The Career You'll Love

Here’s how I do it.

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But here’s the thing:  Humans are made to strive.  (more…)

The Career You’ll Love

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

Asking for help

I’ve noticed a curious thing about asking for favors.

You’d think that the difficulty of getting someone to give you something would directly relate to how valuable it is.  If I ask for a dollar, you might give it to me.  But ten dollars?  That should be about ten times harder.

If that’s the case, though, I should never be able to convince you to help me with something that will take many hours of work on your part.  You’re very busy – everybody’s busy – so what would cause you to just give me a lot of your time?

What’s going on here, it appears, is a much more complex transaction.

There’s a lot of value you might receive from giving me some of your time:

• You might have some fun
• You could learn something
• You might have the satisfaction of knowing you made a difference
• Your social standing could improve

These are often the reasons people contribute to charitable causes or join groups.  Especially when you aren’t getting paid for your contribution, it’s clear that these other factors are what drives you to engage and help out.

What do we do with this knowledge?

A particular case I run into constantly is this:  John would like to learn something from Jane, but is reluctant to ask for her time.  He fears that he might look foolish, and is worried that Jane will see it as an imposition.

And in fact, she might, if John approaches it the wrong way.  “I’d like to schedule a two hour meeting with you” seems difficult for a busy person.  Why?  Because it hasn’t conveyed that Jane is going to get anything useful out of it – perhaps it will just be a boring waste of time.

If John really values Jane’s knowledge, he should let her know.  Here’s some useful phrases that he might weave into a question:

• “I really think I could learn something from you…”
• “I’m looking to learn from experts in this area…”
• “I want to get my career moving faster, so I’d like to ask your help…”
• “I’d really appreciate if you could mentor me…”
• “I’d be so grateful if you’d help me learn more about this…”

Each of these, to varying degrees, conveys a sense of gratitude to Jane:  She’s going to end up feeling good about having helped John’s career.

John will end up receiving priceless knowledge, and in the same way, Jane will receive priceless satisfaction.

That’s much easier, in fact, than trying to get a stranger to give you $10.

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, Twitter and LinkedIn to get timely updates and connections to a broader range of professionals.

© 2011 Possibilities Partnership LLC

The Career You’ll Love

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

Laboring for a purpose

It’s Labor Day here in the US, a holiday when we remember those who have fought to create a work environment where people can earn a fair living for doing fair work.  Ironic, I suppose, that we celebrate work by … taking the day off.

It’s bittersweet for those millions of people who are unemployed or underemployed, who are unconvinced of that this is the Great Land Of Opportunity that we once thought.

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The Career You’ll Love

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

What fear is in your way?

You’ve been wanting to advance your career, but it seems that you’re sabotaging yourself at every turn.  You were going to have that important discussion with your boss, and then wimped out.  “Too busy,” you told yourself, or “not a convenient time.”

We all struggle with this.

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