Today is my birthday. I wanted to make sure that these two WSJ pieces made it on:
First, and I cannot stress this enough, attitude is perhaps most important when you are looking for a job or starting a career right now. This article on being the "go-getter" makes the point perfectly. If you are passionate about your opportunities, make sure you translate that for potential employers in a no-job-too-small (or too big), perform-at-all-costs mentality that will encourage them to put you to the top of the list. Nobody has room right now for seat fillers.
Second, I realize that there is a significant push toward personal branding, and there is some merit to it. However, identity is more than just how you can summarize yourself. Alexandra Levitt's "Reinvent" column this week looks at how we present ourselves to employers and contacts from the story perspective. While the article is focused on those going through the process of transforming their careers, newbies can utilize the lessons to frame their background, strengths, and passions into substantive examples of performance that will draw the interests of those on the other side of the interview table (more on this from a personal perspective later this week).
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Be Mindful of "Thank You"
Right now, sending "thank you" messages to those who help you out in the career search process, from interviews and recruiter interaction to networking contacts and advisers, is absolutely critical and essential. Tar Heels in Transit has a nice summary on the subject, including some helpful links to examples.
My strongest advice when it comes to writing "thank you" notes is to use professional, note-oriented stationery. You can easily find letter sheets (such as this example from Crane & Co.) at Hallmark stores, Office Depot, or local outfits like The Baggie Goose in Asheville.
You do not have to spend the extra money to have the stationery (paper or cards) personalized. Instead, buy a nice writing pen that maintains a nice, steady line when you write (don't spend $1/page on the paper and then write with a bargain-level Bic ballpoint). A nice black gel pen, preferably 0.7mm thickness in black or blue (like this one) will work perfectly. If you don't have the right pen, you may have to write back over the lines. It will not look the best, and it will be very frustrating.
Also, make sure to take your time. If your cursive is legible, write this way. Unlike print, it is easier to keep each line level on unlined paper (like note paper and cards) when you write in cursive. If you have to print, make sure it looks professional. Go slow to avoid spelling errors, which are easy to do in cursive. If you make an error, see if you can correct it without making the word look like it was rewritten. If not, finish the letter so you have a draft you can replicate (correctly) on a clean sheet (do not miss any opportunity to practice through once you make an unfixable mistake).
Before all of this, of course, make sure you have the correct names, titles, and addresses for those you are going to send letters to. In the past, I started interviews (on both sides of the table) by asking for names and titles and verifying spelling. If I was the candidate, they could pick up that I was planning to send them a follow-up, and they could tell I was detail-oriented and engaged with their business and process.
My strongest advice when it comes to writing "thank you" notes is to use professional, note-oriented stationery. You can easily find letter sheets (such as this example from Crane & Co.) at Hallmark stores, Office Depot, or local outfits like The Baggie Goose in Asheville.
You do not have to spend the extra money to have the stationery (paper or cards) personalized. Instead, buy a nice writing pen that maintains a nice, steady line when you write (don't spend $1/page on the paper and then write with a bargain-level Bic ballpoint). A nice black gel pen, preferably 0.7mm thickness in black or blue (like this one) will work perfectly. If you don't have the right pen, you may have to write back over the lines. It will not look the best, and it will be very frustrating.
Also, make sure to take your time. If your cursive is legible, write this way. Unlike print, it is easier to keep each line level on unlined paper (like note paper and cards) when you write in cursive. If you have to print, make sure it looks professional. Go slow to avoid spelling errors, which are easy to do in cursive. If you make an error, see if you can correct it without making the word look like it was rewritten. If not, finish the letter so you have a draft you can replicate (correctly) on a clean sheet (do not miss any opportunity to practice through once you make an unfixable mistake).
Before all of this, of course, make sure you have the correct names, titles, and addresses for those you are going to send letters to. In the past, I started interviews (on both sides of the table) by asking for names and titles and verifying spelling. If I was the candidate, they could pick up that I was planning to send them a follow-up, and they could tell I was detail-oriented and engaged with their business and process.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Wonderlics, transparency, and lessons from jocks
Thoughts and questions encouraged regarding this post
The most publicized employee screening process is taking place right now before the eyes of the world. Thousands of candidates from as wide a swath of backgrounds as humanly possible are competing for hundreds of positions in a variety of departments.
Some of the most sophisticated testing, both mentally and physically-centered, are being applied, along with relentless background checks and personal interviews. Despite gathering candidates together for a lengthy, centralized assessment, the employer's various divisions are traveling across the country to visit top candidates in the current hometowns for further interviews and evaluation of past and present performance.
In the end, 257 candidates will be automatically selected for probationary employment within 32 divisions of one of the nation's most recognized corporations. No equity will exist between the chosen, or with the incumbent employees they will join. Despite a few protections, all employment in the corporation is realistically at-will.
With the exception of a few call backs or opportunities to make a second impression in the future, the remaining candidates will never have a shot again.
Very few of us can imagine a selection process as arduous as this, except for the one we watch intently on the sidelines every spring: the NFL Draft.
With so few open opportunities for interviews right now, the opportunity to just "learn by doing" when it comes to selling oneself and understanding the processes employers go through to select "rookie" talent is a critical commodity in itself right now. However, when it is not possible to do, sometimes one can learn by what they observe. "The Draft" provides this opportunity, especially when you consider the vast publicly-available resources dedicated to its dissemination.
Think about it. Most cable networks will do a segment with some career counselor or advisor they contact for a few minutes. This does not compare to the number of full-time draft experts that ESPN, Fox, NFL Network, and other groups hire to provide insight and perspective. The media build-up to the Draft is the closest thing that sports has to Presidential election coverage.
As a result, there are plenty of places to see examples, in very obvious ways, of the lessons taught most often by career advisors. For example, simply Google "Andre Smith," and you will see a textbook example of someone who is sacrificing enormous opportunity by not balancing his talent with character and professionalism. Draft sites at NFL.com and elsewhere treat prospective players like commodities, providing "up" and "down" selection updated on an almost daily basis.
Then there's the assessment process. The NFL Combine, where draft prospects are evaluated as a group, might be the most visible example of mass supply talent evaluation available to the public. The multi-day exercise combines physical strength, agility, and endurance tests with personality profiling and tests of intellectual acumen.
The Wonderlic Personnel Test is perhaps the most referenced component of the Combine process. This actual HR assessment tool is utilized to gauge the capacity of draft prospects to process information and decision options quickly and effectively. The scores are not only made available to the teams considering the draftees, but also to the public, giving them a chance to see how these athletic supremacists would compare to the averages of various professions.
As a whole, the process for candidates of the NFL Draft is the best available example of how elite organizations consider and assess available talent. It also provides a view into the passion, commitment, and determination that the young men who seek to be picked must possess, regardless of their relative ability. If you happen to know anyone who is going through this process, sit down with them a little while and ask them what it is like. See what they have learned about appreciating hard work and personal discipline. Both of these qualities of character not only make a prospect excel in the evaluation process, but they reinforce the importance of pursuing passion when faced with the intense workload often found in those things we truly love.
The most publicized employee screening process is taking place right now before the eyes of the world. Thousands of candidates from as wide a swath of backgrounds as humanly possible are competing for hundreds of positions in a variety of departments.
Some of the most sophisticated testing, both mentally and physically-centered, are being applied, along with relentless background checks and personal interviews. Despite gathering candidates together for a lengthy, centralized assessment, the employer's various divisions are traveling across the country to visit top candidates in the current hometowns for further interviews and evaluation of past and present performance.
In the end, 257 candidates will be automatically selected for probationary employment within 32 divisions of one of the nation's most recognized corporations. No equity will exist between the chosen, or with the incumbent employees they will join. Despite a few protections, all employment in the corporation is realistically at-will.
With the exception of a few call backs or opportunities to make a second impression in the future, the remaining candidates will never have a shot again.
Very few of us can imagine a selection process as arduous as this, except for the one we watch intently on the sidelines every spring: the NFL Draft.
With so few open opportunities for interviews right now, the opportunity to just "learn by doing" when it comes to selling oneself and understanding the processes employers go through to select "rookie" talent is a critical commodity in itself right now. However, when it is not possible to do, sometimes one can learn by what they observe. "The Draft" provides this opportunity, especially when you consider the vast publicly-available resources dedicated to its dissemination.
Think about it. Most cable networks will do a segment with some career counselor or advisor they contact for a few minutes. This does not compare to the number of full-time draft experts that ESPN, Fox, NFL Network, and other groups hire to provide insight and perspective. The media build-up to the Draft is the closest thing that sports has to Presidential election coverage.
As a result, there are plenty of places to see examples, in very obvious ways, of the lessons taught most often by career advisors. For example, simply Google "Andre Smith," and you will see a textbook example of someone who is sacrificing enormous opportunity by not balancing his talent with character and professionalism. Draft sites at NFL.com and elsewhere treat prospective players like commodities, providing "up" and "down" selection updated on an almost daily basis.
Then there's the assessment process. The NFL Combine, where draft prospects are evaluated as a group, might be the most visible example of mass supply talent evaluation available to the public. The multi-day exercise combines physical strength, agility, and endurance tests with personality profiling and tests of intellectual acumen.
The Wonderlic Personnel Test is perhaps the most referenced component of the Combine process. This actual HR assessment tool is utilized to gauge the capacity of draft prospects to process information and decision options quickly and effectively. The scores are not only made available to the teams considering the draftees, but also to the public, giving them a chance to see how these athletic supremacists would compare to the averages of various professions.
As a whole, the process for candidates of the NFL Draft is the best available example of how elite organizations consider and assess available talent. It also provides a view into the passion, commitment, and determination that the young men who seek to be picked must possess, regardless of their relative ability. If you happen to know anyone who is going through this process, sit down with them a little while and ask them what it is like. See what they have learned about appreciating hard work and personal discipline. Both of these qualities of character not only make a prospect excel in the evaluation process, but they reinforce the importance of pursuing passion when faced with the intense workload often found in those things we truly love.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
What if I can make the shot?
This may seem very appropriate for the time, seeing that March Madness surrounds us. This past weekend, I witnessed a teamwork demonstration exercise. As someone who has attended and facilitated these types of workshops, I enjoy seeing the creation of new ways to reinforce the same themes of cooperation and collective success at the heart of promoting team mentality.
The exercise started off innocent enough. Students were asked to stand about 10 feet from a large trash can, crumple up pieces of paper, and "shoot" them into the "basket." Naturally, about 3 out of 10 made it in. After about 90 seconds, the facilitator arranged the group into 2 lines and assigned each person in each line a specific task in the original process (crumple paper, shoot, even recover those that miss). His point was with regards to the fact that teamwork coordinates individual efforts, reducing the potential for "missed" opportunities.
This is a relatively understandable demonstration for many applications, including the topic of the workshop (a component of service learning). However, the thought did occur to me with regard to those in the group who actually shot their paper balls into the trash can. The same people made the shots over and over, and while they were not perfect, they were successful.
How would someone feel if they were consistently successful at a series of tasks, or even a task we assume to be simple, only to have it split up in order to make more people feel successful? Perfection may be more attainable, but is the gain in team effectiveness worth the loss of an individual's potential accomplishment?
Circumstances like this are not new to anyone, and we experience them constantly. Sometimes, our desire to encourage participation and offer opportunity to all prevents the best candidates from standing at the front of the group and proving their advanced aptitude. Note that I did not state "superior," as knowing or being able to do more does not mean we are better than anyone else, all things considered.
The problem with the exercise I witnessed is that it teaches the wrong lesson. Teamwork is advantageous, but not when it limits or hinders the capabilities of the individuals that make up the team. In the ultimate team arena of sports, the strengths of team players are not compromised for the sake of one another, but rather maximized by position and responsibility. This is true throughout the professional world, where successful organizations identify and empower employees to focus on their strengths, as well as recognize those of their coworkers in order to improve efficiency and effectiveness while maintaining critical individual senses of belonging.
If the exercise I saw to demonstrate the strength of teamwork is commonplace, in this interpretation, on higher education campuses, then employers have much to be concerned about with the upcoming crops of graduating talent (if jobs are available). For those who have already been through drills like this and may not know what teamwork really is, the question to ask oneself is "do you really think someone is going to hire and pay you not to maximize your strengths and abilities?"
Understanding teamwork may require knowing when to "pass the ball," but it is as just as important to know when you can "make the shot."
The exercise started off innocent enough. Students were asked to stand about 10 feet from a large trash can, crumple up pieces of paper, and "shoot" them into the "basket." Naturally, about 3 out of 10 made it in. After about 90 seconds, the facilitator arranged the group into 2 lines and assigned each person in each line a specific task in the original process (crumple paper, shoot, even recover those that miss). His point was with regards to the fact that teamwork coordinates individual efforts, reducing the potential for "missed" opportunities.
This is a relatively understandable demonstration for many applications, including the topic of the workshop (a component of service learning). However, the thought did occur to me with regard to those in the group who actually shot their paper balls into the trash can. The same people made the shots over and over, and while they were not perfect, they were successful.
How would someone feel if they were consistently successful at a series of tasks, or even a task we assume to be simple, only to have it split up in order to make more people feel successful? Perfection may be more attainable, but is the gain in team effectiveness worth the loss of an individual's potential accomplishment?
Circumstances like this are not new to anyone, and we experience them constantly. Sometimes, our desire to encourage participation and offer opportunity to all prevents the best candidates from standing at the front of the group and proving their advanced aptitude. Note that I did not state "superior," as knowing or being able to do more does not mean we are better than anyone else, all things considered.
The problem with the exercise I witnessed is that it teaches the wrong lesson. Teamwork is advantageous, but not when it limits or hinders the capabilities of the individuals that make up the team. In the ultimate team arena of sports, the strengths of team players are not compromised for the sake of one another, but rather maximized by position and responsibility. This is true throughout the professional world, where successful organizations identify and empower employees to focus on their strengths, as well as recognize those of their coworkers in order to improve efficiency and effectiveness while maintaining critical individual senses of belonging.
If the exercise I saw to demonstrate the strength of teamwork is commonplace, in this interpretation, on higher education campuses, then employers have much to be concerned about with the upcoming crops of graduating talent (if jobs are available). For those who have already been through drills like this and may not know what teamwork really is, the question to ask oneself is "do you really think someone is going to hire and pay you not to maximize your strengths and abilities?"
Understanding teamwork may require knowing when to "pass the ball," but it is as just as important to know when you can "make the shot."
Week of Wisdom Archive
I really enjoyed putting together my five pieces of essential personal and professional advice for the "Week of Wisdom" series. If you are interested in looking at them, click here.
Participate in College Career Center Poll
Do you utilize your campus Career Center? What do you think about it? Careerealism has setup an online poll where you can provide them your opinions. Even if you are out of school, it's not a bad idea to offer your opinion on how this resources impacted your professional pursuits.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Inspiration Article on Entrepreneurship
Michael Moore (not that one) with the John Locke Foundation (see, not that one) provided a great Friday guest piece for John Hood's daily column at Carolina Journal. The piece does have significant religious undertones. The core points that Moore makes about the need for us to praise those willing to take risks and meet the needs of others through our own effort.
I do believe these words have meaning to the corps of graduating seniors facing little light ahead in the current job market. For many, especially those who passions are best fulfilled through smaller and individualized professional pursuits, this could be just what they need to hear.
I do believe these words have meaning to the corps of graduating seniors facing little light ahead in the current job market. For many, especially those who passions are best fulfilled through smaller and individualized professional pursuits, this could be just what they need to hear.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Thoughts on Career Centers, and the people who want to know
Carreerealism is asking for feedback on the problems students experience with their campus career offices. My take?
- Most career centers are really job centers, with their counselors able to tell you about what's open and which business contacted them about scheduling interviews, but they don't do much beyond that.
- Career centers often cater to the strength programs of their institutions. This is a survival mentality, since after graduation placement is critical to the rankings of such programs on the regional and national level. These programs also usually drive the direct offerings from potential employees through the career center.
- Career centers are doing better jobs with soft skill development on average than they did when I was a student, but it is still not enough. In reality, the ideal personal skill tool box for professional achievement is acquired mostly through experience, and not just the "on-the-job" variety.
- If you want to take the entrepreneurial route, they have nothing available to help you.
- Like the guidance counselors who first work with the students in high school, many career centers apply systematic solutions to identify interests based more on ability than passion. This works for some and can help get a graduate employed, but it can also keep someone passionate about an idea from developing it due to his placement in another field on the basis of aptitude, not interest.
If you want to see two offices where they do their best to do it right, you can visit Career Resources for the MPA program at UGA or the Internship & Career Services Center at North Carolina Wesleyan. I know the coordinators of both programs and admire their efforts.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Another Week of Wisdom Bonus: Twitter How-To
Have you ever wanted to share a habit of your favorite United States Congressman? If you do, and cannot hold your liquor on a daily basis or make others not want to kill you when you lie through your teeth, then this free workshop on the newest political (and general societal) trend of Twittering is for you (courtesy Tar Heels in Transit)!
In case you're... wait, you're not... I don't really "Twitter." You can find me on Facebook and LinkedIn, but that's about it for now. Perhaps it's the whole job thing :)
In case you're... wait, you're not... I don't really "Twitter." You can find me on Facebook and LinkedIn, but that's about it for now. Perhaps it's the whole job thing :)
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Speaking of resumes...
Saw this one posted by the author of the newest addition to the Blogroll, Tar Heels in Transit. I am really impressed by the simplicity and ability to forge a very strong personal profile into the confines of the all-too-critical single page.
Wisdom Week Bonus: VisualCV
I saw this advertised on a couple of blogs and featured by Alexandra Levit. Here is what I like about VisualCV.
- At its very least, it provides an effective personal portal for accessing your social network
- Provides an easy-to-reference focus site for professional contacts, including potential employers and search firms. The end product is definitely business card material.
- Formatting and design enable creativity within organized structure.
- Strong user-defined security settings, a strong plus for anyone wanting to streamline and enhance their online profile.
- Already accepted and utilized by major corporations and recruiting firms, which suggests extensive future adoption (i.e., you're not wasting your time).
Week of Wisdom, Day Five: Hope is not
What a week! Each of us probably had better things to do, but if you kept up with the "Week of Wisdom," it was worth it. We are now at Day Five, the end of the week, and the final piece of advice I can offer, pulled from years of professional and personal experience.
I tend to not be a fan of Larry Winget, the so-called "Pit Bull of Personal Development." If his methods work for you, however, then they are right for you and the wisdom of Day One is proved once again. However, I do think that Mr. Winget is dead on with one of his primary pieces of advice, which runs counter to the lexicon and beliefs of most of us.
Whether you are trying to just get started, or people start taking notice of your actions, or you face the cold discomfort when everyone agrees with you, or you need to take the next step in developing relationships of substance, there is a common thread that should always exist. It does, and I sense it in the efforts of most successful people. However, I also tend to notice that it is substituted with a far less powerful mentality that often leads people with even the strongest ideas and best intentions on a road to nowhere.
The greatest weakness we have as a society is "hope." It is also often the most significant roadblock an individual possesses, inhibiting them to reach their full potential. If we are taught to define hope as the feeling that better things are ahead, then the reality proves that focusing on hope leads to the opposite.
Take a few minutes to express your anger at the computer, if you feel that way. I completely understand.
The actual definition of "hope" provides insight into its weakness. Hope is about emotion. It can feed off of our energy and focus when people area drawn into frenzy, especially when led by someone or some group that understands the potential of this power in a collective capacity. Hence, hope is often the mindset du jour of the downtrodden and impoverished, as well as those who experience failure after significant success.
Energy and focus are critical to the development of passion. We must draw from these personal spiritual resources in order to exercise the creativity, commitment, and dedication necessary to build a business or start and flourish in a chosen career. If we spend out time focused on "hope" for a future that does not incorporate action, goals, or substance, then we deplete ourselves of critical internal resources.
Winget puts it simply that successful people choose to believe rather than hope. This is not an easy transition, as believing in others and yourself can be a little problematic if someone or something in life fails. If failure turns believe into self-doubt, then it is the same as loosing trust in someone who does not respect our believe in them.
Belief must be measured in respect to faith. Those who profess believe in others must do so with internal assurance not to place fellow man before God with respect to priority or admiration. Balance, just like with other philosophical dichotomies, is critical.
As you set forth, considering the ideas brought forth this week, encourage yourself to approach your friends, assignments, challenges, and opportunities with a spirit that will allow you to pursue passions with the focus and intent necessary for achievement. This is not possible until we each recognize that hope is not, when compared to the personal power of belief.
I tend to not be a fan of Larry Winget, the so-called "Pit Bull of Personal Development." If his methods work for you, however, then they are right for you and the wisdom of Day One is proved once again. However, I do think that Mr. Winget is dead on with one of his primary pieces of advice, which runs counter to the lexicon and beliefs of most of us.
Whether you are trying to just get started, or people start taking notice of your actions, or you face the cold discomfort when everyone agrees with you, or you need to take the next step in developing relationships of substance, there is a common thread that should always exist. It does, and I sense it in the efforts of most successful people. However, I also tend to notice that it is substituted with a far less powerful mentality that often leads people with even the strongest ideas and best intentions on a road to nowhere.
The greatest weakness we have as a society is "hope." It is also often the most significant roadblock an individual possesses, inhibiting them to reach their full potential. If we are taught to define hope as the feeling that better things are ahead, then the reality proves that focusing on hope leads to the opposite.
Take a few minutes to express your anger at the computer, if you feel that way. I completely understand.
The actual definition of "hope" provides insight into its weakness. Hope is about emotion. It can feed off of our energy and focus when people area drawn into frenzy, especially when led by someone or some group that understands the potential of this power in a collective capacity. Hence, hope is often the mindset du jour of the downtrodden and impoverished, as well as those who experience failure after significant success.
Energy and focus are critical to the development of passion. We must draw from these personal spiritual resources in order to exercise the creativity, commitment, and dedication necessary to build a business or start and flourish in a chosen career. If we spend out time focused on "hope" for a future that does not incorporate action, goals, or substance, then we deplete ourselves of critical internal resources.
Winget puts it simply that successful people choose to believe rather than hope. This is not an easy transition, as believing in others and yourself can be a little problematic if someone or something in life fails. If failure turns believe into self-doubt, then it is the same as loosing trust in someone who does not respect our believe in them.
Belief must be measured in respect to faith. Those who profess believe in others must do so with internal assurance not to place fellow man before God with respect to priority or admiration. Balance, just like with other philosophical dichotomies, is critical.
As you set forth, considering the ideas brought forth this week, encourage yourself to approach your friends, assignments, challenges, and opportunities with a spirit that will allow you to pursue passions with the focus and intent necessary for achievement. This is not possible until we each recognize that hope is not, when compared to the personal power of belief.
Week of Wisdom, Day Four: Relationships are rare gems
We're now in the second half of the Week of Wisdom. After today, there will be only one more day and piece of advice. As you see, the themes of the first three days tie into one another pretty well. When you start out, you have to put aside the advice of others when it only serves to frustrate to disengage you for your focus. Then, once you start making progress, you have to realize that the only acceptable path those around you will acknowledge is upward and forward, as they cast you aside in disgust when you eventually slip up. Of course, you also learn the value of criticism, as it can help grow support for your ideas, ensuring the investment from others needed to make it a real success.
Throughout the time it takes to move through the lessons explained so far this week, you engage in the time-honored tradition of networking. Whether by handshake or phone call, email or across a restaurant table, you meet and interact with other individuals whom you did not know before. These contacts can provide benefit in your professional development, whether directing you to new opportunities, providing trusted guidance, or simply serving as a pool for potential customers and referrals.
Networking is a pretty democratic process nowadays, long opened up from the Rotary Clubs and Chamber of Commerce meetings of the past. Everyone from churches to businesses to open organizations such as one I am part of enable people to meet face-to-face through facilitated social and educational activities. Then, of course, there is the magnification of contact generation made possible by the Internet and its most significant development since the .com boom, social networking.
My work and focus on passions draws me to opportunities to network with hundreds, if not thousands, of people a year. I gather business cards and write down phone numbers. Often, I will call or email them back just to remind them of who I am, or apologize for my less than stellar one-on-one conversation skills.
Networking and contacts are the foundation, but these resources do not provide benefit unless they transform into something far more personal. Just like the significant variance in the quality of diamonds, we often learn that the key to our social circles are those few (relatively speaking) individuals whom we do not see as contacts, but rather relationships.
I noticed that career advisor and author Lindsay Pollak focused on the cultivating of networks during a recent TV appearance (h/t Tar Heels in Transit). As I mentioned in a prior post, relationship building is a constant process that not only requires a time commitment, but also incorporation into our daily routines. This is a pretty busy time for my professionally (hence the lateness in my posts and my general lack of sleep), but I can point to at least 3 to 5 things I did every day to maintain and grow my professional relationships, whether they be emails or lunches or talking someone through their own career malaise.
Networking, in and of itself, is also a passive exercise. In some ways, even the most natural-feeling first professional encounter can still feel like a glossy sales pitch without the product demo or provocative wall calendar (speaking as one who started their career in finance with a vehicle maintenance shop).
When you get past that first face-to-face or phone call, your instincts will direct you to those you see as potential for relationships. Obviously, never do anything to "write people off" and always make sure to recognize and respect those who have the potential to help you, even if they simply are not the ones you want to invest your limited time on a more personal, though still professional, level. In a natural manner, those who pique your interests most, express support for your passions, or look most in need of assistance in their own endeavors will rise to the top. From there, it is a matter of applying the "soft skills," often an educational experience in itself, that make the process of personal relationship development proceed. There is no quick answer or solution to interpersonal communication, and it is likely that even the most professional and business-oriented of relationships start out of common interests outside the office or in another field or topic.
Thank you for your continued reading. We will present Day Five and the end of our first ever Week of Wisdom sometime this (Friday) afternoon.
Throughout the time it takes to move through the lessons explained so far this week, you engage in the time-honored tradition of networking. Whether by handshake or phone call, email or across a restaurant table, you meet and interact with other individuals whom you did not know before. These contacts can provide benefit in your professional development, whether directing you to new opportunities, providing trusted guidance, or simply serving as a pool for potential customers and referrals.
Networking is a pretty democratic process nowadays, long opened up from the Rotary Clubs and Chamber of Commerce meetings of the past. Everyone from churches to businesses to open organizations such as one I am part of enable people to meet face-to-face through facilitated social and educational activities. Then, of course, there is the magnification of contact generation made possible by the Internet and its most significant development since the .com boom, social networking.
My work and focus on passions draws me to opportunities to network with hundreds, if not thousands, of people a year. I gather business cards and write down phone numbers. Often, I will call or email them back just to remind them of who I am, or apologize for my less than stellar one-on-one conversation skills.
Networking and contacts are the foundation, but these resources do not provide benefit unless they transform into something far more personal. Just like the significant variance in the quality of diamonds, we often learn that the key to our social circles are those few (relatively speaking) individuals whom we do not see as contacts, but rather relationships.
I noticed that career advisor and author Lindsay Pollak focused on the cultivating of networks during a recent TV appearance (h/t Tar Heels in Transit). As I mentioned in a prior post, relationship building is a constant process that not only requires a time commitment, but also incorporation into our daily routines. This is a pretty busy time for my professionally (hence the lateness in my posts and my general lack of sleep), but I can point to at least 3 to 5 things I did every day to maintain and grow my professional relationships, whether they be emails or lunches or talking someone through their own career malaise.
Networking, in and of itself, is also a passive exercise. In some ways, even the most natural-feeling first professional encounter can still feel like a glossy sales pitch without the product demo or provocative wall calendar (speaking as one who started their career in finance with a vehicle maintenance shop).
When you get past that first face-to-face or phone call, your instincts will direct you to those you see as potential for relationships. Obviously, never do anything to "write people off" and always make sure to recognize and respect those who have the potential to help you, even if they simply are not the ones you want to invest your limited time on a more personal, though still professional, level. In a natural manner, those who pique your interests most, express support for your passions, or look most in need of assistance in their own endeavors will rise to the top. From there, it is a matter of applying the "soft skills," often an educational experience in itself, that make the process of personal relationship development proceed. There is no quick answer or solution to interpersonal communication, and it is likely that even the most professional and business-oriented of relationships start out of common interests outside the office or in another field or topic.
Thank you for your continued reading. We will present Day Five and the end of our first ever Week of Wisdom sometime this (Friday) afternoon.
Week of Wisdom, Day Three: Never trust unanimous support
The first two days of Always Achieve's first Week of Wisdom probably changed the lives of at least a person or two for a whole 15 seconds. How else could you describe the amazing impact of the potent duo of advice: "don't listen to me" and "recognition creates expectation."
If you saw the posts, you now understand what it takes to prevail with an idea in the face of adversity and what to expect when people crawl out of their pride caves and offer their measured "gratitude." Now, it is time to deal with the oft product of self-confidence and self-made success: idolatry.
The Second Commandment was prioritized for a reason, and if I was sorting these trinkets of intellectual drivel with respect to essential value, what I am about to say would be at the top of the list. Just like the Second Commandment, it needs an introduction, which the first two pieces of advice provided.
There is a point where the successful and knowledgeable encounter their first true test. One stands before a group, presents their idea, and receives the most uncomfortable and painful response they can receive: nothing.
No one speaks out or asks questions. The gallery quietly ponders the presentation, and then one comes forward, somewhat sheepishly, and proclaims, "this is a great idea."
Subsequently, people follow with additional acclaim. Everyone is on board. A sigh of relief is felt, until it is realized that something is missing amongst the ever-growing excitement: opposition.
The presence of those who do not agree with what we want to do is a barrier, so long as it exists. When it is gone, it feels like a warm blanket stripped off the bed on the coldest night of the year.
The reality, of course, is that successful, performance-driven people know that questions and criticism best serve to improve and verify the validity of our ideas, as well as make sure that other parties are really "on board" for the tasks to come if we move forward.
Successful people also know that criticism and opposition are not, in of themselves, barriers to getting what they want. Some people in power often ask for more than what they want, knowing that there will be trade offs that lead to their desired result. Others appreciate the opinions of others as a way of incorporating the "buy in" necessary to achieve objectives in a collaborative environment.
Those starting out professionally are not in a position to mandate or force anyone, even those beneath or equal to them, to follow their lead. They are still "in the pack," and if their fellow hunters smell a better deal, they will lose them quickly. In order to build the support necessary to achieve in a given endeavor, our coworkers or team members must show a direct, personal interest. This is best achieved not through their blind, passive allegiance, but rather their active questioning and objection, issues that eventually lead to better solutions.
The proof is easy to see throughout history, especially when it comes to the aftermath. Moments of almost universal praise and support often lead to wide disdain and anger. "People" want to support what others support, while "individuals" try to balance their emotions with logic. This is not a new concept, but it is easily lost upon many when we are faced with moments where the ideas before us sound too good to be true.
Of course, that does not mean that the ideas or initiatives developed are bad or evil. Often, they are just as strong as presented. The problem is that most supporters do not invest themselves until they understand a concept on their own terms. Otherwise, why would major corporations spend combined billions of dollars marketing their ideas to the public?
Achieving goals and objectives when it requires the support and involvement of others, whether customers or stakeholders, necessitates an appreciation of both interest and commitment. The desired result in any presentation or pitch is commitment, but we can easily assume this is the case when it is only, in reality, interest. This is mistake often made the first time or two out in the real world, and it happens to everyone (me included).
When the cold discomfort of approval without question presents itself, be prepared for the objectors to rear their heads in due course. Many time, it is necessary to go through the "buy-in" process again once the initiative is off and running. Not to ensure that it starts, but in order to identify those who are willing to apply their support and available resources to enable its potential for success.
If you saw the posts, you now understand what it takes to prevail with an idea in the face of adversity and what to expect when people crawl out of their pride caves and offer their measured "gratitude." Now, it is time to deal with the oft product of self-confidence and self-made success: idolatry.
The Second Commandment was prioritized for a reason, and if I was sorting these trinkets of intellectual drivel with respect to essential value, what I am about to say would be at the top of the list. Just like the Second Commandment, it needs an introduction, which the first two pieces of advice provided.
There is a point where the successful and knowledgeable encounter their first true test. One stands before a group, presents their idea, and receives the most uncomfortable and painful response they can receive: nothing.
No one speaks out or asks questions. The gallery quietly ponders the presentation, and then one comes forward, somewhat sheepishly, and proclaims, "this is a great idea."
Subsequently, people follow with additional acclaim. Everyone is on board. A sigh of relief is felt, until it is realized that something is missing amongst the ever-growing excitement: opposition.
The presence of those who do not agree with what we want to do is a barrier, so long as it exists. When it is gone, it feels like a warm blanket stripped off the bed on the coldest night of the year.
The reality, of course, is that successful, performance-driven people know that questions and criticism best serve to improve and verify the validity of our ideas, as well as make sure that other parties are really "on board" for the tasks to come if we move forward.
Successful people also know that criticism and opposition are not, in of themselves, barriers to getting what they want. Some people in power often ask for more than what they want, knowing that there will be trade offs that lead to their desired result. Others appreciate the opinions of others as a way of incorporating the "buy in" necessary to achieve objectives in a collaborative environment.
Those starting out professionally are not in a position to mandate or force anyone, even those beneath or equal to them, to follow their lead. They are still "in the pack," and if their fellow hunters smell a better deal, they will lose them quickly. In order to build the support necessary to achieve in a given endeavor, our coworkers or team members must show a direct, personal interest. This is best achieved not through their blind, passive allegiance, but rather their active questioning and objection, issues that eventually lead to better solutions.
The proof is easy to see throughout history, especially when it comes to the aftermath. Moments of almost universal praise and support often lead to wide disdain and anger. "People" want to support what others support, while "individuals" try to balance their emotions with logic. This is not a new concept, but it is easily lost upon many when we are faced with moments where the ideas before us sound too good to be true.
Of course, that does not mean that the ideas or initiatives developed are bad or evil. Often, they are just as strong as presented. The problem is that most supporters do not invest themselves until they understand a concept on their own terms. Otherwise, why would major corporations spend combined billions of dollars marketing their ideas to the public?
Achieving goals and objectives when it requires the support and involvement of others, whether customers or stakeholders, necessitates an appreciation of both interest and commitment. The desired result in any presentation or pitch is commitment, but we can easily assume this is the case when it is only, in reality, interest. This is mistake often made the first time or two out in the real world, and it happens to everyone (me included).
When the cold discomfort of approval without question presents itself, be prepared for the objectors to rear their heads in due course. Many time, it is necessary to go through the "buy-in" process again once the initiative is off and running. Not to ensure that it starts, but in order to identify those who are willing to apply their support and available resources to enable its potential for success.
Week of Wisdom, Day Two: Recognition creates expectation
I'll start off by apologizing for the lateness of the post for Day One of Always Achieve's first Week of Wisdom, as well as the fact that this post is appearing on Day Three. Actually, it only serves to reinforce the advice given yesterday, "don't listen to me."
Now it is time for Day Two (i.e., yesterday). Let's examine those moments we wait for in life where all seems right with the world and the choices we make. These are the times when we receive the greatest reward possible when our moments of noticed accomplishment reflect not only technical excellence, but also a spiritual simpatico with our passions. These are the time, of course, when we receive recognition.
"Recognition" can take many forms. but most of the time, it is simply acknowledgement from our peers and customers. If we are passionate about what we do, we focus on the results and benefits it provides others (customers, society, etc.). A sincere compliment or sign of appreciation is often all we need to feel truly fulfilled, though a bonus, promotion, or deal with a new client does not hurt.
However, such platitudes represent one of the sharpest of double-edge swords we deal with. Those who are most likely to compliment are often just as likely to criticize, denigrate, and most importantly, disappoint (more on this last word later this week). The worst part is that we might draw out their anger or frustration without doing anything differently, even if we are just as helpful or correct as we were before.
This is the hard part of developing relationships and building a body of work. Whenever something does not go right, one often finds their most vocal detractors amongst their most ardent "supporters." Those who are easy to tell us what a great job we are doing when times are great can be the first ones to shove us to the front of the firing line when things get tough.
At some point, anyone successful reaches the point where they receive the recognition they deserve. It might happen formally, like when you receive an award or promotion to a level with notoriety and "perks." In some cases, it is when you simply start receiving the emails, verbal accolades, and pats on the back from coworkers, colleagues, or supervisors.
What's the solution? Once you notice the recognition, and it may be subtle rather than obvious, realize that you are no longer "in hiding." At this point, your actions will be noticed. As long as you succeed, the praise will grow. Your confidence will grow, as well.
Of course, you will slip, make a mistake, or run into a problem that cannot be solved to anyone's satisfaction. When it happens, the track record of success will not matter. "Political capital" and "peace dividends" do not matter in a world where your last evaluation is the only one people think about.
When it comes to careers, the short memory of your professional associates and society in general work to your advantage. Once you rise again, often as quickly as you fall, "people" will be there to praise you. The feeling will ebb and flow, and even those closest to you who you can trust will still show changes in behavior depending on how your efforts are evaluated by the masses and authority.
In short, perception of success and failure can be random and replicating as this post. The reactions of others will only serve to reinforce the most important element of achievement, the realization that one step is only as good as the next. Enjoy the trail!
Now it is time for Day Two (i.e., yesterday). Let's examine those moments we wait for in life where all seems right with the world and the choices we make. These are the times when we receive the greatest reward possible when our moments of noticed accomplishment reflect not only technical excellence, but also a spiritual simpatico with our passions. These are the time, of course, when we receive recognition.
"Recognition" can take many forms. but most of the time, it is simply acknowledgement from our peers and customers. If we are passionate about what we do, we focus on the results and benefits it provides others (customers, society, etc.). A sincere compliment or sign of appreciation is often all we need to feel truly fulfilled, though a bonus, promotion, or deal with a new client does not hurt.
However, such platitudes represent one of the sharpest of double-edge swords we deal with. Those who are most likely to compliment are often just as likely to criticize, denigrate, and most importantly, disappoint (more on this last word later this week). The worst part is that we might draw out their anger or frustration without doing anything differently, even if we are just as helpful or correct as we were before.
This is the hard part of developing relationships and building a body of work. Whenever something does not go right, one often finds their most vocal detractors amongst their most ardent "supporters." Those who are easy to tell us what a great job we are doing when times are great can be the first ones to shove us to the front of the firing line when things get tough.
At some point, anyone successful reaches the point where they receive the recognition they deserve. It might happen formally, like when you receive an award or promotion to a level with notoriety and "perks." In some cases, it is when you simply start receiving the emails, verbal accolades, and pats on the back from coworkers, colleagues, or supervisors.
What's the solution? Once you notice the recognition, and it may be subtle rather than obvious, realize that you are no longer "in hiding." At this point, your actions will be noticed. As long as you succeed, the praise will grow. Your confidence will grow, as well.
Of course, you will slip, make a mistake, or run into a problem that cannot be solved to anyone's satisfaction. When it happens, the track record of success will not matter. "Political capital" and "peace dividends" do not matter in a world where your last evaluation is the only one people think about.
When it comes to careers, the short memory of your professional associates and society in general work to your advantage. Once you rise again, often as quickly as you fall, "people" will be there to praise you. The feeling will ebb and flow, and even those closest to you who you can trust will still show changes in behavior depending on how your efforts are evaluated by the masses and authority.
In short, perception of success and failure can be random and replicating as this post. The reactions of others will only serve to reinforce the most important element of achievement, the realization that one step is only as good as the next. Enjoy the trail!
Monday, March 16, 2009
Week of Wisdom, Day One: Don't listen to me
It is now time to start Always Achieve's first Week of Wisdom. Be prepared for the greatest advice and insight ever spouted by someone yet to turn 35, make $1 million, or be involved in a major sporting event. Now, it is time for the enlightenment.
Let's start off with the topic of advice. Whether we are starting out professionally, undertaking reinvention, or simply trying to maximize the potential of an opportunity, one commodity ever present is the suggestions and insight of observers. They might be a mentor or friend we trust and admire, or a person off the street with unique perspective that possesses the potential for benefit. There are also the "experts" we meet on the street or find online and in a myriad of books and articles whose credentials and track record of success lead many to value their opinions and recommendations for success.
Learning, in all forms, is the highway on which we travel toward achievement. Knowledge, experience, and influence each play a part. However, they must work in a state of balance. This is especially true when faced with personal situations where we cannot seem to overcome the advice and "wisdom" of others, especially when our instincts tell us we are right.
It's probably happened to you before. A new idea or wave of creativity hits us and our passion drives us to proceed. Then, the advice suggests changes, alterations, and of course, avoiding the idea altogether. Our confidence shrinks, replaced with doubt and the sense of security found in the status quo.
The guidance of others serves a purpose when it facilitates your growth or development, not when it inhibits ideas or creativity. Criticism from others, whether direct or masked by "suggestions" or "points of view," provides benefit when you can take the information and improve the effectiveness of your ideas. The words of others, regardless of their source, should never get in the way of the potential latent within your strengths and passions.
The successful among those who offer advice know this well. They remember what others said of them, even when the critics thought they were only being helpful.
An effective way to understand it is to put yourself in the position of the advisor (this is not an exercise in empathy, mind you). Do you really know what the creator's idea is? Do you know what will make it work? Is there any harm in their attempt at success? If you think about it seriously, you may still want to offer your suggestions, but indicate that they, not you, are in control.
We may think we want advice, but what we really want, more often than not, is a knowledgeable hand we trust and admire to simply look us in the eye and reassure with these simple words: "don't listen to me." Phrases like that are, in themselves, a sign of success.
Let's start off with the topic of advice. Whether we are starting out professionally, undertaking reinvention, or simply trying to maximize the potential of an opportunity, one commodity ever present is the suggestions and insight of observers. They might be a mentor or friend we trust and admire, or a person off the street with unique perspective that possesses the potential for benefit. There are also the "experts" we meet on the street or find online and in a myriad of books and articles whose credentials and track record of success lead many to value their opinions and recommendations for success.
Learning, in all forms, is the highway on which we travel toward achievement. Knowledge, experience, and influence each play a part. However, they must work in a state of balance. This is especially true when faced with personal situations where we cannot seem to overcome the advice and "wisdom" of others, especially when our instincts tell us we are right.
It's probably happened to you before. A new idea or wave of creativity hits us and our passion drives us to proceed. Then, the advice suggests changes, alterations, and of course, avoiding the idea altogether. Our confidence shrinks, replaced with doubt and the sense of security found in the status quo.
The guidance of others serves a purpose when it facilitates your growth or development, not when it inhibits ideas or creativity. Criticism from others, whether direct or masked by "suggestions" or "points of view," provides benefit when you can take the information and improve the effectiveness of your ideas. The words of others, regardless of their source, should never get in the way of the potential latent within your strengths and passions.
The successful among those who offer advice know this well. They remember what others said of them, even when the critics thought they were only being helpful.
An effective way to understand it is to put yourself in the position of the advisor (this is not an exercise in empathy, mind you). Do you really know what the creator's idea is? Do you know what will make it work? Is there any harm in their attempt at success? If you think about it seriously, you may still want to offer your suggestions, but indicate that they, not you, are in control.
We may think we want advice, but what we really want, more often than not, is a knowledgeable hand we trust and admire to simply look us in the eye and reassure with these simple words: "don't listen to me." Phrases like that are, in themselves, a sign of success.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
The week of wisdom
Many soon-to-be graduates are returning for the final push of their final semesters after a pleasant Spring Break. Why not welcome everyone back with a couple pieces of advice gleamed from the personal experiences one can only obtain by repetitive failure, low self-esteem, and less-than-desirous external personality.
Be on the lookout starting tomorrow (Monday) for five straight days of essential, life-altering wisdom, courtesy of your pro bono, non-credentialed, online career advisor. My apologies, but the nonexistent promotional budget refrains me from offering any detailed. I promise you, however, that what you will see will be about as original as possible in online career advice. See you tomorrow.
Be on the lookout starting tomorrow (Monday) for five straight days of essential, life-altering wisdom, courtesy of your pro bono, non-credentialed, online career advisor. My apologies, but the nonexistent promotional budget refrains me from offering any detailed. I promise you, however, that what you will see will be about as original as possible in online career advice. See you tomorrow.
Embrace the right "wants"
Almost eight years ago, I moved away from "home" for the first time. I was a graduate of my hometown university with a year of post-undergrad employment experience. I spent all but one of the first 24 years of my life under the roof of either my parents' or grandparents' houses. The reality, though, was that in order to make a living of the passions I valued, the future awaited in an out-of-state graduate school.
Since that time, my wife and I moved around three states. Our decision-making process each step of the way included many factors. We looked at where we were on starting a family, our desire to own a home, and preferences as to the location with respect to closeness to relatives and culture. However, the overriding influence in our decisions, including the one that brought us to Eastern North Carolina and my current job, was the continued development of by professional career.
The path of professional fulfillment has not been without its share of difficulties or sacrifices. I know that my wife and I would find greater happiness in other areas of life if we directed our life decisions on where our parents and friends lived, or where we could find more people "like us." My skills and strengths suit many fields, and I could probably find a job that paid more than what I make now and enable us to enjoy the "high life" so many of Gen X and Y comrades seem to engage.
Regardless of these possibilities, I do not think I would change a thing. Our new "hometown" is not perfection or the top destination for our age group, but it works. The lack of rapid rise in housing prices enabled us to afford a home on my salary with a modest mortgage and start a family. At the same time, my "day job" is the best vehicle possible to explore opportunities, utilize personal intensity, and create solutions that fulfill the potential of my interests, knowledge, and abilities in a productive manner.
For many, the current economic situation forces people to reexamine their definition of "wants" and "needs," the age-old comparison used to allocate limited resources. Thinking back on the choices my wife and I made over the years, we certainly did not give into our material "wants." We live comfortably, but within the means of our available resources.
At the same time, following my passions on the career front, and enabling my wife to focus on her passion for starting a family, enabled us to achieve the personal and professional "wants" that are much more fulfilling than those of the material kind.
It is easy to think, given the circumstances many find themselves in, that "wants" are not accessible in the current climate, or that they should take a distant back seat to the most critical of "needs." These two realms, however, must achieve balance in order for us to maintain the psychological joy and fulfillment that enables us to perform, thrive, and achieve in the face of opportunity and adversity. Pursuing "wants" of a professional variety, especially if they apply to the knowledge, skills, and abilities you already possess and develop intuitively, provides the remedy for the reactionary impulse toward eliminating "wants" that leaves one feeling empty and regretful of lost chances.
The key to prioritizing professional "wants" in balance with material "needs" is the strength of your faith. When it comes to our careers, we often ignore our passions because we think it is the path to security. This often serves to whittle away at the spiritual fortitude we possess to believe in ourselves and embrace the environment of humanity, both success and failure, that God created. There are no substitutes for hard work and resolve, and if we choose surroundings that encourage laziness by ignoring what we know we were best suited to do, we only loose ourselves in the vices our religious subconsciousness warn us about.
Meekness is a state of mind. The reality that nothing physical or material is worth more than what we gain spiritually. Our passions are gifts from our Lord, and to embrace them as wants, and apply prudence in evaluating our material interests on the basis of needs, provides the path to fulfill personal destiny and strive to always achieve.
Since that time, my wife and I moved around three states. Our decision-making process each step of the way included many factors. We looked at where we were on starting a family, our desire to own a home, and preferences as to the location with respect to closeness to relatives and culture. However, the overriding influence in our decisions, including the one that brought us to Eastern North Carolina and my current job, was the continued development of by professional career.
The path of professional fulfillment has not been without its share of difficulties or sacrifices. I know that my wife and I would find greater happiness in other areas of life if we directed our life decisions on where our parents and friends lived, or where we could find more people "like us." My skills and strengths suit many fields, and I could probably find a job that paid more than what I make now and enable us to enjoy the "high life" so many of Gen X and Y comrades seem to engage.
Regardless of these possibilities, I do not think I would change a thing. Our new "hometown" is not perfection or the top destination for our age group, but it works. The lack of rapid rise in housing prices enabled us to afford a home on my salary with a modest mortgage and start a family. At the same time, my "day job" is the best vehicle possible to explore opportunities, utilize personal intensity, and create solutions that fulfill the potential of my interests, knowledge, and abilities in a productive manner.
For many, the current economic situation forces people to reexamine their definition of "wants" and "needs," the age-old comparison used to allocate limited resources. Thinking back on the choices my wife and I made over the years, we certainly did not give into our material "wants." We live comfortably, but within the means of our available resources.
At the same time, following my passions on the career front, and enabling my wife to focus on her passion for starting a family, enabled us to achieve the personal and professional "wants" that are much more fulfilling than those of the material kind.
It is easy to think, given the circumstances many find themselves in, that "wants" are not accessible in the current climate, or that they should take a distant back seat to the most critical of "needs." These two realms, however, must achieve balance in order for us to maintain the psychological joy and fulfillment that enables us to perform, thrive, and achieve in the face of opportunity and adversity. Pursuing "wants" of a professional variety, especially if they apply to the knowledge, skills, and abilities you already possess and develop intuitively, provides the remedy for the reactionary impulse toward eliminating "wants" that leaves one feeling empty and regretful of lost chances.
The key to prioritizing professional "wants" in balance with material "needs" is the strength of your faith. When it comes to our careers, we often ignore our passions because we think it is the path to security. This often serves to whittle away at the spiritual fortitude we possess to believe in ourselves and embrace the environment of humanity, both success and failure, that God created. There are no substitutes for hard work and resolve, and if we choose surroundings that encourage laziness by ignoring what we know we were best suited to do, we only loose ourselves in the vices our religious subconsciousness warn us about.
Meekness is a state of mind. The reality that nothing physical or material is worth more than what we gain spiritually. Our passions are gifts from our Lord, and to embrace them as wants, and apply prudence in evaluating our material interests on the basis of needs, provides the path to fulfill personal destiny and strive to always achieve.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Do you know them well enough?
I just reread Levit's recent post on cover letters and thought about the following comment, which generated opposing responses from several readers (note emphasis added):
For those of you just about to graduate, especially if you are on or about to be on spring break, this is something important to think about. Is there someone you know well enough that simply passing a resume may get you an interview or position? Have you built contacts and relationships with those in the professions you are most passionate about that you feel comfortable talking to them about an internship, apprenticeship, or shadowing that will help you take that next step in a journey of professional achievement?
For some, job searching in our desired careers requires a lot of "cold calling" and looking up ads. Identifying contacts with the resources to get you a foot in the door makes the process far easier.
Basically, I think they’re a waste, because if you aren’t submitting your
resume to someone you know well enough to include a
more informal e-mail instead, you’re probably just going to end up in the black
hole that is the general HR inbox.
For those of you just about to graduate, especially if you are on or about to be on spring break, this is something important to think about. Is there someone you know well enough that simply passing a resume may get you an interview or position? Have you built contacts and relationships with those in the professions you are most passionate about that you feel comfortable talking to them about an internship, apprenticeship, or shadowing that will help you take that next step in a journey of professional achievement?
For some, job searching in our desired careers requires a lot of "cold calling" and looking up ads. Identifying contacts with the resources to get you a foot in the door makes the process far easier.
Quick Hit on Networking Benefits
Several professional career advisers are harping on the do's and don'ts of networking right now (h/t Alexandra Levitt, among others). This is among the toughest skills to develop when pursuing a career and building your portfolio in the fields you are most passionate about, especially if you are not exposed to training programs in school or at work that help you with the process. Family and friends will attest that I am, by no means, an expert on it, especially when I am forced to stand face-to-face with someone I know little or nothing about in an awkward social setting.
Experience also have taught me that the benefits you reap from networking are directly related (and in some cases, magnified) to the investment you make in building relationships and maintaining them actively. A networking contact I have known, advised, and sought advice from in my professional field over the last eight months surprised me earlier this week with a random "thought of you email" that included a forward of some very valuable information. These moments when valuable, applicable knowledge present themselves from someone else are not possible without developing the contacts and relationships that encourage others to make the extra effort on your behalf, and vice versa.
Experience also have taught me that the benefits you reap from networking are directly related (and in some cases, magnified) to the investment you make in building relationships and maintaining them actively. A networking contact I have known, advised, and sought advice from in my professional field over the last eight months surprised me earlier this week with a random "thought of you email" that included a forward of some very valuable information. These moments when valuable, applicable knowledge present themselves from someone else are not possible without developing the contacts and relationships that encourage others to make the extra effort on your behalf, and vice versa.
What's on your mind?
In addition to this blog's weekly column and occasional (for now) mentions of additional developments in career and life enhancement, I would like to open the floor for questions that I can help find the answers for. Whether you are about to graduate or are starting college in the fall or need help figuring out the next step after the "other shoe" dropped recently, please pass along any questions by email to alwaysachieve@gmail.com. I will do my best to offer some advice from the perspective of a fellow career seeker. Thank you.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Do they really need an "expert"?
Individuals who pursue personal passions in their professional lives devour every piece of information and acquire any type of relatable experience in order to grow their profile and understanding. Career advisors and life coaches, just like the one I heard speak a couple of weeks ago, encourage us that one of the best ways to increase opportunity, through jobs or leads, is to become a recognized "expert" in our chosen field.
I am as guilty of this as the next overachiever. When asked this past week about what I like about my real job, I simply said, "it lets me be a geek." As someone who read ten times more non-fiction than fiction as a child, analyzing public policy and evaluating financial information are second nature. My strong personal interests towards my career facilitates an intensity the encourages me to reach out to fellows in the field when they pose questions on listservs or at meetings. I love running workshops at conferences, and I make the time in my busy schedule to engage in scholarly-level research (though without the abundance of resources found on a college campus).
If you were to ask me about the externalities in the evolution of the politics-administration dichotomy, I could tell you just about anything you wanted to know. However, does this make me the most desirable person to hear about this subject? Is my immense knowledge and pursuit of "expert" understanding in my personal passions going to encourage opportunities for future employment, especially in the academic sector I desperately want to be part of?
Not exactly. Many times, being an "expert" is the opposite of what an employer or potential customer wants. In the current job climate, more knowledgeable candidates are being turned away for those few available positions in favor of recent graduates and the less experienced. The reasons are several, from the fact that the responsibilities of the positions make the more experienced appear overqualified, to recent findings suggesting that experience often serves to inhibit one's ability to adapt towards achieving success.
Becoming an expert can also make someone arrogant or unappreciative of the abilities of others. This opinion piece from a New York food critic on her displeasure with the "child foodie" movement could easily come across to a reader as a "sour grapes" diatribe from an industry elitist. She does make some salient points throughout her column, but the tone wreaks of the vitriol of someone jaded by her superior knowledge and abilities, unable to appreciate what others without her background might be able to contribute.
True expertise is achieved when one recognizes the limits of their own knowledge and experiences, embraces the ideas of others, and finds ways to incorporate new skills and concepts into their intellectual reference. As many people I help with issues in my profession, I do my best to ask just as many questions to the same group. While I am using this blog to offer tips that can help others in their personal and professional growth, the process of writing and researching these pieces and the feedback from readers are just as valuable in my own development.
Even if you are an "expert", regardless of your actual age, it is important to convince employers and customers (current and potential) that your knowledge and background only encourage you to learn more, serve more, and appreciate the thoughts of others more. Real experts find a lesson in life every day, enabling them to maintain a professional focus that leads them to always achieve.
I am as guilty of this as the next overachiever. When asked this past week about what I like about my real job, I simply said, "it lets me be a geek." As someone who read ten times more non-fiction than fiction as a child, analyzing public policy and evaluating financial information are second nature. My strong personal interests towards my career facilitates an intensity the encourages me to reach out to fellows in the field when they pose questions on listservs or at meetings. I love running workshops at conferences, and I make the time in my busy schedule to engage in scholarly-level research (though without the abundance of resources found on a college campus).
If you were to ask me about the externalities in the evolution of the politics-administration dichotomy, I could tell you just about anything you wanted to know. However, does this make me the most desirable person to hear about this subject? Is my immense knowledge and pursuit of "expert" understanding in my personal passions going to encourage opportunities for future employment, especially in the academic sector I desperately want to be part of?
Not exactly. Many times, being an "expert" is the opposite of what an employer or potential customer wants. In the current job climate, more knowledgeable candidates are being turned away for those few available positions in favor of recent graduates and the less experienced. The reasons are several, from the fact that the responsibilities of the positions make the more experienced appear overqualified, to recent findings suggesting that experience often serves to inhibit one's ability to adapt towards achieving success.
Becoming an expert can also make someone arrogant or unappreciative of the abilities of others. This opinion piece from a New York food critic on her displeasure with the "child foodie" movement could easily come across to a reader as a "sour grapes" diatribe from an industry elitist. She does make some salient points throughout her column, but the tone wreaks of the vitriol of someone jaded by her superior knowledge and abilities, unable to appreciate what others without her background might be able to contribute.
True expertise is achieved when one recognizes the limits of their own knowledge and experiences, embraces the ideas of others, and finds ways to incorporate new skills and concepts into their intellectual reference. As many people I help with issues in my profession, I do my best to ask just as many questions to the same group. While I am using this blog to offer tips that can help others in their personal and professional growth, the process of writing and researching these pieces and the feedback from readers are just as valuable in my own development.
Even if you are an "expert", regardless of your actual age, it is important to convince employers and customers (current and potential) that your knowledge and background only encourage you to learn more, serve more, and appreciate the thoughts of others more. Real experts find a lesson in life every day, enabling them to maintain a professional focus that leads them to always achieve.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Leavit's "skill" piece provides excellent perspective of C-A-R and resume improvement
In this week's "Reinvent" tip column for WSJ, Alexandra Levit provides a succinct plan for focusing career searches on passion-oriented skills. Identifying past examples where these skills created professional benefit through "Challenges-Actions-Results," as well as channeling the personal energy toward your passion with position-oriented "functional resumes," are excellent ways to invigorate a stagnant search or restart your pursuit of a better professional future.
I believe Levit will have more great articles to come. In the meantime, check out her blog.
I believe Levit will have more great articles to come. In the meantime, check out her blog.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Facing Up to the Time Value "Correction"
Unemployment, furloughs, and general malaise about our current economy create a devastating impact on anybody's asset portfolio. While many of our investments take a ride in the marketplace in a manner beyond our individual ability to control, one commodity we personally overstated in value in year's past is perhaps one of our most important today: time.
For the past several years, I noticed how many people, young and old, leveraged their bank accounts, personal contacts, and anything else of material value in order to avoid having to give up any extra hours or minutes, or even seconds, to the world around them. Fundraising for charities lost all matter of creativity and friendship-building, with the events held up as successes nothing more than opulent check-writing exercises.
Many friends and colleagues would buy just about anything on impulse if a salesperson or coworker told us it would save us time. Sometimes, the results were truly productive, such as with the mass adoption of PDA's, Blackberries, and the IPhone. I would imagine, though, that many are spending their newly found "free time" as permanent vacationers from their former employer trying to turn some of these doodads and high-tech trinkets into cash, or something that will help them get by another month out in the proverbial cold.
Time is valuable, but as every mentor (family or otherwise) taught me, it only benefits you in the way you use it. So often, those I saw so effective at saving time on the job or in public wasted it so frivolously at home or elsewhere. If you hung around a Starbucks or bookstore coffee house these past couple of years, you saw a lot of people withdrawing their time savings, doing nothing while enjoying a $4 latte.
What is important for us to realize about time is that it cannot be saved like any other investment to use so much later. Time is allocated to each of us equally in 24-hour increments a day. We can't "bank" what we do not use. Every hour and minute has the same potential to enrich our lives, as well as those who can benefit from our services as professionals or kindness as individuals of faith.
Every day for me today is as busy as I can make it. Even recovering from a cold this weekend, I am still trying to utilize every possible moment, whether it's helping my wife with an upcoming project or taking my daughter out for a drive amidst the late-winter rain and cold. When work arrives Monday, my internal schedule will be jammed with tasks and duties, followed by evening rituals where I have the opportunity to enjoy time with my family. Right now, every day is a full day.
Much of the reason why my time is utilized is because I am pursuing personal passions in my professional life, creating a career that applies my natural abilities and connects with my interests. So many took a different path in the past decade, simply accepting jobs that promised financial security or opportunities for systematic advancement. Unable to overcome the emptiness they felt despite their perceived professional success, many turned to the commodity of time. They have learned now, however, that time is not a commodity, but rather a resource that is only available as it arrives and passes.
For those with time on their hands, use it to identify and embrace those personal passions that can lead to professional success. Recognize that the hours available today will only be available today, just like tomorrow expires at its end. The key is to take advantage of the day available, morning and night. Build upon what you knew at its beginning, the knowledge, experiences, and values you learned from days, months, and years past. Apply this background to grow in some manner or way each day, whether through accomplishment or learning lessons out of failure. Regardless, if time is used to its potential, you will end the day with more than what you started.
For the past several years, I noticed how many people, young and old, leveraged their bank accounts, personal contacts, and anything else of material value in order to avoid having to give up any extra hours or minutes, or even seconds, to the world around them. Fundraising for charities lost all matter of creativity and friendship-building, with the events held up as successes nothing more than opulent check-writing exercises.
Many friends and colleagues would buy just about anything on impulse if a salesperson or coworker told us it would save us time. Sometimes, the results were truly productive, such as with the mass adoption of PDA's, Blackberries, and the IPhone. I would imagine, though, that many are spending their newly found "free time" as permanent vacationers from their former employer trying to turn some of these doodads and high-tech trinkets into cash, or something that will help them get by another month out in the proverbial cold.
Time is valuable, but as every mentor (family or otherwise) taught me, it only benefits you in the way you use it. So often, those I saw so effective at saving time on the job or in public wasted it so frivolously at home or elsewhere. If you hung around a Starbucks or bookstore coffee house these past couple of years, you saw a lot of people withdrawing their time savings, doing nothing while enjoying a $4 latte.
What is important for us to realize about time is that it cannot be saved like any other investment to use so much later. Time is allocated to each of us equally in 24-hour increments a day. We can't "bank" what we do not use. Every hour and minute has the same potential to enrich our lives, as well as those who can benefit from our services as professionals or kindness as individuals of faith.
Every day for me today is as busy as I can make it. Even recovering from a cold this weekend, I am still trying to utilize every possible moment, whether it's helping my wife with an upcoming project or taking my daughter out for a drive amidst the late-winter rain and cold. When work arrives Monday, my internal schedule will be jammed with tasks and duties, followed by evening rituals where I have the opportunity to enjoy time with my family. Right now, every day is a full day.
Much of the reason why my time is utilized is because I am pursuing personal passions in my professional life, creating a career that applies my natural abilities and connects with my interests. So many took a different path in the past decade, simply accepting jobs that promised financial security or opportunities for systematic advancement. Unable to overcome the emptiness they felt despite their perceived professional success, many turned to the commodity of time. They have learned now, however, that time is not a commodity, but rather a resource that is only available as it arrives and passes.
For those with time on their hands, use it to identify and embrace those personal passions that can lead to professional success. Recognize that the hours available today will only be available today, just like tomorrow expires at its end. The key is to take advantage of the day available, morning and night. Build upon what you knew at its beginning, the knowledge, experiences, and values you learned from days, months, and years past. Apply this background to grow in some manner or way each day, whether through accomplishment or learning lessons out of failure. Regardless, if time is used to its potential, you will end the day with more than what you started.
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