Everywhere you look these days you see stories about the sad state of our economy. It's on TV, on the Internet and in the daily newspaper. Just today on my computer's MSN homepage there is a story about President Elect Obama who warns that,
"Recent news on the economic front has made it even more clear that we are facing an economic crisis of historic proportions." Offering a grim prediction, he added, that "most experts now believe that we could lose millions of jobs next year."
Sounds pretty scary doesn't it? So what can a person do with this information? Well, as the name of my blog implies feeling fearful and scared is not going to get you anywhere. As Wayne Dyer says, "Life rewards action." I recommend taking action to recession proof your career. Following are some ideas to help you do just that.
Focus on your strengths and where and how you can use them everyday - Do the 3 L's Exercise ( Blog entry Auguest 28, 2008)
Begin a CAR Journal today. Car stands for Challenge, Action, Result. Go back through your accomplishments and projects - the ones you loved doing for the past 2-3 years and record what you have been challenged (the C), what action you took (the A) and what resulted (the R) from your actions.
Become a STAR today - If you find you don't have anything to brag about then start today to find things you could brag about in the future - these will become your car journal entries - remember, when layoff's come performance does count in terms of who gets the cut and who doesn't - So be a star.
Re-Write your resume using these accomplishments as bullet points and have a professional resume writer review and edit your re-written resume so that it markets your strengths and accomplishments and not just list your jobs in chronological order.
Become indispensable. Look around your company for new opportunities. Volunteer to take on more responsibility. When Keating, the boss in The Fountainhead, complained of too much work, Howard Roark offered to do some for him. Keating became addicted to Roark’s help, which made Roark indispensable to Keating.
Update your skills by learning new software programs or taking a skill-based class. Be the "Go to guy" in your company for new programs and policies.
Make your boss look good by giving him or her credit in public but be sincere, of course since everyone can spot a fake compliment when they hear it. When anyone asks how things are going in your group let them know how much you like working for your boss. If this is not the case then begin to look for a boss you can brag about.
Start Networking NOW with others focused on new opportunities and building a community of like minded individuals - in tough times people help each other out - make sure you're the one doing this by helping others - Let people know you are available for career advice, introductions and referrals and other career related activates.
Consider a new career if yours is a dying one - Get training in the new field while you are still employed.
Use Positive Psychology everyday in your job by focusing on what's right with your life and your work. Be an inspiration to others - Use a white board and write an inspirational quote on it every week - Put it where others can see it. You'll be surprised how many people will thank you for this.
Using these ideas will help you remain a winner in the job game and even if a layoff should come your way you'll be ready with an updated resume, a network that cares about you and a mindset that is positive and proactive. In that regard I leave you with this quote from George Bernard Shaw.
"People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, make them."
So in these tough economic times go out and take some action on your own behalf by making your own circumstances - you won't be disappointed - amazed and surprised, maybe but rarely disappointed.
Blessings, Lorraine
Monday, November 24, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Interviewing – The Three Stage Process
Ah, interviewing – you sent out a thousand resumes – well it felt like a thousand anyway - and finally someone called you and now you have that thing you’ve been hoping for – an interview.
Now what? What do you need to do to prepare for this audition? That really is what it is – an audition for a job. I have found that there are three stages to an interview and each one has its keys to success.
Most interviewers make their decision to hire someone on intuition rather than facts. A lot of people will disagree with me on this, but I think that even for those people who are fact oriented, the subtle things make all the difference in those who get hired and those who do not. Much of this is beneath the surface of the interviewer's consciousness but it is still how they make the decision.
What it comes down to is they have a vague, "I’ll know it when I see it", list of characteristics they are looking for and as the interview goes along, they will make a mental check mark next to those things you seem to have and those that you don’t and there will be a tipping point where you go over to the side of getting the job offer or go to the side that says, no way.
Below I have broken it down into three stages and what happens in each and what you can do to pass each stage:
Stage One
The first 30 seconds – Whether we like it or not we are going to be judged in the first 30 seconds whether we are a yes, no or maybe. If we are a yes it’s because for whatever reason we look and act like what the interviewer is looking for and unless we shoot ourselves in the foot in the next two stages we will get a second interview or a job offer. Here are some tips for helping you become a yes in this process.
· You look the part – this means that you dressed for success for this company. This could mean a dark suit, rep tie and wing tips for a man or a business suit for a woman or it could mean something a little more casual if that is the style of this company. But there is a huge disclaimer here on dressing casually. A job interview is a formal affair in the sense that you only get this one chance to put your best foot forward, there are no second first impressions. You need to demonstrate to them that you know how to dress according to the seriousness of the occasion. A job interview is a serious occasion. If you are dressed too casually this will give the impression that you don’t understand the rules of the professional world even if you know that this company has Dress Down Day, everyday. So dress up and show them you have the intelligence to know what counts and when. Of course, always have groomed hair, nails, shined shoes, little or no cologne and simple, classic jewelry for women.
· You smile when the interviewer comes out to the waiting room to greet you and you shake their hand with a firm, but not vice grip handshake. This is especially important area for women, no limp fish handshakes – that could make them think you don’t have good self esteem or that you won’t be assertive when this is needed on the job. Remember, this is a job interview not a tea party – being soft and yielding isn’t the impression you want to make. If you don’t know if you have a good solid handshake then ask a male friend to practice with you.
· You have researched the company and the job. If you know the company and you can demonstrate this by what you say and do in the interview then you are half way there. If you have what they are looking for in terms of skill, talent, education and experience and you believe in their product or service – your attitude says “ I’m good at what I do and we’d make a great team.” then you're probably on the yes side of the interviewers mental checklist.
Stage Two
The “Tell me about you” stage. In this stage the interviewer will almost always ask you about yourself. Here are the tricks at this stage:
· Talk only about yourself in relation to the job - even though you both might end up being from Tuskaloosa, you're there to get a job not bcome buddies, plus you never know, the interviewer might have a long standing dislike of people from Tuskaloosa - better to stay focused on why you are there. Practice by creating a 30 second sort of infomercial about yourself.
· Let the interviewer take the lead and answer his or her questions in a thoughtful manner. Have a few questions of your own so that when the interview asks if you have any you will demonstrate that you prepared for this interview by doing some research. Make them about the job and not too intrusive, remember they will not be telling you anything negative about the company so don’t even ask at this point. It will just make you look like a negative person who is looking for trouble.
· Be someone who can think on his or her feet – what I mean by this is they will no doubt ask you questions you didn’t expect – so don’t have all your answers prepared. Stop and think and don’t worry if there is some silence – the idea that someone has to think before they speak shows they do think – a good quality in an employee.
· Be yourself and be honest – if you are right for the job, in most cases you’ll get it – if you pretend to be someone you’re not, it will show up and intuitively the interviewer will know this.
Stage Three
The close – when the interview is over or almost over, you will get a sense of it by the non verbals that occur – the interviewer will begin to straighten up the papers on her/his desk and so on. This is when you need to make your closing argument for the job. If you are still a maybe this is where you can cinch the deal and if you are a yes, this is where you might lose it if you don’t say directly that you want it. A weak stage three closing could virtually erase great stage one and two performances - so make a solid close. You'll reap the benefits in most cases. Here are some ideas on this final stage of the process.
· Summarize what you have heard about the job and how your experience and skills match it.
· Ask what the next step in the process is and ask for the interviewers business card if they have not already given it to you.
· Tell them you are excited about the opportunity and think you’d be a great addition to their team and would love the opportunity to prove this to them.
· Ask if you can call or email to check up on the process the next week.
· Thank them for the interview and leave
· Go home and immediately write a thank you email.
Those are the tree stages of the interview process and some ideas of what to do to make it work for you. If you don’t get the job then I suggest a review of your last interview and see if you can pinpoint which stage may have gone south. Look for ways to shore up the places where you were weak and to congratulate yourself on the places where you did well. Remember too, that often a job you did not get is one that would not have worked well for you anyway so keep moving forward – it’s the only way to go.
Blessings, Lorraine
Now what? What do you need to do to prepare for this audition? That really is what it is – an audition for a job. I have found that there are three stages to an interview and each one has its keys to success.
Most interviewers make their decision to hire someone on intuition rather than facts. A lot of people will disagree with me on this, but I think that even for those people who are fact oriented, the subtle things make all the difference in those who get hired and those who do not. Much of this is beneath the surface of the interviewer's consciousness but it is still how they make the decision.
What it comes down to is they have a vague, "I’ll know it when I see it", list of characteristics they are looking for and as the interview goes along, they will make a mental check mark next to those things you seem to have and those that you don’t and there will be a tipping point where you go over to the side of getting the job offer or go to the side that says, no way.
Below I have broken it down into three stages and what happens in each and what you can do to pass each stage:
Stage One
The first 30 seconds – Whether we like it or not we are going to be judged in the first 30 seconds whether we are a yes, no or maybe. If we are a yes it’s because for whatever reason we look and act like what the interviewer is looking for and unless we shoot ourselves in the foot in the next two stages we will get a second interview or a job offer. Here are some tips for helping you become a yes in this process.
· You look the part – this means that you dressed for success for this company. This could mean a dark suit, rep tie and wing tips for a man or a business suit for a woman or it could mean something a little more casual if that is the style of this company. But there is a huge disclaimer here on dressing casually. A job interview is a formal affair in the sense that you only get this one chance to put your best foot forward, there are no second first impressions. You need to demonstrate to them that you know how to dress according to the seriousness of the occasion. A job interview is a serious occasion. If you are dressed too casually this will give the impression that you don’t understand the rules of the professional world even if you know that this company has Dress Down Day, everyday. So dress up and show them you have the intelligence to know what counts and when. Of course, always have groomed hair, nails, shined shoes, little or no cologne and simple, classic jewelry for women.
· You smile when the interviewer comes out to the waiting room to greet you and you shake their hand with a firm, but not vice grip handshake. This is especially important area for women, no limp fish handshakes – that could make them think you don’t have good self esteem or that you won’t be assertive when this is needed on the job. Remember, this is a job interview not a tea party – being soft and yielding isn’t the impression you want to make. If you don’t know if you have a good solid handshake then ask a male friend to practice with you.
· You have researched the company and the job. If you know the company and you can demonstrate this by what you say and do in the interview then you are half way there. If you have what they are looking for in terms of skill, talent, education and experience and you believe in their product or service – your attitude says “ I’m good at what I do and we’d make a great team.” then you're probably on the yes side of the interviewers mental checklist.
Stage Two
The “Tell me about you” stage. In this stage the interviewer will almost always ask you about yourself. Here are the tricks at this stage:
· Talk only about yourself in relation to the job - even though you both might end up being from Tuskaloosa, you're there to get a job not bcome buddies, plus you never know, the interviewer might have a long standing dislike of people from Tuskaloosa - better to stay focused on why you are there. Practice by creating a 30 second sort of infomercial about yourself.
· Let the interviewer take the lead and answer his or her questions in a thoughtful manner. Have a few questions of your own so that when the interview asks if you have any you will demonstrate that you prepared for this interview by doing some research. Make them about the job and not too intrusive, remember they will not be telling you anything negative about the company so don’t even ask at this point. It will just make you look like a negative person who is looking for trouble.
· Be someone who can think on his or her feet – what I mean by this is they will no doubt ask you questions you didn’t expect – so don’t have all your answers prepared. Stop and think and don’t worry if there is some silence – the idea that someone has to think before they speak shows they do think – a good quality in an employee.
· Be yourself and be honest – if you are right for the job, in most cases you’ll get it – if you pretend to be someone you’re not, it will show up and intuitively the interviewer will know this.
Stage Three
The close – when the interview is over or almost over, you will get a sense of it by the non verbals that occur – the interviewer will begin to straighten up the papers on her/his desk and so on. This is when you need to make your closing argument for the job. If you are still a maybe this is where you can cinch the deal and if you are a yes, this is where you might lose it if you don’t say directly that you want it. A weak stage three closing could virtually erase great stage one and two performances - so make a solid close. You'll reap the benefits in most cases. Here are some ideas on this final stage of the process.
· Summarize what you have heard about the job and how your experience and skills match it.
· Ask what the next step in the process is and ask for the interviewers business card if they have not already given it to you.
· Tell them you are excited about the opportunity and think you’d be a great addition to their team and would love the opportunity to prove this to them.
· Ask if you can call or email to check up on the process the next week.
· Thank them for the interview and leave
· Go home and immediately write a thank you email.
Those are the tree stages of the interview process and some ideas of what to do to make it work for you. If you don’t get the job then I suggest a review of your last interview and see if you can pinpoint which stage may have gone south. Look for ways to shore up the places where you were weak and to congratulate yourself on the places where you did well. Remember too, that often a job you did not get is one that would not have worked well for you anyway so keep moving forward – it’s the only way to go.
Blessings, Lorraine
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
The Good, The Bad, The Ugly vs. The Great
Resumes
When it comes to putting together a resume most people would rather get a root canal. It feels like torture and even if they have the money and the inclination to hire someone to do it for them, a professional resume writer, they are still not off the hook. Without all the details of what they did, when they did it and what happened as a result of their actions even a great resume writer will only come up with a good resume. But in the job getting game, good is not good enough. Times are tough out there – the world of work is changing at the speed of light and the unemployment rate is rising. In order to get in the door, that is, face to face with the powers that be, your resume has to stand out – it has to be a great resume, not just a good one. But before we talk about what makes for a great resume let’s talk about what constitutes the good, the bad and the ugly.
The Good Resume – The Boy Scout Resume
The good resume has all the information in it that is required by employers. It has your contact information, a list of the jobs you’ve had in the last ten or so years and the names of all your employers. All the words are spell correctly and it has some nice key words such as excellent and outstanding and makes a case for you being a decent employee. It may or may not be focused on a particular job but may instead be a shot-gun resume. In other words, you can send it out to lots of companies hoping for a hit. I call this the Boy Scout resume because it makes you come off like a good boy or girl. This resume may get put in the HR departments slush file of potential employees. This file is rarely ever looked at and banking on this is like banking on VCR’s making a comeback over DVR’s.
The Bad Resume – The Life History Resume
The bad resume is too long, too detailed, is not focused on anything in particular and tells everything you have ever done since your first paper route or babysitting job back when you were fourteen. It’s usually two to three pages long and is chronological and explains everything you have ever done in great detail. It is not only boring but it’s egotistical as well. Who cares if you won first place in the 5th grade science fair if you are now in mid career and are going for a job in marketing. You may be proud, your mama may be proud, but the hiring manager thinks you are full of yourself. Prima Donna’s he/she can live without.
The Ugly Resume – The I Can't be Bothered Resume
The ugly resume is just that – it’s filled with misspelled words, it lacks coherency, the dates are jumbled up and there is missing information. It could also be filled with misrepresentations and outright lies. It may start with the first job you have ever had, the one back in 1973, and then end with one you had three jobs ago. It says at the top that you are seeking a job in sales, but nowhere on the resume does it mention a sales job or even attempt to make a case for why you think your experience in customer service is transferable to sales. This is a resume written by someone who believes that they can do anything and they just need a chance, but they are not interested in doing the work to create a good, much less a great, resume and the idea of selling themselves and their skills is distasteful to them. The hiring manager looks at it for about a nanosecond and knows that what you see is what you get and tosses it into the wastebasket. He/She wonders why the person bothered.
The Great Resume – The Marketing/Sales Resume
A great resume is like a great marketing piece – it sells you to a potential employer and it’s targeted to the job you are seeking. It focuses on what you have accomplished in pervious jobs and proves this with examples of what you did that went beyond the job description. It uses numbers and statistics where possible and it paints a picture of you as an outstanding individual, someone they can’t wait to interview. The great resume packages you as a product much like a car, a computer or a restaurant. It highlights what’s great about you and leaves out what isn’t. It’s only one page long and it has five parts to it:
Position Statement – Accounting Supervisor – Trucking
Paragraph about you as a worker with your years of experience and personality and work ethic
Highlights of what you have done and accomplished in other jobs with most impressive first even if not your last job
List of jobs and company information
Education and training
The great resume also uses adjectives that describe what you did, not what you were suppose to do – it never uses the word responsible. It uses clear concise language, short sentences and is focused on what you are seeking with that particular employer. It is job specific and not general. The great resume is targeted to a particular company and a specific job within that company. If you are seeking more than one kind of job, then you have a great resume for each job title. Great resumes are unique to the specific job and sometimes the company or industry.
Cover Letters – Never send a form cover letter
All cover letters are specific to the job, the company and the individual doing the hiring if it is at all possible to find this out. Watch the spelling of their names. Never send a form cover letter - make it interesting and vibrant.
When a hiring manager gets a great resume and your targeted cover letter he/she picks up the phone and calls you – he knows from the resume that you are the kind of employee who takes the time to do a job right and the resume is his/her first indication that you will do it for him/her as well.
Next week, I’ll talk about interviewing because even those with great resumes and cover letters sometimes shoot themselves in the foot during the interview. Stayed tuned.
Blessings, Lorraine
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Using Your Strengths at Work - The Three L's Exercise
Love it, Loathe it, or Live With it
The best jobs/careers are those we love to do. The worst ones give us the Monday Blues. According to Go Use Your Strengths at Work by Marcus Buckingham, if we use our most significant strengths at work then we will love our work. This exercise will help you determine what your strengths are and ways to use them so you don't get the Monday Blues.
Buckingham says to look at what you love and what you loathe - I say add to this what you can comfortably live with. I believe that there are tasks in one’s job that we don’t love but we don’t loathe either so I call these, live with it, tasks – these are the things that are basically neutral to us – we can live with them – I use the 80/20 rule here and tell people that if 80% of the tasks they do in their job are things they love and 20% they don’t necessarily love but can live with then it’s a good job for them.
If it’s the other way around, they hate or have to live with 80% and only 20% they love then this is not a good match for them. The key is to love what you do most of the time. So how do you decide what you love and what you loathe? Well, it’s pretty simple – energy and excitement and zero procrastination. When you love something you simply get to it.
When you loathe something you have no energy to do it – it becomes a have to and not a want to. You dread it, you put it off, you hide it under a bunch of other things, you avoid it and find ways out of doing it, if you can. Sometimes you even get sick on the day you have to do it or you run late or you lose the paper the instructions are written on.
When it’s something you can live with, that is it’s neutral to you, then in most cases you just go on autopilot and get it done. Some examples of live with it are: Returning phone calls, answering emails, organizing your desk at the end of the day, going to company meetings, staying current on company policy and procedure, doing reports, or simply working at 8-5, M-F work schedule.
Of course one person’s neutral is another person’s loathing – personally I hate writing reports and I don’t want to work an 8-5 schedule ever again but for many people these are live with it activities. Some people hate meetings and others don’t mind them – I don’t mind them myself, you have to decide which ones fall into which category.
The Five-Day Test
For this exercise you will need three small notebooks. Put Love It on one, Loathe It on another and Live With It on the third one. Now for the next five days review what you do each day and write down at the end of the day what you loved, loathed and could live with. If you are currently unemployed then think back on a job that suited you in most cases and pick a random week and use your memory to do the exercise.
Love it Tasks - The First L
On your Love It notebook write down each day what you love doing. As I said, you will be able to tell what you love by how you felt doing it. Some of these tasks will have tangible results and some won't. For example making a sale or finishing or even beginning a project is tangible - things were accomplished, things you can point to as completed tasks. But some things you may love to do may be less tangible. For example building relationships within your work group or team may have less tangible results, but if you felt that a conversation with a co-worker, team member, boss or subordinate felt positive and productive even though nothing specific was accomplished, still count that. When looking for what you love, notice how you feel while doing it or afterward - one of the signs of loving something is getting lost in it - one writer calls it Flow - if you lose track of time then you are in the flow.
Loathe it Tasks - The Second L
In your second notebook write down everything you loathed this week in your job. Take into account any stress that may be occurring - for example if you normally don't mind going to meetings or filling out forms or dealing with subordinates or your boss but this week you were on deadline for something important and you didn't like these interruptions, then these may not truly be loathe it tasks.
Think back not only on this week but your work life in general and only note the tasks and activates that you loathe no matter what. For example, I loathe repetitious detail - I don't ever want to be an accountant or person who has to keep track of things. I can deal with, that is live with, a certain amount of this but it can't be more than about 5% of the whole. So only write down in your loathe it notebook those things you truly loathe.
Live With It Tasks - The Third L
Now we come to those tasks that we can live with. Most jobs have a certain amount of this. These need to be fairly neutral. As with the love it tasks, you can tell by your feelings. Are you dreading doing a task then it goes in the loathe it notebook, but if you feel neutral or okay about it then it's a live with it task. For some people an example of a live with it tasks is answering emails or reading them. For others this might fall into the love it or loathe it column. Another example is attending staff meetings, some people enjoy these and some hate them and many are just okay with them. If you loathe them and your team has a daily meeting then this might not be the right job for you, but if it's a once a week occurrence then you might be able to live with it even though you really don't like going to meetings.
Review Your Notebooks - Use the 80/20 Rule
After your week is over and you have had a chance to review what you found out about what you loved, loathed and could live with then take a look at the results using the 80/20 rule. For a job or career to really fulfill you and bring you the rewards you want both psychologically and financially it must have an 80% love it base of tasks to do each day. If it does not then it is time to think about how to change this.
What happens if we find that we have a reversed 80/20 rule, we mostly hate what we do at work or maybe it’s 50/50 – how much does the loathe it come into play and what can we do. Here are some suggestions:
Evaluate whether this job is a good fit for you – if the loathe it is more than 20 – 30% then change needs to happen. It may be time to seek another job or career. A good career counselor who knows about strengths and helping mid-career changers would be a great help for you at this time.
If you either want to stay in your current job or feel you must for financial or other reasons then start small and begin to change the job itself. Begin to eliminate or delegate or re-design your job to get rid of as many loathe it tasks as possible. Let your boss know that studies show that happy workers are more productive than unhappy ones. You can also look at personality types (The MBTI is a wonderful tool for this process) and how different types love different things and so finding someone to do what you find tedious and loathsome is not as hard as it seems since one man’s loathing is another man’s loving.
Look around at the people in your work group and evaluate their strengths – do a trade off – do what they loathe because it's what you love and vice a versa.
Focus on what you love and toot your own horn – especially do this where there is a direct result to either the bottom line of the company or the productivity of your work group.
Remind yourself of your strengths everyday – Write them on cards and post them where you can see them – when new work assignments come your way evaluate whether they fit your strengths and don’t volunteer or allow yourself to be assigned new work that is not one of your strengths.
Always go where you bear the most fruit – this is your strength in action – pay attention – be authentic and live your strengths everyday.
This exercise is often an eye opener and can help you make changes in your work life. Most people want to love their work and feel happy and satisfied at the end of the day, doing what you love is one of the best ways to make sure this happens.
Happy Working, Lorraine
The best jobs/careers are those we love to do. The worst ones give us the Monday Blues. According to Go Use Your Strengths at Work by Marcus Buckingham, if we use our most significant strengths at work then we will love our work. This exercise will help you determine what your strengths are and ways to use them so you don't get the Monday Blues.
Buckingham says to look at what you love and what you loathe - I say add to this what you can comfortably live with. I believe that there are tasks in one’s job that we don’t love but we don’t loathe either so I call these, live with it, tasks – these are the things that are basically neutral to us – we can live with them – I use the 80/20 rule here and tell people that if 80% of the tasks they do in their job are things they love and 20% they don’t necessarily love but can live with then it’s a good job for them.
If it’s the other way around, they hate or have to live with 80% and only 20% they love then this is not a good match for them. The key is to love what you do most of the time. So how do you decide what you love and what you loathe? Well, it’s pretty simple – energy and excitement and zero procrastination. When you love something you simply get to it.
When you loathe something you have no energy to do it – it becomes a have to and not a want to. You dread it, you put it off, you hide it under a bunch of other things, you avoid it and find ways out of doing it, if you can. Sometimes you even get sick on the day you have to do it or you run late or you lose the paper the instructions are written on.
When it’s something you can live with, that is it’s neutral to you, then in most cases you just go on autopilot and get it done. Some examples of live with it are: Returning phone calls, answering emails, organizing your desk at the end of the day, going to company meetings, staying current on company policy and procedure, doing reports, or simply working at 8-5, M-F work schedule.
Of course one person’s neutral is another person’s loathing – personally I hate writing reports and I don’t want to work an 8-5 schedule ever again but for many people these are live with it activities. Some people hate meetings and others don’t mind them – I don’t mind them myself, you have to decide which ones fall into which category.
The Five-Day Test
For this exercise you will need three small notebooks. Put Love It on one, Loathe It on another and Live With It on the third one. Now for the next five days review what you do each day and write down at the end of the day what you loved, loathed and could live with. If you are currently unemployed then think back on a job that suited you in most cases and pick a random week and use your memory to do the exercise.
Love it Tasks - The First L
On your Love It notebook write down each day what you love doing. As I said, you will be able to tell what you love by how you felt doing it. Some of these tasks will have tangible results and some won't. For example making a sale or finishing or even beginning a project is tangible - things were accomplished, things you can point to as completed tasks. But some things you may love to do may be less tangible. For example building relationships within your work group or team may have less tangible results, but if you felt that a conversation with a co-worker, team member, boss or subordinate felt positive and productive even though nothing specific was accomplished, still count that. When looking for what you love, notice how you feel while doing it or afterward - one of the signs of loving something is getting lost in it - one writer calls it Flow - if you lose track of time then you are in the flow.
Loathe it Tasks - The Second L
In your second notebook write down everything you loathed this week in your job. Take into account any stress that may be occurring - for example if you normally don't mind going to meetings or filling out forms or dealing with subordinates or your boss but this week you were on deadline for something important and you didn't like these interruptions, then these may not truly be loathe it tasks.
Think back not only on this week but your work life in general and only note the tasks and activates that you loathe no matter what. For example, I loathe repetitious detail - I don't ever want to be an accountant or person who has to keep track of things. I can deal with, that is live with, a certain amount of this but it can't be more than about 5% of the whole. So only write down in your loathe it notebook those things you truly loathe.
Live With It Tasks - The Third L
Now we come to those tasks that we can live with. Most jobs have a certain amount of this. These need to be fairly neutral. As with the love it tasks, you can tell by your feelings. Are you dreading doing a task then it goes in the loathe it notebook, but if you feel neutral or okay about it then it's a live with it task. For some people an example of a live with it tasks is answering emails or reading them. For others this might fall into the love it or loathe it column. Another example is attending staff meetings, some people enjoy these and some hate them and many are just okay with them. If you loathe them and your team has a daily meeting then this might not be the right job for you, but if it's a once a week occurrence then you might be able to live with it even though you really don't like going to meetings.
Review Your Notebooks - Use the 80/20 Rule
After your week is over and you have had a chance to review what you found out about what you loved, loathed and could live with then take a look at the results using the 80/20 rule. For a job or career to really fulfill you and bring you the rewards you want both psychologically and financially it must have an 80% love it base of tasks to do each day. If it does not then it is time to think about how to change this.
What happens if we find that we have a reversed 80/20 rule, we mostly hate what we do at work or maybe it’s 50/50 – how much does the loathe it come into play and what can we do. Here are some suggestions:
Evaluate whether this job is a good fit for you – if the loathe it is more than 20 – 30% then change needs to happen. It may be time to seek another job or career. A good career counselor who knows about strengths and helping mid-career changers would be a great help for you at this time.
If you either want to stay in your current job or feel you must for financial or other reasons then start small and begin to change the job itself. Begin to eliminate or delegate or re-design your job to get rid of as many loathe it tasks as possible. Let your boss know that studies show that happy workers are more productive than unhappy ones. You can also look at personality types (The MBTI is a wonderful tool for this process) and how different types love different things and so finding someone to do what you find tedious and loathsome is not as hard as it seems since one man’s loathing is another man’s loving.
Look around at the people in your work group and evaluate their strengths – do a trade off – do what they loathe because it's what you love and vice a versa.
Focus on what you love and toot your own horn – especially do this where there is a direct result to either the bottom line of the company or the productivity of your work group.
Remind yourself of your strengths everyday – Write them on cards and post them where you can see them – when new work assignments come your way evaluate whether they fit your strengths and don’t volunteer or allow yourself to be assigned new work that is not one of your strengths.
Always go where you bear the most fruit – this is your strength in action – pay attention – be authentic and live your strengths everyday.
This exercise is often an eye opener and can help you make changes in your work life. Most people want to love their work and feel happy and satisfied at the end of the day, doing what you love is one of the best ways to make sure this happens.
Happy Working, Lorraine
Fearless Career Strategies
This blog is focused on career and work related tips and guidelines. I will post ideas, strategies and success tips to keep you employed and happy in your career.
Stay tuned for more.
Stay tuned for more.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
