Archive for the ‘Career Advice’ Category
 Some projects move easily toward completion. Others are more difficult, contain hidden obstacles, encounter resistance, take lots more time, or turn out far worse than you planned.
There could be many possible reasons for these differences, but a big category of likely reasons is contained in an image of projects I like to call “ripening.” Like a piece of fruit, projects progress along a spectrum of “readiness.” When projects are fully ripe they yield to easy efforts and produce satisfying results. When they’re unripe, there’s little or nothing you can do to make them turn out well.
Some people attribute this “ripening” to a process of unconscious preparation and development that goes on in your head, rather than in the project. And that’s certainly one possibility. But “ripening” covers a lot of other project characteristics, many of which are undeniably external and objective.
The most obvious example of this is something like a timely report you’re asked to prepare on a fast-changing situation. If you prepare it now for presentation next week, there’s a good chance your report will be out of date by the time you deliver it. The project won’t be “ripe” - that is, ready for you to work on it - until you get much closer to your scheduled delivery date.
Here are some suggestions for determining whether or not a particular project is “ripe” enough for your best efforts:
1. Does it contain all the necessary data? In fast-changing environments, you won’t know the details of most current situations until the last possible minute. In complex situations, there may be days or weeks of data gathering and analysis required before a project is ready for you to start work. In any case, starting to crunch the numbers before all the numbers are in place is a classic case of working on a project before it is “ripe.”
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 People skills. Collaboration. Group projects. Teams. Lately, business seem to have fallen in love with the idea of employees working together. The theory, apparently, is that two heads are better than one, and anything over three can’t help but produce something of genius.
In some ways, this point of view is understandable. After all, one person can have a crazy idea and just run with it, but if there are others around, they can rein that person in. Plus, with a group, things will be vetted as they move forward, making it more likely that the best ideas will rise to the top like the proverbial cream, right? Not necessarily.
The Loss of the Lone Genius
What all this togetherness doesn’t account for is the simple fact that some people just work better when they are off by themselves. In fact, more and more research is showing that some of the most creative individuals in any field are introverts that work far better when they are allowed to have privacy and freedom from interruption. These are “lone geniuses” who, by their very nature, just aren’t people who join with others. They are able to interact to the extent that they can share and advance their ideas by talking with people, but actually evolving those ideas with the hands-on help of others often ends up being detrimental.
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 Ever watch kids play? Most of the time, they’re intensely focused, giving it their all, and very close to shrieking or laughing with pleasure.
Adults at work? Not so much.
The difference comes not just from the ages, or from the external pressures that impact adults at work much more than kids at play.
Among the biggest differences are how much more closely kids’ play meshes with and engages their basic interests, preferences, and sources of pleasure. But this seems natural, since most times kids choose what they’re going to play, while adults most often work on tasks and projects handed to them by supervisors.
Unless you’re independently wealthy, it’s undeniable that (in the words of the classic lyric): “you’re taking what they’re giving ’cause you’re working for a living.”
However, despite what you and everyone else may think, you may not have to accept quite as many unwanted job elements you do. In many jobs, there is room not only for pushback, but for choice. And the more deeply you can tap into your unique personality, skills, and abilities, the more likely you are to find work that’s well suited to you, work that fewer people are capable of doing as well as you. That’s an advantage, because when fewer people can perform a job well, it generally carries more prestige and pay.
These simple truths offer a strategy for upgrading your job situation to be more personally satisfying. Here’s how to do it:
Phase 1
Start by re-learning who you are and what you’re most capable of doing well. Think back to your childhood, then your teen years, then your early adulthood, and so on until you reconsider the present. Look for patterns, themes, and tendencies. Were you always good at math? Did you find it easy to see the best way forward? Were you unwilling to give up on certain goals? Did you frequently lose track of time during one or two of your activities?
The person you were in years gone by offers wonderfully accurate clues to your inner nature, native skills, most exciting potential, and deepest interests.
These are the elements you should try to incorporate into your working life, starting right away.
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 The New Year’s gloss is off the year: the resolutions are broken (or mostly) and the time is zipping by. When you are job hunting, it’s hard to look at a blank slate and fill it with promising dreams. If you are feeling beat up by the job search and thinking that blank slate is a bad thing, read on.
Keeping yourself motivated during any job search can be difficult. But this is especially true during a very long, protracted job search in a bad economy. The ups and downs can be as difficult to handle as finding the jobs to apply for. You’re buoyed by each new call for an interview, apprehensive when called for second interviews, and crushed when the call comes that you were one of two finalists - and it didn’t go your way. If you feel as though you are marked with a big red L on your forehead, or you are frustrated by jumping through all the hoops only to be told no, you are not alone. What you need are a few coping strategies, and a little dose of reality.
Don’t bank on one opportunity
Even if it’s the job of your dreams - especially if it’s the job of your dreams - do not stop applying for other jobs. Keep your foot in the game and continue to be responsive and enthusiastic about other opportunities. We all know not to count our chickens before they’re hatched, but it’s so tempting when things seem to be lining up. Remember, you don’t have the job until an offer has been made, and sometimes, not even then.
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 Are your job-hunting procedures not working as well as you expected, or as they have in the past? One reason may be that the “brand-package” you present to prospective employers is weak in some of the bedrock leadership, communications, and teamwork skills most people take for granted. If your personal brand doesn’t appear to include top-of-the-line skills, you may well be losing out to candidates who lack your overall ability, knowledge, and experience, but who seem at first glance to be stronger candidates.
Here are five taken-for-granted skills that you may want to polish:
Your Listening Skills
These are probably the most frequently overlooked skills of all. One sharp young marketer was fired from several jobs and failed to make the short list on other positions for which he was well qualified simply because he didn’t take the time to listen when people spoke. His mind raced ahead and grasped the point the person was making, prompting him to interrupt in order to give his eager response. No one cared that he was smart and knowledgeable. His refusal to hear others out in full earned him low marks from almost everyone with whom he talked. Listening to others carefully and thoroughly is fairly easy to do, but it will happen only after you make the conscious decision to do it.
Your Speaking Skills
The way you express yourself is fundamental to other people’s overall impression of your personal brand. In fact, it’s quite common for someone who knows what he or she is talking about - but who hesitates, chooses the wrong word, or even just mumbles - to appear less knowledgeable and capable than other candidates who possess the gift of gab. Fortunately, you can easily upgrade your speaking skills, either by means of professional training, or just by recording yourself on a regular basis and paying attention to the playback. There are also public-speaking organizations, like Toastmasters, where you can learn to make a much better impression whenever you open your mouth to speak.
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