Is Your Boss Hurting Your Career?

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Not all bosses are perfect—in fact, most aren’t. Some bosses aren’t interested in helping your career and some are just poor managers. Nonetheless, you can still have a successful career. Here are some ideas to help you succeed:

  • Make sure your performance is exemplary. Deliver high quality work products on time. Be confident (but not arrogant) in your abilities. This will help give your boss less to complain about and minimizes your opportunity to be seen as an easy target.
  • Have a conversation with your boss. Pick your time carefully and be prepared. Focus on what you need rather than what’s wrong with your boss.
  • Recognize that it’s not always about you. Your supervisor’s unpleasantness, disinterest, whatever, may have nothing to do with you—try to not take it personally.
  • Identify what you can learn from your boss. Everyone can you teach you something. Figure out what you boss has to offer and learn it—and forget about the rest (easier said than done, of course!) You can learn something, even from a bad boss.
  • Find a mentor. A mentor can provide perspective, act as a sounding board, and perhaps broaden opportunities for other experiences.
  • Try to be become an ally. Ask your boss what she needs from you to succeed. Listen carefully and deliver it.
  • See if there are other opportunities in your organization. Look for temporary assignments, details, or sideways movements within your organization. That will give you an opportunity to meet new people and expand your skills.
  • Keep you own counsel. While it is tempting to share your experiences with colleagues, be careful. Secrets are rarely kept and what is shared may not be what you said. And if it gets back to your boss (which it likely will), things are not likely to improve for you.
  • Determine if there are viable options for assistance internally. Many organizations have a Human Resources office, an Equal Employment Opportunity office, or conflict resolution resources. These options should not generally be your first resort but of course, there are situations that demand immediate third party intervention but in most cases, you should try to solve the problem yourself or at least peacefully coexist with your boss if possible.
  • Decide whether it’s time to leave. If you decide that the situation is irreparable, make a plan for a transition. Do not quit in a huff; if it all possible, begin a structured job search.

There is no perfect solution to a bad boss but having one doesn’t have to ruin your career. If you do need to leave your job, do not bad mouth your boss on the way out. Be sure to do your due diligence about future organizations and bosses during your search. You don’t want to end up in another untenable situation.

10 Steps to a Successful Job Search

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Looking for a new job? If so, there are a number of things you should do before you submit your resume.

  1. Conduct informational interviews to learn about different jobs and organizations, and figure out what you want to do.
  2. Research organizations to identify those in your sweet spot—learn about their culture, mission, and values.
  3. Write a job search plan to hold yourself accountable; write down where you want to apply, how many applications you want to send out each day / week, how many people you will contact in your network each week, the time you will commit to networking each day, the resources you will use to help you prepare your career documents, etc.
  4. Once you have identified where you want to work and what you want to do, list your contacts so you can reach out to your network. Not sure you have the right contacts? There is where LinkedIn can help you see who you know who might be able to assist you.
  5. Draft your resume toward your target job(s). Make sure that your resume is appropriate for your career field, includes key words, focuses on the past 10 years, uses numbers to provide context to your work, accomplishments to demonstrate the value you have contributed to your employers, and a strong qualifications summary.
  6. Use your network to apply for positions you hear about, tweaking your resume each time to ensure it fits the specific announcement. If you can identify the hiring manager and find him/her on LinkedIn, read and respond to their posts. It’s OK to apply through job boards but do not make job boards your sole strategy.
  7. While you are waiting for responses, practice your interview skills.
  8. Follow up if you haven’t heard about your applications after 2-3 weeks.
  9. Don’t get discouraged. Job search takes time and in the current environment where many employers are still teleworking and the volume of applicants is high, it may take longer than usual to make the transition you want.
  10. Engage in self-care throughout the process. Job search is high stress. Don’t forget to do all of the things that you know you should: eat right, exercise, take breaks, engage with family and friends—and take time for yourself!

LinkedIn by the Numbers

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As you know by now, LinkedIn is a powerful networking tool. I look at LinkedIn profiles every day and see that many users do not take full advantage of their profile. Character counts are changing regularly; here are some current character counts—check out your profile and make sure you’re taking advantage!

  • First name: 20 characters. If you have a formal name but use a nickname, this can be helpful. For example, Robert (Bob). This is 12 characters and allows people to search for you by either your formal or nickname.
  • Last name: 40 characters. BONUS: If you name is difficult to pronounce, LinkedIn has a feature where you can record your name; this is a great tool to use!
  • Headline: 210 characters. If you don’t create a headline, LinkedIn automatically uses your job title. Consider using a customized headline so you can include words that are specific to your industry. This is a search feature that recruiters use.
  • Customized URL: 30 characters. LinkedIn allows you to customize your URL; a customized URL allows you to remove the random numbers that LinkedIn assigns. A customized URL can be used on your resume.
  • About: 2,600 characters. This is a great opportunity to get personal and tell something about yourself; who are you? What do you bring to the table? What is your story? Using first person is acceptable, as is highlighting your achievements and the things that are important to you. This section can also be searched by recruiters so be sure to include key words from your industry.
  • Company name: 100 characters
  • Location / Industry: this is a predetermined list prepared by LinkedIn. Don’t forget to include your industry and location. As of this writing, LinkedIn as identified 148 industries ranging from law enforcement to shipbuilding to retail to farming to computers and everything in between. These too, are searchable by recruiters.
  • Job Title (100) / Job Description (2,000) each. Don’t forget to populate these sections.

LinkedIn offers lots of other section too including Education, Field of Study, Volunteer, Skills, Projects, Publications, Certifications, Languages, Awards, Courses, and Patents. Take a good hard look at your Profile and see what you can do to attract more views and connections!

What is a Career Portfolio & Why Should I Care?

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Have you thought about creating a career portfolio to highlight your accomplishments? While portfolios are expected in certain creative professions, jobseekers in the more traditional fields could also benefit from preparing one to display in an interview.

A portfolio or presentation binder illustrates your professional achievements. When beginning your portfolio, review your resume, your performance evaluations, and awards to identify and substantiate your qualifications. Start collecting this information and try to show off your accomplishments with images—for example, photos of your awards, your team or you in action, copies of letters of recommendations, events you’ve organized, etc. Choose only the best achievements and visuals and carefully cultivate items that provide concrete evidence of those skills.

Once you’ve gathered this information, then what? Find an attractive binder or portfolio to hold everything. With your binder in hand:

  • Create a logical order and structure—start with your most recent accomplishments and work backwards chronologically
  • If you have more than 20 pages, include a table of contents and list the included documents.
  • Depending on the breadth of your content, consider creating sections using divider tabs
  • Use clear sheet protectors and make sure all printed photos and documents are the highest quality of color.
  • Always use copies, never original documents.
  • Consider tailoring your portfolio for a specific job/position (leave pages out if specific positions do not require certain skills).

How can you use your portfolio?

  • Consider including it (or portions of it) on your LinkedIn Profile.
  • Review it to prepare for interviews. Studying your portfolio is a good way to refresh your memory about your achievements.
  • Bring it with you to your interviews. At the beginning of the interview, let the interviewer know you’ve prepared a “portfolio” that illustrates your qualifications and accomplishments.
  • Do not leave the portfolio unless you are asked to do so.

Building your portfolio from scratch will take some time, but you can start small and improve it as you go along. Don’t forget to keep it updated and when an opportunity presents itself, you’ll be ready to share!

End of Year Wrap-up

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Hard to believe that 2020 is coming to an end—this year has definitely been different for most of us. Let’s hope that 2021 allows us to get back to normal—whatever that might look like going forward. As you prepare for year end, there are a number of things that you can be doing to move your career to that next step:

  • Work on reaching out to your network. The end of the year is a great time to catch up with people you likely haven’t seen in months—or had occasion to interact with. Send holiday cards if you’re able; and if you do so, be sure to include a personal note. It doesn’t have to be long; a sentence or two to acknowledge the recipient.
  • Add your 2020 accomplishments to your resume. The end of the year is a great time to reflect on your achievements. Try to identify 2-3 ways you added value to your employer this year—and quantify it. Add those new achievements to your resume.
  • Review your LinkedIn Profile. If it doesn’t include your current job, add it. If you haven’t customized your LinkedIn URL, do so (see: https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/87/customize-your-public-profile-url?lang=en); it will make your profile more professional—and your new LinkedIn URL to your resume. Make sure that you have a professional photo, you have key words for your industry in the About section, and your headline (the words under your name) are other than the default which lists your job title. Doing these things will likely take you less than 30 minutes.
  • Assess your gaps. Are you missing a critical skill? Certification? Something else? Write down what you’re missing and make a plan to address it. For best success, take specific action: sign up for a class, find a buddy to hold you accountable, schedule time to practice what needs improvement.
  • Unhappy in your job? First, try to figure out why. Next, assess your strengths, weaknesses, and be honest—take an assessment if you need to. Identify what you want to do and whether you have the existing skills and experience to do so. If not, make a written plan to close those gaps and implement it.
  • Practice interviewing. Ask a friend or a colleague to give you a practice interview and record it. Spend 45 minutes (or longer) on your practice interview. You can use Zoom, Skype, or another platform—the platform doesn’t matter but the practice does. And when you watch your “interview,” do so critically and write down what you could do better—and practice again.
  • Identify what you wish you had done this year. And resolve to do it next year.
  • Prepare your answer to, “what do you do?” Everyone needs a good answer to this question. Make your answer interesting and engaging. Think about using this formula to craft your answer: what do you do/what you want to do + why you’re good at it + value you add.

Wishing you and your loved ones a safe, healthy, and joyous holiday season!

Good Interview Questions for Managers to Ask

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Since my first article this month explored Interview Best Practices for Hiring Managers, I thought it would be good to couple that article with some sample questions that managers can use. The best interview questions are job related; they can be behaviorally-based, or situational.

Behavioral questions are based on the premise that past behavior is the best predictor of future performance. These are recognizable because they start with, “Tell me about a time…” or “Give me an example when…”

Situational questions are similar but focus on how the applicant would handle a specific situation that he or she is likely to encounter. These kinds of questions typically open with, “What would you do if…”

Here are some questions that fit both categories and can be easily adapted, if needed, to specific jobs:

  1. Describe a time when you were faced with problems or stresses at work that tested your coping skills.  What did you do?
  2. Tell me about a time when you had to use your oral communication skills in order to get a point across that was important to you.
  3. Tell me about a specific occasion when you conformed to a policy even though you did not agree with it.
  4. Give me an example of a time when you used your fact-finding skills to gain information needed to solve a problem and then tell me how you analyzed the information and came to a decision.
  5. Describe a situation in which you were able to read another person effectively and guide your actions by your understanding of his/her individual needs or values.
  6. Describe the worst customer you have ever had and tell me how you dealt with him or her
  7. What would you do if you were asked to perform a task you had never done before?
  8. What would you do if you were committed to a particular project but your boss canceled it halfway through?
  9. Give me an example of a project you were a part of failed, despite your best efforts.
  10. What would you do if you were given a timeframe that you knew at the outset was totally unrealistic?

These kinds of questions allow you to ask job related questions AND find out a little bit about the candidate’s thought process, experience, and skills—in other words, see the person behind the resume! And do so in a way that minimizes the risk of making a bad selection and avoids potential legal pitfalls.