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June 2009 Archives
When I was breaking into consulting, word of mouth was what got me in many doors (as well as starting small with projects). To this day, it is still my most effective mode of getting new work and projects. A couple great sources I have used to land work and good publicity are www.elance.comwww.sologig.comwww.craigslist.orgCraigslist, especially, has had the most effect on drawing in and also finding me projects. I post ads on there from time to time, and I search the "gigs" section a couple times a week to find relevant work. Sometimes even, I search locales outside my jurisdiction to post quick answers to those who may need assistance from afar.
Here are some more tips from Robert Braathe's HR and Career Guide on ways to succeed at interviewing.
1. Try to land interviews for jobs that are above your skill level. While you may not get the job you want, you can still wow them with your potential.
2. Play softball (or other sports). Find out what people are doing outside of your circle of employment. You may land contacts in other companies just by the relationships you develop on the field of play
3. Be prompt in every communication channel. If you get a phone call, email or visit, drop everything and get back to the person who has contacted you. Building a reputation for quick response (even if it is in the form of "I am out of the office and will get back to you within X hours", you have at least acknowledged whoever has contacted you
4. Rely on your people skills vs. your actual skills. If you make someone feel special, make them feel like you want to be a part of their team, or can make someone smile, you are ahead of most of the field. Being nice while also being a problem solver can take you to the top of the recruiting list.
Lee Cockerell, author of Creating Magic, mentioned in a Time Management course that he preferred living close to work to minimize time commuting. I agree with him mostly, but I enjoy the buffer I have with living about 35-40 minutes from my university. I value the "decompression time" I have between my workplace and my home. This time gives me time to think about nothing but the road home, and gives me 30 minutes to either rest from a long day at the office or to calm down from an exciting day of activity. Granted, a good workout after work also is effective, but that to me isn't the only thing that helps me relax. Building in some type of guaranteed relaxation time is important to recharge after a day at the office. Another decompression tip I use is a mid-day catnap when I can between appointments; finding a shady parking spot between classes or appointments provides a nice recharge. What tips do you have for finding time to decompress during the day? Share them at robert@galaconcierge.com
Here are a list of just a few of my favorite books when it comes to HR and Careers
7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
The 4 Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferris
A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink
Creating Magic by Lee Cockerell
Each of these books provides solid frameworks for dealing with your staff while encouraging you to participate in activities to grow your skills in dealing with people in and out of the workplace. Over the coming weeks, I will provide you with some of the learning from these books that have and continue to make me the person I am today.
Common questions I get from students include "How do I break into a new business?" and "How can I learn more about sales?"
Bartering can provide you with some great opportunities to show off what you can do with limited investment on the part of the people you are doing business with. I still use bartering from time to time when working with clients who may not have the resources to invest in my time fully.
People new to any field can certainly work on a small scale with businesses to offer your time in exchange for goods and services while demonstrating what you can offer. As time goes on, if you show that your services are worthy of an investment, this can turn into a lucrative project or employment opportunity.
Similar success can be found in bartending. If you can handle the stress of dealing with multiple requests at the same time, dealing with difficult people who may have had too much to drink, and upsell your products well, you are probably a successful bartender. Those who lack selling experience who enter the bartending trade face a make or break scenario.
So if you are looking to gain experience in a new field while growing new skills, try bartering your services or working as a bartender
Last fall I wrote to two school districts about teaching an adult education class called Introduction to Macs. I call it my own "Tale of Two Cities".
The first town wrote back to me in about 20 minutes, and dismissed my course by stating "we don't offer teaser courses, nor do we have the facilities to offer such a course." I felt insulted, and wrote back that "this is not a teaser course, it is a course to introduce people to the platform and make them aware of the resources out there." Needless to say, I did not feel welcomed nor appreciated.
The other town took their time to write back (about a week), and basically said "Mr. Braathe, thanks for your letter, we'd be delighted to offer your course, what equipment will you need and when would you like to offer it? We don't have Macs here, but if you bring yours I am sure that will work just fine."
Let this be a lesson - people may respond back quickly, and they may be negative and dismissive of what you offer. Give time to those who take their time, and look to give you other options and the time you deserve.
Use this advice as you search for jobs (or as you weed out candidates); those who take their time and are thoughtful about their responses are the ones you want to be associated with.
CODE - CYOURRESUME
When it comes to business, sometimes, "shaving our head and starting
over" means throwing out old practices completely and starting fresh
with something knew. I was asked last week what was the meanest thing I ever said to someone. A few years ago, someone new I had met about 5 minutes earlier said "I'm not sure what I should do with my hair." I told her "Maybe you should shave your head and start over." My friends were aghast, but she actually said "Yeah, maybe that's not such a bad idea." Whether it is restarting your website, changing your orientation program, or changing your hiring strategies, putting a fresh look on things may require getting rid of any type of material related to your old way of looking at things. The same thing can be applied to redoing your resume or looking at ways to search for work in the first place. Sometimes, we have our "head shaved" when somebody ends up deleting files, losing information, or because circumstances require a total shift from the old way of doing things. This could present for you a unique opportunity to give a fresh outlook to your ways of operating. Share with me stories of "Shaving your head and starting over" at robert@galaconcierge.com
Q: My staff is lethargic after about 5 hours of selling during an 8 hour shift. What can we do to improve productivity and improve their morale?
A: For any 8 hour shift, I like to give 2 30-minute breaks instead of a 1 hour full break whenever business allowed it. Let's say someone comes in at 9am for a 9-6 shift. Giving them a half hour lunch break at 1130/12 followed by a second half hour around 2/2:30 helps give you the flexibility to get people's breaks out on time, as well as the ability to give people shorter breaks more often. Depending on your environment or local law, if you also give your staff a 15 minute unpaid break, you can throw that in the mix somewhere in between.
In any position I have had, I have found more often than not that staff generally will appreciate having more than one break a day (especially if there are on-site food facilities).
Another approach that I have found has worked well is to give staff who want to take their entire break at once a one hour break later in their shift, and their shorter break earlier on in the shift. This again allows for the staff to have regular rest periods throughout their shifts.
I spoke to my class today about my recent experience at a restaurant where I was served by a well-trained, confident, and competent bartender assisting probably 30 guests with a smile and with great follow-through. Meanwhile, at the same time, there were probably 4 or 5 waitstaff belly-aching in the corner of the bar within my earshot about "not getting enough 4-tops, this server getting better tables, and how much they can't stand the host". Unfortunately, this is something I see way too often in the food industry. People piss and moan in the public areas and think no one is listening. Here are some suggestions for policies to put into place on the floor of your food establishment. 1. No discussion of work policies and procedures on the sales floor 2. Document, discipline, dismiss policies for prevention of this activity occurring again 3. Continual training to show people the downfalls of this type of dialogue. Tell me your stories of witnessing poor dialogue in food establishments by emailing me at robert@galaconcierge.com
A well-run organization will have people of all ages working with one another sharing ideas and best practices. Having a wealth of experiences along with new ideas and create opportunities for both new perspectives and new learning experiences for all.
The best organizations that I have seen aren't just giving lip-service to mentoring by having formal "buddy systems" in place. Organizations that really get "the wealth of ages" instill in everyone the kind of pride in working with one another and developing informal relationships.
I'm proud to have had mentors and mentees at every organization I have been with, and I can honestly say the best ones were the ones that came about because it was just the right thing to do, and not because we were told to do so.
Q: I've heard from various sources that once you tell your company or boss that you are thinking of leaving, then you basically are saying you are leaving. What steps can you take to prevent this from happening?
A: It's common for people to be disenchanted with events, people, or other parts of their work. Channelling that displeasure into polite discourse and dialogue PRIOR to considering leaving can prevent you from the kind of situations you mention.
Similarly, for many companies, the notion of giving two weeks notice doesn't necessarily mean they are going to keep you around for two weeks. Ensure that you really are prepared to leave a company before you mention considering leaving or giving notice.
A far better approach is to have regular meetings with important people in the organization that you report to or work with to discuss hot button issues as they come up.
I was at a truck rental
location in 2000 when I saw this nugget of a quote hung up on a wall from an
old newspaper:
"If we are going to kill anything, let it be the arrogant attitude, ignorance, and unconstructive
criticism." MB
Nothing kills morale in an organization more than poor attitudes, unwillingness to consider other
thought patterns, and the inability to criticize appropriately. Building and following a mission
that instills pride in differences of opinion, encourages open dialogue, and rewards positive interactions creates organizations like Disney, Apple, and Ritz Carlton, where ideas and exchanges of ideasare valued. What to you do in your organization to kill arrogance, ignorance, and unconstructive criticism?
A colleague was facing a layoff after two decades of service with his company. Nearly his entire department was let go due to the economic downturn. Rather that take a severance package, he considered taking an opportunity somewhere else in the company to keep his benefits and the opportunity to return to a different position when the economy improves. This is a tough decision many face; keep loyal to the company, hoping that things get better, or taking a severance package to soften the blow, and look for opportunities elsewhere. In my colleague's case, he decided that given his partner had a full-time position, he could afford to stay put and tough it out, despite a pay cut and decreased responsibility. I once was faced with a similar situation - I didn't receive a full-time opportunity, but was given a chance to work part-time in the event a full-time position may open up later that year. My loyalty and patience was rewarded with a full-time position. Share your stories of taking less "to stay or not to stay" at robert@galaconcierge.com
Opening yourself up to opportunities to work from home can lead to great benefits for your bottom line (and for opening yourself up to even more work). Sites such as elance.com and sologig.com provide opportunities for those who seek side projects or to work remotely. Recently, I have improved my website by listing some of the projects I have worked on remotely, and this has opened up my world to new opportunities nationally. By setting up your business model to accept work no matter where it may take place, you open yourself up to new business and possibly long-term relationships. To see an example of how I have leveraged my experiences with Quickbooks to open up my business to a national audience, visit my Quickbooks page at www.galaconcierge.com/quickbooksWhile it may not be visually striking, it has successfully landed me new projects of late in Seattle, Hawaii, and around the capital region of New York state.
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