Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom

30/20 Vision Returns!

After a two month hiatus, my friends and co-hosts Lindsey Pollak and Christine Hassler and I are thrilled to bring you a new episode of 30/20 Vision, airing on Blog Talk Radio on Monday, October 12th at 5PM ET.  We'll be talking about how to test the entrepreneurial waters.  Hope to see you there, and if you can't make it, be sure to check out the archive!

Being Childlike May Save Your Life

I love this post from the brilliant Leo Babauta, who writes the Zen Habits blog.  Leo describes how to be happier and more creative by returning your mindset to a simpler time, when you weren't constrained by how things should be.  He says: "As children, we are naturally imaginative, curious, able to play without a worry in our minds. Some qualities of young children that happen naturally:

• they live in the present
• they have no concerns about money, productivity, or being cool
• there are no limits to their imagination, except what they’ve been exposed to
• they play and lose themselves in play
• they create with abandon
• they are endlessly curious, and ask questions … without end
• they love showing off to their parents

We lose this childlike nature, the nature we’re born with, because of society — it has certain institutions and systems in place that beat childishness out of us, so we can be more productive citizens and consumers. I think it’s unfortunate.  We shouldn’t abandon all responsibilities, but we can learn a lot from children and be more like them in some ways.Start by deciding to abandon caution and to give this a try. Start by identifying the qualities of children you’d like to emulate: curiosity, play, living in the moment, abandoning worries, imagination, creativity, pure joy.

Observe children: Watch how they play, how they live, how they create, how they ask questions. Sure, sometimes they do dumb things like throw tantrums, but even in that you can see their pure abandonment of everything but what is happening to them right now. Watch and learn.

Play with children: If you have some of your own, great. If not, play with children of friends and family. Lose yourself in the play. Be a dinosaur, or a gorilla, or a villain. Have a joyous time. Make them squeal in delight, and feel free to do the same yourself.

Create like a child: Don’t be constrained with what people expect, what you’re used to. Be wild and have fun. Imagine that things can be different, that there are no limitations, and see what happens. Most of your childlike drawings will be tossed in the trash, but some might be put up on the fridge. 

Be curious like a child: Look at things with a child’s eye, and ask questions you’ve never asked before, explore with a beginner’s mind. Don’t be afraid to ask why, and what if, and why not?

Live in the moment: Forget about all you have to do. Forget about what happened yesterday, or that conversation you had. Forget about that meeting that’s coming up, or those deadlines. Just do, and be."

ThinkTweet is the New Cliff’s Notes

When I was in junior high, my friends and I were always trying to get a hold of those precious little black and yellow volumes called Cliff’s Notes.  We weren’t trying to get out of reading the assigned books.  It was just that we often didn’t readily understand them, and so we were forced to read them over twenty times.

You, as a busy professional, face a similar problem.  Today’s business books are chock full of fabulous insights, but who has the time to read and digest 250 pages a week?  That’s why Mitchell Levy and Rajesh Setty came up with the concept for ThinkTweet, a series that offers bite-sized lessons on a variety of subjects.  The books are based on the Twitter model of 140 characters per complete thought, so all can be read within the space of a short morning commute.  

I’m thrilled to announce that one of the first books in the series is my very own MillennialTweet: 140 Bite-Sized Ideas for Managing the Millennials.  If you’re in the position of needing to recruit, supervise, and retain young employees, this slim volume provides a career’s worth of insights in one hour and will also you  to be more productive and competitive instantly. 

MillennialTweet makes a conference giveaway or holiday gift, so let us know if you’re interested in getting a terrific deal on a bulk purchase.  We'd be happy to help!

Hot Industries for Job Seekers

A lot of people have been asking me about the best types of jobs to pursue these days. I've read some varying opinions on this, but here are a few of my favorites:

Healthcare: There is already a major labor shortage in fields such as nursing, and this is only bound to increase as the boomers continue to age and need more services, more often. Others will continue to get sick and be treated whether they can afford care or not.

Education: Children in the United States are still guaranteed schooling until the 12th grade, and many states are perennially experiencing teacher shortages. Plus, laid off or unsatisfied adults are returning to school in record numbers.

Accounting: Don't lump this one in with "finance." It has been hot since federal regulations forced companies to get serious about their books a few years ago, and now, more people than ever are looking for accountants' help to pinch every penny they can.

Agriculture and Utilities: The economy may be sickly, but the first things people pay for include food to eat and gas to heat their homes. These jobs are not affected by the loss of discretionary income and will remain intact.

Local Service Sector: Every town needs at least one plumber, electrician, and hairstylist. In a recession, though, just make sure you live somewhere where the demand outweighs the supply.

Applying to Graduate School? Stop and Think.

This week in METRO:

Here’s a story I hear all the time.  A recent grad laments her difficult job search.  Apparently, when HR reps see the MBA on her resume, they put her in the pile of those seeking a management position.  Unfortunately, because this grad's prior positions were administrative and customer-service oriented, hiring managers don't think she has the practical experience to qualify for such a position.

There are lots of graduate school alumni in similar situations.  After spending a huge chunk of change on an advanced degree, they find that they are no more marketable in their chosen field than they were before they started school.  The only difference now is that their job search is more urgent because they are deeply in debt. 

To me, this phenomenon speaks to the danger of going back to school without a great deal of advance consideration.  So many people make this decision because the economy is bad and they’re scared to be on the job market right now.  Others choose a graduate program because they aren't sure where they want to go with their careers.  In reality, though, all of these folks should first be doing a cost/benefit analysis to determine what such a program is going to bring them in terms of increased job prospects and financial compensation.  

It also helps to do enough research to know that you actually like the field you’re going to school to pursue.  I've talked to lots of people who earn a Ph.D., JD, or MBA only to end doing something else entirely.

Graduate school is not something you should do just for the heck of it.  Rather, you should first determine in concrete terms why you need the advanced degree to move ahead in your career of choice, and then map out a plan for how you'll use the training and degree to facilitate the level of success you’d like to achieve.

More Burning Questions About Surviving Corporate America

Welcome to the final edition (for now) of They Don't Teach Corporate in College reader questions answered.  Today, I'm addressing these:

1) What do you think of David Allen and Tim Ferriss' productivity methods?
2) Should I learn a foreign language?
3) What is emotional intelligence and how can I learn more about it?
4) What challenges do entrepreneurial twenty-somethings face today?

Not Every Client is a Client You Want

I am re-reading Michael Port's Book Yourself Solid, and I want to call out the section on choosing your clients.  Why?  Because when you’re a consultant like me, the tendency is to latch on hard and fast to any and every client. 

The truth is, though, not every client is a client you want, and it’s impossible to be all things to all people.  As Michael says, when you deliberately select people to work with, you have the energy to do your best work (versus feeling drained and pressured all the time) and can connect with people on a deeper level and gain their trust (versus always feeling like you have to re-prove your case and fight for the next project).  

Michael suggests taking the following steps to create the perfect client roster:

1.  Define the characteristics of your ideal client.  What type of people do you love being around?  What do they talk about?  What ethical standards do they follow?   What’s their personality?  How do they learn?

2.  Look at your current client base.  Who do you love interacting with the most?  Who are the clients who don’t feel like work to you?   Get a clear picture of these people in your head.  Write down the top 5 reasons you like working with them.

3.  If you were only working with ideal clients, what qualities would they need to possess in order for you to do your best work with them?  Be selfish and write without thinking or filtering your thoughts.  

By knowing who your ideal clients are and selecting only those who have at least 75 percent of the qualities you identified, you will have more fun, accomplish greater results, and experience more fulfillment in your business.  

 

Is Your Friending Policy Rude?

This post from the Sharlyn Lauby, the HR Bartender, caught my eye.  Sharlyn’s right when she says that there have been a plethora of blog posts recently about who you should friend on Facebook.  I especially like her point that you might want to make use of the Facebook privacy settings rather than being uber restrictive about your friending policy.

Adds Sharlyn:  “Facebook might have initially started as a personal tool, it’s quickly becoming a personal and professional tool.  Ultimately, a person’s decision to friend or unfriend someone is theirs and should be theirs alone.  But ask yourself, how does my Facebook network impact my professional career?  And, make sure you’re comfortable with the answer.”

I’m so glad she brought this up, because unless you explain it explicitly (and most people don’t), your decision to friend or unfriend someone leaves a lot open to interpretation.  Whether you mean them to or not, people can take it personally.  And if someone is in a position to help you in your career – or may be in the future – you do not want to do anything to offend them.

You might think people aren’t paying attention, but they are.  I have more than 900 friends on Facebook, but I occasionally notice when someone unfriends me.  I’ll have no idea why they did it – heck, maybe it was an accident – but I won’t deny that it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.  

I maintain my position that you shouldn’t post anything on Facebook that you wouldn’t want your grandmother or religious officiant to see.  If you’re following this advice, then it shouldn’t really matter who your friends are.  As for the silly quizzes and the irrelevant status updates, if you’re worried about coming across as frivolous – hide them.  But really think twice before you unfriend someone or ignore their friend request without an explanation.  

Employed Workers Are in Limbo Too

If you see the new statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, it’s clear that unemployment numbers aren’t improving much. But employment frustration isn’t limited to those without employment, according to DDI’s new Pulse of the Workforce research.

In a survey of 1,000 US workers, DDI found that more than half of the nation’s employees said they think their job is in limbo. Most blame the economy, but others blame their bosses and their organizations. Why is this bad for organizations trying to grow and recover? 46% of workers who said their jobs are stagnant were twice as likely “just do their job and go home’ (versus 20% of those who didn’t feel stagnant). They’re also less interested in what they do, and one third as likely to say they’re excited to go to work.

The implications?  Those who said they thought their job was stagnant planned to look for a new job when the economy improved and said 'they do what they're asked--nothing more, nothing less." They also were 10 times less likely to say they were getting special assignments or interesting work. They were also three times more likely to say that they would leave but the economy prevented it and that they have no room to advance in their job.

So, has the slumping economy resulted in a labor slump as well? We know there is a lot of discussion about the unemployed, but also think that those employed and feeling in limbo will be the next workforce problem companies face as the economy turns around and companies are left with a disgruntled, unmotivated workforce.

In Person Communication is a Beautiful Thing

Jessica writes that the constant barrage of information from cell phones, pagers, Blackberries and laptops makes it impossible to communicate face-to-face with people anymore.  She feels that she’s always competing for attention with colleagues’ outspoken family of devices, and that she can’t get a word in edgewise.

I’m sure Jessica isn’t the only one feeling this kind of frustration.  If you want to build strong workplace relationships, make a habit of being mentally present for everyone you deal with.  This means actually listening to what she is saying, focusing on him rather than everything else going on in the room and ignoring electronic interruptions.

In-person communication is a beautiful thing.  When someone comes to your office or cube, decide right then and there if you have time to talk.  If you don’t, say so.  If you do have time, but only a little bit, ask if it’s enough.  You don’t necessarily have to drop everything for the person, but once you make the commitment to have a dialogue, be respectful.  Remember that her time is important too and give her your full attention.  Doing this will set you apart from the scores of employees who believe that sitting across the desk from another person means you’re communicating

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