Where are all the Jobs?: Are Your Work Expectations Realistic? plus 1 more

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Are Your Work Expectations Realistic? plus 1 more | Career Rocketeer

Posted: 30 Jun 2011 03:30 AM PDT

Expectations. We all have them. Our expectations motivate us and drive us to do things both good and bad. We might expect a great time at a party or expect to get bored at grandmas. We have expectations of all sorts at work. We have expectations of our peers, the boss, the company and even the customers.
Our expectations serve us like a yard stick where we kind of measure people both ahead of time and after an event. We think we know what to expect of others and ourselves, so we check to see if all of that expectation is missed or met.
What happens when our expectations are continuously missed? We turn grouchy, to start with. If our expectations are continually abused, it can become the catalyst of unrest and great unhappiness. Depending on your position in the company, you can bear down on the source of your missed expectations with unrelenting focus. We hate to be disappointed. The question is – Are your expectations realistic or are you a control freak? It's good to be good, but it's annoying to work with someone who wants to be perfect. Besides, it's just not possible, so you could be unrealistic and also be a real pain in the backside.
Here are some questions to ask yourself, as well as thoughts to help gauge your expectations:
Are you clear about your expectations? Sometimes we have them, but we can't exactly pinpoint what they are. If you can get clear first, you can examine them more closely.
Did you manufacture your expectations without validation? Especially with others, we sometimes cook up expectations and fail to communicate to get agreement.
Is someone being inconsistent? One day they do things a certain way and the next day, they do them differently. You're now confused and don't know WHAT to expect. Time to ask.
How do your standards compare to others? There is a fine line between wanting to be the best and being obsessive. Make sure you know where the bar is set for your peers to see if it is within a reasonable range of your own.
Do you need to communicate your expectations? We often go about doing our work without really communicating what we need, when we need it and what details go with it. If you haven't shared those details, you need to have a discussion.
Are you getting feedback? You might need to calibrate what your expectations are with someone who can give you some objective feedback and understanding of your environment. Depending on your situation, you could do that with your boss; but if that isn't an option, consider a respected mentor or peer. Don't' seek out your work BFF, as they won't be objective or candid.
Are they impacting your work or career? One sure way to know if your expectations are reasonable is if your work is being negatively impacted by someone else. It's not unreasonable to expect others to meet quality, quantity and deadlines as it relates to the work you do.
If it turns out that you are being unrealistic about your expectations of others, you probably need to lighten up. If you don't, you risk making yourself continuously unhappy and disappointed with those around you. It's hard to feel any kind of kinship with the people you work with when you're disappointed with their behavior. If your expectations are reasonable, but aren't being met, then you have some work to do with others. It will be worth it in the long run if you do.
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Author:
Dorothy Tannahill-Moran is a Career Coach and expert on helping her clients achieve their goals. Her programs cover: Career growth and enhancement, Career Change, Retirement Alternatives and Job Search Strategy. Want to discover specific career change strategies that get results? Discover how by claiming your FREE gift, Career Makeover Toolkit at: http://CareerMakeoverToolKitShouldIstayorShouldIGo.com

Wordle Your Resume!

Posted: 29 Jun 2011 03:30 AM PDT

Most people, at some point, have seen a word cloud. It’s a combination of words, randomly arranged, that are meant to represent an idea or some piece of writing.
Wordle (www.wordle.net) is a free online tool that will create a word cloud from any document, internet feed, or words entered into their form. The greater the number of times, or more prominently, a word appears in the document, the larger the the size of the word in the cloud.
It’s an interesting way to display what’s been most emphasized.
A couple of years ago, my kids each wrote what they liked best about their mother for Mother’s Day, and uploaded it all to create a Wordle. It created a beautiful montage of the things that meant the most to them, and was a hit when my wife got it from them that day.
It can also be a creative way to see what really jumps out of your resume, rather than what you think it says. You may be surprised!
The words that appear most often and most prominently in your resume are the ones that are likely to make the biggest impression to the reader. Are they words that you intended to convey? Or are they words that distract or paint a skewed picture of who you are?
Additionally, as you may have often heard, it’s best to tailor your resume for each position you apply to, in order to include as many relevant keywords for that particular position. It helps you get noticed more easily and certainly more likely to be picked up by keyword searches online or in their Applicant Tracking System (ATS).
If you Wordle your resume, and then compare it to the job description you are applying for… do the primary requirements show up as larger words in your word cloud? Your chances of being selected rise dramatically if they do!
While the process isn’t perfect, it can certainly give you insight into your resume that you may not otherwise have seen. Wordle your resume and see what you get!

Author:
Harry Urschel has over 20 years experience as a technology recruiter in Minnesota. He currently operates as e-Executives, writes a blog for Job Seekers called The Wise Job Search, and can be found on Twitter as @eExecutives.