Think You’re Not Good Enough? Look Around! | Evolving Self-Confidence

I often hear this: “I don’t have enough:

• experience for that job
• knowledge to lead a team
• years with the company to advance
• know-how to start my own business.” 

Exactly, who says we aren’t good enough? Most of the time, we’re the guilty party.

Doubt is our enemy.

Negative self-talk is often riddled with self-doubt. We look at what others are achieving, compare ourselves, and question whether we have what it takes. We self-assess against standards that we invent before we know what the real expectations are.

Self-confidence is as much about being willing to explore an opportunity as it is about being able to execute an assignment. All too often, we worry about our ability to do a job before we understand what it is.

Doubt cannot be allowed to rule.  

The antidote to doubt is reality. Not some “reality” you imagine but the reality that exists.

Start by looking around. Who is doing the work that you think you’re “not good enough” to do as well or better?

Look hard and long at those people. Watch exactly what they do and say. Pay attention to the actual results they produce. Examine their work closely. Find out what others are saying about it.

Then ask yourself, “Can I produce work like that or better?”  My guess is that, in most cases, your answer will be, “Sure.”

If you’ve been reading my posts for a bit, you know that I spent many years as a commercial horse breeder. I knew nothing about it when I started.

Before I bought my farm, I had doubts about whether or not I could care for horses on my own since I’d had no knowledge or experience. The owner of the barn where I’d been boarding warned me, “You could kill those horses if you don’t feel ‘em right.” That rocked me.

Then I stopped to think about her and the other people I’d met who were in the horse business. I asked myself, “Is there any reason to believe that the people in this business are smarter than I am? Do I have good people to advise me when I have questions?” The answers were obvious.

Self-confidence is not arrogance. 

Arrogance is when you act like you know everything. Self-confidence is about believing in yourself. It builds courage, keeps you moving forward in spite of setbacks, and enables you to seize opportunities to grow.

You find self-confidence by looking positively at yourself, acknowledging what you can do. You build self-confidence by testing your capabilities.

The biggest mistake we make is telling ourselves that we have to be the best at something before we are “entitled” to be self-confident. In fact, we just have to be as good as the situation requires.

Role models are everywhere. 

If your self-confidence is a bit shaky, it’s time to look around and see who’s out there doing what you want to do with capabilities similar to yours. In the past four months, I watched these two confidence-building situations unfold:

1.) A Gen Y college grad, who hated her job, started a blog, made professional on-line contacts, was recognized for her writing talents, started freelancing, and just got a full-time job.

2.) An experienced marketing professional was downsized, couldn’t find another job, talked to independent contractors about how they worked, informally looked for clients, blogged about her “start up” experiences, got great advice, opened an office, and saw her business start to grow.

Self-confidence evolves. Every step you take helps you build your truly capable self. You can mentor, volunteer to lead a team, give speeches, deliver training, start a hobby business, or cover a temporary vacancy at work.

Every step you take to become business fit builds your self-confidence. If you haven’t had a chance to learn the seven smart moves, perhaps now’s the time. Your self-confidence is your success engine. Without it, we don’t move very far or very fast. Vroooom!

How has your self-confidence been tested? What were you able to do to overcome your doubts and move ahead? Thanks for helping out!

Stuck? Try Getting Out of Your Own Way! | Overcoming Risk Aversion

Mistakes are a bummer. We don’t like being on the receiving end (like when they don’t’ “hold the onion”) or on the doing end (like when you miss a due date). Some mistakes have greater consequences than others, but we never quite know how great. 

Mistakes lurk, so be heroic.  

Keep working. Get stuff done. Make decisions. Choose options. Make your best guess.

You’ve been given a job to do…so just do it! No one else is.

Business is a machine. It thrives on forward motion created by people doing things that need to be done.

Your life is a business too. So, you need forward motion to find a job, navigate a career, and position your future.

Every time we take action, we leave ourselves open for both mistakes and success. Most of the time, the success odds are in our favor!

Trial and error is a good thing. It’s one way we figure things out! 

So why do we obsess so much about maybe “doing it wrong?” Unless the consequences of a mistake are death or financial ruin, there’s little reason to defer action.

Now, I’m not proposing that we act without thinking, planning, and considering consequences. I am proposing that once we’ve done reasonable thinking, planning and considering, we act. (Haven’t read Seth Godin’s, Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? It’s time.) 

When we don’t act, it’s often because we fear:

• Negative judgments by others (our who and why never explained)  
• Looking stupid or naïve (the rationale, basis, and likelihood unstated)
• Disappointing ourselves (the result of a bar we set too high)
• Becoming trapped (our baseless belief that situations control our future)
• Personal loss—(the notion that there is some concrete price to pay) 

These fears will paralyze us if we let them.  

Shackles you choose are still shackles. 

The relentless pursuit of approval and permission coupled with the endless need for more information, discussion, and analysis becomes self-imposed career imprisonment.

Analysis to paralysis is what it’s often called. It happens when you believe you need just one more bit of information, insight, and affirmation before you’re safe enough to act.

Problem: There are unknowns, surprises, and discoveries in every decision.  It’s the “successful people” who come up with winning discoveries and get credit for them, even when it all started from mistakes they made.

The people who end up in the best careers often got there by stumbling through jobs that took them to places they never imagined, both good and bad. They just kept moving along and discovering things while doing quality work.

You can’t become a success when you stand in your own way, waiting for analysis and approval to open doors.

Please, let this be like you. 

Karen was a call center support specialist who knew I needed a call monitoring feedback system fair to our reps. On her own, she found out what other companies did, discussed the law with Legal, and drafted a process for me and my boss to consider, all in short order. A smart, gutsy move for her career.

Herb was a union guy, servicing electric meters. He wanted to move into management but didn’t have the best credentials. He bid on a mobile exhibit job covering a 10,000 square mile area. During the interview, I asked him to write an essay about why he wanted the job. That threw him, but he gave it a go, not knowing where this “no job security” position would take him. In time, he became a respected marketing manager…not bad!

Believe in yourself…because you should! 

Look around. The success you want is within your reach. You just need to be willing to reach for it! The more actions you take, the more ground you gain. Business fitness is about building momentum toward your goals. So pull on your best sneaks and hit the trail!

What fears have held you back along the way? How did you reduce or overcome them? Any advice is a real gift!

Supervisory Courage or Cowardice? | Handling Employees With “Attitude”

Do you have one of these? An employee who’s negative, resistant, complaining and blaming, or uncooperative. One is bad enough, but more than one can be unbearable.

What you resist persists. 

Confronting behavior problems is no fun, but it’s a supervisor’s job! Employees with “bad” attitudes won’t get any better when the supervisor:

• Ignores them
• Makes excuses for them
• Accommodates the them
• Accepts them
• Rewards them by giving in 

The hard reality is that supervisors need to TALK to these employees about what they are doing and why.

That “talk” word makes many a supervisor’s blood run cold. They often don’t want to face that employee, don’t know how to conduct or control the meeting, or aren’t clear about the outcome they want.

So they keep putting off the confrontation until work is compromised, other employees are negatively affected, and their effectiveness as a supervisor is questioned. The problem persists!

Start by trying to understand the cause. 

To get the ball rolling, supervisors needs to accept two premises:

• There is an underlying reason why an employee’s attitude is “bad” and the supervisor needs to find that out. 
• The employee owns his/her attitude problem. The supervisor is responsible for mitigating its negative impact on work group performance.   

Too many supervisors feel that they need to defend themselves when they confront. Remember: It’s the employee’s attitude that is causing the problem.  The onus is on them to improve, not the supervisor.

Take charge. 

Don’t delay. Meet with the employee as soon as you observe the unwanted attitude.  Start by identifying the unacceptable attitude/behavior you have observed like:

• Negative or accusative statements
• Work not submitted on time or according to instructions
• Fault finding with other employees or the supervisor
• Defensiveness or being dismissive of others
• Bullying or actions that incite conflict 

State the specific instance(s) where you personally observed the attitude or behavior. State the impact that these behaviors have on the work.

Ask, “What is driving your attitude/behavior?” Then listen. Ask for clarification until you understand what’s behind it all.

When you think you’ve got it, say, “I want to be sure I understand what your reasons are. I heard you say____. Is that correct?”

Solutions are both art and science. 

To get behavior change, there is an element of negotiation and a bit of compromise. Supervisors need to reinforce exactly the behavior they expect and how they know when they are getting it. You need to make that clear up front.

The next step is to ask, “Are you willing to make the effort to change?” If the answer is “No,” then you need to tell the employee that his/her job will be at risk.

If the answer is “Yes,” then ask, “What will you do to turn your attitude around? How can I, as your supervisor, help/support you?” The employee commits to action and the supervisor to support.

Next you schedule specific times when you will meet to discuss progress. To start, that’s at least weekly. As things improve, less frequently.

The employee needs to understand that you expect to see significant improvement within a 3 month period. Along the way, you’ll be restating your expectations and giving specific feedback.

The effort and consequences must be real. 

The time supervisors invest in an employee with a “bad” attitude is significant. The reward is a positive turn-around. However, not everyone will change, so termination of employment is a potential consequence.

When you invest time in employees who are difficult, you also make an impression on your good employees. They will see that you care, observe what it means to supervise, and accept the fairness of the outcome.

Business fit supervisors are prepared and ready to face and resolve tough challenges. It’s no picnic but it’s worth it!

What experiences have you had supervising or working with an employee with a “bad” attitude? Did you know the cause? What happened to him/her?

Gotcha! “Job Mistakes 101” | A Performance Leg Up

Errors. Mistakes. Gaffs. We worry about them. Try to avoid them. But they lurk and get us when we’re not looking. When our mistakes teach us something, they have value. When they don’t, we’ve failed ourselves.

“If you never make a mistake, you aren’t doing anything.”

That’s a great adage. I know people who:

• Can’t decide or act for fear of making a mistake
• Work in dread that they will make an error
• Avoid the “risk” of a new opportunity 

Mistakes (even other people’s) are great teachers. That’s how you’ve been learning all along, from riding a bike to negotiating a good car deal.

Trial and error is a good thing. It’s how we figure things out.

Since we aren’t made to be perfect, we make mistakes. If you keep making the same mistakes, that’s a problem. Repeated gaffs will end up on your performance appraisal. So you’ll need to fix that:

• Improve your job skills and/or knowledge 
• Pay attention to the details
• Care about doing things right
• Use established work processes
• Ask, if you don’t know, before you act 

Your employer’s big concern is the cost of error, and it should be. The consequences of mistakes can be:

• Loss of revenue or time
• Disruption to customers and other employees
• Regulation or code violation penalties/fines
• Financial impacts or law suits
• Loss of productivity or damaged equipment 

Now think about your job. What are the potential consequences of errors that you might make? If you kept making them, how would they affect the ability of your work group, your boss, your peers and you to be successful?

Little mistakes can add up, but only if we don’t care about fixing them. That’s why supervisor feedback is so important. No one goes to work wanting to make mistakes, but when we do, we need to be told so we won’t repeat them.

For most of us, the likelihood of making a catastrophic error is pretty small.  

All mistakes are not created equal.

As a manager, I was responsible for a monthly electricity rate update for key customers, a priority initiative for the CEO. These updates included sensitive copy and graphs that were painstakingly reviewed by countless experts. In spite of that, I managed to grind one out each month.

The February issue was my nemesis. It started out as the January issue but the up-tight review process pushed it into February. After the data had been updated and approved, off to the printer it went.

A day later, I got my copy before the bulk mailing started. For some reason, I read it one more time and saw that that the chart still said January even though it was the February issue. I’d missed the error.  

I called my VP, expecting to be reamed out. I was sweating.

“Okay,” he said. “Tell Corporate Communications to make the fix and get the printer to redo it.”

Stupidly I asked, “What should I do with all these copies.”

“Throw them out,” he quipped. That printing cost $10,000.  

The cost of mistakes is relative.  

This was a big lesson for me. A $10,000 mistake to a $1.2 billion company is pocket change. It’s still hard for me to get my head around that, even though I’ve personally seen multi-million dollar errors dismissed almost as easily.

It taught me to keep things in perspective. A lot of people could have caught that error. They didn’t. This project was on my watch, so I owned the mistake.

Others had much bigger fish to fry that day. My project was a communications update. If that piece had been mailed to customers, I’m sure that fur would have flown. In a sense I got points for avoiding that.

It’s important for us all to see mistakes as opportunities to become more business fit: to sharpen our skills and senses, learn how to improve things, and avoid turning our missteps into shackles. Be brave!  Be careful!

Have you ever made a “big” work mistake? How did you recover? What did you learn? We’ll all be better for your lesson.

Besieged by Problems? Out of Ideas? | Circle Your Masterminds

In the dumps? Disgusted? Feel like no one’s struggling with career frustrations and business uncertainties the way you are? Makes you ask yourself, “What’s my problem?” Well, that’s how I felt. 

It doesn’t matter whether you’re an employee, a business owner, a budding entrepreneur, college student, or unemployed. We just don’t have all the answers.

Finding answers is about accumulating knowledge. 

And it isn’t just about information. Knowledge includes insights, perspectives, conclusions, and us. 

Yes, the most important knowledge we bring to our work is self-knowledge. Are you aware of what motivates, frightens, energizes, and limits you? Do you understand and deal with your strengths and weaknesses? Are you an effective problem solver? 

This is heady stuff that we often overlook. But it’s the real stuff of career and business success. 

The best route to that understanding is through people who want it too. 

Find like-minded people who trust each other. They’re gold!

 This is what mastermind groups are. You can get a group together around any issue you face: 

• Career decision-making and job hunting
• Building your small business
• Creating better marketing strategies
• Personal or professional development
• Expanding your network
• Increasing your self-confidence
• Developing new products or services  

(If this is new to you, read Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. It’ll amaze you.) 

I needed a mastermind group when I started my solo practice. 

Here’s the scenario: I’d left a big corporation and the handsome, every-two-week paycheck to start my consulting business. The risk was hefty. 

I worked all day, six days a week alone—no employees, no meetings, no one. 

I knew three former colleagues who were also starting new businesses, two with a real sense of urgency like mine. We were all struggling with the same issues: 

• no colleagues for idea sharing, support, or accountability
• difficulty staying motivated in isolation
• trouble staying focused and resisting procrastination
• dealing with uncertainty, negative thoughts, and discouragement 

So we formed a mastermind group that we called Gold Minds and met monthly for three years. 

Being held accountable by others makes us more accountable to ourselves. 

The Gold Minds met at my dining room table from nine to noon. Our meetings included agendas, assignments, roundtables, grillings (always constructive), status reports and laugher. We: 

• confronted each other about our foibles and fears
• shared leads and made referrals
• reviewed and approved our annual goals
• challenged each other on our quarterly performance results
• conducted information exchanges; discussed  books read in common 

We were a kind of board of directors, committed to each other’s success.

It’s not much fun going it alone. So don’t!  

Career and business challenges never stop. The right mastermind group can be a huge relief. For these groups to be successful, you need to manage expectations up front. 

In our case each member agreed to:

• Be trustworthy and hold our conversations in confidence       
• Accept all members as equals
• Adhere to the goals and agendas set by the group
• Be kind, patient, supportive, and sensitive
• Demonstrate a positive, can-do attitude
• Learn from others and communicate openly
• Have a good sense of humor

You get back what you put in. 

Mastermind groups can cultivate a generosity of spirit that attracts positive results. Like-minded people committed to helping each other are an empowering force. Through them we become more business fit, finding success our way as they find it their way.  

Have you had a mastermind group experience? What went well and what didn’t? Any suggestions you can add? Thanks, as always!

I’m pleased to post this code, Z8X2YE74Z8VT, in order to have my blog registered with Technorati.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Start Smart. Finish Strong. | Job-to-Career Strategies

Singin’ the “I Need a Job” blues? It starts like this: “Don’t know what I wanna do with my life…Got so many bills to pay.” It’s a sorrowful tune about the rock and the hard place. 

You want a job that launches your career but can’t find one—the rock.  You settle for a make-do job to cover debts and expenses—the hard place. Luckily, there is a cure for the blues! 

Jobs don’t make a career, but they can add up to one. 

A job is a means to an end. So before you start looking, you need to know what you’re really after. 

I recently spoke to a group of college seniors with questions about the job market. One of the students expressed confusion and frustration about the pull of trying to find a job that matched his major versus taking a $20-an-hour security job to start paying his tuition debts. 

I asked him, “What are you interested in?” 

He answered, “Bodybuilding.”  Bingo! 

The bodybuilding industry is huge. It’s made up of companies that: 

• Produce body-building equipment, supplements, and attire
• Build and design gyms
• Market equipment, products, and services
• Handle event planning and promotion
• Offer personal trainers, DVD’s, and on-air programs
• Produce print and on-line publications 

Each one of these companies has jobs to fill at all salary levels. If you really want to work in a certain industry, first get connected to it. 

I told this young man, “If you’re willing to work for $20 an hour, then look for $20-an-hour job at a company that’s connected to the bodybuilding industry.” 

Why? Because, at least, he’ll get in a door that gives him an insider’s look at the industry that he’s attracted too. Once he’s there, he’s in a position to stand out.

 Positioning is about building your body of work.

When you start any job, you don’t really know how the business works. So your objective is to do what it takes to accumulate knowledge, skills, experience, and insights that will make you a strong candidate for new opportunities when the time comes. 

So what should you do in that current job: 

• Master the technical skills and processes to maximize your productivity.
• Make strong, professional relationships with the colleagues, managers, suppliers, and vendors you meet. Stay in touch.
• Learn about the competition and how the company is dealing with it.
• Volunteer for special assignments; Offer to work on a project even if it isn’t within your existing job.
• Participate on work teams to solve problems.
• Ask people you work with about their career paths; Do information interviewing with them.
• Keep alert to internal openings and job opportunities in other companies tied to your preferred industry. 

Be ready to move when the time comes.  

• Keep your resume updated.
• Maintain a professional social media presence.
• Let people in your company and outside know that you are interested in other opportunities.
• Think through the next steps you want to take and what you require to make a move. (Remember: Each job change is about adding to your skills, knowledge, experience, and network! It’s not all about money and title.) 

The key is to be prepared and ready to make those moves. That’s what it means to be business fit. 

You build a career by being strategic about the jobs you take.

Flailing is not a strategy. That’s what taking jobs for paychecks looks like. In order to take control of your career, you need to be under control about your choices. 

The sequencing of your jobs tells a story on your resume. A job history that demonstrates a commitment to learning about an industry from the ground up sets you apart. That’s how to trade that hard place for a warm seat that fits just right.

 What are some of the related businesses you discovered while working in an industry? What do you see emerging in today’s marketplace?

Unemployment Got You Down? | Build Up Your Skills

Being unemployed is your big break. Why? Because you can finally focus all your time on yourself—your future. Most people squander that time. Please don’t let that be you. 

Stress makes people stupid. 

Think about it. In the face of the unexpected, fear, or hard criticism, we become confused, befuddled, even frantic. When we reach our stress threshold, our decision-making ability implodes. 

Not having a job, for whatever reason, can deliver high doses of stress. In knee-jerk fashion, we frantically try to find a replacement job which often looks like the old one. At the height of our stress, we forget to ask ourselves important questions: 

• Did I really like that job? Was it a good fit for my interests?
• Did I have the skills to be really successful at it?
• Could I have made a career of it?
• Did I like the industry that was home to that job?
• Was I working with the kind of people who were good for me? 

A deep breath and serious introspection can ease the panic. 

Start with a reality check. You’re out of work now, but: 

• Do you seriously think that you’ll be out work forever? The answer for most is, “No.”
• Do you need to replace the job you had or is there something else just as good or better out there? The answer: ”Most likely”
• Is the job you want going to fall into your lap? “No.”
• Are you going to have to work hard to figure out your options, how to present yourself, and where the leads are? “Yes.”
• Do you care enough about yourself to commit to finding a job that will deliver what you need? Only you know this answer. 

Start thinking. Keep thinking. Take smart actions.  

Thinking puts your mind to work discovering information, insights, opportunities, and solutions that you can act on. It needs to replace worrying, brooding, procrastinating, and nay-saying. 

Right action reduces the stress. While unemployed, you have, at least, a week’s worth of eight-hour days to develop and implement your plan for finding the right job.  

For starters, use part of each day looking for openings and opportunities through your personal and professional networks, posted positions, and career fairs.   

Then, invest time filling in the skill, knowledge, and experience gaps in your resume. 

Spend time figuring out how to stand out as a candidate. Avoid accumulating certificates, courses, or community work without clear purpose.   

Do things that will build skills essential to the jobs you want. Try these ideas on for size:

• Identify a local non-profit looking for board members. Express interest. Volunteer or serve on committees. Say “yes” to a board seat offer. (Showcases  your leadership, talents, commitment, and energy; Builds your network) 
• Become a blogger. Post articles on subjects related to the kind of work you’re interested in. Include evidence of research done on each subject. Invite followers and comments. Reference your blog on your resume. (Showcases subject matter knowledge, communication skills, social media savvy; Expands visibility) 
• Offer specialized skills/services as an independent contractor. Target companies/individuals in industries where you want to work. Do some work pro bono in exchange for a testimonial. Mention this work on your resume. (Showcases entrepreneurial spirit, motivation, relationship building, skills; Adds references; May lead to an offer.) 
• Seek out public speaking opportunities. Too scary? Enroll in Toastmasters and get over that. Speak to groups of any size.  Mention relevant topics and audiences on your job applications. (Showcases self-confidence, public presence, courage; Expands visibility) 

The right effort delivers the right job at the right time. 

Patience, a steady pace, disciplined action, and your network are your best job search assets. This work is about YOU, no one else. If you spend half your time focused on the marketplace and the other half expanding your capabilities and your reach, you’ll have a full workday every day and a great job as your reward. This is how you’ll get business fit. I’m pulling for you! 

Can you add other ideas for building skills while out of work? Are there any traps to avoid? Got a success story to share? I love those!

 

Managers Who Don’t Manage | Taking Issue

Fear of employees. Way too many managers have a case of it. From what I can see, it’s highly contagious. That’s the issue. 

Businesses hire managers to make sure the right work gets done in the right way. Managers don’t actually do the work (usually), their employees do. So, the manager’s job is to set direction and clear the way. 

Problem: Too many managers don’t manage.  Guess they’re just too scared. 

It’s epidemic. The good managers need to do something about it. 

The good ones see it: Managers who won’t step up to the plate and fix things. They just sit back and expect their employees to figure out which fires to douse. When the business results don’t come, those managers look for someone to blame. It’s never them. 

From what I’ve seen, poor manager’s: 

• Have weak management skills and work to cover them up (Fear of discovery)
• Nurture an inflated view of their position (Bosses gotta keep their distance)
• Won’t confront problems and make changes (Fear of failure or backlash)
• Can’t deal with employee problems, feedback, or disagreement (Fear of confrontation) 

So what do they do? Nothing…or maybe something which actually turns out to be nothing. 

Most everyone knows the managers who are afraid to deal with their employees. 

Here are the signs: 

• Employees who don’t pull their weight are tolerated.
• Those who don’t want to make mandated changes to the way they do their work don’t have to.
• Every employee gets at least a satisfactory performance rating, regardless
• All communication is done by memo, especially the sticky stuff
• Work processes and people problems are never resolved
• Complainers routinely get their way 

I’ve seen way too much of this in businesses, large and small. To be honest it really irritates me. The unwillingness of those managers, who should be leaders, to stand for fairness, quality work, employee growth, and high standards shows a gross lack of personal courage. 

So why do so many managers stay at arms length from their employees?  

They can’t or won’t connect. They are averse to building a professional relationship with employees. They have no idea how to motivate, engage, and support the people who work for them, the very people who can make or break their own success.

 Instead, they isolate themselves by staying in their offices, issuing direction by writ, and using others to deliver uncomfortable messages. 

They miss the reward of seeing an individual or team develop, succeed, and grow. Their own misconceptions of what a manager should be stand in their way.

Sadly, many of these managers fear discovery of their own deficiencies. 

I once managed a great group of employees who functioned as internal training consultants in a Fortune 500. 

One afternoon, one of my employees asked to see me after an unsettling meeting she’d just had with a key manager, her fourth meeting without any progress. 

When she confronted the manager about his resistance to training, he told her, “If I offer management training to my group, they will all know what a bad manager I am.” 

My guess is they already knew. 

Here’s the sad truth for all managers. 

Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman from the The Gallup Organization wrote the bestseller, First, Break All the Rules, a study of over 80,000 managers in 400 companies. One of their findings was that “…people leave managers, not companies.” 

When you have turnover in your business, either by exodus or transfer, you need know why. There are plenty of reasons why employees move on and why you’d want them to. But, if you want a high performing business that delivers great results year after year, a cadre of courageous, employee-focused, business fit managers will get you there. It’s a big part of a winning strategy. 

What do you think contributes to managers “fearing” their employees? What makes the courageous ones stand out?    

“Job Hopper” Resumes Revisited | Finding the Upside

It can make you feel like pulling the covers over your head. It reads like you have no direction. It’s a road block to interviews. What is it? Okay, you knew all along. A resume that brands you a “job hopper.” 

If you’ve changed jobs often, you need to understand why. If you don’t do this honestly, you won’t be credible explaining yourself. 

Job hopping is a symptom not a disease. If you treat it, you’ll be on your feet in no time. 

We all have aspirations for a good job with opportunity and reward. Then work realities show up: We get frustrated and leave, downsized or laid off. We move on and it happens again. Is it us? Is it circumstance? Whatever it is, our work history doesn’t read well. 

Let your resume show how your past jobs have broadened you. 

Each job teaches us something about how business works and what’s expected. That cumulative knowledge has value to showcase in your resume. Here’s how: 

• Include and highlight in bold the skills from the posting that you demonstrated in each prior job
• Identify similarities between the companies you’ve worked for and the one you’re applying to now
• Use the same number of content bullets for each job, showcasing their experiential value instead of your length of service
• Consider including a “Profile” section at the start of your resume: a bulleted list of your business and technical skills/knowledge
• Make sure your resume has a professional look and quality content  

(If you don’t know how to do this, hire an expert to help you. It’ll pay for itself.)  

Let your cover letter address your job pattern head on! 

If you’ve been asked about your “job hopping” or aren’t getting interviews, then it’s time to get in front of the issue.

For starters, do not call yourself a “job hopper” or invite that label from the screener. Your cover letter is the tool you use to put your job experience—not work history—in perspective. 

Cover letters are difficult to craft, so here’s an excerpt from one I wrote for a sales candidate with many job changes over a six-year period: 

“My prior sales positions have been diverse and centered on the highly competitive device markets. I have learned a lot about the industry and myself from my experiences. 

I am passionate about products I believe in. I am gratified by the trust of my customers in those products and in the services I provide. Getting results for them and for the company are my bottom line. 

The creativity, autonomy, and mobility of sales, coupled with face-to-face interactions with customers, fit my personality. Once I understood this about myself, I realized that the sales process, regardless of the industry, is what motivates me.” 

Here’s the message the recruiter takes away from this cover letter. The candidate had: 

• held a number of prior positions
• acquired broad personal and industry knowledge as a result
• validated his passion for products and serving customers
• underscored his commitment to making money for the company
• connected with the traits that made “sales” the right fit for him
• developed a clear focus for his career 

This letter increases the candidate’s odds for getting a second look and an interview. 

Don’t undermine yourself by apologizing for your job changes. Turn your experiences into value. 

Everyone makes career bloopers of some kind. It only matters if you keep doing it. 

Take a fresh look at what you’ve done in past jobs and share perspectives that show how business fit you are. Remember: A hiring organization is looking for talent. They don’t expect or want “lifers” anymore. 

Companies, however, want you to be dependable and reliable. If you’ve had legitimate reasons to move around, situations that are about life happening, then don’t feel the need to apologize. Just address them at the right time. 

But, if you’ve done “no-no” things that caused you to change jobs, that’s reason for a different post. I would never think that of you! 

What are your most pressing concerns about your job history? Or do you have a strategy to share? Every idea helps!

The Employee “Attitude” Problem | What’s a Supervisor to Do?

A supervisor’s nightmare—the employee with a “problem” attitude. Makes you feel like you just drew the Old Maid card. 

What to do? You have an employee with a personality, work style, or temperament that is driving you crazy or aggravating others, making it harder to get the work done. And you don’t want to fire. 

Performance appraisal is how supervisors save us from ourselves. 

Good supervisors use appraisal to teach and guide. Most employees with attitude issues aren’t aware of any problem: it’s just their way.   

You know you’ve got an “attitude” problem employee when these things start to happen: 

• Peers would rather do a job alone than work with him/her
• Discussion at a meeting goes dead when he/she speaks
• S/he insists that work be done his/her way or hoards work
• Direction is always questioned
• S/he consistently criticizes, competes with, or dismisses the work of others 

Each of these situations points to an attitude that needs defining. Where to start? 

Connect “attitude” to observable behaviors that impact productivity.  

The first step in dealing with “attitude” issues is to demonstrate how the employee’s behavior is affecting the work. Here’s how you prepare: 

• Observe and take notes of specific instances (about 6) where the attitude was obvious.
• Make a list of the impacts you saw, like defensiveness from others, resistance, stalled decisions, or delay.
• Determine specifically how these impacts will affect the output of your work group.  

Next meet with the employee to talk about their performance to date and your intention to coach them to improve: 

• Raise the attitude issue by sharing your recent observations, naming the dates and situations.
• Explain what you observed and ask them to offer their perspective.
• Be specific about the current and future impacts of their “attitude” on the productivity of the group.
• Ask what they are willing to do to improve and how you can help them.

 Raise the stakes and engage the employee in orchestrating his/her own change. 

Most of us don’t change unless there are negative consequences that we can avoid by doing things differently. The more we want to make a positive change and reap the rewards, the more invested we are in the work we need to do. 

At this point, explain the next steps to the employee: 

• Together agree on a performance goal(s) for the balance of the year focused on the “attitude” change that needs to be made
• Require the employee to write and submit a plan of action to achieve it
• Establish how this change will be evaluated  

Gather direct feedback from peers and internal customers. 

Nothing gets our attention more than knowing what others are saying about us, especially in the workplace. So here’s what you can do: 

• Develop 5-8 questions with the employee to be asked of their internal customers, focused on their approach to getting work done.
• Identify 8-10 peers and internal customers that the employee will ask to answer those questions.
• Develop a process and timing for collecting the feedback and submitting it confidentially to you.
• Explain that, as the supervisor, you will also ask 8-10 people to respond.
• Compile the feedback. Discuss summarized findings with the employee.
• Reset his/her goals and strategies to improve. 

If you are cringing about the effort this takes, I understand. But if you’ve ever fired anyone for poor performance, you know that the documentation, meetings, and general agony of that process make this look like a vacation. 

The first pass at this requires the most work. The next time is much easier. How you handle your first “attitude” problem will gain you enormous credibility with your employees. It’s an approach that demonstrates your commitment to helping employees succeed. Being business fit means taking the lead when the chips are down. This is one of those times. 

What kinds of “bad attitudes” have you witnessed in the workplace? How were they handled? Any ideas to add? Thanks.