My dear friend Amy and I were debriefing my TEDx talk recently (Why You Should Stop Searching for Work You Love). She was there to see it live and in person, and had given me the equivalent of a standing ovation when I spoke with her after the fact—she loved my talk (of course she did, she’s a good friend, remember?)
Read MoreInterns take note: energy and enthusiasm are no longer enough. You’ve got to bring something more meaningful to the table.A friend and senior executive at Yelp recently shared how busy she was balancing a demanding job, a busy travel schedule, and a newborn at home. We were catching up at a Northwestern University alumni event; so naturally I suggested she take on a student as a summer intern. She looked at me square in the eye, without a trace of irony and stated, “I have no time for an intern.”
Read MoreAs the midpoint of summer fast approaches, it’s time to take stock of your summer internship and make sure you’re moving in the right direction. Unlike the reliable guidance you may have received from coaches and professors over the course of your college career, by now you may have found that mentoring in the workplace is a different story entirely. The reality, especially for summer interns, is that: a) there is no roadmap to tell you what your goals are for the summer and how to achieve them; and b) you are required to be your most ardent advocate — no one else will do it for you.
Read MoreIf you took a poll of critical skills most important to business success, you’d be hard pressed to come up with a list that didn’t include vision, leadership, drive, ambition, or intellect. You’d be equally hard pressed to find one that included, much less led with, generosity. That generosity is important and valued isn’t news — but a key driver of success? That’s not often where it lands.
Read MoreIt may come as news to some (young) people, but business and pleasure are not synonymous. With the Millenials’ exodus to social media platforms from good old-fashioned email accounts, the lines between our business and personal lives are increasingly blurred. We live on our smart phones or blackberries and technology has enabled us to multi-task to such an extent that the once-clear delineations of personal life and work life have all but disappeared.
Read MoreBack in the days of Mad Men, there were clear delineations between administrative and professional roles. Secretaries, as they were then called, existed expressly to type memos, fetch coffee, serve lunch and schedule meetings.Today, the once-clear lines between administrative and professional roles have changed. While it would have been unthinkable to ask an assistant account manager to schedule a meeting at Sterling Cooper in the 1960s, today it is not only common, it arguably commands a degree of respect and aptitude.
Read MoreIf you are lucky enough to be in a position to choose between two offers or luckier still to have the ability to simply turn down a job that isn’t quite right, your good fortune also brings with it a certain level of responsibility — that of declining the offer graciously and skillfully without burning bridges or creating ill-will.
Read MoreNot that it’s news to me, but it has come to my attention twice in the past two weeks that I’m a terrible speller. A reader comment on this very blog pointed out that I used the word “conscious” when I meant to say “conscience.” He added a “sigh” and a “really?” as if to say “shouldn’t you know better?” — and of course I should. Only the week before I had received an email from another perturbed fan about a misspelling on my own website’s homepage. Again, not my finest hour.
Read MoreFor the 8 million plus people who are still unemployed (and hundreds of thousands more who are underemployed) it’s hard to fathom quitting a job you have. But even for the gainfully employed, the last two years have been anything but a party — everyone’s got more work and nobody’s moving up. Fully 84% of US workers say they plan to look for a new job in 2011.
Read MoreBy now, most people have seen at least one clip of Speaker of the House to-be John Boehnershedding tears in front of the camera — on the House Floor, with Leslie Stahl on “60 minutes,” talking about our failing public education system, you name it. And perhaps you’re thinking to yourself that the rules of the game have changed: perhaps it is okay to cry at work. It’s not. Even though the highest-ranking congressman in the land does it, you still can’t.
Read MoreBob Bowman, longtime coach of swimming phenom Michael Phelps, was once asked why Phelps did not swim the languorous distance sets that were part of some other competitors’ regimens. “We don’t want him to swim slow in meets,” he said, “so why would we have him practice swimming slow?”I am often reminded of this distinction when I’m asked about the difference between communicating with a client and communicating internally, with your team
Read MoreI’m always amazed when I hear about smart, talented people going to their supervisors to ask for guidance using phrases like, “What do you think I should do?” Or, “How should I…?” As a young professional or junior executive, it’s not crazy to think you won’t know what to do all of the time. Having limited or bad information is a reality many of us face on a regular basis. What we do in that situation, however, is up to us.
Read MoreMy husband, Eric, is an armchair entrepreneur. He has ideated, seeded, started, funded, built, grown, and sold dozens of companies — 10 times over — all in his head. His best friend, Marc, is a finance guru. A whiz-kid investor who’s in it for the love of the game, not for the love of money. They are an unlikely pair: one a dreamer, the other the ultimate pragmatist.
Read MoreAccording to Elon Musk, a good way to tell if a candidate is fibbing about his or her qualifications is whether they can use a personal story to illustrate a particularly telling experience. “If someone was really the person that solved a problem, they’ll be able to answer the question on multiple levels,” he says. “Anyone who really solves a problem never forgets it.”
Read MoreHow many times have you sat through a meeting with something brilliant to say but never knowing quite when to say it? Or realized half way through the meeting that your colleague who spoke up said something completely erroneous? Or worse yet, found yourself nodding and smiling in agreement while wondering what in the world the discussion at hand was actually about?
Read MoreLast week, I wrote a post on How to Ask for a Reference Letter which gave three steps for asking for (and getting!) a great letter of recommendation. The second, and arguably most important step, is to provide a template for your reviewer of what you’d like included in the letter.
Read MoreIn the 2009 film “Up in the Air,” Natalie Keener decides she can no longer stomach being part of a corporate firing squad and quits her firm. Her mentor, played by George Clooney, behaves as the magnanimous gent we all know him to be: he writes a glowing reference letter on her behalf, addressed simply “to whom it may concern.”In the real world, getting a reference letter is far more difficult and often a source of much anxiety. Whom to ask, how to ask, what to say?
Read MoreA mentor can prove invaluable when it comes to providing insight into your organization, inside information about the politics of the place, or just some over-the-shoulder advice about who to work with and who to stay away from. Mentorship, however, is a two-way street — and you’ve got to figure out how to repay the favor and make the relationship work for both of you.
Read MoreHow do you make people love you at work? Why should you bother? Here's why: because you'll find work that is compelling, challenging, exciting, and fulfilling. And when I love you, I'll do anything and everything for you to help you succeed.
Read MoreMake people love you. At work. Seriously. In a totally platonic, appropriate, work friendly kind of way.
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