Ask Liz Ryan

Ask Liz: replace boilerplate resume language?

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Ryan) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 23:05:00 +0000

So Liz...you leave us hanging. Your observation of the "10 deadliest" only tell us what NOT to do...can you help those of us struggling with how to replace these?

Hiya Dan, there aren't any stock phrases to replace the boilerplate ones we're going to excise from our resumes. We want to be very specific about what we've done, and if we can talk about accomplishments that are especially relevant to the opportunity we're going after, all the better.

Let's think about the resume Summary. Here's a corporatespeak Summary:

"Results-oriented professional with a bottom-line orientation and twenty years of progressively more responsible experience in Finance and Accounting. Superior organizational and communication skills and experience leading cross-functional teams."

Yuck. Let's back up. Who(m) is this resume written for? It doesn't look as though it was written for anyone in particular. It's pure sludge. What sort of job are we going after? There are millions of different types of Finance and Accounting jobs. Our resume plan must start with our job-search direction - otherwise our resume isn't targeted to the audience we're pursuing!

Let's say we're going after Controller jobs in medium-sized manufacturing companies. We have lots of Cost Accounting and manufacturing stuff in our background, so we understand inventory turns, costed products, etc. Why do we like manufacturing so much? Here's why: Dad had a manufacturing company, and we worked there during summers through high school and college. Let's try that Summary again:

=====================================================

Since I helped out in the Accounting department of my dad's manufacturing business during high school, I've been drawn to manufacturing Accounting roles and the points of leverage that smart and nimble analysis can uncover. With six years of manufacturing Accounting for Caterpillar and a bent for spotting and exploiting cost-saving and revenue-boosting opportunities, I'm eager to help Eagle Manufacturing accelerate its growth in the Controller spot.

==================================

Notice that our job-seeker (we'll call him Jack) names the company and the job right in his Summary. Why not? He can tweak his resume every time he applies for a job. He's using a human voice in this Summary (the E-book "Put a Human Voice in Your Resume" is for sale on my site, www.asklizryan.com, if you're interested in that) and talking very specifically about what he's good at, without getting all abstract and lofty a la "I'm a strategic thinker and problem-solver yada yada yada." He's just saying, "Here's me, and this is what gets me up in the morning." Thanks Dan! Liz

Five Waste-of-Time Job Search Activities

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Ryan) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 12:40:00 +0000

Here's the story on Yahoo!:

Deceptive Targets in the Job Hunt
5 Methods That Waste Your Time
by Caroline M.L. Potter, Yahoo! HotJobs

Time is money -- whether you've got a job or not. While it may be tempting to chase down every possibility when you're searching for work, don't. Many can lead you down a blind alley -- where you may lose the contents of your wallet.

A focused search using tried and true methods, especially networking, will lead to your next job, not tactics that smack of desperation.

Avoid these five job-hunting "don'ts" that will yield the poorest of results, according to leading workplace advisor Liz Ryan.

1. Spray and pray.

Don't blindly send your resume unsolicited, electronically or otherwise, to any company without first making verbal contact. Says Ryan, founder of AskLizRyan.com, "Tossing out un-customized cover letters and undifferentiated resumes in huge volumes and crossing your fingers is a job-search non-starter. That doesn't work, and it hasn't worked in 10 years, or more." Establish a connection before sending a customized cover letter and, adds Ryan, "You can even customize your resume if a job opening calls for it."

2. Stand in line for a job fair.

Admits Ryan, "Sad to say, but most job fairs are a waste of time. Avoid the huge cattle call-type job fairs where zillions of employers have booths, yet no one is taking resumes." There are some job fairs that have value. Ryan, a former human resources executive, points to company-specific open hours and college placement job fairs. Tap your network to learn if anyone can recommend worthwhile fairs. "Ask around before you head off to a job fair or risk having your time wasted and your ego dashed."

3. Earn certifications nobody wants.

It's common to feel less-than-confident in your skills if you're having a hard time finding work, but don't rush out to spend money on any additional training unless you're certain it will yield improved results. Ryan reveals, "Before you sign up for a certification training program, check the job boards to make sure that employers are asking for it. There's no sense investing time and money in a certification no one wants."

If you're getting the hard-sell from an educational institution, Ryan says, "Ask the people at the school that's doing the certifying, 'Which local employers have hired your graduates in the past year?' If they can't tell you, run away."

4. Pay a headhunter.

Don't dole out money to any kind of recruiter or sign a contract agreeing to do so. "Real headhunters, also known as search consultants or third-party recruiters, won't take your money. They get paid by employers to fill open jobs." She warns, "If a recruiter calls or emails you to say s/he's got jobs open, and then invites you to his or her office for a counseling session and presents you with a range of career-coaching services, bolt for the exit. Real search professionals won't take a dime from their candidates."

5. Sign up with a resume fax-blast service.

This old-school -- and desperate -- tactic is a total turn-off to potential employers and smacks of spam. Ryan says, "Services that send out hundreds or thousands of your resumes might have been worthwhile 20 years ago. Today, they're worse than pointless, because it irks employers to get unsolicited resumes. Forget the fax-blast services and do your own careful research to reach decision-makers with messages they actually want to hear."

Sam Sent Me These Similes to Make Me Smile

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Ryan) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 18:27:00 +0000

Words to Prompt A Smile or A Chuckle!

from Sam Lloyd:

Every year, English teachers from across the country can submit their collections of actual analogies and metaphors found in high school essays. These excerpts are published each year to the amusement of teachers across the country. Here are last year's winners.

1.Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two sides gently compressed by a Thigh Master.

2. His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.

3. He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.

4. She grew on him like she was a colony of E. Coli, and he was
room-temperature Canadian beef.

5. She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up.

6. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.

7. He was as tall as a six-foot, three-inch tree.

8. The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had disintegrated
because of his wife's infidelity came as a rude shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free ATM machine.

9. The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't.

10. McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty bag
filled with vegetable soup.

11. From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:30.

12. Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze.

13. Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph.

14. They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan's teeth.

15. John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.

16. He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant, and she was the East River.

17. Even in his last years, Granddad had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut.

18. Shots rang out, as shots are wont to do.

19. The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work.

20. The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not
eating for a while.

21. He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame, maybe from stepping on a land mine or something.

22. The ballerina rose gracefully en pointe and extended one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant.

23. It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with power tools.

24. He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard bells, as if she were a garbage truck backing up.

Web address:

How to Ask for a Networking Introduction

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Ryan) — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 03:09:00 +0000

The Savvy Networker
How to Ask for a Networking Introduction
by: Liz Ryan

Introductions are the fuel that make networking go -- and most of us
know people who know people we'd like to know. It's one thing to have
a friend whose sister plays bridge with the CEO of a well-known
company. It's another thing to ask, "Say, can your sister introduce
me to that guy?" There's an essential introduction protocol involved.
Here are some tips for wending your way through the Introduction
Jungle.

You Mean So Much to Me

The first rule of networking introductions is that it's a grave
insult to convey to a person, "You mean nothing to me, but your
Rolodex rocks." That means that you can't ask a person for an
introduction the first time you meet him. Networkers do this when
they go to a networking event and spot an employee with an IBM
nametag, for instance. They'll ask, "Can you introduce me to a hiring
manager at IBM?" Rude!

Instead, you can cultivate a relationship with a new acquaintance, if
you're willing to spend the time. Once you've helped a person out
once or twice -- with an introduction of your own, or help with a
business problem, for instance -- you can request an introduction in
return.

Be Specific

No one likes to be asked, "Do you know anyone I should meet?" That's
a tough question to answer. When you're looking for introductions, it
helps to be specific. You can ask your friends whether they know
people at specific companies you're targeting. You can ask them
whether they know headhunters who work in your functional area. These
are concrete requests that your friends can react to quickly.

Be Grateful

It is easy to forget that a networking introduction isn't just a
quick email message that says, "Frank, you should meet Sally." It's
an endorsement. When you ask someone to make an introduction, you're
asking him or her to endorse you. Don't take that endorsement for
granted.

To read the full story, please jump to Yahoo! at this link:
Please jump here.

Planning Ahead for a Downshifted Future

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Ryan) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 00:38:00 +0000

Dear friends,

Here's a new story on LifeMeetsWork.com, about planning for a downshifted future:

Planning Ahead for a Downshifted Future

By Liz Ryan

"Downshifting" came into the workplace vocabulary a decade ago. Back then, the term was applied to go-go executives who wanted a slower pace and more work/life balance, and sought less-demanding jobs to provide those things.

Downshifting is still a term used by stressed-out mid-career executives looking for work outside the pressure cooker. But new downshifters have joined the party—parents looking to spend more time at home, veteran workers seeking jobs with fewer hours, and even young employees looking for ways to get off the treadmill and enjoy themselves before taking on the high-ticket commitments of house and family.

Can you downshift successfully, without going broke? You can do it—hundreds of thousands of people have. Downshifting is a career shift just like a switch in industries or functions; it takes planning and focus. Here are some tips for creating a downshift plan for yourself and working it to create your downshifted future.

Know your priorities, and your needs.

I've known at least a dozen parents who have announced "I'm going to find a part-time job at half my pay level, and spend afternoons with the kids" and have spent time and energy going after those things, only to learn through painful experience that part-time jobs don't tend to pay enough to cover the costs of diapers and piano lessons.

The first step in building your downshift plan is to know what you're after, and what you can afford to give up to get there. The four-hour work week is a great idea, but it's not a near-term reality for most of us.

Make a budget, and be clear about why you're looking to get out of the rat race. A generalized notion like "My job is too stressful" may not fill the bill when you can't take vacation on your downshifted salary.

Study the landscape.

Many downshifters look to part-time jobs (W-2 positions or part-time consulting roles) or to not-for-profit opportunities when they plan their downshifted futures, because of the associated reduction in hours (part-time jobs) and/or stress (not-for-profit jobs).

Here's where it pays to do your research. One mom at my kids' school earns $49,000/year without missing a classroom trip or an afternoon pick-up, and is delighted with her downshifted life. Another mom at the same school left a PR executive role to head up a local not-for-profit, and now works more hours than she did before (for half the pay).

Investigate opportunities closely; if an employer squirms when you mention "work/life balance" the shop may not be a downshifter's paradise.

To read the full story, please jump here.

Why Yes, I Do Blame You for Trying

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Ryan) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 23:04:00 +0000

My friend Ellis is a marketing consultant. "Get this," he tells me. "This woman's been asking me for marketing advice for three years. We've talked and talked; she's never hired me. Now she says 'I need your help! Naturally, with the economy how it is I can't pay your full rate.'"

"What did you say?" I asked.

"I told her I'd be happy to help, but it'll take awhile for my schedule to free up, since I'm busy with clients who see the value of marketing in a down economy. I told her I've raised my rates a bit for '09, and I sent her the new pricing information."

"Oh mama!" I said. "I'm used to it," said Ellis.

I heard from another friend who writes Web site copy in Chicago. "I got a call out of the blue from a not-for-profit I've never heard of," she said. "We spent 40 minutes on the phone talking Web site copy. I should've asked about budget earlier than I did, because when I broached that issue, the lady said 'We have no budget! We're a not-for-profit agency.' I don't know these people from Adam, but I'm supposed to write their Web site copy for free."

"Has that happened to you before?" I asked.

"Ten thousand times, at least," she said. "After we got off the phone I browsed their Web site -- which really does need new copy. They're building a new headquarters -- looks swanky in the architect's drawings. Guess my puny fee would have cut into the drapery budget, or something."

Eventually it was my turn. I got a call from a fellow in California who enjoyed one of my columns. He thought I'd make a great speaker for a gathering of the Old Ivy Alumni Club.

"We can't pay a fee or travel expenses, but we get A-list speakers nonetheless," he said.

"That is magnificent," I told him. "As much as I'd love to join you and the Old Ivy grads, it would be unethical of me to do that, as so many clubs and associations have paid me to speak."

"Ha!" said the gentleman. "I figured you'd say that. Well, someone will bite eventually. Can't blame me for trying!"

Ellis checked in again. "How's that lady you were telling me about?" I asked. "She's great," he said. "She invited me to a brainstorming meeting where six of her 'friends' -- me and God knows which other consultants she's never hired -- are gathering to Toss Around Ideas.

"I said I'd be happy to come and I mentioned my hourly rate. It sounded like she plotzed on the floor then and there."

"Ellis," I wondered, "with the economy being tough and all, is the lady lowering her company's prices?"

"Are you joking?" he chortled. "Bodywork services. She's telling her customers, 'If you don't need a massage now, when will you need one?' She tells them, 'It's an INVESTMENT!'"

We had a good laugh about that. My Chicago friend heard from three other writers who'd been pitched by the same writing-is-cheap, construction-fees-are-no-object agency. I wonder how the building contractor would have responded to the we-so-needy pitch. Not sure that line would carry water with a Chicago builder. Still, why not give it a go? You can't blame a person for trying.

Interview with Kyra Cavanaugh, founder of LifeMeetWork.com

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Ryan) — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 19:56:00 +0000

Dear friends,

Before Christmas, I was happy to be able to chat with Kyra Cavanaugh, founder and president of LifeMeetsWork and the publisher of www.LifeMeetsWork.com. In this time of economic upheaval, is work/life management feasible or even on a smart business leader's agenda? Here, Kyra explains why work/life issues still matter.

INTERVIEW WITH KYRA CAVANAUGH, FOUNDER OF LIFEMEETSWORK.COM

LIZ: Kyra, thanks for joining us today. We're curious what you've been hearing about work/life issues lately -- lots of people are concerned about keeping a job or getting one, so we're interested to know what people are saying about flexibility at work.

KYRA: We recently conducted a survey of close to 700 working Americans and companies to understand their attitudes about work/life issues.

What we found was that 77% of employers said they offered flexibility programs, most often in the form of accommodation (individual flex plans) or flexible start and end times. But, when we asked employees whether they felt that employers supported their work/life needs, only 20% of them said "yes".

This presents a problem, right? If employers think they're addressing the flexibility needs of their employees with their current programs, but employees don't give them credit for it, then what? Then, employers aren't doing enough, or they aren't doing enough of the "right" things, to get recognized for their efforts.

LIZ: Why is this important?

KYRA: Studies have shown that flexibility is key to employee retention, loyalty, engagement and productivity. So, if employees don't feel employers are providing enough flexibility, then there's a business risk that your employees will leave.

LIZ: Leave? They can't leave, look at the economy.

KYRA: Well, yes and no. Right now, in this economy, in this job market, employees can't change jobs. They're going to hunker down and ride out the storm. But, when you look back at recent history, you'll see what I mean. At the end of the last three recessions, there's been a mass exodus of employees to new companies.

LIZ: Why is that?

KYRA: There are a number of reasons and flexibility is part of it:

1) Layoffs erode employee morale and employee loyalty. There is a pervasive sense on the part of the employee that the company doesn't care about them. Even though they can't take action at the time, they file that away and when they can make a move at the end of a recession, they do.

2) There's little room for advancement during a down economy. That hunker down mentality applies to companies too. Opportunities for promotions, new projects, and other career advancement opportunities slow down. Raises and company bonuses are cut back and workers' earning potential is squelched. So, when the job market rebounds, so do career advancement opportunities with other companies.

3) Forward-looking companies recognize that flexibility is a competitive advantage. It goes beyond just the benefits that are being offered to something deeper. The only way you can run a successful flexible workplace is to TRUST your employees. When employees know that they're trusted, productivity improves and word hits the street about their culture: think Google, Southwest Airlines, and Microsoft in their day (remember how astonished we were that employees could work in the middle of the night and bring their dogs to work?)

So, when the economy turns around, where do your best employees want to go? To cool companies where the pressure to perform is intense, but where employees are given the freedom to succeed without having the "how and where" managed by the company.

LIZ: But, there are always people in an organization who complain and want more than what we’re able to do for them, isn’t that the case here?

KYRA: It would be easy to pass off as whiners employees who desire increased recognition and acknowledgement of their flexibility needs. Or, to think that they have unrealistic expectations. But, the problem is that the labor market is tightening. In a recent SHRM Workplace Forecast survey, six of the top ten trends for 2008-2009 involve threats to the current workforce: baby boomers retiring, shortage of skilled workers. Companies acknowledge that they need to find ways to retain their employees (that was trend number 5 in the SHRM study).

LIZ: So, what's a company to do, if they feel like they're trying but it isn't enough?

KYRA: We offered a number of ideas in our webinar which you can get by watching the rebroadcast on our website. But here are a couple of ideas:

1) Consider new technology solutions without spending an arm and a leg:
Replace desktops with laptops when the leases are up.
Consider cloud computing (migrating file sharing, project management systems, calendars to the internet)
2) Rethink the FTE default. What I mean is: we tend to automatically define every job as full-time, onsite.
Before you post to fill a job, think about whether it could be cut in half and performed by two part-timers by dividing up the accounts, or responsibilities in some other way.
Consider whether the job requires the employee to be onsite at all times.
3) Rework position descriptions to be performance and measurement based. Describe the results that you expect from that position (and how they'll be measured) rather than documenting what the position does.

Once you’ve made these sorts of changes, then you've laid the groundwork for going flex. Looking at the examples I just mentioned, let's follow it through:
--Employees can work from home because they have the technology in place to do it.
--Employees will be able to maintain their same job-level when they want to work part-time.
--Managers won't have to see their employees everyday because the performance expectations have been laid out and the employee will have agreed that's how they'll be evaluated.

I think it goes back to that old question, “How do you eat an elephant?” “One bite at a time.” It’s too intimidating to say "today we’re going to start converting to a flexible workplace". No one has that kind of time, energy or luxury.

But, by examining how your company functions, and then taking small steps, in the course of your daily business to move your company toward becoming more flexible over time is much more realistic.

Given the economic and demographic realities companies are facing, I’m not sure you have a choice.

Can Human-Voiced Resumes Surmount Keyword Searches?

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Ryan) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 03:51:00 +0000

Liz and Hiring Managers – I have a question about human-voiced resumes and how they work with key word searches or are key word searches that once were performed by hiring managers now passé? It seems to me one of the reasons we ended up with “boilerplate” terms in resumes was to match up with key word searches. And I’m a total fan of human-voiced resumes! Thank you, Liz, for the revitalization. Appreciate your feedback. Thanks. Dianne

Great question Dianne -- when we're in functions and industries where
technical or function-specific terms are involved, we've got to get
those terms on our resumes somehow. Organizations that use keyword
searching need to be able to find them. If we want to, we can get
more generic words like "communication" and "teams" into our resumes
without resorting to the hackneyed "excellent communication skills"
and "effective team player" malarkey.

We could create a list of 20 or 30 words we want make sure appear in
our resumes - and get them in there - without using them in their
conventional, dry-as-dust or kill-me-if-I-have-to-read-this-phrase-
again settings.

Let's take the infamous "out of the box thinker." You don't want to
work for a company that would load the phrase "out of the box
thinker" into its keyword search algorithm, and I'm not even being
flippant. No sane HR person would do that. There are far better ways
to use our precious resume real estate to illustrate (not to assert!)
our success in breakthrough thinking than to parrot that idiotic
phrase for the forty-millionth-time.

By keeping the words we believe we need but changing their
arrangement, we can have our human-voiced-resume/keyword-searchable
cake and eat it, too. Carrot cake for me, please!

Cheers - Liz

It's the Culture, Stupid

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Ryan) — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 18:45:00 +0000

Liz Ryan: It's the culture, stupid

When my family arrived in Boulder some years ago, our big kids were little and our little one wasn't born. We wanted to meet people and keep the kids busy, so we signed up for every kid activity under the sun.

Skating lessons at the downtown ice rink: delightful! Swimming with Curt Colby: tremendous! Avid4Adventure, Bits, Bytes and Bots and Renaissance Adventures: magnificent! The kids had a blast. I enjoyed meeting the parents. Everyone was happy.

There was only one dark spot on our family activity schedule that year: my daughter's ballet class. The ballet school was unfriendly and poorly run. It felt like a stereotype, a striver's dream, built for parents hell-bent on seeing their kids dance in the Joffrey.

The school had a music program in addition to dance classes. We tried that one, too. Ick! Through the heavy wooden door I could hear the teacher screeching at my third-grader. No thanks! The school was broken, and the malevolent culture was palpable to me as a parent. That's the thing about organizational culture: it's loud.

Years later, I heard the back story. The original, grassroots, warm and inviting music school had undergone a disruptive and unpopular change in control some years before. When we hit town, the effects of that unfortunate series of events were evident. When a culture is broken, clients can tell.

There's an old New Yorker cartoon that shows a CEO barking to an underling, "Get me a corporate culture by Monday morning!" The joke is that, of course, every organization already has a culture. We may love it or hate it or be oblivious to it, but it's there. Whether the culture supports our goals is another question.

I got a call from a CEO this week who said, "I must be crazy calling you now, when conditions are so tough in the marketplace. But I think we could be working together more effectively in my company.

"Our employees aren't rallying around the mission just because we're under competitive pressure. I guess I don't blame them. We need to figure out how to manage in this new environment. I can't afford to have my best people quit on me now, and I need every person's best efforts."

I give the CEO credit, because it would be easy to say "I'm not expending one iota of mental energy on soft-and-squishy people issues now, when our company is under siege." The CEO understood that turnover and motivation and culture are all related. If employees don't care about the game plan, a Dave and Buster's gift certificate will not do much to change their views.

As a newcomer to the broken music-and-dance academy (now out of business, no surprise) my gut told me that the culture was awry. The CEO's gut told him the same thing about his organization.

He decided to act rather than wait for the malaise to magically disappear on its own. He told me "My instinct says that I'd better dig into this topic now, before it badly disrupts my business."

Instinct, gut -- if you can't pay attention to those trusty scouts, who can you listen to?

If Your Boss Could Talk

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Ryan) — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 00:48:00 +0000

Working men and women have a tough way to go these days. Longer hours, more work, fewer perks and bennies: and companies are not quite as focused on being "employers of choice" as they were a couple of years ago. But if you think your boss is the source of your higher stress level, you might be surprised. Being a boss - fending off pressure from above and below both - is harder than ever these days. Managers have smaller budgets and fewer staff members to accomplish a lot more work as cash-strapped companies frantically try to turn their fortunes around. Sure, there are incompetent, unfriendly and just-plain-evil bosses out there, but in our experience, the majority of middle managers are reasonable people who are trying to do the best they can for the employees they supervise AND the higher-ups.

Skeptical? You might not think that your supervisor is just as interested in a fair, friendly and reasonable work environment as you are - but he or she has lots of other fish to fry, too. So we've polled middle managers, and developed this list of ten things your manager wants you know - called "If Your Boss Could Talk, [What He or She Would Say]." (Of course your manager can talk - but not every manager feels comfortable sharing these pet peeves and wishes with employees. Do any of these fit your situation?)

Here goes:

1. When I am abrupt and impersonal, it's probably because I'm doing something I don't want to do.

Feel shut down by your boss sometimes? Your great ideas may interest your manager personally, but he or she may not have the approval or the budget dollars to say "yes" very often right now. If your manager is acting squirrelly or suddenly gets very "corporate," it may be because he or she isn't comfortable telling you that The Answer Is No. A rough exterior helps to shield your boss from the reality that it's him (or her) - not a title or a job description - disappointing you once again. A good tactic when this happens, is to ask, "Is this topic uncomfortable for you?" That might throw your manager off enough for him or her to open up and tell you the real problem.

2. I care about a lot of stuff that you care about, but I can't make a federal case out of every slight that you experience - you have to let me pick my battles.

Your boss is, among other things, the one who's supposed to stick up for you when those punks in Marketing or the bureaucrats in Accounting or anybody else in the company does you wrong. But there are only so many battles that one person can fight! So, your boss wants to tell you, I have to let some of these wrangles slide. Don't be disgusted when I don't march off to blast someone in HR on your behalf because they goofed up your insurance claim again. You gotta let things go sometimes.

3. Don't try to make me King Solomon, especially about the small stuff.

Your boss is saying, I know that you and your co-worker both want the cubicle next to the window, but I really don't want to have to make that call - I'd rather see you play Rock-Paper-Scissors, if I had my way. When you try to put me in the King Solomon mode, somebody ends up being upset about something really inconsequential. I'll be very grateful if sometimes you and your colleague can figure these things out on your own. You don't even have to tell me when it happens.

4. I don't want to watch you like a hawk, so don't give me a reason to.

Here the message is, with precious few perks to dole out, I'd love to at least give you some schedule flexibility, the little that the workload allows. I'd let you come in and leave the office when you choose (roughly) as long as the work gets done, if you're a great employee in every other way. So make my job easier, please, and get your work done and don't disappear just when you're most likely to be needed. I can give you a little slack if you work with me, but if you don't, I'll have to come down on you like a ton of bricks.

5. You will always be more familiar with everything about your job than I will ever be.

When we talk, your boss wants to say, Remind me of what you're working on, what's causing you trouble and what's going well. Remind me of what's important to you and what you need from me. It's really hard to remember the priorities, needs, and obstacles of every one of my department members, so any help you can give me is welcome. I do value you, but you're just much closer to your work than I am. I have a different set of priorities, like our department's goals, budget, timelines and hurdles. If I'm micro-managing you in your own work, let me know.

6. When you're angry with me, let me know.

Boss wants to say: I've got a lot on my mind - you could spend two weeks on hard stares, monosyllabic answers to my questions, and other pointed signals that you're mad at me and I might still miss the message. So just tell me! Pick a moment when I'm not up to my eyeballs in crises, and ask me for a quick meeting. Tell me what I did that ticked you off and why it was a bad call. I promise to try and listen and not be defensive. If you don't tell me, how will I know?

7. Don't ask me to tell you what you know I can't talk about.

Are there layoffs coming? Is a big customer planning to shut its doors? Are we merging with XYZ company? If I know, I can' tell you. If I could tell you, I would. Don't ask me to tell you what you know I can't, and don't be offended because you think we're friends and I should spill the beans. Can't do it. Don't create tension by making this unreasonable request.

8. Bring me problems as far in advance as possible.

I love to be surprised when things are going better than expected. I love to hear that a problem was solved or some other good fortune befalls our department. Don't surprise me with bad news, please. Let me know way in advance when something's not working. At the last minute, problems are much harder to solve, so feel the fear and tell me anyway, "Project ABC is behind schedule." I may shoot the messenger just a little, but it's better than my reaction will be further down the road.

9. Create a feedback-network to give me painless advice on my management style.

Here's how this works. If I badger Sally mercilessly and I tend to ignore Joe, then trade feedback bits and deliver them to me in a friendly say. So Sally, say to me, "You know Stan, you're probably not aware of it but at times you seem to miss what Joe is telling you," and then I can take that without being defensive. And Joe, you say to me, "You know what, Stan, for some funny reason, even though you're a patient guy in general, you seem to give Sally a lot of grief." That way, no one has to take the feedback-heat on themselves and I still get the message. This would really be a gift, and I promise to try and take the advice as it's intended.

10. Don't do anything stupid.

I can help you out if you goof up to a certain degree. But if you mis-use the company credit card, download garbage from the internet, or slug a co-worker, I'm out of the loop - you're gone. So help me out, and don't do anything stupid.

What's the gist of what your boss is telling you? Let's work together. Why create tension in the relationship when the environment has enough of that already? You might as well team up with your boss (and vice versa) to lessen the stress and get the job done that much more easily. And if you put yourself in your boss's shoes just a little, you'll be surprised how much you learn. You might even consider becoming a boss yourself!

SURVEY: Flexing or Floundering?

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Ryan) — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 12:07:00 +0000

Dear friends,

We're starting off Monday with a survey to see how our members are faring vis-a-vis flexible workplace arrangements. How's your flexibility? Share your opinions (and stories) with us! This survey focuses on flexible organizations versus independent workers, but everyone is welcome to participate. Please take the survey -- it's here:

This is a joint LifeMeetsWork/Ask Liz Ryan survey: our first! We can't
wait to see what our members have to say. Have trouble with the survey? Please write to Dana at dana@marketingsavant.com.

THANKS!

A Bunch of Liz's Columns in One List

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Ryan) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 05:05:00 +0000

Column Title, Publication, Category

How HR and Recruiters Can Work Together Business Week Online HR Advice
Ten Biggest Networking No-Nos Yahoo! Hot Jobs Networking advice
Ending an Endless Networking Conversation Job-Hunt.org Networking advice
Career Manholes to Avoid Colorado Biz Magazine career advice
Career Lessons from the Candidates Business Week Online career advice
Tech Cred Gen Ten Problem Business Week Online generational tension
Price Yourself Like a House Business Week Online job search advice
When an Employer Just Is Not That Into You Yahoo! job search advice
Mind the Gap Boulder Daily Camera job search advice
Watch for Interview Warning Signs Business Week Online job search advice
Love the Offer, Hate the Money Business Week Online job search advice
Is Your Job Search Ready for Prime Time? Business Week Online job search advice
Ready, Fire, Aim Business Week Online job search advice
The Art of Job Search Networking Job-Hunt.org job search advice
Choosing the Right Resume Fodder Business Week Online job search advice
Effective Job Search Networking Job-Hunt.org job search advice/networking advice
Anthropology in the Handbook Daily Camera job-search advice
Rules for the Job-Search Networking Lunch Job-Hunt.org job-search advice
Lose the Lame Lingo Colorado Biz Magazine job-search advice
In Job Search, Follow-Up is Key Daily Camera job-search advice
Six Reasons to Run from a Job Interview Business Week Online job-search advice
Who's Vouching for You? Daily Camera job-search advice
Other Departments are Poaching My Team Business Week Online leadership advice
When the Candidate Says No Business Week Online leadership advice
Bosses to be Thankful For Business Week Online leadership advice
Upgrade Your Career, Not Your Title Business Week Online leadership advice
The (Possibly) Pregnant Employee Business Week Online leadership advice
Should Performance Grading Be on a Curve? Business Week Online leadership advice
Is Praising Employees Counterproductive? Business Week Online leadership advice
When a New Job Leads to Resentment Business Week Online leadership advice
Managing a Damaged Corporate Culture Business Week Online leadership advice
A New Mindset Colorado Biz Magazine leadership advice
The Viral Anti-Marketing Message Colorado Biz Magazine leadership advice
Fitting New Moms in the Schedule Business Week Online leadership advice
How to Develop Your Management Goals Business Week Online leadership advice
Six Signs You Don't Care About Workers Business Week Online leadership advice
Something Doesn't Have to Give Colorado Biz Magazine leadership advice
How to Take the Diss Out of Dissent Business Week Online leadership advice
Wheat and Chaff Revisited Colorado Biz Magazine leadership advice
The Mom Advantage LifeMeetsWork.com leadership/HR advice
Network Like an Entrepreneur Business Week Online networking advice
The Creepiest Networking Advice Ever Yahoo! Hot Jobs networking advice
Building Your Online Soapbox Yahoo! networking advice
Lose the Elevator Pitch Yahoo! Hot Jobs networking advice
Meet People; Don't Peddle Wares Yahoo! Hot Jobs networking advice
Just Don't Call Me Diva Yahoo! networking advice
Etiquette for Online Outreach Yahoo! networking advice
My Mom's on Facebook Business Week Online networking advice
Ten Tips for Networkers Business Week Online networking advice
Stay Out of the Networking Hall of Shame Yahoo! Hot Jobs networking advice
The Case of the Pushy Lady Yahoo! Hot Jobs networking advice
Jump Into Social Networking in 2008 Job-Hunt.org networking advice
Five Networkers to Avoid Yahoo! networking advice
I Like the Look Of Your Friends Yahoo! Hot Jobs networking advice
May I Kiss Your Hem? Colorado Biz Magazine networking advice
Beyond 40 WPM - Part-Time Jobs for Pros LifeMeetsWork work/life advice
Don't Count on HR Business Week Online workplace advice
Timing a Layoff to Get Severance Business Week Online workplace advice
In-House Subject Matter Experts Business Week Online workplace advice
When the Need to Win Runs Riot Business Week Online workplace advice
When a Colleague Hungers for Your Time Business Week Online workplace advice
A Management Star for Six Months Business Week Online workplace advice
How to Get A Raise Business Week Online workplace advice
The Case of the 'Juiceless' Manager Business Week Online workplace advice
How Do I Tell My Boss I Want Her Job? Business Week Online workplace advice
Remember the Three Monkeys Business Week Online workplace advice
You're Being Fired Business Week Online workplace advice
How to Treat a Touchy Colleague Business Week Online workplace advice
Borrowing Trouble at Work Business Week Online workplace advice
How Not to Be the Obnoxious Newcomer Business Week Online workplace advice
Frenemies at Work Business Week Online workplace advice
PowerPoint Play Business Week Online workplace advice
How Not to Be the Obnoxious Newcomer AOL http://workplace advice
Calling the Policy Police Business Week Online workplace advice
The Sunny Side of HR Business Week Online http://workplace advice
Top Desktop Diversions Business Week Online workplace advice
The Right Coach May Be Hard to Find Business Week Online workplace advice
They're Just Not That Into You Business Week Online workplace advice
You Can't Run on an Empty Tank Business Week Online workplace advice
We Don't Care About Your Pet Project Business Week Online workplace advice
Too Heavy for Our Team? Business Week Online http://workplace advice
Gateway to Better Hiring Business Week Online workplace advice
Addressing Deep-Rooted Conflicts Business Week Online workplace advice
Surprise, You've Taken the Worst Job Ever Boulder Daily Camera workplace advice
Like, How Can I Seem More Grown-Up? Business Week Online workplace advice
Off the Management Track Business Week Online workplace advice
Paid Extra For Training? Business Week Online workplace advice
Just Saying No to Newsletters Business Week Online workplace advice
Ten Best and Ten Worst Corporate Practices Business Week Online workplace advice
Time for a New Job - or a New Attitude? Business Week Online workplace advice
How Much is Too Much Information at Work? Business Week Online workplace advice
Keep Going Until You Can Go Business Week Online workplace advice
Jobs to be Thankful For Daily Camera workplace advice
Out-of-State Job Offer a Red Flag Business Week Online workplace advice
How to Treat the Touchy Colleague AOL workplace advice
Managing Your Boss's Political Battles Business Week Online workplace advice
Ready to Move up, and Maybe Move On Business Week Online workplace advice
Hitting the Ground Running Business Week Online workplace advice
When You're Passed Over at Work Business Week Online workplace advice
To Bill or Not to Bill Business Week Online workplace advice
Building Your Power from the Inside Out Business Week Online workplace advice
What Your Boss Really Wants You to Know Appeal Democrat workplace advice
The Facebook Generation? Business Week Online workplace advice
Telecommuting: Getting Bosses on Board Business Week Online workplace advice

Handling the "O" Word -- Overqualified

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Ryan) — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 18:18:00 +0000

Dear Liz,

I was on an interview last week for a Marketing job and things were going well as far as I could tell. At one the interviewer (the hiring manager) asked me to talk about my PR experience, and I began a story about building a relationship with a media person over time and eventually getting a terrific story published promoting my employer's product. At that point the interviewer's face froze and she said "It appears that you're overqualified for this position." I was stunned and didn't know what to say. How should I have reacted? I fear I've lost the opportunity, now.

yours,

Brice

-------------

Dear Brice,

It is hard to say for sure but I can think of two explanations for that unfortunate turn of events. It may be that the manager heard your media-cultivation story and thought something like 'This Brice is a serious PR person, and we need someone to do a million other things as well, including administrative and clerical things, and I can't afford to hire a person who's going to make the PR aspects of the role that high a priority.' My other thought is that the manager herself doesn't have the PR cred and chutzpah to do what you did and feared that you might upstage her on the job.

In a situation like that (for next time) the thing to do is to pause, smile slightly and say "That's an interesting observation. I'd love to understand your thoughts on that." Sometimes the dreaded Overqualified label pops out when a manager is intimidated. Sometimes the candidate shares a particularly canny or strategic story or insight and the hiring manager thinks "This person may be too high-powered for our team/for this job," for example if the first major deliverable due from the newcomer is a purely clerical SKU listing. The manager may think "I need someone in the weeds, not creating strategy and spending months on PR outreach." That's no slur on you of course - it's just that hiring managers are naturally very focused on the top two or three items on their must-get-done list and may be wary of candidates whose interests seem to lie thousands of feet higher in altitude than what the job immediately requires.

In the instant, sometimes you can ascertain that the hiring manager's Overqualified button was pushed when she heard a story that illustrates your perspective and thought process, and immediately thought "This person won't be happy doing what I need done." Sometimes she may be right. Other times you can calm her fears by reminding her that while you were cultivating that fruitful PR relationship, you were simultaneously editing six brochures and creating an updated SKU list!

If the manager is simply intimidated by your background, thinking that you may steal her thunder, you don't want to work for him or her anyway. Good managers hire people who are better at what they do than the manager him- or herself is, not people who will always stay in the manager's shadow.

If the manager fears you would leave in a heartbeat for a better job, you'll need to be able to convincingly assure her that THIS job is very appealing for X, Y and Z reasons. Maybe you're in a career downshift mode. Maybe you've got kids in elementary school and would rather stay in your town than take a higher-powered job in the city. If the O-word comes out because of salary concerns, you can remind the hiring manager that you're happy to trade off salary at this point in your career for the ability to reduce your travel schedule.

If you think the Overqualified issue is likely to arise in a future interview, be ready to address it very specifically. Only an ultra-specific, rational reason for preferring this opportunity (over the zillions of highly-paid, glamorous Marketing opportunities that the interview mistakenly assumes are out there pleading for you right now) is likely to win the point for you.

It may be too late to resuscitate this particular opportunity, but you can try. Write a wonderful post-interview follow-up letter that includes something of value for the hiring manager (an article, e.g.) and talk in the letter about why this job is ideal for you and why you're a great fit for it despite the manager's concerns.

And remember that when you're shocked, stunned, gobsmacked and without words in an interview at some point in the future, it's always okay to say "Ahh...please tell me more about that."

Best of luck! -- Liz

Trust Among Your Team Trumps Policies

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Ryan) — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:40:00 +0000

Trust Among Your Team Trumps Policies
Yes, you could ask employees to prove that they were really out sick or at their grandmother's funeral. Instead, why not treat people like grown-ups?

Dear Liz,

Our company is growing—that's the good news. I joined in '05 when there were 200 employees, and we all knew one another to at least a small degree because we were located in just two facilities in the same city. Now, we have more than 1,000 employees in several locations and the culture is rapidly changing. I am the HR manager, and I'm under pressure from several managers to install policies meant to prevent some kind of abuse or other.

One policy that managers want to change is the Bereavement Leave policy. Right now, we don't ask for any kind of proof of death or a funeral notice, and some of our managers want to begin to do that. Another policy that I'm getting pressure on is the sick-time policy. I've got managers pushing me to create a policy that requires a doctor's note on the second date out of the office with an illness or injury. These don't feel to me like the right policies for us to be implementing, but I need some ammunition to fight the "more policies are better" trend. Any ideas?

Thanks,
Joe

Dear Joe,

It's a tough transition for a company to go from the grassroots stage to something bigger. It's not uncommon for some infrastructure to be installed during that phase change, and HR policies are one of the most common elements of infrastructure. Managers may feel a loss of control, and that creates a desire in them for more rules, more laws, more guidelines to keep people in order.

If you can learn more about what's motivating your colleagues to push for more policies, that will help you settle on a course of action. For example, they may feel that before, when everyone knew each other, there was a kind of family—granted, a large, extended family—feeling and that meant people could be trusted. If that's the case, perhaps the emphasis should be on managers creating a culture of trust among their teams rather than crafting policies that would do just the opposite.

A big challenge for many managers, especially less-experienced ones, is the notion of initiating conversations with their employees on sensitive subjects. If a boss has one or two instances of something unexpected and unwelcome happening (an employee comes to work dressed inappropriately, for instance) that boss may lean toward pushing HR to implement a new policy. One new policy means one sticky conversation that the reluctant boss doesn't have to have.

That would explain why, when a manager may have doubted the word of an employee using Bereavement Leave, the manager's first instinct is to ask you to change the policy. If the Bereavement Leave policy requires employees to present written proof that Grandma died (and in fact that Grandma was even still around), one problem is solved. No one can successfully abuse the Bereavement Leave policy—at least not without some real work and ingenuity.

But in dealing with one's manager's problem, you've created a new, bigger one: Now ALL of your employees have gotten the message that your company doesn't trust them not to fabricate relatives' deaths and the existence of the relatives themselves. Do you really want to send such an insulting message to your team?

This is the trickiest—some would say most fun, also—aspect of HR leadership. You're the Culture Minister, and you've got to decide where to draw the lines. I'd advise you to strenuously resist all efforts to infantilize your employees by assuming that if they don't bring you a piece of paper saying that Grandma died, then there is no Grandma or she didn't die. (By the way, plenty of families don't have funerals anymore and/or prefer that no obituary or death notice is published in the paper.)

The same principles apply with your sick-leave policy. You can require employees to trot off to the doctor's office after two days of illness or even one day, but at what cost? Most of us will lie in bed for two days with a common flu rather than spend time and money on a doctor visit, especially since the doctor's advice for flu will be "Get plenty of rest and drink fluids." (And good luck getting to see a doctor on one day's notice.) Why would we as employers want to be so heavy-handed as to require our trusted colleagues to prove to us that they were indeed sick with flu and not malingering?

To read the full story please jump here.

Beyond 40 WPM - Part-Time Jobs for Pros

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Ryan) — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 01:08:00 +0000

Dear friends,

Here is my latest column on LifeMeetsWork.com - a piece about part-time jobs for highly-skilled people. Take a look!

BEYOND 40 WPM - PART-TIME JOBS FOR PROS

Back in 1997, I was pregnant for the third time. But for the first time, I wasn't working. I took the opportunity to attend a Moms & Tots playgroup with my two-year-old son, chatting with the moms week by week as my tummy grew.

The moms were delightful, and our conversations struck a chord. Nearly every one of the Moms & Tots ladies had an issue about work and life. They weren't working and were starting to get antsy. They were ready to do something with their free time — something to challenge their brains and excite their passions.

But part-time, professional jobs were hard to find in '97. Kelly Temps looked like the only game in town, and the women in my playgroup were lawyers and marketing chiefs and experts at a dozen specialties.

Isn't there a way, we wondered, for smart and capable women to plug into the working world for a few hours each week? Isn't there an alternative — something halfway between staying home full-time and working as a cashier at the local deli?

Out of these playgroup conversations, I started an online network for women. One of the goals was to connect full-time working women and talented stay-at-home moms for mutual advantage.

That group morphed into a global women's community, and then morphed again to embrace men. Now, we still talk about work/life issues along with a wide range of career and business topics. And women are still looking for ways to make some money and exercise their brain cells without typing themselves into oblivion.

Over the years, our group has shared ideas and strategies for securing part-time, professional employment. Here are some highlights:

To read the full story, please jump here.

Wait! You Forgot the Kitchen Sink!

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Ryan) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 06:18:00 +0000

Dear friends,

My friend H. sent me this job ad from Craigslist today because it
made her chuckle and it made me chuckle too. Are there a lot of
people out there who can set up computer/telephone hardware, whip up
a new database, knock out a brochure using Photoshop, design a
customer newsletter and then happily refill the breakroom salt and
pepper shakers, make a few dozen phone calls for the Sales team,
call Staples to order Post-it Notes, and end the day with a bit of
filing? Geez Louise, who's scrubbing out the insides of the Mr.
Coffee with Bon Ami? Granted, a small office always has extra work
that can be done, but this multi-skilled person (if s/he exists) is
made of solid gold and worth twice the money this company is offering.

I assume the salary range has a typo in it - if not I know a few
hundred people who want the job!

OFFICE MANAGER
Responsibilities include:

Technical Support
Provide staff with routine technical support, including setting up e-
mail accounts, importing and backing up data, setting up computer /
telephone hardware, etc. Requires basic knowledge of Microsoft
Office, Outlook, databases, networks and an ability to quickly
understand new technology. The Office Manager works closely with our
Network and Database Administrators.

Desktop Publishing
Work with staff to create and print newsletters, brochures,
proposals, etc. Requires knowledge of Publisher, Word, and Adobe
Acrobat. Some Photoshop experience is helpful. Should have basic
graphic design skills.

Office Organization
Order and maintain office supplies, such as brochures, kitchen items,
paper, etc. Should proactively make certain office is well equipped
and organized.

General Administrative Tasks
Mailing brochures / materials to customers, administrative support
for Sales and Account Management teams, document management, filing,
data entry / report creation, etc.

Location: Denver
Compensation: $29,297 - $139,277

Say It Don't Spray It

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Ryan) — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 21:40:00 +0000

Women are awesome, but there's something off about a lot of women's business gatherings.

Half the women-in-business events I attend have a fake, air-kissy vibe to them. The worst is that the host is always talking about how women are "fabulous" and "authentic", while the energy in the room feels anything but. (Maybe it's just me.)

I went to one event and sat at a table with a group of nice ladies. I learned that this group has a standard networking activity. They go around the table introducing themselves. They use an egg timer to make sure nobody talks too long. They say their names, describe their businesses and why they're the best at what they do, and mention something they'll be looking to buy in the next month or two.

I wasn't prepared for this exercise. I hate stuff like that. Who am I to say I'm the best at what I do? Networking to me is about people and what they're up to, not a live eBay where we buy and sell one another's offerings.

Once the activity was kicked off,I dashed to the ladies' room. I did the math: one minute per lady, seven ladies: this activity should last seven minutes - 10, to be safe. I chilled for ten minutes in the loo and then peeped out. Hurrah! The exercise was done. I rejoined my tablemates.

A few minutes later, the meeting host instructed us to move to new tables and do the round-robin thing again. I knew I couldn't get away with another 10-minute stop in the ladies' room. I was the speaker that day, so I got up and sidled over to the videographer setting up his stuff.

I said "Talk to me about anything, I beg you."

"Okay," he said, "how 'bout those Rockies?"

We chatted for 10 minutes. Saved! I went back and took my seat. Then someone said, "It's a shame you missed the networking activity, Liz -- go ahead and do yours, now." My goose was cooked.

"Okay," I said. "My name is Liz and I do x, y and z. I'll pass on the 'Why Are You the Best' question, for all sorts of reasons. In the next month, I need to buy, er, um, a whisk broom. My son has a rabbit, and the rabbit leaves pellets in his pen, and I need a whisk broom to sweep up the pellets."

Finally, it was time for my presentation. I talked about networking vs. marketing -- how networking isn't marketing, and how one-on-one communication shouldn't be confused with broadcast-style communication and vice versa. I talked about why it's insulting to geta message from a friend that says "I saw this article and thought of you" and then to hear that everyone on your friend's mailing list got it, too.

I am so allergic to these events that I had to get a cup of coffee afterward and unwind. I didn't get back to my office until 3 p.m. There in my inbox was a message reading: "Dear Liz. Great to hear you speak about networking today. I totally agree, networking is different from marketing. Would you like to try a 30-day free trial of my product? It only takesa minute to sign up online."

True story.

Here's the story on the Boulder Daily Camera website

Nervy Women of the Future

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Ryan) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 05:38:00 +0000

I was in the car with my five-year-old and my seven-year-old. The very left-brain-dominant seven-year-old asked, "Are there actually vehicles that can travel into the future?" I thought for a minute, and said "You know, the thing about the future is, every single minute is the future compared to the minute before. So right now is the future compared to this morning. And tomorrow morning is the future, as we sit here now. So, you could say that this car is driving into the future, this very moment."

The two kids sat and chewed on that for a minute as I turned into the supermarket parking lot. Then the five-year-old yelled out, "Mom, look! It's the grocery store of the future!"

Smart aleck kid. But the kid is right - this IS the future. I used to daydream, when I was their age, about the days we're living in now - it seemed so remote and inconceivable that I'd actually be alive in a different milennium, years that had no "19" on the front of them. How could it be? And here we are. I had no definite mental picture for these days, couldn't imagine being 40. All I saw in my mind's eye was a kind of rosy, pleasantly-colored place where grownups had a lot of fun and read interesting books all day.

When I was in eighth grade, women were pushing for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the Equal Rights Amendment. I was floored and discouraged when it didn't pass. But I never thought for a second that my chances - to do whatever I might want to do, as I got closer to adulthood - were limited by that setback. When I went out looking for my first post-waitress, post-babysitting job, the papers were full of ads for "Gal Fridays." This seems laughably historical today. But at the time, a Gal Friday (as I understood it then) was a pivotal role in an office, the person who knows what's going on. This was a big improvement over the even more historical, stereotypical secretary job popularized on TV and in movies as a cute blonde thing in a short skirt, being chased around the desk by the boss.

A lot of the rhetoric back in the those days went something like this: You Women Are So Demanding. You Don't Know When to Stop Asking for Handouts. In the sixties, women wanted to be in the workforce, not marginally there as extra office help, or nurses or teachers (not that those aren't incredibly important roles), but as professionals of all kinds, and not just until we got married. And as the sixties turned into the seventies, that started to happen. Then we had the nerve to push for equal pay. Equal pay!?! How can you pay a woman like a man?, was the complaint, Companies will go broke. We haven't reached parity yet, but women's pay is getting better vis-à-vis men's pay, by a tiny bit every year. We were not satisfied, and we shouldn't have been. We want to be in management, we said. We want to be in traditionally male jobs like in the building trades, in technology and in manufacturing. We want to be surgeons, astronauts and senators.

Those changes began to happen, too. Then we said, We want to be entrepreneurs, and we want to have access to funding the way that male entrepreneurs do. Fighting words! For all the mythology built up around the go-go 90's and the dotcom era, there were plenty of rock-hard paradigms that didn't shift one little bit. Women got barely one percent of the venture capital dollars invested during the internet boom. But look - we didn't need those sources of funding to go on our own. Women are launching businesses at a rate never seen before, downturn be danged. And we still aren't satisfied.

Now we say, We should be in corporate leadership, we should be on corporate Boards of Directors. We make the vast majority of family purchasing decisions and our voices should be heard - we should have a say in the way that companies are run. We have requirements that aren't being met. We will blow whistles, we will complain, and we will take our business elsewhere. Nervy! Who do we think we are, half the population or something?!

Not content to have a couple of seats in government, not content have a couple of our own in high-profile corporate roles, now we want even more. We want companies to be managed in an ethical way, and we want to have meaning in our work. Meaning! We should be happy to have a job, for Pete's sakes! When will we be content? When will women stop complaining? Here's when:

When the picture of the future we dreamed up and colored in as children is the one we experience every day. When companies are citizens of the communities they operate in, and people in organizations are respected and their work is valued and their lives outside of work are viewed as high priority engagements. And when women are heard in government, in corporate leadership and in the circles where investment dollars move from hand to hand. We're not asking for that much, the way we see it. Just to be riding up in the front seat in that car going into the future.

How Long to Keep Last Job on My Resume?

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Ryan) — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 16:59:00 +0000

Dear Liz,

I was laid off in June and haven't updated my resume, because I think it looks letter to show my last employer with the dates 2004-Present than 2004-2008. I know I can't keep the job on there forever. When do I need to update my resume to show that I am unemployed?

Yours,

Dennis

=======

Dear Dennis,

There are certain resume questions that allow for some wiggle room and others that don't. Being employed is a bit like being pregnant, in that you either are or aren't. I'd update your resume before you send a copy of it to any more employers. You haven't worked for the company since June, and so your resume is, sad to say, inaccurate.

Now, if you worked for Wild Oats Market and the company were acquired by Whole Foods (as indeed happened) most employers wouldn't care if you kept the name Wild Oats Market on your resume for a few months after the deal closed. They'd know that you're not trying to mislead anyone, and that deal is common knowledge. But we can't keep sending out resumes that say we're working, when we're not. I wouldn't say that you get any grace time at all when it comes to the issue of being employed by/not employed by a given employer.

So, in answer to the general question "How long after I leave XYZ Corp can I keep using a resume that shows me working there?" the answer is "up through your last day of work in the company."
Enjoy your weekend!

Cheers -- Liz

Piano Tide

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Ryan) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 22:46:00 +0000

At least once a year for the past ten years, I've asked my oldest son, "Would you consider taking piano lessons?" He wouldn't. My daughter takes lessons. My three younger sons have taken 'em - the next-to-smallest one is on a hiatus right now. The five-year-old takes Suzuki piano.

One of the first bits of our Boulder infrastructure that got put in place when we got here was piano lessons. Three of our kids studied with Lisa. She is a great player and a very well-known teacher in town. Her style is cool, friendly. The kids took lessons for years. This year, our 12-year-old decided he wanted to focus on jazz and rock. I was surprised when Lisa said "You should switch teachers. Here is Rebecca's number." Off went the 12-year-old, to Rebecca. Soon after, my next-to-youngest son, the ten-year-old, decided he was through. My daughter had thrown in the towel with piano lessons after eighth grade.

Here is the miracle: Rebecca got everybody revved up. The little one. My daughter, who plays pop songs and sings along. My ten-year-old is on the fence, but the amazing thing is that my fifteen-year-old son, who hasn't had one piano lesson ever, says he will try it. One year, he says. Here are my terms: a Wii game, a PS3 game and some other game, who knows what. I figure it's about a $100 bribe. That doesn't seem so bad to me. It's a half-hour lesson once a week for a year, plus practicing. I think he's impressed that his little brother can play all his favorite rock songs.

Four kids in piano lessons? That's a lot of driving. It's worth it. The ten-year-old may waver if his big brother jumps into the pool. I have no demands for these kids. I don't force them into activities. I just wanted them to do music, and all of them do. That's a gift. Even the ten-year-old, who no longer takes lessons, sings with me. His bribe is a Bionicle - can't complain about that.

Ten Big Networking No-Nos

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Ryan) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 05:23:00 +0000

10 Biggest Networking No-No's

Networking is a great activity and often a fruitful one, but it's not for the faint of heart.
The networking jungles are full of prowling and slithering creatures who can make you wish you'd stayed at home and far from your computer. Just so you don't emulate these unclear-on-the-concept networkers, here's my list of the Top 10 most egregious networking missteps:

1. Trip-Worthy

Writing to or calling a stranger to say, "Let's meet for coffee -- say, halfway in between our offices?" is highly impolite, since the person you're approaching doesn't know you from Adam. If you've got the desire to meet this person, you can figure out how to get within a half-mile or his or her office.

2. Join My Fan Club

Meeting a new person and adding him or her to your newsletter without permission is another capital networking crime. Don't do it -- write to each new acquaintance and ask for permission (and wait for an answer) before padding your subscriber list with his or her email address.

3. You're Nothing to Me, But Your Employer Isn't

Striking up a networking conversation with a person based on his or her name tag -- for example, because the person works at IBM -- and then, within five minutes, asking the person for an introduction to a hiring manager or purchasing decision-maker at IBM is the height of rudeness. Walk away from a networker like this.

4. Dear Trusted Colleague (Whatever Your Name Is)

Sending a LinkedIn invitation to every person you've ever met, using the standard LinkedIn boilerplate invitation language, will get you dropped from polite networking society. LinkedIn connections are intended for trusted colleagues, and if you must invitation-spam your new acquaintances, you can at least take 10 seconds to compose your own, personal note to each one.

5. Remember Me?

Popping up after 10 or 15 years to ask an old contact, "Say, could you help me find a job?" brands you as a me-first networker. The proper outreach to a person you've lost touch with is, "Dear Stan, it's been too long! I'd love to hear about what you are doing." Smart networkers don't wait until they're job-hunting to keep up with friends, old and new.

6. I Was Thinking About You, You, You, and You

Sending a mass mailing disguised as a personal message earns you a one-way ticket to Networking Hell (imaginary) for good reason. When you write "I saw this article and thought about you" it should be true. Unless you can think of about 400 people simultaneously, it's unethical to send any kind of mass mailing disguised as a one-on-one message to each recipient.

7. I Practiced It; I Have to Deliver It

Spitting your "elevator speech," unsolicited, into a new acquaintance's face is a major networking faux pas that happens far too often. Conversation is a give-and-take activity, and isn't built to enable either participant to launch a 30-second-or-longer monologue about his business. Wait for your conversation partner to ask questions -- don't shower her with details about your fabulous firm and its amazing products.

Click here to read the full story on Yahoo.

Once Was Plenty

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Ryan) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 05:39:00 +0000

Like it or not, we learn as we get older! Here are ten things I've done once and do not feel the need to do again:

Go to the Boulder County Fair.
Why: Have you been? Eight million degrees, the scariest carnies west of the Mississippi and really, no fun at all.

Get involved with Amway.
I made this mistake in my twenties. Silver lining: extricating myself from the cult taught me useful boundary-setting skills. I'll never forget the sight and sound of a Polish man in a bright yellow three-piece suit standing in my living room berating my twenty-something slacker friends to buy Amway products out of the disposable income they had left over from their $5.45/hour jobs. One punk rocker wandered in and the Amway guy said "Everyone needs soap!" and the punk rocker said "My friends don't use soap," and then got drunk and slipped off his chair, onto the floor under the table, where he lay for the rest of the meeting.

Have a Boulder Library Card.
Why: $110 in fines, and because when I called to say "Gee, so sorry, our bad, we moved, we will find the books, and I thought you didn't fine kids?" they said "Those were from the Young Adult Fiction section." Right, because nine-year-olds don't read "A Wrinkle in Time." Spare me.

Go to the Denver Stock Show.
Why not: I can't say never, because I have kids. Still. Less than meets the eye.

Get the BriteSmile or similar teeth-whitening process.
A Rip-off. Expensive, uncomfortable, doesn't last.

Have a lizard for a pet.
Why not: too unpredictable - healthy, healthy, health, dead. Heartbreaking.

Live in a condo, or anyplace with an HOA.
Why not: not my cup of tea.

Hang around with est/Landmark people.
Why not: I can't tell you, or I'll get sued.

Take my kids to a martial arts place that uses a three-page contract.
Why not: Should have seen this one coming. Trans Martial Arts, rung number six of Dante's Inferno is reserved for you.

Buy an expensive vacuum cleaner that uses its own special, expensive bags.
Why not: Goes without saying. Was this item anticlimactic? Here's one more:

Participate in any women's networking group that has Wild, Wonderful, Fabulous, Outrageous, Passion/Passionate, or Amazing in its title.
Why not: A personal thing.

Headhunter Dos and Don'ts

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Ryan) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 10:29:00 +0000

A friend in the search biz is a boon. Our search buddies can keep us on top of activity in the job market and let us know about great opportunities we'd never find on our own.

On the client side, search partners are invaluable. They find terrific candidates for us and let us know what the talent pool thinks of our shop. That advice is golden. Good headhunter-client relationships are precious, and the same goes for strong partnerships between search pros and the candidates in the marketplace.

There are obligations on all sides - for corporate folks (HR people and hiring managers), for candidates and for recruiters. Since there is a great deal of confusion surrounding the candidate-recruiter relationship, particularly for job-seekers who haven't worked with recruiters before, here are a few thoughts on how those relationships can work to everyone's advantage.

For starters, recruiters owe it to their candidates to keep in regular communication with them. That means that if they've got a candidate on the hook waiting to hear back from a client, the search guy (a unisex term) needs to stay in regular contact with the candidate, period. Didn't hear back from the client? Say so. Didn't have a chance to send the resume into the client yet? Share that news. Silence is not okay, and it's not a reasonable excuse that you don't have any news, yourself.

If you're a candidate and you're working with a recruiter, you have a reasonable expectation of a check-in/update call once a week. There may be no news. You still deserve a call.

When a headhunter calls a candidate out of the blue with an opportunity, it's appropriate for the candidate to ask a bunch of probing questions before giving the search person authorization to send in a resume on his or her behalf.

One of the those questions in "When and how often can I expect to hear from you during the course of this process?" The candidate should insist on hearing the client's name. The candidate should agree to allow the search person to drive the process as long as the search person is hewing to his or her agreement. If, God forbid, the search pro drops the ball and drops out of sight, the candidate has my permission to approach the client directly.

How could we say otherwise? Your conversation with a search person, and your permission for him or her to forward your resume to a client, doesn't say or imply "If you stop communicating with me altogether, it's okay; I'll let this opportunity go by, for the sake of maintaining my end of our crappy relationship."

Perhaps you will never hear from the search pro again, after approaching his or her client (is it even a client? who knows?) directly. Perhaps you will never receive a phone call inviting you to sing on "American Idol," also. Life goes on, in both cases.

If a recruiter calls you about a specific job, it's reasonable to expect him or her to give you some general feedback on your resume and your job-market prospects, beyond this one job. Over the years I have heard from many unhappy job-seekers who were hot commodities for a week or two when a recruiter thought they'd be perfect for a given opening. They were in the recruiter's spotlight, for a brief shining moment. As soon as the company rep said "No thanks on Candidate X," they were demoted to dogmeat in an instant, and couldn't get the recruiter on the phone.

That isn't right. The search person does not owe you a job, or an interview. But if he or she says to you "You're not right for this job" or "The client says you're not right for the job," the recruiter owes you the answer to the question "What sort of job am I right for?"

Candidates have obligations toward their search partners, as well. They should be on time to interviews, answer search pros' questions as quickly as they can during the course of an assignment, and be reasonably available for interviews. They should give early notice if they have to change an interview or phone-screen time, and they should stay true to the comp range or figure they've shared with the search person at the start of the deal.

They shouldn't disappear in the middle of the action, either.

They shouldn't work with two different search folks on one assignment.

They shouldn't approach a client directly once they've given a headhunter permission to forward their resume for that role, unless, as we mentioned above, the headhunter has broken the compact.

They should allow the search person to handle negotiations with the client, unless all parties have agreed that the candidate and the client will negotiate directly.

And, once hired, the candidate should keep the search person up to date with their progress (the search person, let's note, should check in!) and if they change jobs, should keep the search person in the loop. I know candidates and headhunters who've worked fruitfully together this way for twenty years.

Everybody has to step up. It's commonsensical stuff.

Don't have a headhunter in your corner? Get out and network, and post a profile on LinkedIn.
Write to me at liz@asklizryan.com if you're not sure how to jump in.

Ten Biggest Networking No-Nos

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Ryan) — Mon, 26 May 2008 20:51:00 +0000

Dear friends,Here is a new story on Yahoo! Hot Jobs about networking gaffes:

Cheers! Liz

TEN BIGGEST NETWORKING NO-NOS

Networking is a great activity and often a fruitful one, but it's notfor the faint of heart. The networking jungles are full of prowling and slithering creatureswho can make you wish you'd stayed at home and far from your computer. Just so you don't emulate these unclear-on-the-concept networkers, here's my list of the Top 10 most egregious networking missteps:

1. Trip-Worthy

Writing to or calling a stranger to say, "Let's meet for coffee --say, halfway in between our offices?" is highly impolite, since the person you're approaching doesn't know you from Adam. If you've got the desire to meet this person, you can figure out how to get within a half-mile or his or her office.

2. Join My Fan Club

Meeting a new person and adding him or her to your newsletter without permission is another capital networking crime. Don't do it -- write to each new acquaintance and ask for permission (and wait for an answer) before padding your subscriber list with his or her email address.

3. You're Nothing to Me, But Your Employer Isn't

Striking up a networking conversation with a person based on his or her name tag -- for example, because the person works at IBM -- and then, within five minutes, asking the person for an introduction to a hiring manager or purchasing decision-maker at IBM is the height of rudeness. Walk away from a networker like this.

4. Dear Trusted Colleague (Whatever Your Name Is),

Sending a LinkedIn invitation to every person you've ever met, using the standard LinkedIn boilerplate invitation language, will get you dropped from polite networking society. LinkedIn connections are intended for trusted colleagues, and if you must invitation-spam your new acquaintances, you can at least take 10 seconds to compose your own, personal note to each one.

5. Remember Me?

To read the full story, please jump over to: http://tinyurl.com/5brjfr

The Moderating Life

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Ryan) — Sun, 25 May 2008 05:59:00 +0000

I belong to a few discussion groups besides my own, and when I dive into a conversation on one of them, I'm reminded of something important about online discussion.

I write a post that says "X" and I post it, and someone else writes "Y" and someone else writes "Z" and everything swims along. Then, once in a while, there is a post to the group that says "X is idiotic," or - much worse - that says "X is not even a letter, and whoever wrote 'X' is stupid," etc. This is the reminder - I'm glad I moderate in what my fellow Yahoo!group members call "full filtering mode." It isn't tricky. It's just a matter of reading every post before it gets posted.

When people post messages to our group, they are typically thoughtful and warm and full of good ideas. Once in a great while, someone will misinterpret another person's words and will post from that misunderstanding. One time, a member of ours wrote in to ask our opinions on the early-toilet-training method. I don't know anything about it, but some people are way into it and others aren't, as you'd expect. This member got bunches of advice. One person must have read her query quickly because he wrote in, "Why did you have a baby if you don't want to take care of it? Is the baby just a plaything to you?"

So, I didn't post that message.

But that's not how most groups are moderated.

This is the reminder that I get when I dive into the conversational pool on most Yahoo!groups. It's not a good or bad thing. It's just a reminder to me that the incentive to join a discussion drops precipitously when a thought or observation can lead to a dialogue from hell. I don't find one minute of my moderation time wasted. I am happy to do it. Of course, reading the messages before posting them is the easiest part of the moderation task. It's much harder to find a polite way to say "Er, we can't post this" and to explain why in a way that won't insult a person. It's worth it.