Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom

Rule #1 in Business: It’s Not About You

Every day, I get at least three requests from people who want to write guest posts on my personal blog.  I have given up responding to these people.

Why?  Because looking at my blog for 30 seconds will tell you that I don’t do guest posts. I have never done guest posts.  I may include tips from other experts, but the writing is always my own.

Yet people continue to ask me, because THEY want to do a guest post.  They are making this initial interaction all about them.  It doesn’t matter what I want or need.

This is not a good strategy for building relationships with people, especially managers and co-workers who have no vested interest in doing what you say.

What’s in it for them?

You might have heard the story of the salesman who greets a prospect by announcing, “I want to tell you about a great new product that has a thousand new features, all for the low price of…” The prospect stops listening as soon as she hears the words I want and slams the door in the salesman’s face.

One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to enter a negotiation or interaction with someone by expressly stating what you want. As I said in this post back in 2010, no one cares – they want to know what’s in it for them.

For my advice on how to proceed, check out the full post on Intuit's Fast Track blog.

Is Business Travel a Blessing or a Curse?

It’s fun to travel with colleagues.  No, really.  Back when I worked at CA, my whole team traveled from New York City to Las Vegas once a year for our company’s annual trade show.  After the highs and lows only a harried week of work in Vegas can provide, I really bonded with these people.  Many years later, I still keep in touch with many of them.  And I still love Vegas.

Traveling with co-workers, however, involves a set of informal rules of which it’s helpful to be aware.  Here are a few that I’ve learned over time.

1. Don’t insist on sitting together on the plane.

Plane etiquette is tricky.  Some people don’t mind gabbing away the whole time, while others would like nothing more than sit silently with their iPad and relish the calm before their trip’s storm.  Because it can be difficult to ascertain your co-worker’s camp and awkward if you get it wrong, sit apart unless you can’t avoid it.  You can probably use the quiet time yourself.

2. Do use the trip as an opportunity.

During a trip, you will probably have more chances to converse with your colleagues than usual.  Use the time to get to know them as human beings.  Express curiosity about their family and hobbies and be open in answering their questions about your lifestyle.  The closer you become when you travel, the stronger your relationship will be back at the office.

3. Don’t let your guard down too far.

Of course, there is a such thing as getting too close.  Always look presentable and avoid inappropriate conversation topics such as sex, drugs, current personal struggles, mean-spirited gossip, and anything you’d be embarrassed about if your boss found out.  Never use a business trip to launch a physical or sexual relationship with a colleague.  Even if you are both single, this is not the time or the place.

For more dos and don'ts for traveling with colleagues, check out the full post on Intuit's Fast Track blog.

What No One Tells You About Getting Raises

According to Tribe HR’s  Pay Raise Index, women received more pay raises than men during 2012, but men earned larger pay raises. TribeHR analyzed salary and workplace recognition (“kudos”) data from 20,000 employees at 2,200 small to medium-sized companies between Q1-Q3 2012, and found that, 7.4 percent of women received raises while only 6.2 percent of men received raises.

Overall, the Index reported that average salary increase for employees at small and medium-sized businesses grew by almost 11 percent between Q1 and Q3 2012. The size of the average salary raise grew from 8 percent in Q1, to 13 percent in Q2, but then dropped to 11 percent in Q3.

Peer Recognition: An Under-the-Radar Influencer

More interestingly, however, the study also examined the correlation between salary increases and employees who had received documented recognition for a job well done. It found that 85 percent of documented recognition was given by peers, and that employees who received recognition from peers were two to three times more likely to earn a pay raise.

So it’s recognition from peers rather than recognition from managers that matters most.  Go figure.  In any case, it has always been important to purposefully raise the visibility of your terrific contributions within the organization.  But given this new information, it’s now essential.  If you want a raise this year or next, it’s up to you to document as much positive feedback from your peers as possible.

How do you do this?  Find out more over at Intuit's Fast Track blog.

How to Avoid Self-Destructing on Foreign Soil

On April 20, 2010, the oil rigger Deepwater Horizon exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, causing the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry.  After the explosion killed or injured 28 workers and released 4.9 million barrels of crude oil, the gushing wellhead was finally capped. British Petroleum (BP), the multi-billion dollar oil and gas company, was indisputably responsible.

Instead of expressing true remorse and compassion for the disaster, then CEO Tony Hayward committed a series of cultural gaffes that enraged U.S. citizens and lawmakers. For instance, well before the Gulf crisis was resolved, Hayward proclaimed that he “wanted his life back.” Then, as efforts to plug the leak continued feverishly in the U.S., he casually took in a sailing race with his son off the Isle of Wight in the UK.

Hayward’s American Disconnect

This behavior was consistent with Hayward’s work/life balance philosophy.  He once said publicly that he didn’t work weekends and took all of his holidays no matter what.  What the British Hayward failed to realize was that most Americans don’t necessarily agree with this point of view. It is the American way to take responsibility for one’s mistakes and do everything you can to remedy a bad situation. Until the problem is solved, free time does not exist. Since Americans were affected most when Deepwater Horizon exploded, many wanted to see Tony Hayward on a boat participating in the clean-up.

Although much of his business is conducted in the U.S., Hayward did not demonstrate strong global competence. His lack of understanding regarding how the crisis would be received in the U.S. led to a backward slide of goodwill and a plunging stock price for BP. That summer, it would also cost him his job.

To find out how you can avoid a Tony Hayward-like PR catastrophe, read my advice over at the AMEX Open Forum.

 

Coming Up with the Idea is Only Half the Battle

Life in a large organization isn’t always easy for people who want to solve problems.  Usually, the issue isn’t coming up with a solution.  Rather, it’s convincing other people that the solution is viable and should be implemented.  And whether you’re sitting on a blockbuster idea yet or not, now is the time to consider your strategy.

Build Your Reputation in Advance

In order to diminish the perceived risk of an unusual or out-of-the-box idea, the person proposing it has to be a proven entity.  That means that you’re established at the organization and have done well there.  Your boss trusts you and you are on the short list of employees with whom everyone wants to work.  You are known as the one who pitches in during a crisis, and the one who is a champion of smart internal initiatives.

For many more ideas on selling your ideas to the higher-ups, read the full post on the Fast Track blog.

Senior Job Seekers are Least Prepared to Fill Open Positions

According to the second annual Job Preparedness Indicator research study, released today by the Career Advisory Board established by DeVry University, senior-level job seekers are the least prepared to fill available positions in today's market.  One-in-five hiring managers say that few senior candidates have the right mix of skills and traits to serve their needs, and in particular are lacking in higher-order abilities such as strategic perspective, general business acumen, and global competence.

Developing these skills is a must, but tenured candidates can also modify their approach so that hiring managers see them as more markeable and capable of filling open jobs.  Suggestions to this effect include:

• Look carefully at senior-level job descriptions and brainstorm specific examples of how you’ve performed at least 75 percent of the responsibilities in the past.  Play up any experience you have liaising or working directly with international colleagues.

• Use LinkedIn actively.  Don’t just slap up your profile and forget about it.  Join groups for senior-level professionals in your field, and ask and answer member questions.  Set a goal of meeting at least 5 new senior-level contacts a week, and engage them in high-level industry conversation.

• Take the spec approach.  New consultants are sometimes asked to take on a project on spec, meaning they do the work gratis so the company can evaluate their worth as a paid asset.  Even if you aren’t asked, proactively identify and solve a problem facing executive management and present your solution in interviews and other conversations.

• Raise your pay expectations:  If you are satisfied with making a salary well below your true earning potential, you are literally underselling yourself.   Use payscale.com and salary.com to research the incomes of people who do what you do with your amount of tenure, and when asked, confidently cite a number in the middle.

One final piece of advice: As a senior-level candidate, you cannot rest on your laurels simply because you've been in the workforce a while.  Earn hiring managers' confidence and buy-in by demonstrating that you are invested in keeping your skills fresh and in learning and growing in a new position.

5 Never-Heard Networking Tips

When my friend Ben Casnocha sent me a copy of his new book, The Start-Up of You, I knew that I was going to read something innovative about networking.  After all, Ben wrote it with Reid Hoffman, the cofounder and chairman of LinkedIn, and if anything has changed the game of networking in the twenty-first century, it’s LinkedIn.

I was not disappointed.  And so I decided to write a Fast Track post with 5 networking tips from Ben and Reid that you haven’t heard before.  That article turned out to be my most frequently shared post this whole year. 

I hope you'll check it out and let me know what you think of the ideas, and if you would actually use them.

How Not to Get Fired Like the Yahoo! CEO

Last week, Yahoo! CEO Scott Thompson was called to step down from his position following a scandal involving his credentials.  An investor recently discovered that on Thompson’s resume, the ex-CEO claims he graduated with a computer science degree from Stonehill College, when in fact he finished with an accounting degree.  A computer science degree did not even exist at the school at the time.

When the truth came out, Thompson blamed a headhunting firm for misrepresenting his education when he was in the process of being hired by eBay in the mid-2000s.  It didn’t work.  The firm fought back by providing Yahoo! with a copy of Thompson’s original resume – fake degree and all.

A while back, I talked about how to cope productively in the wake of scandal.  And cope productively Thompson did not.  For all of the details about what he did wrong and how you can avoid it, check out my recent post on the Quickbase blog.

How to Avoid Trouble Online

By now, you’ve probably heard of Crystal Cox, the blogger who was sued for libel by Obsidian Financial Group after Cox wrote that some of their business practices were illegal. Cox is now required to pay $2.5 million because a judge ruled she was not a journalist and therefore not entitled to protect anonymous sources.

This is a scary story because one definitely gets the sense that Cox thought she was doing the right thing and had no intention of getting into hot water over it.  And I suspect that millions of casual social media consumers are in a similar boat right this minute.

Self-Censorship is Key

My rule of thumb for staying out of trouble online is not to post anything – anywhere – that you wouldn’t be comfortable seeing on the home page of Google, or that you wouldn’t want read by your grandmother or religious officiant.  This (usually) means no posts or images involving sex, drugs, or radical politics.

It’s Not Always Obvious

When you are employed with an organization, what you can and cannot post online takes on a whole new dimension.  In general, you should always think before you post, because there are the obvious no nos (such as not writing that you hate your company or that you are looking for a new job) and the not-so-obvious no nos (such as posting a company announcement on Facebook or giving a colleague a reference on LinkedIn).

Privacy Controls Are Not Everything

You are not excused from careful consideration if you make use of privacy controls on your social media networks, or if you don’t think you are “friends” with anyone who could disapprove.  This approach is by no means full proof.  As an example, a young professional I know in Chicago got fired after she called in sick but sent a live tweet to her friends from a Cubs game the same day.  One of her friends re-tweeted the remark, which eventually found its way back to the young professional’s boss.

Know the Rules

It is also critical that you understand that company’s policy when it comes to social media.  Hopefully, this is written down somewhere.  If you can’t find it, ask a contact in HR.  Otherwise, you could end up posting something that will cost you your job.  Even if you were completely in the dark and your intentions were totally innocent, at-will employment laws in most states mean that an organization doesn’t need a serious reason or in depth process to let you go.  And worse, if word gets around why you were fired, it may be difficult to secure another position because other organizations will be leery of your lack of discretion.

Thou Shall Not Resume Blast or Defame

Staying out of trouble online involves more than just social media too.  When you’re job hunting, be aware that when you post your resume in a public place, you risk your boss or HR department discovering it while sourcing candidates.  And, in light of the example at the top of this post, please do not defame anyone on a website.  It may seem like a good way to let off some steam, but your comments could come back to haunt you – if not legally, then personally or professionally.

If you’re a bit freaked out by this advice, that’s good, because it means you will be more vigilant. Remember: if in doubt about a piece of information, keep it to yourself.

This post was originally published on Intuit's Quickbase blog.

 

How to Apply for a Job Internally

In this job market, when it’s generally safest to stay where you are, the internal move has become a popular option for dissatisfied employees.  But how should you handle the delicate matter of applying for a different job in your organization?  For advice, I turned to Alison Green, who features this question in her excellent eBook How to Get a Job: Secrets from a Hiring Manager.

Don’t Act Rashly

Alison recommends that before you apply, you should be reasonably sure you actually want the job.  You should not interview for positions you either don’t want or don’t know too much about yet, as that’s wasting everyone’s time.  You can sniff around for information, but do not do anything definitive until you are certain there’s a good chance you’d take the position.

Tell Your Boss First

Once you formally throw your hat in the ring (i.e. submit an application), you won’t be able to hide the news from your boss, so your current manager should hear it from you, not from someone else.  Alison instructs us to be prepared for her to react badly.  “Be ready with an explanation that will control the fall-out – for example, this is an opportunity you can’t resist and you really want to grow your career in a company you love.”

Do a Thorough Wrap-Up

According to Alison, unless your boss is totally unprofessional, she should be able to handle the news like a grown-up, and you’ll be on your way.  I will just add that, of course, you'll want to stay busy doing top-quality work and putting things in order until your very last second working in your current position.  When you’re staying with the same organization, it’s even more imperative that you keep your reputation spotless and don’t burn bridges.

This post was originally published on Intuit's Quickbase blog.