Fall Back: 4 Things to Do With Your Extra Hour of Time

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I kind of like the “fall-back” part of daylight savings time. Who doesn’t want an extra hour of time to sleep?

There is that pesky problem of it getting dark earlier. As I type, I’ve had to turn on the lights in my office to remind myself that the work day is not over.  It’s hard to stay motivated when the sun starts to dip below the horizon around four o’clock.

Plus we have to reset all of the clocks in the house and cars. Or I guess now they are actually correct, since we forgot to change them when we sprang forward.

The time change reminds me of all sorts of stuff that I should do, such as change the batteries in the smoke detectors, remove the cushions from the outdoor furniture and get the furnace checked before it gets too cold.

As long as we have an extra hour of time on our hands, it might also be a good idea to re-focus on our careers. You know, make sure we have things covered and if not, reset our career clocks so we can move forward in a productive manner.

Here are four things to do with your extra hour of time to help your career:

  • Review Career Goals – Are you achieving your goals and/or is your current job moving you in the right direction? Do you even have career goals? If the answer to any of this is “No”, it’s time to step back and re-evaluate.
  • Resume Review – Make sure your resume is up to date, with current information as well as achievements. Do you like how your resume looks? Could be time for a new format, if it’s been the same for the past ten years. Why not work on that now? You’ve got an extra hour.
  • Wardrobe Check – When was the last time you shopped for career clothing? This is especially important since many of us work in casual offices where jeans are the norm. Do you have current-fashion clothing that is appropriate for networking and/or interviewing? You never know when you might need it and it’s easier to shop without “must-have-it-now” pressure.
  • Reach Out – Make it a priority to stay in touch with those in your network, if you aren’t already doing so. If you are actively connected, take it a step further and actually make those lunch or coffee dates instead of saying “let’s catch up soon”. Attend a local trade or alumni association event to meet new people. And guess what? Your new networking outfit will be perfect for this meeting.

You may want to create your own personalized list; at least this should get you started. Just make the most of that extra hour.

Haunted House

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Halloween chair

When Hubby and I purchased our home we were super excited for Halloween. After years of living in apartments with zero Halloween fun, we figured a neighborhood would be totally different.

We envisioned throngs of children dressed in costumes ringing our doorbell begging for candy. We imagined the giggles and shrieks as we passed out tons of sweets, making us the most popular house on the block.

We purchased extra bags of treats to be sure we had enough.

We turned on every light so children and parents knew we were at home. Honestly, you could see our house from space, it was so bright.

As the sun went down, our anticipation grew. The door bell would ring any second now.

Yep, any second. Tic, toc, tic, toc. Any second now.

It got darker. I went outside to make sure the lights were on.

We decided that maybe the previous owners were not kid-friendly and therefore our house had some stigma attached. We brought lawn chairs out front to look more appealing and to give candy to anyone who came within 100 yards of our house. 

Still, nothing.

Honestly, there weren’t any kids to be seen on our street. Not even a squirrel or a cricket.

But we knew our ‘hood was full of kids. What happened? Did we move into a haunted house?

We felt like Linus, all alone in the pumpkin patch waiting for the Great Pumpkin. We feared walking back inside at the end of the evening with our heads hanging in shame having distributed none of our candy.

After a thirty-second pity party, we started to laugh.

It was just a teensy bit funny, two adults sitting outside of a fully decorated lit-up home with bags of candy and not one single trick-or-treater in sight.

We quickly developed Plan B and went into action.

Grabbing our candy and a couple of flashlights we started walking. Didn’t take us long to find Halloween.

The streets behind ours were full of kids running from house to house. Parents had set up BBQ’s in the front yards with coolers and lawn chairs.  There were parties on every block.

We walked up and down, handing out our candy to kids, explaining to parents that we were new to the area. We learned that our street was perceived as having too much car traffic which explained why we had no trick or treat action.

We were invited to have hot dogs and drinks with our new neighbors, even to stay and relax in their lawn chairs.

We kept walking, passing out candy, enjoying this new Halloween tradition and meeting tons of neighbors.

That night, Halloween didn’t go as we had anticipated. The important thing is that we adjusted our plan, had a great evening and made new friends.

Each Halloween I am reminded of that first one in our house, when we sat in the lawn chairs while holding unopened bags of candy and felt like Linus waiting for the Great Pumpkin that would never appear.

And I’m reminded of the lesson we learned about adapting to changing circumstances.

I’ve tried to apply that same lesson to other areas of my life, including work. If something doesn’t go as planned, take a minute to assess the situation, develop Plan B and start moving forward.

It’s better than sitting alone in the pumpkin patch all night, that’s for sure.

Quitting Is Not An Option

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football field

Well, that was embarrassing.

My favorite team lost the game. Actually, it was a blow-out. I believe the technical phrase for what happened is “It was a clinic”.

We were schooled. On national TV.

I don’t even think those were our players on the field.  They must have been imposters wearing our uniforms.

That would have been a best-case scenario.

I’m sure that was a long ride home for the team. My guess is that the coach had some “motivational” words for the players.  Perhaps they had to watch the game on the ride home to see just exactly where things went so horribly wrong.

Yes, I’m sure this week is probably one of the worst for every player. Here’s what I’m guessing:

  • Players do not want to walk across campus; no reason to hold their head up.
  • Not one player wants to sit in class while others stare at him.
  • Many players may want to throw in the towel; give up.

Yes, bombing out is embarrassing.

One thing I do know: Neither the coach nor the team will give up.

Quitting is not an option.

So they will review the tapes. They will run drills. They might make some player changes. They will study plays like preparing for final exams.

They will practice like never before.

They will win again, proving to themselves and to everyone else that they are a good team.

All I’ve got to say is, thank goodness my work mistakes are not watched by millions on national TV.

That said, I’m guessing that most of us, at one point or another, have experienced the “agony of defeat” – or at least feeling defeated – at work.

Maybe the project you were leading missed its’ goal and you wanted to throw in the towel?

Perhaps the annual review wasn’t quite as stellar as you thought it should be and figured, why bother to try anymore?

Or maybe you just had a bad day or week and simply wanted a do-over?

It’s hard to walk back into the office feeling defeated, wondering if others are whispering behind their cubicles about “Project Fail”.

We all have bad days, weeks or projects. I get it. Your desk, your “home away from home”, the place where it “all went wrong”, can be depressing to see.

Even if the “oops” is something that only we know about, we can internalize the error to the point of being unproductive, sometimes wanting to hang our heads in defeat.

What do you do after such a fail?

  • Take the constructive comments from management and figure out how using that information might have helped.
  • Write a quick “post-mortem”, including the original project goals, strategies and tactics, as well as the final outcome. Include a list of “Take-Aways”; things you learned and what you would do different next time.
  •  File this document where you can find it.
  • Now, smile, and hold your head up.

Thing is, we are usually tougher on ourselves than others are on us. Sure, no one likes to “lose”, whether it’s on the playing field or at work.

What’s important is that we determine where we made mistakes, correct those mistakes and move on. Next time, the project – or game – should have a different outcome.

Quitting is not an option.

 

Thank-You Notes: Email or Hand-Written?

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Thanks

As a career coach and mentor I get asked a ton of questions. Everything from interviewing to career transition to resume-writing to what to wear to an interview.

One question that seems to pop up frequently has to do with writing thank-you notes after an interview. Should they be electronic (email) or hand-written?

In my opinion, it’s both.

Hand-written thank-you notes should be written and mailed the same day as the interview. First one goes to the hiring manager, then one for each of the people we have met, including the HR manager.

I prefer to drive to the post office that evening and drop them in the box so they are in process as early as possible. Putting them out for the morning mail just delays them another day; why wait?

Even if it’s late you can drive by the Post Office’s outdoor drop box in your PJ’s; I know because I’ve done this.

Email thank-you notes should also be sent the same day as the interview. These can be short; remember the hiring manager doesn’t need an email novel.

Some may disagree with the need for the hand-written thank you note. Yet remains a special gesture. When my colleagues and I receive one from a candidate, we mentally put an asterisk by this person’s name.

Not to mention the fact that an email may languish in a junk mail folder, or simply be passed up due to the hundreds of other emails in the in-box. By sending both a hand-written and an email version, you have covered your bases.

Yet don’t be fooled into thinking just any words on a note card will do. It has to be a well-thought-out thank-you note, something with character.

The thank-you is part of the personal branding, still part of the interview process. It’s one more way to show that not only do you want the job but that you are the right candidate for it.

Not everyone gets a “tingly” feeling when they receive a hand-written thank-you note, but in this day of email and texts and other social media, I do.

In fact, I just received one the other day from students that I met at Texas A&M. They all wrote notes on a card, thanking me for coming to speak with them.  They probably thought nothing of it. Many probably thought it was silly; that the professor made them do it.

Au contraire.

Little do they know that I keep every one of these cards; every thank you note they send from every time I visit with them. I have a file that is getting thicker all the time.

While employers may not keep a file of such things, they do remember who sends a hand-written note, who sends a thank-you email and who never follows up at all.

The question is: How do you want to be remembered during the interview process? Or do you want to be remembered at all?

Take time to send a hand-written note as well as the thank-you email. It’s worth the effort.

Two Things Not to Ask During An Interview

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There are some things one just shouldn’t ask during an interview.

Even during an informational interview that is really more of a mentoring session. What’s rule number one of networking? Always attempt to make a good impression.  Some questions asked do not leave a good impression.

Case in point: A friend agreed to mentor a college student. This included inviting the student to the office to observe work in progress, answer any questions and review his resume.

My friend did her best to show him around the office and meet other people. She shared projects the company had worked on and critiqued his resume, making suggestions that would help when it came to interviewing.

She introduced him to current college interns and showed him the projects they were working on.

It was a great opportunity for the student to see first-hand the inside workings of a large award-winning firm.

A great time to ask questions like, “Which elective courses might help me in this line of work?”, “What kind of projects do new graduates typically work on as they begin their careers?” and “What kind of computer skills do you look for in graduates with my degree plan?”

Since many college programs, even at the graduate level, require internships, it was also a way to inquire about this, including who to contact at the corporate office.

Not this young hotshot.

As the session was coming to a close, the student did have a few questions, mostly mundane and repetitive of what had been answered earlier.

Then the ball dropped.

“Soooo, tell me what’s a typical day like here; you know when do you come in and when do you leave?”

My friend glanced at her watch; time was now about 7 p.m. and the student interns, as well as other high-level managers were still at their desks.

She felt like saying, “You did not just ask me that did you?”

The student quickly followed with: “How much do you pay your interns?” pulling out data on pay obtained from the internet.

My friend was speechless.

The first question could have been one of curiosity; however a quick glance around the open-concept office would have shown that most people were working late.

The second question was just not a smart one to ask during a networking meeting. Especially because 1) this was not a job interview and 2) that’s not information that was his business until a job offer is on the table.

Both questions were red-flags to my friend. In her opinion, the questions signaled that the student was more interested in finding out about the hours he would have to work and how much money he could make instead of what he might learn.

Combined with the issue that throughout the time spent together, he didn’t once show that he had a passion for his chosen career or for possibly working at the firm.

It’s this kind of thing that might come back to bite him in the hind quarters when applying for an internship or a job later on.

Like I said, there are some things one just shouldn’t ask during an interview.

 

Have You Cracked the Networking Code?

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When I was first starting out, I had no idea what it meant to network.  This is the stuff they talked about in business school yet failed to teach.

Don’t laugh but I honestly thought that networking was akin to sales cold-calling.  Since my only experience meeting new people was during our weekly after-work happy hours, I assumed that networking was similar.

Networking to me meant surveying the bar to find a friendly-looking person, grab my business card and go introduce myself.

We were already dressed in our business professional attire. We had business cards with us. This HAD to be what they were talking about, right?

Yeah, it was awkward.

And I wondered why I never got any dates.  Or made any business connections.

Luckily for me I was already networking; I just didn’t know it.

Every year I sent Christmas cards to a huge list that included relatives, friends from high school, college and business school, as well as friends of my parents that I had known since childhood.  That list expanded to include work colleagues and business associates.

Periodically I would call or email someone I hadn’t seen in a while to say hello; that would lead to lunch or dinner to catch-up in person.

As I worked my way up the corporate ladder and made business connections with suppliers, I kept their names and phone numbers in my Filofax long before we had smart phones.

I employed the same techniques with business colleagues as I did with my friends, periodically emailing or calling them or having lunch with them, even long after I had moved on to other jobs.  And I continued this relationship-building everywhere I worked.

After many years of doing this, a colleague heard me mention that Hubby and I send out hundreds of Christmas cards.  My colleague said, “You are so well-connected!”

That was the first time I ever thought that I might have cracked the networking code.

There it is; the secret of networking.  I’ve laid it out for you.

What; it’s still not clear?  Let me say it a different way:  Communicate with people you know and meet; do this regularly.

Networking, at a basic level, is keeping up with the people you know and meet.  To take it to the next level, you build a relationship with those people through work or friendships or however it is you know them.

The key is staying connected. I’m not gonna lie; it takes work to keep these relationships going.  But that’s what networking is about; building a relationship; one that is strong enough so when you need a favor like, “Will you recommend me for a job?” your network is willing and able to help.

Think you don’t have a network?  I bet you do.

Sit down and start listing all of your close friends and relatives. Then branch out to other friends; your sisters’ friends; your parents’ friends. Then everyone you know at your current job; everyone at your last job and the job before that, and so on.  List as many people as you can remember from college; your classmates, sorority or fraternity pals; friends from any clubs you belonged to, sports teams you played on, etc.  List people you know at your church, any volunteer organizations you work with, etc.

How does your list look now?  Do you have some connections?  I know you do.

And you know what?  Your connections have connections.  That’s how this starts.  Your connections can introduce you to more connections.

Remember to carry business cards with you at all times, even to a funeral (I wrote a post about this; check it out here).  You never know where or when you might meet someone.

Look at you; you’ve just cracked the networking code.  I knew you could do it.

Technology Fail

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Tech fail

Lights, camera, action!

And we’re live!  “Welcome everyone! I’m so happy to host today’s webinar….”

I was on a roll.  I had been preparing for several weeks. My thoughts were organized and I was ready to answer any question thrown my way during this video conference.   My outfit was camera-appropriate and I looked good, if I do say so myself.

As questions came in I answered each one as if I did this every day.  It was awesome!

Except that no one could see me.

As luck would have it, we had a “technology fail” at the last minute and for some still-yet-to-be-determined reason, only the audio portion of the webinar worked.  Apparently the audience could hear me but they couldn’t see me.

I got the message just as we were starting.  The team and I tried rebooting, tried to re-load the platform, tried everything in our bag of tricks to get the video to work, yet nothing.

It was so frustrating!

Especially since we had done a dry-run using the same technology the day before, just to be sure all systems were go.

Apparently all systems didn’t agree to the terms and conditions of the webinar, huh?

So what’s a webinar host to do when things don’t go as planned?  I took a cue from the Oscars and moved on with an Academy award-winning performance.  You go on as if nothing was wrong.

Isn’t that what preparation is all about, being ready for anything? 

I remember a course I took in college that prepared me for just such a “real-world” business situation.

Not to date myself, but this was pre-PowerPoint; back in the day when business presentations depended on overhead projectors. The instructor had a list of items we needed to bring in order to avoid any last minute hiccups.  Most important lesson: “Always carry a spare bulb”.  

After all, you never knew when the projector bulb would break, leaving your presentation in the dark.

In addition to “Carry a spare bulb” was “Bring handouts or visuals” – at least you could carry on with the audio portion of your presentation as if nothing was wrong and you had planned it this way.

This lesson came back to me as I quickly found my voice and carried on with the audio portion of the webinar.  I tried to inject as much verbal enthusiasm as possible to make up for the fact that viewers were staring at a blank screen.

The good news is that we have the opportunity to edit and add my photo to the presentation when we post it online.    It will appear as if my smiling face was there all along.

No one needs to know it was a technology fail, do they? After all, I happened to carry a spare photo.

If It’s Broke, Fix It

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Resume meme

Why do we always say, “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it”?  Seems like that statement sets us up for mediocrity, settling for something that might not be quite as good as it could be.

My guess is that we sometimes follow this path because it’s easy.  Change is hard, man!  It takes work and effort and time.  Not to mention the frustration we all feel during the “improvement” process.

We might not have this old saying if it was easy to come up with something new. Usually there are multiple iterations involved.  If we are developing something new at work, then there are meetings and committees and disagreements and setbacks and more meetings.

Fixing something is a pain.

Despite the pain or frustration of making improvements to something that already works, there comes a time when we must realize that adjustments need to be made.

Take our resumes.  Many of us – myself included – work diligently to get our resumes to a good point. The format is good, the wording is good, and we are comfortable with the result.  The resume has received good reviews from others and we’ve even secured interviews –and jobs – using this version.

It’s tried and true. Why would we want to change something that’s worked so well for us?

Because even tried and true solutions can get stale. 

As a career coach and mentor I’m constantly looking at resumes.  I find inspiration in some of them, particularly in formatting.  Many are in dire need of improvement, particularly the wording or the type of information included.  All of them serve as a reminder that while mine is good, it could always be better.

There is always room for improvement.  Yet it’s hard to get started making a change because it’s not easy.

And this may come as a shock to some, but it’s important that we tailor our resume to each job application using key words that may help secure an interview.  That’s right; a different version each time we apply.

If one version is difficult, multiple versions may seem like a nightmare.

In reality it’s not.  We develop a “base” resume with our information and then create separate versions that focus on different accomplishments.

For example, I have a version that better highlights my marketing skills and experience, and another version that focuses on my PR experience.  The differences are subtle but they are important.

Word of caution: be careful about getting too caught up in the minutiae. The goal is to develop an improved resume quickly so we can use it for interviews, our LinkedIn profile, etc.  It’s easy to get so obsessed with making improvements that we never arrive at a usable version.

Trust me; I know this all too well.  As a writer I’m never quite satisfied with my work and if given the opportunity I will always be editing.  There came a point when I was writing my book, Tales of the Terminated, that I finally had to stop editing and start publishing. Otherwise I would never have finished the book!

I challenge all of us to take a hard look our resumes and if it’s broken, fix it.  For some, this may be as simple as changing the font and/or format. For others it means letting go of some information that is no longer necessary.

The important thing is that we acknowledge that change is scary, frustrating, time-consuming and a pain. But it’s worth it in the end.

Mentoring: No Salary, No Retirement, Best Job Ever

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your career

Sometimes I think we underestimate our value, especially when it comes to our careers and the concept that sharing our knowledge may help others.  I know I do.

Despite years working at some of the world’s top brands I don’t think of my career as anything special.  Yes, I love my work and am energized when I share my experiences with others, but to me it’s just what I do.

After all, there are tons of people with the same level of education, with great experience who advanced even farther than I have in terms of title.  So what’s the big deal with me? 

I have discovered that my career is nothing to be shy about.  Just ask one of the many university students I mentor.

Each semester I spend time on campus visiting with the students, guest lecturing and participating in panel discussions.  There are many other career veterans who participate in the program and I’m honored to be included.

Suddenly it’s like I’m the popular kid in school.  These students, who are far-brighter than I was at the same age – and are probably smarter than I am right now – treat me with a level of respect reserved for a CEO.  They want to meet with me and they contact me for guidance as they wrestle with career questions, internships and job interviews.

Still, I’m left wondering why the students engage so well with little ‘old me.  I think about this a lot, especially as I drive to and from the campus.  Always wondering if I’m doing enough, and ultimately, if I am helping them at all.

The answer was never as clear as it was when Hubby and I hosted a dinner for current and past mentees at our home.  We started this tradition a few years ago and it’s the highlight of our summer. Many of the students take internships in our city and it’s nice for them to have a break and a home-cooked meal.

That last part may be a stretch; at least it’s a meal in a home. 

We were casual and relaxed as we talked about their internships, or their jobs, for those that had graduated.  As we all listened to each of them share, I asked if there was anything I could help with right now.

Some of them had questions, others were simply happy to know I was available.

Most surprising to me was one of my former mentees saying that is was nice to be included in the group even though she was no longer a student.  She was amazed that she would still be included in these events.

Suddenly I felt myself briefly going into “lecture mode”.   Mentoring doesn’t “end” simply because they have graduated, I told them.  True mentorship continues as long as it works for both parties. 

Then it hit me that maybe this is one of the reasons the students and I connect so well.  Not only am I excited about my career and willing to share my experiences, I am committed to each of these students, not only for the program but beyond.   

I do this because I wish the opportunity to engage with an executive in my field had been available to me when I was in school and just starting out.

Someone to share the ins and outs and ups and downs of career life.  Someone who would be very honest about it; someone who had experience under their belt.  Someone to bounce ideas off of and possibly help me make connections when it came to a job search.

While I’m not going to do the work for them, I will be there to share my knowledge and help them connect the dots. They will ultimately have to make their own career decisions but it’s nice to have another person to consult.

To me, my career is simply what I do.  To these students, it’s a lifetime of achievement and it provides a little insight into something that is unknown to them.

Honestly, I’m still in awe that sharing my career experience can be of benefit to others. And I’m not quite sure how I was fortunate enough to become a mentor.

But I’m sure glad I did.

The Most Difficult Part of Networking Is Leaving The House

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business cards

“Networking group meets at 11:30; see you there!” 

I stared at the email and contemplated my options.  Should I go to the one-hour networking lunch or stay home and concentrate on my to-do list?

The easy choice was to stay in my home office and keep working.

The more difficult choice was to pick myself up, get ready, grab some business cards and go to the lunch meeting.

After all, it was already 10:30 and I was still in my morning-walk-the-dog outfit.  Make-up was questionable. My to-do list for clients was a mile-long.  I wasn’t looking for a job; I had good clients and lots of work to keep me busy.

Besides, this was a new networking group and I really didn’t know anyone.  Okay, I sort of knew the leader of the group.  We both attended the same high school way-back-when and had reconnected on social media.

But was seeing an old friend to have lunch enough incentive to leave the comfort of my home office? Aside from my friend, I wouldn’t know anyone at the meeting.

I tried to convince myself that attending was a good thing; something I had done hundreds of times before at various events.  I knew how to mingle and make small talk.  This would only be an hour of my life.

How hard could it be?

Networking can be one of the most difficult things we do. Even for an outgoing social-butterfly like me.

In fact, if I wasn’t so outgoing and social, I can see how easy it would be to never attend a networking event. Ever.

It’s hard to go to these things alone.  Thoughts that ran through my mind included:

“What will I say?”

“What if they don’t like me?”

“Will I have anything of value to contribute?”

“Maybe it’s a waste of time.”

“Maybe I should wait until another day when I’m better prepared.”

Geez, I can talk my way out of anything.  Like most of us can, I suspect.

And this was coming from someone who is skilled at networking.  Someone who writes about this subject; who coaches others on the finer points of networking; who understands the importance of building and maintaining your network.

Then it hit me. I suddenly realized that if I was having difficulty attending a one-hour networking lunch, imagine how some of my clients must feel?

My energy kicked in as I got dressed in my best business-casual outfit, touched up my make-up, grabbed a stack of business cards and hopped in the car.

Driving towards the meeting, I quickly outlined my goals.  Introduce myself to at least five people.  Come home with at least five business cards.  I rehearsed my thirty-second elevator speech about my business.

You know what?  It wasn’t hard at all.

The group was small and welcomed me.  We each had a chance to introduce ourselves and tell a little about ourselves.  Unlike other networking groups I had attended, everyone here was actually working.

I met my goals. 

As I left, I promised myself I would return for another meeting as well as get out to other groups. The only way to meet people is to leave the house. Duh!

Added bonus: One of the people I met needed my expertise for a job he was bidding and contacted me for help.  Who knows? This could translate into more business for me.

The lesson for all of us is this: No matter where we are in our career, we must continue to network.

Whether you work in an office or from home, get outside of your normal routine and expand your horizons to add names to your digital rolodex. The most difficult part of networking is leaving the house.

Besides, you have to eat lunch anyway.  May as well be productive while doing so.