ajcjobs > BlogBreak > Archives > 2008 > May
May 2008
Would you write a tell-all book about your boss?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
With the firestorm of controversy surrounding former White House press secretary Scott McClellan’s book, “What Happened. Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Corruption”, which portrays his former boss, President Bush, in an unflattering way, let’s explore how Atlanta employees feel about their bosses and the lengths they would go to in order to clear their conscience and/or get revenge if they felt corruption was taking place.
Have you ever worked for a high-profile company where upper management conducted business in a manner that wasn’t ethical? Have you dreamed about blowing the whistle on your boss? (Please, do not name specific companies or names of persons here- they will be removed).
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Top Georgia Companies / The Georgia 100
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Recently, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution released its rankings of the top 100 public companies in Georgia. What do you think of the rankings? Do you work for any of these companies?
In addition to the The Georgia 100 rankings, there is an interactive Georgia business news quiz and an analysis indicating that the immediate future may be cloudy for some of Georgia’s top companies.
How do you feel about the local job market? Do you feel secure or are you worried about losing your job?
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Break away from bullet points
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
More of us are called on to do presentations at work. Are you still into bullet points?
If so, lets all yawn. We know that words are important but images often make a stronger impression.
If you are still preparing the standard Powerpoints with countless bullet points you should consider that a) you are probably putting your audiences to sleep and b) you are cramping your style.
I looked at Cliff Atkinson’s Web site, Beyond Bullet Points and highly recommend his approach. For instance, have you considered using just a photo on a slide you create? It forces you to concisely and succinctly make your point and your audience members will be more engaged. You can also use images to evoke emotions.
At the Speakers Academy put on by NSA-GA, Pat Hazell, a speaker and former writer for Seinfeld showed old family photos from the 60’s. Audience members could relate to scenes of his dad capturing photos of them at every possible monument and wild Halloween costumes that were recycled through siblings. He suggested that you have captured your audience if you can get them to personally connect to what you are speaking about.
So dig out those old photos and start thinking about where you might inject them into your presentations. Who knows, you might even get promoted!
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Avoiding internal job change blunders
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It is obvious to most of us that when we begin a new job, we need to be at the top of our game so that we make a favorable first impression. Usually, with the stress of adjusting to a new workplace and the pressure of learning new systems and people, we stay in interview mode for quite a while.
Because those first 90 days on the job are so critical in terms of establishing relationships, developing your reputation and setting the standard for your future performance, a savvy employee will put in some extra effort to prove to their employer that they made the right hiring decision.
Once you join a new company, it is a good idea to schedule time to speak directly with your manager to clarify responsibilities, understand priorities, and ask about key goals. It is also wise to invest some time speaking to your counterparts to learn more about the challenges they’ve been facing and how they’ve effectively overcome them. In essence, those first few weeks at a brand new company are a working interview.
Eventually, we loosen up and become more comfortable in our new environment. This allows us to settle into a productive routine and hopefully enjoy our new job.
But what if you transfer from one department to another, within the same company? Or what happens if you’ve been promoted and now your former counterparts report directly to you? You already know the company, the people, how to find the vending machine. Is this an easier transition? How does this change your first few days on the job?
It is a big mistake to assume that because you already know everyone, that you can coast through your first few weeks in your new role. In fact, internal transfers can be even trickier than new hire situations because everyone already has a preconceived notion of who you are and what they think you’ll be able to accomplish in your new role.
The scope of your new job will dictate what you’ll actually be doing on the job, but the premise is the same. Treat a new job or promotion within your current company the same way you’d handle a new job at a completely different workplace.
In the same way you’d set aside time in a new workplace to talk with the people with whom you’ll have interaction and to learn about hot button issues, after an internal transfer, you’ll also want to communicate with your new manager and your colleagues to make sure you each share the same expectations for success. Those first 90 days are still critical.
Have you recently changed positions within your company? How has this affected your relationships with your coworkers? Would you have done anything differently? Has it been a positive or negative experience?
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Career changes - is this a good idea for you?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ray Kroc, chief executive of McDonald’s, didn’t start out managing a fast-food business. Ray began his career selling paper products and milkshake stirring machines to restaurants nationwide. He made decisions throughout his career that led him to become an integral part of what he envisioned as the wonderful idea we all know as McDonald’s. We all make decisions throughout our career that directly affect our success.
If you are considering changing professions or moving to another industry, you are not alone. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 67% of American workers want to change their professions. You may have been working as an accountant for 10 years and now would like a career in sales. If so, there are ways to successfully convey the transferable skills you have as an accountant to match the needs of a company looking for a sales person. To be successful, you need to fully assess your skills, lay out a plan of attack, and then go full force ahead.
Assess your personal skills. Before you decide to change professions, examine your strengths. When you change professions or industries, you want to feel confident that you have what it takes to succeed. Look at the environments that you enjoy, the jobs that are interesting to you, and the differences in daily routines. Research your potential new profession or industry: Is the pay what you thought? Will there be a lot of travel? Do you get to use your personal strengths on a regular basis? Does it require presentation skills? Is there upward mobility or is the promotion process very lengthy? Take a personality test to confirm your self-evaluation. For example, if you want to move from accounting to sales, you may perceive sales as fun and high-energy but have never contemplated the many rejections you will encounter. Would the competitiveness of a sales job and being constantly ranked against your peers encourage or discourage you? These are just some of the concepts you may want to consider before switching careers.
Look at yourself through the eyes of the prospective employer. Think of transferable skills. If you were in accounting and are headed towards sales, what can you discuss? With your big-five accounting position you handled client interaction during corporate audits, attained corporate goals, and successfully presented valuable information to clients and managers. How does this translate into sales? Well, you are able to immediately establish rapport with clients and potential business partners, which are key for a sales job. You are also able to regularly exceed corporate quotas- another good match for a sales career. You have been successful in presenting new ideas with confidence to clients and counterparts, convincing them of the benefits of a project or system. These examples illustrate how to make your job skills transferable to a different job.
Certainly, all career changes will not end up a multi-million dollar decision like Ray Kroc’s; just understand that your career is a journey- not a destination. If you are not challenged by your position or feel that you are being underutilized, make a change. Just be sure that you research your next path, so that you are not seeking an article next year about how to conceal the fact on a resume that you have worked for two companies in the past year and a half. If you strategically move your career in the correct direction, it will dramatically increase your work performance, happiness, financial opportunities, and well-being.
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Generation X is about opportunities for advancement
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A survey was administered to a group of college graduates from generation X (born 1965 to 1978) asking what they were looking for in a company. The top three responses were:
- I want to enjoy what I do.
- I want to be able to use my skills and abilities.
- I would like opportunities for advancement.
Enjoy what I do is because their parents said, “I hate what I do”. Use skills and abilities is because the prior generation said, “I am not doing what I went to school for”.
The third response, opportunities for advancement, is where many companies miss the mark. While growing up, Generation X’ers were told to obtain as many skills and experiences as you can for your tool box to help make you more valuable.
When X’ers request, “I would like a promotion,” what they are really asking is, “I would like to get promoted or another assignment to gain additional skills”.
When the assignment doesn’t come, they go somewhere else. The reason for leaving is more money. The truth is most people do not make more money when they quit for more money.
A quality career development and succession planning program can help companies retain talent.
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Sex and the workplace
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
With all of the current talk about the Sex and the City movie, let’s explore sexually charged work atmospheres. We’ve all heard the stories- I have a friend whose co-workers have changed spouses, changed sexual orientations and have been caught having sex in the parking lot- right under the security camera. It’s a highly successful business, but staff relations resemble something straight out of a Lifetime movie.
Are there more hook-ups at your workplace than at a singles bar? Does the relationship drama affect workplace morale and does it distract you or your co-workers from doing your job successfully? Finally, does it make a difference if the guilty parties are your bosses? If you missed this week’s Office Coach column by Mary McIntyre she has a very pointed response to that last question. Do you agree with her?
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Handling inappropriate interview questions
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Anyone who’s ever been on a job interview can attest to the fact that these meetings can be stressful. Certainly some of us get more worked up about interviews than others, but most people don’t actually enjoy them, even in the best of circumstances.
For the unlucky job seekers out there who have found themselves faced with an inexperienced interviewer, the stress and frustration is compounded. Unfortunately, this happens more often than one might think.
A wise job seeker doesn’t assume that every hiring manager has been through proper HR training or that the interviewer has a full understanding of employment laws. Remember, too, that just because a question sounds inappropriate, doesn’t mean it’s illegal.
So, if you find yourself in a situation where you’re being asked some inappropriate questions during an interview, arm yourself with a few go-to responses that will help you breeze through a sticky situation.
Let’s say an interviewer asks about your religion. Legally, a potential employer can not ask what religion you practice, if any. Chances are that’s really not what they want to know anyway. Usually, the information they’re trying to uncover with this type of question is your availability to work on certain days that may be restricted by some religions.
The question could also have to do with age, gender, physical ability, marital status, nationality, etc. If it doesn’t quite feel right to you and you have concerns that the interviewer could be crossing the line, there are ways to handle the question gracefully and without confrontation.
In these situations, a great response is, “Why do you ask?” Delivered with a warm smile, such a response is both simple and fair and it tosses the conversation back to the interviewer. He or she then has a chance to explain why they’ve asked, or to rephrase the question more appropriately.
At this point, you can address the question that they’re really asking, which relates to your availability to work. In most cases, this will move the conversation on to the next interview question.
However, if the hiring manager continues to force the issue, it would be perfectly appropriate to say: “I’m really interested in learning more about this position, so your question intrigues me. I think I might be able to answer you more effectively, if you could tell me how this relates to the job duties I would be performing, or to my qualifications for the position?
This will help you to discover whether or not the interview question has validity, or if the interviewer is trying to bully you into answering an inappropriate, and perhaps illegal interview question.
Have you been in a situation where an interviewer has asked you an inappropriate question? How did you handle it?
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Get a signed contract or get screwed!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I met a gentleman recently who moved from Chicago, Illinois to take a 12-month temp to perm contract position with a telecommunications company which recently went through a merger and a name change.
In order to protect the innocent, we will just refer to our friend as Mo.
Mo is married and has two kids and had planned to make monthly trips home in hopes that he would have an opportunity to move his family after a year.
After moving to Alpharetta, Mo was told the company needed to run a background check, which took 5 days and should have been done before he left Chicago.
When he reported to work, the hiring manager who had made the commitment to hire Mo had been reassigned and the new manager decided after one week on the job that he did not want Mo.
Even though this is a right to work state, Mo still should have had some type of contract before he left Chicago. Mo just got screwed!
Has this ever happened to you?
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Tip of the hat to nurses
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In Sunday’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution there was a special section about the 2008 ajcjobs Nursing Excellence Awards event. For the third year, the AJC has spotlighted 10 nurses out of more than 300 nominated by people whose lives have been touched by excellent nurses. On May 7, three of these 10 nurses will be named the top honorees at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. For more information about the 10 nurses or the event, visit Celebrating Nurses on ajcjobs.com.
Nursing is a career that deserves to be recognized. It’s a tough, sometimes-draining job that many see as a calling more than a profession. Nurses often are the unsung heroes who make a difference in the lives of patients and their families — and whose contributions are remembered long afterward.
With a national shortage of nurses continuing unabated — and projected to be worse in coming years — it can’t hurt to applaud those who have answered the call and to encourage others to follow in their footsteps.
Has a nurse had an impact on your life or the life of a loved one? What did he or she do that seemed special? Are there any other professions that don’t get the credit they deserve? What other careers do you think are full of unsung heroes?
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