It is usually not my practice to re post articles here….but this one is spot on….well done and said John Sullivan…a great read for hiring authorities and senior job-seekers….enjoy…
Be Alert for Signs of a Bad Boss-to-Be
Many job applicants ignore warning signs about their boss-to-be. Yet recognizing the type of person you will be working for is one of the most important factors that should be considered when deciding whether to accept an offer, according to an article in The Wall Street Journal.
So keep a sharp outlook during a company’s courtship for hints that your hiring manager will morph into Ivan the Terrible Boss. According to the article, here are some common warning signs:
Easily Distracted: He arrives late for your twice-postponed interview. He can’t find your resume in his huge pile. He frequently interrupts you to take calls, check email or glance at his watch. Clearly, you or your coveted position isn’t his highest priority.
Poor Interaction: She offers a limp handshake, scant eye contact and shallow answers to your detailed questions about business. She stays seated behind a huge desk, arms folded cross her chest, and relegates you to a lower couch. This isn’t exactly someone committed to collaboration.
Me, Me, Me: The hiring manager talks solely about herself, giving current and former associates no credit for their accomplishments. The head of one major Philadelphia non-profit group spent much of his 30 minutes with a prospective fund-raising manager bragging about his feats there. When the newly-hired employee began work at the organization, she found the boss abusive. “He would scream at me in the middle of meetings in front of board members,” she told the newspaper. “I went into a very bad depression while I was working there.”
Negative Buzz: The fund-raising manager had checked out her would-be-boss with other community groups, but ignored their hesitant responses. She now believes that “if references aren’t effusive, that’s a warning sign.” It also helps just to look around the office. If no one appears happy, think twice before pursuing the job any further.
Wrong Line of Inquiry: Your interviewer wants to know your marital status, but he doesn’t ask much about your relevant skills. Intrusive personal questions could signal problems ahead with discrimination or workplace harassment. Meanwhile, a lack of serious talk might mean an aloof boss.
Stress Overload: How well a boss-to-be copes with stress during your interview speaks volumes about what it would be like on the job. Melissa Payner once turned down a middle management post with a New York retailer because the frazzled hiring manager repeatedly barked orders to his assistant, the article noted. “I felt as if he was looking to me to be the solution to his stress—almost to be his savior,” recalled Payner, president and CEO of Bluefly.com, an online fashion, accessories and home furnishings concern in New York.
Melissa Dantz, an advertising professional, missed signs twice that a hiring manager would be a bad boss. She accepted a job at a Boston-based ad agency, even though the owners failed to divulge their marriage to each other until after her job interview. She left after nine months, largely because she was expected to cover for the owners when they fabricated staffer names to show potential clients the tiny agency was larger than it was.
The following year, Dantz took a job with a suburban Boston event-production firm even though the officer interviewing her disparaged the prior incumbent. At work, that supervisor acted condescending toward everyone. Dantz quit after seven months. “The toll on my self confidence from the bad boss experiences was tremendous, and in retrospect avoidable,” she told the newspaper.
Despite the difficulty at times in recognizing bad-boss types, there are ways to hone your bad-boss detective radar. If job seekers “were just a little more attentive, they could save themselves a lot of grief,” suggested Dory Hollander, president of WiseWorkplaces, an executive-coaching firm in Arlington, Va. The Wall Street Journal article offered the following guidance issue:
@ Work, it Pays to be Likeable
The time-worn adage that nice guys finish last isn’t exactly true, according to an article in USA Today. In fact, growing research shows that likable employees may have more success on the job and that likability can even trump competence.
A study in the Harvard Business Review found that personal feelings toward an employee play a more important role in forming work relationships than is commonly acknowledged, the article pointed out. The study also indicated that this is even more important than how competent an employee is seen to be.
“We want to work with people that make us feel good to be around them,” said Tom Sanders, author of The Likeability Factor, which explores how having an appealing personality can positively influence life and careers. “Likability is the tiebreaker in almost anything.”
Likability is hard to define, but Sanders said people gravitate toward others who deliver psychological benefits. In other words, likability is the ability to produce a positive emotional experience in someone else, such as making co-workers feel good about themselves.
The Harvard Business Review study also found that employees don’t want to work with someone who is disliked, and it almost doesn’t matter how skilled they are. Indeed, co-workers who work with a likeable colleague are more comfortable with them, so work tends to be more collaborative.
“Organizations have traditionally focused on competencies and thinking ability of their staff,” Susan David, a psychologist and researcher at Yale University, told USA Today. “There is growing recognition, however, that job effectiveness can be undone if an employee is not likable. Being proficient at job tasks is of little comfort to the organization if an employee alienates clients or other staff.”
Research has also found that customers’ perceptions of the employees they deal with can influence their overall feelings toward a company. Nearly 60 percent of customers say that, when faced with rudeness, they take their business elsewhere, even if it means going out of their way or paying a higher price, according to a study by Eticon, a Columbia, S.C.-based provider of etiquette consulting for business.
Further, likable employees–especially those with skills in relationship building–are also more likely to get bigger pay raises and promotions, the article pointed out.
Some employees say likable employees are so important that they won’t hire anyone they think may have an attitude. Richard Laemer, chief executive of New York-based RLM Public Relations, said “no matter how experienced someone is, if they’re mean to people, they’re pretty much useless. I can’t work with someone who isn’t nice.”
But there can also be a downside, the article noted. Likable employees who lack skills or are seen as pushovers can lose out on management opportunities or can be seen as a liability, said Alexandra Levit, author of They Don’t Teach Corporate in College: A Twenty-Something’s Guide to the Business World.
For example, managers who are too likable can get too social with their subordinates, blurring the line between boss and friend. And younger Generation X or Generation Y employees can also try so hard to be liked that they come across as overly enthusiastic.
“There’s a tendency of young people, and even midcareer people, to say ‘yes’ all the time. In an effort to please, they do get pushed around. They get assigned too many tasks,” Levitt said. “Likability can be dangerous. Young people can be too enthusiastic, and it can irritate management. You can be too ‘rah rah.”
Overall, though, most employers agree that likability is a very important attribute and that it can clearly help employees when performance is lacking. “You can provide training to compensate for missing skills, but it’s almost impossible to compensate for personality,” added Tory Johnson, CEO of New York-based Women for Hire, which provides career fairs for women. “ It’s never worth hiring someone you dislike, or someone who’s likely to be disliked among staffers.”
FOLLOWING UP AFTER AN INTERVIEW
Comparisons between job hunting and dating are common, and never are they truer than when it comes to the follow-up after the initial interview or first date, according to an article fromCareerBuilder.com.
After either meeting, if you’re interested you want to let the other person know, but you don’t want to appear desperate. You also don’t want to feel foolish if the employer or the date had no intention of contacting you again.
On the other hand, what if the employer or the date is waiting for you to make the first call? If you don’t follow-up promptly, it might indicate a lack of interest and you might miss out on a great job or a great romance.
In the case of the interview, the article noted, you end up asking yourself many questions and imagining hypothetical situations. “If I follow up now, do I seem desperate? If I wait too long, will they think I’m lazy? What if I’m the front-runner but I bug them and they cross my name off the list? What if I’m tied with someone else and my initiative gives me the edge?” There are so many questions and no definite answers to any of them.
As with dating, job hunts don’t have rules set in stone and careful navigation is always key. At best, you need to do what feels right and see what happens; ultimately you have to use your judgment and hope for the best.
Here, from the CareerBuilder.com article, are three possible methods for following up with an employer after an interview and ways to know if you’ve crossed the line from eager to annoying:
1. The thank-you note is necessary after an interview, and no job seeker can afford to forgo it. Thank-you notes tell hiring managers that you respect their time. They have packed schedules and can afford to spend time interviewing only a select group of applicants, so your note acknowledges how grateful you are to get some face time.
Appropriate: An e-mailed note on the same day of the interview shows that you are courteous and don’t dawdle. For most employers, e-mail is the acceptable form of thanks because e-mail is a part of everyday business life and arrives quickly. A handwritten letter can be sent as a supplement to the e-mail if you want to stress your gratitude or you know the interviewer is old-fashioned.
Overkill: If you’re going to follow up with a letter after your follow-up letter, think again. You already said thank you, so what else do you need to say? Both you and the hiring manager know that another letter is your way of asking, “Did I get the job?” So don’t clog the hiring manager’s inbox with more notes unless you want to be thought of as a pest.
2. The phone call is daunting and may not be the correct move in every job situation. In fact, many job postings specifically state, “No phone calls.” Unless you’re feeling brave, you might want to skip it.
Appropriate: Unless you were specifically instructed not to call the hiring manager or another contact, you can make the call after an appropriate amount of time has passed. In this case, if you were given a deadline for when a decision would be made, let it pass and wait a few extra days and then make the call.
Overkill: The phone call is one of the easiest ways to sabotage your image. Call once, when appropriate, and don’t call again unless you’ve been told to. Phone calls are a nuisance in a way that letters and e-mails aren’t. You can decline to open a message or just read it and ignore it. A phone call is harder to ignore if it requires the hiring manager to screen his or her calls once you become a repeat offender. If the company wants you, it probably won’t forget to call you.
3. The pop-in visit causes you anxiety when your in-laws do it. Your place is a mess and suddenly you’re forced to entertain people who you might not like very much anyway. Don’t do that to an employer if you want to be considered for a job.
Appropriate: Stopping by to visit the company is rarely acceptable. Unless you have an explicit indication that you’re welcome to show up uninvited, which would actually imply that you are invited, showing up in person is inappropriate. This follow-up is one case where once is almost certainly too much.
Overkill: When you show up and the hiring manager or receptionist gives you a look that says, “Why are you here?” you’ll know you’ve crossed a line. Employers are busy — they have schedules, meetings, clients and tasks. By showing up unannounced, you not only disrupt their routine but also imply that you are more important than their obligations and deserve their immediate attention.
Of course, the article noted, you’re bound to meet someone who broke one of these rules and impressed the hiring manager by his or her audacity. Just be aware, though, that by doing so you’re risking your professional reputation and could be removing yourself from the running for a job where you were a top candidate.
Easing Back to Work After a Vacation
With summer vacation season in full swing, millions of American workers are taking a break — seeking replenishment from the daily office grind. But while numerous studies show that taking time off can do everything from boosting productivity to reducing heart-attack risks, vacations very often can have side effects that turn workers into inefficient space cadets upon their arrival back to the office.
In fact, according to surveys by a staffing company that does workplace research, it takes the average employee a day and half to resume productivity at work after a break, a Career Journal.com article pointed out. So with e-mails piled up and co-workers anxious to catch up on conversation, how can workers hit the ground running and avoid common blunders that can sabotage their first days back?
One strategy that some people employ, according to the article, is to tell colleagues a return date later than it really is, and getting home a few days early from vacation. Randy Pausch, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University who teaches time-management workshops, builds in a one-day cushion by setting the return date in his e-mail “out-of-office” replay message a day ahead of his actual return, and telling people he’s coming back later than he actually does. “You want time to process things before the live fire comes through the door,” he said.
Another good idea is not to fritter away your first day regaling co-workers with vacation tales, said Allison Hemming of the free-lance talent agency The Hired Guns. When in her early 20s, Hemming recalled, she was a vacation gabber. “I could go on for days about how blue the water was.” Her first boss offered a quick hint: “Take one really great story about your break, and stick to it.” Now, she offers a quick highlight – like catamaraning through caves in Nepal – then gets back to work.
But pick one story that telegraphs a message, the article pointed out. “If you’re in the 40-plus age group, communicate that you’re an active person. It wouldn’t hurt to say you had a good time going skiing, or mountain-climbing, or snow-shoeing,” said Don Sutaria of CareerQuest, a New Jeresy-based employment coaching firm.
One successful tactic used to avoid wasting time is to start treating yourself like an important colleague. “You schedule business meetings with everyone else – why not schedule time with yourself to work on specific projects?” said Jeffrey Mayer of SucceedingInBusiness.com. “Keep the appointment, turn off the phone, don’t check the e-mail every 45-seconds.” If you work better at certain times of day, schedule the most demanding tasks for those periods.
As you plow through your e-mail, keep an arsenal of sticky notes close by, the article noted. When you open something up that requires follow-up, “slap a Post-it on it saying what’s the next thing that needs to be done with the paper and how long it will take,” said Julie Morgenstern, an author of time-management books. Example: “Fill out form and return to HR.” Then keep a stack of these notes in your inbox, so the next time you’re stuck on hold on the phone you can deal with one or two instead of staring into space.
And don’t just skim your e-mail. You should try not to touch e-mail more than once. Morgenstern’s rule is if a response takes less than two minutes, do it immediately. If it takes longer, add a new item to your “to do” list.
After your initial e-mail sweep, don’t let your in-box run your day. “Your in-box is not your to-do list,” said Pausch. You’re better off setting aside a block of time per hour for e-mail – then give yourself long uninterrupted stretches to get regular work done.
If your boss starts dumping work on you, make it clear you’re busy. “Say, I’ve got these four other things to do, can you help me prioritize?” suggested Sean Covey of Franklin Covey, a productivity consulting firm in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Of course, the best strategy for a smooth re-entry is good planning before you take off, according to the CareerJournal.com article. In the weeks before you leave, train someone exactly how to do your job. “People think that if they hoard information, then they’ll have power,” said William Hubbart of Hubbart & Associates in St. Charles, Ill. That’s a mistake. If you don’t teach someone how to do your job, a lot less gets done while you’re away.
In addition, good back-ups make it less likely you’ll be contacted on your vacation. Pausch, the Carnegie Mellon professor, has another strategy for avoiding calls on vacation: He gives students and colleagues his wife’s cell phone number, instead of his own. “You have to create social barriers,” he said. “It’s a very strong reminder that they’re interrupting social time.”
Be Careful with Employee Referrals
Employee referrals are common practice at many companies – and to encourage them, many companies offer both cash and non-cash incentives. But while bringing new assets to a company can bring an employee extra cash and other rewards, it can also hurt his or her reputation if a candidate recommended is hired and doesn’t work out, according to an article in The Wall Street Journal.
When Cindy Sopp, senior operations supervisor at insurer Chubb Corp., was considering referring someone to her company for a job, she thought carefully about who might be a good fit. “I knew the individual for this particular job needed to be social, but not too social, work well with others, [be] responsible and not be afraid of hard work,” she explained.
Her candidate worked out well for the company, but Sopp pointed out that it’s important to think long and hard about the person you refer. “The candidate is a reflection on me – why would I refer someone that wasn’t right for the position?”
That advice is particularly important for employees thinking about recommending people for jobs who they don’t know well – or people who may be better friends than co-workers. Career counselors agree that referrals work best when employees have a strong grasp of the qualities a candidate has to offer.
Gerry Crispin and Mark Mehler, principals of CareerXroads, a recruiting-technology consulting firm in Kendall Park, N.J., found that 98 percent of 58 U.S. companies they surveyed earlier this year used referrals to recruit. Mehler said he has seen a variety of payments: “U.S. savings bonds, dinner for two; I’ve even seen [payments] as high as $50,000,” although he noted that that amount is rare.
Gloria Brooks, a human-resources business partner for Mitre Corp., a non-profit in McLean, Va., that manages three federally funded research and development centers, said 45 percent to 50 percent of Mitre’s hires come via employee referrals. “Employees aren’t referring friends and family members,” she told the newspaper. “They’re referring folks with strong work ethic because their name is at risk.” Mitre pays between $500 and $2,000, depending on the position, for employee referrals.
Indeed, referral programs are a cheaper way to bring in new blood “when you think of advertising and going through employment agencies and incurring relocation costs, said Dan Squires, founder and principal of Management Solutions Inc., a career-management firm in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
But sometimes the lure of extra money [and other rewards] can blind an employee to a candidate’s faults and that can be dangerous, according to the article. “If you don’t have experience with them, take a look at their résumé,” says Karen Armon, an executive coach at Alliance Resources in Littleton, Colo. “Who you refer takes on your credibility.”
In the end, though, it’s up to the company to decide whether a candidate is a good fit, noted Steve Gravenkemper, a psychologist with workplace consultancy Plante & Moran PLLC of Southfield, Mich. “It is the organization’s responsibility to do the selection by testing and reference checks,” he said.
According to The Wall Street Journal article, “a successful program has to educate employees about referrals as well as pay them,” said Squires of Management Solutions. “The incentive needs to be creative and generous. You need people to be active, actively looking for people to refer.” And employees who refer candidates should be rewarded regardless of how well the hires work out, he said. “If something goes wrong, it’s not the referrer’s fault, it’s the company’s.”
For sure, a bad fit hurts the new hire as well as the employee who recommended him, the article pointed out. “You messed up their career because they will probably be terminated down the line, and you didn’t do your due diligence,” Squires added. “You’re probably not going to get fired, but you’re judged by the company you keep.”
ADVICE FOR GETTING JOB REFERENCES
At some point during your job search, a potential employer will request references. Typically, it will be when the company is seriously interested in you as a potential hire. According to an article from About.com, it’s important to plan ahead and get your references in order before you need them. Keep in mind that good references can help you clinch a job offer, so be sure to have a strong list of references who are willing to attest to your capabilities.
Clearly, it’s important to be prepared to provide a list of employment references who can attest to the skills and qualifications that you have for the job you are applying for. Here from the article are some insights and guidance on the topic for jobseekers to consider:
How to Ask for a Reference
Do not use someone for a reference unless you have his or her permission. You need to be sure that you are asking the appropriate people to write a letter of reference or to give you a verbal reference. You also need to know what the reference giver is going to say about you. The best way to approach this is to ask the reference writer if they would mind if you used them as a reference. Then review the type of positions you are applying for with the reference giver, so they can tailor their comments to fit your circumstances.
Who to Ask for a Reference
Former bosses, co-workers, customers, vendors, and colleagues all make good professional references. So do college professors. If you’re just starting out in the workforce or if you haven’t worked in a while you can use character or personal references from people who know your skills and attributes.
Company Reference Policy
Be aware that some employers will not provide references, the article pointed out. Due to concerns about litigation, they will only provide job title, dates of employment, and salary history. If that’s the case, be creative and try to find alternative reference writers who are willing to speak to your qualifications.
Make a Reference List
Create a document listing your references. The list of references should not be included in your résumé. Rather, create a separate reference list on the same paper you used for your résumé. Have it ready to give to employers when you interview. Include three or four references, along with their job title, employer, and contact information. If the employer asks you to email your references, paste the list into the body of any email letter, rather than sending an attachment.
Paper vs. Personal References
Many employers won’t be interested in paper reference letters, though it’s still a good idea to have some, especially if you’re graduating from college, relocating, or the company you work for is going out of business. Instead, they will want to speak to your references so they can ask specific questions about your background to find out what type of employee you were and why you might be qualified for the job they are hiring for.
Request a Reference Letter
Every time you change employment, make a point of asking for a reference from your supervisor or a co-worker, the article pointed out. That way, you can create a file of recommendations from people you may not necessarily be able to track down years later.
Keep Your References Up-to-Date
Let your references know where your job search stands. Tell them who might be calling for a reference. When you get a new job, don’t forget to send a thank you note to those who provided you with a reference.
Maintain Your Network
Maintaining your reference network with periodic phone calls or notes to get and give updates is important. LinkedIn is considered an ideal way to keep your network up-to-date online. Have an active network in place because you never know when you might need it.
Requesting Permission
A prospective employer should ask your permission before contacting your references, the article noted. This is especially important if you are employed — you don’t want to surprise your current employer with a phone call checking your references. It’s perfectly acceptable to say that you are not comfortable with your current employer being contacted at the present time. However, always be sure you have a list of alternative references available.
NAVIGATING THE OFFICE HOLIDAY PARTY
For workers, holiday parties can be a wonderful opportunity to celebrate a successful year gone by, catch up with colleagues and hobnob with senior executives to try to get ahead. But, according to an article from The Wall Street Journal, there’s also a host of challenges that can confront employees – especially younger ones – from figuring out whom to bring to walking the fine line between being friendly and being flirty.
Here from the article are some do’s and don’t when it comes to these events:
Dress Appropriately: If you’re new to the company, talk to co-workers who have attended previous office functions to get a sense of what you should wear. “Dress conservatively, not like you are going to a club in Vegas,” advised Tom Gimbel, CEO of staffing firm LaSalle Network in Chicago. But he added, don’t take it “to the point where [you’re] wearing a suit where everybody is wearing jeans.
For women, “don’t wear anything low-cut, too short, too tight, too revealing,” said Jacqueline Whitmore, a business-etiquette expert in Palm Beach, Fla. She advises men to wear a nice pair of slacks and a sports jacket.
Keep the Conversation Light: Steer clear of talking about layoffs or pay freezes that have hurt morale, experts advised. “Try to keep the conversation upbeat,” said Barbara Pachter, president of Pachter & Associates, a business-etiquette and communications firm in Cherry Hill, N.J. If your company is merging or you’re adding new product lines, for example, these could be good subjects to talk about, she added.
Don’t Be a Gossip: While it’s fun to indulge in rumors about colleagues, you don’t want to be known as the person who’s always spreading juicy gossip. “You want to be known for your work ethic, you want to be known for your product you put out,” Gimbal told the newspaper. Instead he encourages people to stick to safe topics like sports, entertainment and what’s going on in the world.”
Network With Higher-Ups: Even if you’re intimidated by the group of VPs huddling in their own circle, don’t pass up the opportunity to meet these people who could be interviewing you when you’re up for your next promotion. Look for an opening to chime in on a topic that you know about.
If they don’t already know you, introduce yourself and say how long you’ve been with the company and what you do. Afterward, if you feel like you connected with someone senior, send them a follow-up e-mail saying it was nice to meet them, said Pachter. “What have you got to lose?”
Monitor Your Alcohol Use: Holiday parties are one of the few workplace events where imbibing is allowed and even encouraged to get people relaxed. However, just because alcohol is free-flowing at the bar doesn’t mean you should take that as a license to reprise your college frat parties, the article noted.
Most people head toward the bar and the buffet when they get to the a holiday party, and if they drink on an empty stomach they tend to get inebriated and then they could say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing,” Whitmore told the newspaper. “No 1 rule is; Don’t drink too much, monitor your alcohol intake. Usually, one or two drinks is plenty.”
Bring Your Significant Other: You should first check to make sure you’re even allowed to bring someone. If you are dating someone, invite that person only if you’ve been together awhile. You should also give your guest the lowdown on what your boss and co-workers are like.
“That person in many ways represents you, and also your judgment,” added Pachter. “So if you bring someone who gets rip-roaring drunk, and starts seducing other people, what does that say about you?”
Be Cautious with Social Networking Sites
Growing numbers of business professionals are connecting into social networking Web sites, such as Facebook, in an effort to build work relationships, meet new contacts, and better market themselves. But such sites also provide a window into people’s personal lives causing concern to some about giving people in the business world too much information. In a Q&A feature from The New York Times, careers columnist Matt Villano offered the following guidance on how workers can use social networking sites and maintain a professional demeanor.
Q: You have mixed feelings about giving professional contacts a window into your personal life via social networking sites. What should you do?
Proceed with caution. While it may seem harmless to establish virtual connections with your officemates, doing so might put you in an uncomfortable position at work, said Juliette Powell, who runs a career consulting business and wrote a book about social networking, “33 Million People in the Room.”
Social networking is “all about establishing boundaries,” she said. “If you have something online that you wouldn’t share openly with people in the office, you probably want to think twice about inviting them in.”
Q: Are some social networking outlets more business-oriented than others?
Of three popular sites – Linkedin, Facebook, and Twitter – only LinkedIn limits us
ers to posting business-related information like work experience and professional recommendations.
Q: What are the professional benefits of connecting with colleagues via online sites?
Employers can use them to complement their professional networks – a virtual extension of the traditional Rolodex. Artists post on MySpace and Twitter to advertise their work. Jobseekers use LinkedIn as a way to exchange interview tips.
Small business owners even conduct everyday operations over social networking sites. Serena Software, an application development company in Redwood City, Calif., uses Facebook as an unofficial company intranet, encouraging employees to share documents, post PowerPoint presentations and exchange e-mail messages there.
The company even allows employees an hour every Friday to explore the site and update their profiles. “We’re trying to achieve maximum collaboration,” Rene Bonavanie, the company’s senior vice president for marketing, told the newspaper. “If people are using this site for personal reasons anyway, why not encourage them to use it here, too?”
Q: What are the potential pitfalls?
Public embarrassment, for one. Comments on many social networking sites, much like blogs, exist forever, meaning that a person can access them at any time, read them and pass judgement accordingly.
Photographs can become a nuisance, too. Especially on a site like Facebook, where someone’s approved contacts can “tag” a user in a photo, there’s a chance that colleagues might come across images of you behaving wildly years ago at a college party, or performing drunken karaoke last weekend, or worse.
“Any time the camera comes out these days, there’s a chance the resulting photos will be on the Internet within hours,” said Nathan T. Wright, founder of Lava Row, a social media strategy firm in Des Moines. “If you’re going to have work people on these sites, you need to understand this threat.”
Dismissal is even possible if you post something unflattering about your employer in a status update or other feature that can be viewed by everyone on your network.
Q: To what extent can you control the information your connections see?
Every social networking Web site works differently. On LinkedIn, where all information is business-related, users can choose which information to include in their public profiles. On Twitter, most posts, or “tweets,” are public.
Nick O’Neill, who writes the independent “All Facebook” blog, has published a guide to mastering the site’s new privacy settings. The post detailed ways that users can organize friends into certain lists, and select which of those friends see what. It also explained how users can prevent profiles from coming up in standard Google searches.
“Most Facebook” users don’t even know these features are options,” said O’Neill, who also owns a digital media company in Washington. “I can’t tell you how many people sign up and don’t ever think about privacy again.”
Q: If you wish to decline certain connection requests, what is the most polite approach?
Be honest and consistent. Rachel Weingarten, president of the Octagon Strategy Group, a consulting firm in New York, said employees who wish to avoid colleagues on certain social networking sites should respond to every request by explaining that they’d rather put all work contacts into one particular social network, or designate all social networking sites for connections made outside of work.
These sorts of policies must be applied equally, she told the newspaper. “The last thing you want is to accept some requests but decline others, then have the people you’ve rejected find out they didn’t make the cut,” she said. In the world of modern office politics, she added, “that’s about as bad as it gets.”
With the U.S. economy still in the midst of a tepid recovery, the average worker can expect a pay raise of about 3 percent in 2013, according to a forecast cited in a recent article from CareerBuilder.com. Yet despite this, top performers may be able to secure more. If you consider yourself one of them, or if you’re striving toward that goal, here from the article are some ways to better position yourself for a higher-than-average increase:
1. Show up early every day – Don’t just show up on time; show up early. Especially if you live in a city with traffic issues, always give yourself more than enough cushion to arrive on time. On days you arrive early, get settled in and get your secondary tasks out of the way before it’s time to get down to business.
2. Never complain– We all have negative opinions about some things, just keep yours to yourself, the article advised. Neither your boss nor your co-workers want to hear about your problems; they want to hear only about your solutions. Present any constructive and proactive ideas to your boss in a professional manner, and you just might find yourself in an improved working environment and in a better position for a pay raise.
3. Create your own set of goals – Bosses love it when staff members come up with their own set of goals. It shows initiative, a desire to get ahead and the ability to think creatively. Write out your goals and ask your supervisor for a convenient time to discuss them. Maintain written documentation of all your accomplishments and use this information during your next review.
4. Consult with your supervisor – Don’t wait until your next performance review to find out how others think you can improve, the article pointed out. Ask your supervisor what you need to do in order to improve your performance today. This gesture shows initiative, a willingness to learn and eagerness to succeed — all of which sure to impress any boss.
5. Always volunteer – If you find yourself with extra time on your hands, volunteer for additional projects. Sometimes, other departments simply need more bodies rather than any particular expertise, so don’t be shy about exploring new terrain at the workplace. Keep an eye out for any upcoming projects and always put your name in the hat.
Final thoughts – Of course, the last thing you want is to be perceived as a suck-up to your boss, the article pointed out. So keep all your discussions with your boss professional and above-board and never gloat if you get any coveted opportunities. Let your actions speak for you. By positioning yourself for the highest possible pay raise, you can lessen the burden of your month-to-month finances and make it easier to attack long-term concerns, such as saving for retirement and college for the kids.