101 Ways to Stand Out at Work: How to Get the Recognition and Rewards You Deserve
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101 Ways to Stand Out at Work - Arthur D Rosenberg
101 WAY TO
STAND OUT
AT WORK
ARTHUR D. ROSENBERG
9781598699814_0002_002Copyright © 2009 by Arthur D. Rosenberg
All rights reserved.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any
form without permission from the publisher; exceptions are
made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.
Published by
Adams Media, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
57 Littlefield Street, Avon, MA 02322. U.S.A.
www.adamsmedia.com
ISBN 10: 1-59869-981-4
ISBN 13: 978-1-59869-981-4
eISBN: 978-1-44052-061-7
Printed in the United States of America.
J I H G F E D C B A
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
is available from the publisher.
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional advice. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.
—From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations
This book is available at quantity discounts for bulk purchases.
For information, please call 1-800-289-0963.
To Catherine, my partner in life.
Learning from one’s own mistakes is a sign of some intelligence. Wisdom—born of intellect and experience—is about learning from the mistakes of others. For the countless mistakes I have been privileged to witness, enabling me to learn without the requirement of duplication (and to those who made them), I express my gratitude.
Contents
About the Author
Introduction
Chapter 1: Choose a Career Wisely
1. Dream the possible dream
2. Map out your career path
3. Don’t settle for what you don’t really want
Chapter 2: Control Your Image
4. Conquer yourself and Everest will lie at your feet
5. Tune in to the world outside your head
6. It’s not just who you know, but how well you get along with them
7. When you ask a question, be sure to listen to the answer
8. The best way to interest people in you is to pay attention to them
Chapter 3: Communicate Effectively
9. Effective communication can eliminate the majority of management problems
10. Keep your goal in sight, or your career may disappear
11. Strike before the iron melts
12. Listen in order to understand
13. Written records outlive careers
Chapter 4: Practice Self-Promotion
14. You are your most precious asset
15. Focus on what the other guy wants and expects
16. Being subject to influence is the key to influencing others
17. If you want it, ask for it
Chapter 5: Improve Your Leadership Skills
18. Manage things, lead people
19. Leading is about us, not me
20. The boss says, Do it!
; the leader says, Let’s do it!
21. Give praise, take blame
22. Question and encourage
Chapter 6: Use Power and Control Wisely
23. Empower yourself through an awareness of the forces around you
24. Use the least of what you’ve got to get the most of what you want
25. The more you know, the more power you can bring to bear
26. Manage power through control
27. Self-control is applying to yourself the same principles and techniques you impose on others
Chapter 7: Know Which Tools to Develop
28. Use ’em or lose ’em
29. Initiative is the single most important factor in being regarded as an asset
30. Entrepreneurs are those who pick up what others fail to notice
31. Half your skills become obsolete every four to six years, and the clock is ticking
32. Tell yourself the truth, and make an effort to listen
Chapter 8: Maintain Your Integrity and Discretion
33. If you know it’s wrong, don’t do it; if you think it’s wrong, reflect upon it carefully
34. Be worthy of your trust
35. Life is short; spend your time with people you like
Chapter 9: Preserve Your Health
36. Don’t wait until you’re too ill to appreciate your greatest asset
37. Stress is a standing invitation that need not be accepted
38. Learn to manage stress before it mangles you
39. Accepting criticism can be valuable, even when it isn’t valid
40. A healthy mind needs a healthy place to live
Chapter 10: Understand Your Objectives, Goals, and Priorities
41. Objectives provide your career with a sense of purpose
42. Establish goals you will be proud to achieve
43. To get somewhere you must first know where you are
44. Whatever got you here may not get you any further
45. Reach for the stars and explore the limits of your potential, but don’t target the unattainable
46. Prioritize, or spin your wheels
47. Being there is only a stop along the way to somewhere else
Chapter 11: Learn from Mistakes
48. Don’t hesitate to abandon your faults
49. If it’s broken, fix it
50. Never blame, never complain
51. Intelligence is learning from your own mistakes; wisdom is learning from the mistakes of others
Chapter 12: Fit Into the Corporate Culture
52. The opposite of fitting in is sticking out
53. Keep your eyes open—things are never what they seem at first
54. Unwritten laws need to be carefully read
55. To compete effectively, learn the rules better than everybody else
56. The things you allow to start badly are likely to end the same way
57. When opportunity knocks, open your door
Chapter 13: Adjust to Change
58. Ready or not, the future is coming
59. Never get too comfortable
60. Focus on the disparity between what can and cannot be changed
61. Ideas that worked in the past may not apply to current issues
62. All habits can be changed
63. Once you’ve recognized the need for change, accept it as a challenge
Chapter 14: Decide Whether to Stay or Leave
64. Read the handwriting on the wall—every day!
65. Tune in to the information network
66. Use your motivation to activate your talent
67. Marketable skills are the only job security you can count on
68. Be a high achiever without overreaching
Chapter 15: Manage Your Time and Timing
69. Don’t wait too long to take advantage of an opportunity
70. Time your efforts; timing isn’t everything, but nothing works without it
71. You can’t afford to waste time—the amount of time you’re born with is all you get
72. Never agree to unreasonable deadlines, and make sure to meet the ones you do accept
Chapter 16: Be Decisive
73. Let he who would move the world first move himself.—Confucius
74. Beware alternatives to wise decisions
75. Make timely decisions—procrastination multiplies the risk factor
76. A positive self-image promotes courage by creating an expectation of success
77. The journey of a thousand miles begins beneath one’s feet.—Lao-Tzu
Chapter 17: Make the Right Move
78. Turning down an assignment can turn off the boss
79. Justify your highest expectations of yourself
80. Be an asset
81. Doing something well is a waste of time if it isn’t worth doing
82. Careers extend beyond the office
83. Offer a convincing reason for refusing to relocate if you want to keep your job
84. It’s easier to ask for what you want right now than to refuse what you don’t want later
Chapter 18: Do Your Homework
85. Make career planning a part of every day
86. A bad plan is better than no plan, because it can be improved
87. Focus on the objective first, and how to achieve it second
88. Before investing in a brave new world, collect everything worth saving from this one
89. The better you prepare, the luckier you’ll be
90. If at first you don’t succeed, look for a better way to do it
Chapter 19: Network to Success
91. There are people out there who know things you don’t
92. Don’t waste your time, or theirs
93. Most professional positions are found through networking
94. Networking pays off your investment with interest
95. Know your purpose, and communicate it clearly
Chapter 20: Control Your Interviews
96. Poor interviews may leave you unemployed
97. Answer honestly and volunteer nothing
98. Preparation will increase your confidence
99. Prepare a game plan
100. Anticipate obvious questions
101. No job is worth misrepresenting yourself
Appendix
About the Author
Arthur Rosenberg is a consultant based in the New York–New Jersey area. He specializes in business analysis, project management, documentation, corporate communications, and training. He has influenced the career development of hundreds of individuals at more than forty of the top corporate and educational institutions. He also gives career-related seminars to professional and minority groups.
Introduction
Career choices are opportunities that grow from what we do—or fail to do—and how we do it. External circumstances can damage a profession or industry, but your career will flourish or flounder as a direct result of your decisions and actions. Outside circumstances may inconvenience you, but the essence of your career is really up to you. As simple as that sounds, think about it. I’m willing to bet that on occasion you’ve blamed someone or something else for problems at work: My boss has unrealistic expectations. My coworkers are lazy. The industry I work in is downtrending. While that may be true, you have the power to change your situation!
101 Ways to Stand Out at Work offers a logical, problem-solving approach to building and maintaining a successful career. I believe it’s necessary to identify and understand a challenge in order to arrive at a meaningful solution. Instead of offering airy pep talks (you can do it, go get ’em, and the like), or telling colorful stories about prominent people whose careers bear little relationship to yours, I’ll recommend simple strategies and show you how to customize and apply them in your own situation.
Chapter 1
Choose a Career Wisely
Your career choice is one of the most important decisions you’ll ever make. To make a wise and thoughtful decision, you need to devote a fair amount of time and effort to enable you to pick the best way to spend the years of working hours that lie ahead of you. Career planning can be a complex process, unless you’re one of those people who have always known what you wanted to do as an adult. Breaking the decision down into smaller parts can make it seem more manageable, and the tips in this chapter are designed to help you do just that.
1. Dream the possible dream.
Many career- and life-advice books enthusiastically suggest that anyone can achieve absolutely anything if they want it enough to focus their lives on achieving it. Believe in yourself,
they promise, and you can get anything you want.
The mind,
some state emphatically, is such a powerful instrument, it can deliver to you literally everything you want.
Unfortunately, just believing is not enough to deliver you to the promised land, no matter how intense your conviction. Perhaps a valuable message lies within this concept, but too literal an interpretation is more likely to frustrate than reward your efforts. Let’s try to put this into a realistic and practical perspective.
Myth: If you practice basketball really hard, you’ll make it to the NBA.
Reality: Unless you are among the gifted 1 percent who have the talent to play professionally, practicing will only improve your game a little.
Myth: If you spend hours studying, you can become a brain surgeon.
Reality: Unless you excel at biology and premed classes, you probably won’t make it as a surgeon.
Myth: Believing in yourself can make anything possible.
Reality: Self-belief can help you achieve things you may have thought were out of reach. It will not, however, make you bulletproof.
The message is not that you should limit yourself to what other people tell you about your abilities and limitations, or that you need not devote your best efforts to achieving your dreams. In fact, stretching and extending toward new achievements is an essential part of the growth process throughout your career and life.
Your author was told by his high school Spanish teacher that he would never be any good at languages. Having lived and worked in Europe and the Middle East for several years, he now speaks more than half a dozen languages (including fluent Spanish).
The bottom line: You can probably improve your skills and abilities in most areas if you’re willing to spend the time and make the effort. However, not everyone is endowed with the same natural abilities across the board. Chemical engineering or finance might appear attractive to you at first glance, but be sure those fields match your particular skills and interests before committing your dreams and efforts in those directions.
Years of sweat and sleepless nights may turn you into a mediocre accountant or an above-average insurance salesperson, but think of how successful a systems analyst or graphic artist you might have been if one of these was actually your strongest suit . . . and how much happier!
Are the Hot Jobs Really So Hot?
Each and every year, the experts
predict which industries and positions will be hot.
Of course, it doesn’t hurt to check them out to see if any of them look appealing, but don’t allow these lists to dictate or limit your choices. While such predictions may be based on valid data, trends and dependencies have a way of changing unpredictably. Who knows if what is hot this season will have cooled off a few years from now?
Just because the outlook for a type of occupation seems full of promise doesn’t mean it’s right for you. A better option is to evaluate your interests, skills, and values. Create a comprehensive career plan to map out your path: Start by choosing a career and finding a job, and then identifying and achieving your longer-term career goals.
2. Map out your career path.
The following outline will get you started creating your career path. Don’t worry—you can change it later when you have learned more about yourself and your potential options. Since no two individuals are exactly alike, you will need to add, delete, and modify areas of particular interest, concern, and relevance to your projected career path.
Self-Assessment
Create a list of the following items:
• Personality: Are you a people person or would you rather work by yourself?
• Interests: We’re talking about work-related activities (such as dealing with numbers, writing, managing, organizing, and public speaking) rather than leisure preferences like golf, dominos, and ballroom dancing.
• Skills: Some of the things you’re good at are likely to parallel your interests.
• Incongruities: Which skills do you lack to support your interests? Can they be improved?
• Values: Over time, it will be difficult to maintain an interest and focus upon pursuits (e.g., programming or sales) that are essentially meaningless or unfulfilling to you.
Matching Options
Make a list of potential career options that match your self-assessment, and then use the following steps to evaluate your choice:
• Verification: Show your lists to a few trusted family members, colleagues, and/or close friends to find out if they generally agree with your self-assessments. Then discuss these and the options you have identified with a career counselor (or two) to get a professional perspective of where you might fit in best and what you might find most rewarding. Keep in mind throughout this process that you are seeking a direction, not necessarily an end result. Chances are your ultimate choice will probably require some practical experience and fine-tuning further down the road.
• Making a Decision: Your initial career decisions may prove long lasting or temporary. (Either way, you’ve got to start somewhere.) Some lucky souls plunk right into careers that appear to have been destined by the fates; most, however, need to experience some trial and error. Inevitably, a few will search on until settling for a livable compromise, or opt out of corporate employment in favor of self-employment.
• Applying the Decision: There are lots of ways to find a job once your initial career decision has been made. College recruiting resources, employment agencies, job advertisements and listings, and networking (see Chapter 19 for more information) are the usual methods. Put your resume out there, prepare for the inevitable job interviews (see Chapter 20), and get some experience under your belt.
• Maintaining Perspective: Read through the remaining 19 chapters in this book to prepare yourself for professional employment in the real world.
3. Don’t settle for what you don’t really want.
Some people seem to know what they want to be while still in grade school; others develop career interests during high school and college. The advantage of making an early career choice is having the time to develop experience and recognition in your chosen field. This is particularly valuable in highly specialized professions like (to name a few) singing, medicine, and astrophysics.
The downside of making an early career choice is growing bored, dead-ending, or burning out (see Chapter 13). These are the potential perils of life at thirty, forty, and beyond bound by decisions formed in your teens. Another consideration is that certain professions periodically fade from favor while others blossom.
If you don’t know what you want to be yet, that’s okay too. It’s better to take your time than to rush to a decision that you’ll later regret. In fact, few of us can say what rivets our attention, or where our interests truly lie, until we’ve had a chance to experience a few options. A close friend, who prefers to remain anonymous, drifted through careers in teaching, translating, educational publishing, and information systems before evolving into his natural vocation as a writer. In retrospect, I may have needed to achieve success at other things,
he reflected, to gain enough confidence and courage to face the possibility of failing.
Procrastinating Won’t Get You Anywhere
That said, you can’t afford to avoid making a decision forever. Many people never get around to making and pursuing a conscious career decision, but rather follow family affiliations, social connections, or blind circumstance, and then find themselves in a job they may not like. If you are a procrastinator, this tendency is holding you back.
Try subdividing the things you may be having trouble facing into bite-sized portions and assign them specific due dates. Then empower yourself to get them done on schedule. This is a realistic way to reprogram yourself to becoming more productive. Remember to reward yourself for