tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-131827892024-03-07T01:50:12.543-05:00Business Women's Finishing School & Social ClubEverything you didn't learn in school that will help you survive the world of work. A place for newbies, for working moms, for seasoned professionals and "free agents" to share strategies, tips and tales from the trenches.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger147125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13182789.post-77812957777695101072012-08-13T23:04:00.003-04:002012-08-13T23:04:47.514-04:00Your 23 Year-Old Social Media Manager Replies to Inc.com
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmHmUwjGgib9SZNabaugnU7eRhX65V9W0XOVPPZ8anqT-XUbZfZTXDymRsVMXf2wYPHf9jIn8Bo13cEluX-tABrcMkXEf71_82KiWbN5ImLhZi5UXrVNf4dpw3R4ZF1t7u23o4/s1600/upintheair3cr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmHmUwjGgib9SZNabaugnU7eRhX65V9W0XOVPPZ8anqT-XUbZfZTXDymRsVMXf2wYPHf9jIn8Bo13cEluX-tABrcMkXEf71_82KiWbN5ImLhZi5UXrVNf4dpw3R4ZF1t7u23o4/s320/upintheair3cr.jpg" width="320" /></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">On August 10, 2012,
Inc.com posted an article entitled “<a href="http://www.inc.com/hollis-thomases/social-media-dont-put-intern-in-charge.html">11
Reasons a 23-Year-old Shouldn’t Run Your Social Media</a>.” (Because they might start
sentences with numerals... was not one of the reasons.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Author Hollis Thomases questions their
maturity with your brand and their grace under fire, among other things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This got one of our student body very hot and
bothered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She also happens to be a
social media manager under-30.</i></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Contributing Author,
Natalie Keener </i></span></div>
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Hire a 23-year-old to manage your social media, because no
one else will do it.</div>
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I rarely defend Millennials. If we were to generalize, as
Hollis Thomases did, we could say most Millennials are over educated and under
qualified, with helicopter parents and a clingy yet apathetic nature that is
just…annoying. </div>
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I get that. There are few times I will go up to bat for my
generation.</div>
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But social media is one area that some (not all) of us twenty-somethings
are capable of, if not completely proficient in. I can’t help but laugh at the
term “proficient” here because I firmly believe there is nothing difficult
about Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Google+, etc. People can be
“proficient” in Hebrew or calculus. Facebook? It’s like standing in a room full
of strangers and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i> having a nervous
breakdown.</div>
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If you’re able to engage even one other human in conversation with
the slightest bit of charm or wit, your Facebook friends will thank you, and better
yet, your consumers/clients/funders will learn to love you. </div>
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Here are a few reasons why you should hire a 23-year-old to
manage your social media presence, if you happen to stumble across one and are
too afraid to ford the proverbial Facebook river alone:</div>
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<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>They know other 23-year-olds</b></div>
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Depending on your strategy and goals, you may or may not need a swarm of
young people. But is a crowd ever a bad thing? </div>
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<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>They speak the language</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLcnwmtRPFqfvBHvYcUrQOaST8bchFdhlHeRk94nZ1RdjY-eLDgIbSb6HX5vOdnoJ-iwa1vcB2g1tjKBSYwZcfotXaLXhTilaVYil1Kmd_JaPFMQ5zQ0tm-zWd7ltGzlMcPrfz/s1600/howser.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="72" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLcnwmtRPFqfvBHvYcUrQOaST8bchFdhlHeRk94nZ1RdjY-eLDgIbSb6HX5vOdnoJ-iwa1vcB2g1tjKBSYwZcfotXaLXhTilaVYil1Kmd_JaPFMQ5zQ0tm-zWd7ltGzlMcPrfz/s200/howser.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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When I was first asked to direct a social media campaign, the higher ups
wanted to have a talk about “the plan.” This session involved questions like
“how often will you tweet?” “who will you follow?” “what will you say?” I’m all
about goals and objectives, but 23-year-olds don’t think to themselves <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Now is a good time to update my Facebook
status!</i> Our lives are no longer offline/online/off Facebook/on Facebook. It
is a constant, mostly mindless activity. And for this reason, yes, you will
need to direct/supervise your social media manager. But would that change if
the person were 40? I would hope you’re directing your brand’s reputation on
every platform, not just social media. Twenty three year olds grew up on
Facebook. We were in high school when it expanded beyond college-only users. We
were on Myspace in middle school and Livejournal in elementary school. Yep, we
were blogging as 4<sup>th</sup> graders. Get used to it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLcnwmtRPFqfvBHvYcUrQOaST8bchFdhlHeRk94nZ1RdjY-eLDgIbSb6HX5vOdnoJ-iwa1vcB2g1tjKBSYwZcfotXaLXhTilaVYil1Kmd_JaPFMQ5zQ0tm-zWd7ltGzlMcPrfz/s1600/howser.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>They’re teachable </b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLyH6PK06-fVEsuXj1R9VOr96EEpYiIGnzsgCm-tSD4_fjyKytP_V2SgafWSD2uBQWJYlo8Rc0UbAzolOUIVMQxdSaq9TbkDqxo-vvxp7SH9b8kX3zmQScCMbjiMZGa1XJmE-m/s1600/OT+ribbons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="93" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLyH6PK06-fVEsuXj1R9VOr96EEpYiIGnzsgCm-tSD4_fjyKytP_V2SgafWSD2uBQWJYlo8Rc0UbAzolOUIVMQxdSaq9TbkDqxo-vvxp7SH9b8kX3zmQScCMbjiMZGa1XJmE-m/s200/OT+ribbons.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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If <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>you’re strategizing and
directing your messaging,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>you’re
teaching your staff how to talk about the people/customers/clients you serve
and what you do for them. If not, then a 23-year-old social media manager can’t
help or hurt your brand because it’s a mess to begin with. To continue
generalizing, Millennials need leadership and structure. And feedback. They are
the generation who got rewards for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">just
showing up</i>. So imagine the positive feedback required when they actually do
something right. But they’re eager to please and grateful to work. Just give
them a chance. </div>
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<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>They might have to steward your brand’s future </b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPnabbCStO-p9Wrvk3btg1CCxWPGbL3hO-39rXcwpuVMsNEJXTmyJCZ0ZFfgKfB3NB8ArnShrz0cS6lwsiyoDHAHYNQdOe1qs1cR6mcUuGGC0SDMnGkS1QIq5hXbicGmnVRVr2/s1600/VWiron.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="121" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPnabbCStO-p9Wrvk3btg1CCxWPGbL3hO-39rXcwpuVMsNEJXTmyJCZ0ZFfgKfB3NB8ArnShrz0cS6lwsiyoDHAHYNQdOe1qs1cR6mcUuGGC0SDMnGkS1QIq5hXbicGmnVRVr2/s200/VWiron.jpg" width="200" /></a>Like it or not, you’re going to retire/die/move on someday. You and the
other 60-year-olds. And these young whippersnappers are going to start becoming
old whippersnappers and the next generation of apathetic, shallow youngsters
with overbearing parents will come along. And the Millennials will have to
guide and teach and move up into big, scary roles. What then? Did you take the
time to mentor them, to instill in them the resolve to steward your brand’s
messaging and reputation? What kind of online legacy are you planning to leave? </div>
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<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>They know more than you’d expect</b></div>
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When
I was asked to be a social media manager, I was 23. I was a few months out of
grad school. I did it because I never said no to anything and I knew it
wouldn’t be hard. As time went on, people started asking me questions about it.
My boss asked me something about effective social media strategies, and I cited
a study I’d read. Then I cited a study I’d conducted and published. I hadn’t
flaunted that at my interview or even my first few months of work, because it
was pretty irrelevant until that point in time. But I studied mass
communications, and social media was a big part of it. Anyone who studied public
relations, marketing, advertising, mass media, English, creative writing,
social sciences, humanities, etc., <i>after 2008</i> knows about social media and its
impact on the [fill in the blank] industry. </div>
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<span class="commentbody">Social media is not an art, but it
is a language. And odds are, if you're 23, you speak the language. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not every conversation is carefully crafted
with Marketing 101 in mind, but at least 23-year-olds are HAVING the conversation.
We're not afraid, we're not intimidated, and we're not inhibited by different
formats and media. We grew up speaking this language. Just give us a chance.</span></div>
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Caroline Benderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05551500494780247131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13182789.post-29256601751358448622012-01-10T23:19:00.001-05:002012-01-11T08:56:37.058-05:00"Stay Interview" tips for the Interviewee<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxDZIWlF412L5_4ri70lfth4nYGnr8AHCLInxcqQr0Tu1JUdwity_rPAFE_j_ljNjbJ9bJcLpiAmAAMOzmVfMHSHnKAUQ47jnz-F5Ex6oba5b923TIqsdzBbsJS7SdNmSNfwuJ/s1600/exinterview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxDZIWlF412L5_4ri70lfth4nYGnr8AHCLInxcqQr0Tu1JUdwity_rPAFE_j_ljNjbJ9bJcLpiAmAAMOzmVfMHSHnKAUQ47jnz-F5Ex6oba5b923TIqsdzBbsJS7SdNmSNfwuJ/s200/exinterview.jpg" width="200" /></a>Have you ever sat in your Exit Interview, with a member of HR you never met before, and thought, "Maybe you should have asked this 4 years ago"? Let us know if you have encountered the latest "employee engagement" tool awkwardly known as The Stay Interview -- as in, not "why are you leaving," but rather "what motivates you to stay?"<br />
<br />
Jon Younger, of the RBL Institute, offered a strong<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jon-younger/the-human-element-impleme_b_259040.html"> summary of the tool's purpose, along with guidelines for its use</a> a few years ago in The Huffington Post. At the Finishing School, where some of our best friends are Managers, we are strongly in favor of employee engagement in general. It used to be a fundamental component of staff development, and was known in our day as ... Management.<br />
American business is less about forming long-term relationships these days.<br />
<br />
There is plenty to read on Stay Interview technique -- much of it strangely similar, and nearly all of written for the Manager. <br />
<br />
Your faculty would like to complement Mr Younger's advice (and other postings of similar verbiage) with advice and encouragement for those being interviewed -- as well as a healthy dose of skepticism. Like <a href="http://businessfinishingschool.blogspot.com/2010/01/how-to-improve-your-performance-review.html">performance reviews</a> and <a href="http://businessfinishingschool.blogspot.com/2009/12/ask-manager-what-does-my-title-only.html">promotions</a>, these techniques can range from discovering hidden capacity to Exhibit A for moving you down the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jon-younger/the-human-element-impleme_b_259040.html">stacked-ranking</a> list.<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://corecoachingandtraining.com.au/images/StayInterview.pdf">sample questions</a> we have seen for this exercise tend to be more "on the money" than you may be ready for. The Company goals may be to <a href="http://perhumanresources.blogspot.com/2011/12/conducting-stay-interviews.html">determine who <i>will</i> stay</a> more than who <i>wants </i>to stay. Your answer may be the catalyst for new opportunities, but nearly all in the form of action items for you. It may be the source of new openness between you and Management; it may also force a response like... "that will probably never change." So consider your answers carefully. <br />
<br />
<b>Take your time</b> - If you are not offered the time to take away the questions and answer them on your own, ask for it. Your gut response is probably honest, but needs to be refined (even professionally spun, if you will) in order to be useful feedback.<br />
<br />
<b>Use "I" messages:</b> Still helpful advice in most interpersonal situations. By answering in terms of yourself, you a) own the experience, however subjective, and b) avoid putting management on the defensive, which never works in your favor.<br />
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<b>Be professional:</b> Putting the first twp tips together helps you achieve this one. When the Question is "What do you like about your job?" and the answer is "nothing," you need to find a non-threatening way to tell the truth. The same embroidery you put to your resume might be what you draw on now.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtnJl_cdfdcDIw_YDH-EDDPchnE0C7hVr_CG8VbK_f9499lKGKuZXURqkv6oArRRpxlw4IqzJw2MEW8rDscViFOv6gx3arguYpxwdszBPrunG_DkEP0tM_mpzjbGcrRTMltVkv/s1600/resume.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtnJl_cdfdcDIw_YDH-EDDPchnE0C7hVr_CG8VbK_f9499lKGKuZXURqkv6oArRRpxlw4IqzJw2MEW8rDscViFOv6gx3arguYpxwdszBPrunG_DkEP0tM_mpzjbGcrRTMltVkv/s200/resume.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mwashin/sets/72157604177483230/">needlework by mwashin</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
"Pays the bills" = financially rewarding<br />
"Close to home" = flexibility<br />
"Good teammates" = "Good teammates" Management loves this feedback, actually. It says that they made <u>many</u> good hiring decisions, and that you are a team player<br />
<br />
<b>Don't oversell</b>: at the same time, though, don't feel obligated to write a college admissions essay. Bullet points are fine. They are going to force you to talk it out anyway, and with minimal talking points, you can adjust your response to best suit the tone of the meeting, without having to commit to something you wrote last night over a gin and tonic.<br />
<br />
<b>Don't ask for the impossible:</b> A 20% raise would make all of us like our jobs more, but that is unlikely. Now you have given your manager an impossible goal.<br />
<b>Don't ask for the undeliverable:</b> That is, if you say you'd like to learn the budgeting process, be prepared to be delegated to.<br />
<br />
In both cases, you can open yourself to an easy win, such as getting a mentor, or leading a small workgroup, that solves problems other people have expressed in <u>their</u> stay interviews.<br />
<br />
According to much of the Manager-focused information on this engagement tool, your being asked to participate in a Stay Interview is to be taken a compliment. Most of this information identifies "top performers" as the first people to interview about why they stay. So take it in the spirit it is intended, and try not to pine for the days when Management knew why you stayed, because that was their goal all along.Caroline Benderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05551500494780247131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13182789.post-90278845596045787432011-12-25T21:47:00.001-05:002011-12-25T21:49:48.577-05:00Workplace Dangers: Meeting with Legal<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPNR-oLtJXn7cfREJ5x6UhHjcoRfx0YK3mDg_rhz5oZc6F5QYKQwrQI6sonNZBo_emQOQpfagXMCKFY2VrbAVQMXO1SuVvW7zSGmQ3zmwmUyf4tJNA2e31MdxkUtKnQhE3Vacc/s1600/mayella-ewell.jpg.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPNR-oLtJXn7cfREJ5x6UhHjcoRfx0YK3mDg_rhz5oZc6F5QYKQwrQI6sonNZBo_emQOQpfagXMCKFY2VrbAVQMXO1SuVvW7zSGmQ3zmwmUyf4tJNA2e31MdxkUtKnQhE3Vacc/s200/mayella-ewell.jpg.gif" width="200" /></a></div><i>Instructor, Caroline Bender</i><br />
<br />
This is not Miss Bender's usual lecture about the paper trail -- of the <a href="http://businessfinishingschool.blogspot.com/2005/06/first-i-was-afraid-i-was-petrified.html">CYA</a>/<a href="http://businessfinishingschool.blogspot.com/2010/04/kumbaya-file.html">Kumbaya</a> variety.<i> </i>We'd like to go a little wider and deeper in today's class. These are habits you need firmly established before you need them. Because you never know when you are going to be deposed.<br />
<br />
Let's review some examples of a email reply, with attachment.<br />
<br />
1) subject line: none. No message text<br />
2) subject line: "spreadsheet". message - "Here ya go." or... "per our conversation," (however formal your environment tends to be)<br />
<br />
3) subject line (name of attachment): message text:<br />
<div style="color: blue;">Hello Brenda,</div><div style="color: blue;">Please find attached the latest version of the report we reviewed on today's call, which I downloaded a few minutes ago. Please look it over and make any comments directly in the document. If you have no changes, please let me know that too. I will file it to the accountants as soon as I have heard from you.</div><br />
Three months or 3 years after that report has been cited as evidence in a business issue, you will be glad you chose #3.<br />
<br />
I acknowledge the tedium of email. It is actually more annoying than business by phone (if that is possible) and can be terribly time-consuming. In the corporate arena, especially, we are buried in it, and without secretaries to weed it out for us. Most days, it seems the only way to get through it all is to reply-yes, reply-no, reply-see attached, reply-please reschedule... and you already made a macro to insert "Please." F12 is nice for that.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqwLLyHYc3eqk3mKWh9U_u5BYWIvLKPBkBC1YyhY2Cju6_763lAxTkLv0Xu6wj4xHam7TnPvMmv2XDToyEn5cT0WRIvoOTeRpcVhnbqwuj7aC4YaRzhuW6fvjZBjx52zjPU93a/s1600/seized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqwLLyHYc3eqk3mKWh9U_u5BYWIvLKPBkBC1YyhY2Cju6_763lAxTkLv0Xu6wj4xHam7TnPvMmv2XDToyEn5cT0WRIvoOTeRpcVhnbqwuj7aC4YaRzhuW6fvjZBjx52zjPU93a/s200/seized.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>I ask that you acknowledge this: A stitch in time... saves several uncomfortable meetings with General Counsel. Not only can you pull a timeline of your role in whatever is exploding, you can quickly check your own memory of what happened when, and why.<br />
<br />
<b>Take this Pop-Quiz</b><br />
Pull a history of the last 6 month's emails on any given category of your work. (If you are not yet using Outlook categories to reference your email, please set aside additional time to <a href="http://www.timeatlas.com/email/outlook/organizing_with_outlook_categories">read this</a>). Based on what you find, could you put together a reliable discovery-worthy history of events, using only these official business documents you yourself created? Then I urge you to begin tomorrow, writing business emails so complete you could come back to work after a traumatic brain injury and still know what you were doing last week.<br />
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These do not have to be baroque in style -- heretofore, forthwith, whereas -- or even particularly long. They need to be<br />
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<b>Thorough</b> - if you need a template, try this:<br />
<ul><li>The Big picture this pertains to. </li>
<li>The central message of this email. </li>
<li>Action on the part of the reader. </li>
<li>Next steps for the sender. </li>
</ul>Read the note to Brenda again -- more than 3 sentences, yes, but the structure is there. This "next step" area also serves as a task for you. And if you are not yet using Outlook Tasks as your To Do list, please set aside additional time to <a href="http://tech.kateva.org/2008/08/using-outlook-tasks-mini-tutorial.html">read this</a>). <br />
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<b>Date and Time stamped</b> - the easy part is done for you already. What you also want to include are points of reference that can be useful, such as noting to Brenda that the report was run "a few minutes" before the time stamp on the message. The action came out of "today's call," which likely has minutes or notes stored elsewhere. Date your attachments whenever possible, also. If it is later modified, its properties will tell you that; the date in its name can signal when it was created, run, or what it refers to (Annual_Report_2010). If you develop a consistency for your own dating convention, the document name will have immediate meaning for you and your recipients.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpvYvW2Nlbcz0kx3Zh67Cmt2KHPQAWSjP_SKrT2UCCrviu5hhf8yWhAtPMXiNgQn5MKpDjrA9XfwBxSYs2G_j_atEESKplvZhsejBhlwbt8nVnbUWFCA4ow7LzIZ9VJZcKxsv5/s1600/Jackie-Chiles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="116" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpvYvW2Nlbcz0kx3Zh67Cmt2KHPQAWSjP_SKrT2UCCrviu5hhf8yWhAtPMXiNgQn5MKpDjrA9XfwBxSYs2G_j_atEESKplvZhsejBhlwbt8nVnbUWFCA4ow7LzIZ9VJZcKxsv5/s200/Jackie-Chiles.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><b>Who did What and When</b> - Miss Bender developed an inclusive "we" habit early in her career -- a style she still prefers to "I," rather like referring to herself in the third person -- but "we" will immediately draw the question <i>who</i> out of the attorneys. Naming names is good practice when asking for, or reporting, approval, sign-off, and other such authorizations.<br />
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<b>Cross-Reference</b> - Refer to supporting documents, work request IDs, meeting minutes, and the like by their full names. This will be exceptionally handy even if no one seizes your records. If the email is internal only, consider linking directly to shared documents from within the message so they can be retrieved immediately.<br />
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<b>Recycle</b> - Another handy tip for general productivity, and a sure thing for keeping the story straight. Copy statements from your minutes, right to your action items, to your progress reports, your dashboards, your email messages. No telephone game here -- and in a desktop search, you'll find all the documentation that pertains to that item. (And if you are not yet using a desktop search tool besides the one your operating system came with, please set aside additional time to<a href="http://googledesktop.blogspot.com/"> read this</a>. ) <br />
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<b>Learn how to make a quick and relevant timeline</b> out of your email archive. Test yourself on a project some time back -- a year ago, even -- by making a 1 page document of key actions, milestones, decisions based <u>only</u> on what you can retrieve from your email. Management is easily assuaged by<br />
mm/dd/yyyy: PERSON takes ACTION - QUANTITATIVE RESULT<br />
mm//dd/yyyy: AUTHORITY decides to DO/NOT DO<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQw6GIZlOn8DAQFp2wbWn70hdFN-ZsBxaQgmuSkkuI71s3d_J0c92at9Lec5BQA0_IFWRakqPu4mKUMl7RWLdvyeDjbeLpxPz89_Xqub_0RWP3cot1WCMRPyNgsdzw-FDyCTGg/s1600/corbis_inside_mountain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQw6GIZlOn8DAQFp2wbWn70hdFN-ZsBxaQgmuSkkuI71s3d_J0c92at9Lec5BQA0_IFWRakqPu4mKUMl7RWLdvyeDjbeLpxPz89_Xqub_0RWP3cot1WCMRPyNgsdzw-FDyCTGg/s200/corbis_inside_mountain.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><b>Store and backup</b> - but don't overwhelm yourself. It is not necessary to save <i>every</i> email if your end of the thread can fill in the blanks, and if your emails repeat and reinforce other documentation. I recommend a Best Practice of keep the current year<u> immediately</u> handy in email form, the previous year in desktop folders or an email backup, and earlier things as Key decisions and documentation. Your workplace may not allow the deletion of email. That's becoming very common.<br />
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In which case, please set aside additional time to <a href="http://businessfinishingschool.blogspot.com/2005/11/free-speech-on-job.html">read this.</a><br />
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Happy New Year from the Business Women's Finishing School & Social Club. <br />
Tell us what's on your mind.Caroline Benderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05551500494780247131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13182789.post-5020075927256941372011-10-06T20:21:00.000-04:002011-10-06T20:21:50.273-04:00Influence without authority<i>A letter to the editor by Diane Chambers, <a href="http://businessfinishingschool.blogspot.com/2009/11/should-i-get-another-degree.html">BWFS Graduate student</a></i><br />
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"I'm at my wit's end," Chambers' letter began, "so I thought I would pen a quick relatively snarky post."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg000wKacIipmBAAH4wdz7W9mNUE_lubeDfzIAXFYovEwGtfcBB-qR0lh0nhJZq9VPeAMTM2ttej3D8JOEkuxGzzTUJ8_7M-NeXIHqrhYU2jL_iPUo4cBxGlSGYYrk4GXVjwEDM/s1600/watergun2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg000wKacIipmBAAH4wdz7W9mNUE_lubeDfzIAXFYovEwGtfcBB-qR0lh0nhJZq9VPeAMTM2ttej3D8JOEkuxGzzTUJ8_7M-NeXIHqrhYU2jL_iPUo4cBxGlSGYYrk4GXVjwEDM/s200/watergun2.jpg" width="200" /></a><b>We at the Finishing School do appreciate the snarky. We even appreciate the stomp around and overturn the water cooler. But even at the highest levels of the faculty, our motto is... When you want to stand on the table, write a helpful post instead</b>. <br />
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<div><br />
</div><div>Trying to get something done when you aren't in a position to say, "do this because I pay you" or "do this because otherwise I will hurt you" may necessitate the technique of "influence without authority." The tool of influencing without authority is often positioned towards entry level and middle management persons, but also applies to executives.</div><div> </div><div>When you're a leader among leaders, a country's president among country presidents, an EVP among EVPs - you have no choice but to engage in IWOA.<br />
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Here are a few ways to do just that. Comments are welcome.</div>1.<b> Be bold</b> and ask directly for what you want. For some it works, others may just get laughed at, so be judicious.<br />
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2. Appeal to the diva/star/megalomaniac in the other, otherwise known as "<b>sucking up</b>." Best to be subtle here. And be sure to insert your request! A shame to waste a good suck-up.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDG4UMgZeWVLTGd42jEscmTG1TPM-qKmrDPChb-CEYnCailyU3rDt-zGJ7LIO-6Zxn9BH92yErpNCcUglwPFyv6jID5XalUWK3i4V62aMdj-Yz_Z9QPAEh3nN_0in_kTlhhR5E/s1600/MASH.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDG4UMgZeWVLTGd42jEscmTG1TPM-qKmrDPChb-CEYnCailyU3rDt-zGJ7LIO-6Zxn9BH92yErpNCcUglwPFyv6jID5XalUWK3i4V62aMdj-Yz_Z9QPAEh3nN_0in_kTlhhR5E/s200/MASH.gif" width="200" /></a></div><br />
3.<b> Bargain/horsetrade</b>. In order to do this you need to cultivate something the other might want, and make it known that you have it, and MIGHT share it, but only with certain kinds of people.<br />
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4. <b>Threaten to escalate.</b> This is akin to "I'm telling mom on you" and may be laughed at and/or may irritate the "mom" in question, so be sparing with the use of this one.<br />
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5<b> Public shaming</b>. This doesn't need to involve the press. It may involve a weekly meeting where many are in attendance. It can be effective but can backfire.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieS5dMI3wmDdI3w1wVKAbTCJF55zNflVH00oxxQW3LRKHs4JoEufLz2ZAHra-kvKJR0uF5681THeCmnEe1LuTDed6zS4kc5ZutqJ4KIOhZAUyFWnEA9NdMQzNqhdLSrvlDfZoJ/s1600/glee_14-glee-kids-overhead_1887_ly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieS5dMI3wmDdI3w1wVKAbTCJF55zNflVH00oxxQW3LRKHs4JoEufLz2ZAHra-kvKJR0uF5681THeCmnEe1LuTDed6zS4kc5ZutqJ4KIOhZAUyFWnEA9NdMQzNqhdLSrvlDfZoJ/s200/glee_14-glee-kids-overhead_1887_ly.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
6. <b>Build coalitions:</b> harness the power of many in your favor. Be prepared to give back to the coalition you've built (see bargain/horsetrade). <br />
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<div>One other chestnut:</div><div>Use a group setting to your advantage. Propose an idea, then play on the natural tendency of the herd. Instead of ending your spiel with "Everyone ok with that?" ask "Any objections?"</div><div> </div>Let the silence, which is almost guaranteed, be your enthusiastic assent!<br />
<b>Ms Chambers may be somewhat tongue in cheek. She may also have something here. What works for you, when you need to influence without any authority?</b>Caroline Benderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05551500494780247131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13182789.post-67660355621244880372011-09-14T23:42:00.002-04:002011-09-15T08:38:29.098-04:00Ask a Manager: Something's Rotten in Denmark<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Our latest <b>Ask the Manage</b>r question got our Executives in Residence plenty talkative. Even our Research Fellows, who rarely step to the podium, had something to say. So we opened this to our full panel.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Note: some facts in the letter below have been omitted or altered to obscure the workplace. The letter is otherwise genuine. Please also note that our panel of managers are all senior staff and thought leaders in their organizations and their professions. We are grateful to have their mentorship, and have masked their identities in exchange for their participation.</i></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Enough disclaimers. Let’s dish.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCYJTuu8mU46tka688w8zVF1xn1qKl8iE-nqYpVkPIqNrEFZz5nGz8Cr3i5kVMfHeeFfm5m1Ff1FJlD6R0kLwv7o4cgT_hnjWnDwaEpH2dkogc0IDy9pvo2SIOtokn2sdFxJIu/s1600/arras.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCYJTuu8mU46tka688w8zVF1xn1qKl8iE-nqYpVkPIqNrEFZz5nGz8Cr3i5kVMfHeeFfm5m1Ff1FJlD6R0kLwv7o4cgT_hnjWnDwaEpH2dkogc0IDy9pvo2SIOtokn2sdFxJIu/s200/arras.gif" width="200" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>... I work in an area of [the company where] the managers all come from an area called the... lab. Instead of being one large unit they give all of the credit to the lab. They promoted a tech into management that doesn’t understand the scope of [our jobs] and he hangs with his buds in the lab and in general favors them. ... The Vice President of Operations came for a visit to our... area and she stated that the [recently promoted] tech should have never been promoted to management and that she feels that [the rest of us] have not been represented well [in mgt]. The issue here is my [supervisor], the manager and the Director and some others in the lab are close friends, they have plans to put yet more inappropriate people in these positions not changing a thing. The VP (because she doesn’t see us often) isn’t aware of this new development. She was very sincere in wondering ...Why positions that have been approved were not filled?... I can’t help but wonder why the VP would come in to our unit, say a few odd statements then leave. </b></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>... I love my job, I feel that I am a team player and I have demonstrated many times my willingness to go above and beyond. My main point to this query is, does the VP need to know something that she is unaware of. She is an extremely smart person, but again very busy .... How does one inform without being a teller of tales or should I take my husbands advice and just buck up and hope for the best.</b></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>~~ Erin B</b></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Caroline Bender</b>: So, a toss-up question first. Is a drop-by from someone of this VP’s stature unusual? Is she fishing?</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #660000;"><b>Monica,</b> Academe</span>: The writer is answering her own question when she says she is wondering “why the VP would come into our unit, say a few odd statements, and leave.” She came because she smells that something is up, and she is fishing for information. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><b>Don,</b> Business Integration:</span> I think it is most likely not some random coincidence that the VP would come around asking for input, particularly if this is not a usual occurrence.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #7f6000;"><b>Chris</b>, Human Resources:</span> I'm disappointed that your VP seemed to solicit opinions but did not follow up by providing a safe venue for people to voice them. This makes me question her <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_intelligence">EQ</a>, and her intent to truly understand the problem. </span><span style="font-size: small;">No one makes it to VP in an organization without a deep understanding of how power structures work, and the roles people are forced to play within them. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><b>Gerry,</b> Software Development:</span> it was incredibly inappropriate for the VP to make a public disparaging comment about another employee, true or not. I wonder what she was trying to accomplish with that visit to the group. But that said, she has certainly opened the door for conversation with you and others in your group.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><b>Emilia,</b> Professional Services:</span> As a leader of an organization, I can tell you that it's impossible to be aware of everything that's happening within a group at all times so we're forced to rely on our own observations/experiences as well as information provided by others. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>CB</b>: Erin has an agenda, too, doesn’t she? Her own motives aren’t completely objective.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #274e13;">Gerry:</span></b> [Erin,] I would ask what it is you want to accomplish. Are [the managers] harming the company? Are they making your work environment untenable for you? Are you and your colleagues being harmed financially or personally by your management? Or do you just want to let somebody know it's a bit crazy in that lab?</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #783f04;">Don</span>:</b> If you truly feel that this exec is being sincere -- and I recommend that you do because if she didn't care about your input, there is hardly a reason to go asking for it -- then I think this is your chance to do something about your situation. I cannot guarantee that you will move this mountain, but you will gain some peace of mind in knowing that you tried rather than standing idly by as the situation gets worse.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #660000;">Monica</span>:</b> It is very unusual that she would reveal her opinion that Joe Blow shouldn’t have been promoted and that you’re not being well represented to management. Be a little (just a little) suspicious of this. You need both your approach to the VP and what you offer to be quite casual. You need to sound at least 50% less passionate about what’s going on than what you really feel about this mess.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi68N2d5-0xuYAn1lRlN2881KtTPKmTYN_0K4wbCYDHMORV1z20XbmQQtWximsrL2fGaP_dswD78JOLgOCx79U9b7MSgVaz4WbCzq8fnkUfnmzqVTI7lxqnZ939ubJuZUsFW4It/s1600/THE-OFFICE-Dwight-K.-Schrute-Acting-Manager-3-550x366.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi68N2d5-0xuYAn1lRlN2881KtTPKmTYN_0K4wbCYDHMORV1z20XbmQQtWximsrL2fGaP_dswD78JOLgOCx79U9b7MSgVaz4WbCzq8fnkUfnmzqVTI7lxqnZ939ubJuZUsFW4It/s200/THE-OFFICE-Dwight-K.-Schrute-Acting-Manager-3-550x366.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">You need to let her own the reason for your visit/email/phone call: <span style="font-size: small;"> “I am here only because of what you said in your visit to us. I saw in your visit and your comments that you are thinking in some new ways about the organization, and I just wanted to pass along some observations that I thought might be useful as you assess what’s going on. Others may see this differently; for what it is worth, I’ve noticed that .............................” </span></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="color: #783f04;">Don:</b> [Y]ou can keep things at a level that might just make you feel comfortable with what you are doing. More importantly, you can insulate yourself from being looked at (even by the VP) as a “teller of tales.” Something like:</span></div><blockquote><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"… At first I didn't feel that I had much to contribute to the conversation, but I have been considering your questions and I wanted to follow up. I really like working here and being part of the team. I want to see us grow and be successful. If I were in your shoes, I think I might want to focus on bringing in some new skill sets to round out the team. We have some great technical minds in our leadership, and a great group of people doing the work. I think for the next set of hires it would be important to round things out by bringing someone in with some outside experience in (fill in the blanks: managing teams, building a business, etc)..."</span></div></blockquote><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="color: #0c343d;">Emilia</b>: To avoid feeling like a teller of tales or someone who is rocking the boat, [Erin] should</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span></div><ul style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">stick to the facts as she knows them</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">avoid getting emotional so she can be as objective as possible</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">focus on what positive changes she'd like to see within the group and explain their business benefit</span></li>
</ul><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">[You can also] get the information to the VP via an anonymous option - filter through HR confidentially, send via an email or letter, etc. With this option, there's no satisfaction of knowing how the information is received or whether any action will be taken at all. Personally, I would lean toward option 1 whether I was the VP targeted to get the feedback or the employee considering the approach.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #274e13;">Gerry:</span> </b> If you do go to her, you need to be prepared for possible repercussions. If there were to be backlash, is she in a position to protect you (for example, is she the VP of Operations, but your group is in Marketing)? Do you trust that she would? Is there a possible outcome that will make things better?</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="color: #7f6000;">Chris</b><span style="color: #7f6000;">:</span> Sit down and imagine that you have found a way to share your observations with the VP. Then, imagine the worst possible way in which this opportunity could go wrong. Then, make a plan for what you'd do if that scenario occurred. After you've gone through this exercise, decide whether you could live with this outcome. [Y]ou need to be able to live with the consequences if things went horribly wrong. I have been on the end of situations that have gone spectacularly wrong even when I was in the right. And when I say spectacularly wrong, I mean that it went wrong in ways that I would have only joked about beforehand. There's the truth, which is always right, and then there are all the egos impacted by someone bringing the truth to light, and all of the worst in human nature that having your ego scraped can bring. That's the part you have to worry about. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij9Tn09DAMUBroh0w-SSRCtoOFZW7f2FF4Aft4lS3NzoMJzIkwdcKBcOMN4pfZSlNKVYb9Y6Stor41Gy7QedV1YIFpV83JbW7tun3xeIhLYWD4ZrgSpqCspjT2yZadFLFKeo1y/s1600/sidewall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij9Tn09DAMUBroh0w-SSRCtoOFZW7f2FF4Aft4lS3NzoMJzIkwdcKBcOMN4pfZSlNKVYb9Y6Stor41Gy7QedV1YIFpV83JbW7tun3xeIhLYWD4ZrgSpqCspjT2yZadFLFKeo1y/s200/sidewall.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Maybe you decide you can live with the worst case scenario. Maybe you decide to brush up your resume and start looking for another job. Maybe you decide that you'll stay put for now, given this economy, and live with it for a while. The good news is that the one thing that's constant in a business is change. People leave, people join, re-orgs happen, people get pregnant and go on maternity leave - the landscape is constantly changing. And you may be surprised; there may be others at your workplace who are considering this same question. Core problems like the one you describe always have a way of bubbling up to the top eventually. If you can live with the worst case scenario of being the whistle blower, then do it. If you can't, then look for a new job or decide to hang in there for a while because it will change eventually. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="color: #660000;">Monica</b>: After you drop the dime, add to the script a few of your observations about what is going very well; who is great to work with – smart, responsive, insightful (upper management is always running Talent Search.) Then, end it and leave. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="color: #783f04;">Don:</b> The key point is that you should not be speaking badly about anyone who is currently working on your team. Nor should you call out hiring plans that you know about already in a critical way. My suggestion is merely to discuss what you think is lacking in the team and how your VP might be able to help the situation. If she's sharp enough, she will probably read between the lines and be grateful that you are nudging her in the right direction. If she is more of a literal type, then you will have given her some clear direction that will help her to take some further action. If she asks you to give more details or tell some tales that make you uncomfortable, you can say something like "I have no issue with the people in place now and I don't want you to think I do. I am simply telling you what I think would be a logical next step in the evolution of the team." You might say that you have often thought you would benefit from (fill in the blanks) within the organizational structure. The point is to keep it positive, non-specific, and forward-looking.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrgTeEoK6ZlgHabp0-y4IoITvCNP4gatiOz0wDP6bw1y9ugEKcSGisLp2irzj4FZCn229Ytrbu4BV-OUiHThx4BT5A1va-XYMWrLcXXlU3q71HGolO8O3Hlz8noEgYu0mVZOyk/s1600/queen-bee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrgTeEoK6ZlgHabp0-y4IoITvCNP4gatiOz0wDP6bw1y9ugEKcSGisLp2irzj4FZCn229Ytrbu4BV-OUiHThx4BT5A1va-XYMWrLcXXlU3q71HGolO8O3Hlz8noEgYu0mVZOyk/s200/queen-bee.jpg" width="166" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #073763;">Dana</span>, Healthcare</b>: In these types of situations, where you will never have 100% of the available information, I recommend that you just sit tight and do your work. If the wrong people are in the wrong positions it will eventually get noticed...maybe not today or tomorrow but eventually results will start to slip and it will get onto a VPs radar</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #660000;">Monica:</span></b> After you’ve done this much (but not until you’ve done this much) you might take your hubby’s advice and hunker down, do your work, and see what happens.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b style="color: #274e13;">Gerry:</b> Good luck. If you think this is the right thing to do, do it. But make sure first that you are looking for positive change, and not just commiserating, and that it is change this VP can help with.</span><br />
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</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="color: #783f04;">Don:</b> I would recommend that you try and put yourself in this VP's shoes. She, like just about everyone, wants to be successful. She probably knows that in order to be successful, her team must function effectively. She has probably picked up on the fact that some things are not going well. She might have come to this conclusion from listening to what she has been told by her direct reports, from looking at business data that shows that things are not going so well, or from just a general sense of unease that a perceptive manager can feel when something is amiss in the kingdom.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="color: #073763;">Dana:</b> Meanwhile, do a fantastic job, give 110%, and keep smiling. If things don't change after six months or you can't do it anymore, quietly look for another job and quit the boss. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Have a question for our executives in residence?</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Your sticky situations and request for advice are handled by real working professionals at the leadership tier. </i></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Your confidentiality is protected. Write us at a bwfinishingschool@gmail.com</i></span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>Caroline Benderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05551500494780247131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13182789.post-327823117446411422011-06-08T22:55:00.000-04:002011-06-08T22:55:49.962-04:00The New People<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU44v2eZHsqDZT3NxsyFjLfC3aEyUms6_O5g-dcYd7UzSP-FZ6pQr9K-2rKR187O2DpiEjD2Ovl2KHBiJbPFtULse9vWfVm4hPakU8FWlt9munmK4ZuZ2hs74QQgjN79-H_mfS/s1600/employee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU44v2eZHsqDZT3NxsyFjLfC3aEyUms6_O5g-dcYd7UzSP-FZ6pQr9K-2rKR187O2DpiEjD2Ovl2KHBiJbPFtULse9vWfVm4hPakU8FWlt9munmK4ZuZ2hs74QQgjN79-H_mfS/s200/employee.jpg" width="200" /></a><i>Senior Thesis Proposal, Pam Beasley Halpert</i> <br />
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They are not new to the world of <u>work</u>, just to <u>your</u> world of work. Help your new colleagues feel welcome and prepared without being overwhelming or condescending.<br />
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Having new people around is a little like having the Boss listen in on your meeting: you are bound to be a lot more polite and discreet than you would ordinarily. Suppressing the daily grouse can also make you want to avoid the new people, and that is unfair. They are nervous, and lonesome, and eager to please....with very little to do while they watch the rest of you scramble around complaining in your secret insider language. Try a little niceness.<br />
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<b>"How's it going?"</b> is a simple conversation starter that lets them take charge of steering the conversation. A couple of moments in the day where they don't have to answer "I don't know" is a nice gift that costs you nothing.<br />
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<b>Remember the personal questions.</b> Again, on the size of their family, the town they live in, and the source of that wall calendar there.... they are experts.<br />
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<b>Invite them along</b> to meetings and phone calls, even if you think they are tortuous and repetitive. Every opportunity is a new opportunity, and you just may discover they have some background/inside info on the topic at hand. This technique works best when you can brief them ahead of the meeting, and de-brief afterward, but you may not always have the time. If you have to choose only one, choose the pre-brief, so at least they understand what is happening.<br />
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<b>Never say it's tortuous and repetitive</b>. Self-discovery is another of the small joys of the new workplace.<br />
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<b>Stop for lunch</b>. <b>Or even dinner.</b> <br />
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<b>Introduce them. </b>The walk-around is over-rated, but it does work. What else works is simply introducing them to people you are standing there talking to. You should do this for at least 6 months, at which time the no-longer-new should be responsible for, "We haven't met. I'm...." This is a good practice for you too, because there are new people... <i>everywhere</i>.<br />
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We are interested in hearing your New Kid stories, and Visiting Remote Worker stories. Contact us at bwfinishingschool@gmail.com and share your Best and Worst. Confidentially is always protected.<br />
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<b>Related stories</b><br />
<a href="http://drawingin.blogspot.com/2008/04/counterparts.html">Counterparts: Foreign Exchange Students of the Workplace<b> </b></a>Caroline Benderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05551500494780247131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13182789.post-49878140066171976432011-05-27T15:47:00.000-04:002011-05-27T15:47:39.922-04:00Princesses are not Perfect (book review, of sorts)<em>a confusing business fable</em><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhwivWuz2dWllolRrWFlrksO8Je_4CWHhIHJcBA7hMK33U_j9hT2Mj5gy44B4ZCA3nXy_VH3-TCLvkCYqcWp4O1bgOcGnWUIS9gQA5f8W7_GOFGFM7nSnnQNGMrQ-DxDDlO6dg/s1600/delegation.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhwivWuz2dWllolRrWFlrksO8Je_4CWHhIHJcBA7hMK33U_j9hT2Mj5gy44B4ZCA3nXy_VH3-TCLvkCYqcWp4O1bgOcGnWUIS9gQA5f8W7_GOFGFM7nSnnQNGMrQ-DxDDlO6dg/s200/delegation.gif" t8="true" width="200px" /></a></div><em>Chief Researcher, Caroline Bender</em> <br />
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Parents in our student body may have already explored this topic. Your Miss Bender is on field research this week, as a spinster businesswoman with little other-life experience. Living through the eyes of a 4 year-old this week is a fascinating look into how we get <u>here</u>. Give me the princess until she is 7.... and I will give you the Chairwoman of the Board.<br />
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If you live within a mile of a 4 year-old girl, you understand the pull of Princesses. I gave up trying to explain it years ago. I accept that for most of this demographic, the world is painted in lavendar and pink, and everyone wears a crown. A fraction of the group who don't actually believe it go along with it out of cultural deference, and the rest of them go horsey or live as boys. (Don't start writing your letter yet; I am just getting started)<br />
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I am not against princesses, and I am not going to blame Disney for them. A girl's gotta be what a girl's gotta be, and if it involves <a href="http://unicornomics.com/nprorg-why-do-girls-love-horses-unicorns-and">unicorns and rainbows</a>, so be it. When you draw a girl's smiling face in sidewalk chalk, and your 4 year-old charge asks, "Can I draw her crown...?" you are up against a new kind of reality. (4 year olds say "drawl," as you know)<br />
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Among the library books we read (in our matching pink reading chairs while one of us was dressed as Belle) this week is <em>Princesses are Not Perfect</em>, whose author has just found this post through her favorite search engine, and will be writing within the hour. The surface message of the story is meant to be that you don't have to excel at everything you try -- in fact most people, even <em>princesses, </em>can not do everything <u>perfectly</u>.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOc9eRd2-B4znnagOUp5Lktk1t_rcvrYr6KCCWiL3AmFot2-dEKqjxutgtVeoCXXT95Mbcn5X-H_Awqiw8HBOq-eNFSb5ez0GSLvMyATunJZpEezOl2esxrRRVft938uELD7ex/s1600/bwfs2.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="188px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOc9eRd2-B4znnagOUp5Lktk1t_rcvrYr6KCCWiL3AmFot2-dEKqjxutgtVeoCXXT95Mbcn5X-H_Awqiw8HBOq-eNFSb5ez0GSLvMyATunJZpEezOl2esxrRRVft938uELD7ex/s200/bwfs2.bmp" t8="true" width="200px" /></a></div>Nice sentiment. Mr Rogers taught us that. Captain Kangaroo taught our parents to "let your young person try to comb their own hair, even if it doesn't look quite right." And in a childhood of bike helmets and kneepads, we have learned to say encouraging things like, "if you're not making mistakes, you might not be trying very hard." A (wo)man's reach must exceed [her] grasp, etc. (I originally typed "gasp," just now...which seems a little closer to the truth.)<br />
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Inside <em>Princess are NotPerfect</em>, I found a more confusing layer of messages, and a generation of Women Who Do Too Much in the making. It happens like this. <br />
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Each of 3 princesses has a specialized skill. One is a gardener, one a baker, and one a builder, in an interesting push against gender-specific occupations. While planning the big party, the builder announces that she is tired of always doing the same job, and what if she tried doing the baking this year? The other princesses are uneasy about working outside their sphere of expertise, but convinced they can excel at whatever they try, they agree to shift duties.<br />
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Hilarity ensues, as you might expect -- the builder gardens with a chainsaw, the baker slathers glue like frosting, and the gardener pours flour onto the kitchen flour and rakes in the ingredients. Each makes a hopless and <em>im</em>perfect mess at her contribution to the party.<br />
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<strong>Confusing message #1</strong> - you have perfect...or a mess. Nothing in between.<br />
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They each lie to the others about how great the project is going and go to their separate beds.<br />
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<strong>Confusing message #2</strong> - Never ask for help from people who could.<br />
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Stressed beyond sleeping, each princess paces, and tosses, and drinks relaxing liquids, thinking about...<br />
<em>not </em>how they will explain what happened to the chairs, the cupcakes, or the centerpieces they attempted, but sensing <em>what a horrible mess the other princess must have made working on their part</em>.<br />
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<strong>Confusing message #3 - </strong>Delegation = disaster. Just do everything yourself.<br />
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Each gets up <em>in the middle of the night</em> to work will her tools, as"the only thing" that will calm her. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsdrqbQtkRArhpNG_tFec49WYTdodttzYW3Ewm9pBRlJh93tXDzB3XtN6WbnH7pDwpbBJEiH1HXyIeQZqhbhq61pazm0Gibjb-VQIB8tr0D6EYgz8y4KRR0UHovREzCHEwhYqj/s1600/bwfs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsdrqbQtkRArhpNG_tFec49WYTdodttzYW3Ewm9pBRlJh93tXDzB3XtN6WbnH7pDwpbBJEiH1HXyIeQZqhbhq61pazm0Gibjb-VQIB8tr0D6EYgz8y4KRR0UHovREzCHEwhYqj/s200/bwfs.jpg" t8="true" width="200px" /></a></div>(Oh, "tsk" yourself; you've done it.) Their ouput, of course, is a new set of 100 chairs, cupacakes and flower arrangements.<br />
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<strong>Confusing message #4</strong> - People want you to rescue them. No, they really do. And you're the best at it.<br />
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No one questions the turn of events. They are all grateful, and the village children have a wonderful party. <strong>Confusing message #5</strong> - Stay in your box.<br />
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The line in the story is "do what you love," which is also a good positive message. Unfortunately, it is written like this (<em>emphasis mine</em>): <br />
<blockquote>"Princesses," said Princess Allie, "are good at what they love." (<em>in fact, perfect at what they love. And terrible at anything else</em>.) "You don't have to be good at everything to be a princess." (<em>but you do have to be a princess</em>).</blockquote>What a nice story it would be if they had helped each other learn a new skill and produce something original and good, if not perfect. If the cupcakes were decorated with real roses, and the chairs filligreed like wedding cakes, and the centerpieces architectural wonders of climbing topiary and hanging baskets. What if we let ourselves try something new and celebrated the experience rather than the outcome.<br />
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What if.Caroline Benderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05551500494780247131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13182789.post-53934969515403981672011-03-30T08:54:00.002-04:002012-07-12T21:23:22.022-04:00Ask a Manager: Why did you leave your previous job?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>The Finishing School welcomes our guest manager, "Miranda Bailey," to respond to a recent Ask the Manager question.</b></span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Note: some facts in the letter below have been omitted or altered to obscure the workplace. The letter is otherwise genuine. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i> Hi there,<br />
Came across your web page and "ask a manager" section particularly interested me. <br />
Here's my query: hope I get some guidance.<br />
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An overview to my profile:<br />
I am an MBA graduate. <br />
An HR professional (Based abroad) <br />
I've worked for 5 yrs with mostly start-up organizations. Throughout my career I made sure that I give my best to the organizations (for which I did win loads of accolades as well). <br />
To the best of my knowledge, I've always had positive feedback about my work and personality. <br />
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The situation:<br />
I got married in 2008; due to demands at home my work suffered and I was fired (without any prior warning). The markets crashed soon after and unemployment prevailed for most of the year in 2009. By the time the markets got greener for jobs, I got pregnant and had to continue staying at home.<br />
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My child is 6 months old now. I am ready to work now. <br />
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I am not clearing any interviews in spite of most interviews having indicated good outcome. <br />
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Most difficult questions/situations interviewers present me with are : <br />
•why a junior position if I apply for non senior positions (after being a senior manager) ; <br />
•why did you leave your previous job ?(gets tricky if I tell them the truth and will get messy if they find out that I was fired!). <br />
•Some state I am too qualified to start off again at a junior position.<br />
•Could it be possible that my previous employers are giving a negative feedback. (Is it possible that a company reference checks with my previous employers without my knowledge? )<br />
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Kindly help. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Dear Reader,<br />
As we say in the service business, you are only as strong as your last encounter. It can be difficult to bounce back from a termination, though you say you are “ready to work.” Let’s see if we can emphasize <u>this</u> aspect of your candidacy in your next round of interviews.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Let them Ask</b><br />
In this market, of course, most candidates are more than ready to work, and many are laid off from senior high-paying roles and competing for junior positions. You have your work cut out for you. The market also works in your favor in one way: most candidates have a gap between their most recent employment and the present day. You may have the advantage in some cases of being <u>assumed</u> laid off, rather than terminated, and you are under no obligation to reveal that in an interview.</span></div>
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When the question arises, meet it honestly. You may even use it as a selling point.</span></div>
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<b>Never Stop Learning</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b>Like most interview questions, “Why did you leave your last position” is only partly about <u>what</u> you answer. It is mostly about <u>how</u> you answer. Your letter reveals some interesting opportunities: you recognize where you were stumbling professionally, and though your termination came “without prior warning,” you also know that your work suffered. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Now is your opportunity to do some hard reflecting on how that happened, and how you might have done things differently. Work on a simple statement that acknowledges the cause, your role in it, and what you learned from it. End your statement with a question that gives the interviewer the chance to say something positive. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Like this: <b>“A project I was handling missed a key milestone. I thought I had it under control, so I hadn’t escalated my concerns to management. Does your company provide the kind of collaboration that would help resolve scheduling conflicts with projects?”</b> A savvy recruiter or hiring manager may throw it back to you, “So you were terminated?” And you can say, regretfully, “<b>I learned so much from that experience. I realize how it important it is to look for obstacles much farther ahead than I had been. For example….” </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b><br />
If this is also a situation where you are applying for a role junior to one you held before, or seem more naturally qualified for, you can also add, <b>“I may not have been ready for that level. In my current job search, I am looking for opportunities to refine my current skills and better prepare myself to return to the senior role.” </b> Again, a question back keeps the conversation flowing in a feel-good direction. <b>“Can you tell me about professional training or mentor opportunities in your organization?”</b><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Bad Blood</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvnY4e9KAChjdL0CBbnA8OnZFckJip97iMhetQFjYuRwPoAs2Ej71hgE3dPX-BnLX2Ayr0fzeOzFO234S7f3KYOqeOlTXv6XzPFZnEB1Z6HX6IngpqKQ9TO3_dZdo1aupYVlLT/s1600/bad+reference+thumbs+down.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvnY4e9KAChjdL0CBbnA8OnZFckJip97iMhetQFjYuRwPoAs2Ej71hgE3dPX-BnLX2Ayr0fzeOzFO234S7f3KYOqeOlTXv6XzPFZnEB1Z6HX6IngpqKQ9TO3_dZdo1aupYVlLT/s1600/bad+reference+thumbs+down.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b>You suggest that your previous employer is giving negative feedback, and perhaps they are. In most industries, a simple verification of employment is all that previous employers will offer, though they may add that you were dismissed. Chances are, they are not saying much more than that. As much as we talk about the “permanent record,” most HR files I have seen, including my own, contain very little information about the employee’s actual work.</span></div>
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I was once surprised to be listed as a reference for an employee I had terminated. It had been years before, it <u>was</u> for cause, and with warning... and I bore no grudge. I gave the HR screener who called me all the positive feedback I could about the candidate’s skills and talents. And I did say, “You should know that I did terminate 'Isabel,' though it was many years ago. You may want to ask her about time management and meeting performance goals, which had given her difficulty. I expect she has developed since then and has some strong ideas about how to help others with that challenge.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFb2xVqQtbn0Dm-b5DwP05ZJIX-o91g7KAjuwhsgU1WKgVMnErDSTPsLGdToyudTwoFVd3aN30Ozq56KSSCMjQWojTal2NzVMrjZ1upXDpBzVyADGWibjfQH7NbVjn9Cg-LLJS/s1600/coachme.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="159" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFb2xVqQtbn0Dm-b5DwP05ZJIX-o91g7KAjuwhsgU1WKgVMnErDSTPsLGdToyudTwoFVd3aN30Ozq56KSSCMjQWojTal2NzVMrjZ1upXDpBzVyADGWibjfQH7NbVjn9Cg-LLJS/s200/coachme.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Keep Practicing </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Let’s take a look at those interviews you have had which seemed to be going well, but did not yield a job offer. Identify 1 or 2 where you felt like you had strong rapport with your interviewer and contact them for feedback. This takes courage, and humility, and you need to be careful not to put your contact on the defensive, or suggest in any way why they didn’t offer you<i> their </i>job. You want to network with them as you would any contact. Learn what they saw as your strengths, and what they suggest as areas for improvement in your credentials and/or your interview. See our <a href="http://businessfinishingschool.blogspot.com/2010/03/working-nwetwork-works.html">earlier post about networking</a> for guidelines on approaching contacts. Consider taking a coaching session at your local career office, unemployment center, or networking group. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Better References</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span><span style="font-size: small;">And continue working, in whatever way you can. Volunteer work, contract/freelance opportunities, and part-time gigs keep your skills fresh and your energy up. Most importantly for you, they build new references, who can counter any negative feedback you may still be receiving from your previous employer.<i><br />
</i></span></div>Caroline Benderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05551500494780247131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13182789.post-89182101503915240372011-03-22T19:09:00.000-04:002011-03-22T19:09:01.410-04:00My Interview Story<i>Guest Instructor, M. Cipriani</i><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYVuitzQ-ryAOElZPgKpi42VdoYtkOGTUOli-0j5meSgUoMLMYj_OA2PmZdB0GwAvDfoWFINjg5i2TA0xdPBYrYmun5cTOQtBxB7UonSdl8jyW83Sntf18L_OueAuF4gi6ya7u/s1600/interview.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYVuitzQ-ryAOElZPgKpi42VdoYtkOGTUOli-0j5meSgUoMLMYj_OA2PmZdB0GwAvDfoWFINjg5i2TA0xdPBYrYmun5cTOQtBxB7UonSdl8jyW83Sntf18L_OueAuF4gi6ya7u/s200/interview.bmp" width="200" /></a></div><i> </i>Whenever things happen that make me think, “This is not how it used to be,” I realize I am getting old.<br />
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I long for the days when job offers were made over the telephone, rather than through email. When you were courted by a company that wanted to hire you, rather than having to remind them – “Hey, you have a job to fill, remember?”<br />
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Perhaps it is the economic downturn that has left the state of human resources and recruitment in such a mess, as those folks along with the sales and marketing teams are usually the first to be escorted to the door. Perhaps I have unrealistic expectations (that has happened before).<br />
<br />
<b>Perhaps you should be the judge.</b><br />
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I would not consider myself to be actively "in the market" for a new position, but I am always open to an opportunity to better my situation. When a co-worker recently departed my company, she mentioned that there may be an opening for me at her new place of employment, and encouraged me to apply. She would be happy to refer me, she said. So I applied.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrR7TDUIvJsNYOyR98ICIjP9pg46SU3wTOV2iab1yK8NAKtBLoVfgNz8t_u8OeGdu1_p7F7FMmMi2dMCZ7ZmmmtpxtsdIe4tCng3NgzGsEGQB-FhStBjma8NDDkWjh-PNjw0Jo/s1600/lie-detector.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrR7TDUIvJsNYOyR98ICIjP9pg46SU3wTOV2iab1yK8NAKtBLoVfgNz8t_u8OeGdu1_p7F7FMmMi2dMCZ7ZmmmtpxtsdIe4tCng3NgzGsEGQB-FhStBjma8NDDkWjh-PNjw0Jo/s200/lie-detector.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>After a couple of mis-steps, one on my part (sick kids) and one on their part (wrong time zone), I was finally able to speak with the hiring manager by phone. Apparently, I passed the litmus test, and was invited in for an interview. A week passed, I did not hear from the recruiter, so I contacted her to find out if there was still interest. Yes, there was; she’d just been in training all week to learn their new process (a clue). <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicD4zvXIRmK7ciB0QKMNBUNBe1mCg1yZpGrz3kKvGnzGHsdSDXPSVp4ypDkFN3Z4tI8bel3ltpxnqjIYmAgi-OaW_TVddgsGMPTyqj88Z7TSO0DF4l1mXmoQJeLiNe33nCwFqj/s1600/to-tell-the-truth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicD4zvXIRmK7ciB0QKMNBUNBe1mCg1yZpGrz3kKvGnzGHsdSDXPSVp4ypDkFN3Z4tI8bel3ltpxnqjIYmAgi-OaW_TVddgsGMPTyqj88Z7TSO0DF4l1mXmoQJeLiNe33nCwFqj/s200/to-tell-the-truth.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>I had not been informed that I would be meeting with a host of individuals that day, five to be exact. This is another part of interviewing I’ve grown to dislike. Is it really necessary to spend half a day at the company, or longer, meeting everyone from the hiring manager to the cleaning crew? This isn’t a small, family owned, operation either where you could see fit as an issue, this is a large corporation. Can’t the hiring manager make their own determination about somebody’s character? And, much to my dismay, I hadn’t met <u>everybody</u> I needed to meet, because several key players were unavailable that day. <b>I would have to come back. </b><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjbjcoHimPfOjGU1z0W2rXOj0PvYLFlUjYU0LzP8aVjD4J7ZHEIBH9P5yQODrhKbm38IP6B7AgKA-XkVBkC56deAkVsvY83MZm9h1Sd2x18ewSlEB8dJUl9XDcxVCCSNvEafoX/s1600/business-woman-thinking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjbjcoHimPfOjGU1z0W2rXOj0PvYLFlUjYU0LzP8aVjD4J7ZHEIBH9P5yQODrhKbm38IP6B7AgKA-XkVBkC56deAkVsvY83MZm9h1Sd2x18ewSlEB8dJUl9XDcxVCCSNvEafoX/s1600/business-woman-thinking.jpg" /></a></div>Now for someone who is in between positions, this may not pose a problem. But for someone who is working full time, I am now using my precious vacation time in order to go to these interviews. Do I mind? <br />
<br />
Yes, actually, I do.<br />
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Since my initial phone screen was actually with the hiring manager, rather than a human resources professional, I had never been appropriately "screened" for this position. So like any <i>good</i> recruiter, my interviewer attempted to obtain my salary requirements before sending me off to meet the masses. However, I was already sitting in front of her, and had taken the day off to go to this interview. The last thing I wanted was for it to be over before it even started. I did as any prepared candidate would do: I side stepped the issue and we moved on.<br />
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The interviews went well. I learned that a previous candidate had refused the position -- for personal reasons, I was told. Hmm.<br />
Were there other candidates? No.<br />
Would there be? No. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZM7ZCCe7jZChCc2iceMcduL91cYeiUp59mmzfXD8F-h0gYiB5dlXQd-rwl8kneKGNMj-MM3bk8JrN8thbDvNkTN-z8oUAtlgFON_hp9oWqWqBi7RaoUUnnkKAjat29I7RThM5/s1600/careless+talk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZM7ZCCe7jZChCc2iceMcduL91cYeiUp59mmzfXD8F-h0gYiB5dlXQd-rwl8kneKGNMj-MM3bk8JrN8thbDvNkTN-z8oUAtlgFON_hp9oWqWqBi7RaoUUnnkKAjat29I7RThM5/s200/careless+talk.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>“We would like you to come back in and meet with a few more people.” Should be music to a candidate’s ears, right? Since I had not been properly screened for this position, before I spent any more time on it, I wanted to be sure it was worth my while. Having had a long stint of being ‘in between positions” myself, I developed a knack to handicap salaries. I was somewhat concerned that this position wasn’t as senior as I thought. I phoned the recruiter and asked her to share the range for the position with me. I did not ask her to make me an offer, simply to provide some information before I continued.<br />
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“We don’t give out that information.” <br />
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“How will we get anywhere if you don’t give out that information?” I replied.<br />
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“We ask the candidates to tell us what they are making and then go from there.”<br />
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<i>Yes, well, I will not be doing that.</i> Perhaps a different tack. <br />
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“Well, I think this position may be paying in a range of x to y. However, I already make more than y, so were you to make me an offer in that range, I would be disappointed, as I’m sure, so would you. Is this position paying x to y?”<br />
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“We could be competitive with that.”<br />
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<i>What does that mean?</i> “You must have a budget for the position.” <br />
<br />
“Yes, we do.”<br />
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“And what would that be?”<br />
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A little giggle on the other end of the phone. <b>Seriously, she laughed at me.</b> She indicated that she would need to speak to the hiring manager before she could provide me with any concrete information. <br />
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Since I was sure I had blown it, I called my reference to let her know what had happened. She didn’t like what she heard and relayed this event to the individual who had recruited her: the manager of the recruiter I was dealing with. Imagine my surprise when that afternoon, I received a call from the manager of human resources for this company.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQuaQuZk0RZWHDyCiw6-MLxbHrnuugPbOvnaOGynR_y1iEVc3FHt98h1OWV7WGUNqYQA_QZlBecn_xtixNPbW3WdxzwPhz-G7ScmgNT2ilUAwBIW8GxUFpbfTtJeNSFb1ZGBjV/s1600/surprise+call.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQuaQuZk0RZWHDyCiw6-MLxbHrnuugPbOvnaOGynR_y1iEVc3FHt98h1OWV7WGUNqYQA_QZlBecn_xtixNPbW3WdxzwPhz-G7ScmgNT2ilUAwBIW8GxUFpbfTtJeNSFb1ZGBjV/s200/surprise+call.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
<b>“I just wanted to get some feedback from you on how the process was going.”</b><br />
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I proceeded to have a nice conversation with this woman, who, wonder of wonders, disclosed to me the range for the position. How refreshing!<br />
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I thanked her for the information, as <b>price communicates something about a job</b>. It tells you about the level of discretion this position will have, the qualifications expected and where it sits in the organization. Clearly, a job paying $50,000 is not going to have the same level of decision making and autonomy attached to it that a job paying $100,000 will. She asked me not to disclose to the recruiter that we had this conversation, and to "let the process play out." I agreed. <br />
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The recruiter eventually phoned me back and indicated a range that the hiring manager would be willing to offer. I thanked her as well, and indicated my availability for a second round of interviews.<br />
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“My scheduler will be in touch.”<br />
Three business days pass, no word. The day before the interview was targeted to be scheduled, I prompted her with an email. “The schedule came out today. Didn’t you receive it?” Actually, no I didn’t. I adjusted my schedule so I can attend the second round with members of 2 functional areas that I would be supporting.<br />
<br />
Today, I received an email that read as follows:<br />
"both Jim and John enjoyed meeting you. It was also nice to see you again. <br />
I met with Joe Hiring Manager this morning and we are working on putting together an offer for you. <br />
I will be in touch soon."<br />
<br />
=================================================================<br />
<br />
<i>Class.....?</i><br />
<br />
<br />
Related Articles<br />
<i> </i><a href="http://businessfinishingschool.blogspot.com/2010/01/wicked-recruiter-waiting-for-offer-and.html">The Wicked Recruiter: Waiting for the Offer...</a><br />
<a href="http://businessfinishingschool.blogspot.com/2009/12/salary-negotiations.html">Salary Negotiations</a>Caroline Benderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05551500494780247131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13182789.post-17530703207544405392011-03-15T23:14:00.001-04:002011-03-15T23:16:55.127-04:00Real and Imagined Business Panic<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxP-NEOL0SAPHAruZ853bkZ0-T56DwqwRFW3bQXwB5sAP18tGStq5-Lmc79uXqLTlVEp9cBOJqv8YAQp-at1cgt1hQxI51moQ3NClPjEVoIMzjzocZHgXMbN1diyQfcuEJewTw/s1600/PANIC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxP-NEOL0SAPHAruZ853bkZ0-T56DwqwRFW3bQXwB5sAP18tGStq5-Lmc79uXqLTlVEp9cBOJqv8YAQp-at1cgt1hQxI51moQ3NClPjEVoIMzjzocZHgXMbN1diyQfcuEJewTw/s200/PANIC.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><i>Bunny Watson, Student at Large</i><br />
<br />
A story comes to us this morning that Spokesduck <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2011/BUSINESS/03/14/georgia.aflac.duck/index.html?hpt=T2">Gilbert Gottfried has been dismissed by Aflac</a> for a steady stream of tweets making light of conditions in post-earthquake Japan. We might all agree to cry "Too Soon!" on this play; when you are the voice of an <i>insurance</i> company.... well, that just won't do.<br />
<br />
Oh, our Tweets <i>will</i> undo us, won't they? Tweets are the new Send-All email gaffes we all made 15 years ago. We all have a story of accidentally sending to an entire distribution list an off-color joke or response to the company meeting. And that was just an extension of being caught passing the slam-book from row to row.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTLFgCwd8qtlS0_gmTQOu1wDSmsU1dVkkvTwJTrb51qjSsSVaUyC1LkYW2RcdIHwshxKDYly8o9jlQroSzuskHiocloOFb1p-CesfNumMNESiBg3aqG9w1Xpr9atZyrNp7_mLO/s1600/tylenol.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTLFgCwd8qtlS0_gmTQOu1wDSmsU1dVkkvTwJTrb51qjSsSVaUyC1LkYW2RcdIHwshxKDYly8o9jlQroSzuskHiocloOFb1p-CesfNumMNESiBg3aqG9w1Xpr9atZyrNp7_mLO/s200/tylenol.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>We at the Finishing School already <a href="http://businessfinishingschool.blogspot.com/2007/07/when-it-all-blows-up-in-your-face.html">hold <u>you</u> personally responsible for what <u>you</u> do</a>. This post is for the management. Because it can be difficult to know when something requires crisis communication... and when you are just doing more damage. The public does want to know you are in control, yes. They want to feel confident that "you people" re not running some "kind of show." A PR crisis is what company spokesmen train so hard for, like raw recruits who just want the chance to show what they got. And as we have become accustomed to the pattern of Incident, followed by on-line polls by so-called news agencies asking what we think of Said Incident, and whether Offender should Apologize, then Formal Apology and Eventual Firing... we may be losing sight of the scale of crisis. <br />
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We must praise<a href="http://mashable.com/2011/02/16/red-cross-tweet/"> this story on the American Red Cross</a> -- an organization with its share of public image trouble, since every time America gets inspired enough to give them blood, they seem to have trouble handling it. (<a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/business/july-dec01/redcross_12-19.html">reference one</a>, and <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/17/red-cross-fined_n_616644.html">reference two</a>). In this case, a cooler management head prevailed, and a simple "I'm so stupid" acknowledgment and a joke at their own expense put the entire matter in its right place in the news cycle. Even <a href="http://beernews.org/2011/02/employee-sends-out-drunk-tweet-using-redcross-twitter-account/">the other company implicated found the opportunity to come out ahead</a> (and let us know there is a thing called beernews.org).<br />
<br />
Whether the Tweeting employee was more strongly disciplined behind closed doors, we don't know, and don't need to. We are glad to know that not everyone gets fired for every boneheaded error, however public -- that there are still Ones to Grow On , even for our media-savvy Media Specialists. The Red Cross's official spokeswoman masterfully addressed the public "concern" while reminding us of the brand and the mission: “We are an organization that deals with life-changing disasters and this wasn’t one of them,”she said.<br />
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Nicely played.<br />
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****************************************************<br />
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<i>Please remember that blood products have a short shelf life. The <a href="http://www.ifrc.org/">International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies </a>needs blood every day</i>. <i>For the catastrophes, cash is better.</i> Give what you can, whenever you can.Caroline Benderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05551500494780247131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13182789.post-77799409204416044862011-03-02T18:28:00.000-05:002011-03-02T18:28:48.185-05:00Ask a Manager: Taking one for the Team<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjci-8KJ6045vh20EbanOrfhGmqnCoiukCOCG5aSHcUujhOwG6RSxxeHTu_1xcZwuq8Xza-bV6nUSNs4Vintbx5_5OugyWjh9VmHUCmdXyt7La69brqQilgVDVV54muXfPjeLAc/s1600/DamagesCloseByrne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjci-8KJ6045vh20EbanOrfhGmqnCoiukCOCG5aSHcUujhOwG6RSxxeHTu_1xcZwuq8Xza-bV6nUSNs4Vintbx5_5OugyWjh9VmHUCmdXyt7La69brqQilgVDVV54muXfPjeLAc/s200/DamagesCloseByrne.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><b>The Finishing School welcomes our guest manager, "Patty Hewes," to respond to a recent Ask the Manager question.</b> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Note: some facts in the letter below have been omitted or altered to obscure the workplace. The letter is otherwise genuine. </span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br />
<br />
<br />
I<i> am so frustrated. <br />
For 3 years I had been telling the VP that my staff's salaries (and mine) were depressed. I had been told that we would be benchmarking the exempt positions and at that time would make the adjustments, [so] I beefed up my job descriptions for my department [and] the consultants [recommended] my job [go] up 3 pay grades. But my company will only increase me 2 pays grades. (They base your increases on the midpoint of the range.) My manager… has determined that he is only willing to pay me 80% of the midpoint... I am aware that my peers in this same department, different unit, are all getting paid at 90 to 95% of the midpoint in the same pay grade (2 pay grade increase).<br />
<br />
If I were doing a mediocre job, this could and would be acceptable. But I have gotten nothing but praise from people from all over the company. Several of the VPs are constantly singing my praises. My own VP is singing my praises. I have turned the morale of my department around and it has affected the department that works in conjunction with mine and turned them around. I am master-prepared which is not necessarily needed for my position of administration and management but is what my VP wanted, yet he is allowing my immediate manager to undermine and short change me on this matter.<br />
</i> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">One other item that I was dealing with at the same time was my manager's unwillingness to promote one of my employees based on her years of experience and education. I had planned to promote her to a Sr. level position as a way to get her salary up. Because she had only been with the company for 18 months, he believed it was too soon. He failed to take into consideration her 25 years of experience elsewhere or the fact that she had her masters. </span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br />
Right or wrong, I [canceled a meeting my VP] to discuss the above issues as well as other matters concerning my staff and lack of support:<br />
<br />
Prior to canceling my meeting, I sent a note to my manager and copied my VP reviewing [my employee's] years of experience, her education, the facts of the changes to our program and the positive outcome, I did a spreadsheet reviewing all that she had accomplished in the past year. I asked my manager to reconsider her promotion.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><i><br />
After speaking with my VP [the following] Monday, my manager has agreed to promote her to a Sr. level position. His remarks to me prior to telling me he had reversed his decision what to ask this question. "If you had a custodial employee who had their masters, would you pay them the custodial salary or $100,000.00 b/c they had a masters?" I responded with, "I wouldn't have to worry about that because I would not hire a custodial with a masters. They would not stay in the job and would always be looking for another, higher paying job." There is no comparison. They wanted me to hire a masters prepared employee that could replace me if I should leave, yet they didn't want to compensate her. </i><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><i>"Denise"</i><br />
<br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">Dear Reader,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwqCgV3QX1tEzLE07xCBKvhrOq8G53oPuMN3Hfrgn8LJrGdE7rwRpS5AMHSz1hi3skx5QoDxNTLd7yOs42WF1pYEvpxWTrztNzwg_4V8lgXFJfD7MVvQ6IgyqS7Vl-I69VYc84/s1600/bankrupt-monopoly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwqCgV3QX1tEzLE07xCBKvhrOq8G53oPuMN3Hfrgn8LJrGdE7rwRpS5AMHSz1hi3skx5QoDxNTLd7yOs42WF1pYEvpxWTrztNzwg_4V8lgXFJfD7MVvQ6IgyqS7Vl-I69VYc84/s200/bankrupt-monopoly.jpg" width="186" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;">I empathize with the obvious pain you are experiencing. You are very emotional about the conflicts you experienced in pursuing pay increases for your staff. I applaud your persistence in being an advocate for your team. Compensation can be a tricky and emotionally laden issue, and unless you're in environments like the public sector (where pay grades are public) or in union environments where collective bargaining establishes compensation by grade, conversations about fair compensation can be somewhat subjective.<br />
<br />
Try to exhibit an understanding of the constraints your management may have faced on the issue of pay raises. You’re pressing for 2 or 3 level pay grade and compensation increases during the worst economic climate in decades. Many workers, including those in unions, have been asked to sacrifice compensation in recent years. Salaries have been frozen, workers asked to take unpaid furloughs, layoffs have been widespread and unemployment has hovered at levels not seen since the early 1980's. Possibly, your industry has been less impacted by the recession, but there are few that haven't been.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4FqBdEMyeEqj332glH_3A-m2zrV9fs0TDCospxjVbA1mOszVJxHqe4sZ4k9Cut7yK9z02SvpzO0QHbshH0UVoiMIZQYgWRFfsyIQpwjGGm1ACHXrWvG2CmlT4obN4Jd8vGCrU/s1600/promotion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4FqBdEMyeEqj332glH_3A-m2zrV9fs0TDCospxjVbA1mOszVJxHqe4sZ4k9Cut7yK9z02SvpzO0QHbshH0UVoiMIZQYgWRFfsyIQpwjGGm1ACHXrWvG2CmlT4obN4Jd8vGCrU/s200/promotion.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Benchmark</b><br />
You took a constructive first step by revisiting your position descriptions and having them benchmarked against market standards. That the revised position descriptions justified 2-3 level pay grade increases indicates this probably hadn't been done in a while. When it was revealed that you were all significantly below market compensation, you should have kept the economic constraints mentioned above in mind when seeking resolution with management. One option you might have explored was a commitment from your management to move the affected employees closer to the midpoint of the target range over the course of multiple review cycles vs. pressing for immediate pay raises. <br />
<br />
Another item that concerns me is your seeking a promotion for an employee "as a way to get her salary up". Promotions are generally driven both by an employee's demonstrated ability to take on more responsibility <u>and</u> by the needs of the business. I suspect this is where the manager’s comment about the $100K custodian originated. <br />
<br />
Employees and managers should regularly educate themselves about the market value of their own skills and those of their teams so that they doesn't find themselves in this position in the future. Follow <a href="http://www.quickmba.com/mgmt/7hab/">Steven Covey's advice</a> to "seek to understand before you seek to be understood"; i.e. anticipate the constraints of the other party when entering a negotiation and formulate resolution strategies that can work for both sides.</span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Expand Your Learning:</b></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.payraisecalculator.com/"><span style="font-size: small;">Pay raise calculator</span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">salary benchmarking strategies </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.payscale.com/hr/solutions/salary-benchmarking">From PayScale.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.karlonia.com/2009/10/08/salary-benchmarking-average-job-salary/">From karlonia.com </a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Have a question for our executives in residence?</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Your sticky situations and request for advice are handled by real working professionals at the leadership tier. Your confidentiality is protected. Write us at a bwfinishingschool@gmail.com</i></span></span></div>Caroline Benderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05551500494780247131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13182789.post-53712783794987589312011-02-27T07:26:00.001-05:002011-02-28T21:01:06.316-05:00No Sneakers at the Office - Adam Scholl (Book tour)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsi-JbYS6Wv2gk6VV1YXQUobR-1vLK944tWMTLh-Ez9ureAqTGG5fnu5xDoFIRYtqkh37h-Ez1kCgdSDqk4Q42TYrbvuBSKGep7VtxtkuLKzNn54uiDDL3Rl8nBXo7LOgrQ7YT/s1600/Sneakers+final+front+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsi-JbYS6Wv2gk6VV1YXQUobR-1vLK944tWMTLh-Ez9ureAqTGG5fnu5xDoFIRYtqkh37h-Ez1kCgdSDqk4Q42TYrbvuBSKGep7VtxtkuLKzNn54uiDDL3Rl8nBXo7LOgrQ7YT/s200/Sneakers+final+front+cover.jpg" width="125" /></a></div>In Miss Bender's real life workplace, she informally mentors a young professional with real spark, drive, and upward mobility. (She keeps Miss Bender honest, to tell you the truth.) Recently, we were talking about some exploring in the job market this NewPro has been doing -- fly fishing really, but you never know when something may strike. Her biggest concern of the moment (though she has no upcoming prospects from these on-line searches) is how she will manage to squeeze an interview into her workday.<br />
<br />
She says, "I can't suddenly show up one day dressed up." Because of course her daily attire is jeans, t-shirt over longer t-shirt, and those yes-they-<u>are</u>-sneakers the Red Bull generation wear these days.<br />
<br />
I said, with sincere nodding as I crossed my stockinged legs, "That's where you are making your mistake."<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRokiEaMo8uBxqZLxolvJCHZik8jDMjHSR_LYqrfztMmNIwaK6YSEs6h4ZcJTwLwjLTtdm3BFCvuIlfl2UzQGygPRGmL5dcs6sxrNkH1rgPECq1ps-i1xm_stHpD2zloaHyeI3/s1600/officewear101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRokiEaMo8uBxqZLxolvJCHZik8jDMjHSR_LYqrfztMmNIwaK6YSEs6h4ZcJTwLwjLTtdm3BFCvuIlfl2UzQGygPRGmL5dcs6sxrNkH1rgPECq1ps-i1xm_stHpD2zloaHyeI3/s200/officewear101.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>As the peskier of the 2 schoolmarms who run this Finishing School, Miss Bender does occasionally check in with the student body on their state of dress, is known to give the once-over during class change, and keeps a black blazer on hand in case you are <a href="http://businessfinishingschool.blogspot.com/2007/12/common-pitfalls-of-internal-transfer.html">called to the front office</a>.<br />
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As another class enters an already-downsized workforce this spring, The BWFSandSC wants to remind you that appearances do count, and we do take off for spelling. Your baseball cap in a meeting room is not at all like taking a stand about not wearing a dress to your First Communion. That was acceptable because you were <i>seven</i>. Just because your workplace doesn't issue you a uniform, <a href="http://businessfinishingschool.blogspot.com/2005/07/actually-cowboy.html">doesn't mean there isn't one</a>.<br />
<br />
Into this confusing office culture comes a new guide for new professionals, on everything from office wear basics to etiquette, including business travel, office politics, finding a mentor, managing your time. These are the things we used to learn in 5th grade health class, but we understand education has changed and you are not often asked to stretch outside of your comfort zone.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCSBNYd3CcZ84A_lckyNf-1ajSB8nPt8fKaglgHNNH5sHal5sVy8LgfU6vnG-Mtucf9EOSc3D4EHJNMI_c9EzyyeNER77Ih5Bf0rK2TOSPCIfavU5EGQzRtcQi4jQS0gEcmqe4/s1600/scholl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCSBNYd3CcZ84A_lckyNf-1ajSB8nPt8fKaglgHNNH5sHal5sVy8LgfU6vnG-Mtucf9EOSc3D4EHJNMI_c9EzyyeNER77Ih5Bf0rK2TOSPCIfavU5EGQzRtcQi4jQS0gEcmqe4/s1600/scholl.jpg" /></a></div>Author Adam T. Scholl, MBA, JD, and former Guardsman, has worked in a variety of industries and businesses, and brings that experience to bear in <b><i>No Sneakers at the Office</i>, </b>which <a href="http://www.amazon.com/No-Sneakers-Office-Practical-Handbook/dp/098451290X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1291573045&sr=1-1">Amazon.com</a> describes as "a step-by-step guide for college seniors, fresh-outs, and professionals under 30 seeking to enter, survive and thrive in corporate America." Scholl talks about the motivation to share that guide to an emerging workforce in serious need.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Why did you name your book No Sneakers at the Office?</b><br />
My publisher derived the title from a story that I tell in the opening chapter. The story illustrates in part why it is important for persons new to the corporate world to know that the mannerisms and behaviors that may have defined one’s time at school will simply not fly in an office environment. <br />
<br />
<b>What are the three biggest mistakes that recent college grads are making as they enter the workforce and how can they fix them?</b><br />
The three biggest mistakes that I have noticed are<br />
<ul><li>overconfidence</li>
<li>a weak appreciation of time management</li>
<li>poor communication</li>
</ul>While confidence is by no means a bad thing and can do much to help recent college grads ascend the corporate ladder, they need to understand that while a college degree is a great achievement, it does not mean their learning days are over. When it comes to time management, grads need to adopt a time management process so that they manage their workload properly (which is why in <i>No Sneakers at the Office</i> I devoted an entire chapter on this subject). Grads must understand how to communicate successfully so that their message is received and understood by others. <br />
<b><br />
What is it that recent college grads don't know that could hurt them?</b><br />
It is not realizing the importance of their professional reputation. The business community is smaller than one realizes. Your reputation influences employment where you work and where you may wish to work in the future. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSc-TSxlN_5hFWwLuBx2GemuRfrcxd6eFqtlQGltQD_cU2ahkor3P1v1Ui8OGw9p6mY6WuzWf99ZAK_e79344sD5GxjhfvYF_XBqKXYu16udILPrurBnrWQpR9218HY74AH9Mm/s1600/job_interview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSc-TSxlN_5hFWwLuBx2GemuRfrcxd6eFqtlQGltQD_cU2ahkor3P1v1Ui8OGw9p6mY6WuzWf99ZAK_e79344sD5GxjhfvYF_XBqKXYu16udILPrurBnrWQpR9218HY74AH9Mm/s200/job_interview.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><b>Give us a couple of examples of fresh-out <i>success</i> stories.</b><br />
While on vacation standing at the check-in line at a hotel, I made small talk with a woman who subsequently introduced me to her son. He and I spoke for a great length discussing topics from how to get hired to the difference between a job and a career, which I explain in my book. From this conversation we continued to work to get him the position he wanted. Because of his hard work improving his resume, improving his interview skills, and more, I am delighted to report that he got a position he likes. Now, it is not the perfect position but it is a position that will allow for him to progress in his career path. More importantly, his career is progressing successfully because he is not afraid to ask for help and he is open to new ideas.<br />
<br />
<b>What is it that you know for sure after writing this book?</b><br />
The one thing I know for sure after writing this book is that learning is a lifetime process. Even with my degrees and experience in the corporate world, there is not a day that goes by where I don’t learn something new. I use the experiences, advice, and suggestions from people I meet to create an ever increasing toolkit of business skills and abilities.<br />
<br />
<i>No Sneakers at the Office</i> makes a perfect graduation gift. But you can bet they will roll their eyes when they open it.<br />
<br />
Tell us your Office Lessons Learned Young through our comments window, or by joining <a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#%21/pages/Business-Womens-Finishing-School-and-Social-Club/166017988073">our Facebook fanpage</a>. We'll be posting micro-excerpts from Scholl's guide throughout the day for your reactions.Caroline Benderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05551500494780247131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13182789.post-36861061853629864052011-02-25T18:00:00.002-05:002011-02-26T20:54:36.541-05:00Help Wanted: Female<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Instructor, Caroline Bender</i></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjYqc5Jdnr8UrNBbSQUKeqgFamL_xTnBkx1Sox_F0wmla7E02La3Z9L-VJ-3cL961aG6-MY4UYDkrHvVjNFaOfYFbph3o1GUreDe4aItEEBB-DFQfAfZ4KOqqXCMsheCKSFR-G/s1600/Women-working.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjYqc5Jdnr8UrNBbSQUKeqgFamL_xTnBkx1Sox_F0wmla7E02La3Z9L-VJ-3cL961aG6-MY4UYDkrHvVjNFaOfYFbph3o1GUreDe4aItEEBB-DFQfAfZ4KOqqXCMsheCKSFR-G/s200/Women-working.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Student Z.N. asks, "</span></span>Why are women preferred to men for secretarial positions?" and what the question generated was an exploration of whether that statement is necessarily true. That is certainly our recent, western, cultural belief, but has certainly not always been so. When did it change, and what is the status of that alleged preference today, in a business world where <a href="http://www.20-first.com/1317-0-its-official-at-last-women-outnumber-men-in-us-workforce.html">women now proportionately outnumber men</a>?<br />
<br />
"Secretary" as a job title has fallen out of favor, and the role exists far less than it did, especially in the corporate arena. Miss Bender's personal observation is that they only exist at the top levels, are more likely to be called "Admins" (with a little less reverence than they were when they outranked all the other secretaries) and tend to be shared by multiple execs (heavens!).<br />
<br />
The Department of Labor breaks Office and Administrative Support Occupations (43-000, if you are coding along) into 58 sub-categories, which include postal, workers and shipping clerks. Secretarial roles by name are 4 of them (executive -1.3M, medical-469K, legal-244K, and other-1.8M). Incidentally, these are 2009 stats, before economic collapse. <br />
<br />
Bureau of Labor Statistics confirms <a href="http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat11.pdf">96% of the 3M secretaries and administrative assistants are female</a>, <br />
<br />
Before the Modern age, secretarial duties were a clerk's role: appointments, correspondence, general gatekeeping, somewhere between a butler of the workplace and a batman. In 1996, <i>Ebony</i> magazine ran a man-bites-dog story about the rise of "male secretaries" which cited the usual reference of the popularity of the typewriter bringing young women into the office, and adds, "By the 1930s, the number of men in secretarial positions began to diminish." ("Male Secretaries: A Minority but No Longer a Novelty," <i>Ebony</i>, August 1996)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidQbK8YeFo_n3A-7Bva2up93___NtVBKE5HTIaDseV3Zz85B1XWgcUU8gCmfj23vwUKJdvPJGaCp7yuDdF2i4Y3eZmZHgTGTceLGqK1vfUN7b6KT0ArpCceB_AshJ5tT9upFwZ/s1600/malesec.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidQbK8YeFo_n3A-7Bva2up93___NtVBKE5HTIaDseV3Zz85B1XWgcUU8gCmfj23vwUKJdvPJGaCp7yuDdF2i4Y3eZmZHgTGTceLGqK1vfUN7b6KT0ArpCceB_AshJ5tT9upFwZ/s200/malesec.png" width="170" /></a></div>The real question is why the complete conversion, in 80 years of rapid technological, educational, and social advances, from a male to female gender-defined occupation. Did the women <i>dominate</i>.... or did the men just <i>opt out</i>? And is the answer the same for nurses, school teachers, dental hygienists? (<a href="http://www.thedigeratilife.com/blog/index.php/2007/05/29/traditional-jobs-for-men-and-women-the-gender-divide/">most female occupation</a> -- did you know? I didn't.)<br />
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One of the men in the <i>Ebony</i> article defines the fulfillment he gets from his secretarial work this way:<br />
<blockquote>"Serving others and being on top of things and networking with counterparts are only a few of the rewards achieved from this career. When one can take pride in the accomplishments in a day's work and know that as a result you have added a dimension to the situation, this really is gratifying." (<i>Ebony</i>, 1996) </blockquote><br />
On the other hand, it was another man who famously observed "<span class="hitHighlite">secretarial</span> <span class="hitHighlite">work</span> was real drudgery," and did something about it by developing a word processor with type one could manipulate on screen ("An Wang: getting to the essentials." <i>Nation's Business</i>, Dec 1987).<br />
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There are plenty of women who find drudgery in the secretarial role as well. After all, 96% of all secretaries in the US may be women, but <a href="http://www.dol.gov/wb/stats/main.htm">barely 5 % percent of women are secretaries</a> by the BLS definition. I'd like to report that the rest of us are scattered liberally throughout <i>all</i> professions, but it remains that our most prevalent occupations are what you would expect<span style="font-size: x-small;"> (same BLS source as above)</span>:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6O6HDon6NeD2d-MJ7lR6n3gUqbL0omCvgZN3BGuM085qURJjk0HEjqf0qz9s0xYCDf00_BhXwkK-W0N2NSdS5ai_o1wObOPTdTtvJnlp4Ft_uCRYNfDAZ9W3RIZMJQvGe70P8/s1600/DentalHygiene.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6O6HDon6NeD2d-MJ7lR6n3gUqbL0omCvgZN3BGuM085qURJjk0HEjqf0qz9s0xYCDf00_BhXwkK-W0N2NSdS5ai_o1wObOPTdTtvJnlp4Ft_uCRYNfDAZ9W3RIZMJQvGe70P8/s200/DentalHygiene.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><ol><li>Secretaries and administrative assistants, 3,074,000 </li>
<li>Registered nurses, 2,612,000 </li>
<li>Elementary and middle school teachers, 2,343,000 </li>
<li>Cashiers, 2,273,000 </li>
<li>Nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides, 1,770,000 </li>
<li>Retail salespersons, 1,650,000 </li>
<li>First-line supervisors/managers of retail sales workers, 1,459,000 </li>
<li>Waiters and waitresses, 1,434,000 </li>
<li>Maids and housekeeping cleaners, 1,282,000 </li>
<li>Customer service representatives, 1,263,000</li>
<li>Child care workers, 1,228,000</li>
<li>Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks, 1,205,000</li>
<li>Receptionists and information clerks, 1,168,000</li>
<li>First-line supervisors/managers of office and administrative support workers, 1,163,000</li>
<li>Managers, all other, 1,106,000</li>
<li>Accountants and auditors, 1,084,000</li>
<li>Teacher assistants, 921,000</li>
<li>Cooks, 831,000</li>
<li>Office clerks, general 821,000</li>
<li>Personal and home care aides, 789,000</li>
</ol>Wage gap figures also continue to cite the female wage as 80 cents to the male dollar. ("...median weekly earnings of women who were full-time wage and salary workers was $657, or 80 percent of men’s $819" -- BLS 2009) What is reflected in this gap is <a href="http://www.bls.gov/opub/ils/pdf/opbils55.pdf">the low-paying nature of work where women are prevalent </a>(above) compared to the high-paying work where men have been prevalent (<a href="http://sistersinthebrotherhood.blogspot.com/2009/02/women-may-exceed-men-in-workforce-due.html">skilled, manual, dangerous</a>, and ... to be honest, sports.)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqJOSJ8YhKgXCgCYZJatzZVgjETz3RqM09zcvqsHYL1IPFGeD1Dvx0skXYcQuV9puwgtgVlfONZuHdNbWh3STnw3GNTjCZXLX19ywz4lZpMQcWo_zuWVUvgWXz_86Or_r6ccZ7/s1600/workingmom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqJOSJ8YhKgXCgCYZJatzZVgjETz3RqM09zcvqsHYL1IPFGeD1Dvx0skXYcQuV9puwgtgVlfONZuHdNbWh3STnw3GNTjCZXLX19ywz4lZpMQcWo_zuWVUvgWXz_86Or_r6ccZ7/s200/workingmom.jpg" width="197" /></a></div>But bacon is bacon. 34.5% of<a href="http://www.bls.gov/cps/wlf-table25-2010.pdf"> married women out earned their husbands</a> in 2008, and based on current <a href="http://wfnetwork.bc.edu/blog/cheaper-to-keep-her">unemployment breakdown by gender</a>, we can extrapolate that the % is higher today. Last summer <i>The Atlantic</i> dove deeply into the question of whether equality was being realized, or if women were simply becoming the new men. I must, by necessity, <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/07/the-end-of-men/8135/">link you to that very long article</a> to continue this conversation. <br />
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Your comments are always welcome, and your articles in reply are even more so.Caroline Benderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05551500494780247131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13182789.post-31532916864821964692011-02-21T11:51:00.000-05:002011-02-21T11:51:23.750-05:00Please Speak Up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggSfDB_zmmzTfIiPRnjVtVEc1C7kSwpAhfGWXv1De40OuXbJbL6FQXlMurxKl25OqjrO3YrYdD6P8U-cHaooq7ZUND3xcrc6oykEykYay9WnJuTM39gC1zNmfHkiN3k775xZZt/s1600/april.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggSfDB_zmmzTfIiPRnjVtVEc1C7kSwpAhfGWXv1De40OuXbJbL6FQXlMurxKl25OqjrO3YrYdD6P8U-cHaooq7ZUND3xcrc6oykEykYay9WnJuTM39gC1zNmfHkiN3k775xZZt/s320/april.png" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Instructor, Caroline Bender</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">File this under things the Finishing School will tell you that clearly no one else will: You need to <i>speak up</i>. Young ladies, this is not what we fought girls' gym</span>, coffee runs, taking the notes in any meeting, and junior deputy assistant titles for -- for you to mutter, mumble, and talk in a high-pitched voice through a clenched jaw while looking at the floor.<br />
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Oh yeh, I am riled up now. And you'd better believe I am not, like.... ending every phrase....? in a, like... question...? This behavior is exactly what we mean when we use the term "can't get out of your own way." <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq4eMB6LWHp3OfAlTl74iNUkEGKmPUQpCv05fgxZEArM6juMLDBOjS0qN0Pru9uqPJ7m4o8A9oSfdDmIJbShLq8dtVedFMaq036yAZpJ-v4yhle_L2GjzvdKBffvs5cGp2UH-I/s1600/book+report.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq4eMB6LWHp3OfAlTl74iNUkEGKmPUQpCv05fgxZEArM6juMLDBOjS0qN0Pru9uqPJ7m4o8A9oSfdDmIJbShLq8dtVedFMaq036yAZpJ-v4yhle_L2GjzvdKBffvs5cGp2UH-I/s200/book+report.jpg" width="173" /></a></div>Somewhere along that way, you have retreated from the awesome, cartwheeling, chatty 9-year olds you were into skittish pinch-voiced wallflowers, and it is holding you back. I am not speaking to the 14 year-olds (though heaven knows we should be working on this with you) but to women in our workforce, 20s and early 30s, who can not command a room -- because we can not <u>hear them</u>. Recently, I was making a purchase at a counter, and I could not hear the total price spoken to me by the cashier. I said, with open FM throat, "I'm sorry?" And, god bless her, she repeated it loudly. ( well, more loudly)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJNUy0-V5nta1Mwo4iibwfuX1mfrQHIMQoSvbVOwW1FnEH1t5UpoLzHJVeEu4KF4Du4RqS_Hz6uQZ-CnqB_gFWNCsof9pPTvgZ6Ru_Smp9pN9Q-b09DRU-fU9oHd7f8Hkofywp/s1600/sir+yes+sir.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJNUy0-V5nta1Mwo4iibwfuX1mfrQHIMQoSvbVOwW1FnEH1t5UpoLzHJVeEu4KF4Du4RqS_Hz6uQZ-CnqB_gFWNCsof9pPTvgZ6Ru_Smp9pN9Q-b09DRU-fU9oHd7f8Hkofywp/s200/sir+yes+sir.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>You may believe you have a soft voice, or a high-pitched one. This does not prevent you from projecting it, and your ideas, to your audience (of 1 or of many). A swallowed statement tells others<br />
- what you say is not important<br />
- you are not important enough to say it<br />
- you are not sure about it<br />
- you can not be bothered<br />
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And we know none of that is true.<br />
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Think of the women you admire in your workplace. Think of the ones who command the respect of others, the ones everyone attends to when they are speaking, the ones other speakers choose to direct their eye contact to. Pay attention to the way they speak. Even our beloved Tess McGill knew what Katherine Parker had going on; her ethics and motives were questionable, but people listened when she spoke. (That's a <a href="http://movieclips.com/HzRU-working-girl-movie-katharines-ground-rules/"><i>Working Girl</i> reference</a>, required viewing here at BWFS.)<br />
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We know you would be working on this if you only had some tips, so here a few ideas for how to improve your vocal projection, and by extension your professional confidence and standing. You will be surprised by the results.<br />
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<b>Listen to yourself</b> - Record meetings that you attend, and especially those that you lead. This can be done the old-fashioned way, with a hand-held recording device, by phone through your conference line, or on-line using a meeting management tool like WebEx or LiveMeeting. In all cases, you'll want to announce to attendees that you are doing so, and ask if there are objections (this is actually<a href="http://legallad.quickanddirtytips.com/the-legality-of-recording-conversations.aspx"> a legal requirement</a> in some states, so best to do it for all.) It is not appropriate in all situations, so use your best judgment. You do not have to tell people why -- you may say, for example, you've found it helpful for note-taking and action items (which it is). Play it back on your own time and critique what you hear.<br />
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<b>Work on your growth areas in small bites</b> - Assess yourself on volume, "listenability," and content, of course. I once worked with an experienced accomplished co-worker whose information bank I needed to draw from often. Unfortunately, he did not modulate his pitch to a single degree. My brain worked so hard to find the spaces between his words and the ones that required "punch," that I couldn't hang on to his meaning.<br />
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Experts recommend<a href="http://www.sayitwell.com/Your_Vocal_Image.html"> about 8 notes</a> in your spoken words. And the last word of the sentence should not be so much higher that people think you are asking a question. It suggests uncertainty. Even high-pitched voices can project confidence -- any listen to NPR ought to convince you of that.<br />
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Identify your "um" noises - might be "like," "ya know," "know what I mean," or actually "um..." and "uh..." Concentrate on letting them go. <br />
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<b>Study others</b> - speaking of which, here are some authoritative women's voices of varying types that share the commonality of holding your attention. You don't need to be Oprah Winfrey to rule the platform, though she is a great bar to set. <span style="font-size: x-small;">(editorial note - these are mostly Youtube links. We apologize for any ads you must endure)</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc3bcH349gvcoezKfs-r-rcX_I40_xHj0_fo2aviR7Rr_KgWegY45YBZtBNHos5_F0gwu8RBfH4bdhcqpy9-8-R9JnB1xqtrbWb0p_UCQD-sPxX1GUiqe8ZDBXA1LfLrhYfHvZ/s1600/the+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc3bcH349gvcoezKfs-r-rcX_I40_xHj0_fo2aviR7Rr_KgWegY45YBZtBNHos5_F0gwu8RBfH4bdhcqpy9-8-R9JnB1xqtrbWb0p_UCQD-sPxX1GUiqe8ZDBXA1LfLrhYfHvZ/s200/the+view.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
High - <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELuoYAC01rI&feature=fvwrel">Yeardley Smith</a> (aka - Lisa Simpson, no one's shrinking flower). Compare Yeardly to her interviewer, and you'll see the key difference <br />
Low - <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjZmErjFhK4">Rachel Maddow</a>. Here she is with a tableful of female tenors<br />
Soft - <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eOynrI2eTM">Katie Couric</a>. In this clip, Katie also talks about voice and body calibration. Good tips here too.<br />
Loud - <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_8NFhQo8I0&feature=related">Linda Ellerbee</a>. Way before her time -- TV had little space for her, since David Brinkley was still on the air.<br />
Accented - Nothing says authority like <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-onMDmHhkJE">Christiane Amanpour</a><br />
Impeded - Ask <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCGS7h69Who">Connie Chung</a> if a lisp is a show stopper. Then ask <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmHEvgUWjVM&feature=related">Sarah Vowell</a>.<br />
(and just for fun, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOSUOoCZe0U">Sarah on Rachel</a>)<br />
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<b>Practice</b> - at every opportunity. Privately, try reading aloud, singing in the shower, talking back to the TV, imitating actresses you admire. Publicly, practice your meetings and presentations before you give them. If you have mentors you trust to critique your work, take them into your goal and invite them to coach you before and after your presentation.<br />
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There is a <a href="http://reports.toastmasters.org/findaclub/">Toastmasters chapter within an hour of you </a>-- maybe even less, maybe even on the job. Toastmasters International, founded in 1924 is dedicated to "improv[ing]...communication and leadership skills, and [helping members] find the courage to change." <br />
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Learn when to <u>stop</u> speaking, as well as when to speak. An opinion expressed well in a few words is always stronger than a filibuster that doesn't hold water.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho5ivYohy_xOhc_1LqAaf-UQSN_uFjjwarwM5rUPkUnZJcdupNXDr3-cpdQg61oEHY9klsZfFcdOiYFNCRL0mEmTyP6G-bbcrkteBlCled2k5RAPNCddfx88qopIlDmz9LtxqJ/s1600/Oprah_audience.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho5ivYohy_xOhc_1LqAaf-UQSN_uFjjwarwM5rUPkUnZJcdupNXDr3-cpdQg61oEHY9klsZfFcdOiYFNCRL0mEmTyP6G-bbcrkteBlCled2k5RAPNCddfx88qopIlDmz9LtxqJ/s200/Oprah_audience.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><b>Believe you can</b> - You will see the rewards of positive speaking almost immediately. Use the reactions of your audience to build on your confidence.<br />
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<b>Repeat</b> - The more you work on the things you want to improve, the more you succeed at doing so.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Outside Reading</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.riverways.com/articles/tao-8.htm">Why public speaking skills are important</a><b></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://eloquentwoman.blogspot.com/2011/02/blogs-youngest-public-speaking-fan-age.html">The Eloquent Woman</a><b> - </b>helping <span>help women with public speaking techniques, eloquence and confidence</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Days-More-Confident-Public-Speaking/dp/0446676683/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1298306864&sr=8-14"><i>10 Days to More Confident Public Speaking</i></a> </span></div>DVD: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Stress-Guide-Public-Speaking-Presentations/dp/B0007V286G/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1298307007&sr=8-15">The Stress-Free Guide to Public Speaking and Presentations</a>Caroline Benderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05551500494780247131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13182789.post-76676902661056617692011-02-07T23:29:00.000-05:002011-02-07T23:29:03.086-05:00You can do anything for a year<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF0GC2ojweN7nSPONobpWbY8_mkg9LJfMrPaBze583NYOGDLl4mv0acrTfrR-nO8xY8dDSc0E725UgdblvhhLH8yF_mYoksOF_4KOVXFfAJBRmygh1PGdYUqWwR51MrQ6kC702/s1600/jobhate.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF0GC2ojweN7nSPONobpWbY8_mkg9LJfMrPaBze583NYOGDLl4mv0acrTfrR-nO8xY8dDSc0E725UgdblvhhLH8yF_mYoksOF_4KOVXFfAJBRmygh1PGdYUqWwR51MrQ6kC702/s200/jobhate.png" width="200" /></a></div><i>Instructor, Caroline Bender</i> <br />
<br />
The title of this essay is a common theme around the Finishing School. We find platitudes to be useful devices, particularly when they can also serve as mantras. We'll explore more of them in future installments, like "I'm a consultant," and "it's just something for the summer." "Be careful what you wish for." "Which would you regret more..."<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Ty9T3EEuabnHT-jcrxDTSZmblqFIUfistJb3vCVw3GkmGq2HJ9YZkABOMPBDN_bdkf-cjfuDnTAxWTU5l0S25eB_HDN1ixRXabpgqc2gmQISLcqrIvqZVlr5zC14aIZA-Os5/s1600/xstitch.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Ty9T3EEuabnHT-jcrxDTSZmblqFIUfistJb3vCVw3GkmGq2HJ9YZkABOMPBDN_bdkf-cjfuDnTAxWTU5l0S25eB_HDN1ixRXabpgqc2gmQISLcqrIvqZVlr5zC14aIZA-Os5/s200/xstitch.png" width="200" /></a></div>These have been trying times, as we are all aware. In the bleakness of the Mother of all Recessions, you may have taken the first thing that came along, or the part-time version of what you really wanted, or the position reporting to the position you are really qualified for. And your faculty likely offered, in encouragement.... <br />
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Experts may not be able to agree on how many days it takes to make a habit, but it takes at least a calendar year and a full 4 quarters of business year to understand what you have gotten yourself into.... and what you are getting out of it.<br />
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Happy Anniversary. Getting through the first year is not the focus of this essay. You do that by being dazzling, open-minded to the culture, and a valuable asset. All the way to the bank. This essay challenges you to face the <i>second</i> year.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg77Biub_1usPJTC-yKjyv0-4wfiBQhmXGfG0oqZVJUYHHKNhXon8CICaAg5yUwmnBr-mUCsqvfvvhPBBj6QMVu0HTl-u71s-7TVxB_ZrZSavDu3nU7QCuNKJn0Wjvmb8-1Qove/s1600/pencils.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg77Biub_1usPJTC-yKjyv0-4wfiBQhmXGfG0oqZVJUYHHKNhXon8CICaAg5yUwmnBr-mUCsqvfvvhPBBj6QMVu0HTl-u71s-7TVxB_ZrZSavDu3nU7QCuNKJn0Wjvmb8-1Qove/s200/pencils.jpg" width="196" /></a></div><b>Assess your goals</b> - what were they for this job, really? They have been completely pragmatic - keep the house, pay the bills, avoid new debt -- in which case, congratulations! You met them! They won't appear on your performance review, and it is best not to mention them among The Brass, but to yourself, say Atta Girl. Then vow to drop 80's Lady bizslang. It is not becoming.<br />
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<b>Reassess your goals</b> - if your <a href="http://drawingin.blogspot.com/2010/01/loft-turtles.html">goals were loftier</a>, and remain unfulfilled, take some time to evaluate them with fresh eyes. Take a couple of <i>days</i> for this assessment. You need the time to really reflect,<a href="http://www.ehow.com/how_2182183_do-personal-inventory.html"> personal inventory style</a>. How did these goals fail to be met? What part have you played in that? You may have set goals that you realize can not be met in this environment. If that's the case, shape that goal to something more attainable. Remember to make it <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_2079676523">Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely.<span style="color: black;"> </span></a>If the original goal might still be attainable, review what part you played in missing it, and find incremental objectives for getting closer to that goal.<br />
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<b>Not much of a goal-setter?</b> That happens. Maybe you like to feel more "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Power-Now-Guide-Spiritual-Enlightenment/dp/1577311523">in the now</a>" than that. It is a legitimate lifeway. However, it does require you to complain a lot less about where you are in that "now." Even Ekhart Tolle will tell you, "When you complain, you make yourself a victim. Leave the situation or accept it. All else is madness."<br />
So don't project goals; we won't make you. Instead, your assignment is to reflect on the events of the day like this:<br />
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<i>What did I <u>not</u> like about my workplace today?</i><br />
How was that situation or event created? How did <u>I</u> participate in it rather than turn it into something pleasant?<br />
Yes, this takes a great deal of presence of energy. But you're the one who wanted to live in the Now.<br />
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<b>Plan. or Dream. </b>Picture your next anniversary<b>. </b>Imagine who you are in that picture, and what you can do (or not do) to realize that picture. What part will you play in fulfilling such a prophecy?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOxVaHFalxyQMzkH-mpHC0hiqIDCWEBiSTSddkDnmYQRm_eehZvasIsvg9svN_Lf7v4Ok62mWCD6eZ9IPCl3OmLF6MgbKCICtERxYE1GBWUt3dr4DKirrUZ1v9vx7IR5S0T4fR/s1600/ghandi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOxVaHFalxyQMzkH-mpHC0hiqIDCWEBiSTSddkDnmYQRm_eehZvasIsvg9svN_Lf7v4Ok62mWCD6eZ9IPCl3OmLF6MgbKCICtERxYE1GBWUt3dr4DKirrUZ1v9vx7IR5S0T4fR/s200/ghandi.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Why not try<u> this</u> for a year? We think you can do it.Caroline Benderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05551500494780247131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13182789.post-2930499560497387072010-10-31T11:14:00.005-04:002010-11-02T22:07:02.205-04:00Ask a Manager: My Reputation is at Stake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj202jVFseUC5O0euzwuhjg8POoDkbtF9V9NpVE7Qox1Ix7I1C_Hm1XUMjYk17GhUsGp-5wi_5BSQkqmL2Fs0RgV5yn6SVej_CEIgoEwVex6bajaPNLPNXKdbj4CfFRb2efWNI4/s1600/joan+and+don.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj202jVFseUC5O0euzwuhjg8POoDkbtF9V9NpVE7Qox1Ix7I1C_Hm1XUMjYk17GhUsGp-5wi_5BSQkqmL2Fs0RgV5yn6SVej_CEIgoEwVex6bajaPNLPNXKdbj4CfFRb2efWNI4/s320/joan+and+don.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Note: some facts in the letter below have been omitted or altered to obscure the workplace. The letter is otherwise genuine.</b></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Dear Finishing School:</i></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Just read the <a href="http://businessfinishingschool.blogspot.com/2005/08/workplace-dangers-manipulative-people.html">Workplace Dangers – Manipulative People</a> article...</i></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>I have a great career – 18 years. 8 long years ago we hired a master manipulator. She comes off as sweet and innocent and has bought and paid for undying loyalty of all of more co-workers...She has been after me since she started here. Has lied about me, manipulated every one, tried to destroy me and has been successful. (By the way, I work with all men)</i></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>The manipulator is not my boss; however, I [do] have a new boss... Because of THE manipulator, our old boss said" to hell with it" and retired. The new boss loves her and thinks she should be able to do whatever she wants. </i></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>It has taken her years to destroy me, as she has had to make it personal. She has eroded relationships one by one by telling each individual that I say things about them that I absolutely do not say. </i></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i> I could write a novel, but this is just one example of many...I have tried to tell people how she is,, but now they won’t listen despite having a very trusting relationship with me for years. They’ve finally bought in to her lies and now I’m in danger of losing my job. Her goal is to see me out the door. She is the type that wants to be everybody’s “favorite” and she needs me completely out of her way.</i></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>How do I reverse the damage she has done? How do I convey to everyone what she is and have them believe me? How do you expose these people without looking like you’re the crazy one?</i></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2aXtSJm9H7ejznoffLMqEXJN2rGvnkkbnAg-_QUOSPa_BWrhPsIE_rqThb8rUxPy5xTcIf6NXZiQiE3EK6eV0v3fZ3fZdSu0MmmlikmUWNqmAsEjIUxCujghAfOdrti7YIEIr/s1600/gossip-at-work.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2aXtSJm9H7ejznoffLMqEXJN2rGvnkkbnAg-_QUOSPa_BWrhPsIE_rqThb8rUxPy5xTcIf6NXZiQiE3EK6eV0v3fZ3fZdSu0MmmlikmUWNqmAsEjIUxCujghAfOdrti7YIEIr/s200/gossip-at-work.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>This correspondence must be held in absolute confidence. "Irene"</i></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Dear Reader,</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">You’ve painted a pretty bleak picture here. I am sorry to see that you are going through such a tough time, particularly after so many productive years. I probably need to know a lot more about the personalities involved, the options you might have in your work environment, and the motivation behind your coworker’s attacks. That said, I think I get the general idea. Based on that, I want to give you some high level tips that might help to give you some focus.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">But first, I’d like to tell you about two of my kids. My oldest son "Russ" is twelve years old. He’s a great kid: a gifted student, a talented musician, an athlete, and a wonderful, caring son. He is also very intense and can be a bit of a control freak. He’s often struggled with sharing that spotlight with his younger brothers. </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">My youngest son "Eddie" is seven years younger. He is intense in a different way. He’s a comedian, cute as hell and full of mischief. He does some wild things but generally has everyone wrapped around his little finger because he’s such a charmer. </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">These two don’t always get along so well. The biggest fight always comes when Russ is standing in his T-shirt and boxers, talking to Mom and Dad, before going off to bed or on a weekend morning after getting up for breakfast. Eddie loves to sneak up behind his brother and yank those boxers to the floor. (Unfortunately for Russ, he does this<u> a lot</u>.)</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Now when this happens, Eddie always laughs and laughs while Russ FREAKS OUT. He will wave his hands in the air and scream and yell (boxers still on the floor) followed by a round of angry chasing and slapping and general chaos. It’s a scene.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The unfortunate thing that generally happens next is that Mom and Dad end up scolding <i>Russ</i> for all of the yelling and screaming and violence. Is that fair? Not at all. He was clearly the one who was attacked. But a much bigger child cannot be physically abusing the little one. That, in addition to the noise level and pandemonium that he creates, is just a lot to take. (Hey, we’re not perfect. We have three sons. We’re tired. It’s just a human reaction. I’m not saying it’s right.)</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">So in all of this, upstart Eddie gets a big load of attention, and wounded Russ ends up looking quite crazy. My point is, as you put it yourself, he has been around longer, he's a good performer who gets wronged and tries to fight it, but the authorities don't see it that way.<span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJF9Nr0-Tmw2_3RZfMpJm6zEIDIO9DBFAPE9eXO38EvXwg-7kwQm4zVT6Wo3hZlsX6lMxrb_qbggt7jFZpGciTBKWWtQFuurwVSUW3wCl97kQd_9Ib62TwS__yM7UU6FM7jREa/s1600/barb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJF9Nr0-Tmw2_3RZfMpJm6zEIDIO9DBFAPE9eXO38EvXwg-7kwQm4zVT6Wo3hZlsX6lMxrb_qbggt7jFZpGciTBKWWtQFuurwVSUW3wCl97kQd_9Ib62TwS__yM7UU6FM7jREa/s200/barb.jpg" width="149" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b>Barbs can't be backed out</b></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It looks like your manipulator has already gotten her hooks in at a very deep level. Clearly, you are not in a position of strength. As hard as it is to accept it, you will have to let go of the notion of exposing her, turning the tables on her, or overthrowing her. You can’t win that fight.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">She has a cannon and you have a slingshot (and it sounds like you don’t even have a rock to put in it.) If she is attacking, you don’t want to go for a head-on collision. You don’t block a punch with a punch, you know? Okay enough with the male-centric mixed metaphors.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Anytime someone is accused of something he or she didn’t do, the natural reaction is to fight back and scream from the rooftops. Unfortunately, everybody likes a good story and the writhing-and-kicking denials only add fuel to the fire. If you point back at this gal and start your own campaign against her, it can look like defensive slander. At best, all these men in the office can look at this as a vicious fight between the two of you with you both as equal participants. That doesn’t help you either.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Narrow Your Focus</b></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Right you are trying to do several things at once: refute allegations, expose her as a fraud, win over the boss,</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">restore your reputation, and get her out of your company. I recommend you focus on a singular goal, which is simply your own survival. </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Ultimately, if all of these men that you work with are so willing to believe bad things about you, you really ought to think about whether this is the right environment for you. I would <b>look long and hard at your surroundings and how you have been treated in general</b> – not just by her -- and decide if this is where you want to be. If not, you can set some goals to move on long-term and then focus on your survival as a short-term initiative. By that I mean that you should stabilize things while you look elsewhere. </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Maybe this reflection will bring up some reasons that you want to stay; but within that, I think you need to assume that even in the best case scenario, you and your nemesis will both be there. Either way, you will want to<b> keep working on getting yourself to a better place so that it’s bearable if you stay and if you leave it will be on your own terms,</b> and not in a cloud of defeat that will haunt you for years to come.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>And how do you survive?</b> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioohhe7Atee5Av__1r2sj9wCPDH0COgMG5PnLujelc3wWgEAgq1EaHoIJoQdZuSXwAYAsipr-wlMESWwpl3thYKLJ_sJ3NxCZgk_UFMWA4ap12LJFGRQKYHmCG3IiCu_gcKTih/s1600/outstanding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioohhe7Atee5Av__1r2sj9wCPDH0COgMG5PnLujelc3wWgEAgq1EaHoIJoQdZuSXwAYAsipr-wlMESWwpl3thYKLJ_sJ3NxCZgk_UFMWA4ap12LJFGRQKYHmCG3IiCu_gcKTih/s200/outstanding.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">• Do your job and do it well. Don’t give anyone a reason to think that you are "no good" based on your own actions.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">• Be kind and professional toward everyone. Same reason as above. And yes,<i> everyone</i>. Even if it kills you. Don’t overdo it, either. No hi-pitched phony pleasantries or forced smiles accompanied by eye-rolls…just keep it all matter-of-fact and keep yourself from sinking to the behavior you are trying to combat.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">• Challenge other coworkers when they present you with things they have "heard." For example, “Bob, you’ve known me for a long time. Have you ever heard me speak badly about someone else?” You might even go so far as to say “<b>if someone tells you something like this bout me, what makes you believe it?</b>”</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Now this is important. Just ask the question. Don’t push it hard. And never mention the manipulator by name or say anything derogatory about her.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">• Be yourself. Focus on yourself and your job. Do your best to ignore external inputs, hard as that might be.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisjDgeyiZU8xl3YiYwu9r4OainQwBkyAomZHwgWYRtsQYaR4h-UQ0_VgeusRvEa66wUiAVRYFxoUufd1n8fQ6zyOaNI5WF7LOqbcJN0ai1UsKr-Z-LocSajFC5c2izEVpuvd2v/s1600/laura-in-ball-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisjDgeyiZU8xl3YiYwu9r4OainQwBkyAomZHwgWYRtsQYaR4h-UQ0_VgeusRvEa66wUiAVRYFxoUufd1n8fQ6zyOaNI5WF7LOqbcJN0ai1UsKr-Z-LocSajFC5c2izEVpuvd2v/s200/laura-in-ball-2.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Find Your Allies</b></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Perhaps it’s not <i>everyone</i> who has turned against you. When you are going through something like thi,s it can feel like you have no allies, but there might be some people in the office who aren’t riding that bandwagon. Some might see the manipulator for what she is, and simply choose not to be vocal about it.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Some recognize that you have a long history as productive coworker and are not aware that there<i> is</i> a problem.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Some might not care about the situation one way or another. I would be willing to bet that there are at least a few people who aren’t thinking about this at all. That might sound harsh, but my point is that it will be easier for you to focus on your survival if you can avoid magnifying the problem in your head. It’s a pretty serious problem already. No need to add even more to it because it is making you feel so isolated.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Finally, with that in mind, I would like you to <b>consider whether there might be someone in the office that you find trustworthy enough to share in some proactive exploration with you.</b> I mentioned above that you should answer allegations with frank challenges to the logic of the situation by asking them to give you details on what they think or why they believe it. This approach assumes that you have people actively confronting you with their beliefs. You might not have that luxury. If you really want to tackle this head-on, you might consider finding the right coworker (or two, or three) and asking them outright for some feedback on how you are doing. </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Be Ready for the Response</b></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It is extremely important to do this in a way that does not appear defensive. No folded arms or pinched faces, please. Just something like “Larry, I’d like to get your opinion of how I’m doing with my work…can you tell me what you think I am doing well, and what I am doing not so well?”</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Then you listen. </b></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">If the coworker doesn’t seem to want to share, you can guide the conversation a bit by saying things like “I think I’m pretty good at X, but I’ve been working on Y…have you seen that?” From there, you can get to the big one, which looks something like this, “I’ve heard that people [“people”…not her] might think Z about me and I’m concerned about that. Do you have this perception of me? Do you think others do? Can you tell me why you think this might be?” And then depending where the conversation goes, you can ask the other questions that I outlined above, which are meant to get the other person thinking about the logic of the situation.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxKV-LjbP8hQDU_elVYRJyALVzv_kosx1XTE9Vqcr3OT0qzjeCwQqCBzRtr9opdz9bNMcxEbUIGOlXqlEJAv-AaNPsw9QiKMorTsfiSpRatNN4OcL830so5nn6s06knyYlGN7v/s1600/alg_chilean_miners.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxKV-LjbP8hQDU_elVYRJyALVzv_kosx1XTE9Vqcr3OT0qzjeCwQqCBzRtr9opdz9bNMcxEbUIGOlXqlEJAv-AaNPsw9QiKMorTsfiSpRatNN4OcL830so5nn6s06knyYlGN7v/s200/alg_chilean_miners.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">If you can do this with a few people, possibly including your boss, you might learn something that you don’t know already. You might find some things that you can change or work on to help the situation. More importantly, <b>you will have made a few connections with people who will now be less likely to accept untruths about you in the future.</b> When someone has the courage to open herself up and ask for feedback – to expose herself in sharing what she thinks of herself while asking for input – it is pretty hard to dismiss that person on a superficial level ever again. The memory of that conversation will stick.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">You might even find yourself with a few people who will defend you. And hopefully, you won’t feel so alone.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Don Draper, Resident Manager </i></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Related Posts</b></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://businessfinishingschool.blogspot.com/2005/06/workplace-dangers-predatory-mentor.html">Workplace Dangers: The Predatory Mentor</a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://businessfinishingschool.blogspot.com/2009/12/working-with-master-manipulator.html">Working with a Master Manipulator</a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">S<a href="http://businessfinishingschool.blogspot.com/2005/06/first-i-was-afraid-i-was-petrified.html">urviving the Boss</a></div>Caroline Benderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05551500494780247131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13182789.post-62347297258778828372010-09-14T06:24:00.001-04:002011-02-25T13:01:35.846-05:00All the World’s a Stage<i>Guest Blogger Mary O'Donnell, Fundraiser, Performer...MBA</i><br />
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<i> </i>Following up a recent Business Women’s Finishing School article about the work of a performer, I have expanded on some of the lessons from the theater world that can be applied in the corporate world. <br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><b>1.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></b><b>Be prepared.</b></div><div class="MsoNormal">Like a job interview, an audition is all about research and preparation. I always read the play before I audition, and if it’s a musical, I familiarize myself with the score. I had the opportunity to audition for (name drop) Ben Affleck for the first movie he directed. I got a call the day before the audition, bought the book and read it before the audition the next morning. Although I did not get the part, he was impressed that I had read the book on such short notice so that I could better understand what he was looking for in the on-camera audition.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrhWH0o0FxhIKJ02z-Q-MX873zSd-51ykkrDozStkmby42czEpEscdYseQJA5NYUaS7MIQ9_qrdyIIdPJ-hnZXlyPu21_Qc8d-X4JmP21VoAGoCzRFoJr7DjXhfei2QPJhZDCv/s1600/6character.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrhWH0o0FxhIKJ02z-Q-MX873zSd-51ykkrDozStkmby42czEpEscdYseQJA5NYUaS7MIQ9_qrdyIIdPJ-hnZXlyPu21_Qc8d-X4JmP21VoAGoCzRFoJr7DjXhfei2QPJhZDCv/s200/6character.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><b>2.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></b><b>Know the players and their expectations.</b></div><div class="MsoNormal">You often have one or two minutes to do a “cold reading” for a director or casting agent, so you’d better know as much about the client as you do about the characters before the audition. On-camera auditions involve clients who have clear expectations about the age, hair color, etc. for their characters. If they say memorize the script and wear a business suit, do it. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">3.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span><b>Establish clear goals.</b></div><div class="MsoNormal">Theaters projects have short time frames and lots of moving parts in various stages at any point in time. If the goals and timelines are not clear for all of the participants onstage and backstage, the project can grind to a halt.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><b>4.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></b><b>Focus on your own goals.</b></div><div class="MsoNormal">When you are onstage acting, singing and dancing, there is no room in your brain to think about anything else but executing the script, your own staging, props and costume changes. There is no point in worrying about what everyone else is doing or not doing. If everyone focuses on achieving their own prescribed goals, it all comes together like a quilt—a crazy quilt, but an integrated whole nonetheless. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo3ETAFeU0g606yQ97VcpZPqmn9501EZcDzHV30UPMiMdzx6ENGC48KWat7QNt08fh1BdF9IeAWCbqCLP5P5cCNPOQlvqIk0euER25ZBIdQ2uA3lqKnwnqBomj5NTC-1szzp4I/s1600/Crazy_quilt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo3ETAFeU0g606yQ97VcpZPqmn9501EZcDzHV30UPMiMdzx6ENGC48KWat7QNt08fh1BdF9IeAWCbqCLP5P5cCNPOQlvqIk0euER25ZBIdQ2uA3lqKnwnqBomj5NTC-1szzp4I/s200/Crazy_quilt.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><b>5.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></b><b>Rally the troops around a single shared vision</b></div><div class="MsoNormal">In any theatrical production, there is a specific script, but each actor uses his or her unique skills and perspective to interpret that script to bring it to life. The director’s job is to bring out the best in every performer through a process of respecting the actors’ instincts and interpretations, having a solid vision for the end product, and helping all the actors achieve that shared vision.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><b>6.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></b><b>Don’t take feedback personally</b></div><div class="MsoNormal">In the theater world, rejection is constant, and you can’t take it personally. I go into every audition doing my best, but I know that there are too many elements of the audition outside my control. The local theater circuit is a very small world with a smaller number of directors who have their friends, and cliques reign. A director may have very strong ideas about the physical “type” required for a role. Sometimes you’re just not the vision the director has in his or her brain, and it’s more about your build and hair color than how well you read in an audition. Accept it, and move on to the next project. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><b>7.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></b><b>“There are no small parts, only small actors.”</b></div><div class="MsoNormal">Everyone is essential to success of a theatrical production. Period. See #8, #9 and #10.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizolnsIi7Hdn_a9az40PalF80xdumJmCmW_to4RV-865AUU-kC7lVxQJTnnWoZGFraa1nKPUcg16kGnqFdiYhcqxeXVudVsoR0rJsrI9kDfoJiueWi6AAEqa2Cg_An9Busik42/s1600/brooklyn-bridge.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizolnsIi7Hdn_a9az40PalF80xdumJmCmW_to4RV-865AUU-kC7lVxQJTnnWoZGFraa1nKPUcg16kGnqFdiYhcqxeXVudVsoR0rJsrI9kDfoJiueWi6AAEqa2Cg_An9Busik42/s200/brooklyn-bridge.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><b>8.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></b><b>It takes a village</b></div><div class="MsoNormal">The people the audience never sees usually outnumber the performers onstage and are vital to the success of a show: the guy backstage who built and moves the set pieces, the person who figures out a special effect, the lighting designer, the prop person who creates the 1959 newspaper, the costume designer, the stage manager who runs the show, and the volunteers who do the publicity. This is a team effort, and everyone needs to pitch in on some less glamorous parts of the project to get the job done. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><b>9.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></b><b>With concerted effort by all, today’s chaos can be tomorrow’s success.</b></div><div class="MsoNormal">“Tech week” is the week just before a theatrical production opens. The set is onstage for the first time, the technical people are setting light cues, the orchestra is suddenly there, actors have quick costume changes to figure out, and everyone’s patience is tested. Tech week is a very compressed version of a product launch where what looks like a looming disaster on Sunday becomes Friday’s successful opening night.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><b>10.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></b><b>It’s a small world</b></div><div class="MsoNormal">Your reputation can be broken in an instant. One false step, diva moment or negative remark will be transmitted cryptically through Facebook status and backstage conversations, reaching everyone in the theater microcosm. As Heidi Klum says on Project Runway, “One minute you’re in , and the next you’re out!” If you have a reputation for being difficult to work with or unable to be a team player, you will not get the part.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheb0r2X8JMfyy9WUC_zCFazx1-ECmQcraBcG8Y2SVY5MiaosAgs0Zzm0VLBPrt8Nmhk840o4WGF3nrFRQXr2rsi3nOgIaZp2lEKNEyqPX4cMnwH8N7DUS-hNitIfzx-5QkqLWS/s1600/Billy-Elliot-Tony-Awards--009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheb0r2X8JMfyy9WUC_zCFazx1-ECmQcraBcG8Y2SVY5MiaosAgs0Zzm0VLBPrt8Nmhk840o4WGF3nrFRQXr2rsi3nOgIaZp2lEKNEyqPX4cMnwH8N7DUS-hNitIfzx-5QkqLWS/s320/Billy-Elliot-Tony-Awards--009.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>Caroline Benderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05551500494780247131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13182789.post-15152130613795402432010-08-16T21:14:00.056-04:002010-08-17T06:10:59.630-04:00Am I My Resume?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheII-zB8kvg0GzG58fT_N17TbEt0zNqj93-i630W7jKiKYYyxE8jA5dQtAFTTZEK8I68ySiabHQCXvPPEjSWutnYKPP1TqNoXRKFG2_SnD60InJpycQt6ni6rZSeioAvEwKM_s/s1600/casting1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheII-zB8kvg0GzG58fT_N17TbEt0zNqj93-i630W7jKiKYYyxE8jA5dQtAFTTZEK8I68ySiabHQCXvPPEjSWutnYKPP1TqNoXRKFG2_SnD60InJpycQt6ni6rZSeioAvEwKM_s/s200/casting1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">20 questions for performing artists</span></i><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">East Coast and West Cost comedy come together in friendly harmony for our latest installment of “20 Questions.” Caroline Bender sat down with 3 talented women for a round of 20 Questions that explores the professional environment of the working actor/comedian, to expand our horizons in the world of work. <b>What us to spotlight the "workplace" of your profession? Email the Finishing School at <a href="mailto:bwfinishingschool@gmail.com">bwfinishingschool@gmail.com</a>.</b></span> <br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2rV-P3YowrFETK3zTR8uVsLry25ruA9o3vqPoYhxk4C69fJXvbyf7re78djieJm4meuSFFoblt8HwFOB-PQ2fZ2VofSCaa9lEnEakIdm8lx25QjbnJncP5MjZ2YT1tSEFw4cI/s1600/deana.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2rV-P3YowrFETK3zTR8uVsLry25ruA9o3vqPoYhxk4C69fJXvbyf7re78djieJm4meuSFFoblt8HwFOB-PQ2fZ2VofSCaa9lEnEakIdm8lx25QjbnJncP5MjZ2YT1tSEFw4cI/s320/deana.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Deana Tolliver is Associate Managing Director of <a href="http://www.improvboston.com/">ImprovBoston</a>, where she has been performing professionally for 6 years, in improvisation, sketch, and musical theatre. Her kids have joined the family business as the go-to cast for short films and live bits</span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGYQdBmIMusOExvlaAxL6uBlepL1agJx9at1qX6lMBI2OkblZUFO7m3P0AJQ71egLx4eTg-NG_jP2tca9JuSiukvlZUvLnGI0p-xZVGKoGoP_T9AepyMBTmzLPGriFJYQoDjmt/s1600/rsimms2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGYQdBmIMusOExvlaAxL6uBlepL1agJx9at1qX6lMBI2OkblZUFO7m3P0AJQ71egLx4eTg-NG_jP2tca9JuSiukvlZUvLnGI0p-xZVGKoGoP_T9AepyMBTmzLPGriFJYQoDjmt/s320/rsimms2.png" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From Los Angeles, meet <a href="http://robynsimms.com/">Robyn Simms</a>, a 20 year veteran of the funny, from acting and writing to costume design and puppetry. Her short film "Sisyphus" has played a number of prestigious film fests, including Palm Springs Shortsfest and the LA Comedy Shorts '09 and won a jury prize at the FilmOneFest. Robin is currently the assistant director of the <a href="http://www.santabarbaraminute.storbang.com/">Santa Barbara Minute Film Festival</a> (the films are not <i>small</i>; they are 60 seconds long).</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1HALuA1L9qLrDZVc55EZd01GqNohKtIMm1yGPHOcddeHtIgpeaUUAYdKE6f2orR-UnOij6hege90D8EBhZtlVgehfR8Z4C2rjmh1dpxmSkOOse1aL3UnZPp9YNtK1XSAORftN/s1600/sfa.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1HALuA1L9qLrDZVc55EZd01GqNohKtIMm1yGPHOcddeHtIgpeaUUAYdKE6f2orR-UnOij6hege90D8EBhZtlVgehfR8Z4C2rjmh1dpxmSkOOse1aL3UnZPp9YNtK1XSAORftN/s320/sfa.png" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sara Faith Alterman (also known by her <a href="http://sarafaithalterman.com/">nom de blog, “SFA”</a>) is a bicoastal performer frequently subjected to bad in-flight comedy as she travels between San Francisco and Boston to practice her crafts – primarily, as co-producer of <a href="http://www.getmortified.com/">Mortified: Boston</a>, and a member of San Francisco’s The Loose Interpretations. To the IRS, Sara Faith works full time as a freelance writer. She is working on her third book and contributes the occasional feature article. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not all the comedians Miss Bender knows are Emerson College graduates. Just the best ones.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>CB: I tend to start these interviews with a naïve question based completely on stereotype. Working in performing arts seems to me like a constant stream of job interviews. Or dating. How does it compare to, say, a business interview or a job application?</b><br />
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<span style="color: purple;">Robyn</span>: It is totally a constant stream of job interviews. You know when they like you. I find it comforting when they at least like me, even if I don't book it. It's awful when you know they DON'T like you.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">SFA:</span> You have to constantly try to market yourself, then cross your fingers and hope for the best. I thought I did a really great job on that press release. Are they going to call me? Or are they going to choose some other starving idiot?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">Deana:</span> As artists we all kick into performance mode easily, and therefore we do incredibly well in job interviews. We can convince anyone to hire us. The problem is that we might not want that job. I had to learn to shift out of that mode long enough to ask the important questions so I could evaluate whether the job was right for the "real" me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>CB: Which describes the experience more accurately: Fame, High School Musical, American Idol, The Apprentice?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">Robyn</span>: Fame- the original movie. It captures the thrilling soaring feelings of creating, and the really sh***y times too. When they have the hot shot grad as their waiter, the dancer having an abortion and Coco having to take off her shirt at the end. I stand by Fame. A fairy tale, yes. But one with actual reality.<span style="color: blue;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">SFA:</span> I've only seen Fame, and the live theater version of High School Musical. Don't ask. So, I have no idea. But I DO get a lot of comparisons to the lovably annoying Rachel on Glee. Because I'm a diva. And Jewish. And I love knee socks.<b> </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>CB: But the rejection - the rejection! How do you bounce back from "we'll call you"?</b><span style="color: purple;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">Robyn:</span> You keep other irons in the fire at all times, and don't take it personally. It's a numbers game, and as long as a percentage of [it] is sticking to the wall, you know you got something.<span style="color: red;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">Deana:</span> Since I am [also] on the business side of things … I cast just as often as I want to be cast. I learned that there really is something specific folks are looking for. More often than not the choice is not about who is the most talented - when you get to this level everyone is talented. It's about the right look, the right vibe with other actors, the opinion of one person that day. There are so many variables that, at least for me, there is no way to take it personally. It's not about me, it's about what they need for the role.<b> </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>CB: Yes, let's hear a pep talk. Tell us a story about nailing the audition.</b><span style="color: purple;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">Robyn:</span> I just went through 3 rounds of phone interviews and one on-camera, and then booked it. We shot it over this past weekend, a game show pilot which we then won.<span style="color: blue;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">SFA:</span> When I walked into my audition for the a cappella group I sing with, I was so nervous I thought I was going to boot all over my sheet music. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, opened my mouth...and f[lubb]ed up the opening lines of my song so badly that I had to start over. I just made a joke about it, slipped the director a fifty, and voila! Not only did I get in, but if you don't blink during the first 10 seconds of the latest promo for Hawaii 5-O, you'll catch me and the girls shoo-be-doo-bopping in front of the Golden Gate bridge.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgJxYATy88dK3kLJvMaRJDsmjhPXYsfjrU55o69iGdv_otjESeLHUDtV6mHUvD3SqR99j9LryqkariJaSmZqejxNFW19K0X0OZRGc8w_1Or764yZG684y76C3cdLX7sMkNbLc8/s1600/casting3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="153" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgJxYATy88dK3kLJvMaRJDsmjhPXYsfjrU55o69iGdv_otjESeLHUDtV6mHUvD3SqR99j9LryqkariJaSmZqejxNFW19K0X0OZRGc8w_1Or764yZG684y76C3cdLX7sMkNbLc8/s200/casting3.png" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">Deana:</span> The last commercial gig I got was amazing. I was the first person they saw for the role. The call was for a "Kelly Rippa" type. I got in, chatted them up, read the sides (part of the script) in a perky, Rippa-esque way - light news interview, morning show style. I finished and the director said, "I really wanted it to be more hard-hitting, like Barbara Walters". I wouldn't characterize Barbara Walters as hard-hitting, but what do I know. I asked if I could read again. I delivered a blend of Barbara Walters and Hank Phillippe Ryan - pensive, smart, then went for the jugular. He loved it. He was impressed with the reading, but he was more impressed that I could throw away the first reading so quickly and give him something completely different. He went out to the lobby and sent everyone else home. The shoot turned out to be a really fun day and has led to more work with that company.<b> </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>CB: What have we seen you in?</b><span style="color: purple;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">Robyn</span>: I have an episode of <a href="http://www.timanderic.com/">Tim and Eric Show</a> this season-I'm in a Cinco commercial.<span style="color: red;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">Deana:</span> I perform at ImprovBoston at least once a week in various improv and sketch shows. This month you can see me in the Mainstage shows each Saturday at 8 & 10. I just finished a run of the musical Lube - which I wrote and starred in. I will also be hosting the Boston Improv Festival here at ImprovBoston September 8-12, featuring improvisers from all over the world.<span style="color: blue;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">SFA:</span> The latest promo for Hawaii 5-O! Plus Mortified shows in Boston, LA, and San Francisco. And you can find my first <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sara-Faith-Alterman/e/B001HPD0ZO/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1">two books on Amazon</a>.<b> </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>CB: What's a role/show you've always wanted to do but haven't?</b><span style="color: purple;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">Robyn</span>: The wacky neighbor.<b> </b></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE36-PNqAExC-V3fGiBOvm-QxQ5Kv5U265Jqc08-VqydDU86w3E59rtFrAs7Eh2Aaz9zsVAVJiLp0EJiWpYGMqjNMRkNBj5BjOjSW_5qpqdwr9TgokyIp8dtMdu28g_DJfnhU1/s1600/neighbiors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE36-PNqAExC-V3fGiBOvm-QxQ5Kv5U265Jqc08-VqydDU86w3E59rtFrAs7Eh2Aaz9zsVAVJiLp0EJiWpYGMqjNMRkNBj5BjOjSW_5qpqdwr9TgokyIp8dtMdu28g_DJfnhU1/s320/neighbiors.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>CB: I find that an obvious misuse of resources.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">SFA:</span> Saturday Night Live. It's been my lifelong dream to be a writer and performer for that glorious Svengali Lorne Michaels.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">Deana:</span> As comedians, we all have the same dream - getting on SNL or winding up with a tolerable sit com. In mine I play Ellen Degeneres' sister, we have a large family, our other sisters are Bonnie Hunt, Katherine O'Hara and Amy Poehler. You know, because we're all funny and blonde.<b> </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>CB: These crazy kids today.... what are they doing wrong you would like to set them straight on? (is it ending sentences with prepositions, perhaps?)</b><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">SFA:</span> Stop thinking that life would be so much more glamorous if you could just land a reality TV show for you and your posse.<span style="color: red;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">Deana:</span> If it isn't a joy for you there is no reason to do it. Each audition is an opportunity - even if you don't get the role it is not wasted time. A casting director might remember you for something else, that actress you met in the lobby might turn out to be a great contact or an even better friend.<b> </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>CB: That sounds like good advice in any profession</b><span style="color: purple;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">Robyn:</span> The crazy kids are doing everything right. I got no complaints about them.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b> </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>CB: Correct our naive notion that Life is a Cabaret. But without calling me "chum."</b><span style="color: purple;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">Robyn:</span> We have a saying at our house called "Circus Family." It is for when we have to do something (good or bad) that might seem really out of the ordinary to regular people. For instance- I have a coffin stored in the garage, for a short film [my husband] Steve wrote, but we have not gotten around to shooting yet. This weekend it's getting hauled out for a photoshoot that is being staged in our backyard. </span><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZb8MfHmxCOhTrsdpaxR6jkBlg84PNENdhysdKSLj4Mw2wQEe3kVW6dVuiJee-ub4KOIByY2i-iUkCTA6Az8ftGUVgtZAdWBAA19W-8WQq7z7IGliJfQRAHWLmY-5rX5y9wrJ2/s1600/gumm+sisters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZb8MfHmxCOhTrsdpaxR6jkBlg84PNENdhysdKSLj4Mw2wQEe3kVW6dVuiJee-ub4KOIByY2i-iUkCTA6Az8ftGUVgtZAdWBAA19W-8WQq7z7IGliJfQRAHWLmY-5rX5y9wrJ2/s200/gumm+sisters.jpg" width="158" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tomorrow, Dexter is coming with mommy to pick up the rented costume jacket at the fancy dry cleaners that has a giant popcorn machine for customers, 24 hour service and limo parking. The coat had to be specially cleaned because the animation guys wrapped it around an actual fish during the shoot this week. It was rented from a costume house where Dex and I spent a hour finding it in a warehouse the size of a football field. It was my job for the week-costuming a live action segment for Cartoon Network's "Flapjack."<span style="color: red;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">Deana:</span> Life <i>is</i> a Cabaret! Except without having to perform for the Germans' Weimar Republic.<span style="color: blue;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">SFA:</span> It is. It's full of song and dance and terrible wigs.<b> </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>CB: Describe one of the "special skills" on your resume and how you came by it.</b><span style="color: purple;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">Robyn:</span> my favorite special skill I have is a very loud whistle. I learned how to do it the summer before 8th grade. I practiced a lot, and it is an awesome skill and the envy of many.<span style="color: blue;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">SFA:</span> I can pick a lock with a credit card. I wish I could say I picked that one up in the pokey, but the truth is I was locked out of my dorm room in college and I was too lazy (or drunk?) to call security, so I figured it out.<span style="color: red;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">Deana:</span> I actually have "Single mother of two" under special skills - because it IS a special skill to juggle all this. I will refrain from telling you how I cam by that special skill in this interview, but if you ever want to grab a drink...<b> </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>CB: It’s important that we acknowledge that in addition to practicing your crafts, you are all employed at full-time jobs, and Deana and Robyn, you are parents as well. It's so trendy to talk about work/life balance. How do you find work/work balance?</b><span style="color: red;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">Deana:</span> Divorce! It's honestly been a godsend for my career. Now that the kids are with their dad every other weekend I can travel to festivals and book more gigs. I mean, my personal life is a disaster but I have a lot more time for the funny. (I'm joking, I'm fine)<span style="color: purple;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">Robyn:</span> I don't sleep. [T]he middle of the night seems to be the only time I can get the peace and solid time to create anything. This is a terrible cycle. I recently had two nights in a row of sleep- 10 hours and then an 8, and I felt amazing. But nothing got done-my house was a mess, no bills got paid, no emails answered and certainly no personal art was made.<span style="color: blue;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">SFA:</span> Work/work balance is a tricky little bitch that's been playing hide and seek with me for my entire career. I have a hard time focusing on my "real" job sometimes, because I'm so excited about upcoming [Mortified] shows that I'll spend hours flipping through my old diaries, or fiddling around with arrangements of Beyonce songs on Finale. Is there a pill for that? Can you get me some? Basically, I sit around in my pajamas and stress out about my cell phone bill.<b> </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>CB: What would it take for you to be a full-time performer ? How do you work to make that happen?</b><span style="color: purple;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">Robyn:</span> Money to pay my bills when I'm not working, money to pay for a babysitter to watch my child while I exercised myself daily into a size 6, money for new pictures, money for a better wardrobe, money for more and constant grooming.<span style="color: red;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">Deana</span>: I have been very lucky to create a combo of administrative work/performing at ImprovBoston. It allows me to go on auditions, and then take time off to shoot things. I have a steady pay check and still get to work in the arts. Now, if someone wants to offer me a full-time performing gig that will be steady I'd love to chat with them! With two kids, the stability of having a "day job" is important - I just happen to have a really cool day job.</span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmhbTzC9uVVgWM0uiS4f5KiCY_jvgnFFo-1VqUoSJQfLK57WcPo5e5tKErspuNHQ5YzpdWDw9EFfMdBekjluuwsxTCz4_9iGvIij8OQG12LjcvWM4EsM3T_XtUrlWw9Y5ZB33f/s1600/BENJAMINS.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmhbTzC9uVVgWM0uiS4f5KiCY_jvgnFFo-1VqUoSJQfLK57WcPo5e5tKErspuNHQ5YzpdWDw9EFfMdBekjluuwsxTCz4_9iGvIij8OQG12LjcvWM4EsM3T_XtUrlWw9Y5ZB33f/s320/BENJAMINS.png" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">SFA:</span> Honestly, it's all about the Benjamins, baby. If i could be confident that I'd be able to pay my rent, and that I wouldn't have to face too much rejection on a regular basis, I'd go for it. Wow, that makes me sound like a timid a****le. Maybe I should just go for it right now.<b> </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>CB: When you imagine yourself in a completely different professional field, what do you think is most likely?</b><span style="color: red;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">Deana:</span> Teacher - which is sort of cheating because I teach here as part of my job. But I mean classroom teacher, like elementary school or something. A good teacher uses the same elements that we use in improvisation - tapping into what interests your audience and exploring that, setting up an environment that insists on supporting one another and thinking quickly on your feet.<span style="color: purple;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">Robyn:</span> My fantasy jobs all seem to involve wearing smart looking suits with statement jewelry and working in an office. They also pay a lot. I'm always well groomed and have many material possessions. I think it always boils down to money. Happiness doesn't play into these fantasies at all, they are pure and utter Stuff Porn.<span style="color: blue;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">SFA:</span> In my next life, I'd like to run an animal rescue organization.<b> </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>CB: When do these kind of thoughts occur to you?</b><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">SFA:</span> Every time I look at my dog, Noodle, who I rescued/kidnapped from Beijing, China in 2008.<span style="color: purple;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">Robyn:</span> When I realize there is too much month at the end of the money.<span style="color: red;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">Deana:</span> But then I remember that teachers don't make any money either.<b> </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>CB: Do you now, or have you ever, worked in a traditional office/cube type environment?</b><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">SFA:</span> I was a reporter with The Boston Phoenix until 2009, but being a journalist, especially for an Alternative Weekly newspaper, isn't terribly traditional. I kept a bottle of whiskey in my desk, and would toss one back with my coworkers on a rough day. Don't think that would fly at a financial services company. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1YSzeiKPzkfYWFeFKZ2WX3yLK5-a2rAVnS2QOoi8gIz8GgBA9pTxwV82vhmfPX3szypGRSBZm7KswNKUbWOTPdH9vG9p6-7H0fB7_uay4ds3Y3MBOwKPmEC1iuDkrrgnUEQGx/s1600/sally10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1YSzeiKPzkfYWFeFKZ2WX3yLK5-a2rAVnS2QOoi8gIz8GgBA9pTxwV82vhmfPX3szypGRSBZm7KswNKUbWOTPdH9vG9p6-7H0fB7_uay4ds3Y3MBOwKPmEC1iuDkrrgnUEQGx/s200/sally10.jpg" width="136" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">Deana:</span> I have certainly worked in lots of offices, though I would not call any of them "traditional". They have all been crazy in some way or other. Maybe the common thread there is me, and when I am not there they are very normal places to work. I have also worked in very corporate environments where I had to wear suits all day, it just wasn't the right fit for me, but they were all great opportunities and led me to where I am now.<span style="color: purple;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">Robyn:</span> For about 6 months at the beginning of my career in NYC, I was the receptionist at two different production houses. Both were terrible jobs. Had one of them been better, instead of making me think I would go postal, where would I be now? </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>CB: Anything you would (or do) borrow from that culture to benefit life backstage?</b><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">SFA:</span> Being a successful business person means constantly having to go with the flow and not let unexpected obstacles trip you up too badly. And to constantly envision the big picture. That sort of mentality is tremendously helpful when you're trying to produce a show, or when you f*** up onstage.<span style="color: red;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">Deana:</span> [I]t is important whenever meeting directors, casting agents, and other actors to be very professional - some actors just don't get that. Be on time, be polite, follow up after the shoot to say thank you, simple things that the corporate world knows very well.<span style="color: purple;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">Robyn:</span> The [entertainment] world I work in…IS corporate. Still art, but there is a lot of money at stake.<b> </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>CB: What aspects of the arts/entertainment environment would benefit the corporate world?</b></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8MM7Ooqab97BlE3PRtEJojAy7MWfGMSlQphzRJTToATMnjdXg_RNc2S6IJv729zgXd5g91z33mJB9qqlqABCFbnd4wlm5M_nqSYISiY7uJiM1jxc4hvh793kk-ABqYFdds0uM/s1600/guest+chef.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="161" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8MM7Ooqab97BlE3PRtEJojAy7MWfGMSlQphzRJTToATMnjdXg_RNc2S6IJv729zgXd5g91z33mJB9qqlqABCFbnd4wlm5M_nqSYISiY7uJiM1jxc4hvh793kk-ABqYFdds0uM/s200/guest+chef.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">Robyn:</span> Craft Services would be a great morale booster. So would wacky costumes and better lighting.<span style="color: red;"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: blue;">SFA:</span> <span style="color: black;">The principals of improv are the same as those of negotiation and general communication; accept another person's idea and build upon it, rather than shoot it down. That idea makes for much more productive communication and idea/product development.</span> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">Deana:</span> I am a corporate trainer as part of my day job. I teach businesses how to use the foundations of improv to benefit their bottom line. We teach people how to create corporate cultures that encourage support and creativity, that truly allow for ideas to grow, and that allow for better communication across all levels of the company. I truly believe that in order to have a successful business you need to embrace ideas, encourage humor and allow folks some fun in their day.</span><b> </b><br />
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<b>One to grow on...</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Audio-Visual Aids</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LakhB1hb0D4">Sisyphus</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YemjZJlWCLY">Hawaii 5-0</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huh-bmTA7rU&feature=related">Single Mother on Election Night</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>note: 20 questions round tables are conducted by email. Participants are not in actual conversation. But then, this isn't a real Finishing School. ~~CB</i></span>Caroline Benderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05551500494780247131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13182789.post-11977706966621834962010-08-11T09:00:00.000-04:002010-08-11T09:00:50.756-04:00Ask a Manager: Is Nepotism a Mitigating Factor?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy-4IYg05iGLraXb0R_x1lWry2YRp_S_gpeJdK_OreipOgCtq4a6E39Mr8Y8frQydSlk8vEnzC3kzQ9Ae2oF_cNF5gE7kVjdPhswzn4dl3Ofzg9NWl3D1KFLpULhJcNToFy7mF/s1600/ask+a+manager.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy-4IYg05iGLraXb0R_x1lWry2YRp_S_gpeJdK_OreipOgCtq4a6E39Mr8Y8frQydSlk8vEnzC3kzQ9Ae2oF_cNF5gE7kVjdPhswzn4dl3Ofzg9NWl3D1KFLpULhJcNToFy7mF/s320/ask+a+manager.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Due to an upswing in business my workload has become crushing. My supervising manager has advised me to team with another administrative assistant. I have done so, or at least have tried to, but now this person is "constantly too busy" doing things like Internet shopping and gossiping away from her desk. (We are talking a couple of hours in a day, not a few minutes) and some actual work.<br />
</b></span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"> <br />
Here is the biggest problem: the admin I can not rely on is the daughter of one of the owners and has been with the company a lot longer than I have. I am afraid to say anything against her. How do I assert what's fair in a situation that is already one-sided?<br />
<br />
Thanks,</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"> LW</span></b></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX3L-mfslgGEYfV200CQ3p8WAKAr8LJLBONvxwubYpe36TD_Cf9eXXKWX8zOqifXDj0fmjAnLCFDzijA7cNe5gEpB0v_pC3yaLtvgogDzybNOWaLm_fOgwZ0aHX71lw50JFT-s/s1600/ted4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX3L-mfslgGEYfV200CQ3p8WAKAr8LJLBONvxwubYpe36TD_Cf9eXXKWX8zOqifXDj0fmjAnLCFDzijA7cNe5gEpB0v_pC3yaLtvgogDzybNOWaLm_fOgwZ0aHX71lw50JFT-s/s200/ted4.jpg" width="144" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;">Nepotism is an ugly fact of life in the workplace. I’ve seen it at all levels, and I’ve even had to deal with it in employees who have been assigned to work for me. As a conscientious manager, being put in that situation can put you on edge as you walk the line between playing the expected political game and trying to keep the respect of your other employees. Depending upon how in tune your manager is to that, it can impact the situation and how you should handle it. At a minimum, I recommend you consider where your manager might stand on the issue and how aware s/he is of the problem already. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><br />
The danger here is that presenting a scenario like this can put management on the defensive. If you make it seem like an attack on your manager’s judgment, he can shut down on you. Worse, if your manager interprets your concern about your coworker’s habits as an act of pettiness or unsportsmanlike conduct toward a teammate (especially this one), you end up making yourself look bad, and then it’s (still) no help for you! But you know all of this already, which is why we’re here.</span></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDr9lO_bAkyrNRurRvixp6gFtBQorjP82qW0RN9OADUqgn5PP6p8yL1IRXAhSr8cXFysCR0xkkUwaimuMjQc9eScXJGhtEW2W79N0HjqYZqG7zAXbTbN4L3j-XGsTYwuiNK4Uc/s1600/ted5%5D5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDr9lO_bAkyrNRurRvixp6gFtBQorjP82qW0RN9OADUqgn5PP6p8yL1IRXAhSr8cXFysCR0xkkUwaimuMjQc9eScXJGhtEW2W79N0HjqYZqG7zAXbTbN4L3j-XGsTYwuiNK4Uc/s200/ted5%5D5.jpg" width="158" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><br />
So here is my advice. Forget about the fact that the other administrative assistant is a waste of space. You and I aren’t going to eliminate nepotism, and we aren’t even going to fix this one case of it. If she’s been gumming up the works for this long, she’s not going to start working harder, and your management is not going to start pushing her harder. Sorry.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><br />
So let that go, and let’s focus on what’s most important: You. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><br />
You have a big bucket of work and no one is helping you. It’s time to go back to the well and ask for help again. Now I don’t know exactly what kind of work we are talking about here, but generally when there is too much work, you have a choice of in how to handle it. You can either kill yourself to do it all (I think you’ve been trying to do that), get more resources to help you (your manager tried that), or prioritize it and let some of it go.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><br />
So with that in mind, I suggest you first set some boundaries for yourself. You are obviously a conscientious person with a strong desire to do a good job and succeed in your work. Remember that you won’t be able to do that if you burn yourself out. Think about what is reasonable to expect of yourself, and determine what work is most important from your perspective. Come up with a proposal of how you might prioritize it based on that.</span></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG52WZcgILE6C6ETJsQ5YVFdrVGxeJJsMw-s_vrhcrva5kmiFpvhO8mM-NkHMd-mX1XCebVS33Hyc_87IZeNfSQVe_7jaQZVicdo1sscom-kj0W3GFQ16mDHBpOSXs1nskCzbI/s1600/ted2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG52WZcgILE6C6ETJsQ5YVFdrVGxeJJsMw-s_vrhcrva5kmiFpvhO8mM-NkHMd-mX1XCebVS33Hyc_87IZeNfSQVe_7jaQZVicdo1sscom-kj0W3GFQ16mDHBpOSXs1nskCzbI/s200/ted2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><br />
This doesn’t have to be the end of it. In other words, I’m not suggesting that you will just tell your manager, “sorry, but I’m only doing half of the work you’ve given me,” and expect it to be well-received. However, it’s a starting point for the conversation that will not only illustrate the problem in practical terms to your manager, but also demonstrate that you are taking some leadership in finding a solution. Your manager might not accept that any of the work is less important, but if you can rationally demonstrate that it cannot all be done by just you, and his prior solution is not working, it will elevate the importance of the problem.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><br />
Now, armed with that, you can approach the issue of getting yourself some better help. I know: I told you to let the goldbricking ways of your coworker go. Still the case. You still need to remove the emotion, the opinion, and the judgment from the situation as you present it. However you must still focus on the result. Don’t let that go. That’s the key.<br />
The important thing to remember is that your manager thinks that he solved your problem by pointing you in the direction of this well-positioned online shopper, but it didn’t work. He needs to know that he still owes you some support.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><br />
Now let’s put it all together. I see the conversation with your boss going something like this:<br />
<b>1. State the problem: </b><br />
<i>“I’m still having trouble getting through all of the work”</i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><i> </i><br />
<b>2. Illustrate the impact, taking ownership and showing you care: </b><br />
<i>“There are not enough hours in the day to get it all done so I’m concerned that the quality of my work will slip and I will not be able to deliver. I do not want to let the company down.”</i><br />
</span></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKSQKq_PAok-kma96tHf9wozulPo6ZUUd487xnp4q8wBtsrPzF21bcyfumLb4eocEuOVLdhKN2_JzxnPRsgHEJv7yhfmRt5debAD9EGI6pIbCA4XHI37-FDQoLf6qRnvz1_bdO/s1600/ted1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKSQKq_PAok-kma96tHf9wozulPo6ZUUd487xnp4q8wBtsrPzF21bcyfumLb4eocEuOVLdhKN2_JzxnPRsgHEJv7yhfmRt5debAD9EGI6pIbCA4XHI37-FDQoLf6qRnvz1_bdO/s200/ted1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><b>3. Address the past solution, being careful to state only facts and leave out your judgment and observations: </b><br />
<i>“I know you told me that I should share some of the work with Tiffany ( Ashley? Brittany? Am I close?), but that hasn’t been working out. She has told me that she doesn’t have time to help me because she is too busy.” </i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><i> </i><br />
<b>4. Propose a solution (within your own means):</b><br />
<i>“If we cannot get someone else to help, then I would like to restructure my work so I can focus on the top priorities. This will mean that X, Y, and Z will have to wait until we can get someone else to cover them.” </i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><i> </i><br />
<b>5. Ask if there is anything else that your manager can do within his means, but with a twist:</b><br />
<i>“If there are other resources available, I would still love to get help, but since these other people don’t work for me, it would be helpful if we could identify specific things they will be responsible for and the message could come from you (management) to them.”</i><br />
<br />
Notice that with this approach you aren’t making a judgment on <u>how</u> busy the other employee is or isn’t, but have only presented the fact that <u>she</u> told you that she is. Also, with the last point above, you are separating the owner’s daughter from the situation by talking about the help you get in terms of “other people”. Now your manager might read between the lines, depending upon how well known it is that this gal likes to loaf. That’s still ok because you have insulated yourself by approaching it tactfully and professionally.<br />
<br />
The other important thing here is that you are making it a point to <b>ask your boss to be more directive with the person who is helping you.</b> I think that’s been a big part of the problem all along. If the person helping you is not beholden to you in any way, then you must rely entirely on his or her work ethic and desire to help you. Obviously if you get the wrong person, that’s not going to fly. So above all else, I recommend you push on that point. <b>If your manager does not accept an option where all of the work doesn’t get done, you need to push to make sure he continues to help you get what you need without leaving it to you to sort out the additional resources. </b><br />
<br />
Remember that in order for your manager to succeed, <i>you</i> need to succeed. You need his help in making you successful. If you can help him to focus on how he can best help you, you should both be in a better position to get through this stressful time.<br />
<br />
I hope that helps.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;">~~ Don Draper</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><i>Don Draper is the Finishing School's resident manager, on-call for your sticky situations and management input on all topics. Write Don in care of bwfinishingschool@gmail.com</i></span></span><b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"> </span></b></span>Caroline Benderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05551500494780247131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13182789.post-73340893742901689122010-07-24T09:34:00.002-04:002010-07-25T10:00:18.411-04:0020 Questions for Academics<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD9NHe7T0S4j748hQ5SHpB5yh-2i9Ky8xPc1llb-SOL3ZmKfo-GKera8iDDfcbOo9UMB7_2tjGiI4xQb3l8QhRuZj_dbE-_q2WZYF4Z03aOnDwkkfgkQi4L991_eP5WzczTiEW/s1600/elbow1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD9NHe7T0S4j748hQ5SHpB5yh-2i9Ky8xPc1llb-SOL3ZmKfo-GKera8iDDfcbOo9UMB7_2tjGiI4xQb3l8QhRuZj_dbE-_q2WZYF4Z03aOnDwkkfgkQi4L991_eP5WzczTiEW/s200/elbow1.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>Since our <a href="http://businessfinishingschool.blogspot.com/2009/10/change-is-in-air.html">relaunch last fall</a>, the Finishing School has enjoyed broadening our student body beyond the gray fabric walls of the cubicle. Just when we think we know what we are experts on, you remind me that the workplace is not, in fact, universal. <br />
Some of our contributing faculty are, in real-life, faculty. Miss Bender sighs wistfully at them from across the staff room, wondering if she made a wrong turn at Albuquerque. (Waltham, it actually was).<br />
<br />
Listen in on the first of what we hope will be many “So You Want to Be A….” installments. As long as the market is down, why not shop around? (And make our Miss Bender feel less like she begged for private therapy?)<br />
<br />
Meet Cathie and Robin, colleagues at “a comprehensive regional university offering a rich, student-focused learning environment with an enrollment of approximately 4,300 undergraduate and more than 2,000 graduate students.” We cornered them and their chosen professions for <b>a round of 20 Questions</b>, then we made it look like they were together. That’s how we do in Virtual Academia – but we don’t lie to you about it.<br />
<br />
<b>CB: How long have you been in your current field?</b><br />
<b style="color: blue;">Cathie:</b> It depends on what you mean by my current field. <br />
<b style="color: purple;">Robin:</b> About 10 years as an English professor.<br />
<b style="color: blue;">Cathie:</b> I have been at my current employer for 13 years and then was in graduate school, preparing for my current field, for 5 years before that.<br />
<br />
<b>CB: Have you ever worked in the “traditional office” environment so familiar to Miss Bender – the corporate cubicle, 9-5, and all that comes with that?</b><br />
<b style="color: purple;">Robin:</b> Not really. Though I have had regular jobs since I was 15, never very cubicle-oriented.<br />
<b style="color: blue;">Cathie:</b> I worked as a software developer/manager for 5 years and then as a grant writer for 2 years.<br />
<br />
<b>CB: Anything you miss about it?</b><br />
<b style="color: blue;">Cathie:</b> Not really. I loved the problem-solving aspect of developing software and the feeling of accomplishment that I got when I finished some task. But that doesn't really have anything to do with a cubicle environment. I sometimes miss software development but I do some for myself now. But I don't always have projects in mind to work on and other responsibilities often get in the way of focusing on a software project.<br />
<br />
<b>CB: Are there aspects of that environment that would benefit Academe?</b><br />
<b style="background-color: #f3f3f3; color: blue;">Cathie:</b><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">The</span> sense of having to get things done on more than an individual level. In academia, we can be pretty slow to change things that need to be changed.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifaOY64oLo2_65ySrT_cty85ILbzalt3AvnINPCMaZh5hTUPXJ3jxmx7FglMuNrut0I1Czd_dMk96JooNXcwOQ_tpmizoS2Toyf13j67K5LwcIRzMVEVSdDwMOuZpKZhRreFQs/s1600/greener+grass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifaOY64oLo2_65ySrT_cty85ILbzalt3AvnINPCMaZh5hTUPXJ3jxmx7FglMuNrut0I1Czd_dMk96JooNXcwOQ_tpmizoS2Toyf13j67K5LwcIRzMVEVSdDwMOuZpKZhRreFQs/s320/greener+grass.jpg" /></a></div><b><span style="color: purple;">Robin:</span></b> I think it's good to appreciate and try different kinds of work, so you can be sure you end up doing something suitable to you.<br />
<br />
<b>CB: Most of our contributors work in those sorts of office cultures, and may think the grass is greener on the other side of your fence. Is it?</b><br />
<b style="color: purple;">Robin:</b> Well, yes.<br />
<b>CB: Ok, maybe I mean me.</b><br />
<b style="color: blue;">Cathie:</b> I love the flexibility of my side of the fence although I think I work harder mentally now than I ever did on the other side. And it's sometimes difficult to do things and not see immediate tangible results. That happens a lot with education, because students don't always see the benefit of what we do immediately. But it is very satisfying when they come back after graduation to talk about how important what we've taught them was.<br />
<br />
<b>CB: I have to admit I often draw on that from my own tour of academia – I remember that sometimes you don’t see the results for years. Sometimes you never do, but it doesn’t mean there weren’t results.</b><br />
<br />
<b>CB: I think there are certain aspects of the campus culture that The Suits never understand if they haven’t lived it. I remember that when I was in student affairs, I would tell stories about my students’ problems, or issues we were dealing with, like “cultural sensitivity” or administrative politics, and my corporate friends would answer with “you can’t just fire them?”</b><br />
<b style="color: blue;">Cathie:</b> I think outsiders (including the students) don't understand how much time we think about and talk about individual students, trying to figure them out, trying to figure out how to present information to them in a way that they can succeed, that will motivate them. I know a lot about my colleagues' students even when I don't personally know the students themselves because we talk about them all the time. So it's very surprising to me when I ask an advisee what the name of their math professor is and they don't know. We definitely think about them more than they think about us.<br />
<br />
<b style="color: purple;">Robin:</b> I think it's true that we have more time off than in other fields. But on the other hand, there is actually NO time off. Like zero. I have gone to weddings with bags of papers to grade. I have been on vacation with piles of books that I had to read (even if I detested them). I have spent most evenings at home working on student papers, and most summers madly catching up with my own scholarship. We have a lot of autonomy and a lot of flexibility, and yes, even a lot of free time. But in other ways, we never, ever enjoy the feeling of having nothing work-related to do.<br />
<br />
<b>CB: Did you have any idea how immersive it was going to be? What kind of fantasy about your profession did you have going in, that your reality has disproven?</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg4OB0-LccBUZGE9V94m8S2ealjwWpELoBMlPN8J6npEbF6TX6-jtXDSVmY1dGtXiUk2HbgZjIZlHgBBoKDytAZOdHor98RPr6W0RChIZShJ4tIsqav2o4NS-LPKgmf8sHkrrZ/s1600/algonquins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg4OB0-LccBUZGE9V94m8S2ealjwWpELoBMlPN8J6npEbF6TX6-jtXDSVmY1dGtXiUk2HbgZjIZlHgBBoKDytAZOdHor98RPr6W0RChIZShJ4tIsqav2o4NS-LPKgmf8sHkrrZ/s200/algonquins.jpg" width="200" /></a><strong>Robin:</strong> <span style="color: black;">That there would be time to sit around with other smart people and ruminate. Not much ruminating amongst the busy-work. Students and faculty alike are pretty maxed out at my university in terms of workload and time, so there isn't a lot of sherry-drinking, pipe-smoking, and pondering.</span><br />
<b style="color: blue;">Cathie:</b> [I thought] I would work less than when I was in software development or grant writing. That I would have summers "off".<br />
<br />
<b>CB: Do you ever think about leaving the field for “the big money”? What keeps you from doing it?</b><br />
<b style="color: purple;">Robin:</b> Sure I do. I can't do anything that qualifies me for big money. [Ha ha] Mainly, I love my job. <br />
<br />
<b>CB: I often say I should have learned a practical trade.</b><br />
<b style="color: blue;">Cathie:</b> I was making the "big money" as a software developer and it didn't make me happy. I make a decent living now--I don't need more money.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmP5wuYv7bh8HLXKMhwApDv52b8Ds9VG6f323WNiWAbdZJqv3B37qnALB225ZtClS9ted8QgiUEw1cISjEV4IvoQDNHExBAGzLKYrup5DKK7BDHcbjTF8P14qaNNoL-2teGNb0/s1600/SNL-Hot-Tub-Lovers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmP5wuYv7bh8HLXKMhwApDv52b8Ds9VG6f323WNiWAbdZJqv3B37qnALB225ZtClS9ted8QgiUEw1cISjEV4IvoQDNHExBAGzLKYrup5DKK7BDHcbjTF8P14qaNNoL-2teGNb0/s200/SNL-Hot-Tub-Lovers.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><b>CB: What does it mean to know you have a “job for life.”</b><br />
<b style="color: blue;">Cathie:</b> This is a difficult one for me because in every job that I've had, I never really thought I would lose it except through layoffs. We in the education field, even with tenure, are not immune to layoffs. The university could close completely or shut down my department and tenure would not help me keep my job. Even before I had tenure, I felt that I would not lose my job (even when I spoke my mind) unless something drastic happened.<br />
<b style="color: purple;">Robin: </b> I prefer to think that I only have my job as long as I am good at it. The other way of thinking is a slippery slope to hell.<br />
<br />
<b>CB: How do you keep it fresh and interesting?</b><br />
<b style="color: purple;">Robin:</b> Well, the students help with that, since they turn over every year, and they truly are unique from person to person and from generation to generation. Also, I like to stay current with scholarship, since all fields are constantly evolving. I think if you do this job well, you really wouldn't have the same year twice.<br />
<b style="color: purple;">Cathie:</b> My previous discipline, computer science, is constantly changing and so I was always doing something new, not always by choice. I have recently changed disciplines, to digital media studies, and so I'm still learning, still becoming acclimated to the new field.<br />
<br />
<b>CB: When you counsel students entering your field, what advice do you offer?</b><br />
<b style="color: blue;">Cathie:</b> Be passionate about being creative and hardworking. If you like to work hard and think hard about ideas, you could do well. But with the field as tight as it is these days, if you aren't self-motivated and diligent, you probably won't make it. Also, you really have to love teaching and sharing ideas. Really. Love. It. Teaching isn't what you do to support your scholarship; that kind of thinking would lead to misery. For most of us in the Humanities, teaching is what you do a lot of the time, and you have to want to be there, and think of it as an asset to your own scholarly development.<br />
<b style="color: purple;">Robin:</b> Communication and media studies (my new discipline) is valuable no matter what they decide to do when they graduate. So I suggest that they try to create a curriculum for themselves that will expose them to the things they think they are interested in. And I suggest they do an internship (at least one--some of them do several).<br />
<br />
<b>CB: The rest of the world is jealous of Sabbatical. Why do you think this hasn’t caught on in the rest of the work world?</b><br />
<b style="color: purple;">Robin:</b> Maybe they aren't as smart as us. But seriously, folks. ..<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmsQYH8Di9DGyW41LtdrAJzfSI3GDcPdxgQocu66JnddGmK2R6k2kfyGoZbl_hv1ZZiwV7wy5wZfvKq9xvzrmYkBfM6hNRz2mY_Vnspe8SZ4X8u9xVdk1Q0MpWjS8Fzml3iXoz/s1600/archimedes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmsQYH8Di9DGyW41LtdrAJzfSI3GDcPdxgQocu66JnddGmK2R6k2kfyGoZbl_hv1ZZiwV7wy5wZfvKq9xvzrmYkBfM6hNRz2mY_Vnspe8SZ4X8u9xVdk1Q0MpWjS8Fzml3iXoz/s320/archimedes.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><b style="color: blue;">Cathie:</b> Great question. <br />
<b style="color: purple;">Robin:</b> Sabbatical is something I always thought of as an enormous privilege-- maybe even an elitist privilege... But now that I have had one, I realize that it would be good for just about anyone in any field, and would probably yield greater productivity, retention, etc. for most employers. Could even be cost-effective in the long run. Someone should do a study. But not me. I am still on sabbatical.<br />
<b style="color: blue;">Cathie:</b> It is so valuable for rejuvenating people and helping them become more productive when they come back from sabbatical. I think, however, that most people think sabbatical means you don't do any work. That's not true. Instead, it is a time when, freed from the normal teaching and service duties, a person has time to work on some sustained project, usually scholarly in nature.<br />
<br />
<b>CB: Is that why it has survived in academia?</b><br />
<b style="color: blue;">Cathie:</b> Yes, because good work comes out of them.<br />
<b style="color: purple;">Robin:</b> Sabbaticals actually work-- they produce good scholarship, better teaching, prestige (and admissions) for the universities. But I wouldn't be surprised if they start abating as the economy declines and the right wing gets more snippy about the intellectual elitism (or intellectual growth) of the country. I know tenure is under fire now; I am sure sabbaticals will be on the firing line soon.<br />
<br />
<b>CB: Describe a good day on the job. I’ll close my eyes….</b><br />
<b style="color: purple;">Robin:</b> A balance of collegial discussion about pedagogy, teaching a class on a stimulating topic, working on my own research, and leaving with enough time left to spend social time with family and friends.<br />
<b style="color: blue;">Cathie:</b> A good day is when I have a class planned that I'm excited about and it works--the students understand and are excited about the material. A good day is when I have no committee meetings but can find some time to do a bit of scholarship, some task on whatever current project I'm working on.<br />
<br />
<b>CB: Now be fair – describe a bad day</b><br />
<b style="color: purple;">Robin:</b> Rushing. Being unprepared for class. No time to get to my own work. 50 student papers to grade by the next day. Rushing home for fast dinner, then grading all night while my daughter plays alone with her stuffed animals. Oh, and also, a student walks out of my Feminism class because he says I make him want to throw up. <br />
<b style="color: blue;">Cathie:</b> Classes don't go well for whatever reason. Many committee meetings on committees whose work is vague, unclear and unproductive. And I have lots of grading so I spend my free moments doing that rather than something I like.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUa_2Pz0MH1XepzkWYhWzyHcN35QO6ex-PtGq9apGatzBi94lgRWQiimI5gSXEEwLb7oB3MrfKDDL3Z21sfqIAmgl_51FYmtIL_J7KCZfNaKOydYt51ooBfuFNPTArVdNtORRa/s1600/groucho2ax0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUa_2Pz0MH1XepzkWYhWzyHcN35QO6ex-PtGq9apGatzBi94lgRWQiimI5gSXEEwLb7oB3MrfKDDL3Z21sfqIAmgl_51FYmtIL_J7KCZfNaKOydYt51ooBfuFNPTArVdNtORRa/s200/groucho2ax0.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><b>CB: When you imagine yourself in a completely different professional field, what do you think is most likely?</b><br />
<b style="color: blue;">Cathie:</b> I would be a star on Broadway. Just kidding. Software development again. I gotz skills.<br />
<b style="color: purple;">Robin:</b> Gynecologist.<br />
<br />
<b>CB: When do these kind of thoughts occur to you?</b><br />
<b style="color: purple;">Robin:</b> When I occasionally feel that my work is too abstract, I wish I were involved in a more grassroots career, that would have a clearer and more immediate impact on the quality of life for people who have been disenfranchised.<br />
<b style="color: blue;">Cathie:</b> They don't actually. I'm very happy in academia, even on the bad days.<br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>CB: Another question that is probably more about me…. Do your parents still send you clippings and classifieds, under the impression that you are “still looking?”</b><br />
<b style="color: blue;">Cathie:</b> No--they don't really understand what I do but they didn't when I was a software developer either.<br />
<b style="color: purple;">Robin:</b> No, they finally stopped. But they are fond of telling people that their daughter "is a doctor, but not a real one." Shoot. Is this why I just answered that I wish I were a real doctor? Ugh.<br />
<br />
<b>CB: Care to share a favorite fantasy about a personal win in your profession?</b><br />
<b style="color: blue;">Cathie:</b> Interesting question. I guess I have two. One is that there is an issue before the faculty that I feel strongly about. I stand up in a faculty meeting and, using my powers of persuasion, I convince the hostile crowd of the wisdom of my opinion. The second is that I write an academic book that captures popular attention. Appearances on Diane Rehm and Charlie Rose follow.<br />
<b style="color: purple;">Robin:</b> I have realized that more accolades lead to more responsibility which ironically leads to increased criticism. Also true: success --> failure.<br />
<br />
<b>CB: Is that the name of your still-to-be-written memoirs?</b><br />
<b style="color: purple;">Robin:</b> Memoirs. (Ha ha ha) And no, THAT is not the title.<br />
<b style="color: blue;">Cathie:</b> How do you know they are still-to-be-written?<br />
<br />
<b>CB: There were only 19 questions – does that bother you? </b><br />
<b style="color: purple;">Robin:</b> The fact that you are a liar is, I will admit, irksome.<br />
<b style="color: blue;">Cathie:</b> No, but only because you've asked this question which makes it 20.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL23eUt7xd1X8YOmlriJz7Xzrw7CPc-yO0N0V1vRWyGqJJRCsWh59nmSORKyUjJCzLwI_dn-HS18FF3aPqW4M0I7AGYOf2BLbYxdA41RI4nhsvKkRgB4V5h65YIWz7mBIVzo0U/s1600/Candr.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL23eUt7xd1X8YOmlriJz7Xzrw7CPc-yO0N0V1vRWyGqJJRCsWh59nmSORKyUjJCzLwI_dn-HS18FF3aPqW4M0I7AGYOf2BLbYxdA41RI4nhsvKkRgB4V5h65YIWz7mBIVzo0U/s320/Candr.png" width="320" /></a></div><b style="color: blue;"><br />
</b>Caroline Benderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05551500494780247131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13182789.post-30069573610694988702010-07-14T20:59:00.000-04:002010-07-14T20:59:12.698-04:00Another Satisfied Candidate<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV5XnLwmBs-QRws8MijJFqtqAZxPHBYmJUqlP7r8-zJldnFh2uwDI34dBg_S4tZs0XweU0U0m6PbqR3WAzvCzE1n6EZegRUhrzsG2qE7_cMbxa8HzG04P7C3UMDddTBnU7VQR3/s1600/helpwanted.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="183" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV5XnLwmBs-QRws8MijJFqtqAZxPHBYmJUqlP7r8-zJldnFh2uwDI34dBg_S4tZs0XweU0U0m6PbqR3WAzvCzE1n6EZegRUhrzsG2qE7_cMbxa8HzG04P7C3UMDddTBnU7VQR3/s200/helpwanted.png" width="200" /></a></div><i>Guest Lecturer Marie Hills reflects on 13 months on the unemployment rolls.</i><br />
<br />
I was laid off in May 2009 so I took advantage of having a summer off. In retrospect, if I knew how long it was going to take to find a job I would have started right away. After 3 months, I got started – nearly a year since the last time I had looked for work. <br />
<br />
I looked for organizations that were financially viable/healthy. Before I applied for a position, I researched the organization’s financials. I also sent out emails to friends and former colleagues to see if anyone had contacts at certain organizations. By using a contact name, I was able to personalize my cover letters. I felt like this search was more about <u>who</u> I knew vs. what I knew. Having an “in” was a key at having your resume looked at even if it didn’t lead to an interview. <br />
<br />
Some people recommended that I “dumb down” my resume. I’m extremely proud of the positions I’ve held and the things I’ve accomplished professionally. Dumbing down my resume felt like I was selling myself short – it was an injustice to my accomplishments.<br />
<br />
During my numerous phone interviews I heard two things: <br />
1) you’re a fundraiser; and <br />
2) I don’t think we can afford you.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuPUFjIkTWwIrGg__qcl8wO4e6f63Xvt37RhzI0D2qRM1ZVRg90AYQB0E-2MXI4_rARjkS5I6PUFcAKWc0f7KFZ4ecei11jKJONKLHj-h2qPVrTr0AdxOlWPZuT4Z5xcmnrQ3C/s1600/fish_jumps_out.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuPUFjIkTWwIrGg__qcl8wO4e6f63Xvt37RhzI0D2qRM1ZVRg90AYQB0E-2MXI4_rARjkS5I6PUFcAKWc0f7KFZ4ecei11jKJONKLHj-h2qPVrTr0AdxOlWPZuT4Z5xcmnrQ3C/s200/fish_jumps_out.jpg" width="118" /></a></div>I <u>did not</u> want to go back into fundraising. I did it for years and it took me awhile to get out of that area. There were numerous positions that I saw and liked, but the minute it mentioned fundraising it was added to the NO pile. The only way I would have gone back into fundraising is if my unemployment benefits ran out and I had no choice. <br />
<br />
I was willing to take a pay cut from my last job, but I refused to go below a certain level. Believe it or not, over the last 15+ years, I have taken 3 pay cuts to work at organizations that I wanted to work at. The last two pay cuts were worth it. We’ll see about this one. For me it’s all about where I am, not about how much I make.<br />
This job market requires “Reflexiablity.” There has to be a give and take relationship between job responsibilities and salary requirements.<br />
<br />
Of course, I had to make some concessions at home as well.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTYsXcETs6Hx2wDwFmOAKfVCCLwA1cjy4chs65o4MyYWINapn18C1gYoy4EDi26odET799LSNNmw34FrLN2AhX2eYtYmtHxuJN3U_VH23dh6hFSAr0H9wn92sxFGGdkkev9s8Q/s1600/library.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTYsXcETs6Hx2wDwFmOAKfVCCLwA1cjy4chs65o4MyYWINapn18C1gYoy4EDi26odET799LSNNmw34FrLN2AhX2eYtYmtHxuJN3U_VH23dh6hFSAr0H9wn92sxFGGdkkev9s8Q/s200/library.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>a) During the winter, I kept my heat down so the bill wouldn’t be too high. I wore a lot of layers to keep warm. <br />
b) I took advantage of my gym’s “hardship” membership. (Was able to get a reduced rate when I showed unemployment paperwork.) <br />
c) Purchased as many sale items at the grocery store as possible. <br />
d) Told my family not to get me holiday/birthday presents because I couldn’t afford to give a present in return. <br />
e) Only purchased clothing when needed. <br />
f) Limited the number of times I went out with friends and where we went.<br />
<br />
As summer came back around again, I was prepared to cut deeper – to cancel my gym membership when my “hardship” membership has expired. Using the AC only at night during the summer or only when necessary.<br />
<br />
Two things surprised me the most : <br />
1) the number of people applying for one position and <br />
2) that it took me as long as it did to find a job.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjESlCVcpK-ufw9gsTAQdN8N3ByRG4rAHWkYulwUFIa2WTWouwK89dvSYUAEejwPgvq-mxls8nWq3JVlKF7ef79rznvV9tqImw7jJBKUooxCQ2tvOSVUSZJE5cI__d0jqFNKLha/s1600/jobf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjESlCVcpK-ufw9gsTAQdN8N3ByRG4rAHWkYulwUFIa2WTWouwK89dvSYUAEejwPgvq-mxls8nWq3JVlKF7ef79rznvV9tqImw7jJBKUooxCQ2tvOSVUSZJE5cI__d0jqFNKLha/s320/jobf.jpg" /></a></div> I had a phone interview with one organization that told me I was 1 of 300+ applicants. The organization was speaking with 24 applicants via phone and then planned on bringing 5 or 6 people in for in-person interviews. Being 1 of 24 made me feel like I accomplished something even if I didn’t get an in-person interview.<br />
<br />
I even looked out-of-state, focusing my search on 4 geographic locations. I got a call for a phone interview from an organization in New York City. Oddly enough, the interviewer was a friend of a friend. The interviewer wanted me to meet with staff in the area office vs. a visit to NYC. The following week I received an email from HR saying," thank you for applying, but we decided to go in a different direction." I emailed the interviewer with this news and never heard back.<br />
<br />
Even if employers are overwhelmed with applicants, I think they should still get back to applicants that they have spoken with on the phone. (I did hear back via email from 2 phone interviews that they hired someone else. These are organizations that I will look at the next time I interview.) <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7XddoU67JL4tJ8-3UWHxprDW-pW2bbe8RKxroFApOZKEYHe9f78re-n87pXOeLE-Xz8xy1qaLrBCzNpwxqs3MvViOzxfzmucMjTwd4pohVHcQplLue0-rVgnTZK7Wq9UAnwnq/s1600/success.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7XddoU67JL4tJ8-3UWHxprDW-pW2bbe8RKxroFApOZKEYHe9f78re-n87pXOeLE-Xz8xy1qaLrBCzNpwxqs3MvViOzxfzmucMjTwd4pohVHcQplLue0-rVgnTZK7Wq9UAnwnq/s200/success.jpg" width="148" /></a></div><br />
After 10 months of searching I made it to one (One!) on-site interview. This was after several phone interviews – some of which <u>said</u> I would be contacted to schedule an in-person interview, but nothing ever happened. These places also ignored follow-up emails. <br />
<br />
Truthfully, I had no other choice but to keep going. I found a job because I feared I would become homeless. I know that sounds dramatic. I was able to survive on unemployment by watching how I spent my money, but I knew my benefits would eventually run out. I was smart enough to have several months of savings. I don’t own a home so I didn’t have to worry about foreclosure. If I had no benefits and ran through my savings, my options of where to go were very slim. My family lives out of state and doesn’t have the space for another full-time adult. I’m too proud to ask friends for help. (Trust me when I say, at this point, I would have gotten several part-time jobs to survive.)<br />
<br />
But in the end, I was able to re-connect with old friends through the found time and the drive to network. I also had the time to evaluate what I wanted in life. I wasn't even planning on applying for this job until a friend mentioned it. I think people need to listen to friends and take advantage of their intuition. It paid off for me.Caroline Benderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05551500494780247131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13182789.post-13301930482126349752010-07-11T11:44:00.001-04:002010-09-04T17:41:45.851-04:00From the Deans' Office<i>(2 deans; 1 office. Know your apostrophe rules…)</i> <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo9eQzR1TY3QIhPW8w7X3F2_5g4K_MagALHJjNgoSaetHqZwi2MgvdW7Ri3HJxp_EzzGTrztAmSCWNJ8hEJzj6eJyWVzHvRJ8iSL5OVUe7KF15nQrcJQU__Hh6eqW5N44dOpXr/s1600/empty-library.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo9eQzR1TY3QIhPW8w7X3F2_5g4K_MagALHJjNgoSaetHqZwi2MgvdW7Ri3HJxp_EzzGTrztAmSCWNJ8hEJzj6eJyWVzHvRJ8iSL5OVUe7KF15nQrcJQU__Hh6eqW5N44dOpXr/s200/empty-library.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Greetings to our loyal student body. This is Caroline Bender, your Dean of Admissions, providing an apologetic update for our absence. Academics do tend to break for the summer, but we might have told you we were going to. <br />
<br />
<br />
We might have been more transparent about what is going on here on campus, to assure you we haven’t left forever.<br />
<br />
You recall that Miss Bender joined the ranks of the Unemployed in October of last year, and this provided a lot of time and content material to give to you. What it didn’t provide is payroll, so she took the first <a href="http://businessfinishingschool.blogspot.com/2010/03/working-nwetwork-works.html">opportunity offered</a> and returned to the cubicle. <br />
<br />
This has also provided a lot of material, but it takes me time to think through these things before they become public topics; and time, while plentiful, is not generous. This commute calls for a little dictation software and an iPhone. <br />
<br />
Meanwhile, Miss Minchin was fighting her own <a href="http://businessfinishingschool.blogspot.com/2010/02/survivors-guilt-watching-layoffs-unfold.html">Battle of Fallujah</a> and working on an escape clause, even if she didn't realize it at the time. Just a few weeks ago, our Dean of Students began a new role, summer began, and we have been giving the curriculum a break.<br />
<br />
We expected you were too -- with kids at home, summer holidays, vacation spending, home projects, perhaps still job hunting....<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1iLRjFQtC_7uy9CjuCZhBgqkO9LTf_Qmonv6g3OPZFzRbbMoPPpy1LKoPKXcv9GzQTkaYJ003Ame3t2pyHpTFUFj-AeAydck012tdf_oN3UNrbU0_A-mgMFj8q4N-vxpK_o6A/s1600/alec-baldwin-glengarry-glen-ross.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1iLRjFQtC_7uy9CjuCZhBgqkO9LTf_Qmonv6g3OPZFzRbbMoPPpy1LKoPKXcv9GzQTkaYJ003Ame3t2pyHpTFUFj-AeAydck012tdf_oN3UNrbU0_A-mgMFj8q4N-vxpK_o6A/s200/alec-baldwin-glengarry-glen-ross.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Our congratulations to both Ian and Pilar, who completed their unemployment stint at last, and to the government for their continued extensions. We want you to understand it is very tough out there -- still. The "job creation numbers" you have been hearing about were a quarter of a million census jobs that have now ended. Those jobs no longer exist and that workforce is out of work again. Scattershot layoffs are still occuring in our workplaces, particularly in sales teams where numbers are everything and if you do not make the cut, you walk off the field.<br />
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Then comes the adjustment period -- the "feeling new." I've been wanting to write about this since March, and now Minchin is in the same boat. As you might expect, it is difficult for a couple of schoolmarms such as we are to both make the adjustment and reflect on it, much less sound wise while doing it. So bear with us. In the meantime, of course, YOUR wisdom is always welcome. When was the last time you were new at anything on the job? Was it ever the role, the company, and the industry all at the same time? <br />
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It's a wonder I get out of bed at all, but if I don't there is <a href="http://drawingin.blogspot.com/2010/03/you-caahnt-get-there-from-here.html">all kinds of traffic</a> to sit in. And it made me understand what you mean by feeling there is no space for writing the blog-length essay on the things so much on your mind.<br />
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Our readers' survey was clear on the kinds of things you would like to read more about, and it is NEW ideas. NEW approaches to the problems we know so well, and that means much more creative thinking from our entire community. Now we are in the full stretch of summer and I have a few hours today to put out some personal calls for content. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvlOUa778bTrzB7YuCnl2_-6hxdYAvoVW2elc5TDurytRcAOwvfvmHqPNP_25Nr63Oz4vbr5lY1fqt7esP7avgg3RzW-9MxUFH0H8zHjEw12Ljvh5di7JWPWSIdh-MdbpuyaYr/s1600/CAPDRXM1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="158" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvlOUa778bTrzB7YuCnl2_-6hxdYAvoVW2elc5TDurytRcAOwvfvmHqPNP_25Nr63Oz4vbr5lY1fqt7esP7avgg3RzW-9MxUFH0H8zHjEw12Ljvh5di7JWPWSIdh-MdbpuyaYr/s200/CAPDRXM1.png" width="200" /></a></div>As we search for the New, we are also taking a new approach to requesting your content. We have had much success with our 20 questions approach -- where I provide a questionnaire as a form of interview and you feel more like you are emailing than writing. So I encourage you, when you receive your personalized questionnaire during your regular FB/email time, that you give a holla back. I'll do all the rest.<br />
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If you are a traditionalist essay-writer and would like to drive your own content.... well, then where the heck have you been? We need you. Please also post your local networking events on our Facebook page for the benefit of others.<br />
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Thanks for staying with us. With your help, we can get the fall semester started.<br />
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related posts from our contributors<br />
<a href="http://businessfinishingschool.blogspot.com/2010/02/commuting-good-bad-and-ugly.html">Commuting: Good, Bad..Ugly</a><br />
<a href="http://businessfinishingschool.blogspot.com/2009/12/creative-uses-for-commuting-time.html">Creative Commuting</a><br />
<a href="http://businessfinishingschool.blogspot.com/2010/02/job-hunt-story.html">Ian's Job Hunt Story</a>Caroline Benderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05551500494780247131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13182789.post-82007911007357012152010-06-03T09:26:00.000-04:002010-06-03T09:26:26.626-04:00You’re Just Not That Into Me (the introvert’s guide to attending a conference)<i>Guest Blogger, Lisa Petrilli, </i><a href="http://www.lisapetrilli.com/">C-Level Strategies & Awakenings</a><br />
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<i>The faculty and staff of BWFS&SC welcome to the blogosphere Lisa Petrilli and her site, newly launched and already generating volumes of commentary and an envious amount of Twitter Traffic. Lisa kindly gave permission to reprint the article below. See <a href="http://www.lisapetrilli.com/2010/05/16/youre-just-not-that-into-me-the-introverts-guide-to-attending-a-conference/">its original form and the comments it generated here</a>.</i><br />
<i>We are adding </i>C-Level Strategies<i> to our blogroll, and look forward to a shared student body.</i><br />
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<i> </i><a href="http://twitter.com/mackcollier" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outbound/article/twitter.com');">Mack Collier</a> wrote an exceptional post last week called,<a href="http://mackcollier.com/the-introverts-guide-to-speaking/" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outbound/article/mackcollier.com');"> “The Introvert’s Guide to Speaking.” </a>As both a speaker and an introvert myself, I found the post very relatable and was touched by Mack’s raw candor in regard to his speaking fears.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR3VWS58GNNIsS3VgO-c0nH5Dnu79k4HwXXF4ewIXYN6wc6FQqY70Ebh78HX2bvsZPHh_lJ_p1cxiC0WlzsHyR5ScHihGbMhOJTlaL1JgDM71LsWpUDfi1s0fJa9lk-G0RJjfR/s1600/hello+my+name+is.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR3VWS58GNNIsS3VgO-c0nH5Dnu79k4HwXXF4ewIXYN6wc6FQqY70Ebh78HX2bvsZPHh_lJ_p1cxiC0WlzsHyR5ScHihGbMhOJTlaL1JgDM71LsWpUDfi1s0fJa9lk-G0RJjfR/s200/hello+my+name+is.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />
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<strong>There is another fear that most introverts (and many extroverts) have when attending a conference or networking event that I’d like to address; the fear that no one will want to talk to us. </strong> You know what I’m talking about, right?<br />
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<strong>To be honest, I used to avoid networking events</strong> if I was not absolutely sure that someone I knew would be there – someone for me to “hang out with.” This was a real detriment to my career as it drastically limited my exposure to executives outside of my little “bubble,” and prevented me from making wonderful new business connections.<br />
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<strong>Here’s what I dreaded:</strong> the moment when you walk into a room and you search the faces of people who are there, looking for someone who seems interested and willing to talk with you. And what I always got back (<strong>in reality,</strong> <strong><em>what I thought</em> I was getting back</strong>) was the professional version of <strong>“I’m just not that into you…”</strong><br />
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It played in my head as, “these execs don’t think I’m at a high enough level to be interesting,” “they are not interested in my connections,” “they don’t see any value in getting to know me…”<br />
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<strong>All of this changed for me the day I was hired by <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewswhitman" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outbound/article/www.linkedin.com');">Andy Whitman </a>to work with <a href="http://www.mengonline.com/visitors" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outbound/article/www.mengonline.com');">MENG</a>, the Marketing Executives Networking Group.</strong> When you’re consulting for a company with the word “networking” in its name you’d better know a thing or two about it! Working with Andy was a tremendous blessing because he is an extraordinary networker and I was able to watch and learn from the best.<br />
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<strong>What did I learn from Andy Whitman that all introverts should know?</strong><br />
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<strong>1.</strong> <strong> Virtually everyone</strong> – executives, assistants, musicians, introverts, extroverts, you name it -<strong> is uncomfortable to various degrees</strong> at networking events and conferences because it forces us as humans to go outside our comfort zone. <strong> Thus, I was not alone.</strong><br />
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<strong>2.</strong> <strong>Many people have a hard time being the one to extend themselves</strong> and have that same “they’re just not into me” tape playing in their head.<br />
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<strong>3.</strong> <strong>If I extended myself</strong> – made the first effort to extend my hand, introduce myself and offer a very genuine smile, <strong>90% of the time I was actually helping the other person out immeasurably!</strong> <strong>I was putting others at ease.</strong><br />
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<strong>4.</strong> When I learned to enthusiastically make that first, warm, genuine introduction of myself, what I received back was invariably a warm, genuine “it’s so nice to meet you” in response! <strong>It was like magic I had never known about…no one had actually been sending me an “I’m not into you” signal – <em>it was all in my head</em>!</strong><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmERLnc15-ByaWh0TPr-GER3z6MEpFJRrCoj7eAU56sW7wHCmYz2DhrfujH1Twk2cHy3BhYWuSyfDU6-nVarkOvEDV7dtXx61ORQai33zRonNDM7RA7JOEm-Hwf25vza1Ns6j_/s1600/professional_wallflower_tshirt-p235481274195094726tmn7_210.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmERLnc15-ByaWh0TPr-GER3z6MEpFJRrCoj7eAU56sW7wHCmYz2DhrfujH1Twk2cHy3BhYWuSyfDU6-nVarkOvEDV7dtXx61ORQai33zRonNDM7RA7JOEm-Hwf25vza1Ns6j_/s320/professional_wallflower_tshirt-p235481274195094726tmn7_210.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<strong>A few weeks ago I had the great fortune of attending <a href="http://www.sobevent.com/" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outbound/article/www.sobevent.com');">SOBCon</a> 2010</strong> – a small conference made up of some of the greatest minds in social media, many well-known social media “celebs” included. I was admittedly quite nervous about attending but I extended myself on every occasion possible and you know what? <strong> I discovered that many of the social media ”celebs” are actually quite shy themselves!</strong><br />
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<strong>Instead of just assuming that <em>“they weren’t into me”</em> because I wasn’t a celeb, I introduced myself and received back such warm and often enthusiastic responses, that it was clear they appreciated my effort. </strong><br />
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<strong>So, my dear introverted friends, the next time you are invited to a networking event or you go to a conference:</strong><br />
<strong>1.</strong> <strong>Go </strong>- don’t back down and make an excuse not to go, you’ll miss out on the opportunity to meet <strong><em>amazing people who could become great collaborators or even friends.</em></strong> <strong>Take advantage of all the networking opportunities that the event or conference offers you.</strong><br />
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<strong>2.</strong> <strong>Walk in the room with a genuine, warm smile.</strong><br />
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<strong>3.</strong> <strong>Extend your hand, smile, and say</strong> “Hi, I don’t think we’ve met, I’m so and so, it’s so nice to meet you” <em><strong>and see what unfolds for you!</strong></em><br />
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Wishing you exciting new experiences! <strong>Please share your thoughts and experiences in the comments </strong>- <em>I’d love to know if any of you have had similar experiences and how you’ve handled them!</em>Caroline Benderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05551500494780247131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13182789.post-47144922974441743322010-05-18T21:59:00.001-04:002010-05-18T22:01:22.016-04:00Reader Feedback Survey<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxFUhn0ez6j4hyphenhyphenGehZsxgRLYTLpgRF56-jEoZYIvu4piP9hj6sjzWTEkp8Ro52i6sOhLaK6eh5eRkcHriu6QS6Kdy5u8-EG7wp8Oa2-4JA0GTE8Ii8f-dD1QN9iZZECsteWf74/s1600/Woman%2520with%2520Clipboard%2520(Services%2520Page).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxFUhn0ez6j4hyphenhyphenGehZsxgRLYTLpgRF56-jEoZYIvu4piP9hj6sjzWTEkp8Ro52i6sOhLaK6eh5eRkcHriu6QS6Kdy5u8-EG7wp8Oa2-4JA0GTE8Ii8f-dD1QN9iZZECsteWf74/s200/Woman%2520with%2520Clipboard%2520(Services%2520Page).jpg" width="137" wt="true" /></a></div>or... where we've been.<br />
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Many thanks for completing our survey -- as we hoped, we learned a lot.<br />
We saw a nice participation from our Facebook page, and this was also as we had hoped. We claim 128 fans right now (in the new FB parlance, people who <em>like</em> us) but because you are not very active on the page itself, Facebook's metrics are not offering us much, except how much they would like us to advertise to you. 50% of you had been directed to the Finishing School by either Minchin or Bender, but we do not know you all, and we find that exciting and encouraging. It means that our original readers and contributors have spread the word and they told two friends.... <br />
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40% of those who answered our survey are Facebook fans, some of whom may also fall into the 40% who have contributed to the Finishing School. Now you we know. Or sort of know, as we have new-found co-blog-eration since our summer relaunch.<br />
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Enthusiastic Hello to the reader who found us through an Internet search AND stuck around to take our survey. You humble us, friend, and we hope you contribute soon.<br />
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When we asked what you would like to see more of, as a group (did you meet without us?) you asked for 2 items above all else:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><strong>You want to see more humor, and you are looking for new ideas from this space.</strong></div><div style="text-align: left;">We found this so intimidating, we declared Finishing School Summer Hours and went into hiding.</div><br />
We do try to amuse. We understand there is enough dreary in the workplace, and we are glad to give you a break from that. New Ideas?? We love 'em. We hope you have some, too.<br />
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Here's one that came over the transom today:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTJxRJwvcGzogipZWXHO2EhmJBnidcsuDf-omwsK3KP6yf0agcn0N2_Oy8mi99YfNGNvBlW0VJHQjzbdzG1qgl6h9AGOPte-dBTV-6hsZU-zwntF_MgQPpU2qqo4ykHSwlwP2E/s1600/tim_clock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTJxRJwvcGzogipZWXHO2EhmJBnidcsuDf-omwsK3KP6yf0agcn0N2_Oy8mi99YfNGNvBlW0VJHQjzbdzG1qgl6h9AGOPte-dBTV-6hsZU-zwntF_MgQPpU2qqo4ykHSwlwP2E/s320/tim_clock.jpg" wt="true" /></a></div>The Time Is Money meeting calculator by <a href="http://www.bringtim.com/">Bring TIM.com</a>. <br />
"Simply enter the number of people in the room, ballpark an average hourly wage, and press the illuminated start button. Everyone will be amazed as the dollars pile up with every second that ticks by. Bring TIM!® is the ultimate conversation piece and gift idea for anyone that attends long business meetings. Doubles as an office clock. Money back guarantee if you are not delighted! "<br />
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your turn.Caroline Benderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05551500494780247131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13182789.post-71109906732768911072010-04-24T20:21:00.002-04:002010-04-24T20:23:48.838-04:00The Readers Speak<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgV4GH9y6AvBD-lWhKJ4zUdlOz__480uYlDU4PcRgMF-15zsxpyxL_8d_5W4fE7YqRADaChiaQgAvr-3xC6Ba41WLlP2KCGxxA6Cob3XcplMuHG0Ovj6LIthhWyO8tCD8v02eg/s1600-h/blue%20exam%20book%20+%20crayon_0278%5B2%5D.jpg" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="blue%20exam%20book%20 %20crayon_0278" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8sgOqlwMP3qp0GVq3E9_iO9pF1KE6oGoGD7iHFZOZ_63HtkX6wPYveaBmO2E2KW1z8hu3deTFbDXGjI_MXaw2k8bxwtE_rI_ShBUNk8xu9ybUnuJFuMdWKA0x_A8cWkHeRQ7T/?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline;" title="blue%20exam%20book%20 %20crayon_0278" width="180" /></a>Greetings from the Deans' Offices - <br />
Thanks for your continued support and subscription. Over the past 6 months, we have made significant changes to the website -- from its format and content, to its contributing writers and regular features. <br />
The more we learn about you, our readers, the better we can provide the kind of material you are looking for. Please take a few moments to complete our Reader's Survey at the link below. Your feedback is very important to us. <br />
Many thanks, <br />
Caroline Bender & Miss Minchin <br />
<a href="http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/5DHMLYS">http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/5DHMLYS</a>Caroline Benderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05551500494780247131noreply@blogger.com