My Campus Chronicles
Our college blog dedicated to helping students prepare for life outside of college.
July 2008 archive
Q: Dear Seymour, I just found out that my boss is leaving to take a job with another company. I really enjoy working with her and she's asked me follow her to the new organization... is that a smart thing to do?
- Submitted by Mitch Grifin, Petersburg, Virginia
A: Dear Mitch,
There is no simple answer to this question and it certainly can be a difficult choice. The best decision will likely depend on the answers to a few important questions, and your particular circumstances. For example, does your boss have a track record of success? Is your boss being asked to leave your current company? Are you willing to trade in the time off you've accumulated and established reputation for a work environment you aren't familiar with? These are all questions you will need to think long and hard about before jumping ship.
To help guide you during your decision-making process, consider these potential issues:
1) Your boss' successful track record suddenly comes to a halt. Despite the fact that your boss may be excelling in her current position, what if the new job is out of her league and she begins to bomb? You'll inevitably be linked to her and it may be difficult to disassociate yourself.
2) You'll eventually need to exit the ride on her coattails. Beginning a pattern of following your boss' every move will make it harder down the road to sever those ties. It may also stunt your career growth having never experienced different management or work styles.
3) You've become peers. On the flip side, you may have learned so much from your boss and have developed your skills to such a level that you are promoted to management. Now, you're sitting in an office next to your mentor, who may feel threatened and begin to undermine your success.
In the end, your unique situation will play a big part in whether this is the best decision for you. Just be sure to consider all the pros and cons, and potential scenarios before making the move, or not.
Good luck!
Whether you are looking for a job or making connections for business, networking is extremely important. But, it's not easy for everyone to walk up to complete strangers, introduce themselves and strike up a conversation.
I read an article that offers several tips for making networking and speaking engagements easier. Many of these are good tricks to the trade, and will instill confidence if you are nervous or unsure about how to operate in an uncomfortable situation.
What's important to remember is that practice makes perfect. First of all, be sure to set goals for yourself and what you want to accomplish at a networking or speaking engagement. Always practice how to introduce yourself and what you plan on saying to an individual or audience.You can also consider the possibility of taking a public speaking class or attend Toastmasters courses as well.
Also, the more you do it, the easier it will be. So if you stumble or things don't work our as well as you had hoped, don't shy away from going out there and trying again.
Before you know it, making those connections and standing out in a crowd will be second nature.
Several times, Spherion has conducted surveys of workers who have taken office supplies home with them for personal use, even though they felt it was wrong. But what about when you work for a retailer or manufacturer, and co-workers are stealing from your employer? You know it's wrong, they know it's wrong....do you say something?
This presents an interesting situation. On one hand, if you know co-workers are stealing from your employer and you don't report it, you might as well be stealing too, but if you do report it, you will prove to be a loyal employee looking out for the company.
My best advice is that you should absolutely report the theft, and an article I found from ehow.com lists the steps you should take to do so.
Step One: Tell a security guard or loss prevention officer if your workplace has a shoplifter, allowing a member of the security team to handle the situation.
Step Two: Report the suspected shoplifting to a supervisor. Pointing out the situation to a supervisor is another way of doing your part without getting involved in an investigation.
Step Three: Send an anonymous letter to your place of employment if you want to limit your involvement in the investigation. Detail your suspicions in the letter and mail it to your supervisor or the head of workplace security.
Step Four: Call your company's hotline, if it provides one. Many businesses, especially large chains, have a hotline you can call to report coworker theft.
Step Five: Know your rights as an employee and what you do and do not have to report. The National Association for Shoplifting Prevention is a good resource for learning about shoplifting prevention strategies in the workplace.
For some, it may be too tempting to not take from an employer, but the bottom line is that it's wrong and illegal, so make sure you aren't drawn into the habit as well. And remember, if you are aware it's going on and don't report it, you are just guilty!
Economic times may be tough, and finding a job right now may be tougher. For those companies that are hiring, they may be more selective about who they hire. In these tighter economic times, you may have to stand out in a crowd to get a job, and according to one article I found, the quirkier the gimmick to get a job, the better.
Some of the ideas the article mentions (wearing a sandwich board with your credentials in traffic, sending a shoe asking to get a foot in the door) are quite extreme and may not fit your personality. These extreme techniques may also backfire if the company you are interested applying to work for isn't assumed.
If you do want to stand out from the crowd, but don't want to take the extreme measures to get the interview, try looking into alternatives to a traditional resume or use social networking.
Regardless, don't do anything that you feel uncomfortable with or you don't think you could pull off as a natural part of your personality. And remember, if all else fails, stick to business dress and a clean, formal resume.
Good luck with the search!
When considering a career, I believe that many people choose career paths for the wrong reasons. Money, status, participation in a family business. These are all valid reasons to choose a career, but it doesn't mean that it will personally satisfy you.
I read an article from U.S. News about choosing jobs that are a fit with your personality. Now, it's not always easy to determine exactly how to describe your personality, but here are a couple of categories to think about:
- Practical, straightforward = engineers, technicians, doctors
- Investigative, analytical = professors, software developers
- Artistic, creative = interior designer, graphic artist
- Helpful, social = nursing, therapy, teaching
These are only a few areas to consider, finding your calling based on your interests and what fits your personality might be a start in the right direction for finding the perfect career, or shed some light on why your current career may not be working for you.
"Nowadays, Web conferencing is becoming more and more popular. It is, without question, a great tool to facilitate meetings with team members who may be spread out in various locations, can reduce the costs of communication and is considered a more effective use of time. But what if they are met with less than enthusiastic participation? Tell us about your Web conferencing experience."
Q: Dear Seymour, My supervisor suggested that I begin holding my monthly team meetings online instead on in-person. I have never held an online meeting. Have any tips to make sure it runs smoothly?
- Submitted by Laura Schmitts, Burlington, VT
A: Dear Laura,
Even if you aren't new to the world of online meetings, there are definitely some guidelines to follow to make sure an online meeting goes smoothly. As you may know, online meetings provide a central area on the Internet and an excellent way for people to share ideas and information regardless of where they are located.
Follow these tips and your first entrée into the world of online conferencing should be a successful one!
Select a provider. Check with your organization to see if they have already selected an online conferencing provider which you should use. If not, you'll need to do some research and most importantly, go through live demonstrations of every vendor solution. Identify the best fit for your needs, depending on the typical number of attendees, frequency of meetings, functionality needs, etc. This is a good time to take advantage of vendor's free trail offers to take a dry run at your meeting.
Always Arrive Well Before the Meeting. You'll want to log in at least 30 minutes before the online meeting begins to troubleshoot. Is the audio working properly? Video? Arriving early will give you time to fix any potential technical problems.
Make it Visually Stimulating. One of the benefits to holding online meetings is that this type of venue supports the use of visual aids. Use detailed Powerpoints, graphs or video to enhance your meeting. Avoid excessive text on-screen as you may lose the interest of your attendees.
Solicit the Help of a Coworker. Particularly if you plan on offering a live chat or online Q&A, having another person to facilitate will allow you to focus on running the meeting or delivering your presentation.
Have a Backup Plan. You'll want to consider a secondary plan of action if your server fails or a technical issue prevents you from continuing your online meeting.
With proper planning and these general guidelines, I'm sure your online meeting will go off without a hitch!
Seymour
Happy hour is a time honored, workplace tradition of team building and bonding with co-workers. But as one recent CareerBuilder survey points out, happy hour has more often than not, turned into a pitfall for acting unprofessional.
Some of the highlights of the survey include:
- 15 percent go to hear the latest office gossip.
- 13 percent go because they feel obligated.
- 10 percent shared a secret about a colleague.
- 8 percent kissed a colleague.
- 8 percent said they drank too much and acted unprofessionally.
Ok, so the above doesn't sound like a recipe for successful team building, but it also doesn't mean that happy hours are not beneficial to the work environment.
Although some workers may over indulge in drink, make sure that you are not one of them by limiting yourself to a two drink maximum. It is also important to eat a meal or at least appetizers.
If you are in charge of organizing a happy hour, make sure to keep it short, probably two to three hours at the most. That way, those who feel obligated to attend do not feel trapped or have to be uncomfortable about leaving too early, and co-workers who are close friends can continue their night out if they choose. Also, make sure everyone is aware that a happy hour is taking place, so some workers do not feel left out.
Happy hours are meant to be fun and festive, and they can bring workers close together. Just be careful about how much "fun" you do have, and keep conversation casual...you may even want to consider taking the "work" out of happy hour!
Have you ever felt like a small fish in a big pond of applicants? Perhaps it will help quell your apprehension if you gain a competitive edge of knowledge before entering into a corporate talent pool.
One article that I came across offers very good points about researching companies to whom you are interested in submitting a resume. It definitely offers ideas about where to focus your research, and what you should learn about a company while preparing for an interview.
But company research has evolved from the typical career fair networking and corporate Web site review. Here are a few other places to learn more intimate details about a company you are interested in applying for a job.
First, take a look at some of the social networking sites. Many companies have moved to MySpace and Facebook to market themselves to potential candidates. This would give you opportunity to ask questions about the company, its culture, and perhaps even the department you are interested in working with.
Next, visit a company's careers Web site and check out if there are options to receive information via email about company news and updates. This will give you an intimate look inside the company and provide a real time description of the goings on with the corporate culture.
Although they aren't as common as they probably should be, some companies are also developing corporate blogs with fresh content. Now, you can find those that are employee-generated such as Mini Microsoft, a Microsoft employee's blog. Here you can find useful information about the inner workings of the company, and what may be some of the "hot topics" among the workforce. However, you do have to remember that this is from an employee's point of view, who may or may not have had a good day with any given post.
These research areas, coupled with the basic Web site searches, will keep you head's above the competition. And at the very least, make you as prepared as possible for your interviews.
Good luck!
Q: Dear Seymour, I am a college student full time. Money is hard to come by. Is there a legit online job or something of that nature I could do to earn extra cash? So many scams out there its hard to tell which ones are real. Any suggestions?
- Submitted by Anonymous
A: Dear College Student,
This is a common problem among full time students, finding time to earn extra money. You are right, many online jobs are either scams, or not what they appear to be according to the job posting. So it's true, you do have to be careful. It's important to understand that most online jobs are probably going to be aggressive sales jobs, which not everyone is cut out for. Not to mention the chance you take of getting involved with outfits that send email spam.
Many people looking to make extra turn to services such as Amazon or eBay to sell items they no longer needs. Perhaps old text books, or used CDs that are just collecting dust. Online sales can definitely get you cash fast, but it can also be time consuming with having to ship items to buyers.
Although you are taking classes full time, you might still have more time than you think to pick up a part-time job, or one with flexible scheduling to accommodate school schedules. Try looking on campus. Sometimes jobs are open for students to work in administrative offices, bookstores, or on-campus restaurants. This offers you a convenience factor, and managers understand the need to adhere to school schedules. Not only do you earn some income, but you have a good start to your resume.
One other idea is to find an internship associated with your degree. Again, you will find flexible scheduling, but make sure to look for paid internships or at least one that offers a stipend to take care of some of your financial stress.
If you find that you are too strapped to continue a full school schedule, you might want to consider cutting down your class schedule and selecting a part-time job in retail or an office. This will help you resist the temptation of using your credit cards to live. Although this may delay your graduation a bit, or put you in a position to attend summer school, at least you can keep credit card debt ay bay.
Hope these suggestions help you find something that works. Best of luck!
