Tag Archives: career advice

Working with your family: a privilege or a curse? (part 1 of 2)

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Based on my experience working in and out of my family’s business, I know that while there certainly are advantages, working with parents is not all fun and games.

Here I share with you the major perks that I lived in my first job out of college while working as the assistant manager of my mom’s restaurant group. (In my next post you’ll hear the other side of the story)

This is part of my inheritance – I trust that you’ll spend it wisely:

Trust and responsibility:  If like me you have a solid relationship with your parents, working in their business could mean that you reach a level of trust and responsibility that you’ll find hard to match in any other organization.  I found this to be the case particularly when I worked in entry-level jobs at other companies.  While I felt I was trusted, I was never really entrusted with the level of responsibilities that I had almost since day one when I was working with my mom’s business.

Quick approval for projects:  Because of the high level of trust, it’s quite possible that your projects will be approved faster than in any other organization.  After all it’s likely that you’ll have more pull with the decision maker.

Ups expectations:  Admittedly taking on more responsibilities in an entry level job can mean a steeper learning curve.  However, it can also set a higher benchmark for your career.  (Later I’ll talk about the downside of that)

Easy access to a solid network:  By association with your parents, it is quite possible that you’ll have faster access to a network of decision makers, key opinion leaders and other people high up in the pecking order in the business community.  Personally, I discovered that developing the same level of rapport on my own took longer.

Carry the torch:  Working in the family business means that you’ll play an integral part in continuing your family’s legacy – which some day you’ll be able to pass on to your own children. 

Bonding:  By virtue of experiencing more things with your parents, like facing the challenges of running a business, you’ll end up bonding more with them.  I found that I got to know things about my mom that I otherwise wouldn’t, like her gift for influencing others without being authoritative.

I’d LOVE to learn from your experiences.

And stay tuned for the other side of the story.

Talent Swapping – a Threat or an Opportunity?

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Evil, evil, evil is what I was thinking after re-reading for the third time an article on talent swapping over at ere.net (“a premier online community for recruiters, with more than 95,000 unique visitors per month”)

To let you in on my thoughts, I’ll start by defining a S.W.A.P. (Strategically Waving Average Performers).

In the words of Dr. John Sullivan who is a well-known thought leader in HR and called the “Michael Jordan of Hiring” by Fast Company magazine, it means:

“borrowed from the professional sports industry…In sports, winning is everything, and it is a common practice for team management to externally seek out a “superior” player in a key position to replace a struggling player. When the team finds an available star, they “SWAP” or replace their struggling player…When applied to the corporate world, a S.W.A.P. initiative proactively replaces poor performers in a key job only when an arguably/measurably better candidate has been identified and successfully recruited by the talent management function.”1

Read that one more time in case by now it’s not clear to you that in the end of a S.W.A.P. an employee loses their job as a result of a deliberate measure from management to clean out ordinary performers.

At the very least, talent swapping is evil, but I’m also thinking that it’s out of touch.  Dr. Sullivan decided to write the article and then ere.net decided to publish it on 24 Nov. – a time when over a million people have been laid-off because of cut-backs.2  Talk about trying to be part of the solution…not.

What were both parties thinking? 

I’m not naïve.  I know that a lot of people, including recruiters, are struggling during the economic downturn. Masquerading as an idea to increase productivity in the work place, talent swapping is just another revenue-generating tool for recruiters.  Put in very simple terms, a candidate is hired by a company and ka-ching! out goes a cut for the recruiter.  As one who also has bills to pay, it would be hypocritical on my part to blame recruiters for looking outside the box for new streams of income.  (In that sense Dr. Sullivan gets an A+ for creativity.)

And here’s what Dr. Sullivan was thinking.  Among other things, he thinks that an economic down turn, because of higher than average lay-offs, is a perfect time for companies to go hunting for top talent.  Okay, I also get that.  While a poor performer looses their job, a top performer gets a job – that was not open by a traditional way.  I can somewhat see the silver lining in that.

What I find most uncomfortable (and to me sounds like war drums) is what Dr. Sullivan thinks is one of the advantages of such an initiative:

 “It sends a clear message to all employees that continuous improvement of skills and ability to perform is as much an individual’s responsibility as it is the organization’s, and provides real consequences for those who ignore the mandate.”

A bit harsh don’t you think?

And by the way, according to Dr. Sullivan’s online bio, he’s “a frequent speaker and advisor to Fortune 500 and Silicon Valley firms.  Formerly the chief talent officer for Agilent Technologies – the 43,000-employee HP spin-off – he is now a professor of management at San Francisco State University” 

Translation:  your employer has potentially paid for his advice.

In saying this, I am not one to play the cog employee victim card – far from.  (check out my bio if you need proof of this)

Instead, to me this is a great opportunity to point out the idea that even as employees we are self-employed.  More than anything that means that career advancement is  each person’s responsibility.  Leaving it up to an employer, aside from feeling like watching the grass grow – is simply risky business.  Potentially the same team in the HR department that designed your company’s career development program is also an advocate of S.W.A.P.  Contradictory to say the least, don’t you think?

Dr. Sullivan’s article also makes it clear that there are more opportunities for top performers.  That means that your track record is your ticket to ride during good and bad times.

This is what I think.  I’d LOVE to hear your thoughts.

Networking for loners (made easy)

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I confess.  In most areas of my life I’m a loner.

Sports have been a major part of my life ever since I can remember.   And for the most part I’ve gravitated towards individual activities.  Singles tennis, running, skateboarding, biking, swimming.  All of which involve very minimal interaction with other people – if any at all.  Don’t get me wrong, I can handle having another person next to me on a court or a field, but more than that and it becomes a threat to my existence (kinda’ like what Warhol said about his nudity).

Even though I was nominated ‘best all around’ during my senior year in high-school (I can’t believe I’m sharing this with you) in college I was labelled a GDI (and proud). 

At work I tend to eat lunch alone at my desk.  I’m known for saying ‘no thanks’ to invitations – more so if they involve going out with a group.  It could be because I am a bit of a workaholic that I stay back working, but mostly it’s because I love to sit and enjoy the silence.  That’s how I gather my thoughts and psych myself up for the afternoon.

So how on earth does a loner like me end up making a good living in business development and getting several awards in the process?  When it’s a job that requires that I mingle with people?

Here are my secrets to networking and getting what I want from people:

1. Be genuine:  It is much more likely that people who care about you are those who will help you.  The best way I know how to get people to care about me is for me to care about them.  It really is that simple.  At work functions I apply the 80/20 rule and I only spend time with people I find interesting.  I know that if I bond with one or two people, chances are I’ll be able to get more out of our relationship than if I tap 20 people and move on.  And I’ll enjoy myself along the way because I’ll be dealing with people I genuinely like and who I feel I can be myself around.

2. Don’t wait until you need someone to approach them:  I don’t like being used.  That’s how I know that other people don’t like it either.  To avoid getting to a point where I only contact people when I need them, I stay loosely connected – because I care to know how they are (remember, we bonded at some point).  It’s just like practicing preventive medicine vs the curative kind.  If I approach someone when I need them, it’s too late.  They will sense that I’m using them.  And although they may play along and get me what I want in the short-term, chances are that I’ve lost a relationship.

3. First give:  I love to receive things from people – and it doesn’t have to be big for my energy levels to spike.  A sincere compliment has a similar effect on me as a bunch of flowers – both trigger my serotonin response.  And when someone gives me something – as small as a compliment – I feel good about being nice back to them.  That’s why I know others also feel good about reciprocating after I’ve given them something.  Making deposits in people’s emotional bank accounts has proven to be a good investment.  If you’re thinking that it’s too Machiavellian to go around complimenting people left and right, re-read my secret number one.

4.  Ask, ask, ask:  I admire people who persevere.  And I will go out of my way for people who believe so much in what they’re doing that they’re willing to do anything to see their cause through.  When someone I barely know asks me for something, I find it gutsy, not annoying.  More so, I feel honored that someone with such great qualities considers that I can help them.  That’s why I believe that anyone worth asking will not mind my own asking.

How have you loners out there made it in this network-crazed world?  I’d love to know…

 

Connect With Exceptional Career Women NOW!

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I’m proud to say that I’m now a blogger at womenforhire.com.  Founded in 1999, it’s a website dedicated to “connecting employers with the brightest group of diverse career women, as well as providing those women with exceptional advice on advancement”.

I’ve found it to be one of the few sites that puts its money where its mouth is.  It offers top-shelf information in a style that’s empowering and refreshing – and lots of it is free.

They posted my article on playing forward your decisions to stop the self-sabotage.  Here’s a taste:

“what may seem very minor decisions throughout our day, deserve more of our attention because they could end up disturbing our lives in a major way.”

Read more of Stopping My Self-sabotage

Stay tuned!

To MBA or not to MBA? That’s Andy’s question

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There’s a discussion going on over at brazencareerist.  Andy Drish is trying to decide whether to get an MBA or not.  His dilemma came about because his employer is offering to pay for part of his MBA and he’s finding that to be too good an offer to refuse.  Among the things that have been brought up in the course of the discussion are:

1. Whether or not he has enough work experience or will he be one of the youngest in the program – and feel that he cannot contribute as much as the more experienced students.

2. Are his two local schools the best choices?

3. How quickly should he aim to complete the program.

What I noticed was not being considered – and it was something I thought about when I looked into getting an MBA – is the opportunity cost.  While I was kicking the tires of local MBA programs in Sydney, something became evident early on.  In a labor market where everyone and anyone has an MBA, the degree no longer makes candidates stand out as much.  As a consequence the increase in pay is not as significant as it was a few years back when not as many job candidates had an MBA.  In a nut shell, I found the return on investment in an MBA to be questionable. 

That puts an interesting spin on things.  Ten years ago, getting an MBA was the no-brainer thing to do if you wanted to rise up the corporate ladder at a faster than average rate.  Today the answer is not as black and white as that.  In an increasingly diverse and complex environment, traits like entrepreneurship and resiliency are powerful commodities.  Neither of which can realistically be mastered in the comfort of an air-conditioned class room. Both are the result of living through real experiences and manoeuvring through real challenges.  As such, putting yourself on the line and starting your own business or taking time to travel and explore the world, are two experiences that will make you stand out from the pack.  Speaking for myself, I do not have an MBA.  I’m not saying that I never will get one, but I know that my experience as an entrepreneur has landed me jobs that I would otherwise not have been considered for. 

If it’s the knowledge that you’re looking for in an MBA program, today there’s so much information outside of the walls of academia that personally I do not see the need to sit in a class just for that.  As long as you’re making time to read quality material and to listen to pod casts, it’s possible to stay on top of the major trends in management, finance, accounting, strategy, change among other things.  Here are two of my favorite sources of information: Harvard Business IdeaCast and TED

‘What about networking?’ you say.  Sure it’s likely that you’ll meet like-minded go-getters and high achievers just like you in an MBA program.  But that’s not the only place where these type of people congregate.  If you have $50k to spend and the time to spare, I think you’ll be better off joining the most prestigious golf club, tennis club or sailing club in your area.  There, for even less money and more fun, you’ll get to meet the who’s who of the business world.  And even better than at a university, there will be a cross-section of people.  At clubs it’s likely that you’ll find more than just cubicle bound employees in their 20s and 30s like you looking to get ahead.  For example business owners, CEOs and other decision makers of a variety of age groups – who either got an MBA years ago or never got close to academia.  Another effective way to make good connections is through doing volunteer work.  The major perk is you get to support good causes while you meet people who may one day be key in your career. 

I’m not saying that MBA’s are dead – and that people should stop getting them.  Personally, I’m still open to the possibility that one day I’ll enrol.

However, I am asking people to look at an MBA degree for what it’s worth. I’m asking you to be open to other possibilities. An MBA is not a cure-all for career stagnation.  Other things like starting your own business, travelling and writing a book are also solid ways to breathe life into your work life.  If you do enrol in an MBA, I hope that it is for the right reasons.

I’d LOVE to hear your thoughts.

 

 

Jobs close to home are under valued

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Once upon a time I used to think less of those people who considered a long commute to work a deal breaker when considering a job offer.  My main requirements to accept a job were money and title.  If I felt that I could either do the job or learn it and the money was good and the title glamorous enough then the deal was done – the job was mine.  That was true until I accepted a job that was a 1-hour drive (each way) in heavy traffic from my home.  The first 6 months of my job I was over the moon.  I got a significantly higher salary than at my previous job, my package came with a car and an office all to myself.  Life was good.  I would drive to and from work with music blasting in my car – I was loving every minute of it. 

My bubble burst when I attended an informational evening for one of the local MBA programs.  There I found out that on average students spend 10 hours a week on course work, per class.  Although I did not enrol in an MBA program (I’ll write about that in my next post) that number came too close for comfort.  It became obvious to me that by sitting in traffic, I was in essence wasting 10 hours of my week (480 hours a year).  Before then I had no real use for those 10 hours so I was quite happy to sit in my car and use the time to psych myself up for my day and unwind after work.  But as soon as I found a better use for my time, I began to feel that I was incurring an opportunity cost.  When that happened, I started to dread my daily drive.  However, not being one to stay stuck for too long, I started to listen to educational CDs in my car (I confess, I was a late adopter of MP3 technology – now I’m addicted to pod casts!).  Feeling that I was not wasting away as much in my car, certainly helped me cope with the commute, but it did not make the feeling go away entirely.

When I resigned from that job after 18 months I can’t say that it was because of the commute, but it was certainly one of the things that helped tip the scale.  From that experience onwards, a short commute has become one of my top 10 must haves in a job.  It comes close to working with like-minded people, in a industry I believe in, in a role where I can contribute to society, in a company that takes the environment into account – and a nice pay package.

Does that make me a loser?  If that’s what you think, well, at least I’m not a time waster.

How to decide between 2 great job offers?

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In a recent post I wrote about how to cope when you don’t get offered a job that you want.  Now I’d like to explore the opposite situation.  What can you do when you’re in such high demand that you need to decide between two great job offers?

Even if it’s one of the good problems to have in life it’s good to be prepared.

Here are some points to help you compare:

  1. Forget the money:  To make sure that you’re choosing the right job for the right reasons, look beyond your pay-check.  Ask yourself: “If I did not work for money, which job would I choose?”  Which job is more in line with what’s important to you and what you’re drawn to?  The more in line your job is with those two things, the greater your chances are of staying motivated for longer and being better at your job.
  2.  Stretch your time line:  What do you find when you look beyond the role you’re being offered?  Are there areas within the company that interest you and that you could get involved further down the track?  In which company is there more room for growth?
  3. Launch pad: Which role offers you a more solid foundation for your career?  Look at what each company has to offer in terms of training and other professional development opportunities.  For example does either company have a mentoring program? 
  4. The green test:  Which company scores higher when it comes to contributing to the community and lessening their impact on the environment?  
  5. What are the minds like:  If you get a chance, meet your future team.  Do you sense that they are like-minded?  If it’s within your role to work with clients, how like-minded are they?
  6. The car trip test:  If you were to go on a road trip with one of your future bosses, which of the two would be the easiest to get along with on an 8 hour road trip?  With which one would you have the most fun?  Who would teach you the most?
  7. Push your limits:  Which role would challenge you the most?  I’d go for the one that stretches me the most.  After switching jobs 12 times in 10 years, I know that after 3 months you’ll start to feel at home.
  8. Role models:  Because you’re only as good as those you hang out with on a regular basis, make it a point to find out if there are people within either company who are worthy of imitation. 

Okay, now lets talk money.  But only after you’ve weighed up everything else. Otherwise you risk being blinded by money and missing out on all the other things a job can offer.  It has been my experience that the unquantifiable rewards of a job have benefited my career the most in the long-term.

I’d LOVE to hear what you think.

‘So what?!’ (How to cope when you don’t get a job offer)

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Lets face it, with the current state of affairs, the competition for good jobs has gone up more than a few notches.  Chances are there will be many more bright people out there looking for work.  To you that means that it’s possible that you’ll have to interview for several jobs before you land one.

But is getting rejected from a job the end of the world?  Being that throughout my work life I’ve been turned down from jobs (notice the plural) even after I’ve gone to several interviews, I personally don’t think so.

To begin with, nothing is the end of the world.

More than that, there’s opportunity in everything.  The key is knowing how to find it.

Here are a few of the things that have helped me say (and really mean) ‘So what?!’ whenever I’ve been rejected:

  1. Think silver lining:  Not getting a job offer might be a blessing in disguise because a better job might be waiting for you right around the corner.  I have the benefit of hindsight since that happened to me not so long ago.  After going to three interviews, including one with the company’s Managing Director, not only was I sure that I’d get an offer, but I really wanted this particular job.  It ticked all of my boxes, including that it was close to home and it paid 20% more than my current job.  I was very surprised when my recruiter called to say that someone more experienced got the job.  As I was licking my wounds, within the hour of getting turned down, I got offered an interview for a job which more than exceeded my expectations.  It included a 30% higher pay and a national management role.  After three interviews I did get an offer that I accepted.  And the fact is that had I been offered (and most probably accepted) the first job, my recruiter would not have thought of me when this second job came along.
  2. Un-spoil yourself:  I get it, life lessons do not pay the bills.  But learning to make lemonade when life gives you lemons is one of those skills that will help you cope with one of the realities of life.  Unlike what we may have lived under our parents’ roof, in life we do not always get what we want.  Learning to make the most of what we do get will definitely give us an edge over those who waste precious time whining whenever they don’t get what they want.  It’s not about being complacent, it’s about being real and un-spoiled!
  3. Bounce back:  In a changing world resiliency is winning trait.  The more times you get a chance to practice bouncing back, the better you’ll get at it and the less shaken you’ll be next time that things don’t go how you expected.
  4. Keep the lessons:  Be honest with yourself and ask yourself why you did not get a job offer.  What could you do better next time?  Review your cover letter and resume.  Or could you have packaged yourself better during the interviews?  Use the experience as an opportunity to learn a thing or two.  Those lessons are your to keep for life.  Very few successful people got to where they are today without falling a few times.  The key is they got up and learned from the fall.
I’d LOVE to hear how you bounce back from a rejection. Or if you haven’t…

I had breakfast with Carly Fiorina, Diana Sawyer…

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This morning I had breakfast with Carly Fiorina, the ex-CEO of Hewlett Packard, Ivanka Trump, yes Donald’s daughter, Dara Torres, the 40-year-young Olympian, of course Bobbi Brown, from the make-up empire was there too, and Gayle King was also among the bright and inspiring women who joined me as I ate a bowl of oatmeal.  Impressive right?

Well, guess what?  You too could have breakfast with them (for free – except BYO oatmeal) and lots of other super inspiring women – all worthy of imitation, all willing to share their journey to success with you and me.  Here’s how – click on this link and you’re there.

Aside from having access to podcasts of interviews of these women, at www.womenforhire.com you’ll find a wealth of free resources for your career. For the guys reading this, advice does not come dressed in pink on this site.  And unlike other sites where they offer teasers and then when I get to what I really want, they ask me to pay, this site does have free sound advice.  Finally someone who doesn’t use ‘tactics’ to get money from me.

(no, they are not paying me to say any of this)

Here are my favorite lessons from this morning’s breakfast meeting:

Just by listening to Carly Fiorina – who was named at 43 by Fortune Magazine as “The Most Powerful Woman in Business” – I learned that after her very public firing from HP, even that did not seem to her like the end of the world.  As traumatic and disappointing as the experience was, she was able to find a lesson – she now knows that she’s not afraid of anything. 

By listening to Diana Sawyer, one of Good Morning America’s anchor, I learned that I’m doing the right thing by waking up at 5am.  To all my friends who for years have asked me what do I at 5am, all I can say is there’s no doubt in my mind that the day belongs to those who are ready and able to seize it.

I loved hearing Joy Browne’s interview because like me, she’s worn lots and lots of hats throughout her career.  Trained as an engineer she got to work at the NASA space program, training astronauts.  And from there she’s worked in radio, written books, and worked in archaeology among other things.  Based on her experience she recognizes that every role she’s had is related simply because there are transferable skills.  To you that means that nothing that you do at work is entirely new.  In other words, as many times as you switch jobs, you’ll never ever be starting from scratch.  I’ve known this in my career as a job hopper but it’s always great to hear it from someone so accomplished. 

What I loved most about what Dara Torres, who at 40 years-young swam at the Beijing 08 Olympics, was that she was open and honest.  Among the great insight that she shared was that she did not know early on in her life that she was going to be a swimmer, let alone an Olympian.  She figured it out at an age that’s considered to be too late by elite athletes’ standards.  That tells me that if you still do not know what you’ll be doing for the rest your life, that you still have time to find out and even succeed.  She also says that being dedicated, organized and focused has had a lot to do with achieving the goals that she’s set for herself.  Hint, hint…

I hesitated to click on Ivanka Trump’s interview because I feared that I’d be listening to a silver-spoon-fed spoiled brat.  I was very surprised to hear that Ivanka, who has had all that she has wanted and then some, has really made a life for her self.  That tells me that regardless of how much we’re given, it is up to each of us to make a life for ourselves – to cast our own shadow.  The fact remains that we are each given a life to live – and it’s up to each of us to live it.  Ivanka could’ve very easily made a career out of embarrassing her self at her dad’s expense, but instead she chose the high road and is making a career for herself.  And guess what?  Before she went to work at her dad’s business, to learn the ropes, she was employed at another organization.  That’s a huge hint for anyone who wants to have their own business.  Donald Trump knows that a great way to prepare yourself for owning your business is to work within an another organization.  I wrote about this in an earlier post and it’s quite refreshing to see it put in practice by one of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs.

These are my top 5.  I’d love to hear what you learn from these remarkable women.  

Is your money where your mouth is?

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Here’s some food for thought.

A recent survey conducted by McKinsey & Company showed that 87% of 7,751 people around the world who were surveyed demanded that companies go green and focus on more than profits.  I didn’t find that surprising.  What I found jaw-dropping was that 33% of those same consumers said that they were either ready to buy green products or already did.  In other words, only one third were willing to put their money where their mouth is.1

What does this have to do with your career?

As concerned as I am about what companies people are supporting with their hard-earned cash, I’d like to turn the focus to what employees are doing with their careers.

Just like more and more of us demand companies to have a triple bottom-line that is focused on profits, social contribution and environmental impact, the question is what is the bottom line of our careers focused on?  Does your career have a triple bottom-line, focused on financial rewards, social contribution and caring for the environment?  Or are you working for money alone?  By working for money alone, as employees are we again not putting our money where our mouth is?

Here’s the deal.  As long as there are employees who are willing to work for money alone and consumers who are willing to base their purchases on price alone, there will always be companies who will be able to exist for profit-making alone.

To help tip the scale, here are my thoughts for the day:

1.  Work as if you count.  Anita Roddick said it best:  “If you think you’re too small to make a difference, you haven’t been in bed with a mosquito.”

2.  Ask yourself:  “By going to work every day, what am I helping to move forward?  Is that in line with my values?”  If your answer is ‘no’ ask yourself: “What would be in line with what is important to me?”  For a list of assessments that will help you find out what you value, check out my post: I’m not so sure I’m self-assured.

3. Ask yourself:  “Through my work, am I creating the world that I want to live in?”  If your answer is ‘no’, then ask yourself: ”What would I like to work for?”  As a starting point, it does need to be to save the rainforest in Brazil or orangutans in Sumatra, it can be to simply stop supporting what you are right now.