Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom

Why You Might Make Less Money Than Your Colleague

You might be equal to the colleague in the next office over and still make less money.   Here’s one reason – your gender.

One of my readers just shared a horrible story.  She works in a major accounting firm, and found out – definitively – that she’s making 20 percent less than her colleagues of the male persuasion.  “Women are relatively new to the accounting world, and there is a perception that management shouldn’t invest in people who are just going to have babies and leave,” she told me.  “The thing is, I don’t think my situation is that unusual – it’s still an old boys’ club.”

In a 2010 article for Harvard Business Review, Investigating the Pay Gap, Sarah Green says that the median salary of a woman is still only 78 percent of a man’s. This means that women have to work 16 months to earn what men make in a year.

Woe to New College Grads

According to the American Association of University Women, the gap between men’s and women’s salaries starts immediately after entering the workforce.  Just one year out of school, a woman earns 80 percent of what a man earns.  After controlling for industry, type of job, prior experience, and other characteristics, this gap closes to 95 percent.  The unexplained five percent gap is viewed as evidence of bias.  After 10 years, the average woman earns only 69 percent of what the average man earns, and the unexplained gap has widened from five percent to 12 percent.

Level and Age Don't Help

Also as reported in the HBR article, The Center for American Progress went a step further and tracked wage gaps by age and occupation.  The organization found that by the end of their careers, male managers have made $635K more than their female peers.  Apparently, wage discrimination doesn’t get better as you get older, more seasoned, or better educated – it gets worse.  If you’re female, no matter how well you perform, your raise simply might not be as high as your male colleague’s.

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

Obama’s American Jobs Act: Job Seekers Should Target Small Businesses

On Thursday, September 8, President Barack Obama asked Congress to approve a nearly half-trillion-dollar plan called the American Jobs Act, which seeks to bolster the economy by cutting payroll taxes for employers and employees, aiding the long-term unemployed, and improving the country’s physical infrastructure.

Most notable, in my opinion, is the $65 billion designated to encourage small businesses to hire more workers.  This will be done by cutting employer payroll taxes to 3.1 percent for the first $5 million of a company’s wage bill, which Obama claimed will reach 98 percent of small businesses.  And those companies that increase their payroll over last year by hiring new employees or increasing existing employees’ salaries will receive a total payroll tax holiday. 

Stay Local to Find Employment

As a founding member of the Career Advisory Board, presented by DeVry University, I’ve often advised people out of work they should go local, and this is a critical piece of advice now more than ever.  Businesses with fewer than 500 employees make up half of the workforce in the United States, and over the last decade or so, have created about 70 percent of all jobs.  Even at the height of the recession, many small businesses were still hiring. Case in point: executive coaching firm Visage recently found that 54 percent of small business CEOs planned to add employees over the next 12 months.

If you’re a teacher, police officer, firefighter, or construction worker, you may find additional job opportunities opening up as a result of Obama’s plan. But everyone else on the market should at least consider making small businesses a search target.

Marketing Yourself to Small Businesses

When it comes to marketing yourself to small businesses, you must rely even less on the Internet, because many hire through word of mouth.  They want to bring in candidates referred personally by someone they trust, or candidates they have already seen in action.  Perhaps they have worked with these candidates in some capacity before, or have met them through third-party professional associations, chambers of commerce, or local volunteer events.  So if you want to be hired by a small business, you have to go out of your way to be visible in your community and leverage any opportunity to network in person. 

In an interview with a small business CEO or owner, you need to demonstrate a solid knowledge of the company and its mission.  Remember that many people start their own businesses because they have a particular vision, so make sure you understand what that is and can speak about it with passion.  Explain why you want to work with a small company as opposed to a large one to assuage fears that you’ll jump ship when a multi-national conglomerate comes calling.

Finally, it’s imperative that small business employees wear many hats, so emphasize your wide range of skills and your enthusiasm for picking up new ones.  For example, maybe you’re in finance but would like to learn more about sales.  Any way you can underscore your ability to work hard, impress customers, and mobilize a small team to get results quickly will earn you points.    

Google is Forever

A few weeks ago, I received this e-mail from reader Ryan Miner that I wanted to share with you:

"When I was a 19 year-old undergraduate student at Duquesne University I created a Facebook group in opposition to a proposal to allow a Gay-Straight Alliance to form on campus. I used the term subhuman to lament homosexuality.

I could not have been more wrong. My words were unabashedly despicable and unambiguously insensitive. My actions were the antithesis of the same faith I used to defend myself, and it was an indelibly poor reflection on my personal character. I embarrassed my family, my friends, my hometown, and Duquesne University. I was in no position to cast such blatant judgment, and I pray that I can be forgiven and learn from this awful experience.

As a result of the media attention and the emerging technology of this decade, I am infinitely attached to my mistake in the annals of Google. The stories you read from the Google results paint a polar opposite picture of who I am today. However, actions inevitably and invariably have consequences, and the reckless comments I made at 19 continue to plague me in my professional career. I have been denied employment and was even fired from a great opportunity as a result of the incident at Duquesne.

I am now looking to expand my career, but each time I submit a new resume, a sense of bleak fear overcomes me, wondering whether or not a company will Google my name only to toss my resume in the trash and move to the next applicant. If only I could relay to a potential employer that my beliefs have changed and I would never engage in that type of behavior in the future. But you reap with you sow, and I will continue to deal with the consequences of my mistake."

There can never be too many stories like this to remind us that Google is forever. 

Protect Yourself from a Downsizing Profession

Many people don’t realize that industry downsizing will affect their jobs until it’s too late.  The answer?  Even if your position seems secure, be vigilant and proactive.

One key question to ask yourself is if there have been major layoffs or consolidations in companies similar to yours.

Even if you’re in a comparatively desirable area like IT, if you are working in a field that’s in trouble (e.g. manufacturing, retail), you may not be able to rely on cushy severance packages or the ability to quickly land a job with a competitor. Before you become a layoff victim, reorganize your finances so that your liabilities are as low as possible and set up an emergency fund.  Update your résumé and line up your references so they’re ready to go when you need them.

This may be the time to move to an industry in which jobs are more plentiful. Healthcare and private education continue to see employment gains, and if you can use your current skills in an area that received funding from the economic-stimulus plan, all the better.

Many professionals are daunted by the prospect of a mid-career industry switch, but as long as you have the core skills and enough basic knowledge to hold your own in an interview, you can feel confident.

Peruse publications related to your new field and learning the target industry’s recent history and developments. You will likely find more opportunities in smaller companies or nonprofits, since roles in these organizations tend to be less specialized.

Networking is obviously key here. If you can, use your old network to help launch a new career. Otherwise, reach out to professional associations and people in the kinds of jobs you’d like to do to begin to build a new network.

If you aren’t up for a total career makeover, you might also think about developing an adjacent career or another expertise that will help you stay afloat in your current industry.

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

 

Pulling a “Heath Shuler:” The Right Way to Get Someone Else’s Job

The Nation sums up Congressman Heath Shuler like this:

A chiseled ex-football star and devout Southern Baptist from the Smoky Mountains of Western North Carolina (WNC), Shuler was the prize recruit of Rahm Emanuel’s class of ’06. Despite his conservative stances on guns, abortion, immigration and gay rights, Democratic activists in WNC rallied behind Shuler, who ran as an economic populist and promised to fight for new jobs and better healthcare for his mountain constituents.

“The Democratic Party helps those who cannot help themselves. That’s the Christian that I am,” he was reported as saying.  Shuler then proceeded to become one of the most outspoken dissidents inside the Democratic Congress, voting against the stimulus, healthcare bill and Consumer Financial Protection Agency.  And he is now  gunning for Nancy Pelosi’s job as House Minority Leader.  “If she doesn’t step aside, I will challenge her,” he announced to CNN this week.

There are a few problems with Shuler’s strategy, and these are the same issues you should consider if you’ve decided you want someone else’s job in your company.

He is jumping the gun before natural events could take their course.

Pelosi still has significant pull within the Democratic party, including the friendship of President Obama, and she hadn’t yet announced her intention to run for party leader again.  Shuler stepped in before Pelosi even made a move that people could disapprove of.   Your best bet in securing another person’s job is to sit tight and wait for that person to be ousted by their own making rather than taking action that makes you look like the bad guy.

He is being openly antagonistic and divisive.

Everyone recognizes that the Democratic party needs unity now more than anything, so Shuler’s bid looks like a ploy for attention and press rather than an honest and earnest desire to do what’s best for the organization.  No one likes a self-centered bully.  If you want your contributions to be recognized and rewarded, you must play nice in the sandbox.

He does not have the support of his colleagues.

Even Shuler readily admits that he doesn’t have the votes to win this challenge.  By proving it, he will undermine his own effectiveness as a representative and make some bitter enemies in the process.  If you truly feel you are the best person for a particular job, then you must not be the only person who thinks so.  Gather substantial support before announcing your intentions.

This post was originally published on the Intuit Quickbase blog.

Career Lessons from NYC Marathon and Edison Pena

Sunday's New York City Marathon was notable for several reasons.  First, with more than 45,000 participants it was the largest marathon to date.  And then there were the runners themselves.  Gebre Gebremariam, an Ethiopian, became the first man to win in a marathon debut since 1980.  Other racers included a double lung transplant patient, Meredith Viera and Al Roker from the Today Show, and, most surprisingly, Chilean miner Edison Pena.

Not even a month ago, Pena was rescued after being trapped for 69 days in a collapsed mine, where he kept his hope alive by running in a winding network of underground tunnels.

“What I thought about as I ran in the mine was that I was going to beat destiny,” Peña said in a news conference. “I was saying to that mine, ‘I can outrun you, I’m going to run until you’re just tired and bored of me,’ and I did it.”

Compared to this life-or-death experience, running on the streets of New York City didn’t seem nearly as daunting – it was almost like a victory lap!   There is much we can can learn from Pena’s journey.  Among the lessons I took away:

• Even when a situation looks hopeless, you must still maintain your faith in yourself and your abilities, and model that faith for others who are looking to you for inspiration.
• Pace yourself through difficult periods.  Not only did Pena do this in the mine, but he struggled with intense physical pain throughout Sunday's race due to a knee injury he sustained while trapped.  His time of nearly six hours wasn’t enough to win, but the accomplishment was in the finish.
• You must take advantage of opportunities to increase your visibility and gain support for your cause.  By seizing the chance to participate in the Marathon just after his rescue, Pena received international attention for his country and the miners’ plight.

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

China's Rise is Nothing New

In a recent post for the Harvard Business Review blog, professor of business administration William Kirby commented that the news that China has overtaken Japan as the world’s second-largest economy and is on its way to be the world’s largest economy by 2030 has stressed out Americans significantly.

A Historical Precedent

What we don’t realize, says Kirby, is that China’s position on top is nothing new.  China had the world's largest economy in 1800 and its empire was the strongest, richest and perhaps best governed on Earth. Were it not for the catastrophic rule of Mao Zedong in the third quarter of the 20th century, China would long ago have overtaken Japan in economic size and influence.

Why China?

What is it about China that’s so special?  Kirby says that it’s a country that values entrepreneurship, education, engineering, internationalization, and a government strong enough (if sometimes too strong) to get things done, and as a result is a powerful partner and a formidable competitor.

How to Compete

It’s time for us to stop wringing our hands that the 21^st century is the “Asian century.”  The U.S. can’t be the #1 superpower in the world forever.  It’s up to each one of us to learn how to work effectively with other nations.  We must become multi-lingual, possess an understanding of how business operates in other cultures, read international publications, and become accustomed to working on a more flexible schedule to accommodate far-away time zones.

The rest of the world has been doing these things for a long time.  In my opinion, China’s rise should not be viewed as threatening, but instead as a valuable opportunity for Americans to become more open-minded and productive, and to grow as global citizens.

 A version of this post was originally published on Intuit's Quickbase blog.

Why Office Popularity Matters

In high school, didn’t a part of you always wonder how the cool kids did it? Popularity remained an enigmatic aspect of human existence that ceased to be relevant once we threw our caps in the air…right?

There are scores of research studies on popularity in schools, and most have indicated that popular children are viewed as better students and make and maintain friendships more easily. In 2009, however, organizational psychologists Timothy Judge and B.A. Scott at the University of Florida demonstrated that popularity plays a significant role on success in the workplace. They defined popularity as being “accepted by one’s peers” and conceptualized it as a function of both an employee’s personality and the situational position within his group.

As a result of studying two samples of employee populations, professors Judge and Scott reported that co-workers reliably agreed about who was popular on their team – and who wasn’t. Co-workers also felt that an employee’s popularity was associated with receiving more favorable treatment at work. Why? Judge and Scott suggest that popular employees are rewarding to interact with for both emotional and instrumental reasons. In addition to being “fun to be with,” popular individuals are thought to increase co-worker status by association and make it easier to get things done.

Meg Cabot just wrote a book for teens called How to Be Popular, but rest assured, I’m not going to make you read it. Instead, here are some painless tips for increasing your popularity on the office social circuit.

• Be interested in other people: Human beings love to talk about themselves and be listened to. By taking the time to learn about what a co-worker deems important and inquiring about those things, you’ll make her happy and encourage her to like you.
• Shift attention away from yourself: Don’t chat on endlessly about what you and your boyfriend or girlfriend did over the weekend, and if a co-worker broaches a particular topic, don’t immediately turn the discussion to your own experiences. Instead of trying to be admired, be admiring.
• Eradicate self-consciousness: People who lack confidence make others feel nervous and awkward. When conversing with co-workers, try to be natural and relaxed, without worrying about how you’re being perceived.
• Organize team building activities: You don’t have to be your department’s cheerleader, but it’s nice to occasionally take charge of getting the group together for drinks or another fun activity after work or during the holidays. Most people like to be social, and the individual who takes responsibility for being the organizer usually gets popularity points.
• Help whenever you can: Always be generous with your knowledge, expertise, and time without expecting anything in return. People like those who they can count on in times of stress and who are willing to pitch in without making a big production out of it.

 

Working Moms Need More

Says the recent Shriver Report:  “For the first time in our history, half of all U.S. workers are women. Mothers are the primary breadwinners or co-breadwinners in nearly two-thirds of American families. Yet some of our institutions lag behind and don’t yet reflect this new dynamic. Government, business, the media and our faith communities, in many cases, still cling to outdated models of who works and who cares for our families.  For example, men now agree with women that government and business need to provide flexible work schedules, better childcare, family and medical leave and equal pay. And over 80 percent of men and women agree businesses that fail to adapt to the needs of modern families risk losing good workers.” 

Premiere Global Services, a provider of communication-based technology, has developed a list of guidelines/ tips/ tech needs for companies that will help create a flexible workplace to match the needs of the modern American family:

• Set an example from the top down. Managers should utilize flexible works hours to communicate the company’s commitment to providing an adaptable work environment.        
• Provide the basics - laptop, smartphone, office software such as Word and PowerPoint, IM tools and access to good audio and Web conferencing solutions.
• Unblock social media sites and allow employees to communicate via these growing tools. Set corporate social media policies to ensure professionalism while allowing connections. Blocking Facebook today is like blocking IM five years ago or blocking the Internet 10 years ago.
• Train employees to use technology tools properly and have an IT helpline available for those working off-site.
• Clearly communicate your own workstyle and preferences including your location/time zone.

Springboard Project's Recommendations for American Workforce

As I've talked about before, one of the most exciting projects I've worked on this year is with the Obama administration's Department of Labor.  As part of the Springboard Project, I've participated in developing six recommendations to help American workers get the skills they and our businesses need to fill today’s and tomorrow’s jobs.  Today, we're releasing them to the media.  They are:

1. Create Incentives to Build a Better Educated Workforce

Increase postsecondary education and training attainment rates to meet market demand and provide personal opportunity by rewarding institutions and individuals.

2. Develop Nationally Recognized Workforce Certifications and Credentials

Empower students and workers by creating nationally portable workforce skill credentials that are credible to educators and valued by employers.

3. Communicate Timely and Consumer-Friendly Information to Workers

Provide valuable labor market and related education information in ways that are easily accessible, understandable, and timely.

4. Bring 21^st-Century Innovation to Education and Training

Reinvent the delivery systems of postsecondary education and training to get better and more cost effective outcomes for more people.

5. Unlock the Power of Community Colleges and Two-Year Institutions 

Build on the untapped potential of community colleges to encourage more people to embrace postsecondary education and to revitalize local economies.

6. Foster Lifelong Learning

Encourage a new mindset that values lifelong learning as an essential priority for personal and national success.

As part of these recommendations, I will be working with the Business Roundtable to develop a Workforce 101 online training course for high school and college students.  Stay tuned, and please send any suggestions my way!