The past week has been somewhat crazy around here. I left one job, and had the good fortune to be picked up almost immediately by another place, shifting back to my field in the process.
The decision to leave the first place was a difficult one. I was capable of doing the work, and tended to do it efficiently and well enough that I wasn’t causing problems. Most of the people I needed to talk to outside of my department were fairly nice. I had a window cubicle with a pretty view of mountains and trees.
However, the drive to and from work took two to three hours a day on a very crowded highway. I often felt I couldn’t rely on those around me, and in fact, spent two weeks where my manager honestly forgot I was a part of the team because the two people sitting closest to me were from another team. There were some other issues that caused my stress level, heart rate, and blood pressure to rise while I lost sleep and any appetite. It finally caused a series of illnesses that resulted in my missing nearly a month of work. I couldn’t even get my benefits because my information (along with some of the others on my team) had been misentered into the database.
Toward the end of that month, I sat down and tried to figure out why I should go back to work, and discovered that the only reason I was still at the job was the money (which was fairly nice). However, I had not been paid in a month because I hadn’t been there. It made the decision really, really simple.
The day after I made the decision, I stumbled across this article on using a ratio to decide whether or not you can tolerate your job. I couldn’t help but laugh. That was pretty much what I had done the day before. It actually helped me feel a bit less guilty about my decision.
Really, everybody should know what they are willing to put up with at work, since so much of our lives are spent there. Once you know that, it makes tough decisions (like accepting a job offer or deciding to move on to another job) that much simpler.
Thank you for alerting me to the broken link. I’m not sure why it happened, but hopefully it is fixed now.
Posted by Rebecca as Uncategorized at 1:31 PM EST
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Sorry for the lack of posts last week. I actually had a rather fascinating five days. I quit the job that was causing much undo stress. Two days later, I found a part-time instructor position. I am quite thrilled to be going back to teaching. I am also much closer to launching my jewelry business. I’m still working out pricing, and the website’s not up to my standards. That aside, the business should be running, at least at a basic level, by the beginning of next week. I’ll have the links in the sidebar when everything is set up.
In the middle of all this transitioning, I discovered that knowledge-centered work is still alive and flopping. Normally, this would be the ideal topic for Education Niche, but I discovered that there are now a list of rules governing the management in a knowledge-centric environment.
Truth be told, this really is more of a common sense list in many respects, applicable even in the most knowledge-phobic setting.
Found via Slacker Manager
Posted by Rebecca as Responsibility at 8:29 AM EST
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The Career News newsletter recently shared an article by Deborah Walker on constructing a layered resume to build a compelling case for yourself with potential employers. The three layers are detailed below.
Layer #1: The pinnacle of the pyramid: Your job focus. The top layer of the pyramid is your career focus. A clear focus, or objective, is the starting point of a great resume. Start with two or three closely related job titles right at the top of the resume. Employers and recruiters appreciate knowing right from the start what the candidate’s objective is.
Layer #2: The pyramid mid section: Your selling points. The mid section of the pyramid is made up of your selling points that support your career focus or objective. Whatever your focus, determine your best selling points that allow you to stand above your competition.
Layer #3: The base of the pyramid: Your accomplishments. The largest part of a pyramid is its base; likewise, your resume’s supporting accomplishments comprise the largest part of your resume. Your accomplishments support your selling points, which in turn support your focus. For each selling point ask yourself "what was a significant Challenge I faced? What was the Action I took? What was the Result of my action?"
Posted by Rebecca as Changing careers at 10:42 AM EST
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Recently, JobSeeker Weekly shared some great thoughts in their newsletter on handling potential age discrimination, a growing problem as the Baby Boomers are growing older.
The highlights of the advice included:
Resume Strategy.
Do not list more than the last 10 or 15 years of experience. Avoid listing college and graduate school graduation dates. Make those 10-15 years count by stressing quantifiable accomplishments and concrete solutions that you developed. These indicators answer the question: "What can you do for me?" Age becomes a background issue when what you have to offer meets a business need or "relieves the pain" an executive is experiencing.
Interview Preparation.
Do the research on the company, so that you can intelligently talk about the company’s current challenges and initiatives. Use your specific knowledge to suggest the ways in which you can benefit the company going forward.
Body Language in the Interview.
When you go in for an interview, present yourself as vigorous and energetic. Avoid leaning back and looking too relaxed.
Interview Strategy Related to Age.
Although legal considerations will probably prevent an interviewer from asking your age, he or she may well be thinking about it. So stress the value-added benefits you offer as an experienced professional. Give examples of how you used your experience to avoid costly errors and false starts. Give examples of cases in which your judgment and experience have made money, saved money or solved problems.
Long-term Personal Brand Building.
Begin to build your personal brand in your industry or profession. The more robust your image is among industry players, the more you will be viewed as having value to offer. Make sure that all your communications reinforce your personal brand.
Networking.
Network on an ongoing basis with peers, former colleagues, former bosses, and members of online or offline industry organizations. When the time comes, someone who knows you and your work will be in a good position to recommend you for a job. Their recommendation will do a lot to neutralize the power of age concerns.
Posted by Rebecca as Changing careers at 8:46 AM EST
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I’ve written before on how volunteering helps you build useful skills. Volunteering can also help you network.
When you make the decision to volunteer your time to some cause, you’re naturally going to select a place that matches your own beliefs and interests. What better environment to make connections where you can both benefit from and provide benefit to the relationship.
As for me, my love of the water and old sailing ships has led me to an orientation this upcoming weekend for a Ship festival in Tacoma.
Found via Monster’s Human Resources newsletter
Posted by Rebecca as Networking at 9:49 AM EST
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From the MAPP Newsletter:
Here are seven strategies you can try:
1.- You CAN do it. Low motivation doesn’t mean you CAN’T do
something, it just means you prefer not to.
2.- Have realistic expectations of yourself. Having low motivation
means you may not enjoy the task, and it will take you longer
and use more energy than someone with high motivation. Don’t
compare your productivity to someone who thrives on the very
task you detest.
3.- Determine if "Adequate" is good enough. Is it imperative
that you be excellent in this particular area? If you have low
motivation, you can probably be adequate with enough training
and practice, but being "Excellent" may be beyond reach.
4.- Reassign the work. Can this task be given to someone else?
Perhaps there is someone with high motivation who would enjoy
this work.
5.- Partner with someone who is strong in this area. This the Rogers
and Hammerstein approach. An example would be the successful sales
person who relies on her assistant to do all the paperwork.
6.- Create a system or use a tool. I know of a professional with
high talent for creativity, but low talent for details and
capturing all his good ideas. He finally decided to carry a
pocket tape recorder in a leather case on his belt. This allows
him to make verbal notes to himself on the fly.
7.- Ask for reassignment. One of our clients who had always been a
successful project manager was floundering in his new role. The
reason was that he had very high motivation for routine,
methodical procedures. He needed lots of structure and order
in his environment. Unfortunately, he was assigned to develop new
products in a start-up company, and there were no rules, no structure.
His best option was to accept reassignment to a role that allowed
him to create processes and procedures for the new venture.
Posted by Rebecca as Creativity, inspiration, and motivation at 10:51 AM EST
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In an unexpected turn of events, I am now on (unpaid) medical leave from my job for two weeks (silly benefits haven’t kicked in yet). I get to catch up on some things I’ve been meaning to do, and relocate my delight in simple things.
I love to collect business cards. I admit it. It’s this sick little fascination I have. Somewhere at home, I actually have one of those clear platic card deck boxes full of business cards I’ve collected over the years. Business cards are great because they can accomplish so much. In a small space, they can tell somebody who you are, what you do, what your personality is like, and so much more.
Some of my favorite business cards have gone beyond the standard name and contact information to include mission statements, discounts for the card bearer, and witty little quotes.
The business card can be an extension of the person handing it over. Personally, I like to design my own and then I carry them around with me in a silver case covered with Victorian scroll work. I take the time to consider someone else’s card, and with the work I often put into mine, I hope they will take the time to extend me the same courtesy.
If you are unfamiliar with the way to consider a business card courteously, try reading this helpful little post.
Found via Business Opportunities Weblog
Posted by Rebecca as Networking at 10:49 AM EST
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After a very long week of getting over the flu only to be pummeled by a stomach bug, and then mis-installing the latest version of my favorite browser (three times, thank you very much), I’m back to my old blogging tricks.
One of the nice things about being sick is that it gave me a chance to catch up on some reading and go through some links I had collected. It also gave me the chance to repeatedly experience the grocery store I usually go to for all sort s of medicine, food, and then protein shakes when I stopped eating for three days.
The grocery store I go to ususally doesn’t have any noticeable background music. It’s pretty much like a warehouse. However, the other day, when I had no tolerance for anything to begin with, they were blaring rock music. Now, I happen to like rock music, and had I not been sick, it wouldn’t have bothered me at all (except for the volume). But it made me log for the stores back home where they play “adult contemporary” hits softly through the store’s speakers.
I remember my mother explaining to me once when I was a child that the reason for the music is to get people to stay longer and spend more money in the stores. I remember having it re-explained to me in grad school as part of my exhibit design class. So with all of this in mind, I was reading through some of the feeds I hadn’t quite caught up on, and discovered this little gem from Jory Desjardins speaking to the coffee houses needing to explore this topic more in their own interests. I had to laugh. It was such a frame of mind thing.
Many places do understand the importance of creating an atmosphere that makes their customers do what they want, but coffee shops have always seemed like an odd little beast. They want you to come in and buy coffee. They’ll even create a nice seating area so you can sit and drink with your friends. But then they encourage the employees to create a somewhat hostile environment so you won’t want to stay around. Most of the coffee shops I’ve run into here in Seattle have actually been very pleasant and welcoming, but I will never forget the coffee shop in San Antonio that was inexcusably rude to a large, well-paying group of us who occupied about three tables one rainy afternoon for a couple of hours.
By the way, that coffee shop is now out of business.
Posted by Rebecca as Uncategorized at 10:31 AM EST
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