Messy Desks May Hurt Your Career

If your desk is a mess, it’s time to start thinking about getting organized. According to an article in USA Today, not only can messy desks lead to lost documents and lost time, there’s also a possibility they can result in a lost raise or promotion.

Believe it or not, the cleanliness and organization of an employee’s desk are considered by more than half of America’s managers when they conduct annual reviews, hand out raises, and offer promotions, a survey by office supply company DYMO of Stamford, Conn., revealed. In fact, of the 2,600 bosses surveyed worldwide by the firm, 51 percent agreed there is a link between a worker’s organization skills and job performance.

In other words, employers look more positively at neat nicks than slobs. And the reason may have a little to do with the bottom line. It is estimated that for every document lost an employee costs a company $120, the survey found.

“There are uncountable hours lost each year in the workplace because of disorganization,” said Julie Mahan, owner of Indianapolis-based Simply Organizing, which offers workshops and one-on-one counseling for organizing offices. “But people mix up cleaning with organizing. Being clean is a visual thing, but being organized is being able to find things when you need them.”

According to the USA Today article, employees fall into a variety of categories when it comes to workplace organization, the DYMO study revealed. About half of American workers are professional but relaxed, meaning their desks are organized but have a couple of small, neatly stacked files; 31 percent work among organized chaos; 13 percent are the creative type, or very messy; and 7 percent are prim and proper, meaning the only thing on their desks is a paperclip.

For workers seeking help with getting organized, Mahan teaches her own detailed system of organization, which includes a critical question: What to do with all that stuff which lands on your desk. “Handling those incoming items is a big issue. We get buried under it,” she told the newspaper. “The physics of clutter is that it will come into your office without your assistance but will not go away without your assistance.”

Her advice is to handle all mail, e-mail, voice mail and verbal requests immediately and make one of five decisions: discard it, delegate it, respond to it, file it for follow-up, or put it in a safe place for future reference.

And as you make that decision, remember the 80/20 principle. “Eighty percent of the stuff you get, you are never going to need again,” she said. “Twenty percent you do need, and you need to prioritize its importance.”

E-mail can be a particular challenge in organization and time management, the article pointed out. Most people deal with e-mail as soon as they arrive at work, but it’s the worst thing to do, according to Janet Nusbaum, owner of Simplified Spaces, a professional organization in Carmel, Ind. “Get a few critical things done first thing before you check your e-mail,” she counseled. “Because (e-mail can be) so distracting it can just really derail your whole day.”

A key to being organized is determining what time you are most productive, whether that’s at the end of the day, right after lunch or first thing in the morning. Schedule your most important task of the day then, Nusbaum recommended. And when the day is over, check the next day’s calendar to prioritize your schedule.

Getting organized in the office may seem a bit daunting to some. But actually it just takes discipline so that things don’t pile up. To help you, USA Today cited the following tips from several entities that specialize in workplace organization:

When you receive a piece of paper, an e-mail, voice mail or verbal request, immediately decide to:

• Discard it if it’s junk or something you will never need.
• Take immediate action, if it’s yours to take care of and needs to be responded to.
• File for follow-up, if it doesn’t need immediate attention but definitely needs to be done.
• Put it in a reference file, if you’ll need it in the future.

In your daily grind:

• Keep only supplies you need on a daily basis on your desktop.
• Have a master list of file names to use when deciding where to file a piece of paper.
• Set aside a certain amount of time once or twice a day to check and respond to e-mails.
• If you don’t have to answer your phone every time it rings, let voice mail do some of the work.

In your files:

• Keep a file labeled for each day with things that need to be done.
• At day’s end, pull out the next day’s file and prioritize tasks.
• In the morning, pull out the first task and start to work on it.
• Move anything not accomplished to the next day’s folder.

Learn the Culture of a New Employer

Switching jobs can be exciting, but new hires must be prepared to learn the unwritten rules of a new corporate culture. According to an article in The Wall Street Journal, learning a workplace’s customs can indeed be a major challenge, and regardless of prior work experience, people often struggle to discern protocols, etiquette and culture when they change employers.

“It’s like going to a different country,” said Michael Kanazawa, chief executive of Dissero Partners, an Oakland, Calif., management consulting firm. “There are cultural norms of behavior that go way beyond what anybody would have the capability to write in a job description.”

One big issue is tolerance for questioning the boss, the article pointed. Some companies encourage it, believing that confrontation can generate sharp, creative thinking; others consider disagreement disrespectful. Even mundane issues, such as how to lean on administrative support, can present hazards.

Ben Dattner, a principal with Dattner Consulting, an organizational-effectiveness consulting firm, cautions that there can be lasting consequences to breaking unwritten rules. For example, co-workers may label the newcomer as an outsider who doesn’t fit into corporate culture and is “not meant to be taken seriously,” he said.

Career experts urge newcomers to take advantage of their “grace period” by asking lots of questions in their first months on the job. It may feel embarrassing, but it’s worse to remain ignorant a year later, according to the article.

Another good strategy is to watch others and follow their lead. Newcomers should also try to enlist a friend or office assistant from whom they can seek guidance. That’s what Lyria Charles did after discovering many unwritten rules at her new employer, a technology company in Virginia.

Her new post was a vice president job, directly supervising about 12 project managers. During her first week, she asked her assistant to set-up meet-and-greets with staffers. She was surprised to see that her assistant arranged the meetings at the subordinates’ cubicles – not Charles’ office.“That’s how it’s done,” Charles recalls her assistant telling her; she was grateful for the guidance. “If I had done the reverse and insisted they come to my office, that would have set a tone of, “You don’t really understand how things work here and you’re not a team player.’”

Charles learned other mores through careful observation, or trial and error. For example, she noticed that co-workers preferred to send text messages to colleagues before calling them. She also learned she was supposed to check email over the weekend after missing an email about a project task.

Kevin Hall, a mortgage banker, said he learned cultural nuances partly by observing others. About three months into a new job, while finding himself bogged down making his own travel arrangements, he noticed some higher-up executives asking the receptionists if they could help with travel booking. So he approached some of the administrative staffers to ask for help too. “You feel your way as you go,” he told the newspaper. “I’m still learning new things, but the learning curve has slowed down.”

Here from Forbes.com are some additional tips for employees to consider during the first 90 days at a new job:

• Do your homework. Learn all you can about your new employer and its industry through careful research. This way you’ll be knowledgeable in your initial assignments and in your daily contact with colleagues.
• Know your strengths. By focusing on what you’re good at, you can use your strengths to quickly make an impact in your new position.
• Say it right. It’s important to know what to say and how to say it. If you’re not a good speaker, practice or get a coach. With good speaking skills, you can seek out opportunities where you can gain visibility.
• Get in shape. Because the early days of any new job can be a grind, it’s important to be physically prepared. Eat well, sleep well, exercise, do anything you can to keep your energy level up.
• Get a mentor. Besides forming early relationships with a few knowledgeable co-workers who can help bring you up to speed, it’s vital to have an ongoing dialogue with somebody who knows the company very well and can help you navigate the organization.
• Understand how things work. Find out about office policies, how to weave your way through politics that predate you, and how most communications occur in the company. Most importantly, though, find out how the company operates before you start trying to change things.

Tips for ‘Decluttering’ Your Career

Just as it can be helpful to clear out your closets at home during spring, it can also be a good idea to use the season as an opportunity to declutter your career. According to an article in The Wall Street Journal, by removing the stuff that gets in the way, you can free up time, brain power and energy, enabling you to enjoy work more and improve performance.

Here are four common types of career clutter and suggestions for removing them:

1. Identify tasks that you can cast off. Decluttering has everything to do with ensuring that the actions you do on a daily basis are going to help your No. 1 priority, said John McKee, founder and president of BusinessSuccessCoach.net, a career-advisory firm in Castle Rock, Colo.

Start by defining your goals and projecting where you want to be in five years, such as in a higher-paying position or at a new company, McKee told the newspaper. Make sure to factor in your personal aspirations as well, he said. Next, set annual objectives for getting there and outline steps you need to take throughout the year, he added.

If tasks you are responsible for don’t support your personal objectives, talk with your manager about ways to delegate them or transition out of that role, the article pointed out. Tasks that don’t support your objectives should be delegated or assigned a lower priority.

1. Avoiding a difficult project or colleague can detract from your at-work effectiveness, said Daniel Markovitz, a corporate-efficiency consultant in Corte Madera, Calif. “It’s not going away, and it looks worse and worse,” he said.

Markovitz suggested putting an unpleasant task at the top of your “to do” list and chopping it into smaller pieces. “Imagine I gave you a 25-foot salami and said, ‘Bon appetit!’ Then what if I broke it up into little bite-size pieces?” he said. “Suddenly it seems totally manageable.” If you are avoiding a sticky situation with a difficult colleague, take immediate steps to face the issue head on. Consider the relief you will feel when the issue is resolved, he added.

Email overload. A cluttered inbox can give the impression that you have more to do than you actually do, said Debby Stone, president of InterVision Group LLC, a career-coaching and leadership-consulting firm in Alpharetta, Ga.

E-mails that don’t require an immediate reply can pile up as you respond to more-urgent messages. To get them out of the way, send a quick reply to each with a canned message such as: “Thanks for writing. I’ll get back to you as soon as possible,” said Ana Weber, a controller at Binder Metal Products Inc., a Gardena, Calif., manufacturer, who is a part-time career and time-management coach. Then, she said, store them in a folder labeled “unread” as a reminder to attend to them later.

“One way to reduce the influx of e-mails is to cancel newsletters and other electronic mailings that aren’t a strong match for your career,” Stone told the newspaper. “Most people get on them because something caught their eye or someone recommended it to them,” she said. “In a lot of cases, they find that what they get is not as interesting or relevant as they anticipated.”

1. Chitchat has its place at work, but excessive socializing can be a drain when you are trying to get things done, according to the article. To politely escape from a colleague who tends to blab, say you have a deadline to meet and offer to get together at another time, such as during your lunch break, said Ariane Benefit, founder of Neat Living, a coaching and consulting company in Bloomfield, N.J.

Also be sure to steer clear of colleagues who engage in repetitive griping sessions that can dampen spirits and hinder productivity, said Benefit, who noted that she knew several at past employers. “Sometime you have to literally avoid going past their cubicle,” she added.

LIKABILTY MATTERS MORE THAN EVER AT WORK

“Likability” is becoming a bigger factor for success at work as social networks and videoconferencing grow, according to an article in The Wall Street Journal. In fact, the ability to come across as likable is increasingly shaping how people are being sized up and treated by bosses and co-workers, the article pointed out.

Likable people are more apt to be hired, get help at work, get useful information from others and have mistakes forgiven. As an example, a study of 133 managers by researchers at the University of Massachusetts found that if an auditor is likable and gives a well-organized argument, managers tend to comply with his suggestions, even if they disagree and the auditor lacks supporting evidence.

Likability is more important—and harder to pull off—on video than in person. Sometimes this can result in a style-over-substance effect. People watching a speaker on a videoconference are more influenced by how much they like the speaker than by the quality of the speaker’s arguments, according to a 2008 study in Management Science. The opposite is true when a speaker appears in person.

Social networking also places a premium on likability, as more employers track employees’ likability on in-house social networks and chat services. The article noted that employers recruit those who are trusted and well-liked to spread information or push through changes. Some companies also take these employees’ social clout into account when handing out raises and promotions.

According to the article, listeners tend to like speakers who seem trustworthy and authentic, who tell an engaging or persuasive story and who seem to have things in common with them, said Noah Zandan, president of Quantified Impressions in Austin, Texas. On video, these qualities can be hard to convey.

Many people make a negative impression on video by becoming stiff and emotionless, or by exaggerating their points. In fact, job applicants interviewed on video receive lower likability ratings and interview scores, and are less likely to be recommended for hiring than candidates interviewed in person, according to a study published in Management Decision.

But coaches say that likability can be taught. “Likability isn’t something you are born with, like charisma. It’s something you can learn,” said Ben Decker, chief executive officer of Decker Communications, a training and consulting firm in San Francisco.

The “big three” behaviors most important to a speaker’s likability are making eye contact by looking into the camera, smiling naturally when you talk and varying your tone of voice to convey warmth and enthusiasm, Decker told The Wall Street Journal. He also urges clients to “really think about the listener” and figure out goals you two might share. The ability to find common ground is a cornerstone of likability.

Senior executives at Charles Schwab & Co. take the Decker training partly because “making sure you come across as authentic and as someone who can be trusted becomes more important” when speaking to large groups on video or webcasts, said Jay L. Allen, executive vice president, human resources, for the San Francisco-based financial services firm. Managers also learn to speak with more enthusiasm on video, varying their tone, Allen added.

One common mistake people make on video, the article noted, is to play the comedian. Tim Sanders, author of “The Likability Factor,” and lecturer on the topic, cautioned: “If you insist on poking fun at someone, it has to be you.”

Ten Traits That Can Derail a Career

It takes anywhere from three to 15 months to find the right job, yet just days or weeks to lose it. With competition fierce for career advancement in the workplace, it’s important to steer clear of bad work habits and stay focused on demonstrating a strong job performance. According to CareerBuilder.com, here are 10 traits employees should be sure to avoid:

1. Possessing Poor People Skills. A little likeability can go a long way. Studies by both Harvard Business Review and Fast Company magazine show that people consistently and overwhelmingly prefer to work with likeable, less-skilled co-workers than with highly competent jerks. Researchers found that if employees are disliked, it’s almost irrelevant whether they’re good at what they do, because others will avoid them.
2. Not Being a Team Player. No one feels comfortable around a prima donna. And organizations have ways of dealing with employees who subvert the team. Just ask Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Terrell Owens, who was suspended for the 2005 season after repeatedly clashing and taking public shots at his teammates and management. So show you’re a team player by making your boss look like a star and demonstrating that you’ve got the greater good of the organization at heart.
3. Missing Deadlines. If the deadline is Wednesday, first thing Thursday won’t cut it. Organizations need people they can depend on. Missing deadlines is not only unprofessional, it can play havoc with others’ schedules and make your boss look bad. When making commitments, it’s best to under-promise and over-deliver.
4. Conducting Personal Business on Company Time. The company e-mail and phone systems are for company business. Keep personal phone calls brief and few and never type anything in e-mail that you don’t want read by your boss. Many systems save deleted messages to a master file.
5. Isolating Yourself. Don’t isolate yourself. Develop and use relationships with others in your company and profession. Those who network effectively have an inside track on resources and information and can more quickly cut through organizational politics. Research shows effective networkers tend to serve on more successful teams, get better performance reviews, receive more promotions and be more highly compensated.
6. Starting an Office Romance. Unless you’re in separate locations, office romances are a bad idea. If you become involved with your boss, your accomplishments and promotions will be suspect; if you date a subordinate, you leave yourself open to charges of sexual harassment. And if it ends badly, you’re at risk of everyone knowing about it and witnessing the unpleasantness.
7. Fearing Risk or Failure. If you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will. Have a can-do attitude and take risks. Instead of saying, “I’ve never done that,” say, “I’ll learn how.” Don’t be afraid to fail and make mistakes. If you do mess up, admit it and move on. Above all, find the learning opportunities in every situation.
8. Having No Goals. Failure doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal, but in not having a goal to reach. Set objectives and plan your daily activities around achieving them. Eighty percent of your effectiveness comes from 20 percent of your activities. So manage your priorities and focus on those tasks that support your goals.
9. Neglecting Your Image. Fair or not, appearance counts. People draw all kinds of conclusions from the way you present yourself. So don’t come to work poorly groomed or in inappropriate attire. Be honest, use proper grammar and avoid slang and expletives. You want to project an image of competence, character and commitment.

10. Being Indiscreet. Cubicles, hallways, elevators, bathrooms – even commuter trains – are not your private domain. Be careful where you hold conversations and what you say to whom. Don’t tell off-color jokes, reveal company secrets, gossip about co-workers or espouse your views on race, religion or the boss’ personality. Because while there is such a thing as free speech, it’s not so free if it costs you your job.

Wise Guidance for Company Newcomers

If you’ve just started a new job at a new company, how can you make the transition as smooth as possible and ensure your future success? In a Q&A feature article in The New York Times, careers columnist Eileen Zimmerman offered the following insight and guidance for employees to consider as they navigate a new corporate culture:

What are some key points to keep in mind when starting a new job?

Come to your new office armed with as much information about your employer as possible, said Bernadette Kenny, chief career officer at Adeco, a staffing company based in Melville, N.Y. Use the corporate Web site and other online resources to learn more about the organization and members of its management team. Once you start, do more listening than talking, career experts advise. Observe how others do their jobs, and see how decisions are made. Then identify colleagues who know the ropes and start asking questions.

What kind of questions should you ask?

Questions can be anything from “Where do I get my office supplies?” and “How do people do lunch here?” to “Who are the key people on that project?” said Keith Rollag, an associate professor of management at Babson College in Wellesley, Mass., who studies newcomer socialization.

When colleagues offer their insights, pay close attention. “Be interested in every individual you interact with and keep yourself engaged in the conversation,” said Darelyn J. Mitsch, president of the Pyramid Resource Group, an executive coaching firm in Cary, N.C. At the same time, though, be wary of office grumblers, who will also want to talk, added Gary Rich, of career coaching firm Rich Leadership in Pound Ridge, N.Y. “They will find subtle ways to test the water with you, saying negative things and complaining in a friendly way.”

How do you get up to speed on continuing projects without wasting the team’s time?

Arrange to meet with the team leader, said Shawn Desgrosellier, a partner at the executive recruiting firm Kaye/Bassman International in Dallas, who consults with companies and job candidates on assimilation and transition. Ask about discussions that have already taken place, decisions that have been made, and the project’s timetable.

How do you introduce yourself to co-workers?

Don’t just stop by; get on their calendars to meet briefly with them, advised Lisa Mackenzie, marketing director at CareerExposure.com, a job search site that offers advice for success on the job. MacKenzie suggested assembling a list of those you will be working with most often and arranging to have a cup of coffee with each. If you’re a manager, schedule a breakfast or lunch with your group soon after you arrive. Building relationships at a new company is crucial, Professor Rollag said. “What you need to understand to be successful in an organization is usually locked in the heads of other people, not in a handbook or policy manual,” he added.

How can you show your new co-workers and boss that you are a team player?

Find out which professional associations your colleagues belong to and the kinds of philanthropic activities the company supports and consider joining in, Kenny advised. Volunteer to help colleagues who seem to be under stress, asking what you can take off their plate, MacKenzie said. And if there is a project or assignment that no one else wants, consider taking it. It shows you’re willing to do the hard work.

How can you make sure that you and your new boss have the same expectations about your performance?

New employees need to have five conversations with their boss within their first three months, said Michael Watkins, author of “The First 90 Days” and a co-founder of Genesis Advisors, a consulting firm in Newton, Mass., that specializes in career transitions. These five talks, he said, should cover the following: the best way to work with and communicate with your boss; what your boss is responsible for and what his or her – and therefore your – priorities are; what is expected of you and how your success will be measured; what resources are at your disposal; and, a few months into the job; how your performance will be evaluated.

What else can you do to make a positive impression at your new workplace?

Colleen Rickenbacher, a business etiquette expert and author of “Be on Your Best Business Behavior,” offered these tips: Be early for work and dress a notch above the norm. When you meet people in your office, stand up and walk around to the front of the desk – or to wherever they are – look them in the eye and give them a firm handshake. “It doesn’t matter if you’re 50 and the person you’re meeting is 19 years old,” Rickenbacher said. “You want them to know how pleased you are to meet them.”

And never walk into someone’s office without a notepad, especially in those first few weeks. “You don’t want to be asking people to repeat themselves the next time you see them,” she added. “So take notes.”

KNOW YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

While job-hunters may wish they wouldn’t get asked questions about strengths and weaknesses during an interview, it is clearly

beneficial to think about them before talking to a hiring manager, according to an article from CareerBuilder.com. In fact, if you really want to get a leg up, you should be assessing your skills and limitations even before you begin your job search.

“Knowing your strengths and weaknesses before the job search helps you hone in on the types of jobs that best match your qualities and abilities,” says Neil Kokemuller, college marketing professor and former retail manager. “If you apply for jobs that don’t match your abilities, you set yourself up for failure and waste time. As you get into the interview process, knowing your strengths and weaknesses is a huge factor in effectively selling yourself to a hiring manager.”

The idea of sitting down and coming up with the things you’re good — and not so good — at can seem daunting, but there are a few methods to try that can make the process a little easier, according to the article.

Lea McLeod, who provides corporate coaching and career consulting services, suggests that you take assessments to help narrow in on your skills and strengths. “I personally like [the book StrengthsFinder 2.0 as a very basic assessment of strengths,” McLeod told the online employment site. “There are numerous other assessments that can measure everything from how you manage conflict, to your learning style, to your team orientation.”

Another way to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses is to ask others who you think will give you an honest, objective opinion. “Ask people you know personally to share what they see as your strong sides and your weak side,” McLeod said. “Often others see perspectives we don’t see in ourselves. Get feedback from your peers and/or managers about what your strengths and weaknesses are in the workplace.”

It’s also helpful to think about what type of feedback you’ve received from managers during formal reviews. “Think back on past performance reviews,” said Patricia Vargas, manager of Marketing Production at Halogen Software, a provider of talent management solutions. “What kind of feedback have you gotten from your managers and peers? Look for trends — for example, repeat feedback that you’re a great team player or very proactive. Take note of feedback you’ve received around both job-specific skills and soft skills.”

According to the article, when assessing your skills, don’t just think about those technical skills you’ve acquired; also consider your soft skills — abilities related to communication, leadership, collaboration, creative problem-solving, etc. — which can be just as important to employers.

“In general, you should have a sense for what your strengths are around dealing with tasks, processes, relationships and communication,” McLeod noted in the article. “Those are the core components of getting work done in any workplace. On the technical side, if you are looking for a job with specific technical — or hard — skills, you should absolutely know where you stand on those. Many hard skills will be tested by employers in environments like engineering, software and public relations.”

“Once you’ve identified your strengths, it will help you evaluate what kind of jobs you’re best suited for,” Vargas CareerBuilder.com. “It will also help you sell yourself in a job interview. You want to be able to clearly articulate how you will bring value in a particular role.”

Vargas noted that finding the right job fit is important, because you want to feel both comfortable and confident in the role. You don’t want to start a new job, only to find that your skills aren’t really up to par or that you don’t consider the company to be the right cultural fit, the article pointed out.

But if you know going into the new job that your strengths align with your new position and you’ll have the opportunity to grow in the areas where you need improvement, it’ll be a win-win situation for both you and the employer. “You’ll be engaged in your work and a valued contributor to the organization’s success,” Vargas added.

It’s the dreaded interview question. “So, what would you say are your weaknesses?” You don’t want to ignore the question all together, but you also don’t want to reply back with, “Well, I tend to miss deadlines a lot.” Instead, you try to come up with an answer that sounds like a weakness but is really strength such as, “Sometimes I just work too hard — I’m always coming in early and staying late.”