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July 2009 Archives
Q: How do I become an adjunct professor? I've always wanted to teach, and it seems like so many schools want people with lots of experience. I just finished my bachelor's degree but know I'd be good at teaching.
A: I started as an adjunct before I became a full-time instructor. Laying the groundwork before I even finished my MBA helped me land as an adjunct instructor three months after I finished my MBA.
While I didn't have teaching experience, I leveraged my experiences in training and leading training meetings with all the companies I had been with prior. Likewise, I networked with people in the industry for a long time, and always kept a foot in the door at a few different places.
As well, a couple schools I looked at before deciding on SUNY Delhi had me put together mock lectures and lesson plans; it's good to have something like this to share in your interview if you are asked.
The best place to start your search is at the community college level. Many schools will bring on professionals with experience in their field who have a bachelor's and are possibly pursuing a Master's degree. Bringing in people from the field, especially in specialized areas like finance, science, law, culinary, business, and technology can really add to a program at any college.
For the 4 year level, it's almost a must to have a Master's degree.
Also, attend career fairs for colleges that often are run when schools are looking for adjuncts. Mildred Elley is running one on August 13th in the Albany area.
http://www.mildred-elley.edu/careers/
Best of luck to you! Education is a great career choice.
"It is not advisable, James, to venture unsolicited opinions. You should spare yourself the embarrassing discovery of their exact value to your listener." from Atlas Shrugged.
Some of the best feedback in an organization that I have seen is of the fearless variety - open dialogue where both the sender and receiver walk away respected and fulfilled; feedback of this type can be both positive and negative, and always timely.
Too often, however, there can be the propensity within and outside an organization for their to be unsolicited feedback in the form of complaining, whining and nitpicking. This type of feedback is often driven by mood, negativity, and never seems to focus on the bigger issues of developing people to be the best they can be.
To focus yourself on giving a better effort in your feedback...
When someone or someplace has wronged you, make no mention of it to anyone. When someone has done right by you, mention it to everyone. Because you see, when it's wrong, there's no point in giving publicity to those who disappoint you, and when it's right, it's the publicity that turns the little heroes in this world into the icons they are destined to be.
Working with those who aren't performing in ways that focus on rewards vs punishment can make the difference between losing someone who may be just having a bad day and developing someone into the kind of person you want to be in your presence for many times to come.
"When the last thing you want to do is deal with any humans, the best thing to do is to deal with many humans." Robert James Braathe, 2009
I've found that the worst thing one can do during difficult times is to shut down completely from everyone else and everything else. I find that I work my best when perhaps my mind is elsewhere. It forces me to really focus on how I am channelling that frustration, despair, or agitation into something productive.
If you shut down and keep to yourself, very often this draws more attention to yourself than you really need. By going out of your way to work and intermingle with others (especially when you may not be at your best) can turn the worst of situations and moods into something worthwhile.
I had an employee tell me that she always like to be around me when something really bad happenned to me or at work because inevitably I'd rise like a phoenix from the ashes. This was because I always look at the opportunity in times of difficulty rather than focusing on the difficulty itself.
Twitter's growth and acceptance has exploded over the last year. More and more users sign up each day to update people on what they are doing and where they are going. What I have found to be one of the most useful features of Twitter is the search function. I have been able to follow people on Twitter by searching them through the search option, using it much like Google. In these searches, I have found many people posting links to jobs, marketing their businesses, and also sharing short insights that make you want to read the links that they also share. If you are looking to make sense of a vast array of jobs choices out there, Twitter may be a great way for you to find that job or project you are looking for. 140 characters makes people become more succinct and clear on what they want in order to get candidates to click through and view their jobs. What's nice as well is that it's not just employers posting jobs; it's people who specialize in the job search, friends helping friends who are looking for help, and people who believe in great companies sharing links that may not be easily found through a Google search or searching someone's website directly. You can view my Twitter account to see some of the best practices I have employed at twitter.com/galaconcierge
Q: I recently was promoted at my job to a management role. Although I am in management now, I only am working part-time hours (on average 25-30 hours a week) I'm also getting my MBA at the same time (and this company is willing to kick in some money on my behalf.) Should I seek a full-time opportunity somewhere or stay where I am at?
A: It sounds to me like you are in the right place at the right time. Since you are in school, having a role that gives you some time flexibility with your time. If this role is providing you with enough money, perhaps you want to consider just working on some side jobs to fill in the gaps while you are in school. As a full-time student, you probably also are eligible for some type of health coverage through your school.
Stay where you at; they sound like a great company for offering you tuition support while only working a part-time schedule!
Q: Should I put an objective on my resume ? A: Depending on who you speak with, you will get a different answer. To me, an objective OF a resume is more important than the objective ON the resume. Are you looking for a job in your current field? Focus on your accomplishments within that field and make subsidiary any other work you have done. Are you looking for a job outside your current field? Focus on your SKA's (skills, knowledge and abilities) that transcend a particular field of study Are you a student seeking your first job? Focus on leadership roles and the coursework you have taken at school. I find the objective ON the resume to be somewhat intrusive and not well thought out by most. If you lay out your resume properly, it indicates to the reader what your goal is, based on the three questions above, or others you may be trying to get across. If you are going to use the objective ON the resume, be sure to be succinct and clear of what your objective is. Examples - Seeking a front desk management position at a resort larger than the one I currently work at. - Seeking a management position in Dallas, TX so I may accompany my spouse who is being relocated (this will help identify you as a soon to be local who may be living elsewhere). Share your examples of good objectives at robert@galaconcierge.com
One of my more memorable interviewing moments was when I interviewed to work at a resort. My boss was a colleague to the manager at this resort, so I was able to get feedback after the interview.
I went into the interview confident and prepared. I brought with me a portfolio of comment cards and projects I worked on, and was excited for the opportunity to meet with the property's managers. Little did I know at the time that I was probably "too prepared" for the interview.
Since this was a lateral move from one property to another, I thought it would be a cinch that I'd be hired. I had the experience, the drive, and the personality, but unfortunately it may have come across as overconfidence in the interview.
A couple days later, I asked my boss what she had heard from the property. She told me that they were going in a different direction because they felt I was "too polished". Taken aback, I asked her what she thought they meant by this, to which she replied "Well, to be honest, sometimes people feel threatened by anyone who comes in who might be smarter than they are, and they won't hire you for that reason."
It made me feel better about the situations, and made me realize that maybe sometimes being "too prepared" in an interview may not be such a bad thing.
Q: I recently submitted a resume for a position as Director of Innovation for a hospitality industry company. I had prepared an "innovative" cover letter presentation but was unable to get it attached through their website process. I posted my resume through the website but also sent a hard copy with the cover letter presentation Express Mail.
I received a call the next day from an HR recruiter that she had received my resume through the web site and would send it on to the hiring manager. I asked did she receive the hard copy; "yes but it's against policy, so I won't be able to pass that on." I explained my inability to get it attached through the website and given this was a creative position I was applying for, I felt compelled to go a bit beyond the norm. The cover letter consisted of a cover letter and a two page attachement. In the end she agreed to submit the letter without the attachment. But without the two additional pages, the cover letter on it's own is not likely to have the same impact.
A: I am saddenned to hear a company looking for someone innovative isn't innovative in their hiring practices!
Unfortunately in many situations, people are "hiding behind rules and regulations" in the immortal words of Leonard McCoy. Certainly, I can understand a company not wanting to be bombarded by extraneous paperwork, but in your case it seems like a simple request yet they turned into a problem.
Smart HR departments now ask for more than just a resume; many ask for a portfolio of work, links to references, and in some cases links to social networks you belong to so they can see consistency as well as how you market yourself.
Certainly in positions like the one you speak of, a sheet of paper may be good enough to vet away poor matches, but what really helps the company in the end make one person stick out from another?
As I mentioned in Part 1, I received 3 job offers from the career fair. About two weeks after the fair, after followup interviews, I received an offer that I accepted. However, it was not the job that was my first choice. I had grown frustrated waiting for the job offer that I had seemingly in the bag after having a formal offer nearly presented that wasjust awaiting final approval.
I waited one week for that final approval to come in, and when it did not, I was up against time. I had only budgeted myself to be out of work for three weeks, and the offer was competitive, and the opportunity interesting.
Upon accepting the offer from the second company, the first choice company called and finally made an offer. I was torn; do I turn back the offer I already accepted, or politely turn down the opportunity that offered more money and possibly more advancement?
I called back the second company and said I'd like a day or so to reconsider. They were stunned by this, but nonetheless gave me the opportunity to pursue the other opportunity, although I really think they felt I was shutting the door on them.
I sat on it for a day, and after a couple unreturned phone calls from company number one, I then called back the second company and am glad that they still were willing to let me join the team. It just felt right.
Lesson learned: I went with my gut feeling, and I was right. Although the first choice company seemed more appealing and more nationally known, my second choice ended helping me get into the best shape of my life and teach me valuable sales skills I'd take with me further along in my journey.
I also learned that if a company really wants you, they will give you the time to think about the opportunity some more, but you need to be careful that you don't accept an offer before you are positive you are not going to reconsider.
There are so many resources out there where one can post job openings and calls for resumes, but there still are ineffective employee searches going on on both sides of the fence. Employers are posting very often too late in the search process, or posting openings too often.
Here are some do's and don'ts when searching for candidates for the organization
DO's
Try to be "always hiring". Have systems in place to always respect candidates who apply, even if there is not a job available.
Post openings BEFORE they become openings. I see many companies that do this very well. This creates a pool of applicants to consider later on.
Be explicit as to the specifics of the role. If you aren't specific enough, you may find that you get too many unqualified candidates.
DON'Ts
Don't post the same job to the same source if it is the same opening. You may find that candidates may question whether there is high turnover (or you may see better results by posting elsewhere).
Don't get too specific with the description of the job, because you may scare away valid candidates.
My last two vacations have been workations. I went to Florida in July 2008 and extended my time there by three days by bringing work with me to do a couple rainy days. This past week, I did the same thing for my trip to Alaska. I was able to spend 10 days there instead of 7 by setting aside a few hours on three separate days to get a few things done while I was out of town.
Some people may look down upon bringing work with you when you are away, but I find it to be a great way to manage to spend more time away from the office. If I had shut down completely, I may have come home to a great deal more work and not been able to enjoy my vacation as much as I did.
After the disappointment of not getting the job I flew in for, I attended what I called "the career fair to end all career fairs". I had saved up about 6 weeks of vacation pay to support me from my departure from Florida on September 10th 2000 until whenever I landed something permanent. I had a goal of starting a new job within three weeks.
I stopped over for a couple days in CT on my way to Boston, and decided to plan out some career fairs and locations I'd like to work as I was preparing myself for beginning school the following fall. One fair had about 5 companies I was interested in and others that seemed worth exploring.
In my back pocket I knew I had the vacation pay to wait on, as well as some guaranteed temporary work at the store I managed during my college years in the event nothing turned up right away.
I went to the career fair about 7 days after my last day at Disney. What I walked away with was 3 job offers, links with new companies I had never considered before, and many choices that led me to a decision that helped me get the sales experience I never had before. But there were a few hiccups along the way...
After my "Independence Day", I was flown in for an interview with a company seeking a manager with experience. I had found out about the job through a recruiting company and had high expectations. My thoughts were that "if they were flying me in, then they must be interested in me."
I spent an entire day interviewing, and when I flew home I was confident that the position was mine. Weeks went by, and I finally put a call out to the recruiting company. They asked me if I had heard anything directly from the company, and I replied no. The recruiting company got back to me and said that the company thought I was more interested in moving to Boston than I was in working for their company.
Lesson learned - just because someone seems excited to hire you doesn't mean you shouldn't show equal or more excitement in return.
In the end, this worked out for the best, because my next experiences in Boston set up the framework for beginning my consulting career years later.
Sometimes coming up with a deadline to when you want to do something else can be very freeing. July 17, 2000 was such a day for me.
I had been contemplating moving from Florida for about a year, but no reason was clear to me why I wanted to do this in the first place. There were offers from other companies, but nothing that made me say this is the right reason for me to move on.
I helped some friends move to Boston, and realized during that move that it was time for me to consider moving on, because I had found a place I wanted to move to and a school I wanted to attend that made it make sense to leave a job and a company I loved.
Until I made the decision to leave for all the right reasons, it wouldn't have made sense for me to leave.
It was very freeing to finally go in to work and say that I was going to be moving on about 6 weeks later. Leaving for all the right reasons kept the door open for a return down the road, and left a good taste on both parties for the reasons behind leaving.
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