Melissa Anzman's Blog, page 11

Entrepreneurship: What it Really Feels Like

When people find out that I’m an entrepreneur, their first response is… “Wow, that’s cool. That must be [enter a superlative that ranges from awesome, freedom, cool, scary, ridiculous, and so on].” And while being your own boss can be all of those things, one of the biggest lessons that I have learned along the way, is that it is not… easy. I do not the work/life balance that you are dreaming of entrepreneurship to hold; I am not sitting on the beach working (despite what my Instagram photo may have said last week), and I am not rolling in money (but wouldn’t that be nice?).

I have moments of all of those things, but what people forget to tell you (or we gloss over it when we’re heading towards our goal), is that entrepreneurship feels different than the perception of it.

Freedom!!!

I will write about my first day of freedom in detail at some point down the road, but it still seems too new and fresh to dive into so soon in my journey. But my overall feeling of being a solopreneur, is constant. It surrounds me every minute of the day – something that a traditional corporate job never did.

When I wake up in the morning, the first thought is my checklist in my brain of all of the things I am going to do that day, interlaced with the “life things” I need to get done. And of course I have a self-created layer of angst over where I am going to work my during my “morning session.” Once I have everything figured out in my head, I start my day with a quick check with email then head to my first “work station.” And so my day begins…

It is interspersed with email, being on the site, answering questions/comments on guest posts, attempting social media, and freaking out. Yep, freaking out – I have at least one moment of panic each day, usually about the same theme, although the actual panic situation differs. Mostly it is about: where is my next client coming from, and how I am going to pay my bills. And I would like to point out, that this crosses my mind even when I’m having a great client-generating or income day. Which for me, is insane – this is not a thought or idea that I had really ever thought about in my life prior to going solo.

The panic usually passes quickly and then I get right back to work. But “work” as a definition has also taken on a new meaning. I am no longer tracking towards meeting the company’s objectives, taking guidance and direction from a more senior employee, or having a list of projects and deliverables that I need to work on. Instead, the word work has turned into something… more. It’s about how many people I am going to reach out, responding to the people that have reached out to me, helping others figure out this “HR stuff,” fitting in some time to blog, even more time to write books, and also doing “life stuff.”

But more than anything, the word work these days means pushing boundaries and being uncomfortable (for about 50% of the time). It is the weight and knowledge of being responsible for generating everything – the people, the ideas, the execution, and the quality. It’s about putting yourself out there because you believe in something, and being ok when it doesn’t go 100% as planned. It’s about… letting go of control (I know, right?).

Work as an entrepreneur is not about sitting down and getting stuff done. It’s constant, it’s who you become, it’s the constant thought process around making you and your business better, it’s about finding and reaching new people, and it’s about pushing yourself harder and further than you ever imagined possible. All without leaving your home – crazy, right?

Welcome to Loosen Your White Collar! I'm Melissa and I help people fall in love with their jobs. Subscribe to my RSS Feed to have my posts delivered to you inbox and my newsletter for specials.

What Does Your LinkedIn Headline Say About You?

I am a fan of LinkedIn – I use it, I write about it and I think that every job seeker and employee, should have a profile on LinkedIn. Spending time on your profile, making meaningful connections and interacting with potential employers is awesome. But for some reason, people forget to put as much effort and energy into their headline. And let me tell you, there are some fantastic and fantastically awful headlines out there.

How Does Your Headline Represent You?

There are two headlines really – the real headline that you are asked to type in, and the one that is automatically fed from your current place of employment. More often than not, people forget about updating the manual headline, so there two “about me” attention grabbers, are at complete conflict with each other.

Lacks attention to detail. If your two “headlines” are not correlated in any way, it looks (rightfully so) as though you are not paying attention to all of the moving pieces, and you are focusing on only the auto-feed details. For any position that has a need for “attention to detail,” and really – I can’t think of one job posting that I have seen lately that hasn’t had that as a requirement, you will be booted out of the running immediately.

Sally Sue  - Director, Marketing at Apparel Company; Marketing Associate at Retail Store

Um… what? How can you be both? Were you ever a marketing director, and if so, why are you an associate now? What is the story that you are trying to tell? How am I sold that you are right for my job when all I can think about is what is your current job? That is confusing to say the least.

Selling yourself before we’ve even said hello. Your headline is literally a three-second-or less advertisement. And no one wants to be interested in a slimy salesman, right? So why are you using your headline to be a quick snapshot of how fantastic you are without providing any substantive data? It’s a headline, so you are going to do some “selling,” but tell me what I should expect to buy not how you are going to sell me. There are a million examples of this, but here is one that is less subtle:

Jim Bob – Solutions Finder, Enthusiastically Seeking Employment

So what do you do? What type of solutions do you find? Why would I want someone to cause more problems for me? What type of employment are you skilled at?

You’ve invented a consulting company. People, people, people. Being unemployed is not synonymous to being a consultant. That is just the crazy talking. And it is a bit insulting to real consultants out there. Your first headline should tell me what kind of results you deliver, what action and knowledge you bring to the table. Intrigue me to learn more. Your “current position” should be an actual j-o-b. And nothing is more offensive in today’s market than a headline that states you are currently seeking employment and a current position at your own consulting company. You are not fooling anyone and are making yourself look desperate.

Even if you are generating income from your consulting gig (congrats on that!), I would recommend that you think of a more creative name for your own company than your name (and any variation thereof). And be prepared to talk about all of the clients you are serving and how your consulting biz is going in your job section – and if the answer is “there aren’t any clients and it’s not going well,” there is no reason in the world that I would continue to consider you a viable candidate or asset to a company.

 

Welcome to Loosen Your White Collar! I'm Melissa and I help people fall in love with their jobs. Subscribe to my RSS Feed to have my posts delivered to you inbox and my newsletter for specials.

Performance Management 101

So you are back from the summer slump and heading into the busiest time of the year – fourth quarter. And for most employees, fourth quarter means one thing is coming… performance reviews (otherwise known as annual reviews, bull&h!t feedback updates, and so on). Depending upon where you work, performance reviews formally take place annually and impact your overall compensation in scary ways – any annual increase in base salary, bonus payouts, and/or promotions.

What is Performance Management?

Essentially, it is a grading system for the workplace. There are many ways that performance excellence is applied within work environments, but the “best” systems tend to evaluate each employee based on objective (goals) and subjective (competencies) touch points, core job responsibilities, and allow for various feedback providers. And regardless of how fantastic your company manages the performance management process, it will still be flawed (we are human, after all).

The process provides a way for your manager and other leaders, to get a snapshot view of your performance and how valuable you are to the company. It also provides you with the opportunity to add your perspective about your performance and see where you need some assistance.

All in all, it is a process that seems a bit scary, secretive, and time consuming. And it is all of those things, but the process as a whole can greatly influence your career and should be taken seriously. And a strong word of caution: no one cares about protecting you in this process, so it’s up to you to advocate for your own career.

Some quick definitions:

Objective/Goals: These are measurable outcomes and deliverables. They have a specific outcome and deadline written into them, and it is very clear whether achievement has been met or not. These “actions” describe or represent the job that you did – what you accomplished.
Subjective/Competencies: These are up to more discrepancy and interpretation; they are the softer skills of how you get the job done. These are the areas that tend to allow managers to provide their personal opinion, rather than based in hard fact. Definitions and accomplishment levels are more fluid and tend to provide more gray areas for both parties.

What you need to know:

You should have been part of the Performance Management process well before the evaluation stage, including being aware/involved in your expected achievements and goals, and know what the evaluation system will consist of.

Performance Management really is that important for your career. As mentioned above, your overall performance typically applies to several different compensation-based things: your base salary, bonuses, stock options, merit increases, and your overall career path. And it goes in your employment record at that company. These documents are looked at, more than I care to admit – by HR, by management, and so on. It is “the guide” to your performance – so it is imperative that you make sure that it accurately reflects your true performance.

Myth buster: There is not an employment record/file that follows you around forever. You get a brand new file folder at each company. This took me years to realize.

Why the fourth quarter of the year is so important: Although HR teaches leaders how to avoid several different types of biases when evaluating employees during the performance management process, there is one “effect” that is consistently difficult for managers to let go of – recency effect. Recency effect means that actions, items, deliverables, mistakes, performance, etc. that happened most recent in memory, tend to cast a shadow on performance for the entire year. So if you do something spectacular during Q4, than it could put a more positive glow on your year-long performance.

And this can work both ways for you – both positive and negative. So it is time for you to get into gear and start delivering at the highest level possible for at least the next three months, if you are trying to reach super star status at work. All of those goals that you have been procrastinating on? Now is the time to start delivering them. Your company competencies or values that you can’t remember? Now is the time to review them and keep them in front of you to start modeling them.

Q4 is about to begin – are you ready?

Heads up: there will be several upcoming posts about Performance Management, as the process could fill several books. 

Welcome to Loosen Your White Collar! I'm Melissa and I help people fall in love with their jobs. Subscribe to my RSS Feed to have my posts delivered to you inbox and my newsletter for specials.

Super Saturday Round-Up – September

Sometimes there just isn’t enough room in my posts during the week to cover all of the fabulousness going around in the interwebs. So I bring you Super Saturday Round-Up! (Get ready to get clicky).

PocketChanged

The first post is an opportunity I am more than grateful for – it is a topic and website I admire greatly and am amongst fantastic company over there… It’s over at Caleb Wojcik’s site PocketChanged.com. What Should You Do When You Fail at Quitting Your Job? Here is an excerpt, but please be sure to check out PocketChanged and add it to your reading list.

Excerpt: “I joke that I am a failed quitter. The first time I went from cubicle dweller to business owner, it didn’t stick. So, I have had to leave the corporate world twice before I had enough knowledge and experience to sustain an actual business. For me, giving up was never an option, it was just a matter of figuring it out…

My main goal was to save as much money as possible – putting my high-salary to good use and cutting down on my miscellaneous spending. I had an arbitrary number in mind of having $40,000 saved in liquid savings to cover my costs and any unforeseen emergencies for the transition I planned… My mindset was that I wanted to be my own boss and if it didn’t work out, I could always land another corporate job. And that is where it all went wrong.”

Melani Ward

I am a fan of Melani’s and was honored to be included in her interview series. If you are just dying to see me in action (video action that is), please check out our interview titled Stop Looking for Your Passion…Look for Your Umbrella with Melissa Anzman, as part of her Career Hacker Unplugged series. We cover why you should stop searching for your passion and start finding your umbrella, and when I knew it was time to leave the corporate world. And of course, you should check out Melani’s other fabulous interviews – you will learn so much! Her site is at MelaniWard.com.

Some of My Favorites Around the Web:

My dear friend Ginger over at Ramble Ramble became famous… and I got to sit on the sidelines and cheer her on with a post that touched so many people. But more fun than that, was her message about kindness, respect and communication – and what we all can learn from being extreme. You can find her post, To Everyone I Know During this Election and other ramblings over on her site.
Jenny Blake compiled the most amazing (and inclusive) list of online tools to help keep your world… functioning, over at LifeAfterCollege.org. I added my favorite ebook library system (Calibre), but took away about a dozen more tools! Go check them out – and feel free to add to Jenny’s list.
Clients from Hell posted a funny video for all of you who are entrepreneurs. I hope you laugh as much as I did!
I’m lusting after one of these skylines... and I’ve been lusting for several months. It’s time to pull the trigger, right?

In Case You Missed Them:

YouTern: The 6 Not-So-Obvious Mistakes You Are Making to Ruin Your Work Reputation
Brazen Careerist: Learn These 3 Lessons Before Ditching Your Day Job to Follow Your Passion
YouTern: 18 Kick-A$s People Who Will Change Your Life

Welcome to Loosen Your White Collar! I'm Melissa and I help people fall in love with their jobs. Subscribe to my RSS Feed to have my posts delivered to you inbox and my newsletter for specials.

Practical Tactical Thursday – Performance Improvement Plans (PIP)

Performance Improvement Plans, or PIPs, tend to be one of the most veiled “secrets” that Human Resources keeps… it’s the bad, secretive “tool” that all employees dread. But that’s not what PIPs are supposed to be, and hopefully sharing some transparency will help you figure out what to do when you are heading down the PIP path.

Performance Improvement Plans Unveiled

PIPs were originally created by Human Resources professionals as a way to “properly” work an employee out of an organization. In a lawyer-happy environment, it is increasingly difficult to fire someone without the employee having some sort of claim of wrong-doing. So, HR being the over-concerned citizens that we are, figured out a loophole – tell people they are on notice and hope that they leave the company. That was several years ago – we have moved past that (in most cases).

But that is not the intent of PIP – not in an ethical company, at least. A Performance Improvement Plan is just that – a very clear document that explicitly explains where there are real or perceived gaps in performance, and specific steps that the employee needs to take and milestones he/she needs to meet, to be at the expected level of performance. PIPs, when done properly, are actually a tool for the employee. With the information and guidance provided in the PIP, employees know exactly what needs to be addressed and how to succeed at their job, and ultimately stay employed.

Another thing to note is that some companies use PIPs as an absolute last resort. PIPs should never be a surprise to the employee – you should have had several conversations with your manager and even HR before an actual plan is presented to you. If you haven’t had any previous conversations, I would recommend scheduling some time with HR to discuss why the plan is such a surprise. PIPs are not easy for HR or the manager to deliver, manage and employ. The amount of work that it takes to prepare a fair document with specific milestones and achievement levels, coupled with the ongoing documentation and meetings – PIPs are a huge pain in the a$! for all parties involved. And this plays into your favor.

And the most important thing for you to remember if you are presented with a PIP, is that you know exactly what you need to do, to deliver expectations. You are part of the process – and you should absolutely ensure that the expectations and timelines provided are attainable and not above “normal expectations.”

Basics of a PIP

Your PIP will have a strict timeline attached to it. They usually come in increments of 30, 60 or 90 days with 90 days being the most common option. And if you are the person being presented a PIP, requesting a 90 day timeline gives you more time to show consistent results. However, know that being under the microscope of a PIP for any length of time can be stressful, so be sure you are ready to be a superstar during your PIP timeframe. A PIP of 30 days is unusually short, but can be instituted if the actions you are doing are causing the company harm, and/or if it needs immediate attention. Of all of the 30 day PIPs I have seen, about 85% of them have been extended for an additional 30 days – but this is not an option everywhere.

Your previous dates/conversations of performance improvement needs should be provided. This is a best practice, but not always adhered to. I would suggest requesting this information to be included if it is not – you want to be very clear and understand when and how the performance gap issues have been provided to you.

The areas that need improvement should be defined – specifically what you are doing incorrectly, and what success looks like. And success needs to be clearly defined as SMART goals – They are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. You will know clearly what you need to do, what you need to improve, how you need to do it better, and when you need to do it by.

And because we are talking about an HR document, there will also be some legalese in there about termination of employment if you are not successfully meeting standards, before, during and after the PIP. You are then asked to sign a copy and your manager will be asked to sign it as well.

Your Responsibilities (as the employee on the PIP)

Listen closely – YOUR SUCCESS ON A PIP IS 100% RELIANT ON WHAT YOU, ALONE DO. Got that? So it is up to you to drive the PIP bus and make sure that you are always keeping your attention and focus on meeting the set-forth expectations of the PIP. You are also responsible for reaching out to your manager, HR, or other colleagues to help you achieve success on the plan. No one cares about your career as much as you do – so do not rely on your manager to “help you” through the process. Your effort and your commitment are being evaluated, so even if you think you do not need anyone else’s input, as for it. They may have additional resources available that you are not aware of, and they will be on your team when your PIP is at completion.

Do not freak out! A PIP is not meant to be a huge black mark of death, in fact, it’s kinda the opposite – you will now know exactly what you should be focusing on and how to keep your job. The gray area has been erased and it should be crystal clear. Do not waste any time on your PIP sulking or fighting the “fairness” of it all. If you do have concerns, be sure to bring them up professionally and appropriately, but do not lash out about the process – it’s your perceived performance gap that got you in that place, so you can use those same efforts to pull yourself out of it.

People are not talking about you – well, let me rephrase that: in a truly professional work environment, the only people who will be aware of your PIP are your direct manager and HR. Your colleagues will not know about the situation and they will not be privy to your “under-performance.” I suggest you keep the details under wraps unless you need to partner with someone for a specific area of need. PIPs are not meant to ostracize you or make you feel bad about your performance, simply – they are there to help you succeed.

Sample PIP

Every company has a different form, but here is an example so you can see what you can expect, should you ever be in the position of being on a PIP: http://loosenyourwhitecollar.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/PIP-Template.pdf

Welcome to Loosen Your White Collar! I'm Melissa and I help people fall in love with their jobs. Subscribe to my RSS Feed to have my posts delivered to you inbox and my newsletter for specials.

Entrepreneurship without A Safety Net

A few months ago, Suze Orman (whom I love), was giving advice to a struggling entrepreneur who was short on money, and big on dreams. Her advice: move back home with your parents and save money while you get back on your feet. Her “advice” has been irking me ever since – what if your parents cannot be a safety net? What are your options then? Ditch your dreams or go into debt? And outside of your parents, I see many single (aka – not married, living with a partner, etc.) people seeking the same advice – “I don’t have an extra income to fall back on if things go awry. Who is our safety net?”

It’s an interesting conundrum – and being that I, personally, fit into both categories, it is something that is at the forefront of my mind when making career decisions. Never more so than when I quit my corporate job of stable income to follow my entrepreneurship dreams.

What If You Don’t Have a “Safety” Net?

To be honest, I have leapt so many times, that I am not going to tell you “be sure you have a back-up plan.” But here is what I have learned: it was much less stressful, for the first two months or so, leaving with a plan and a self-created safety net. And it was much easier to stay the course without feeling a desperate need to generate more income. Although I do think I learned how to hustle when I had less than $5,000 in the bank without a job (sorry Dad!).

What Should Your Safety Net Contain?

For each person, the feeling of safety is different – you may want a stable income, or perhaps health insurance, or a consistent roof over your head. For others, safety means being able to creatively explore their destiny. It varies – but here are the things that help me, and the buck stops here.

Budget, a Real One: You need to know exactly how much money you NEED on a monthly basis. Not how much you are currently spending, although that is a good place to start, but how much you actually need to survive. And remember, there are millions of people who are living on drastically less money than you are. Just saying. What are your essentials – food and shelter, which you cannot live without (electricity, car for some, etc). Once you have that number calculated, you can plan how many months you have before you need to switch gears and you need to stick to that budget – even when your friends are doing cool things or you really want to go shopping, it will hurt your sense of security in the long run.
A Schedule: Okay, several schedules. But most important – how you are going to tackle each day and breakdown your own work. Make sure that your work expectations are reasonable and realistic on one hand, and also that you don’t slip into a couch potato while being on your own. Knowing what you are going to tackle each day, helps keep you motivated and gives you a sense of accomplishment and worth when others still “don’t get” why you aren’t working a traditional 9-5.
A Plan and a Timeline: A big part of feeling safe with any leap, is having an idea of what you need to accomplish and what success looks like. You need a PLAN (and yes, I have learned this the hard way). What exactly will you be doing, who will you be working with, how long will it take for you to generate income, how long before you are fully sustainable? Once you have all of that settled, you need to create a timeline. I know, I am personally offended that I wrote that as well, BUT – with being the person responsible (YOU) for all of your well-being, you need to know when it’s time to check-in with yourself and when to start finding a side project that will help you make ends meet. Making stable income is not a dirty word, and sometimes you have to do it to help keep your rent paid. It sucks, but that’s part of life without a safety net.
One (inexpensive) Vice: I have tried going cold-turkey, and it made me miserable. Make sure you keep one inexpensive vice that you can indulge in and enjoy when you are on your own. For me, it’s being able to hang out at Starbucks with a cup of coffee when I need a change of scenery; one of my friends needs cable to feel “human.” You absolutely must still keep some of your creature comforts in your environment to help energize you and keep you on track.
Health Insurance: I have had emergency-only health insurance, a self-purchased plan, and COBRA. They are all acceptable, but the level of coverage you choose, should be based on your own personal health needs at the time. When I had less money in the bank, I had an emergency-only plan with a low monthly fee and a higher deductible – but I wouldn’t dream of that plan today (I’m older, what can I say?). As long as you have some peace of mind that if you absolutely needed to be hospitalized or got seriously sick, that you would have some assistance, will help you create your own “net.”
Debt-free: It’s hard to be debt-free these days – but the closer you are to it when venturing out on your own, the less pressure you will have along the way. Simply knowing that there is a credit card bill looming on the horizon can quickly diminish any sense of security you have, and soon, it will turn into a constant worry (and self-defeating prophecy). Pay down as much debt as possible before taking the leap – and if that’s not possible, have a strict debt threshold that you will not cross for any reason.IN.THE.WORLD.

Welcome to Loosen Your White Collar! I'm Melissa and I help people fall in love with their jobs. Subscribe to my RSS Feed to have my posts delivered to you inbox and my newsletter for specials.

5 Ways to Push Past Your Summer Slump

Summer is over – and the harsh reality of your first “real” week back at work is probably crashing down on you now, pretty hard. Even if you didn’t actually have a summer break (aka – you’re not a teacher), work tends to slow down significantly during the summer as everyone is cramming in holiday vacations with their family and people have senioritis every day. But, we are back folks, which means it is time to rev-up again and get past your post-summer slump.

How to Readjust to Work Post-Summer Slump

Consider this your transition week back to “real life.” You are probably exhausted by the crazy meetings, emails, and work requests that came your way this week – um, this is actually your new normal (or old normal). Regardless, your work output and energy needs to increase as this is the most important time of year for you to prove your worth.

I went to a NASCAR race last week and they had “Rev-Up Girls” (no, I’m not kidding), so consider this your rev-up warning. Far too often, employees stay in a post-summer slump: they don’t get up to speed with the level or intensity of projects, they are slow to respond, or have a general sense of lethargy/annoyance. It doesn’t sound detrimental to your career, but it absolutely can be.

Now is the time that your manager is starting to think about things like Performance Excellence, Talent Management, and your raise or promotion for next year. And if you are slowly chugging along, you are not leaving the level of performance capabilities that you have delivered the rest of the year. And not only that, but you are missing a huge opportunity to step up and take on a bigger role (for all of the other employees who are still slumping).

5 Ways to Push Past the Summer Slump

Tame the email beast on Sunday. This is not a long-term solution, but sometimes your inbox becomes an animal – and trying to answer emails while juggling meetings and other requests, is just too much. So take two or so hours on Sunday (or Saturday, whichever works best for you), and sit with splurge-coffee drink, and answer emails. At the very least, sort through the pile and eliminate the inbox dread.
Schedule meetings with yourself. If you treated your own work with the same attention that you gave to others’ requests, you would be a bonafide superstar. It is a difficult habit to get into, but scheduling an hour or two throughout the week to tackle your larger projects, and focusing only on them during those times, will help you increase your output and focus your attention appropriately.
Take on a new project – and the more outside of the box, the better. I know this sounds a bit counterintuitive – you are moving slowly at work, so taking on additional work sounds dreadful. But the excitement and the demands of a new project, will instantly change your focus and your dedication will shine through.
Get a mentor, or be a mentee. Sometimes all you need is to get out of your own head and connect with others. I can’t tell you how many times I have walked away from a mentor/mentee conversation feeling inspired and centered. Getting some advice from someone you admire or being the source of advice to someone else, will remind you about what’s important to you – and help you manage your internal thought-track at work.
Rev-up with your favorite music, or my favs, at the start of each day (and post-meeting dread). My personal favorite is listening to a few Pentatonix songs in my ear buds until I start doing a mini-dance at my desk. Either way, it is all about mindset here – so find something that gets you energized and start relying on it when feel a slump creeping in.

Welcome to Loosen Your White Collar! I'm Melissa and I help people fall in love with their jobs. Subscribe to my RSS Feed to have my posts delivered to you inbox and my newsletter for specials.

Embrace Your Expertise – You Know Best (too)

My world is somewhat divided these days – I have a group of people who are bloggers and online entrepreneurs, and then my “real life” friends and family, who struggle with understanding what I actually do. I feel lucky to have both perspectives because undoubtedly, each faction sees different things when we discuss new business ideas. The biggest difference between my friends’ perspectives is their take on knowledge and information sharing.

In the online space, people often share their personal opinions, their experiences, their knowledge. Entrepreneurship, particularly online, is vastly about freedom – going after your own vision, delivering information and content the way you want to provide it, and at the core, believing that you have value to add to people. And then it is up to the audience whether the information shared resonates or not.

Strangely enough, some of my offline friends tend to be in a state of “this person knows more/best/better than you – why don’t you listen to them.” Every time I hear that “advice,” I cringe a little, followed by a snarky response (in my head usually), “If that person/you knows so much or disagrees with what I have to say, they/you should start your own blog.”

Personal snark aside, I used to believe the same thing – and I know that many of my clients question their own strengths and knowledge all of the time.

Why do we believe that someone else knows better than we do?

We put these barriers around our limitations and experiences without even realizing it – not applying for a specific job because you question your scope of skills; not throwing your hat in the ring for a promotion because someone else has seniority; or even deferring to someone else’s idea even though you know that you have a great idea/solution.

It wasn’t until I stepped out of a traditional corporate job and found a group of online entrepreneurs, that I realized I had been limiting or quieting my own knowledge-base. Saying things like, “I can’t write a book because I haven’t honed my writing skills like one;” or “I can’t start my own business because who would want to pay me?”

I forced myself to declare that not only am I knowledgeable, but I also have great value to add to others. No, it’s not 100% inclusive, nothing ever can be, but I have subject matter expertise and so do you.

You do not have to be an online business owner or blogger, to own your expertise and stop looking to others to be the experts. We no longer live in a world where Father Knows Best or where there is only one right way to go about things. You are just as much an “expert” as the next person, perhaps just in a different way.

For example, just last week a family member wanted to connect me with the head of HR for XYZ Company, saying, “I think you could learn so much from her. I mean, she’s been doing her job there for 20 years and is obviously successful since she’s a senior leader.” Hmm… I am always excited to meet new people in the field, but the purpose of the introduction was so she could tell me how wrong my perspective is. Never mind the many, many years of my own experience doing the same thing, nor the fact that part of the PROBLEM with HR (and many other departments), is some of the people who have been doing the same job for that long and have lost all innovative thought; I need her guidance and experience to improve my business. Huh?

Could I learn something new from her, yes – absolutely. She has had different life and work experiences than I have, so there is no doubt that I would walk away with new nuggets and insights. But guess what – she would learn from me as well.   

Stop questioning your own knowledge and expertise. Stop valuing only what others’ expertise means, and start realizing that others’ don’t always know best. YOU know some things yourself, and I encourage you to bask in that knowledge, particularly when you have a big adventure ahead of you.

Welcome to Loosen Your White Collar! I'm Melissa and I help people fall in love with their jobs. Subscribe to my RSS Feed to have my posts delivered to you inbox and my newsletter for specials.

Practical Tactical Thursday – It’s Your Fault You Didn’t Get the Job Offer

Note: Great week of features. Please be sure to go see some of my other posts around the web!

Brazen Careerist: Learn These 3 Lessons Before Ditching Your Day Job to Follow Your Passion
YouTern: 18 Kick-A$s People Who Will Change Your Life

 Practical Tactical Thursday – It’s Your Fault You Didn’t Get the Job Offer

One of the most dreaded questions Human Resources gets is from candidates who are “seeking feedback” on why they did not land the job. Let me be clear with you – you are most likely never going to get a straight answer because it is not HR’s job to help you succeed elsewhere. You may receive general feedback or if you are lucky, a nugget of what the real problem is. But most likely, YOU are knocking yourself out of the candidate pool.

I wish that this were not the case, but there are so many ways to mess up the onsite interview process. As a whole, they are trying to weed people out, not nominate people in. I have explained several ways to help your cause above; but there are also sure-fire ways to be eliminated during the interview process. And no, these are not all-inclusive, but they are the most common reasons why I have seen candidates not be asked to continue in the process.

Reasons Why You Didn’t Get the Job Offer

You talked too much. Seriously – stop talking, and allow the interview team to have a conversation with you.
You were too relaxed with their posture and answers. Even if you create a connection with the hiring team, which is awesome!, you are still not a part of the team yet. So coming across as too relaxed has been the demise to many candidates. Sit up straight, do not let your guard down, and no matter how friendly things get, stay as professional as possible.
Inappropriate jokes or comments during the interview. Um, it is NEVER ok to curse during an interview, even if your interviewer does (oh, the stories I could tell you on this topic). But your responses should remain professional. And for the love of Nancy, do not make any type of off-topic comments or joke. I once had to let a very strong candidate go because he “offended” one of the interviewers with one of his comments. You never know what is a hot topic, so steer clear of anything remotely offensive (hint: stay far away from politics or religion).
Being rude to the receptionist, HR or any other staff you come into contact with. They have a direct line to the hiring team, so do not treat them like “the help.” Perhaps we can just say you should treat ALL people with respect? Just saying…
Speaking poorly of your previous employer. If you are speaking bad about them, people will immediately think “sour grapes” and that you would speak poorly about their company. Just don’t do it.
Not showing enthusiasm or excitement for the job or company. I get it, some jobs/companies are not really that exciting – they are a means to an end, or perhaps you are practicing your interview techniques. Regardless, the people who work there DO THINK that their company is pretty great. Maybe not really, but during the interview process, it is personally offensive if you are not as engaged or excited as they are about the opportunity. Lose the entitlement people.
Generally, not having your sh*t together. Being disorganized, unprepared, or disheveled in general. It is hard to articulate exactly what this looks like, but we have all seen those people. Hair ruffled, resumes not printed, homework/background info not done, wrinkles in their clothes, and so on. There really is no excuse, get yourself together and present your best foot forward.

The most important thing to remember is to be the best version of you and treat the interview process as a sales opportunity. You are selling yourself and your accomplishments, and the more you can influence others during the process, be a person they would want to work with, without being threatening, the better chance you have of landing the job!

 

6 Not-So-Obvious Mistakes that Could Ruin Your Work Reputation

Being a part of a company sometimes feels as though you are back in high-school; the cliques, the perceptions, the gossip, and not really knowing where you stand within an organization. And worst of all, you have no idea what you did to ruin your work reputation, or at least tarnish it a bit. I have seen this countless times throughout my career and unfortunately have made some (ok, several), of these not-so-obvious mistakes that haunted me for many years within different organizations.

Work hard, deliver results – a mantra that many people think will bring success within the work environment, but as well as find out about five days out of college, there is so much more to being a “good” employee. Your reputation is your calling card and ruining it without meaning to, a bad reputation will hold your career back for years to come.

The 6 Not-So-Obvious Mistakes that Have Ruined Your Work Reputation

You over-negotiated during the offer process. It is easy to forget that negotiations that you have before ever stepping foot into the office, will absolutely influence your reputation – and it is usually not for the better. When you are fighting for a fair salary, title, or other offer-related items, things can get heated and feelings can get hurt. If you were over-aggressive or came across as greedy to the person on the other end of the negotiations, believe me – you will never live that down. The negotiating party (recruiter, hiring manager, etc.) most definitely did NOT keep that information to themselves, so be ready to overcome some negative feelings out of the gate.
You try to “fix” everything. I have been guilty of this more times than I care to admit. To me, it makes sense that you want to improve an organization as best as you know how, but to the people who are doing things “inefficiently,” there is no quicker way to offend. Having solutions is paramount to success at work, but learning how to deliver your improvements is critical. In other words, just because you know how to solve something, it is more important to figure out how to frame your solution. Sometimes it means presenting the solution as a softer option, bring about the idea in a brainstorming session, or even letting someone else take credit for the idea. If your goal is improvement, than how you get there is irrelevant in the larger scheme of your reputation.
You talk too much during meetings. I cannot even think of a situation where over-talking can help your cause, so stop talking every chance you get. In meetings, there is (hopefully) a problem that is trying to be solved or information to be shared. Meetings are meant to be collaborative, and if you are the one always talking, you have removed the “freedom” of free-flowing ideas from the others at the table. Meetings are not meant to be pissing contests, so sit back and let others have the floor and be a part of the process. Your brilliant idea can always be shared later.
You’re friends with the boss. Being close with the boss (or your boss’ boss), is a mixed bag. It will most likely help your career, but it will also put you in the hot spot with your coworkers. This reputation killer is a personal choice – you need to decide what is more important to you. This is the same general “brown-noser” complaint people start chanting in elementary school, just on a higher level. If you are learning from the higher-ups, if they respect you, that is what really matters – but just expect a chilly reception from your colleagues.
Taking on more than others. This one bugs me to no end, but it is a sure-fire way to take a reputation blow. Being more efficient, having a greater capacity, delivering more… is a point of contention for your coworkers. I think this one stems from a little bit of jealousy and perhaps, challenging the mediocre norm. When you show that more can be done, it raises the bar for everyone else… and your colleagues may have enjoyed where the bar was previously. It comes across as a challenge, even though your intent was most likely to deliver to the best of your ability.
Not joining in the “team” dynamics. It is hard to explain this mistake, but essentially, it is not adjusting to the way your team works and interacts. If they are a group of gossipers, by not joining in (or at a minimum, not laughing/engaging as appropriate), you send a signal that you don’t have time for that – the appearance or perception of being “above” or better than them. If your team likes to have lunch together every day, choosing not to join them will come across the same way. Luckily for this situation, there is definitely a middle ground that you can take. You need to be sure to participate enough that they feel you are not looking down on them, but also keep your integrity. In the gossiping situation, perhaps chuckle a time or two or add an innocent piece of info every now and then; for the lunch scenario, join them once a week and let them know you are swamped or have errands to run the other days.

This is just the start of the list! There are so many other ways that you can be sabotaging your own reputation, without ever knowing it. The most important thing, is that you continue to deliver, work hard and treat everyone you interact with respect. Eventually, even these missteps can be overcome.

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