With the first month of 2013 rapidly coming to a close, it’s time to decide what your career will look like this year. Rather than going throughout the whole year, only to look back on “what was,” you can plan now to look ahead and imagine “what will be.” … [Read more...]
The Olympics inspire all but the most hardened of us to want to be better. Maybe we admire the athletes’ fitness and consider starting a regime of our own. Perhaps we use them as a model for our kids of how perseverance can bring rewards. But what can they teach us about success in business? … [Read more...]
Networking…for some reason the very word strikes fear in the heart of many professionals. But networking doesn’t have to be scary. Or hard. Or a waste of time. Because it’s really just a fancy business jargon-y word for “getting to know someone.” And who doesn’t want to do that? … [Read more...]
Continual growth is at the heart of what creates and sustains great leaders and valued employees. And the lack of personal growth, more than anything else, sabotages careers. What's the opposite of growth? Stagnation. Contentment with the status quo. Showing up at work every day but putting in minimum effort. Some call it "quitting and staying." If this sounds familiar, it's probably because you have known someone -- or perhaps you have been someone -- who fits this description. Case in … [Read more...]
It's not WHAT you know, it's WHO you know. Right? So who is it that you should know? The implicit assumption is that if you want to get a new job, you need to know people who have jobs. But that could be ANYbody with decision-making authority, so it's not as helpful as you'd like to think. … [Read more...]
What's the next step in your career? The way you answer this question says a lot about how you relate to your work – whether it's pulling you or pushing you. PUSHing means that you're OK with other people telling you, directing you, and giving you opportunities – or not. PULLing means that you're using your jobs to take you in a particular career direction, towards some kind of ultimate goal. … [Read more...]
Whew! It looks like we may actually survive to the end of 2011 – and it's been a brutal year. If you're lucky enough to have a job, you've probably worried about whether you'd keep it. Time to have some great quality time with the family, and refresh for a new year. … [Read more...]
Yeah, your boss is a pain. Always getting on your case about something or other, and she never listens to your requests for some time off or making your job easier. Realize that being a manager is a real job, and your boss is a real person. She probably doesn't WANT to make your life miserable, she just finds it a necessary part of getting the work done. Here's some ideas for how to build up the relationship so that, just maybe, she'll treat you a bit more like a human. … [Read more...]
Most people resist the word "accountability." This poor term has been so beaten and battered over the last 20 years that nobody wants to talk about it anymore – much less be held accountable for something. But I'm going to take this head-on. To be accountable means that people expect that you'll do what you're expected to do. You said you'd pick up the kids at 6:00, so you show up at the right time and the right place. People can count on you. … [Read more...]
Indeed, most people don’t understand their compensation. That’s amazing, since after all, compensation is the main purpose for having a job. Don’t misunderstand me: most people know their salary, but salary is only a part of total compensation. There’s a lot more that you should know about this subject so that when you’re in the compensation negotiation stage of your interview, you’ll be equipped with the ammo necessary to win. There are two major parts to compensation: the money you … [Read more...]
