Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 10:10 AM PDT

Many employers are still fearful of a global economic slowdown, and some companies are tightening belts. It can be a fearful time for workers, despite some recent mildly encouraging employment news..
Doug Dennerline, HR expert and president of SuccessFactors, a global employee-management software company, has the following tips for employees who want to make themselves invaluable and less vulnerable to job cuts at a time when confidence among U.S. employers is shaky:
1. Remember the Basics. Now is not the time to miss a deadline, show up late, try a risky ensemble or be seen gossiping at the water cooler. It may not seem like managers are watching you, but staying professional at the workplace will serve you better than you think.
2. Know Your Priorities at Work. Make sure the work you're doing is aligned to the company's goals and initiatives. Make sure that you're working on strategic projects. You'll make your work invaluable by focusing your efforts in the right direction.
3. Ask for More Responsibility. Many of us are overworked, but having a positive attitude while asking how else you can chip in goes a long way to impress the boss and makes you stand out from the coworkers loudly grumbling complaints at their desks.
(Get more tips in "Getting on the Boss's Good Side.")
4. Merchandise Yourself at Work, Humbly. Make sure you're seen as a top performer at work, and have your accomplishments recognized -- especially when speaking with your manager and other influential folks at your company.
5. Broaden Your Skill Set. Being an expert on a specific topic is nice, but when positions are being cut, the workers who can do their jobs as well as others' jobs are more likely to be kept on the payroll.
(Read "Five Ways to Be a Good Team Player" for more advice.)
6. Join a Professional Networking Group. This is a great way to meet new contacts, as well as to keep up with your industry. The best time to network is before you need help in your job search.
7. Get Involved in Your Community on Behalf of Your Company. If your company will sponsor you for a charity or fundraiser event, take advantage of highlighting yourself as a company representative. You'll not only stand out among the management team, but also be seen as a contributor to the company.
8. Stay Abreast of Latest Industry Developments and Technology. Make sure you set yourself apart from the crowd by keeping up with news and technology, so that you can make credible recommendations at your company that make sense, and potentially save your company money.
9. Have a Backup Plan. If your company is really in dire straits, there may be nothing you can do to keep yourself immune to layoffs. Keep your online professional profiles up-to-date. Also, search for yourself onilne sure the results are positive and double check social profiles like Facebook and Twitter to make sure they reflect you positively.
What are your tips for making yourself indispensable at work? Share your thoughts in the Comments section.

Image: xedos4 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The Work Buzz's Latest News: 4 ways to deal with a workplace busybody

4 ways to deal with a workplace busybody

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 07:52 AM PDT

If you ever watched "I Love Lucy" you're familiar with the chatty habits of Lucy Ricardo, Ethel Mertz, their nosy friend Caroline Applebee. Or, to stick with classic sitcoms, on "The Andy Griffith Show," Aunt Bea's gossipy pal Clara Edwards is always eager to share what's happening in Mayberry. Although these buttinskies are fictitious, they're not unlike people you can find working every day in offices and workplaces around the world.
Now, these shows (unfairly) depict the resident gossip as being a know-it-all housewife, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Male or female, young or old, stay-at-home parent or senior manager, busybodies come in all shapes, sizes, industries and job titles. That's part of their skill. Busybodies aren't always easy to identify at first, and before you know it they've become your confidante who knows everything about you and the entire office. They can then make life unpleasant when they decide to use their knowledge to get their way or just to spread rumors.
Because busybodies don't all look or act the same, we asked some experts on workplace interaction how to deal with them. There's no one-size-fits-all solution for busybodies, so here are four distinct ways to take control of the situation, keep the busybody at bay, and make your life a little less stressful as a result:
1. Negative association
"There are many different ways to handle a busybody, but one of my favorite ways to keep a busybody at bay is to ask for help.
For example: 'Oh, Bob! Did you hear what was happening with the VP over in accounting?'
'Good morning Suzie, I have not heard the latest gossip, but I am on deadline with this big project. Listen, since you have a few free minutes, could you give me hand by making copies of this packet?'
If Suzie begins to notice that every time she approaches you to gossip that you try to assign her work, she will (consciously or unconsciously) begin to avoid you. Problem solved." – Jodi R. R. Smith, etiquette consultant for Mannersmith Etiquette Consulting
2. Polite confrontation
"Dealing with the office busybody is tricky business. Do it wrong and he or she will become your personal Ambassador of Doom, spreading rumor and gossip about you. I would say that these people are typically harmless and that, unless their nosiness gets out of hand, it’s best to ignore them. Either someone else will confront them or they will be marginalized in the office and hopefully see the error of their own ways.
If you feel you must confront them, do so cautiously. Never make accusations or become hostile. Simply say, 'Rachel, when you have a moment, I want to run something by you.' Then, when you are alone (in a quiet place, away from others), say, 'I wanted to get your opinion on something. I have no idea if this is true, but I heard from various sources that you were sharing things about my personal life around the office. I wanted to come to you and ask you if what I heard has any merit.'
If the person responds with, 'Who told you that?', say 'It doesn’t matter. I heard it from several people. What’s important is determining if there is any truth to it and so I’d like to discuss it with you. If I’m off-base here, let me know.' Then let the person tell their side of the story. Don’t react with anger even if they do. Remain calm and in control at all times.
You must be tactful and proceed delicately, even if you are angry. Otherwise, the person could make your life miserable." – Michael Brenner, founder and principal consultant of IdeAgency, an organization that teaches professional team building
3. Privacy
"My observation is that an office busybody has mastered the art of being everyone’s friend and confidant. They are very social and sympathetic. This allows them to build a comfortable relationship where people will divulge secrets, share problems and complain about the office neighbor. The issue with this is that if they are the busybody, they only find value in all those great secrets when they can share those secrets. The payback the busybody gets stems from the idea that 'knowledge is power' and they are powerful since they know so much great trash. The problem with this person is that you can’t trust that they will guard your secrets, should you share some. There is no 'cone of silence' with a busybody because sooner or later you can expect them to broadcast your information.
The only way to handle a busybody is to not allow yourself to be lured into a sense of comfort or trust. You have to assume that if they spread secrets about other people, they will share what they know about you. Be friendly but don’t divulge anything you wouldn’t post on Facebook or talk openly about at a party. It’s ok to let this person know when they are busy downloading all their great gossip on you that you don’t feel comfortable hearing other people’s intimate details. They learn very quickly that they won’t learn things from you and that you will not reinforce their bad behavior." – Dorothy Tannahill Moran, career coach at Next Chapter New Life
4. Distraction
"Dealing with busybodies is always a challenge and I can say from my firsthand experience that it cannot be accomplished as fast as one would wish.
About a year ago I started noticing that one of our best customer support representatives is a real busybody. He was everywhere, [could not] keep information to himself and was becoming a real trouble to work with. On the other hand, he had excellent communication skills with the customers and all of them loved him. We could not afford to lose such a valuable asset as he was. So, I decided to do something about it.
Giving him his own office did not help as he was still visible everywhere in the office. A week-long vacation also did not help. And then I came up with an idea, I developed a special project for him to run, which literally took all of his work hours and some of his personal time. He was excited about it and did not have any more time to continue running around the office busybodying. The project proved to be quite beneficial to the company as well, so I decided to keep this practice and keep this particular constantly busy with various interesting projects." – Erika Walker, human resources manager at BestEssayHelp, a résumé writing service
Have you had to deal with a workplace busybody? If you were successful, let us know what you did! (And if you weren’t successful, let us know, too, so we’ll know what NOT to do.)

Etiquette Neglect: Communication Tips for Your Career | Career Rocketeer

Link to Career Rocketeer - Career Search and Personal Branding Blog

Etiquette Neglect: Communication Tips for Your Career

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 03:30 AM PDT

Often a long, unsuccessful job search is a byproduct of Etiquette Neglect; easily to correct, common sense factors many job seekers don't give a second thought about. Here are a few examples that may affect you.
EMAIL ETIQUETTE
In most instances your email is the first point of contact with a prospective employer or new network contact. It also sets the tone for whether they perceive you in a positive or negative light. Employing proper email etiquette can be the difference between getting an interview, call back or network referral, or having the reader say Fuggetaboudit (that's Brooklynese) and then deleting your email thus relegating you as irrelevant.
Point # 1: Most job search emails are sent with an attachment, a resume and/or cover letter, and I can't remember how many times I opened an email and the aforementioned attachment was missing. Then I received another email shortly or up to 2 days thereafter with the attachment, and on occasion an apology. My advice to all of you is before you hit the send button double check to make sure the attachment is there and it is the right one. This is especially important if you have more than one version of your resume or you're sending a customized version.
Point # 2: Another common email mistake is the salutation. Use the person's last name if it is provided and not their first name i.e. Dear Mrs. Bowen rather than Dear Laura. If you don't know the person's name avoid using To Whom It May Concern or Dear Sir/Madam. Try Members of the Search Committee, or Good morning or Good afternoon.
Also use Respectfully or Sincerely as your closing, and by all means never-ever write Have a blessed day. I also suggest using an 18-20 pt Script font for your signature with a 10-12 pt Arial font in the email body.
Point #3: Now let's move on to the body. Your e-mail is a business tool not a means of communication between you and your best buds. It must be professional, courteous and to the point. Don't use slang or abbreviations, and make sure you spell check it before it is sent. There is no excuse for sloppiness and be aware that thoughtlessness can completely destroy what otherwise is a professional message.
Point #4: Last but not least is your email address. Some people work to develop a brand or persona with their email address. But what message does an email address like beachbumMB@yahoo.com or singleNlookin@sbc.net, or bmoc@ysu.edu send to an employer. I recently saw this quote from an HR manager who receives a high volume of emails from job seekers, "I see some very questionable email addresses that make me wonder about the ethics, morality, and overall professionalism of the applicant." Is he talking about you?
I suggest creating a dedicated email account to exclusively send and receive emails during your job search using a variation of your name like tombinder1@yahoo.com, or tbindernj@aol.com or tom_binder@gmail.com.
VOICE MAIL ETIQUETTE
Point #5: Just as your email address may leave a wrong or harmful impression so too can your voice mail message. I've heard and personally used entertaining and funny VM messages and I love hearing them when calling a friend or a casual acquaintance. However when you are expecting a perspective employer to call you it is prudent to keep your message on your mobile and home phone short and professional, or use the automated message.
Begin with your name and phone number so people will know if they misdialed, and keep it brief so as not to waste their time. Example: Hi this is Perry Newman at 718-332-6130. After the tone please leave a message with your call back number and I'll return your call promptly. Most important your voice should be upbeat and you should rerecord the message as many times as possible until you get it right. Also do not use music in the background.
There is also proper etiquette when you're leaving a message and here are some rules to remember on this end.
Point #6: Don't keep calling and hang up without leaving a message because most phones have caller ID.
Point #7: Don't block your caller ID because most people will not call back blocked numbers they don't know.
Point #8: Leave a message with a cheerful voice. If the machine allows you to preview a message and rerecord it use this option and rerecord your message until you are fully satisfied with how the message sounds.
Point #9: Leave a clear and concise message including your full name and phone number/s and the purpose of the call.
Point #10: Speak at a pace that is not too fast or slow and make sure there is no noise in the background.
Point #11: Sound professional at all times and close by saying thank you.

Author:
Perry Newman, CPC CSMS is a nationally recognized executive resume writer, career coach, AIPC certified recruiter and SMMU certified social media strategist known for his ability to help his clients get results. You can view his sample resumes at http://www.perrynewman.com, and email him your resume at perry@perrynewman.com for FREE resume critique.

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Failure Sucks but Instructs. Ask Starbucks.

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 05:17 AM PDT

conversation culture, failure at work, failure sucks, starbucks, leadership culture, workplace leadership, corporate culture, failure in business

Achieving milestones within a department or an organization is a process that involves a clear strategy, research, team members, and the flexibility to change and adapt along the way. Just like leaders, a company's culture or environment doesn't just happen. Great cultures are made from the top down and the down up.
The key in creating a corporate culture focused on high achievement doesn't come from the learning curve employees and their teammates face but in how they learn and work together during their failures. It's the low points, not the high points that create a high performance team. Or as Robert Sutton, a Professor at Stanford University says, "Failure sucks but instructs."
Consider a company like Starbucks, a now 40 year old company, and the success they achieved. Since 1992 until 2007 the company's stock rose a staggering 5,000 percent. Books were written on their rise to fame and the culture distinct culture they created. On nearly every corner a Starbucks reached out to entire communities, listened to individual workers and consumers, and seized growth market opportunities, and then something happened. As the economy changed and the world dived deep into a recession, Starbucks continued with their award winning strategy business as usual, and for that they paid a price.
Companies like McDonalds and Duncan Donuts gained market share and Starbucks tried to fight back, but they continued to flounder. In 2008, Howard Schultz the former president and chairman made a bold move returning to his position eight years after he stepped down. He was concerned that Starbucks had lost its way culturally as well as financially. The support and leadership that Schultz provided Starbucks helped put the company's troubles into perspective allowing them to learn and adapt from their mistakes. The company returned to its roots focusing on what it did best, make coffee as well as the culture it provides both employees as well as customers. For Schultz, it's not just about winning but the right way in which to win and using this strategy he helped once again pull Starbucks into the spotlight.
The lesson for companies of all sizes and their leadership teams is that from success we gain confidence but from failure we are truly tested. Teams are tested in times of crisis and struggle learning lessons on accountability, collaboration, creativity, and initiative. Maintaining an even keel and believing in your organization and its business culture will help ensure that even in the good times and the bad, the business will live to fight another day.
Photo Credit Healthy Lifestyles Blog.

conversation culture, employee engagement, employee enchantment, HR leadership, human capital management

Business, the Old-Fashioned Way

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 04:29 AM PDT

Twenty-two years ago, I played slow-pitch softball for a women’s league back in corn-fed Northwest Indiana. The season before, I had the best season of my life, batting .720 and playing first base and catch. I had a strong, but slightly feral throw; I worked tirelessly with my coach pre-season to calm my wild arm and perfect my aim. The goal was to move me to shortstop that season to take full advantage of my aggressive approach and speed of throw. I was having a blast, it was the chance I never got in high school and I had leadership support.
Two games into the season and I was off to another record-breaking year. After a Saturday morning practice, a men’s team had been waiting for the field – they had watched a bit of our ferocity and decided to challenge us to a pick-up game. Softball chicks in their twenties? Yeah, we bit and bit hard. We were about two innings in when I hit a line drive just over second base that dropped in perfectly – base hit. The hitter that followed me, hit it deep to right field, I prepared to round second watching my coach, who suddenly signaled me to go back to second, but I was already committed to the rounding. However, the perfect throw to third base did stop me and I turned back to second, when the third basemen sent the ball to second. Pickle.
I stopped again and turned back to third. That is, my body turned but my cleat-wearing feet had planted deep in the red dirt and stayed planted. I heard the pop plain as day and felt the sudden snap of pain shoot up my leg to my hip and down the inside of my leg to my ankle. I stood there, tottering not sure what to do. The second baseman heard the pop, too.   I had no idea what had happened but I knew it hurt like hell. The following Monday, I found myself sitting in an orthopedic surgeon’s office who assured me that it was just a strain, “Give it two-weeks’ rest and then you can hit the field again.”   I did as I was told, I iced it and rested it and two weeks later I was back on the field, playing catcher. The third pitch of the game resulted in a high pop-up between the mound and home plate. I called it and stepped out to make the catch. Third step out on my right foot resulted in a similar pop but this time I went down screaming in agony. I was carried from the filed by four teammates, tears streaming down my face.
My awesome season became a quickly fading dream as my surgeon withdrew two large vials of yellow fluid from my knee to relieve the truly unbearable pain. I remember telling my husband that it hurt worse than childbirth, and it was true. I had torn my anterior crusciate ligament. Snapped it in half, but reparative surgery was continually illusive. I bounced round from doctor to doctor with four cartilage tear surgeries eventually under my belt. The real pickle became finding a surgeon that would diagnose correctly, then do the right surgery.   Over the years, I became disenchanted with our healthcare system and disappointed in doctors who looked at insurance first and injury second; I had an HMO.
I finally beat the system when one of my recruitment clients, the Vice President of HR for a large healthcare district in Central California had hip surgery – I visited her in the hospital, post-surgery. She so appreciated my visit and thanked me several times. She had known of my knee problems and was eager to share her surgeon’s contact details with me; she loved her surgeon and was very pleased with her results and recovery. She made a quick referral for me and I followed up. Two additional surgeries later (seventeen years after the initial injury!) and I was finally pain free with the knee stability I had been missing for nearly two decades. My pickle finally ended.
It pays to treat your clients well, to go out of your way and wish them well or assist them in ways not known at first. People do business with people they know. People keep doing business with people they like. People refer business for and to people they trust.   It’s kind of an Old West philosophy. But then, I’m an Old West kind of gal.
Rayanne Thorn, @ray_anne is the Marketing Director for the online recruiting software company, Broadbean Technology. She is also a proud mother of four residing in Laguna Beach, California, and a contributor for Blogging4Jobs. Connect with her on LinkedIn.

5 Reasons America’s Job Engine is Broken

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 11:00 PM PDT

Last week, I had a heart-to-heart talk with a group of our CAREEREALISM TV viewers about America's job engine and why it's broken. Do you know why?

To get this useful advice and many other helpful career resources, visit us now at CAREEREALISM.com.

LinkedIn: Personal Information Not Compromised

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 10:45 PM PDT

LinkedIn has not compromised your personal information. From what we can tell, the confusion is in the privacy policy change LinkedIn made.

To get this useful advice and many other helpful career resources, visit us now at CAREEREALISM.com.

Truth Hurts: The Real Scoop on Resume Length

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 10:30 PM PDT

Most people spend the majority of their resume space citing a laundry list of what they did, and not worrying about the overall length.

To get this useful advice and many other helpful career resources, visit us now at CAREEREALISM.com.

New Webinar: 12 Ways to Build Your Brand-Power

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 10:00 PM PDT

CAREEREALISM TV is a social television network dedicated to providing job seekers with career advice for finding professional satisfaction.

To get this useful advice and many other helpful career resources, visit us now at CAREEREALISM.com.

Get a FREE LinkedIn Profile Evaluation

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 09:41 AM PDT

Want to know if your LinkedIn profile is a hit or miss? Join us for a session that will answer the question you've been dying to know as a job seeker.

To get this useful advice and many other helpful career resources, visit us now at CAREEREALISM.com.