Work: Getting It & Keeping It

Face to Face

You have a great résumé and you have found a job listing that sounds like it was written just for you. You send off a perfect cover letter and the best possible thing happens: you get the call and a recruiter wants to schedule an interview.

Now what? Are you ready to sit for an interview and follow up?

First, how much time have you spent preparing for easily anticipated questions? When the recruiter, HR manager or hiring manager sits with you, how will you respond to these questions?

Please, tell me about yourself and your career.
What accomplishments from the last 12 months are you most proud about?
Give me details on how you grew sales/reduced expenses/improved profitability as you claim on your résumé.
What is your greatest strength? How about your biggest weakness?

Are you going to be ready for these questions, or will you just hope for the best and see what happens? Your competition will prepare and practice and have a portfolio of answers in mind to answer these and other questions. How well do you know yourself and how well can you tell your story in a compelling way that will make the interviewer want to hire you?

Here are a couple of ideas to help you get ready:

Research the company you are hoping to join. Complete an Internet search for “(Company Name) interview questions.” That may give you some insight into the questions you will face. Glassdoor is a potential resource to check.
Write out your answers to common questions and read them out loud. Do they sound convincing? Try recording your voice – your smartphone probably has a voice recorder – and listen for enthusiasm, energy and conviction. Is it there? No? Try again.
Know your résumé from top to bottom. Even if you paid someone to write it for you, this is your life and your career. You need to get committed. (An aside: You can either be involved or committed. When it comes to a bacon and eggs breakfast, the chicken is involved. The pig is committed. You want to be the pig).

If this still leaves you feeling unprepared, get some help. You have come this far. Making an investment in interview coaching can help. Whatever you decide, get ready, because your time to sell yourself face to face is coming.

Creativity: No Permission Needed

Have you seen this turtle? How about the pirate? Maybe you saw them while growing up in your favorite comic book. Draw the turtle, send in your work and find out if you are good enough to attend the correspondence art school. Do you think the admissions standards were tough? I remember seeing these guys on matchbooks. It’s fun to think about some guy sitting in his F150 with his new pack of Marlboro Reds thinking, “Maybe I am good enough to get into art school!” OK. It’s a Saturday and we are getting ready for a big party with coolers filled with frosty drinks, so forgive me for the silliness, but consider this: Has anyone ever made you believe you aren’t creative.

Conformity and uniformity are valued by some, and we are all taught it from the very beginning. Boys and girls, line up against the wall, and no talking! Order and discipline have their places, for sure, but have you ingested this sleeping serum at the expense of your creativity and quest to do something great.

We aren’t talking about writing the next great novel, though that would be fine. What do you want to do? What do you think about when you sit around on January 1^st considering the next 365 ¼ days? What is keeping you from using your gifts, interests and talents?

Think about the technology and tools that you have at your disposal right now to do something creative and special. Do you want to write? Start a blog. Take pictures? Start shooting. Start a new business? Get to work and write a description of your idea on an index card. Do you want to help others or get deeper into your faith? Do it, whatever it is. Do something
and don’t worry about what other people think. You will make mistakes and you will have failures, but you will learn. And don’t worry about asking for permission.

Errors & Outcomes

Everyone makes mistakes. That is no revelation, for sure. Not everyone learns from those mistakes, though. If you don’t take risks and push the envelope of your own performance, you may never make mistakes, at least not serious ones. But if you are constantly challenging yourself to reach for higher performance and exploring new opportunities, you will fall. Sometimes you will fall hard. The outcome of these experiences is the measure of their worth.

When you make a mistake, or suffer a total failure, what do you take from the experience? Is your reaction one of withdrawal and muttering under your breath? “I am never going to take a risk like that again.” Or do you reflect on what went wrong, what went right and how you could do better in the future? Growth and development do not come from taking the easy road.

What risk can you take today that could lead to the next breakthrough or the next big flop? No matter the outcome, you will learn something if you take the time to reflect and look for the learning opportunities. Don’t be afraid to take a chance and scrape your knees. That’s why they make Band-Aids. Just remember to learn from and repeat the successes while avoiding making the same mistakes in the future.

Social Media: What Are You Waiting For?

Think back to a time not long ago when people used the term “computer literate” to describe themselves and their skills. Understanding how to power up a PC, attach a printer and use productivity software like Office or WordPerfect was a pretty big deal. Having this skill could give you an advantage over your competitors. Those skills are assumed now and you better have them. Remember that every kid coming out of college has been using a computer since birth.

We are at that same tipping point in the use of social media. If you know how to use Facebook, LinkedIn, Quora and other sites, especially in ways that help your organization and your professional reputation, you have a marketable skill. If you haven’t taken the plunge and signed up and figured it out, you are getting lapped by the field.

Think about how you are going to use these tools to stay connected. In the world of many employers and organizations, if you aren’t on line, you don’t exist.

Quora: What do know? Everyone is good at something and has special knowledge to share. Get into it by following topics that interest you and post quality answers. Ask questions and give feedback to the answerers.

LinkedIn: Use the site’s learning center to understand everything it can do. Start with a simple profile with a good photo of yourself (think corporate headshot, not party pics) and tell the world what you do. Start working it to find people you have known professionally and personally. Use the site’s news feature to track industry stories and social media updates.

Blogging: WordPress and others allow you to share longer ideas like this. It also gives others – including potential employers and clients – the chance to understand your thinking and evaluate your skills in a non-threatening way. Take the time to post quality work, and keep it fresh. You don’t have to post every day, but you don’t want to fall into the land of
abandoned blogs, either.

Twitter: Stay current on topics that interest you. Send out tweets that use industry jargon and you will soon have followers. Link your Quora and LinkedIn accounts to Twitter and your thoughts will get out into the world.

Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Social media activities have short shelf lives, and you can always delete from your own profile. Jump in, experiment and see where it takes you. With some effort, you may be able to say you are no longer “social media awkward.”

Independent Thinking

As we flip burgers, watch fireworks and maybe, just maybe, consider the history behind the holiday we celebrate on July 4^th, consider your own independence. What are the actions you are taking and the plans you are developing to express yourself and show your independent thinking, motivation and decisiveness? Are you growing, learning and making yourself more valuable, or maintaining the status quo, hoping that the pink slip never comes your way?

If you work for someone else, what are you doing to deliver more value than your pay? In the last 30 days, have you done something creative, original or innovative to show your organization that you are engaged and committed to the mission? Maybe your independence is freedom from the stress that underperformers feel, knowing inside that they are not giving their best.

If you work for yourself, what have you done to bring a new service or product to market, improve service to your customers, or learn new things to give yourself a competitive edge? Have you kept your client relationships alive with relevant marketing and superior service? Are you the first service provider your clients consider when they need whatever it is that
you sell?

If you are the boss, what are you doing to encourage independent thinking and innovation among your people? You can’t possibly have all the good ideas. Encourage innovation and celebrate risk taking.

Independence Day was not the end, but the beginning of an experiment by independent and free people. It’s an experiment that continues to evolve 235 years later. Take a few minutes over this weekend to consider how you can advance your own experiment and solidify your independence. Happy Independence Day!

Know Your Strengths

It has been more than 10 years since Now Discover Your Strengths was published and it has evolved into a strong brand in the self-help and personal development marketplace. I recently revisited this material under its StrenghtsFinder 2.0 moniker, and found it to be insightful and worthwhile. The consistency of the tool is telling and compelling.

The StrengthsFinder tool asks a series of paired questions – “would you rather do this or that” – to identify your themes, things about you that can be developed into talents. I did the survey for the first time in 2001 and again last month, and though some of the themes changed, “individualization” was still in my top five (of 34 possible themes, characteristics about you). As I reflect over the last two years, I have built my business writing résumés and professional profiles for public relations purposes, this theme of wanting to get to know people at an individual level and understanding what makes them unique has been an asset.

What are you good at? What themes can be developed into strengths that will make you great at your work and loving it? If you don’t know, maybe it’s time to find out. Invest $10 and couple of hours into yourself, understand what makes you tick, and consider how this has manifested itself in your life. You may be surprised at the self-realization that comes from the effort, and you will not regret the effort.

Small Steps

Clay Shirky’s Cognitive Surplus makes the point that we have more free time available to us than humans at any other time in history. One statistic that illustrates the point is that the amount of time we spend watch television continues to increase. What if we didn’t waste so much time observing and actually did something? What if we used some of this reserve brain power for some activity, rather than passivity?

I started working with a new client this past week. He is a young man in Los Angeles, and has accomplished much. He has not reached his 30^thbirthday. Getting to know him, I understand why. He has been entrepreneurial and has been involved in creating value, building businesses, studying and networking – and not wasting time – since he was at least 12 years old.

What are your dreams? How can you see your life better than it is today? Maybe you have a goal of helping other people, improving your relationships with your family or friends, getting fit or starting a business. How could you take your cognitive surplus and move in a direction that can improve your life? The answer does not lie in another reality TV episode, that’s
for sure. What small step can you take right now that moves you even the slightest bit towards your goal? Make the move and take the step.

Anticipating the Unpleasant

When you walk down the aisle, take your vows and then make the many decisions in a marriage, the last thing you want to think about is, “What if?” What if there is a job loss? What if there is a death or divorce? It’s easy to ignore these possibilities, but not wise. No, this is not a pitch for life insurance or some other financial product. It’s about thinking about and preparing for the challenges we all face.

I have worked with two clients in the past month, both women, who are in the process of divorce. As a result, the plan that said “You work and I will stay home with the kids” showed its dark side. The women in both of these relationships sidelined themselves, letting their college educations fade into the distant past and their professional skills atrophy.

So what’s the lesson? Unpleasant things can happen in relationships and tragedies happen every day. Recognizing that many will live long lives, change jobs many times and may face relationship breakdowns, doesn’t it make sense to stay engaged outside of the home, even if only for a few hours a week? Experiences volunteering, running a small home-based business, or working part-time in a more traditional employment scenario all can be presented effectively when a person re-enters the job market. Your network stays fresh, you keep current in your vocation, and you may even have a business suite that fits for an unplanned interview.

Uncertainty is certain. Plan for it.

More than a Microwave

If you are a leader, you probably have had to consider employee engagement and motivation. I was involved in a conversation this week about this, and some of the points made brought me back to some basic business education material: Herzberg’s Motivation Theory. Why? The talk was all about how an extra microwave in the break room would make a big difference in the employee experience. Sorry, it doesn’t really work that way.

Herzberg published his theory in 1959, and it has been a foundational topic in business education since then. Why, then, do some believe that environmental improvements will make a big difference? Maybe because simple changes are quick, easy and cheap, allowing the manager to check the box – “Yes, we did that” – and move on. These leaders should not be surprised, though, when employees don’t bow and say, “Thank you, sir, for the new tables in the employee lounge. I will never leave this company.” Having the right flavors of Doritos in the vending machine may eliminate a demotivator, but it will never drive engagement.

Herzberg’s theory went on to say that there are important motivators that influence people to work hard, including recognition, responsibility, advancement and the work itself. Other leading organizations also use the organization’s mission as a touch point for employees, hoping that the reason behind the work will improve engagement (think pharma: saving and
improving lives). I have personally seen and experienced this in organizations in different industries, and knowing the bigger picture and the “why” behind the work can sometimes be the fuel to help employees make it over the next steep hill.

Pay attention to the basics and eliminate elements that frustrate employees, but understand the limited upside of the efforts. To realize significant results, there will have to be significant effort. Recognition, strong cultures of trust and teamwork and genuinely engaged leaders focused on the needs of the employees will create great results, but these all take hard work. Rest up, re-energize and start the real job of a leader: empowering and engaging employees to deliver on the goals of the organization.