Make More of Your Job

Every Day is a Job Interview

Perhaps the best advice I received early on in my career was to think of every day at work like a job interview. I still run into instances today where I know this advice can be put to use in other people's careers.

A majority of the time, I take a suburban commuter train to my office in downtown Chicago.  Because these commuter trains run on a consistent schedule, you end up seeing the same group of people day in and day out on your train.  Over time, I’ve gotten to know a few of the passengers I ride with. One of the passengers on my train is a nice young guy, probably early 20s. Let’s call him "Joe." Occasionally, Joe and I end up on the same car and converse casually about current events and the like.  We don’t speak extensively about work, but we’ve talked enough for me to know that he’s an entry-level securities analyst for one of the larger firms here in Chicago.

He’s had the job for a little over a year, and in that time I’ve seen quite a change in Joe, and not for the better.  The funny thing is, his attitude hasn’t changed much at all. He still goes to work early, is always upbeat and generally energetic.  What has changed, and quite dramatically, is his appearance.

When I think back to the first few times I spoke with Joe, he was always well put together in a suit and tie.  This was around the time he started with his firm and it appeared he was doing his best to send a message to his employers that he was professional.  Over time, however, Joe lost the tie, then the suit altogether, and now it often looks like his shirts aren’t even ironed.

I don’t get the sense that he’s disillusioned with his job, but I definitely get the sense that he’s comfortable. That can be very dangerous.  One day last week, I ran into Joe on the train and he hadn’t even bothered to shave that day.  We have a lighthearted rapport, so I joked with him and asked if he had a rough night. 

To that, he said, “No, I never drink on a work night, but it’s not like I’m going on a date. Who do I have to impress?”

His nonchalant reply struck me. The truth is, if you’re trying to make the most of your job, you have everyone to impress. From the second you arrive at the office until the moment you leave at night, you are constantly being assessed by your peers and superiors. You never know who might notice your work ethic, behavior or even your appearance.  Despite seeming like a model employee, the fact that Joe implying that he doesn't need to appear professional for his role may end up hurting him in the long run. Especially in big firms where the higher-ups don’t even know everyone’s names, it can’t hurt to make the extra effort to be noticed and send the message that you are a consummate professional.

This was a golden opportunity for me to pass on the same advice I had been given at the same time in my career. I told him to think of his appearance as part of his everyday job interview and that he might want to consider picking the up the razor each morning. Don’t get me wrong, I’m certainly no fashion plate myself, and I know that dress codes do vary widely depending on the office environment. But putting on a tie, a belt and a matching pair of socks, and shaving my face every day is the least I can do to show respect to the job and company that I love. Though I have my on days and off days like everyone else, I always try to treat my job like an ongoing interview and send the message every day that I am deeply committed to what I do.

I haven’t run into Joe again since our chat on the train, but I'm curious to see next time if he took any of my comments to heart.  If nothing else, it reminded me of how important the messages we send to others can be in our careers.  Just the simple process of thinking about these messages can help us to find ways to make the most of our jobs every day.

It’s not about being perfect. It’s about demonstrating your commitment through actions, appearance and attitude.  If you do that day after day, you will be noticed and rewarded.

Quit Playing Games

Do you really want to move up in the corporate world?  If so you’re going to have to make the commitment to literally quit playing games.

As a manager, I like a good video game, or stock price, or forwarded email as much as the next guy. But chances are most workers letting these digital distractions sap their productivity.  I am often surprised by the brazen openness with which people sit at their well-paid corporate gigs and openly waste the company’s time on Instant Messenger or MySpace.

Your company pays you to act in ways that advance the bottom line, and with very few exceptions, futzing around on the internet probably isn’t one of them.  I get it, if you want to read a funny email or two or play a quick round of an online game during a quick break, it’s probably not the end of the world.  But for many of the workers in today’s offices, these digital distractions are not a mere diversion attended to for a handful of moments each day. They are chronic time-wasters that add up to hours of wasted potential.

You know which category you fall into.  Do you watch that latest YouTube video every once in a while, or are you the guy who has IM open all day long?  If it’s the latter, don’t be shocked if you’re sitting in the same dead end job 15 years from now (if you even have a job at all).

Wasting time on the internet isn’t just about wasting time, it’s about respect.  When you are sitting at your desk, most likely within view of coworkers, clicking away at your iTunes, you’re sending a strong message that your work is unimportant or boring to you.  Again, if you’re the type who only logs on to chat when you’re really out of work for the moment it’s probably not a huge problem (though, if I were your manager, I'd love it if you asked me for more work). But if you’re wasting time entertaining yourself and you have work that isn’t done, you might as well be screaming “Screw you!” to the entire company.

If you’re one of those people who is wasting a lot of time on digital distractions, and you know who you are, be warned that you're probably not as fast at minimizing those distractions when your coworkers walk by as you think you are. In my experience, trying to minimize your digital distractions before you are seen is the biggest career limiter of all.  As an employer, when you quickly minimize your screen as I walk by it tells me one of two things:

• You were wasting time, not taking a break from work that you've completed.
• You might have been doing something inappropriate or offensive.

By trying to minimize the screen you are showing that you know what you were doing was wrong, but you did it anyway. If you're that willing to demonstrate to others that you're doing things that might be damaging to your company's bottom line, and that easily caught by your coworkers, you're probably wasting more time and money than any manager would like to know.

So think about it, if you’re distracting yourself more than you’re actually working you need to ask yourself some tough questions.

• Am I bored by my job?
• Do I have poor work ethic? 
• Can I reduce the distractions that keep me from being productive? If so, how can I reduce those distractions?

At the end of the day, admitting you have a problem might be just what you need to improve, or if you even want to improve. For me, the bottom line is simple: if you expect me to increase your compensation or give you a promotion, quit playing games.

Easy Credit, Hard Facts

When I was growing up, if you wanted to purchase something - say, a pair of jeans - you saved your money until you had enough, then went to the store and bought it.  Even today, when you walk into a retail store to pick up an item, that vendor expects to get paid before you walk away with the goods. That’s just the way the equation should work: earn first, purchase second. 

Unfortunately, the consumer credit industry has forever altered the way Americans think about getting what they want. Today, people think nothing of purchasing things that they haven’t even begun to save for.  Worse yet, the mass availability of easy credit allows many people to purchase things they absolutely can’t afford, tempting them into this downward spiral with the promise of small easy payments, letting piles of interest and debt accumulate.  I'm no financial planner, or even a social commentator, but the mentality of "get now, pay later" has become so pervasive,  we’re starting to see it enter the workplace.

Many workers today have become so accustomed to the concept of instant gratification that they expect the same thing when it comes to their careers.  "If I can have a Flat Screen TV in my living room without working hard to pay for it up front, why shouldn't I expect the same from my job?" one might ask.

These employees seem to think that they are entitled to positions or compensation based on their potential rather than their proven track record.  Because they believe they deserve the job or pay rate, they also seem to think that it should be given to them first.  Only then should they be expected to earn it or demonstrate their value. 

According to the US Department of Labor, today’s average college graduate will have between 10-14 jobs in the first 15 years of their career.  That just goes to show that long-term thinking is currently in very short supply.  Leaving a job for a significant (20%+) compensation increase or a completely new challenge (think vertical move, not lateral) often makes sense, but all of this modern job hopping is getting many people nowhere fast. 

Today's job market is great for employees, with companies getting more desperate by the day to find capable people, so there’s a deep availability of short term options.  These days, people seem to be collecting as many small lateral job moves as they can with modest pay increases. Each of these moves allows them to get what they want right then and there. They never hold the job for long, but instead bounce to a new employer (usually in the same capacity) who’s willing to give them a small bump in title or compensation. But they do pay later.

Anyone who believes that they’re learning all that they can from a job in only one year is just fooling themselves.  If you’re at a job for a year or less, chances are all of the learning you are doing is about a new company, not about how to be better at your chosen career.  Furthermore, leaving the job after so little time in the saddle is preventing these employees from gaining the greatest asset available in the quest for upward mobility: a significant, reliable network.  It’s not a resume that helps employees make quantum leaps in the level of their employment, it’s people they meet along the way who have positive comprehensive exposure to the talent these employees possess. 

If no one ever sees what you can do for longer than 12 months, I doubt there will be anyone willing to take the kind of risk giving you a big promotion would require.  If you expect a promotion or a pay increase, I expect you to earn it upfront by putting in the effort and time before you get that shiny new job.  I don’t care how brilliant or interesting or hard working you could be. All I care about when looking to promote is what you actually are. 

Just as we spend small amounts we don't have on our credit cards, each of these job jumps is a small, seemingly harmless transaction. The truth is they are all a part of a greater pattern. If you have too many lateral moves, you will undoubtedly become overpriced in the market, loaded down with a hefty price tag but little actual career, network, and skill set development. Just as adding a few dollars to you credit card bill each month will eventually create a huge amount of debt, raising your price tag without putting in the time and effort will create a huge amount of career debt. And you can't file for bankruptcy in your career.

The next time you catch yourself thinking you deserve more even though you aren’t giving any more, take a reality check for a minute and get yourself back in line.  We live in a free market society, which means sooner or later your value will settle at what you’re actually worth. That’s the beauty of supply and demand.  You’d be much better off trying to drive that value up by adding skill than you would to falsely inflate it temporarily by bouncing to a new employer.  I’m not suggesting you stay in a dead-end job, or even that you stay in a great job that offers no upward mobility. However, saving up a few years at a job that offers you ample opportunity to grow will pay off when you go for that next big step in your career.

There is No Perfect Job

Recently I was having a one-on-one meeting with an employee to discuss her future at the company. The conversation went something like this:

"I'm having trouble finding the perfect job," she said.

My response? "And you always will."

The truth is simple: there is no "perfect job."

We live in a time that is filled with more information and opportunity than ever before, but we are also surrounded by the biggest threat the world has ever had to our happiness as a people: marketing.

Marketing messages bombard us on a daily basis, and these messages carry flagrantly hyperbolic messages about what life should be. As a result, we’re quickly being trained to always want more and never be happy with what we have.

Now, this quest for perfection has even pervaded the workplace. Employees are on a constant search for the perfect job. To many, this job would be low-stress, high-pay and allow for tons of free time. However, compensation is about market demand. Any low-stress, low-hours job would be in high demand and therefore would pay very little.

I hate to say it, but in searching for your perfect job, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. If you’re trying to find the perfect job, you’re going to find yourself running in circles. What you can do, however, is start looking for the best (not perfect) job for you and your life.

Finding the best job for you is relatively easy if you accept two concrete truths: that 1) it has to be an available job and 2) you have to be qualified to do it.  If you can’t answer "yes" to both these terms, then you’re setting yourself up to fail. 

You’re an individual, which also means that you shouldn’t let other people tell you about what your priorities should be, that’s personal.  A low-paying job may very well be the best job for you if what’s really important is free time.  Similarly, a job at an unknown firm may be your best bet if you’re looking for fast growth and quick upward mobility.  Neither of those jobs are perfect, but they’d be great for the right person.

Additionally, you should realize that all jobs are going to come with their own share of pros and cons. What you should be looking for is that combination, or balance, of factors that make the job fit best for your life. Simply stop thinking in terms of the “cons” of your job and start thinking in terms of “trade-offs." If the trade-off isn’t worth it, move on. But if it is, what you get in return it certainly isn’t negative.

By focusing on the best combination of factors for you and your life, you start looking for balance rather than perfection. I’m not suggesting that you should lower your standards. Instead, you should make sure they’re realistic.  Nothing is perfect in life, but there’s something out there that will be just right for you.

Get Your Ideas Out There

I’ve shared with you in past posts that almost all of the corporate promotions I’ve had in life have been positions that were created for me; I didn't take jobs that already existed. This is a trait I've found common in many successful business people I meet. Having a job created for you usually ensures a pretty good fit, but in order for it to happen, your company has to be willing to listen to your ideas. If you're lucky, some companies will even provide a platform for employees to submit these business ideas and give you a chance to lead their implementation.

However, many of us find it hard to get our opinions heard. Brazen Careerist has some great advice on how you can make your company’s ears perk up. Even if your idea is not implemented at your organization, you will find that practice makes perfect. Every time you go through the process of seeking out, researching, and presenting new business ideas, your skill set will improve.

The Employee Who Cried Wolf

On this blog, the process of being promoted is serious business.  Sometimes vying for career advancement the wrong way can come with serious consequences.  One of the quickest ways to sabotage your upward mobility at work is to become the employee who cried wolf.

A while back, I had a well-liked employee who consistently voiced his desire to take his career to the next level.  This employee was good (not great) at his job, but was so well-liked and committed to the company that there were many people interested in helping him achieve his personal advancement goals.

Over a period of six months, this employee met with nearly a dozen departments to discuss opportunities they might be able to provide him. He kept his manager in the loop about the process and was frank about the fact that he wasn’t necessarily looking to leave immediately. He was, however, getting to the point where he felt he was ready for an additional challenge.

At first the process went well, as the employee was good at networking and was able to easily make connections with colleagues in other departments.  With a reputation as a solid individual, people were excited to speak with him about becoming a part of their team in the future.  Before long, however, the situation turned sour.

At each of these meetings, the employee would show considerable enthusiasm about the department he was meeting with.  He was an optimist and his excitement was genuine, but the other departments consistently took his reaction as proof positive he wanted to be a part of their team when a position opened up. 

Every time a role appeared, however, he declined the offer.  There was always a different reason: not his cup of tea, too risky, not enough upside for him, etc. Unit by unit, he began to burn bridges across the company with groups that felt he had led them down the aisle and left them standing at the alter.

As he continued interviewing around the company, his own employees began to question his loyalty to them.  He interviewed for so many different, unrelated jobs that they began getting the message that he was looking for anything as long as it wasn’t managing them.  Of course, this made them wonder if there was something wrong with them, or the unit they worked for, and the morale began to decline. Before long, the situation reached critical mass. The team he managed deserved a leader who was committed to them and checked into his daily job. In order to salvage the morale of the team, his manager was forced to let him go. 

Despite the fact that this employee needed to move on, his manager still felt the employee was valuable and well-liked and was willing to help him find a new role rather than terminate him from the company. When the word was sent out that this employee needed a new role, there were no takers.  All of the other divisions had been through this process before and felt that now he was willing to look at their job only because he needed it. 

Because this employee had cried wolf so many times before, there was no one left to listen when the situation was serious.  The employee had made the chronic mistake of talking a big game, but never pulling the trigger. In the end, the opportunities had totally dried up.

Nobody wants to be treated as a last resort. Employers want employees that have a desire to work for them, not employees who would merely settle for their role.  If you’re looking to move ahead in your career, don’t become the employee who cried wolf.  It’s important to realize that once you state that you’re ready for a change, the clock starts ticking and time is limited before the goodwill runs out.  When it’s your time to move up, be ready to act decisively, as failure to do so could find you out of a job altogether.

Make More of Your Promotion

Though a large portion of this blog is dedicated to showing you how to take your career to the next level, I also cannot stress enough the importance of knowing what to do once you get that promotion.  It’s obvious that making a move upward is a great opportunity, but it’s important that you don’t make some frequent mistakes that can take the luster off of the shiny new role.

The following are some basic rules that can be applied to anyone who just got a raise or promotion.  If you follow these rules, you can make sure that your career advancement continues instead of stalling after one good push.

• Be grateful – Any time you get a raise or promotion, you should take the time to thank the people who helped you get there, and this doesn’t just mean the person who made the decision.  Writing a thank-you note to each of the people who helped you on the path to success will generate an enormous amount of goodwill and establish you as the type of person willing to share the credit for your success.  Remember, thanking people never has a downside.
• Celebrate…but only a little – It’s important to take some time to savor your latest career success, but do it in private and outside of the work environment.  Remember, if you just got the raise or promotion, it most likely means that someone else was turned down.  Any on-site display of celebration would be insensitive to people whose support you may need in your new role.
• Save the money – It’s always a good thing to reward yourself for the hard work that has finally paid off.  Upping your standard of living will help motivate you to keep pushing for the next level of personal achievement. However, it would be a mistake to spend the whole raise.  A pay increase is a perfect opportunity to increase your retirement savings (a move that will greatly reduce your stress later in your career) without feeling any pain. If you’re not maxing out your 401k, put half the raise there. Not only is it a quick way to save, but a chance to keep yourself in a lower tax bracket.
• Help someone else succeed – Each time you move up, you have become an expert on what it takes to achieve.  You should realize that there are people beneath you in the organization who will value your guidance on the topic, as they’re looking to do the same thing for themselves.  Helping someone else move up will not only make you feel good, it will help you build a network and will keep your good career-advancement karma going.

Taking Risks Requires Planning

So many of the people I talk to about career advancement feel like they could really do more with their lives, but leaving their job would just be too much of a risk.  Unfortunately, there is almost no such thing as a big career move that comes with zero risk; so many people end up staying put instead of moving their life to the next level.

Let’s use two imaginary employees to illustrate how to manage risk in career advancement.

Dick and Jane are both up for the same promotion to Director of Operations at their company.  The job pays about $20K more that either Dick or Jane is earning today, but it is also a highly visible position in the company, and therefore comes with a significant pressure to perform.  Success in the role would guarantee huge financial gains. Failure in the role, however, might lead to quick termination and certain financial loss.

• Dick looks at the opportunity and is terrified.  Dick and his family have been living paycheck to paycheck and the thought of losing his job right after a big promotion is his worst nightmare.  If he were unable to perform in the new role, he wouldn't be able to support his family and would be viewed as a failure.  Dick knows that he couldn’t handle that kind of pressure and do the job well, so he takes himself out of consideration for the role.

• Jane looks at the opportunity differently.  Jane and her family live modestly and have put away a few months worth of funds in case of an emergency.  Jane can’t afford not to work and the thought of failing at this new role is scary. However, the $20K increase would mean a lot to her family’s future and the challenge of a new position would be exhilarating.  Jane knows that the worst case scenario is that the job is a bad fit, in which case she could try to get her old job back or at the absolute worst get a job similar to it at a new company.  Money for bills during a subsequent job search could be taken from the emergency fund if it came down to it.  The best case scenario is that the job goes swimmingly and the $20K increase is just the tip of the iceberg.  After weighing her options Jane believes the possible gain vastly outweighs the risk and fiercely pursues the position.

The key difference here? Jane has planned accordingly to take advantage of risk in her life. She expects and welcomes risk, knowing she has a safety net. Dick shies away from it because there will be nothing there to catch him if he falls. And as we've discussed before, worrying about your financial situation can only hinder your productivity at work. If Dick is so worried about his finances and his performance, what's really motivating him to perform?

Both Dick and Jane could be qualified for the job, but non-work life decisions might make it impossible for one of them.  It’s a shame when poor planning get in the way of a talented employees future prospects, as both the individual and their company lose.

The key to a successful and balanced career isn’t avoiding risk, it’s understanding how to manage it and planning your life accordingly. It’s true that any new career opportunity comes with risk, but it’s possible to balance your life so that the risk isn’t nearly as scary.   

Maybe it’s time to ask yourself if you have planned your life to lessen the impact of future risk. Or are you setting yourself up for failure before you even get started?

Never Follow the Rules

When it comes to advancing your career, following the rules is a terrible idea. Before you assume that I’ve gone completely off my rocker, let me explain myself.  What I’m suggesting is: if you want to move up the corporate ladder, you should never just follow the rules.

When looking for employees to promote, managers are always searching for someone who is painting themselves in a positive light by going above and beyond the basic expectations set forth by their company.  When employees simply follow the rules, and nothing more, it's often a sign that they aren’t promotion material. 

Remember: just because you’re not doing anything wrong doesn’t mean that you’re doing anything well.

Here are the 3 excuses we all use that can sabotage our promotion chances:

#1 – “But you said...”
The “but you said” rule-follower always does exactly what was asked of them and not a single thing more.  If you ask this person to be at work at 8:00AM, they’ll do it, but it would never occur to them to show up at 7:45.  The “but you said” rule follower is only worried about adhering to the letter of the law, not doing what actually makes the most sense.  More often than not, they don’t have bad intentions, but they’re just lazy.

#2 – “No one ever told me that...”
The “no one ever told me that” rule-follower is someone who uses rules as a way to avoid going above and beyond.   This is the type of employee who always thinks of themselves.  If you tell them they can expense up to $300 per night when traveling, they’ll expense exactly $300 and stay in the nicest room at that price.  When you ask them “Couldn’t you have found a cheaper hotel room,” they’ll say, “No one ever told me to do that.”  They’re not as dumb as they act, they're just dishonest and looking for an easy way out.

#3 – “Because that’s the rule...”
The “because that’s the rule” follower uses rules as an excuse not to think.  If the company has always sent packages to a satellite office via overnight express, this person will do that even if the package doesn’t need to be there for a week.  This person isn’t thinking about serving their own best interests and they aren’t thinking about serving the company’s best interests either. In short, they're just not thinking.

Have you found yourself using one of these excuses to make your job easier? Next time you start to hear yourself saying or thinking one of these phrases, take a step back and think harder about how you can think more critically and productively.

Start Acting Like a Leader

I speak to a lot people about their career goals. One of the most common goals people strive for is to move into leadership.  However, the toughest part about achieving that goal is finding a way to hone your management skills before you have to do it for a living.

Take a look around your company or your community and you’ll find that there are lots of opportunities for you to take on a leadership role any time you want.  Most companies have brainstorming groups, peer review boards and project committees.  Your community is undoubtedly in great need of leaders for charity drives, book clubs or even coaches for sports teams.  Any one of these groups can offer you an opportunity to test your skills as a leader and get a taste for what a professional management role might require.

Finding a way to exercise active leadership behavior before you are employed as a manager is a good idea for many reasons. First, getting involved in one or more of these activities will give you the chance to practice your leadership skills in a safe environment where you’re not paid or expected to be the expert.  It’s a simple fact that most of us learn by trial and error; it’s always a good idea to get some of your early mistakes out of the way in a low-pressure environment.  You may not be the best at leading a local book club or you may start out as a lousy little league coach, but making mistakes in these settings won’t cost your company a penny and people will be quicker to forgive your shortcomings in a volunteer position.

Additionally, taking on leadership roles in non-core areas can send a message to your superiors that you are interested in being an example. As your skill set improves, it will give you an opportunity to showcase your talents.  No one has ever been passed over for a management position because they were too involved in leadership roles in the company or their community.

Finally, testing your management capacity in a non-career area gives you the opportunity to make sure that leadership is something that you really want in the first place.  Over the years I’ve seen many people who chased after management roles because they thought it was the next logical career move, not because they really wanted it.  Leadership is a team sport and requires you to work as an example and a motivator, not a doer. When it comes down to it, some people just don’t like it.  It’s a great idea to give yourself a taste of that role before you accept a new position and find out it’s not for you.

The only real key to landing a leadership role is a commitment to developing the skills you’ll need to excel one that job becomes yours.  Why wait until the next position opens up when you could start your leadership journey today?  Get out there and find out what you’re made of!