by Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D.
Minggu, 11 Juli 2010
Marketing is How You Show Others How You Can Help Them, Including Selling Yourself for Jobs and Promotions
Many people, especially including techies, look upon sales and marketing as disgustingly selfish.
Having been taught to be good girls and boys who take turns and do things because they're right, we don't want others to think of us as so nakedly self-interested. At best, some of us realize that sales and marketing are evils necessary to the functioning of a capitalistic system.
So when we hear that if we're seeking a job or a promotion we must "sell ourselves," we inwardly rebel. Few of us actually do a good job selling ourselves. Those who do get more and better jobs, more and better promotions and make more money.
And the rest of us consciously or unconsciously sneer at them for being "selfish."
The opposite is true.
"Selling ourselves" to others is the unselfish reaching out to other people, to show them how we can help them.
Because to simply assume that employers should be able to understand from our resumes how great we are is the true selfishness.
Good marketing brings the benefits of good products and services to the attention of people who need or want those products or services.
When you truly don't want to buy a new car, a car ad on TV is a signal to fix a snack.
When you want to buy a new car, you watch. You want to know which make and model best fills your needs and desires.
Assuming that a business is selling a good or service which is of true value to somebody, it is their duty to bring it to the attention of the people they can help.
Good sales and marketing is UNselfish, because to be effective it must center on the needs and desires of the people who want that product or service.
Bad (ineffective) marketing says, "We're a wonderful company and you should buy our product because it is so wonderful."
Good marketing (and by "good" I mean effective) says, "Our product is wonderful because it will help you do this, solve that problem, and feel good."
See the difference? Good marketing is centered on the customer and helping the customer solve a problem or meet a need or desire. Bad marketing is centered on the company and product.
Now, the product in bad marketing may actually be of high quality, maybe as much or more so than the competing product being sold through good marketing.
But bad marketing forces consumers to make the connection between the wonderful qualities of the product and how those qualities can help the consumer.
Many companies who market this way believe that it's the "job" of consumers to make the connections, to understand just why and how that wonderful product will help the consumer. Therefore, they're not only selfish, they're lazy.
They're not taking the final step to see things from the viewpoint of their potential customers.
Good marketing does as much as possible to show consumers that the product is wonderful because of how and why it can help consumers.
How does this apply to someone seeking a job?
When you want a job or promotion you're "selling" your skills and experience. Your resume is your ad.
Your "customer" is the human resources manager assigned to fill that job.
Most job seekers, whether techies or anybody else, think that their only duty is to provide a resume which shows they're qualified and to show up for the interview.
The manager in charge of hiring is supposed to read the resume, realize how wonderful the applicant is and hire them.
Most people write their resumes as bad marketing. They write how wonderful they are without explaining how they can help the company they're applying to.
They may well have wonderful degrees, wonderful certifications, and wonderful experience.
Many techies have the attitude that their technical education, skills and experience should be enough.
But if they'd write something that the human resources manager wants to read about how they will help the company, that's taking a step most people unconsciously sneer at it.
Because it's "sales and marketing." Sales and marketing is selfish -- everybody knows that without questioning it.
So they write only about themselves and not how they can help that prospective employer.
So it's the "selfish" person who takes the extra effort to use "sales and marketing" to explain how he or she can help the company who actually gets the job.
So everybody else can sneer at them.
And send their resumes to the next employer.
Managing Age, Currency, and Impression When You're a Mature Worker
Among the common myths I hear over and over in my work as a career counselor is "I can't get a job anywhere because I am too old."
If you're a baby boomer like me, you were raised to believe that the worst thing you could say is those two terrible words: "I can't." So when I hear these phrases from my clients (who have been downsized after very successful careers), I tell them the story of my client -- we'll call him "Bill" -- who groaned.
Bill comes into my office, stunned, unable to believe that after 24 years at a leading pharmaceutical firm, he's been let go. We go through the initial process: I explain the details of his outplacement services, as he tells me about his work and how he was notified that he was no longer needed. We talk a bit about his goals -- what he would like to do -- and then I go over the materials that he'll need to support his search.
As Bill and I get to know each other, and get his resume completed, I discover that he, like me, loves tennis. He's been playing longer than I have, and we interrupt our discussions about recruiters or Internet postings with updates on our latest games. I'm thinking to myself that it's really good that he's active as that will help him in the interview process. And the physical and mental challenges of tennis will keep him sharp.
Bill is worried about interviewing since he hasn't done it in more than a quarter century, and he's not sure how he'll be perceived. Under this concern I sense the age issue and ask him directly if he's worried about age discrimination. He says that he is but that he really wants to continue working. As he puts it: "I'm way too young to sit at home."
I never ask my clients their age, but Bill tells me that he's 65 and would like to work for at least five more years. So we begin drilling the answers to typical interview questions, and I make sure that his answers are clear, concise, and include a selling point or result when possible. He gets pretty good at responding, and I'm beginning to feel that he may do all right.
Then one day as Bill joins me at the small, round table in my office, I notice that he groans as he sits down.
"Hey," I say to him, "what was that?"
"What was what?"
"You groaned."
He bursts out laughing. "Oh, I played an extra set of tennis last night and can barely move."
"Up you go," I tell him. "Come back into the office and sit down without groaning."
"What?"
"You heard me."
He sees by my face that I'm serious, so he humors me and gets up and sits down again in the chair, this time with no creaks or moans. I thank him, and then we talk about the power of first impressions and that we "mature" workers (as I like to call myself), have to be especially careful to come across as energetic, up-to-date and motivated. Maybe a 25-year-old can slump in the chair, but not someone over 50.
Bill gets this concept and never groans again. He sits up straight and leans slightly forward -- a great way to show interest and motivation. Before long he is interviewing, and his strategy is to take any interview anywhere although he really doesn't plan to relocate. So one week he's out on the West Coast interviewing with a new biotech firm, and the next he's in New England meeting with a well-known pharmaceutical company, and with practice, his interviewing improves.
He and I go over the questions he was asked, any areas that gave him trouble, and soon he has an offer from a local company. We celebrate this great news and are both relieved that for now his search is over. He does well with this company, but a year later, has a better offer from another company and decides to take that. As far as I know he's still there, happily working.
When you look carefully at age, especially as it relates to looking for a job, I believe three basic issues arise. The first is your chronological age, which you can't do much about. The second is how current you are in your field, and the third is the overall impression you make. Let's look at the second and third issues to see what you can do if you're a mature worker in job search.
To ensure you're current in your field, network with people in your industry and attend professional meetings so that you're aware of new trends, new technology, etc. Through unemployment benefits (Department of Labor), you may be able to get a grant or tuition waiver so that you can get additional training if you need it. (This benefit varies state by state. In New York State, for example, you'd go to Unemployment Insurance Benefits Online and then click on either "Career Service Locations" or "Workforce Professional Tools" to get the contact information for the nearest One-Stop Career Center). You can also find One-Stop Career Centers and other workforce services. Or speak to your local unemployment counselor. Another way to find out what training you may need would be to shadow someone for a day so that you learn the critical issues of a new function or industry.
The third issue, the impression you make, is exactly what Bill and I were working on together. We create an image of a person in a fantastically short amount of time -- probably 3-5 seconds. So your posture, gesture, voice, and facial expression all contribute to that initial snapshot. Of course what you wear and your overall grooming are part of this picture, so I tell my clients to ask someone they trust to give them feedback on their hairstyle, clothes, and other aspects of appearance. It's important to look up-to-date and age appropriate. So if you're a 50-year-old woman, and are wearing your teenaged daughter's clothes, you may appear uncomfortable about your age.
Interviewing is a dance -- an exchange of impressions and information -- and our function as job-seekers is to do everything we can to show that we fit in and can help solve the problems facing the company. It's also important to remember that no one bats 1,000 and that rejection (and ideally learning) is part of the process.
So don't start off by telling yourself that you'll never get hired again, don't groan when you sit down, and fasten your seatbelt as this is an unpredictable process. And use tennis or volunteering or baking a cake for a neighbor as ways to keep yourself motivated and balanced while you implement your search, remembering that you're working toward an important goal: the adventure and satisfaction of a new job.
At your desk tips
* Get a green computer, reducing toxicity in production as well as in use, and saving energy.
* Install a streamgarden at your desk: cultivate at home or your workplace with the same hydroponic technique used in space stations and greenhouses. Green Fortune have transferred this industrial cultivation technique into the urban enviroment and adopted it to the demands of the modern urban people. Irregular working hours, travelling and many activities outside the own home makes it tricky to keep normal plants in good condition but the streamgarden requires little care and is very user friendly.
Here are some tips to organise desk
1. Get rid of pens and pencils you don’t need– I have one type of pen I like to use, but every month or my pencil holder gets filled up with other random writing instruments. If you aren’t going to use it, don’t feel bad about throwing it out. It is just clutter. The less clutter you have, the closer you are to having an organized desk.
2. Have a place for pocket stuff- Your keys, phone, PDA, wallet, bluetooth ear piece, etc. should have a home. My ideal setup is to keep them in a drawer with wires already run for charging the various items. Unfortunately my current desk doesn’t have drawers, so I have set aside a small amount of space under my monitor that isn’t really usable for work anyway. I have all my charging cables right there so I don’t have to hunt for them.
3. Proximity based on frequency of use- If you use it every day, it should be closer than something you use only a few times each week. This is common sense, but it is easy to arrange are desk for aesthetics instead of usefulness. This helps you keep an organized desk because items are located closer to you based on the probability that you will use them so fewer items need to be moved around where they can become disorganized.
4. Move electronics out of sight- Your cable modem, wireless router, firewall, battery backup, etc. shouldn’t be on your desk. Even if you have enough room in introduces visual clutter. Once again, cutting down on clutter reduces the amount of work between a messy desk and an organized desk.
5. Easy to access files- Without moving your chair or getting up, you should be able to grab an unused manila folder, label it and put it in your file cabinet. Easy filing is one cornerstone of good organization. The more effort it requires the more difficult it will be to stay organized.
6. Scanning documents- This is something I’m experimenting with. I have a scanner and I’ll turn important documents into PDFs and keep them on my computer. I use OCR so the documents are searchable. This is wonderful if you travel a lot because it keeps everything right there with you. The problem is trying to figure out what to scan and what can just be filed. If you are good at guessing what you’ll want to have electronically this can work very well. I haven’t figured out how accurate I am just yet.
7. Cleaning supplies- Keeping an organized desk clean helps you maintain the organization. If you clean your desk with Windex and a paper towel, make sure you have some nearby. This will help encourage you to wipe down your work surface which will encourage you to clean it off more often. It is all about making things as easy for yourself as possible.
8. Scratch notepad- During the course of the day, you will have telephone numbers, names, addresses, order confirmations, flight numbers, etc. If you can keep these all in one place, you’ll be far more productive if you need to look something up later. I have the bad habit of grabbing a nearby envelope and writing a telephone number on it. By keeping a notebook, specifically for these types of items, I don’t lose nearly as many things. The Franklin Planner method is to keep all of this info in the diary page of the planner which is probably an even better option.
9. Organize those wires- It is easy to have half your desk covered with wires for various pieces of electronics. Moving some stuff off your desk can help. Some pieces of velcro wrapped around wires can go a long ways toward cleaning things up. Also make sure that you have wires that are long enough to tuck out of the way. If they are too short you won’t be able to arrange them neatly. Sometimes wireless is an option. With more and more devices supporting bluetooth and WiFi, you may be able to get rid of some wires simply by enabling the wireless settings. It is hard to keep an organized desk work surface when you are looking at a rats nest.
10. If you don’t have enough drawers- My current desk is large, but it is a sheet of glass over a metal frame. While it looks really cool, it doesn’t allow much in the way of storage. To compensate, I’ve brought in a dresser for storage. I also use bookshelves with a bunch of boxes with lids to help give me some more drawer like storage. I have a two drawer file cabinet that slides under my desk to help make better use of the space.
11. Lighting- Make sure you have enough light on your desk. Maybe it is just me, but a bright work area is easier to keep clean than a dark one.
12. Organize as you go- As we discussed the Iron Chef Fable, it is more efficient to stay organized as you work instead of trying to do it all at the end. You should be constantly working on keeping your desk neat. If it gets disorganized in the middle of a big project, take small steps. Clear a 1 foot by 1 foot area before you leave for the day. Make a small effort toward organization may not seem like much, but if you do it everyday, it will keep things headed in the right direction for you.
Recycling tips for business
* Make a goal to add at least one product that contains recycled content per year. To find recycled content products, visit NERC's Green Purchasing Resources for Businesses.
* Offer incentives to your suppliers that will earn them more of your business if they offer you recycled content products. This will lower the cost of those products and increase the amount available to purchase!
* Recycle your printing equipment with Xerox Green World Alliance, a valuable recycling program that minimizes environmental impacts of printer supplies and provides options to throwing away empty containers. Its alternatives for used supplies include print cartridge reprocessing, waste toner reuse, plastics and metals recovery and turning waste into energy.
See also Recycle printer cartridges.
* Install recycling containers to make it easy for your employees to participate. Don't forget other materials such as cans and bottles, your employees will be bringing items from home, such as beverage cans which will be thrown out if there is no place to recycle them.
* Track and publicly post how much recycling is done in your building. This will increase awareness among your employees.
* Make office policy to have reports produced electronically to save paper. Have all employee training manuals available online.
* If you sell a product, see if you can design it to use less material, or eliminate excess packaging.
* Reuse material whenever possible. Save boxes to reuse for shipping, reuse file folders.
* Install hand dryers in employee restrooms. While saving on paper, this is also more sanitary than using paper towels.
* In your cafeteria, use real silverware, cups and plates instead of disposable ones.
* Save all packing peanuts from incoming shipments. Even if you don't ship out using them, most shipping outlets will gladly accept them from you.
* Donate any unused or obsolete office supplies to local non profit organizations at green-works.
* Recycling doesn't have to just be at home. Even if you aren't a business owner, speak with management about instituting a recycling program where you work. Spearhead a committee to get it started. Once it becomes easy for people to participate, recycling will become a habit.
* If you are a business Poly C. Reclaimers will collect your old CD's and DVD's free of charge and plastic waste.
Focus on the Positive
Identify the things that you like at work, even if they are as simple as your coworkers or the nice view from your office window. You create your own mind-set. If you stress the positives, you will make your job more enjoyable. Worrying about the negatives may cause you to become overwhelmed.
what are the 8 straightforward positive work behaviors for moving up the corporate ladder?
1. IdeasRegardless of how junior you are in an organization, you can have ideas that positively affect the company. Do not be contented with just doing your own work. Do not be shy or embarrassed about sharing them either. What’s the worst that can happen? They laugh at it and reject the idea? Well, then you turn it into something positive. Ask why can’t it work, and you would have learned something new. That information can be used to come out with better ideas.
2. ImpactBe smart enough to choose some projects in a year that are considered a challenge for your level of experience. Be hardworking enough to see it through. But have the wisdom to cross check with your bosses to make sure it is a challenge and not impossible for your experience. That way you can create an impact in the company. This positive work behavior ensures that you aren’t just the average worker clocking in and clocking out without making an impression.
3. ImpeccableThis positive work behavior is to be flawless in your language and dressing. Know that you are judged at all times. First impression or not, people judge you on how you talk and what you wear. You are lucky if you work in a company with dress codes, then just dress up or down accordingly. Being impeccable when it comes to dressing doesn’t mean expensive clothes. It simply means to dress well. Being impeccable with your language doesn’t mean using bombastic words. Quite simply, it means abstaining from vulgarity.
4. IndependentLearn to work independently. In the age of empowerment, most employees are given the freedom to fail. Even if this culture is not practiced in your company, learn to work with minimal supervision. When you can work independently, it allows your boss to concentrate on other things. But remember to always update your boss on what and how you are doing. Working independently as part of positive work behaviors will help you in moving up the corporate ladder.
5. IgniteBe an ignition of your company. Take the initiative to start something. It does not always have to be work oriented. It can be something fun or informal. For example, if you know some of your colleagues enjoy exploring different restaurants, why not start a group that does it after work Fridays? When you are a positive ignition, you can move up the corporate ladder quickly.
6. InterestShow interest in your company’s initiatives. Be an interested party in things involving your department. Some career newbies I know come across as being cynical with initiatives that are being carried out by the company. As part of positive work behaviors, show interest in these initiatives. Give it a chance and support them. Do not send signals that your bosses see you as being merely contented as being a passenger of the company. That doesn’t help in your plan of moving up the corporate ladder.
7. IntangibleDo not always focus on the tangible benefits when working. There are a lot of values in doing things that at the moment does not seem to benefit you. For example, helping a colleague on a project. Volunteering to cover for someone who’s sick. Taking on an extra project when your boss seems inundated with work. Positive work behaviors like these may not have immediate tangible benefits but in the long run, helps you in moving up the corporate ladder.
8. IntegrityThis positive work behavior means to have a sound moral character. Practiced at its most basic level for a career newbies, it can be as simple as not talking bad about a colleague and gossiping. Do not be drawn into wrong doings like cutting corners. Be honest in your dealings with colleagues, clients, business partners and suppliers.
These positive work behaviors are straightforward and simple to practice. You need not have an evil plan when thinking about moving up the corporate ladder. Cliché as it maybe, the cunning plans makes you fall off the corporate ladder faster than you can climb it.
Organizing Tips
Make every effort to finish what you begin. It's easy to be distracted, lose your train of thought and actually forget what you were doing when organizing. Stay focused. If you must tear yourself away from what you are doing, get back to it before you quit for the day and finish it - if it is at all possible.
Whether at the office or at home, be aware of those around you. You may need help from a co-worker to shoulder a load, or who can give you advice on a better way to accomplish your goal. At home, your family needs to be involved in helping to keep the house tidy and organized. Encourage them to help with the dusting and de-cluttering.
Do you procrastinate? You aren't alone!! Once you are distracted from completing a task, it's hard to get back into the groove. Here are a quick fixes to avoiding this pitfall:
- turn off the computer and forget email until you are done with the job at hand.
- turn off the TV and turn on the stereo. Play a little "salsa" music to get up to speed.
- turn off your cell phone and turn the volume on your land line to "low".
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Don't Try to Change Your Coworkers
Don't be affected with the way your co-workers act just try to mingle with them and for sure in time you will know how to mingle with them.
Treat Everyone Like Family
The best way to be liked is to like others. I know that we’ve all heard this, but it’s true. When you walk into the room think of them as family and know that they love you even if they don’t show it.
When I stopped worrying about what people at work thought of me, I just treated everyone like they were a brother or sister. If they did something stupid I laughed. If I did something stupid I laughed at myself. Family is meant to share in misery and victory. So allow these people into your life. You don’t need to tell them about your latest ailment and what the doctor is doing for you, but share your feelings with them. How to Get Your Boss Naked explains how to open up the emotional barrier that will bring you closer. This works for co-workers too.
Make sure you start slowly when you become friendlier to your co-workers. The best way is not to start right off talking about yourself, but listening to them. People want to be around great listeners because they can do all the talking. You’ve noticed how most people just want to tell you about their lives. Let them do it, and the next time you see them ask how their son, daughter or whatever they talked about was doing. You’ve just made a friend for life.
Getting people to like you is not that hard. Make sure that they know you like them first. People don’t want to put themselves out there and get burned, but now you know better. The only way to make friends is to give 60% and only expect 40% back. This works in any relationship whether it be personal or business related.
By treating everyone as family, your body signals should change. When you love someone you are more confident and willing to approach them. You aren’t afraid of what they think because you have the family connection.
Love and Respect at Work
You deserve to have a great working environment and I will write about design, managers, and great companies, but one of the greatest skills you can learn is to enhance your emotional intelligence. People with a high EQ are the ones that make friends and enjoy their job.
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