The Career You'll Love » networking

Using LinkedIn to further your career

Carl — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 23:43:19 +0000

Earlier this year, Microsoft commissioned a study which asked hiring managers how much they used the internet to check out prospective candidates. Here’s a couple of interesting results:

57% used professional and business networking sites (such as LinkedIn).
98% used SOME internet resources to check out candidates.

This tells you that you need to have a positive presence on the internet, because your next boss is most likely going to check you out – perhaps even before ever setting up an interview.

Read the rest on my Workbloom blog»

People can tell if you’re engaged in your work

Carl — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 23:21:53 +0000

It seems that recently many people, perhaps most, have struggled to be inspired by their work. With such an uncertain economy, 24/7 accessibility, fear of job loss, and lack of pay increases, we’ve created work environments where many focus more on keeping up with work than on making a great contribution.

There’s some really practical reasons why you should look to be engaged in your work:

You become more productive, thereby more valuable to your employer.
It helps you to be more creative and bring more energy to what you do.
It affects the attitudes of those you work with, helping you to have some fun.
It makes you happier and more satisfied with the work you do.

Read more on my Workbloom blog»

When getting visibility is a good thing

Carl — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 16:02:59 +0000

The word “visibility” has gotten a bit of a bad rap inside organizations. I’ve seen it associated with concepts of playing politics, whitewashing, and generally creating a false image.

If your great work speaks for itself, why worry about making yourself visible?

Read the rest on my Workbloom blog»

The most important stakeholder: Yourself

Carl — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 15:42:33 +0000

Here’s the bonus category: Yourself. We’ve spent so much time thinking about other people, we might have forgotten that it’s important how we feel about our own work!

Looking at it this way, you realize that you are independent of your work. So how does the work help you to achieve your life and career goals? How would you LIKE to relate to your work?

Read more on my Workbloom blog»

Key stakeholders: Understand your partners

Carl — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 20:34:40 +0000

I’ve broken out partners as a distinct category of stakeholders, because the relationships are much different than the others in our diagram.

The simple definition of “partner” is someone who works with you to deliver value to their customers and your customers, and to their management and your management. In the case of your teammates, the customers and management might be the same. In fact, that makes decisions much easier, because you hopefully have an environment that’s aligned and supports you working together.

Read more on my Workbloom blog»

Key stakeholders: Understand your customers

Carl — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 02:02:12 +0000

As we travel through the stakeholders, your customers end up being one of the most powerful categories. And the length of this list might surprise you!

Depending on your job, the end customer might seem very distant. My first career out of college was as an engineer, and there were many stages between my work and the people who actually purchased the products I worked on. But as I became more experienced, I recognized that the people who spend money are the most important ones to understand, because that money paid my paycheck. If they didn’t want to spend money, there was no reason for me to have a job.

The career you’ll love Newsletter – 31 May 2010

Carl — Mon, 31 May 2010 19:39:03 +0000

The Career You’ll Love

Sponsored by Carl Dierschow’s career blog at www.Dierschow.com

Welcome to my new career tips newsletter! I encourage you to pass this to anyone who might have an interest in revitalizing their career – instructions for subscribing are at the bottom.

How to Use Influence to Your Advantage

I can think of a million ways to “fix” other people around me. They’re just all so messed up, aren’t they?

Here’s the brutal truth: That’s not the way the universe works. You don’t get to “fix” them.

After I get over the disappointment from that statement, now what can I do? How do I keep myself from just being a victim of circumstances, a slave to my situation?

Here’s the secret: I have considerable influence over the people in my life.

Maybe that doesn’t sound like a big deal, but it is. What it means is that if I want to make a difference in other peoples’ behavior, I first have to take responsibility for my own. I have to work to influence others, which isn’t a simple process.

Influence isn’t just a nice word for control

Influencing is actually a much different concept than controlling, because it’s based on a cooperation of individuals, leading to a desire to change. With control, desire doesn’t really enter into the picture.

Let’s say that I want to influence you to leave some kind words in the comment section of this blog, something which will let me know whether you’re getting value from this page. I have absolutely no control over whether you do that, and in fact you may have left the page before the end of this sentence.

What I can do, though, is to show you why it might be valuable to you to leave comments. I can’t give you money or guarantee fame. So perhaps I can appeal to your vanity, giving you a place to see your name printed on a website. More powerful than that might be to explain how this creates a conversation where I can respond to what you say as you respond to my words.

Perhaps even more interesting is how a conversation on a blog like this creates a community of people who can all be helping each other to learn about an interesting concept like exerting influence.

Influencing others

You can see the thought process I was using there:

Be straightforward about what I’m asking from you
Explain or show how that can have value to you
Giving you an easy way to say “yes” to the request, to remove obstacles

Let’s say that I’d like to ask my boss for a change in job assignments. I have relatively little power in this situation, but certainly do have influence. So first I can be clear what I’m asking for: “I’d like to talk with you about the possibilities of shifting my job responsibilities.” Then I have some well-articulated ways to show value: “If we can do this, not only will I be more productive in my job, but also I’ll become much more valuable to the organization in the long term.” Finally, I remove obstacles: “I would work with you on creating the set of responsibilities which are most valuable to the group and where I could make the best contributions, and I will work with you to phase this in over a period of 3 months so that the others on the team are impacted the least. I’ll spend extra effort to cross-train people to take over my current job.”

Depending on the situation, this may or may not work. Anything truly valuable in life isn’t a sure thing. But what I’ve done is opened up a conversation with my boss where I’ve demonstrated professionalism, a desire to give benefit to her and the larger organization, and flexibility.

Thinking through the conversation is the first step to having influence.

As a footnote, I’ll mention that I’ve used this exact strategy three times in my career to create jobs which were customized to my own abilities and interests, making a deep difference to the larger organization. But each time, it took between 3 and 9 months to get through the process. It takes considerable focus and determination.

Wonderful resource

Here in northern Colorado, we have a wonderful organization which is focused on serving the needs of people who are looking for new jobs. Especially during these tumultuous times, it’s more important than ever to have a group of people who can help you with difficult decisions. Check out what groups are in your area!

Carl Dierschow is a certified Organizational Leadership Coach and author of the career management guide, Mondays Stink! 23 Secrets to Rediscover Delight and Fulfillment in Your Work. He is a career coach for those going through interesting transitions, and works with leaders who are creating amazing teams. Find out more at www.Dierschow.com and www.PossibilitiesPartnership.com.

If you are interested in individual career coaching, group coaching, or other resources which might help you with difficult choices, please contact Carl at carl@dierschow.com.

Connect with Carl on Facebook and LinkedIn to get timely updates and connections to a broader range of professionals.

To subscribe or unsubscribe to this newsletter, send an e-mail to newsletter@Dierschow.com

Key stakeholders: Understand your management

Carl — Sun, 30 May 2010 19:54:41 +0000

On our journey through the stakeholders, people often think that “management” is the easiest one to figure out. But it may be trickier than you think!

I define “management” as the people who are given the power to direct your work, and as such are responsible for whether you do a good job or not.

Read more on my Workbloom blog»

Key stakeholders: Understand your suppliers

Carl — Fri, 28 May 2010 15:40:51 +0000

Let’s start off this series of “stakeholders” by exploring your suppliers. People can struggle with this category, so let’s explore it a bit more.

Let’s suppose that you’re in marketing or sales. Who develops the products or services that you sell? Who purchases or supplies them?

Or suppose you’re in customer service, answering questions and resolving issues. What are the products your customers call about? Who controls them?

Read more on my Workbloom blog»

All your key stakeholders

Carl — Mon, 24 May 2010 15:42:22 +0000

I’d like to spend some articles here talking about all the different people that you work with. Why? Because it’s crucial to developing the kinds of relationships that will help you not only now, but in your lifelong career journey.

The concept is straightforward: When you become clear on the needs of those you work with, you’re able to make better decisions, deliver more value, and be happier with your job. For the lack of a better term, I’ll call these people your “stakeholders.”

Read more on my Workbloom blog»