Filling Big Shoes? How to deal with a memorialized predecessor.

Assuming a new leadership role – such as department head, group manager or committee chair is tough enough. But, when you are succeeding Mr. or Ms. Wonderful, it can be a nightmare. Here are some tips to help you manage the tension between your predecessor's legacy and the task at hand.

Do Your Homework.
Meet with the person you're replacing before you start the job to get a sense of his or her managerial style. This will help you better understand problem areas and uncover the cherished leader's secrets for handling difficult situations as well as the personalities in your new work environment. Also, speak with the folks who will be your peers and direct reports. Your questions won’t always be welcome, but you'll gain a great deal of insight from the answers you do get.

Contrast and Compare.
Why were you selected as the replacement and what are you supposed to accomplish? Your new direct reports may think you should do nothing more than stay the course. But the people you'll be answering to might have something entirely different in mind. You may need to chart a new direction for your staff. It's also possible that the admiration your predecessor enjoyed caused management to overlook underlying performance issues – and now you are charged with taking them on. You must find a way to reconcile the tension between your predecessor's legacy and moving forward.

Make your mission known.
Certainly, if you’ve been charged with shaking up the status quo, this will be tough to do. However, it is important to help your staff understand the challenges you've been mandated to address. Prepare yourself to hear the inevitable comment, "but she always did it this way." When it surfaces – and it definitely will – resist the temptation to back down and simply copy the behavior of the former boss. Instead, turn this temptation into an opportunity to help your new reports better understand your own leadership style.

Get the right hands on deck.
Retaining a staff member with a mediocre performance record is a common mistake. This is an area where your leadership can make a huge difference. Give your direct reports a chance to get on board and meet your expectations. But don't wait too long to make the necessary changes. At the end of the day, only those folks who are willing to work with you will help you accomplish your mandate.

So, thanks for the memories Mr. Wonderful. But, now it’s time for all of us to move on.

Labels: experience, hard work, management style, professionalism, real-world knowledge

Posted by Melissa on 5/29/2009 09:48:00 AM
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Don't Get Scammed by Spam!

As many of my friends entered the working world this month, their search for their first jobs post-graduation was grueling and often stressful. While I wouldn't wish their hardships on anyone, it was enlightening to watch others go through the process and learn from what lies ahead for the rest of us.

Labels: job hunt, scammers

Posted by Amanda on 5/28/2009 04:23:00 PM
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Caution - Watch out for Scams!

Online job search engines have made job searching fast, accessible and also extremely risky. Even the most cautious or technologically savvy may fall prey to scams via classified ads and resumes. And this is understandable because there is a certain level of trust that people have when they see a job posting from a seemingly reputable company. When you e-mail or fax your resume to the human resources department, you are expected to disclose a lot of personal information about yourself. It seems like that is the mandatory thing to do and so we all do it. But what if the resume you send isn't to the human resources department but a personal fax number or the company doesn't even exist? Now your personal information is handed over to a stranger who may use it for financial gain. Or worse, the job posting may ask for a fee or service charge that some desperate and unemployed individuals may pay in hopes of getting a job. It is very unfortunate that these situations happen to people who are normally careful and cautious. But I know that I always trust my instinct and if something seems too good to be true - than it probably is!

Posted by Suzanne on 5/28/2009 01:38:00 PM
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Online Job Postings: Real Jobs vs. Scams

It is easier than ever to search for jobs from the convenience and privacy of your own home, but online job hunters must beware-- there are phishing sites eager to lure unsuspecting job hunters into their elaborate identity theft scams! Although some of the most popular job sites have become more aggressive at trying to filter the real ads from the scams, the shear amount of ads posted on a daily basis poses a problem. So, it is really up to the job hunter to know how to detect the red flags and learn how to protect themselves from the possibility of identity theft.

Don’t give out any private data.
Many times phishing sites will claim that certain information is needed for payment, but legitimate employers will offer alternative methods of payment that do not require you to divulge any private data. If a job posting is asking for social security information, a copy of your drivers license, or PayPal account and personal bank information, the chances are high that it is not a legitimate ad. Similarly, do not list any of this information on any resume that you post online—provide a post office box rather than your actual street address and initials rather than full name.

Never pay for a job opportunity.
Legitimate job offers should never require you to invest your own money in order to earn money with a job. It is very likely that these are scammers trying to get a quick buck from unsuspecting job hunters by promoting fake business opportunities.

Don’t judge a book by its cover.
Although a job posting may look and seem legitimate, scammers have gotten increasingly more sophisticated in recent years. They have begun mirroring actual sites almost perfectly, even using company names and logos. Initiating personal contact with the company posting the job is a good way to safeguard you from responding to a job offer that is potentially a fraud. You can even Google the company website and search for complaints that were filed with the Better Business Bureau.

Steer clear of job postings that lack detailed information about the company and the position. Legitimate job offers usually target applicants with certain amounts of experience and provide a detailed description of the job offer. In any case, it is important never to divulge personal information, EVER! If no personal information was divulged the most harm that scammers can do is waste your time. Good luck!

Labels: real-world knowledge, rip off, scammers

Posted by Seymour Jobs on 5/22/2009 02:58:00 PM
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Keep your personal life personal.

It is important to realize that your work place is for working, not gossiping about fellow co-workers or talking about your boyfriend/girlfriend troubles. Opening up to your workplace friends about non work related issues can pose problems in the future if the relationship goes sour. It is important to keep your focus on the task at hand (your job) and not cloud your thoughts with water-cooler gossip. 

Posted by Jen on 5/21/2009 11:39:00 PM
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You've Got a Friend in Me

When it comes to making friends within the workplace, there are many precautionary steps to consider. Because friendships are relationships, you must be careful as to what you do and who you spend your time with.

Labels: friendship, professionalism; office etiquette

Posted by Amanda on 5/21/2009 10:25:00 PM
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All's Fair in Love and... Sales

In the world of business, especially sales, how does one navigate through office friendships and coworkers while trying to meet sales goals/quotas? I do not have much experience with cold calls or door to door marketing, but I can image it is difficult to work alongside other employees if they are sometimes your competition. I imagine that office politics is similar to real world politics in that courtesy is always necessary, even if it is not genuine. I don't know how I could work at a job where I am fighting to recruit more clients, close deals or open accounts with new customers and also competing against my coworkers. I mean it's one thing to compete with a coworker when a promotion becomes available, but in the world of sales, it's like a daily competition. Especially if your coworkers start to steal clients away or land bigger deals that make them look better than you. I image the world of sales is lonely since being close with coworkers may hurt your bottom line.

Posted by Suzanne on 5/21/2009 12:22:00 AM
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BFF’s or Just Until Your Next Job

Developing friendships is inevitable, especially when you spend 40+ hours a week with the same people. Friends in the workplace can make those long hours in the office more bearable, can increase team morale and productivity and even help create a supportive workplace environment. However, there are pros and cons to every relationship and if workplace friendships go sour they can often have a devastating effect.

So, how should you go about navigating the volatile world of workplace friendships? There are a few simple guidelines that when followed can lead to a happy and productive workplace environment.

Recognize that personal and professional friendships are NOT the same.
It is never advisable to be too personal and emotional, as this can blur the lines between professional and personal friendships. Be discreet and careful about what you choose to divulge, being too open could come back to haunt you if the friendship fizzles. When co-workers are faced with choosing their source of income or keeping their friends confidences, more often then not, they will choose their job over their new found friendships. To form professional friendships, keep conversation light, friendly and focused on the task at hand.

Treat others with the same respect that you want in return.
If you don’t have something nice to say, you shouldn’t say it at all. Gossip can only negatively impact the workplace environment. Keep your judgments to yourself. By staying positive and focusing on your job, you can ensure that you are spared from any water-cooler drama and can accomplish tasks more quickly and efficiently.

Follow your company’s policy on workplace friendships.
It is likely that your company has a policy on workplace friendships. Make sure that you keep your friendship within the guidelines set by your company. By following the rules, you can ensure that your friendships don’t affect your job.

Making connections can reap many rewards and having friends in your workplace can make the time that you spend at work much more enjoyable. It is important, however, to recognize that personal and professional friendships are different and should be handled in different ways. Good luck!

Labels: friendship, office romances, professional relationships, relating to coworkers, work/life balance

Posted by Seymour Jobs on 5/15/2009 02:19:00 PM
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"Netiquette"

Networking has always been an important part of the job finding process and social-networking web sites allow you to strengthen, not replace, those connections that have already been formed off the web. Employers have quickly caught on to the new social-networking web site craze and are even using it as a tool to screen potential job applicants. So, knowing your "netiquette" is even more important than ever! 

-When using sites like Twitter and Facebook to promote yourself or your latest project, be subtle and don't get too personal! Stay away from updates on your medical illnesses and relationship status'.  

-Try including your self promotional pitch within information your followers and friends will find useful or helpful. Give them the sense that you know what you're doing and offer them a service of sorts. In the give-and-take world of todays job market, offering a helpful piece of advice is the least you can do. It will make asking for that letter of recommendation a little bit easier.

-Don't get trigger happy when it comes to adding friends. Remember that quality is better than quantity and that many times your friends can say a lot about you as a person. 

-Make use of your privacy settings and control what specific friends can see on your page-- restrict bosses and co-workers from seeing pictures of you and events that you are attending. 

By simply using your netiquette, you can maximize your social networking capabilities. You'll get the most bang for your buck, or in this case, your tweet. 

Labels: netiquette, social networking, social networking etiquette, social networking web sites, twitter, web etiquette

Posted by Jen on 5/15/2009 05:49:00 AM
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To Tweet or Not to Tweet?

Although I have yet to join Twitter as a full-fledged member, I had the unique experience of being introduced to it through a class lecture. My professor explained the ins and outs of becoming a Twitter user and "follower," and as I plan for my impending graduation and career search, I have reconsidered my initial shock at the site.

Labels: cyber job search, social networking; twitter

Posted by Amanda on 5/14/2009 08:54:00 PM
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A techno girl in a flooded job market world

I just read a story in my school newspaper that stated the recent Spring 2009 graduating class was one of the largest classes to graduate from my college in years. This article was meant to be positive and showcase the accomplishments of these grads, but I couldn't help but feel a little alarmed at this information. Although I do not wish people would fail or drop out of college, I do feel that these recent grads will flood the market and make it even more difficult to find jobs. Although colleges continue to raise their standards for admitting incoming freshman, these does not account for transfer students and those already enrolled. Now that bachelor degrees are a dime a dozen, it's so important now to have something extra. Having a masters degree, better networking contacts or an internship can add to your resume. And the second step is advertising your extracurricular. Use technology to search out jobs and promote yourself in hopes of landing a job over your peers.

Posted by Suzanne on 5/14/2009 07:52:00 PM
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Standing Out from the Crowd

I've always been good at standing out from the crowd whether it was my numerous tattoos or artfully colored hair. However, as I proceed knee-deep into this journey of post-grad job searching, I'm curious... How do you stand out from the hundreds (if not, thousands) of other job searching folks? Better yet, how do you do it tactfully?

MSN Careers writer and author of "They Don't Teach Corporate in College," Alexandra Levit, offers 5 Ways for '09 Grads to Stand Out in the Job Market.

1. Hunt down the unadvertised jobs
2. Make your résumé pop
3. Customize all communication
4. Have a professional online persona
5. Do pre-interview intelligence

Seemingly reasonable... I started with #1. and did what I know best... research! I started with College Grad's recently announced 2009 Top Entry Level Employers list that includes companies of all sizes and industries and its projected number of entry level hires. Then, I cross analyzed the list with who was on Twitter.

Following these companies on Twitter has given me the inside scoop on who's hiring as well as allowing for me to initiate a relationship without having to wait for someone to get back to me. Knowing that these companies are receptive to hiring entry level workers and having a leg-up with real time communication is giving me the "stand-out-ability" that I've been searching for... minus the pink hair!

What are you doing to stand out?

Labels: career prep, getting noticed, hiring criteria, job hunt, social networking; twitter

Posted by Melissa on 5/13/2009 11:45:00 AM
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Tweet Your Way to Your Next Job~

Being innovative when searching for a job is essential, especially in times of economic hardship. Be assured that companies are still hiring and there are plenty of good jobs out there for college graduates; you just have to be fearless in your pursuit to find them… and that includes social media!

The current darling of online social networking is Twitter. What is Twitter, you ask? Twitter is a mass text-messaging service that allows you to send short 140-character updates -- or "tweets" -- to a bunch of people at once. Those people are your "followers". Twitter was designed to be read on a cell phone, though many people read it online, too.

To leverage this tool, start by maximizing your Twitter page potential. Make sure that your Twitter presence “employer-friendly” by putting your job search objective in your Twitter bio (which is 160 characters). Also, use an appropriate picture to represent yourself on a professional level. Don’t forget to tweet openly about your job search – that is, unless you already have a job. Be warned that employers are actively utilizing Twitter too. Now more than ever, Twitter has become the favored medium for sharing, so it too has also become the quickest way to get fired!

Twitter has become so popular, in fact, that there are more than 2,000 Twitter applications to help you sort through all of your tweets.

• JobShouts: By becoming a follower of @JobShouts, you can have free job listings, from recruiters and employers, sent directly to your account.
• TweetMyJobs: Another tool born out of Twitter for job seekers and recruiters. This is a very simple (and free) tool for job seekers. You can subscribe to desired job channels and even have new openings automatically sent to your mobile phone by following @tweetmyjobs.
• Job search accounts: There are a variety of Twitter accounts dedicated to providing job listings by field, company, region, and more.

1. @spherion – Administrative, clerical and light industrial job postings
2. @mergisgroup – Professional job postings including accounting, finance, marketing, sales, engineering, manufacturing and legal
3. @technisource – IT and technology job postings

Being ahead of the game is an essential part of the twenty-first century workforce. The key to getting ahead of the professional game is (1) expanding your networking contacts and (2) exhausting all available resources. You never know… your next job could be just a tweet away. Good luck!

Labels: social networking; twitter

Posted by Seymour Jobs on 5/11/2009 12:56:00 PM
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Free time is wasted time.

As I said before, mediocrity is not a desirable trait in today's workforce. If you graduated college and are having a difficult time finding the job you want, not working is NOT an option. Expand your horizons and think outside the box when it comes to finding your next job. You should be looking for ANY job that can help you gain experience in your desired field. 

Labels: entry-level, interning, internship, internships, part-time, temping

Posted by Jen on 5/08/2009 08:12:00 AM
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Generation Why?

As this Gen-Y girl makes it into the career world, there are some trends that I've already noticed from my part-time jobs. Generational differences are common, especially when coworkers are more than 20 years apart from you in age.

Labels: Gen Y, people skills, relating to coworkers

Posted by Amanda on 5/07/2009 09:59:00 PM
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There's No Place Like Home... Yeah, Right!

So very true, Seymour.... plus --I'm a BIG fan of Lindsay Pollack! Following my post, Career tips for out-of-work college grads, #3) Move Home with the folks. Lindsay posted an awesome blog post called, Survival Tips for Moving Back in with Mom & Dad.

While theoretically it makes sense and financially it sounds like a great idea... I'm sure that I'm not the only recent (jobless) college grad that has reservations about moving home. Lindsay offers some sage advice to keep in mind:

1. Communicate early and often. If you have a good enough relationship to move back home after graduation, you should have a good enough relationship to talk openly with your parent or parents about your expectations for living together again.

2. Use your parents’ financial support wisely. If your parents offer to help you financially, consider asking them for help purchasing items and services that will help your job search or career development.

3. Learn a new skill or two. If you view your time at home as an opportunity, you’ll take advantage of the skills your parents can teach you-things you probably overlooked when you were a kid.

Guess its time to expand my culinary repertoire beyond Ramen Noodles and instant mac & cheese!

Labels: college diet, moving home, real-world knowledge

Posted by Melissa on 5/07/2009 12:47:00 PM
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What jobs are on the rise?

Although it's a little late to change my major, I am curious about which fields are going to see a rise in open job positions in the next couple years. It seems that on the news all I hear about is companies that are laying off employees or closing stores. But which industries are growing in this hard economic time and what does that mean for me? Sure everyone knows that "green" companies and products are on the rise, but what does this translate into in terms of available jobs for me? What kind of things can I expect to find in the newapaper wanted ads?

Posted by Suzanne on 5/06/2009 04:17:00 PM
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Heads Up Gen Y: Part-Time Work & Volunteering Can Help You Find a Job!

There's been a lot of talk around Gen Y and the workforce lately. With jobs scarce, college graduates need to make the most of their available options.

Lindsay Pollack, bestselling author, speaker and consultant specializing in Generation Y career and workplace issues, recently sat down with Career TV to talk about how part-time work experience and volunteering can help Gen Y's land a job in this competitive market.

Click here to watch a new video interview posted on CareerTV.

Labels: Gen Y, jobs after college, real-world knowledge, recession

Posted by Seymour Jobs on 5/05/2009 10:37:00 AM
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Career tips for out-of-work college grads

I came across a great article on Wallet Pop that offers career tips & strategies for those unfortunate college grads (like myself) that have yet to land a job. Blogger, Farnoosh Torabi, offers some 'no-frill' alternatives to grad school:

1. Be an intern
2. Volunteer
3. Move home with the folks
4. Go abroad
5. Keep your online profile updated
6. Enjoy the time off!

To supplement this list, Career Coach, Lee E. Miller says to look for jobs in growth fields that are "not as affected by the recession" for example: education, health care, "green" technology, government and accounting.

Another viable option is to work with a recruiter through a staffing or "temp" agency. Not only can a recruiter help you to get placed in a temp position but that temp job could potentially result in a permanent, full time position. Better yet, staffing companies like Spherion do not charge employees for using the service and all of the fees are paid by the hiring client company. College Recruiter provided some great insight on what entry level workers should know when working with a recruiter.

Happy hunting~

Labels: job hunt, job search, real-world knowledge, recession, recruiter

Posted by Melissa on 5/04/2009 12:58:00 PM
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