. This may seem like common sense, but as dress codes have become more casual, it seems that many of us have forgotten about the importance of looking good.
Matt Kennedy, 24, a public relations account executive in Orlando, no longer wears his hair to work in a fashion that looks like a modified mohawk. Instead, he wears glasses and sweeps his hair to the side in a style he describes as a bit like Clark Kent."Before, I was struggling to get a job. Then I got three job offers in one week," Kennedy says. "On the weekends, I wear my trendy clothes and jeans that are bleached out."
It's the reason Brian Chernicky, 30, owner of the newly founded San Diego-based Real Online Marketing, wears a pair of fake glasses when wooing clients. He thinks it makes him look smarter. "Marketing is perception," he says.
Posted by Louise at 04:31 PM | Permalink
July 22, 2005
Offbeat Jobs
When I hear the term "career path," I tend to think of a straight line from A to B, clear-cut and planned. But the reality for most of us is a little less straightforward. Take me for example ... I started out working in a record store after leaving college because I had no idea what to do with my life and I loved music. Within a couple of years, my employer gave me a clerical job in HR. I didn't have any particular ambition to work in HR, but I did want to stop working weekends, so I jumped at the chance! I turned out to be good at my job and I earned promotions until I held an executive HR position. And then I decided to use the skills I had learned and start Blue Sky Resumes. I've enjoyed all my jobs, but I couldn't have imagined my current role as business owner when I started work that first day at the record store.
Career Journal points out that even the most offbeat job can turn into a lucrative career if you're passionate and talented. So, if you're just starting out on your career path, don't worry if it twists and turns along the way. The journey is rarely a straight line from A to B.
Posted by Louise at 04:02 PM | Permalink
June 22, 2005
Career Advice
This article offers some great insights from 30 successful executives who were asked about the lessons they have learned on their way to success. Some discuss mistakes made, others advice that they were given. All offer food for thought.
Posted by Louise at 03:05 PM | Permalink
May 29, 2005
Resigning with Grace
Normally, I write about looking for a job, but this week I ran across a great post on Monster about leaving your job gracefully.
As they point out:
When you're really unhappy in a job and finally able to escape, it's tempting to use the exit interview as a forum to read off the laundry list of complaints you've been carrying around in your head about your company, job, or even boss and coworkers. But though you've got one foot out the door, you still want to watch what you say. When you had your initial interview with this company, would you tell them you wanted to leave your current employer because you hated your boss? Of course not. So why would you say that when you still work for said boss (although not for much longer)?
Cliches are cliches for a reason - they're overused because they're true. Burning bridges is never a smart move and exit interviews can be a dangerous trap. Read the rest of the post for good advice and links to related articles.
Posted by Louise at 03:38 PM | Permalink
April 25, 2005
Keeping Track
Today I'm working on a resume for a client who is having a hard time recalling details of her prior projects. She's not sure of the results of her efforts and sometimes she can't remember why a project was even started. I'm concerned that her resume won't reflect her true abilities, which got me thinking ...
Do you keep a record of what you do at work? Do you track your impact, make notes when your boss compliments you, or jot down details of projects you're working on? If not, you should!
None of us has a job for life anymore --- when you come to write your next resume, think how much easier it will be if you can refer to a written record.
Posted by Louise at 08:29 AM | Permalink
March 08, 2005
Web Portfolios that work
I just got a note from a resume client who wanted me to look at the new online portfolio he had developed. It looked very attractive until I started reading! The tone was casual (sometimes flippant) and the content seemed aimed more at his friends than at potential managers. This is a young man who plans to use his website to help with his job search, and yet he hadn't really thought about his audience.
If you have an online portfolio or personal website and you give that URL to potential employers in emails or on your resume, make sure that it presents a professional image and that it sells your talents and abilities just as well as your resume does. If you are not a professional designer, pay a designer to create your site. If you're not a great copywriter, pay someone to write the content.
And, don't forget blogs. If you write a personal blog, don't write anything that you'd be ashamed for a potential employer to see. Remember that nothing on the Web is private ...your managers, peers, business rivals and potential employers could all be looking for you online. Make sure they like what they find!
Posted by Louise at 02:15 PM | Permalink
March 03, 2005
Starting a new job
Regular readers know I usually like to talk about job search, but I found this article about starting a new job pretty interesting. A new study shows that 35% of managers either quit or are asked to leave within 18 months of starting a new job.
You can read the article here ... http://tinyurl.com/4dkyd.
This just shows the importance of choosing the job and not letting the job choose you during a job search.
Posted by Louise at 10:21 AM | Permalink
February 25, 2005
Blogging To Career Success
I've been thinking a lot about why job seekers should establish an online presence ... and even more about how they can do it. Last week I wrote that 23% of people research someone online before a business meeting. We can assume that this applies to interviews as well as other kinds of business meetings... and that means that truly managing perceptions requires a strong online presence.
My company creates web portfolios (www.blueskyportfolios.com) but there are other ways to establish an online presence and it struck me today that blogging is one of the quickest and easiest ways to do that. If you can write a couple of paragraphs once or twice a week (business-related of course!) then a blog is a perfect way to get noticed. You can educate others in your profession about trends, you can discuss industry or functional issues, and you can link to useful resources. I'll talk in another post about publicizing your blog, but for now, think about whether you could commit to creating one.
Check out the service I'm using (www.typepad.com) - it's easy to set up, and you can try it for free for 30 days. One word of warning ... don't set up a blog if you can't keep it current. That will hurt your reputation more than help it.
Posted by blueskyresumes at 08:14 PM | Permalink