G often accuses me of getting on a soap box when it comes to giving career advice. Perhaps it is because a large part of my job is to coach and mentor the people around me that I have taken it upon myself to do this to other people in our lives too. While being on a soapbox is generally not advised (and something I need to work on), I do think some of my advice as merit. At the heart of each of these lectures (and typically these are delivered to the unemployed, uninspired, unhappy, or unmotivated) is one key thing–just do something (how very Nike of me).
It seems that so many people become content to just exist, but in reality if you aren’t satisfied with your life you are the only one who can really change it. For example, I have a friend who has been unemployed for about a year. She has been collecting unemployment, but has been applying for jobs–she hasn’t found a job yet. She never finished her college degree (which is likely contributing to the difficulty of finding a job, since she wants more of an office job that pays around $20/hour). Given this situation my first question would be–how has she spent the last year? Ummm….well see that is the thing–all she can say is she was looking for a job. In my opinion [getting on my soapbox] she should have been doing something.
Here is a list of things she should have considered:
- Volunteering – making new networking connections and potentially learning new skills–not to mention helping a cause.
- Starting a blog – don’t use mine as an example, since I rarely seem to update, but there are lots of other people who who made valuable connections, or started new careers by writing about topics that interest them.
- Take some classes – even if you have minimal income there are lots of low cost classes (and depending on how long you have been unemployed you can even qualify for financial aid). This can allow you to learn new skills, and shows future employers that you care about your personal/professional development. You can also make valuable contacts in your classes that could eventually be a lead to a new job.
- Start some projects – ideally choose projects that are visible, like creating a website, or organizing an event. This will help you build new skills (or showcase existing ones), and gives some great examples of your recent work to use as job interview fodder.
- Take part time work — many people are hesitant to do this (my friend responded with the question “why would I work when I can make more on unemployment?”), but taking a part time job (or full time lower wage job) gives you an opportunity to learn a new business, make an honest day’s income, and meet new people–all of which can add up to new opportunities in the future.
- Start your own company – when you can’t find a job, create your own! There are so many business that require very little to no capital. Many entrepreneurs started out this way — when one door closes, another door opens.
There are lots of other things you can do, but each day besides just looking for jobs you should try to:
- Do things that help you meet new people (you never know where your next job will come from). These don’t have to be in person, but can be via facebook, twitter, or other online communities.
- Learning new things – whether you take a class, read a website or create something, teaching yourself new skills (particularly ones related to your field, or things related to your passions) will help you grow and make you a stronger candidate for a position. Bonus points if you can get a new degree or certificate in the process.
- Showcase your work – creating new things or projects can provide interesting work samples to show a future employer; and if someone likes your creation could even lead to more work (just look at all the etsy sellers!).
The key thing is that you can’t expect things to come to you, focus your energy and channel your efforts into a new and productive direction–and with a little luck and a lot of elbow grease I believe something good is bound to happen.
I love the holidays. I really do. They are by far my most favorite time of year.
I think part of it is the pretty sparkly lights and decorations. Part of it is all of the gatherings with friends and family. And of course I love giving presents (it is far more fun to be generous and give to other people than it is to buy something for myself). Anyway, my weeks have been completely filled and it already seems like time is very scarce.
So what has been happening lately – well first off I started a new job. I hadn’t planned to go back to work after leaving my last company–in fact I had planned on starting my own company (that entrepreneurial spirit has been egging me on for some time). However, in a kismet sort of way, I fell into this new job and I couldn’t be happier. I have never worked at a company quite like this–and I really enjoy the people and admire the culture they are trying to create. I feel so fortunate for everything that has come my way (consider this a little late Thanksgiving). As for my venture–it will happen–it is just going to be on hold for a while….
Anyway, it is December and I haven’t had much time for updates. Mostly this is because of the new job, and of course the holidays. Plus to be honest, I just haven’t found it as easy to write much recently. Oh, and I have finally started to undertake the massive endeavor of fixing up our house–which is quite the project. Last weekend we spent time putting up our Christmas trees (we have two–what can I say, I love the holidays!) and organizing everything! We only made it about 1/3 of the way but are hoping to make some more progress this coming weekend.
I have also been spending way too much time on Etsy. I bought this very chic and sophisticated hair flower. I am planning to wear it to my work holiday party this Friday. I think I am going to pair it with a silver dress I wore for new years eve 2007. I also bought 2 hand crafted and preserved flowers–they are supposed to last years. I am planning to put one in our guest bathroom, and I am unsure of where the second one will go, but I figure I can find a place as a revisit the whole “house” project.
Flower pictures are the credit of Christina Floresdelsol – her blog is here and you can find lots of inspiration and link to buy more of her creations there!
There are many factors and skills that can make a good manager in the work place. Empathy is one of my favorites, and of course being a good listener is crucial, but recently I have noticed that one of the traits that have proved really valuable is the ability to distill information and explain it clearly.
Of course getting things done is one of the most important factors in a manager’s performance; but there are lots of other important peripheral tasks as well– such as motivating employees and keeping them excited and productive (which also ties into getting things done). One sure fire way to motivate your team is to make sure everyone clearly understands the “why?”. People are given lots of tasks and sometimes it is unclear how their particular task fits into the big picture or overall strategy. Taking the time to clearly explain why a certain feature is important can go a long way to helping someone understand their role in the success of the team or company.
And besides motivation, managers also need to be able to provide constructive criticism in clear easy to understand language. And, more importantly, since each person has a different learning style, and what is acceptable to some can be offensive to others, learning how to explain things in many different ways can be a great asset to a manger looking to cultivate and grow their team members.
So, how do you get better at explaining? Here are some ideas:
Break a problem into pieces. Like an exam question or a puzzle, breaking things up into their pieces can aid in an explanation. If there are a lot of steps to solving a problem, going through each one in sequence can help someone see the path from a to b.
Draw a picture. For example, if you are trying to explain a complex project, drawing a diagram and showing how all the pieces fit together can help one see how their piece fits into a big picture. Being able to show visual examples can help a lot of people spatially piece different parts together into a holistic view.
Use examples. This is my favorite–especially when giving feedback. If you can help others learn from similar situations it makes it easier for them to relate. And when giving someone feedback it certainly makes them feel like they are not alone. I like this approach because it establishes a pattern, which can then be repeated and it certainly easier to remember.
Start from the beginning. People can grasp things easier when things are laid out in chronological order. Starting from the beginning can help others see the evolution of an idea. For example, if you are trying to explain a new company strategy, start with the goals, the steps to achieve those goals and how the strategy helps make forward progress with each step.
Repeat yourself. As silly as this may sound, saying the same things over and over, and sending out the same message consistently ensures that the key points will get communicated. It really helps some people to hear things multiple times, so in those cases repeating the same message in the same or different verbiage can really help get everyone on the same page.
These are few ideas to get you started, and I am sure there are lots of others. Regardless of your technique though, good communication is an important skill for any manager and something all of us can continue to improve throughout our careers.
Image by Ferran. via Flickr
This morning I was walking down the sidewalk in the city and I was all bundled up in my warm winter coat and knit hat. The air was crisp and chilly, and all seemed relatively quiet and serene with only a few cars driving past transporting people on their morning commute. I was walking down the street, contemplating all the little things I wanted to accomplish in the day ahead, and suddenly as I was crossing the street there was a big gust of wind that seemed to appear from nowhere. It whipped all these leaves around me and for a moment I stood completely still in awe of all of nature’s confetti swirling around me. This small little event brought a big smile to my face.
Whenever these moments happen I am always surprised how much happiness they tend to bring out in me. In this case it reminded me of the fall and of being a child and playing in autumn’s fallen leaves–throwing them into the air and watching them cascade down around me like snowflakes. I always find it so amazing how the little things really make me happy.
So even when you get stressed out and frazzled, try to focus on the small things and find happiness in all the wonderful things around you. Oh and since the colors are changing and fall will soon be winter, take some time to check out the spectacular fall foliage. It really is beautiful.
Anyway, I have been MIA the last few weeks on vacation and enjoying beautiful beach weather in Hawaii. I am back now (yay!) so I will resume with my more regular blog updates. Hope everyone is doing great!
Hiring great people is often hard for most employers. Finding the right person, with the right skill set, a good attitude, and at the right price can be a lot like searching for a needle (or perhaps a small to medium sized stick) in a haystack.
There are lots of options for sourcing candidates: using a professional recruiter, tapping your personal network, or perhaps the most common method–placing an ad. As an employer it is imperative that you write a compelling job description that will appeal to the top talent you are trying to attract (btw, besides just being an ad, this can also be sent out to your network too). So what are the key elements of a good job description? And how do you stand out among the sea of other jobs? Here are some tips that I have used in the past that have been successful:
- Have a catchy title. Like a newspaper headline you need to both summarize and standout. You need to catch a candidate’s attention by being different, but still being clear about the position. A title like “Software Manager” or “Software Development Engineer” does a great job summarizing the position but is hardly interesting. Whereas “Do you want to work on the bleeding edge of technology?” sounds interesting, but doesn’t really convey the position (this could be anything from a tester to a biotechnologist). Try to pick something that clearly describes the position and is interesting — for example “Rockstar Software Engineer Wanted for Newly Funded Alternative Energy Start-up”. This title is much more appealing; it describes the field (alternative energy), the company (newly funded startup), the position (software engineer), and it adds some character with the word rockstar (and what candidate doesn’t want to think of themselves as a rockstar?).
- Clearly spell out the “must haves”. Are there any facets of the position that are non-negotiable? Clearly spell out what is required and what is desired. Also seriously think about if it is really “necessary”. If a candidate had 5 years of great coding experience and hosts their own website, is it really necessary they also have extensive experience deploying to the cloud? If it isn’t necessary then don’t make it a requirement. You could end up missing great candidates that could easily learn the skills you desire. You want to encourage these people to send their resume, so if something isn’t absolutely 100% a “must have” then list it as a desired skill (I typically separate out candidate skills into required/desired and use bullet points so the job description is easier to read).
- Add some information about the company. What is it about your company that makes it special? Is it the hard problems? The great people? A fabulous office space? Do you contribute to open source? List out some information about the actual organization and why you think people should want to work there. Make sure you include: a link to your website, any great articles or recent press mentions, and anything else that makes you stand out (for example, I worked at a company that won awards and was featured in high profile publications and I always included links to this info in the job post).
- What is the actual job? Sometimes this is obvious. Other times it isn’t. Sometimes you actually may not need to include this information since you could be hiring multiple people for more than one position, have too many projects, or your priorities might change–but you should try to give a clear idea of the job responsibilities. Of course sometimes being specific can help you target people, other times this can be a detriment since most jobs can’t be summarized in the 200 words or less devoted to this, so I tend to outline top level descriptions. Some examples might be: to write code, to help with releases and deployments, to write test plans, to collaborate on product design, to write technical specifications, to create infrastructure diagrams, to help support a 24/7 high traffic web application, etc.
- Why should someone want this job? When you think you are finished, read you posting and ask yourself this question. It should be obvious. If it isn’t totally clear then you need to add this information. You can even put this info in bullet points at the very top–you want to work here because…..(and hopefully you have good reasons, but some examples could be: challenging problems, lots of responsibility and opportunity for career growth, the chance to be part of the next big thing in [fill in the blank], great company culture, etc.)
- Add some character! One of my favorite things is to put pictures of our team at the bottom of the job posting–and candidates would constantly tell us it helped us stand out from the other job listings. We also would add little requirements and desired qualifications that were somewhat unrelated to what might be in normal job description like: “must be able to wash your own dishes” or “must like working around adorable dogs” (it was a pet friendly space). Each company is different (no matter how big or small you are) so use that to your advantage and make yourself stand out.
These are just a few tips that can help you write (or improve) a job description and that is usually the first step to attracting fabulous talent–I am sure there are lots more though! Do you have any other ideas or tips for writing your job descriptions that have worked well? If so, please include them in the comments! 
-kate
Recently a friend of mine suggested I take a look at a slideshow Netflix put together on their culture. The slide show is long (128 slides) but I definitely think it is worth the pass through as it embodies and codifies a lot of traits most organizations would like to adopt.
Some of these are familiar to me–encourage passion and innovation, give people a framework and let them have the freedom to grow within it, and keep your top talent (and let go of the others). But some of the methods they use were not ones I had encountered in my career. The innovations I found most intereting tended to pertain to their take on compensation:
- One of their philosophies is to pay top of market. I have yet to work somewhere where that is the case for any position. In fact, many of the places I am familiar with have paid below market for the “privilege of working on interesting problems” or some other such statement. I loved this idea because it means that no one is ever going to leave for financial reasons–so many people measure their worth based on compensation and so by paying the top market rate no one on your staff can feel undervalued or unequally compensated.
- Another approach they took was to treat compensation like a pile of beans–a person can then use those beans to buy stock, get health insurance, etc. Doing this helps employees see the value of things like good health care, or stock options. Doing this effectively does away with “golden handcuffs”, since the stock vests right away and your compensation year over year is your compensation. I think this is much harder to adopt for startups where you don’t have the flexibility of allowing employees to choose different health care options, and stock options are more optimistic–but it is definitely a good way to help employees see the value in the benefits that come with a job outside of raw salary. Maybe if you are a small company, you could actually list the costs as line items or something? Certainly food for thought.
- And finally, give generous severance packages. The reason they do this is that it allows managers to let go of an employee and not feel bad about the decision. I wonder how generous is “generous” though? I would think it would have to be at least 3 months if not more (since a lot of people need that long to find a new job). I am not sure if this makes sense for a small company though (since you don’t always have the money for those big cash payments). However, there is one thing I am sure of–as soon as you know a person isn’t the right fit or doesn’t have the right skills it is best to let them go. Sometimes coaching can help, but in small companies where there is little margin for error you don’t necessarily have the time to coach someone.
There is a lot of other great material in the slide deck on setting the right tone for your company and managing your employees. I would strongly suggest going through the presentation for anyone in a management role.
Recently I have noticed a trend with candidates putting a snapshot of themselves on their resume (and these aren’t actors or some sort of role that involves facing the public–these are people vying for engineering roles). Some look like slick professional photos–similar to what you might see from one of those promotional speakers at those self-help or make-money-fast seminars. Others look reminiscent of a mug shot photo, and come off as anything but friendly. But, with each picture I find myself often influenced one way or another.
When it comes to interviewing it is important to remove your biases. You are supposed to focus on the candidate’s skills and try to ask questions and evaluate them objectively–otherwise you are capable of missing great candidates (and of course outright discrimination is illegal). When someone puts a picture on a resume I can’t help but think it will bias some hiring managers. It seems like doing this couldn’t possibly help someone get a job.
If you look too good people may doubt your competence (think about all the dumb blonde jokes). If you are too attractive you may seem like you are trying to get a job because of your looks. If you look too young people may see you as inexperienced, if you look too old people may view you as too experienced (afterall who hasn’t met the 24 year old guy who looks 40?). And if you look unattractive or unfriendly they may not see you as a good fit for the culture right out of the gate. So if you are tempted, don’t do it. Pictures on your resume are definitely a “Don’t”.
Early in my career I lived up to the mantra “work hard, play hard.” There were many days when I would come into the office after a late night of eating, drinking and being merry. Of course, when you don’t get enough sleep, and calling in sick is not an option (I don’t know about most of you but I save up at least some of my sick days for the purpose of recovery) it is important to know how to come into the office looking fabulous, and most importantly professional (and have it not interfere with your job performance).
If you are coming in from a flight, you can use the excuse of an airport delay (since it happens to everyone). Go home and freshen up and head in late. Just make sure you turn off your cellphone, so it doesn’t give you away in the event someone calls looking for you. You should also plan on being the last to leave the office, so pack plenty of caffiene.
If it was just a late night then head in, large sunglasses in tow and let your colleagues know you are feeling a bit under the weather. Clear your calendar of all non-essential meetings–afterall it isn’t like you can make important decisions in your condition. Try to prioritize tasks you don’t normally get to but may not require a lot of will power–filing, cleaning your desk, returning phone calls or emails, writing thank you notes. At least that way part of yoru day will be productive. Drink some tea and eat healthy foods (helps with recovery). Finally try to get out of the office a little early and get some rest, you will need to compensate for your lost day tomorrow.
I subscribe to a lot of newsletters. My email box is filled with around 25-35 new emails messages daily that come from various shopping sites to which I subscribe (you get advance notice of sales, coupons, etc), and a few other select sites. One of those sites is The Ladders. I used this site when I was helping a friend of mine look for a new job (it is a site used to search for $100k+ jobs). And while I don’t advocate working for someone else, this site and their newsletters has some of the best career advice out there.
Today one thing that caught my attention was an article written about creating your own brand. The author talks about building your brand and reputation both online and offline. He emphasizes the importance of being an expert, and making yourself known–networking is about quality not quantity:
Focus on real world interaction with people. Have the kind of conversations that will make people remember you, not run the other direction because you are hounding them. Be genuine. Be thoughtful. Find ways you can help people as much as they can help you. These tenets may seem natural to some, foreign to others, but in any case, they will go a long way in building your brand.
The thing I liked most about the article is that it gave some some useful tools and advice, namely:
- Get involved in your trade–speak at panels, attend networking events, write articles, etc.
- Build your network in a good way (not just collecting business cards)
- Even when you are working for your company think about how your contacts and interactions can work for you and your reputation
- Be memorable
In general I don’t think I am very good at these things. I am clumsy in social settings and I tend to be so focused on the task at hand I seldom think about myself in a larger capacity. Though to really use this advice I need to think through it all a bit more.
One thing though, is that is also made me think about my website and the fact that everything I write about is all over the board. I sometimes feel like I am not really an expert in anything I am just kind of good at a lot of things. Furthermore, I think I have so many interests and hobbies there isn’t one thing I am entirely focused on. I had originally hoped to move this site in a more concrete direction–focused on fashion and finance–since those are the things that interest me most but my entries are all over the board on everything I feel is worth sharing with the world. I will have to spend some time thinking about this too! Lots of food for thought!
Hope you enjoy the article (and there is lots of other good articles in the career advice section–I would strongly recommend checking it out).
So this weekend was the 6th weekend in a row that I had worked. And I am not talking a little email here and there, I am talking about full on sitting down at my computer and working for multiple hours. Normally I am not one to complain, and I truly love the company I where I work, but after all these hours and personal sacrifice one has to ask—is it worth it?
As I have mentioned previously I left my corporate job to join a startup, thinking that longer hours and less pay would have the chance at a larger return in the future because of the stock options. I still believe that to be true. However, given all my hard work I have been thinking more and more that I want to start my own company and become a founder. I work hard enough to be one (so I know the work ethic is there) and I know I am smart enough–so what is stopping me?
To answer this question I put together a list of everything I could think of as my excuses:
- The regular paycheck. I am not a one person household (if you are, and you are reading this, you should go and start your own company because things change when you have others who depend on you) and I worry about what not having a paycheck will do to the people who matter most to me. Part of this is because I am scared of what not having regular money will affect my life. It is weird but I have had this fear since I have been a child. This is why I have never even gone more than a week or so without a job. Yes, that is right the 3 times I have changed careers I haven’t taken a week off. In 2 of the 3 instances I quit on a Friday and started the new job on a Monday.
- Fear of failure. Again this is more related to the paycheck thing. I am worried that even if my idea is good and I am able to move it forward I won’t be able to make enough money to sustain our lives. It is kind of weird, since I am not as worried about the business and am more worried about my personal vitality. I guess I have a ton of confidence in being able to execute and build a successful business–it just always seems easier to do under the safety net of someone else.
- Lack of the perfect idea. I have a whole bunch of good ideas, and I have done enough research I know that they are viable. However, I still worry that it won’t be successful enough.
- Leaving my current position. I love the company where I work, and I like to think that I am important there. Needless to say that those are hefty reservations that would make it very difficult for me to leave.
So that is where I am at right now with my thinking. I am working on saving up a nest egg, so I have the option of taking time off and not working to start my own company. I really can’t do anything part time (other than ponder my ideas of course)–mostly because I work so much at my job and trying to do two things would mean spreading myself too thin (which for me typically means not doing a particularly good job at either endeavor).
In the interim I am going to keep blogging on my progress, but I am open to any suggestions or words of encouragement
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