At one point or another, you’ve probably thought about what it would be like to go into business for yourself. Maybe it came at the end of a rough day in the cube, or maybe it crossed your mind as you sat in rush hour traffic with no end in sight. Regardless of the situation, it probably went something like this: “Man, this is ridiculous. I wish I was my own boss. Then I wouldn’t have to put up with this crap!”. It’s definitely a tempting proposition, but have you really ever thought the whole process out?

Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s the situation: Your current project is fantastic. You like the people, the work is interesting, and your commute is a breeze. Did I mention that you only work eight hours a day, five days a week? To top it all off, you’ve been on the project for a good amount of time, making you an SME (subject matter expert) and well respected by your peers and your boss. Things couldn’t get more perfect right? Well, there is one little thing: You’re up for a promotion to manager next year, but you aren’t getting any lead roles. Without this experience, it’s going to be very tough for you to get promoted. What do you do?

Read the rest of this entry »

I came across this interesting article from EzineArticles today about how to retain Generation X employees for longer periods of time. His analysis is pretty good, I especially agree with his thoughts on Generation X’s need for constant job movement as a form of career security. He also makes some excellent suggestions as to how you can go about preventing this exodus from happening. They aren’t anything new, but more companies would be wise to implement them.

I’m really interested to see what other people think of this situation, drop me a line in the comments if you would like to discuss.

Without further ado, here’s the article:

Read the rest of this entry »

Are you considering quitting your job? Would you know if you are even ready to quit? This is a very important decision to make, and should not be taken lightly. However, you would be surprised how many people rush into this decision and then almost immediately regret it afterwards.

With this in mind, I’ve come up with the following three questions that you should ask yourself BEFORE you quit your job.

• Do you DREAD going to work every day? - Let’s clarify this: There is a big difference between “Dread” and “Not feeling like it”. The second option is what most of us feel on an occasional basis. Maybe we’re tired, hung-over, or what have you. However, dreading going to work is a whole new ball game. Every day, you hate going to work. It might even make you feel a little bit sick to your stomach. Sometimes, you call off sick because you just can’t stand going to work that day. This is dread. If you’re feeling like this, then that’s a good sign you might want to get a new job.

• Does your attention constantly wander at work? - Most people cruise the internet every once and awhile at work, just to take a small break from whatever they’re working on. However, in this case, you are constantly doing something, anything, besides working. You know you have deadlines, but you just don’t care (more on this in the next question). Excessively long lunch breaks, wandering around the office constantly, cruising the internet all the time, these are all symptoms that you might not be satisfied with your current job.

• Do you care about what you produce? - This is another big one. If your work comes out great, good for you. If not, no big loss. That’s how this kind of attitude works. Basically, if you don’t care about the outcome of your assignments, then you probably need a new job OR a new role on your current job (big “OR” here). The “OR” here is important because this might just signal that you need a new project or task to work on. Before you take the drastic step of quitting, you should investigate whether or not there is something else you could be doing in your current job that would be more satisfying.

The thing to keep in mind here is that you don’t necessarily have to answer “Yes” to all three of these questions to show that you’re ready to quit your job. Maybe only one of these apply, maybe only two. Conversely, just because you answer “Yes” to one or all three of these questions, it also doesn’t mean that you have to quit your job. Keep in mind that only you can end up making this decision, these questions are meant to act as more of a guide to help you make it rather than making it for you.

Are you in the market for a new job? Are you still employed? If you answered yes to both of these questions, then you should check out this new article on looking for a new job while still being employed before you start your search.

Quitting your job might be one of the trickiest situations that you can encounter. However, even trickier than quitting your job occurs right before you quit your job: Looking for a new job. When it comes down to it, you could quit your job before getting a new one if you have to. In my experience, it’s much more preferable to have something lined up before you quit your job. The question then becomes, how do you go about doing this?

Here are three things you should do in order to look for a new job while still being employed AND not burning any bridges along the way:

• Tell your boss - Does this sound crazy? Actually, it’s exactly the opposite. This is probably the best thing that you can do before you start looking for a new job. More than likely, if a new employer is interested in you, they are going to call your references. If you are even on decent terms with your current job, then you have someone there as a reference on your resume. Even if it’s not your boss, if they get a call then your boss is going to find out about it. This is not the way you want to keep on good terms with your current job. Schedule a meeting and tell your boss that you are planning on looking for a new job. Make sure you have the reasons that you are leaving ready beforehand to discuss with them. They will appreciate that you are giving them a heads-up as to your imminent departure, and coming from you is the best way they can hear about it.

• Don’t look at work - This is another biggie. You should avoid looking for a new job while at work at all costs. Looking for a new job at work (basically not doing any work for your current job) will certainly rub people the wrong way. This is a surefire method for getting a bad reference from your current employer. If you absolutely have to, such as you need to call someone from a possible new employer, do it on your lunch break and/or in private. Also, you should minimize the time at work that you are using to do this (taking two hours out of your work day is not suggested).

• Keep working hard - I’ve seen this happen a lot. Once someone starts looking for a new job, they quickly lose all interest in working hard in their current position. Again, this can mean nothing but bad things for you. You need to keep working hard regardless of the fact that you plan on leaving. Not only will your boss appreciate this, but your co-workers as well. You never know who you will work with or for in the future, so it’s best to not anger anybody by slacking off at the last moment.

One of the most important rules of business is this: Don’t burn any bridges on your way out. This may not always be possible, but you should do your best to make it happen. As I stated above, you never know who you will be working with or for five years from now. One of the people you work with now could be the person who decides whether or not you get hired in the future.

Just watched “Anchorman” the other day, couldn’t resist the headline.

Anyways, take a well-deserved Monday afternoon break and check out the following stories:

• $3.00 For Gas? - Yes, the insanity continues. I think I’m going to strap a solar panel to my car and make a run for it.
• Five Reasons to Skip College - An interesting look at what going to college actually gets you for the price.
• American Indian tribes try out golf - Not the playing part, the owning part. Sounds like good business to me, considering the casino tie in.

I’ve written a couple of articles that in some way relate to managing other people, and there are two reasons for this:

1. Managing other people is seen as the next step in almost all career paths.
2. Managing other people is one of the hardest skills to master.

In other words, you can never read enough about effectively managing other people. It’s in this line of thinking that I’m going to share with you one of the most important pieces of advice I can give: Lead by example.

Sounds simple enough, but you’d be surprised how often we do something that sends a bad message to our team. Here are three ways that you can send a good message to your team, and consequently make yourself a better team leader.

• First to arrive, Last to leave - In general, you should be the first one to arrive out of your team to work and the last one to leave. This sets a great example for the rest of your team as to the level of your commitment not only to your project but to them. It will really help to set a good work pace, as they can see you working right when they get in up until they leave. Now, this does not always have to apply. For example, if one of your team members needs to work overnight on something, you don’t have to stay with them. However, when you can, you should try to follow this tip.

• Don’t take “Sick” time - Now before you light the torches, let me explain. It’s perfectly fine to take a day off if you actually are sick. What I’m referring to is “Sick” days off, where you might be taking it for another reason (don’t even try to tell me you have never taken one). While in itself this is unacceptable, when you begin to be responsible for others it becomes even more so. You don’t have the liberty of not caring for a day, as people’s jobs could depend on you. What if you’re not there to answer a question and work stops? What if you miss a deadline because of that? This domino effect only gets worse, and it is something you need to think about before you call off.

• The “Bad mouthing” ends - This might be the single most important point of the three. When you are in charge, you need to keep morale as high as you can. This means that “Bad mouthing” other co-workers or your project pretty much ends. Think of it this way: If your manager starts talking about how awful your project is, what are you going to think? If they can’t handle it, how should you be able to? This also applies to your co-workers, especially any on your team. You should never rag on them, so to speak. Your team will take their cues from you, and you need to set a good example. They most likely need to work with these people, and you want that to go smoothly without anybody having any preconceived notions.

Your team performing better can only help you out in the long run. It’s a boon not only to your current project’s success, but to the success of your career as well.

The Performance Review. It seems that every company, organization, and t-ball league has one today. Not only are they rampant, but many times they are the single gateway to your next raise or promotion. The problem is that a lot of people don’t know how to get the most out of their review, and consequently they miss out on great opportunities. It’s not because they don’t want to get to that next level, it’s that they don’t know how. This is where the tips below come in. In my experience, if you really make an effort to work them into your routine, you will definitely see the difference the next time your review comes around.

• Analyze your last review - This is something that you should have done right after you’re last review. You want to start working on your weak areas immediately so that next time they are your strong areas. A good way to do this is to write down each weak area, and brainstorm how you can improve in that area. Write the resulting ideas down and keep this list visible at your desk. Make sure you try to work on at least one of the ideas everyday.

• Get intermediate feedback - I wrote a whole article on getting feedback, that’s how important it is. To make it short and sweet, the first time an area in which you can improve is identified to you should not be in the formal review. With that being said, it’s pretty much assured to happen. However, you can minimize this. Make sure you get feedback from not only your supervisor but also any team members whom you supervise on a regular basis. If you’re unsure how to do this, you can read my aforementioned article on asking for feedback.

• Prepare for your review - This is an extremely important piece of advice. Before your review, you need to make sure you get yourself prepared. For starters, if you can get your hands on the criteria for the review, take a look at it and try to fill it out like you were reviewing yourself. If you can’t, make a list of what you think your strong and weak areas are. Most importantly, be honest. If you can’t be honest with your weak areas especially, then don’t even bother following any of this advice. We all have weak areas, identifying them is the only way we improve on them. For your strengths, write down specific examples of how you are strong in each area. For example, if you are a good team leader, you could write that your team finished all of its work on schedule (list the specific milestones you hit). For your weaknesses, write down some ideas on how you could improve (similar to the first bullet point). Make sure to bring your lists to your review.

• Make your review a two way conversation - During your review, don’t just sit there like a fence post. Make sure you understand all of your supervisor’s points. If you think they are missing a strength in your review, take out your strength list and suggest some (along with your supporting examples). Also, if you think that they identify something as a weakness that you don’t think is, discuss it. The important thing to remember here is that this is your big chance. In my company, these reviews can be YEARLY. Once a year is not a lot. Say what you need to say, make sure you understand everything that went on. If you need to work on something, make sure that you know what direction to take. You can even ask your supervisor for suggestions. If they are already on your weakness list, bounce some of the ways to improve off your supervisor to see if they agree. Another thing that goes a long way is to show that you are actively taking charge of your career. Showing you are interested in maximizing your performance at work is guaranteed to raise your stock with your manager.

Note: These tips are based on the fact that you have a meeting to go over your review with your boss. If this is not the case, try to schedule one. Otherwise, do the best you can to take the review that they have given you and write up any questions/concerns you might have with it. Then, email them this list and try to initiate some kind of back and forth. Otherwise, the review doesn’t end up doing anybody much good.

These tips are guaranteed to make your next performance review better for both you and your boss. However, don’t limit yourself to these tips alone. If you can think of something else that will help, go for it. There probably are many things you can do that are specific to your line of work that can help you out. Make a concentrated effort, and I’m sure you’ll be glad with the results.