Category Archives: Promotions

What do you do while you wait to hear if you are hired?

Posted on December 5, 2012 | Leave a comment

Here in the USA we wait in lines.  We get upset when someone cuts in front.  So we wait back until it is our turn.  We don’t want to be greedy.

Tim was competing with 3 others for a promotion at EDS.  He was prepared.  He was a good choice.  He told his boss, “I do want this promotion.  It is the next step I need to take in my career.  But I don’t want you to choose me for the job if the other guys should have it.  I know it is important to them too.  I don’t want you to feel any pressure to give it to me even though I want it.”  Tim did NOT get the promotion.

Tim also waited a full year to get half of the bonus he was promised for putting in a lot of overtime on a project.  During that year he reminded his boss twice of the bonus.  Then Tim waited patiently with a smile.  Tim was a nice guy.  He was getting beaten up because he was afraid that hustling was uncouth.  Tim was politely waiting in line.

Good things come to those who wait.  But only what is left behind by those who hustle.  (Abraham Lincoln)

Let’s compare that to me.  Same area at EDS, different job.  I wanted to move to a special technical team.  There were 4 openings.  I asked my team leader and manager to help me get in.  I reminded them every few days.  I visited the manager who was leading the new group every other day.  I brought a word of cheer or another accomplishment.  He had no doubt how much I wanted the job. He got an email after every contact.  I got the job with 3 years of experience.  The other technicians were 5 to 20 years my senior.  They were well known and earned twice what I did.  I was nobody in comparison.  And I know I beat out a whole bunch of other folks who had way better credentials than me.

I waited, but I hustled while I waited. I made sure my references were checked.  I offered more proof of my accomplishments.  I never let the manager forget I wanted that job.  Towards the end he would see me in his doorway and grin, “Bryan, I haven’t made that decision yet, but I’m going to.  Don’t worry.  I know you want the job.”  But I kept coming for 3 weeks anyway.  I wanted the job more than I wanted to be polite.  I was willing to out work any of the more senior guys he could hire.  This was my only way to prove it.

There were a lot of very surprised people when I got the job.  They were obviously better than me.  But I hustled.  I made it a big deal.  I got the job.  Unfortunately there was nothing left for the others waiting in line.

Something to do today

If you are job hunting or looking for a promotion, hustle.  The job seeker who offers contagious enthusiasm often gets hired over the guy with experience.  For the job that is a quantum leap forward in your career, refuse to wait in line.  Hustle.

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Later:              The 5 pound call girl

Where to fish

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Posted in Attitude, Focus, Perseverance, Promotions, References

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The quickest, surest way to become a superstar

Posted on November 30, 2012 | Leave a comment

An ex-NFL football player told me how he got to the big league.  He chose a player he wanted to be just like.  Then he learned to hold his hands just like him.  He placed his feet just like his hero.  He ran like his hero.  He exercised like his hero.  He did everything he could to play football just like his hero.  He started in 9th grade football and continued through college.  He made it into the NFL.

When I met him in Denver, he was a couple of years into a new career selling real estate.  He was doing the same thing.  He picked one of the best real estate salesmen in Denver and was doing exactly what the new hero did.  Once again he was becoming a superstar.

There’s a hint there.  Find someone who is successful at what you want to do.  Become like them.  If they do something, you do it.

One more thing.  Watch very carefully what your hero does NOT do.  What does he avoid?  What does he refuse to do?  Too many people try to become a success doing the things that a successful person refuses to do.

If you want to be a millionaire, I suggest you read one or two books by Thomas Stanley.  The Millionaire Next Door is a bunch of stories about how millionaires became millionaires.  The Millionaire Mind has some stories, but also takes a statistical approach.  It tells what first generation millionaires do, as a group, to get their money.

Better yet, find a millionaire to personally learn from.

Do you want to be a Partner, CEO, CFO, CIO, or Project Manager?  Find the best example you can, and do everything the way they do.  Invite them to lunch. Ask them what they would do in your shoes.  Become just like them at work.

Hero, mentor, example.  Find one so you can become one.

Something to do today

Find your mentor and example.  Learn to work just like they do.

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Later:              But this isn’t an interview

Whistle while you work

Hustle while you wait

The $5 call girl

Where to fish

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Posted in Promotions, Raises, talent, Time management, Training

A bad and a good way to keep from getting promoted

Posted on November 20, 2012 | Leave a comment

Up or out.  That’s the Army way.  That’s the GE way.  That’s the CPA Big-4 way. Get passed up for a few promotions and you are pushed out.

So how do you get respect and a chance to keep a job that people usually get promoted out of?

The wrong way to keep from getting promoted

Keep dice in your drawer.  Whenever your boss asks for a decision, roll the dice.  Open up a Dungeons and Dragons Dungeon Master Guide and run your finger down a chart.  Then give your answer, the correct answer, not the one from the book.  That will keep you from getting promoted.  Of course you may lose credibility with your boss, but not all plans are perfect.

The comment about the dice is a joke.  Don’t do it.

The right way to keep from getting promoted and yet be too valuable to be pushed out

You can keep from getting pushed out if you don’t want a promotion.  First of all, let your boss know you love your job and don’t want a promotion.

Next, to keep from being the ball of hair and grease in your company’s sink trap, help others.  You should become the company’s greatest mentor. You can be a mentor as a technician, manager, HR specialist or assembly line worker. Just help others with their careers.

Keep an eye out for complainers and whiners.  Avoid them.  There is usually very little you can do for them.  Look for people who sincerely want to advance.  Find the diamonds in the rough.  These are people who put in extra work, take night classes and are always helping others.  Find the one or two shining examples in the workforce and help them advance.

Often the biggest thing you can do is to recommend one of your diamonds for a project.  Then help them to see the critical path for the project and follow it.  Give them encouragement along the way.   Make sure they know where the levers of power are.  They need to know who really makes things happen in the company.

As a person who doesn’t want a promotion, you need to help the people blocked by your permanence.  Help them move up beside you or to hop over you.  If you get a reputation for developing leaders, you will never be laid off.  Good companies covet good leaders.

Something to do today

You should be developing leaders whether you want to stay where you are or not.  In your job journal write down the names of the top one or two candidates for promotion in your group.  Help them out.  Be a mentor even if you aren’t above them.

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Later:              Row away

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Posted in Promotions

How to get promoted past that roadblock

Posted on November 19, 2012 | Leave a comment

It isn’t the incompetent who destroy an organization.  It is those who have achieved something and want to rest upon their achievements who are forever clogging things up. (Charles Sorenson)

You have to kill your boss, or the senior technician to get a promotion.  They have the job you want and are not leaving.  They don’t want a promotion.  They are fat and happy.  They are like a big wad of hair and grease in the sink trap.  They clog up the career track for everyone else.  So, where is the Drano?  How do you get them out of your way?

First be sure they are the biggest problem.  It is embarrassing when you have complained for 5 years about your boss being in your way, only to have him leave and a coworker is promoted in his place.

You need to have a list of standout accomplishments that prove you are perfect for the job you want.  That way you can get the job in your current company OR the next one.

Become the obvious candidate.  Ask your boss to help you get promoted.  Also ask HR (Human Resources) and your boss’s boss.  Find someone who will champion your cause and be your mentor.  A mentor helps you prepare to advance and gives you visibility outside your team.  Your mentor will help you to find high visibility assignments where you can prove your worth.

In a job journal write a weekly list of your accomplishments and projects.  Use that list in your annual reviews.  Also submit a weekly, monthly and quarterly list of accomplishments to your boss.  Make sure he knows how much you contribute.

You can also look for a new job.  If you have a list of undeniable accomplishments you will be a good hire for another company.

The same things that prepare you for a promotion in your company will make you a better job candidate.

Something to do today

Write down your career goals.  It doesn’t matter if they change tomorrow.  Know where you want to go today.

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Later:              Clogging things up yourself

Row away

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Posted in Accomplishments, Promotions

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Office politics – train your eyes

Posted on November 2, 2012 | Leave a comment

Seeing office politics is not easy.  Seeing the final disastrous result of office politics is easy.  You can train yourself to see invisible office politics before they kill you.  Let me give you an example of being trained to see what is already there.

Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought. (Albert von Szent-Gyorgi)

I took my Boy Scouts out into the woods.  We went to look for animal signs.  The boys couldn’t see a thing.  Nothing.  Then one spotted a bird.  They all saw it.  Another heard a woodpecker.  Suddenly they could all hear it and they also noticed the trees with woodpecker holes in them.  I pointed out a rabbit run.  The leaves were broken up into littler pieces than the surrounding leaves and there was also a tunnel under some bushes.  They started seeing rabbit runs.  We walked down the road and I saw some deer tracks.  They looked and found the path that the deer were using.  It was just like a rabbit run, only bigger.  As their eyes were trained, they saw more and more.  Once they concentrated on looking for things out of the ordinary, they got good at spotting animal signs.

Training yourself to see office politics is difficult.  Often you see the person who gets what they want, and not the people who enable it.  Look at the interactions where you are.  Who really makes decisions?

Choosing a guide is a great idea.  Don’t choose the loudest person.  Choose the most effective person.  Who seems to get what they want?  Invite them to lunch or just find a moment to be alone with them. Ask how they do it.  Sincere interest is a form of flattery that is almost impossible to resist.  You will quickly find out what you need.

Warning! As you are finding out who the gatekeepers and roadblocks are, learn to keep your mouth shut.  Getting experts to trust you with their secrets depends on your keeping their confidence safe.  Ask questions.  Don’t spill the dirt.  Funny thing about gossip, effective people shun it.  They like helping people understand how a department really works, but they shut down and hurt gossips.

You can have a training program you don’t have to pay for.  If you are worthy of their trust, the people who know will train you.  They will want you for an ally.

Something to do today

Take a few days and become an observer.  Ask questions.  Find out the lay of the land.  Who are the people who benefit from the power brokers?  Who really are the power brokers?

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Later:              Job ad red herring

Resume red herring

Interview red herring

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Posted in management, Networking, Promotions

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How to get a raise in 3 months

Posted on October 8, 2012 | Leave a comment

I was working in the oilfield for a year and a half and was laid off.  I talked with a co-worker who was also laid off.  He started the same time I did and was earning over twice as much.  I was flabbergasted.  I was better educated and had worked just as hard.  He confided his secret, “Every time I saw my supervisor I asked when I was going to get my next raise.”  We only saw our supervisor every month or three.  He got the raises.  I didn’t.

I didn’t learn.

Ask not what you can do for your country.  Ask what’s for lunch.  (Orson Welles)

 

My next job at EDS they told us that we weren’t allowed to share salary information with others.  I was intimidated. Luckily they did give me some nice raises.  After a few years those raises slowed down.  I waited for my annual reviews and hoped for a raise.  Once I got ready to quit.  The boss found out and gave me a raise.  Hmmm.  I still didn’t learn.

I am now paid based on how well AGI does.  My wife owns the company.  If I were going back to an hourly or salaried job, I’d talk to my boss about a raise every 3 months.

Every 3 months is often enough that you can set goals and meet them between reminders.  It is often enough to get some more education and finish some more projects. You have time to turn in 13 good weekly reports to your boss, even if he doesn’t ask for them.

I would NOT be upset about NOT getting a raise.  I would expect to get a better raise than if I kept quiet.  Think about it.  If I discuss my job performance and a raise every 3 months with my boss, I will be much more likely to focus on what will get me a raise.  Also, at the end of the year my boss really knows how much I deserve.

Something to do today

Want a raise?  A promotion?  Time to start reviewing your desires with your boss often.  More often.

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Later:              Negotiating a salary at a new job

A crippled ace

An ace who learned

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Posted in Promotions, Raises

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2 things that create career luck

Posted on October 5, 2012 | Leave a comment

IQ experts say that Thomas Jefferson was the smartest man ever born.  I don’t doubt he was brilliant.  He harnessed his brilliance to the ox of hard work.  Without his hard work, that incredible brain would have been wasted.

I am sure there have been many others born who were smarter than Jefferson, no matter what the experts say.  Those who were smarter were never recognized because they either worked in obscurity or didn’t work much at all.  They used their brilliance to just get by.

So, two things:

  1. You have to work hard
  2. You have to be recognized

Make sense?

I constantly talk to job seekers who have managed to get themselves into a great position.  They work hard, have a great attitude and are willing to take chances.  Interestingly, they commit with all their heart even though they may change jobs or positions frequently.  They commit, work hard and make sure their accomplishments are recognized.

These superstars often hit bumps in the road.  I know one that went from COO, to $24,000 per year junior associate, then back up to senior associate at $70,000 per year in 24 months.  A year later he was CTO.  He makes commitments, works hard and gets recognized.

Something to do today

It is time to look at your habits.  Are you performing at the level you want to be recognized at?  In other words:  work hard and get recognized.

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Next:     Ask and you shall receive

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Posted in Accomplishments, Attitude, Focus, Perseverance, Promotions, talent, Time management

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6 things about your job search and job security that you can learn from India

Posted on September 28, 2012 | Leave a comment

People doing business in India have told me how difficult business there can be.  Basic utilities like electricity and water are very unreliable.  The legal system is subject to corruption.  Government regulation depends on your relationship with the bureaucrats, not the rules.  Business partners don’t want to offend you or lose face, so they agree to do things they can’t get done.  Bringing you bad news is avoided at all cost.  Labor costs are low, but people will switch jobs for the slightest increase in pay.  And it goes on and on depending on the city, industry, neighborhood, and your ancestors.

Indian businessmen do incredibly well in the US because they have practice overcoming complex problems. You can learn how to prosper in your job search and job by applying the few basic principles they live by.

These job security, success, and business principles are applicable to accountants, help desk techs, managers, and CEO’s. They especially matter if you are in a job search.  They will give you an incredible advantage in every company you apply at.

  1. Trust others but make sure they are actually accomplishing what they say they will do.  Even experienced partners occasionally screw up.  Have an alternative plan in case things don’t get done on time. Get commitments from recruiters, managers, friends, and anyone you talk to.  Follow up.
  2. Don’t rely on your relationship with one person, like the HR department.  Establish relationships 3 or 4 people deep.  If one leaves or fails, you need the others to keep going forward.
  3. Spend time cultivating people.  Get to know them.  Find out about them personally as well as from business.  It is amazing how often this will give you the leverage you need to succeed. Some of our greatest success as recruiters comes from being friendly, open and honest with the receptionist, as well as with HR and the hiring manager.
  4. Help others constantly.  Go out of your way to encourage, help, and promote others who are growing.  That help will often come back to save you in a crisis. Helping someone else get a job will improve your abilities and give you a strong supporter on the inside of their new company.
  5. Constantly focus on doing things quicker, cheaper, better, and with less people. This alone is the greatest job security guarantor in the USA.  And when you prove you can do it in your resume, you will always be a hot commodity on the job market.
  6. Take time to read, plan, and think.  Americans are terrible at this. Sit down with a sheet of paper and write for 15 minutes or an hour each day. Brainstorm things you can do for your job or job search.

In India it is essential to have multiple layers of preparation.  In America we get by without them.  Americans also often wonder why they got laid off and how they will survive when laid off.  Preparation, getting to know more people, and fearless execution will do more for your earning potential than anything else.

Something to do today

List where you only have one layer of protection.  Then list how you can improve that.

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Next:   Interview follow up – get help

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Posted in Finding jobs, Focus, Networking, Perseverance, Promotions, References

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17 non- obvious signs your company is in trouble – The tsunami is coming

Posted on September 27, 2012 | Leave a comment

Some signs of company trouble are easy to ignore.  They aren’t obvious signs of trouble.  They can even look like progress.

In the great Indian Ocean tsunami some people survived because they knew the signs of a tidal wave of disaster waiting to happen.  They had learned, “When the sea retreats far past the beach, run for the high ground.  It will soon come roaring back.”  It is a natural occurrence before a tsunami.

Job disasters have signs of impending doom like the tsunami causing water to retreat from the shore.  Think about it.  What happens before a car plant closes down entirely?  Work is cut back.  Minor layoffs occur.  Sales are obviously dropping.  Cars stay on dealer lots for longer and longer.  Rebates and special incentives are used to sell cars.  Managers, supervisors and foreman are laid off.  Finally the plant closing is announced.

An old Thai proverb says,

At high tide fish eat ants.  At low tide ants eat fish.  (Thai proverb)

A healthy company succeeds by doing effectively what a dying company struggles unsuccessfully to do over and over.

Signs of doom I have seen where I worked included:

  • A new quality program annually.
  • No more flowers sent to funerals of workers and their family members.
  • Business travel cut backs.
  • On the job training cut back to “just in time” training.
  • Payments for outside tuition cut back.
  • Technology innovation specialists moved back into production jobs.
  • Promised bonuses cut back or not paid.
  • Refusal to let employees transfer to other areas in the company.
  • Relocation expense reimbursement eliminated.
  • Sudden personal interest in the workers by the company president and chairman.
  • Empowerment training during declining markets.
  • Not replacing people who quit.
  • Reorganizing more and more often.
  • Stock price dropping.
  • Replacement of salespeople at a quick clip.
  • A frenzy of competitor acquisitions.
  • A sudden focus on getting “good press” or being in trade publications.

When you see the signs of impending problems, you may still have years to prepare.  Or you may have days.  The important thing is to start preparing without being part of the problem.  Take positive steps in your own sphere of influence.

When the water retreats from the shoreline, it may look like a great time to go out and pick up the fish left behind.  When your boss is sacked, it may seem like the perfect time to get into management. And it may be true.  But be careful and look for signs that a tsunami is coming to wash your whole company away.

 

Later I will talk about how businessmen in India cope with far worse problems than Americans can even begin to understand, and do it with a smile.

Something to do today

Draw a line down the middle of a sheet of paper.  On the left put signs of company strength, reasons for optimism.  On the right put a list of troubling signs of decline.  Now pick how you can help accentuate the positive or eliminate the negative.  Not only will your actions help your company, they will insulate you from layoffs and prepare you for a new job.

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Tomorrow:     Businessmen from India

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Posted in Economy, Focus, management, Promotions, Quitting or Fired, Training

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You against the hiring manager

Posted on August 27, 2012 | Leave a comment

Buzzards circle overhead. Struggling across the desert mile after mile, a hiring manager finally can walk no further.  He starts to crawl.  A candidate drives up in a jeep with 100 gallons of water.  He offers the hiring manager a ride to a hotel and all the water he can drink if he’ll split the cost of gas.  The hiring manager says, “I’ll only pay you for the water.  You are going that direction anyway.”  The candidate shakes his head and drives off.

Everyone wants a bargain. It is just a fact of life that candidates want more money and hiring managers want to pay less.  Your lifestyle is affected if you earn less.  So is the lifestyle of the hiring manager.  Managers are evaluated based on overhead.  Even if they are rewarded on output, they want to cut overhead. It is their nature.

There is no magic chart that tells what you should be paid as an employee.  I know one programmer who got a 40% raise when he finally realized he was worth more.  He went to his manager and said, “Everyone else on my team is earning $50,000 per year.  I’m better than most.  Why am I earning so little?”  What bothers me the most is that the manager and the employee felt good about the raise.  How about a bonus to make up for the previous years?

Even if you are the only person in the country who can save his company, the owner is going to look for a bargain.  They just do.  In the same vein, you will want a raise immediately after finishing training the company pays for. For some reason, a man dying of thirst still wants a bargain on a bottle of water. That’s why you have to be worth 10 times as much to be paid 2 or 3 times as much.  (That was yesterday’s lesson.)

Something To Do Today

Think about your job search. Just think.  And then take notes about your conclusions.

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For 2 weeks: Zen and the art of getting a job

Tomorrow:     Perception really is everything

Later:              Character counts

Diamonds in the rough

Cleat marks up your back

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Posted in Accomplishments, Attitude, Promotions, talent, Training

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