Entries Tagged 'Employment' ↓

If you’re not happy with your job, apparently you’re not alone – but take heart.  A new HBR article discusses job crafting and describes it as “…a powerful tool for reenergizing and reimagining your work life.”

Essentially the article advocates that you map out your duties and modify tasks, relationships, and even your perception around certain things.

You start by thinking about what motivates you, your strengths, and the things you’re passionate about.  This is where a lot of your job satisfaction comes into play.

For some, you may be able to do a lot of this on your own, but bringing your manager in could be helpful.  The article mentions that leaders want to improve job satisfaction but they don’t have time to develop the plan, etc…  It shows initiative.

We’ll see. 

And how great is this?  HBR made this a free article to access, so check it out and let me know what you think!

madia

Managing your personal brand is important for a lot of professionals.  For those of us interested in advancing in the corporate world, it makes sense to think about what your online life says about you.

Employers sometimes view job candidates’ social network pages as part of their research.  In a survey done by CareerBuilder, 45% of respondents said they did.  It goes without saying that if you enjoy posting risky or potentially offensive content, you should probably maintain your privacy filters very closely.  Maybe you should just maintain those on a site that doesn’t have your name on it…

Protect your privacy, but what about the flip side?  Could potential employers like some of what they see on your profile, and could that profile be helpful in landing you the job or at least making you stand out?  Here are some quick points:

• Don’t fake it. If you find your potential boss is into whitewater rafting, it’s probably not the best idea to say that’s one of your hobbies.  Even if you get the gig – you’d have to live with that lie for waaaay too long.
• Search yourself. I look up my search results all the time.  You’ll probably see things about your past jobs, and all of your web life. You may see things all over the spectrum from schools you attended, boards you served on, etc…  Here I scan to make sure my privacy settings are working.  If you have a very common name, then you could be safe – but social networks can search for people in different areas…
• See through their eyes. Think about the position(s) you’re applying for and what type of person they’re looking for.  Look for ways to align yourself with values you share with the company.  Look for ways to show your involvement in discussions about your industry or functional expertise.  Don’t be cheesy and obvious, but you can change your FB profile summary pretty easily.  Why not say something interesting about your work?

There are real ways to add content to your social media profile that help distinguish you from the crowd and make you a real person, not just a resume currently atop the pile.

Despite my better judgment, I’m doing a very introspective post.  It could be because I’m up late thinking about work.  It’s more likely that something is bugging me.  ‘This will surely be one of those posts I contemplate deleting after it’s published but you have to tell the truth to get the truth so here it goes.

I am a marketer, and a pretty serious one.  I am a writer.  I emphasize getting a point across – one on one or in a group.  I am a speaker.  Clearly I like to talk people and I’m pretty good at it.

I am a singer and a songwriter.  I’ve released two albums and am finally back in the studio working on the third.  My albums have digital distribution and can be found online at iTunes, Napster, Amazon, and other marketplaces.  Yeah Madia does music and Madia [a.k.a. logan] does marketing.

I always thought people should pick something, and get good at it.  It wasn’t because I didn’t think people could be good at multiple things.  I did and I do!  I think that when we summarize people in our head, we can only fit one thing.  As people we define other people in a very small box.  I think most mental summaries are a word or two.   Mother.  Musician.  Marketer.  Writer.

We define people by the role we know them to play or the role that is most prominent – and because of that, I conformed to the idea that I have to be one thing now that I’m a grown up and can no longer pass for a college student.  (maybe a grad student…)  People told me I had to pick something.

So I’m coming out to multiple groups that I have worked very hard to keep separate.  Why?

• It’s bound to happen.
• I might as well control the message. (inner marketer)
• If we’re friends you’ll hopefully make my box a lil bigger.
• If we’re not friends, maybe you’ll resist putting others in a box.

If you’re a person of multiple talents, I think letting the walls down is good.  It shows you have multiple strengths and sometimes unique insights as a result of your multiple perspectives.  They told me to pick something… but I’m ignoring that advice.

I’ve been thinking a lot about work and environment.  Here’s the big question early – Do you want to work in an organization that does what you do really well?  If you’re in supply chain management, do you want to go work for Walmart? If you’re a marketer, do you want to go work for Coke?

I think it’s an interesting question.  In my mind, an individual aligned with their company’s core competencies is well placed.  Here’s the rationale.

1. Clear career path – The company has experience in helping people in their core disciplines move up in the organization.  It may not be perfectly defined, but the opportunity is there.
2. Valuation - If you do supply chain management at Walmart, chances are people can tell when you’re really good.  Since the company values that expertise appropriately, I’d venture to guess that your salary is close to market rate.  If you work for an organization that doesn’t understand the value of what you do then it’s more likely that there will be a mismatch in expectation and reward.
3. Tools - I’m sure they don’t argue when graphic designers demand design software.  There’s probably a corporate project that assigns them the software when they start the job and it’s on their computer as a standard install.  Now if a person in communications wants design software, there are 100 obstacles and 15 manager approvals required.  That’s because it’s an unusual request.
4. Get Better Faster – When you’re working around people that do what you do well, I think you can’t help but to improve.  You’re more tied in to industry standards, best practices, and you get to watch the masters.  How many of your managers do you see being asked to speak at industry conferences?  That may be a good indicator.

Now in all fairness I’ve tried to think of some benefit the person has that is doing marketing at a “non-marketing” organization.  I’ve come up with a few.

1. Rock Star Status - Sometimes you don’t even have to do something well, you just have to do something they’ve never seen before and you become a rock star.  That could bode well for your career at that Company if you decide to stay and grow there (across disciplines)
2. Coast - I think you can stand to relax a little in this position compared to being at a company that sets the standard for your discipline.  The pressure of being a developer at a place like Microsoft is probably a little less than that of a developer that works for Walmart.  So maybe you have some work/life balance values and decide to work somewhere where your job is not as scrutinized or… valued.
3. You’ve done your time and now you want to lead - Most of the people leading have diverse experience in their field and their crowning position is leading a team.  I think PR jumps out as a good example.  Some people build their experience at different PR firms and then they decide to go lead PR for a corporation.    They have the passport stamps to prove where they’ve been.

When I look back over the lists, I find myself  being drawn to the top.  Are there benefits I’m not thinking of?  What do you think?

- madia

Tis the season to be evaluated. Well hopefully it’s more of a thoughtful exchange on how the year went. Hopefully, you work in the type of environment that encourages feedback all around the organization. Ideally, you can share ideas with your manager that will help them just as they share their improvement ideas with you. I don’t work for a “360″ organization but (wishful sigh) maybe you do. Now I’m just curious about what other places do for reviews. Do you have a good experience? Share please.

Oh wait – I did have some tips.

• Prepare
  Okay look, I know you’re good on your feet but a year is a long time to remember all the cool things you’ve done. Gather your thoughts and be organized. It helps even if your manager is prepared. If they’re not then you still won’t slip through the cracks because of their lack of preparation.
• Be Honest About Your Shortcomings
  We’re all human. Sometimes things fall off the plate. Be candid and ready to create safeguards in the new year that will help you get a focus on your weak areas.
• Don’t Get Emotional
  I know you may be picturing a female employee crying in her bosses office but that’s not it. Anger is an emotion too. I try to leave most of those emotions at home anyway for my FB circle at least… In my preliminary review this year I tried to hear what my manager was saying but I got sidetracked for a moment with defending my position on some of the scores we disagreed on. Don’t let ‘em knock you off your game, even if you are surprised by some things. Focus and get what’s useful
• Lose the Apathy
  It does matter because if someone wants to hire you internally, chances are these reviews are available to them. Maybe it won’t make or break your career but I think you should be proactive about discussing your accomplishments and citing where you disagree with your manager. It’s not that you got a score or two bumped, it’s more about making sure the work you do is understood and properly assessed.

What do you think? If your organization doesn’t do 360 degree assessments, you can certainly get one done yourself. You basically ask a group of people that work with you to give their insights about the work you do. In a typical evaluation you just hear from your manager. With something like this you can hear from people all around your organization that see the work you do. http://www.reachcc.com/360Reach