Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom

Two Great New Books for New Grads and Not-So-New Grads

Two new career-expert friends have terrific books out that are great companions to my latest effort, How’d You Score That Gig? Starting out, my fellow Ballantine author Pamela Skillings has written Escape from Corporate America, an extremely detailed and thorough roadmap to assessing if leaving traditional business is the right move for you, and if so, how you can do it without going broke or losing your sanity.

What I appreciate most about Escape from Corporate America is its practicality. A veteran of traditional business herself, Pam understands while the corporate world has its disadvantages, it’s not necessarily easy or realistic to just up and quit. Her book provides a concrete approach to developing an escape plan – for example, how to set goals, determine your timing, and evaluate your financial situation. 

Escape from Corporate America presents the reader with various options for discovering a meaningful new career – from fulfilling a creative dream to taking a job that “doesn’t bite” in a nonprofit or startup. It’s chock-full of useful resources and exercises for undertaking a career change, and I was engaged all the way through by the entertaining stories of Pam’s “corporate escape artists” – people who left Corporate America behind and lived to tell the tale. If you’re fed up with your corporate job but aren’t sure where to start to better your plight, this is the perfect book for you.

Next up is Kristen Fischer’s Ramen Noodles, Rent, and Resumes. When Kristen was interviewing me for the career sections of her book, what I remember most was her positive attitude about the time she refers to as “After-College.” This enthusiasm for post-graduate life shines through in her book, which addresses common twenty-something issues such as career, graduate school, living situation, finances, and emotional crises.

Ramen Noodles, Rent, and Resumes portrays a twenty-something life that college seniors can look forward to. With Kristen’s book in hand, you can be sure that you will grow and thrive during this period, and when you do run into one of the inevitable challenges, Kristen has a workable solution you can employ today.

You Don’t Have to Leave Corporate America to Live Your Passion

A few months ago, I met Lia, a woman who has done what I think is a very sensible thing with her career – fulfilling her desire to make a difference in the world in the context of working for a large company – so I thought I’d share her story here.

When Lia chose to transition from the non-profit to the corporate sector, she wanted to continue to be actively involved in the philanthropic causes she had passion for. Beginning in college, Lia had directed and produced three large charity fashion shows for the Ronald McDonald House, a children's bereavement center, and an organization devoted to raising cultural awareness and ending prejudice.

Taking a job at insurance powerhouse Aetna, Lia was concerned about when she would find time outside of work and commuting to volunteer.  But Aetna solved this problem for her, providing employees with opportunities to volunteer either during the work day or as part of company initiatives. While working in the Connecticut sales office, Lia volunteered at two Catholic charity golf events and was the team captain for the Light the Night walk for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  And because Lia now has a more flexible schedule and is able to work from home several times a week, she has been able to start working for her local chapter of Hospice. She visits patients during her lunch hours, or right at the end of the work day.

A sense of social responsibility is of the utmost importance to Lia, and she’s not alone.  In attracting and retaining today’s twenty and thirty-somethings, companies like Aetna are wise to support volunteer programs and flexible scheduling to ensure better work/life balance.  As for Lia, she has the best of both worlds.  She’s able to make a good salary working at a prestigious Fortune 500 while living her dream of philanthropic service.   

The lesson?  Instead of lamenting how tragic and soulless it is to work in Corporate America, look around you for opportunities to do something meaningful.  They might be right in front of you.   

You Can't Always Get What You Want

At the gym, I was thumbing through a new issue of Time Magazine.  One of the articles was about college wait-listing.  According to Time, the high school class of 2008, 3.4 million strong, is the largest in American history.  As such, getting into a first choice college is a heck of a lot tougher if you had the misfortune of being born in 1990.

The article went on to offer some tips for wait-listed students, such as “don’t send information (or gifts) to the admissions officer that hasn’t been requested” and “With the exception of applying for financial aid, keep your parents out of the process.”

All the strategizing and rule-following in the world, though, won’t change the reality that 70% of wait-listed students won’t get a spot in the freshman class.  They will have to re-write their plans for the future, and make do with scenarios they might not consider ideal.  This will be a rude awakening for a lot of them, for members of the class of 2008 are also members of the empowered Millennial Generation.  They’ve been told their entire lives that they are special, and that success will come their way because they deserve it. 

In today’s workplace, boomers and Gen X-ers are up in arms over the Millennials’ sense of entitlement.  I happen to like working with these twenty-somethings in most instances, but the volume of SOS calls I get from hand-wringing HR execs doesn’t lie.  That’s why I think this wait-listing phenomena might be a blessing in disguise.  It’s good for kids to learn early that you can’t always get what you want…in business or in life.  But sometimes, you get what you need.

The Hard-Core Realities of Getting Promoted

My friend Penelope Trunk has a clever little post to help you determine if you’re actually in line to get a promotion, or if it’s just wishful thinking.  Some of it echoes advice I’ve given on this subject, but I think much bears repeating, so here are some highlights of Penelope’s quiz:

1. Are you friends with your boss?  The hardest workers don’t get promoted, the most likeable ones do.  Here is the big test for you: Did that sentence make you angry? You lose one point. That’s because you are wishing that you did not have to be likable and you are mad that people who work less than you do get promoted ahead of you.

2. Are you working on high-profile projects?  Do you work on the project that everyone else wanted? Give yourself a point. Did you say to yourself, “Who knows? I don’t know what everyone else wanted.” You lose a point. How can you get yourself onto good projects if you are not in the middle of the fray finding out what’s available and what’s hot?

3. Are you paid at the high end of the range for your position?  Investigate the salary range for your job. Check PayScale. If you’re at the top of the range, give yourself a point.   If you’re at the low end, then you were not highly valued to begin with, so getting people to switch their opinion of you is going to be hard. You can do it by asking your boss to get you to the top of the range, and then back up your request by listing all the achievements you’ve made in your new position.

4. Do you work fewer hours than everyone else?  If you work fewer hours than everyone around you, your boss and colleagues are probably annoyed.  You should not be the hardest worker because that makes you look desperate, but you can’t work the fewest hours either, because then you look like you don’t care. If you find you have a lot of extra time because you’re a total genius and you finish everything early, spend more time networking at the office.

5. Do you feel like you are due a promotion because of your experience?  No promotion is set in stone, so you need to constantly campaign for yourself. Do you spend your days focusing on doing your job, or do you do a little extra so you can be considered a star performer?

Want to see if a promotion is coming your way or if you need to go back to the drawing board?  Take the full quiz over at Penelope’s blog.

Fight Back Against Out of Sight, Out of Mind

Out of sight, out of mind is one of my least favorite qualities of human nature.  I can’t tell you the number of relationships, which I thought were real and lasting, that went bust because I used to see the person every day at school or work and then circumstances changed.

Though I’ve had this happen over and over again, it still disappoints me each time.  I know people are busy – blah, blah – but if someone is fond enough of you to want to spend their lunch hour with you five days a week (as an example), you would think they’d be invested enough to send you an occasional e-mail once the lunch dates have ceased.  But they usually aren’t.  I don’t know if people are just scatterbrained or lazy, or just find it easier to pay attention to someone who has taken my place right in front of them.  They don’t do it to be mean or inconsiderate, but it’s annoying none the less.

Obviously, out of sight, out of mind doesn’t bode well for lots of things pertaining to networking and getting others’ cooperation at work.  The hard truth is, if you want something from someone, you have to proactively get in that person’s line of sight and stay there.  You have to make your needs known and then follow up to make sure they haven’t forgotten about you.  You don’t want to take this too far, of course, in trying to contact someone for help who you don’t know very well.  Instead of succumbing to stalker networking, practice what I call the 3/6 rule.  Contact the person three times in a six week period – once every two weeks – starting with e-mail and graduating to phone.  If they don’t get back to you after that, move on.  As my grandmother used to say, there will be another bus along in a minute. 

7 Qualities That Predict Leadership Success

Last week, I participated on a T&D Magazine webcast with Bill Byham, the CEO of Development Dimensions International,  a leading human resources consulting firm.  It got me thinking about a great DDI white paper I saw recently written a white paper on the qualities that predict leadership success.  According to DDI, effective leaders:

• Are masters at managing through ambiguity: The modern workplace is fraught with chaos. These leaders possess the ability to stay calm amid turmoil and to be convincingly reassuring. They keep their people focused with clear direction and goals, and view change through the lens of opportunity.

• Inspire confidence and believe in the future: Leaders who make it a priority to understand and address employee needs, who can differentiate those things that are important from those that are not, and who can communicate a long-term vision that attains the buy-in of employees and customers alike, are the ones who find their organizations rewarded with long-term customer relationships and loyal, engaged employees.

• Have a passion for results: These leaders place emphasis on those activities, initiatives, programs, and processes that produce the best ROI. They are able to stay the course, overcoming any obstacle thrown in their way, because they believe their focus will truly bring about the outcomes they are seeking.

• Are marked by unwavering integrity: Good leaders must earn trust every day. Their values must be visible through their actions, and they must be both able and willing to be held up as an example to others. Bad news, such as the need for layoffs or budget cuts, or the failure of the organization to meet financial targets, must not be hidden or sugarcoated.

• Set others up for success: Leaders who are true talent advocates understand that feeling successful is a prerequisite for ongoing engagement and that successful people are more, not less likely to stay. But they also understand that success is about more than praise. It’s about developing people, giving them room to grow (even if it means giving them the opportunity to fail), and coaching them to be their best, so the organization can be its best.

• Have strong, rather than big, egos: Leaders with big egos, so good at tearing others down, often are terribly insecure themselves. They lack the self-confidence that leadership demands.  On the other hand, those with strong egos have a positive self-image but at the same time are able to acknowledge and value the thoughts and contributions of others—including those at lower levels of the organization.

• Have the courage to make decisions: When faced with making tough choices, the best leaders do not shy away from taking prompt action. They know that indecisiveness can lead to the paralysis, and that popular decisions are not always the best decisions. And they understand that too many compromise decisions, while usually less painful to reach, breed mediocrity and lead to results that, in the end, please nobody.

Fine-Tuning Your Personal Brand

Since we often talk about differentiating yourself in a crowded market around here, I thought you might like to know that twenty-something branding phenom Dan Schawbel recently launched a new magazine, Personal Branding.  As you might guess, the magazine is about establishing a professional and memorable identity in order to drive your career forward, and it provides concrete advice you can use today for leveraging online avenues like blogging, social networking, and multimedia.

I would trust anything Dan has to say about personal branding, because he has done it so expertly.  In just a year or so, he has firmly established himself as a force to be reckoned with in the career blogosphere.  As a result of the smart way Dan has presented himself in his networking efforts, he’s managed to secure contributions from the likes of Jim Stroud, Guy Kawasaki, and Joel Cheesman.   He’s a thriving example of how you don’t have Microsoft’s marketing budget to do personal branding successfully.

Each issue will be sold quarterly as a pdf document in the months of February, May, August and November, and 50% of the proceeds benefit The American Cancer Society.  And best of all, you can try before you buy.  Check out a sample, and let me know what you think of Dan’s latest effort!

How'd You Score That Gig? - A Word of Thanks

As you’ve heard, it has been a bit of a challenge to birth a new book and a baby in the same month.  I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported How’d You Score That Gig? thus far, especially those who were kind enough to feature the book on their blogs, podcasts, and e-newsletters:

Jason Alba/Jibber Jobber

Anita Bruzzese/45 Things

Kristen Fischer/Ramen Noodles, Rent, and Resumes

Michelle Goodman/Anti 9-5 Guide

Lisa Haneberg/Management Craft

Christine Hassler (e-newsletter)

Scot Herrick/Cube Rules 

Susan Johnson/Urban Muse

Cody McKibben/Thrilling Heroics

Heather Mundell/Life at Work

Monica O’Brien/TwentySet

Allie Osmar/The Creative Career

J.D. Roth/Get Rich Slowly

Steven Rothberg/CollegeRecruiter

Chris Russell/Secrets of the Job Hunt

Hannah Seligson/DailyCents (e-newsletter)

Pam Slim/Escape from Cubicle Nation

Nina Smith/QueerCents

Rebecca Thorman/Modite

Penelope Trunk/Brazen Careerist

Check out some of these wonderful resources if you have a chance!

The One Time It’s Okay to Gossip

What’s the one time it’s okay to gossip? When you’re looking for a job.

Discussion of your job search should not be reserved for close friends/family or headhunters or official networking events.  If you’re looking for work or thinking about looking for work, you shouldn’t hesitate to tell everyone you know the particulars, and encourage those people to talk to the people in their networks.  This is because you absolutely never know when you will meet someone, or be introduced to someone, who will be in a position to help you. 

Here’s an example.  One of my friends recently moved from New York City to Cambridge in the UK as a result of her boyfriend’s job. For her part, she was in need of a senior-level position in a financial services firm.  So instead of relying on her resumes and cover letters to make their way across the pond, my friend simply started talking. Turns out one of her good friends from college currently worked with a woman from Cambridge who was well-connected in the financial industry.  The college friend was able to set her up for several informational interviews as soon as she arrived in town.

Within three degrees of separation, my friend had a plum job offer in another country.   Not too shabby! 

Everyone is Helpful in His Own Way

I love watching George Carlin specials on HBO.  Even after all of these years, his cynical, grumpy-old-man schtick is still funny to me.  The other night, I saw an episode in which Carlin commented on how ridiculous it is when you are in mourning, or going through a hard time, and someone says, if there’s anything I can do to help you, please don’t hesitate to ask. “Sure,” says Carlin, “like they really mean that.  Like they’ll really be cool with you asking them to come over and clean your house or paint your garage.”

Carlin has a point here.  We had a lot of family in town last month, ostensibly to help with the baby.  But I noticed that everyone who visited had specific ideas about the best way to assist.  For example, I might be eternally grateful if my stepmother-in-law would offer to take a feeding off my hands, but she is nervous around newborns so she’d rather do a Babies R Us run instead. 

Most people sincerely want to lend a hand when their loved ones are undergoing stressful periods, but they will do it in their own way (which may not end up being helpful at all) unless explicitly told otherwise.  This goes for the office too.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.  If you want your colleagues to assist you, you must ask, and you must be direct about exactly what you want them to do.  Sometimes people will still do what they want as opposed to what you need, but if you don’t verbalize your requirements, then you can’t complain when they aren’t met.