Sisterly Job Advice

I recently received this email from an avid reader. I could be all fancy and pretend that she’s not my sister but I KNOW my readers are too smart for that. Anyway, here is her question:

Hey Mar,
Since you’re my advice/resume go-to sister I thought I would shoot you a quick question about my job. Obviously I could just call you up but I thought that other peeps might benefit from this Q&A, so I’m posting on your super cool blog. Here goes. As previously mentioned in a comment to your “I’m too texy for this post”  a co-worker that I worked very closely with, got fired recently. I am now taking over all of her former responsiblities in addition to my own. I have always been happy with my pay here being sufficient for the job I do, until recently.

As I am now solely in charge of payroll, I saw the last check that was issued for my former co-worker. It turns out she was making literally twice what I make, with the same amout of responsibility. She has her associate degree, but it would be safe to assume that I have more credit  (I am in my senior year of college) hours than she does with the same amout of experience.

In short, I have two questions:

1) Am I being greedy by wanting more money when I was previously happy with what I was making? I can’t help but think that it would be immoral of me to expect more when my job really isn’t hard at all (I mean, you see how often I’m on Twitter)

2) If not, what is the best way to go about asking for a raise? Thanks for the help in advance.

Dear Courtney,

First of all, let me congratulate you on a job well done. It sounds as though you have assumed a new level of responsibility in your career track. And make no mistake, virtually every job you hold has an impact on your career as a whole, so do not discount bartending, office jobs, or even that summer you spent shucking corn. Your “eyes wide open” stance of looking at the amount of work you have to do is exemplary. Understanding that your workload is not unduly burdensome may make you think you do not have the right to ask for a raise and I would agree. At least not right away.

There are several factors at work here. The first being that you have only assumed the responsibilites for a short time so far. You may find, particularly after the slow holiday period that performing both her duties and your own may be more than you had anticipated. Even Twitter is a little slow before the New Year comes along! So keep that in mind.

Second, being content is not the same as being ambition-less. You do a good job, are paid a fair wage and are quite happy with your treatment at your workplace. Now you are doing (in essence) the work of two people, one of whom was paid twice your salary. So your boss is getting all the work, done well and promptly, for a third of the price! Keep THAT in mind as well.

Third, times are tough. If your boss thought it was a wise business move to hire an HR Admin or Payroll Asst., he would have done it. He didn’t and that should give a little hint that he was thinking of tightening the reins anyway.

Armed with this knowledge. I reccomend this strategy:

Schedule 15 minutes with your boss. Tell him you appreciate his faith in you, you are excited to tackle the new responsibilities and you are planning on doing an excellent job for him and the company. Then say: “What I’d like to do is meet back with you in three months. You can assess my performance and if it’s merited, we could increase my compensation to be in line with my additional roles.” Or something like that. Make sure he gets that:

a) you are totally happy proving yourself

b) you totally know he should be paying more for this work

c) he has time to “gear up” for the raise

Then go back to your desk, figure out a fair bump in wage that will make it so he’s still saving money AND you feel compensated for the extra work you’re putting in. Once that is done, work your tail end off for the next three months and let him know it in non-invasive and subtle ways.

I’ll try to write a post about how to make sure your boss, client or manager understands how you do your work and what you are accomplishing in the next couple of days!

Best of luck SIS!

I’m good, thanks

Recently, I was talking to my sister. She came over for dinner and we were hanging out and talking afterward. My sister’s son is autistic and has been in therapy for about a year, since he was close to three. As we spoke she mused that he might be ready to “graduate” from therapy. I know that she works full-time to pay for his therapy (both private and within the school system) so I asked if she would be able to cut down on hours. As we talked about the heavy costs associated with his therapy, I asked why she had never taken advantage of the aid offered in situations like hers.

Her answer astounded me. My sister sat there and spoke of other parents in “the waiting room” whose kids needed more therapy than my nephew and were crushed under the debt of multi-weekly appointments, the folks who gave up on therapy because they can’t afford it at all and said,”We’re okay, we can afford it. I’d rather save it for the parents who really need it.”

Wow. A mother faced with a developmental disorder that places undue burden on the family’s financial situation. Her son is her only child. The future of her family has been altered in a way she did not anticipate and yet, she’s not asking for anything. Furthermore, she is declining help she is perfectly eligible for and which our system says she deserves.

I was floored. To be honest, I don’t even know what lesson to take from this small, seemingly insignificant action. She certainly doesn’t think it’s worth crowing from the rooftops. But it speaks volumes about personal responsibility and accountability. Her sacrificial giving (in theory if big government doesn’t muck it up) will provide another family therapy. Her ability to understand that while the help is there, she need not take it was what impressed me the most.

We live in an opportunistic society and that’s not always bad. But when offered a handout, a hand up, a second chance, make sure you are the ones that needs it before greedily snatching it from the hand of fortune.

You can’t put this workforce back together again

Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall

All the King’s Horses and all the King’s Men

Couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty back together again.

I used to sing that song to my little sisters and later to my own kids. Now, few will delve so deep into this rhyme of Mother Goose, but I think its fairly indicative of how far you can go with employees. I have seen an attitude in corporate America which must be stopped and it’s getting a bit worse lately.

It’s the attitude that “you’re lucky to have a job at all”. Because of all the headlines, all the unrest, all the scary cable channel layoff news, suddenly middle managers and corporate higher ups are implying that “any job” is a good job. Budgets are cut, people are fired and the remaining folks are tapped for “more opportunity” (opportunity=unpaid additional responsibility) and anyone left standing is deemed “lucky”.

Really? Did your company change? Become more profitable? Start offering better benefits or change company culture? Was there additional training for brutal managers or a new onboarding system implemented to pair seasoned employees with new hires? Are you finally getting rid of problem employees under the guise of layoffs even though Sue in Accounting told you that guy was bad news years ago? Hmmmm, NO? Then unless you were already an awesome place to work, YOU’RE NOT NOW!

I hear it from employees, friends, business owners and consultants, there’s some sort of smug superiorty starting to taint the air in the survivor camp. And it’s making for some not so best practices. It’s during times like this that companies start treating employees and their emissaries (that’s YOU recruiters and HR Pros) as dispensable.

Well, one thing they might want to consider is that the human capital sphere may not tolerate a stripping down of the workforce. This is a space where just a few months ago people were relishing their cohorts jump from the coporate ship into the brightly colored dingy of self-employment. Where people don’t seek out great benefits and assume that they will be working on-site. What happens when the economy is back?

As it stands now, loyal employees who have stayed the course with their bosses, hoping for their next big break, clinging to their desk job to ensure they get their diabetes medication, doing more work and staying more hours for a fraction of their former pay. Eventually, they are going to wake up and realize that this is ridiculous! These vapid employers are teetering on the edge of a very high wall and pretty soon that fragile balance (already in peril) will break.

And All the King’s Horses and All the King’s Men won’t be able to to put that workforce back together again.

Maybe that’s a good thing. . . .

I’m too texty for this post

I must admit. When I started reading “horror stories” about how Gen-Y just doesn’t get it, I was offended and appalled. After all, my own work ethic (and that of my similarly aged friends) is stellar and I have a (tenuous) claim to the millennial camp. However, lately I may have to eat my own words. In blog posts, chat rooms, and conversations over coffee, I am hearing more and more horror stories of my own. And they aren’t coming from geezers, they’re coming from my peers.

Necessary disclosures:

1) In 2009, I will turn 30. If I ever argued vehemently for the right to be called a millennial, after July, it will just seem silly. (Good time to start bashing them then!)

2)I have oodles and oodles of children, which is why I skew “more responsible” than some in my generation.

Okay, so the first situation is this:

Employee calls in sick, notifying the receptionist, who neglects to tell the employee’s direct supervisor. Employee is told to always call-in to a direct supervisor. Two weeks later, employee texts her direct supervisor at 11 pm the night before she is planning to call in sick. The employer, being a gentleman slightly more advanced in his years, never receives the text. This employee was surprised when she was “written up”and placed responsibility for the original absence on the receptionist. Age:26

Second situation:

Assistant tells virtually everyone on her team that she will be taking days off in the coming weeks but is unsure which days these might be. When she discovers that she needs the days off, she texts her immediate supervisor (who knew nothing of this, although the remainder of the team DID) the night before, dispensing with the normal office protocol of filling out a time off request. She does not come in for a week. Age: 23

What do you think of these situations? Is this responsible behavior? Can it be chalked up to age, inexperience?

Would it change your answer if you knew that a VP of the company frequently texts his requests when out of the office? Why? Why not?

This thread posits that attendance policies are becoming a moot point. Yeah, we all know ROWE would rule but how to make that happen overnight?

Discuss amongst yourselves. Seriously, I need answers!

(Just so you know I expect to get a fair bit of vehemence in linking irresponsible texting to Gen Y. It’s cool. Just remember, I am practically Gen Y myself.)

Pour some sugar on my. . .job search

Sometimes a spoonful of sugar really CAN help the medicine go down. This post will be short and (ahem) sweet. In this time, when recruiters and HR Pros that I know, respect and love are finding themselves out of work, I am heartened by recruiters, HR Pros and Social Media peeps who are going out of their way to give a little back. Maybe it’s hosting a free webinar, providing practical tips on how to help, giving your friend a shout out or doing some good in the community, I am seeing a lot of people go the extra mile.

For my part, I am now officially on the market as a contractor. After a decade of marketing everything from non-profits to investment firms, I am opening myself up fairly exclusively to marketing projects in the HR and Recruiting space. In my quest for the perfect “gig” I have asked a lot of friends what tools I should use, how to separate my personal brand from my professional brand and how to go about such a dynamic shift (you may remember that I recently went from consulting part time to a full blown corporate gig in financial services, turns out not the best decision in today’s current economic times). I have thanked many of them publicly. Here are some of the ideas, posts and tools they suggested. Maybe they can help you (or a friend in need) out.

VisualCV.com- Someone told me to get my butt on here and quick. Okay, okay, I’m going. This is a comprehensive tool that, in my view, allows you to collect all your “lookit what a pro I am” information in one place. Then you get to paste your pretty mug on it.

Be your product- A wise fellow told me to decide what I wanted to offer and then package it, get out there and offer just THAT. Another way of saying it is, Don’t try to be all things to all people. Scary but courageous words in these freaky times. But still sage advice. Oh yes, he also mentioned that he started his teensy little firm, perhaps you’ve heard of it, in a recession.

Toot your horn. This is SOOOO hard to do authentically. I see so many people name dropping and retweeting their own tweets and in general irritating me and I just don’t want to be that person. That being said, when everyone is talking (and everyone IS right now at this moment in history) you must make sure people know who you are, what you stand for and promote yourself. But don’t be obnoxious about it. Or I will @unfollow you. You know who rules at this? Miss Katie Tierney, last seen here.

LinkedIn- Sure it’s gone through some changes and yes, a lot of people on there are looking now but if you’re not on it and you’re not letting people know that you are out there and ready for the next opportunity, then you look a little behind the times. No, a lot behind the times.

Don’t be a wimp- This is a piece of advice I have gotten over and over again. Are you sure you want to go out on your own? Do you know what you want to provide? Do you have a business plan in place? Then move your keister already and go for it! Don’t waste company time planning your new business. A friend of mine told me a long time ago that “God can’t place anything in your hands when you are clinging tightly to what has gone before”.

Have your answer ready. I learned this one that hard way. When you are feeling out potential clients who also happen to be friends, have your plan of work outlined ahead of time. You don’t want to miss out on business do you?

Scribd.com and other media sites- Get your resume out there. Make sure that people see what kind of work you can do and what you’ve done before. The best example I have ever seen of great personal marketing is here. Another great way to outline what you are doing is seen here by Michael Marlatt.

Bust your hiney- Some people work like ‘bots. At least that is how fellow FOT’er describes the esteemed Kris Dunn. Author of the HR Capitalist, Fistful of Talent Boss-Man and Workforce Featured Blog go-to guy, this man will NEVER have to look for work should he become available. What you say? Easy? Not if you have a slew of kids and a wife, a full time gig as a practitioner and an apparently crippling addiction to ESPN. THAT’S how you do it folks.

Be great to people. I know some folks who go out of their way to introduce their “people” to folks that can help, sort of career waypoints, if you will. When you start connecting the folks in your space that make sense, you become infinitely more valuable. My friend Joe Gerstandt does this in spades and people love him for it (PLUG: He will be leading TTC tomorrow at recruitingblogs.com, in case you didn’t know). Help with resumes, call back when you say you will, don’t be a dill hole.

Spread the wealth- Remember not everyone is on social media all the time, so talking about these tools like they are part of everyday life doesn’t work. This article breaks down a service many people love and even more people are unaware of while still providing tips and tricks for intermediate users. While the writer is gaining serious cred for her company, she’s also building her personal brand as a person in the know. Plus, she’s helping people at the same time.

Okay, so maybe this post wasn’t ALL that short. But there are people out there who need your help. There are people out there waiting to help you. There are tools that people have invented to help you. If that ain’t sweet. . .

He’s just not that into you

A few years ago, a friend of mine was going through a severe case of on-again, off-again-itis. I (like any good friend) was stressing because no amount of “he’s no good, you deserve better” was getting through her thick, love-fogged skull. She was so far gone she was turning down adorable, nice and employed fellows. Finally, I got her a book that was pretty new at the time, He’s Just not That into You. Together, we downed entire bags of Riesen’s chocolate candies and explored all the common excuses of men and slowly, she got over the toadie.

Even though I’ve been through similar cases of “wanting what you can’t have”, the whole phenomenon never ceases to amaze me. Chalk it up to the human heart. Well then you explain to me, how this disease, once the domain of teenagers and future Oprah guests, has spread to corporate America. You know what I’m talking about, the “passive candidate”. It’s the only kind of candidate to have apparently. And this perpetuates our precious talent war, since in a recession (see this article from when our economy didn’t suck on adjusting your tactics to the current fiscal state)  there are far fewer passive candidates than before.

Lots of qualified, interested and competent candidates line up at the doors of HR Departments all over the country and are rejected or ignored for the “road less traveled” the “dark horse” . I’m not judging (well, I kind of AM) as I have heard a lot of folks I respect talk about how they only work with passive candidates who already have a job. What I am doing is wondering. . .why?

If someone can supply me with a great reason why candidates who don’t like you, never heard of you and have no interest in moving because they are a super diva rock star are actualy (measurably) better employees than the sweet lady who has always wanted to work at your company and has applied every year since she hearf your marketing VP speak at a regional conference four years ago but you always ignore her because if she was any good she wouldn’t be coming through the very expensive ATS you purchased, then please show me.

Otherwise, I’ll have to tell you like I did my friend: “They’re just not that into you“.

Also, as a postscript: Continuing to stalk passive candidates as a business mandate during a recession is the dating equivalent of Molly Ringwald bagging that guy in her odd homemade pink dress in the 80s. It might make sense when the pros suggest it, but it will never happen in real life.

Horton Hears a Recession

So someone finally came out and said it, we’re in a recession. Well whoopty frickin do, I am so glad you put a name to this funky feeling in my wallet. The truth is, we’ve all known it, we all saw it and with tools like twitter and our big fat BRAINS, decided we didn’t need mainstream media or some bald dude in a suit telling us it was so.

Last night, after I spent the day laying off a good portion of our workforce, I settled in by the fire to read “Horton Hatches an Egg” to my three boys. The oldest one rolled his eyes but I needed something easy and rhyming to ease the pain of my day, since it’s bad form to drink heavily in front of your kids, Dr. Seuss was the next best medicine.

As I read the story of Horton and lazy Maizy, I was reminded of a friend’s re-telling of his story from the last “dust-up” in recruiting. Did he throw his arms up and settle into an easy (but far less lucrative) corporate job? Nope, like Horton, he stayed on that egg through the terrible times, through people telling him it was a dumb idea, through jokes about his profession and lean, cold (economic) winters. (BTW, he emerged as a leader in his field, has resumes when no one else did and made a killing when people were desperate for the talent they had abandoned after the bubble burst).

Of course, since my brain is incapable of doing just one thing at a time, the whole time I am reading this clever little book to my kids, I am thinking. Yes! Here’s a solution! We can use this time (this sucky time, this mess we’ve been left with, that frankly we are leaving to our children but I digress) to shape and mold the industry into what we want it to be!

Yeah, maybe we’ve been doing that (kinda)  but in times of great duress comes great opportunity. Beyond the industry of recruiting, this recession could shape the entire workforce. As gas shot up this summer, we saw entire states change their workforce policies. So why wouldn’t a global recession help to shape the workforce of the next few decades?

Well, it will. And as I finished the story and faithful Horton sees a creature emerge that (against all odds) looks just like him but even COOLER (wings are involved) and is able to finally get some accolades for his hard, faithful and determined work, I realized that I want to have a part in shaping the new workforce, in shaping the new human economy.

As old pillars of the workforce fall by the wayside and folks stuck in the past desperately try to revive them, I have a feeling that it’s no use. Something new will be born during this time and it will be different, and odd, and we might get ridiculed a little. That’s okay. Cuz,

“An elephant is faithful. One hundred percent.”

I don’t want much but I know I want it

Plastic Crown, Cheap Strawberry Shortcake. I don

I am writing this post from the perspective of the job seeker/holder/employee; from the perspective of a mom, a wife, a professional. As I write this, I am sitting by a fire, deep conditioning my hair and watching my two year old double fist cheerios and raisins into his mouth. I LOVE it.

Could I make more pulling a 9-5 (they tell me it’s more like 8-6 now, forget THAT)? Maybe. But I really don’t care. Like many people, those hours don’t always jibe with when I’m my most creative, when I get my best ideas. I love being able to pull off a gorgeous site plan, strategy doc or amazing brochure in the middle of the night and surprise my colleagues with it in the morning.

I work in financial services so it gets to be hard to ALWAYS work from home, markets are open when they are open and they won’t change that for my “work-life balance” (much to my chagrin), and there are often calls to be made, meetings to attend and clients to impress. But the world being what it is and the technology available to many professionals, giving your workers the option to work from home is like a salve.

In my line of work, I am connected to a lot of people across a lot of industries who work in a variety of professions, the ones who get to work from home are consistently excited about it, tend to brag about their bosses, talk up their company, and have tons of “team love” for their departments. All these “good vibrations” are being sent out over the internet to people far and near.

I don’t want much but I know I want it. I want:

-to see my kids grow up
-to earn a reasonable living
-to spend a large portion of my week in jeans or sweats (which I SWEAR makes me more productive)
-to work from my couch
-to be inspired when and where I daggum well feel like being inspired
-to use the tools I spend good money on to connect with people professionally in new and innovative ways

Are those such lofty goals? Not really, no. And so I do the best work I can, as quickly as I can, so that I can have those benefits. I think there are a lot of job seekers out there who feel the same way. To be honest, I am slightly tired of the idea that my generation is completely spoiled just because we figured out a way to do it a litle better, a little different. I think it’s less about the actual demands and more about the fact that we even think we have the right make demands. Well I do and I AM.