Post by Santosh Puthran on Nov 30, 2005 17:10:04 GMT
Make these mistakes and you may be kissing your career
goodbye
By Kate Zimmerman From CHATELAINE
Teacher Heather Ingram earned herself a never ending
professional-development day by having a relationship
with one of her
17-year-old students. Meanwhile Ashley MacIsaac, a
musician, indulged in a
profane onstage rant at a New Year's Eve concert,
neglected to play his
fiddle, then watched as his reputation got savaged by
the media. And, two
years ago, lawyer Thomas Haythe was dismissed from his
legal firm after
"allegations of sexual harassment following a night on
the town." That was
what the newspaper said, anyway. But we know what it
really was : a
world-class career-limiting move - a CLM.
Most professionals never err on such a grand scale.
Indeed, there are much
more common mistakes that can land you in serious
trouble. One survey of
career professionals came up with a list of the most
dangerous CLMs.
Needless to say, criminal acts are not included -
they're too obvious.
Neither are sexual or racial harassment, which are
obvious career-limiting
moves. Here are the other, more subtle crimes against
success :
GARAGE IN, USER OUT : Using your office computer
inappropriately is an easy
exit strategy. That means surfing the internet for
pornography or using
work time to cruise for information on any topic of a
controversial nature.
Don't exchange highly personal e-mails either. Ken
Scott, executive coach
with a career development firm, warns, "Realise that
your bosses can track
this and probably are tracking it."
BITING THE HAND THAT PAYS YOU : Embarrass your boss
regularly, and expect
to feel his boot to the seat of your pants sooner or
later. Margaret
Livingstone, a Canadian outplacement and personal
coaching business
consultant, tells of a woman who decided to get the
attention of her boss in
a group of colleagues by shouting out something about
him.
A similar class act would be using the "reply all"
function on your computer
to answer, in grisly detail, your supervisor's call
for frank feedback. Don
't talk about colleagues' performance to others.
According to Livingstone,
even discussing your company in nasty terms in a
public place can do you in.
"As a general rule," she says, "if you think
negatively about an
organization, you really shouldn't be working there."
A ROUND HOLE TAKES A ROUND PEG : Clash as obviously as
possible with your
workplace culture and everyone will start to wonder
why you're there.
Informally or formally, every workplace dictates how
employees should dress,
what they can discuss around the water cooler and how
they treat clients and
co-workers. Know the culture and make it second
nature. "Companies hire
people for competencies," says Karen Coe of TMP
Worldwide Executive Search.
"They fire them for 'fit'"
DIG IN YOUR HEELS : When change looms, cling to the
way things have always
been done and you may be the next casualty. You may
not like it, but change
is a fact of life. And if it's introduced by a new
boss, it can be
especially intimidating, says Livingstone. But, she
notes, once the waves
settle in the new boss's wake, many changes prove
beneficial. In fact, the
problems you faced under the old boss usually right
themselves once the new
boss takes full control.
WHAT, ME STUDY ? : Position yourself as an expert who
no longer needs
instruction or correction, and you may earn yourself
an indefinite
sabbatical. No matter how senior you are, Scott says,
the expression "I don
't take courses anymore - I give them" is a no-no.
You can always learn new
things.
MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS : Take a myopic view of your
company's business and
your role in it, and one day you may have no business
to go to. Coe says
employees often make the mistake of learning only
about matters directly
related to their own jobs. Instead, you should
interact with customers and
suppliers, and pursue networking opportunities.
Otherwise, someone with a
broader worldview may scoop the opportunities.
BE YOU EVER SO HUMBLE : Keep quiet about your
accomplishments and you may
convince your bosses there aren't any. Antithetical
though it may be to
current thinking, self promotion is what separates the
big cheese from the
blob of edible oil product.
But whining about your workload will backfire. Scott
says the key is being
visible, sharing the credit and being part of the team
that celebrates
victories. Livingstone once heard an executive search
specialist complain
that when she phones successful colleagues to find job
candidates, many paw
though their telephone indexes to find someone to
recommend. Few say
"Actually, I'd be perfect for that job."
IT WASN'T ME : Refuse to admit your mistakes, and like
Bill Clinton, you
could find yourself telling it to the judge. People
are much less
infuriated when you admit immediately that you made a
mistake and apologize.
Employers are not impressed when you deny, deny, deny
and then, weeks later,
relent and say, "Oh yeah. Uh...sorry,. I guess."
DON'T PLAY WELL WITH OTHERS : Avoid company and
industry functions if you
want a fast ticket to the bottom. You'll likely be
perceived as unfriendly,
says Livingstone. She suggests going to events where
people in your
industry congregate. But once there, don't job hunt;
you'll be seen as
self-serving. Instead, swap news on leadership,
markets and your industry.
"People often think networking is just chitchat," Coe
says.
"Networking is
an exchange of information that benefits both
parties."
FORGET TO BRING A MAP : Avoid making a career plan -
and keeping your boss
informed - and you might find your engine shunted onto
a siding. Coe
suggests you have a three to five year plan. The most
important thing is
that our boss knows you have goals and plan to achieve
them.
Self-satisfaction might be your worst enemy. Invent a
strategy so you can
figure out what you can do for your company and how
the company can help you
achieve your goals. Inform your supervisor when a
lateral move might be
better than a bump on the ladder.
WHEN OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS, DUCK : Stick to a narrow
view of success while
your company changes and you might be beheaded for an
early exit, without
the retirement party. Coe urges her clients to
reassess their careers
regularly, especially when there's a significant
change at the office or at
home. Sometimes people with their hearts set on a
certain path forget why
they ever chose that route. She mentions an employee
who was offered a
transfer to Australia but planned to turn it down
because she wanted to
finish her master's degree. Coe reminded the woman
that she had embarked on
the degree to help her reach her career goals, one of
which was to go to
Australia.
www.readersdigest.ca/mag/2001/11/lose_job.html?printer_version=1
goodbye
By Kate Zimmerman From CHATELAINE
Teacher Heather Ingram earned herself a never ending
professional-development day by having a relationship
with one of her
17-year-old students. Meanwhile Ashley MacIsaac, a
musician, indulged in a
profane onstage rant at a New Year's Eve concert,
neglected to play his
fiddle, then watched as his reputation got savaged by
the media. And, two
years ago, lawyer Thomas Haythe was dismissed from his
legal firm after
"allegations of sexual harassment following a night on
the town." That was
what the newspaper said, anyway. But we know what it
really was : a
world-class career-limiting move - a CLM.
Most professionals never err on such a grand scale.
Indeed, there are much
more common mistakes that can land you in serious
trouble. One survey of
career professionals came up with a list of the most
dangerous CLMs.
Needless to say, criminal acts are not included -
they're too obvious.
Neither are sexual or racial harassment, which are
obvious career-limiting
moves. Here are the other, more subtle crimes against
success :
GARAGE IN, USER OUT : Using your office computer
inappropriately is an easy
exit strategy. That means surfing the internet for
pornography or using
work time to cruise for information on any topic of a
controversial nature.
Don't exchange highly personal e-mails either. Ken
Scott, executive coach
with a career development firm, warns, "Realise that
your bosses can track
this and probably are tracking it."
BITING THE HAND THAT PAYS YOU : Embarrass your boss
regularly, and expect
to feel his boot to the seat of your pants sooner or
later. Margaret
Livingstone, a Canadian outplacement and personal
coaching business
consultant, tells of a woman who decided to get the
attention of her boss in
a group of colleagues by shouting out something about
him.
A similar class act would be using the "reply all"
function on your computer
to answer, in grisly detail, your supervisor's call
for frank feedback. Don
't talk about colleagues' performance to others.
According to Livingstone,
even discussing your company in nasty terms in a
public place can do you in.
"As a general rule," she says, "if you think
negatively about an
organization, you really shouldn't be working there."
A ROUND HOLE TAKES A ROUND PEG : Clash as obviously as
possible with your
workplace culture and everyone will start to wonder
why you're there.
Informally or formally, every workplace dictates how
employees should dress,
what they can discuss around the water cooler and how
they treat clients and
co-workers. Know the culture and make it second
nature. "Companies hire
people for competencies," says Karen Coe of TMP
Worldwide Executive Search.
"They fire them for 'fit'"
DIG IN YOUR HEELS : When change looms, cling to the
way things have always
been done and you may be the next casualty. You may
not like it, but change
is a fact of life. And if it's introduced by a new
boss, it can be
especially intimidating, says Livingstone. But, she
notes, once the waves
settle in the new boss's wake, many changes prove
beneficial. In fact, the
problems you faced under the old boss usually right
themselves once the new
boss takes full control.
WHAT, ME STUDY ? : Position yourself as an expert who
no longer needs
instruction or correction, and you may earn yourself
an indefinite
sabbatical. No matter how senior you are, Scott says,
the expression "I don
't take courses anymore - I give them" is a no-no.
You can always learn new
things.
MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS : Take a myopic view of your
company's business and
your role in it, and one day you may have no business
to go to. Coe says
employees often make the mistake of learning only
about matters directly
related to their own jobs. Instead, you should
interact with customers and
suppliers, and pursue networking opportunities.
Otherwise, someone with a
broader worldview may scoop the opportunities.
BE YOU EVER SO HUMBLE : Keep quiet about your
accomplishments and you may
convince your bosses there aren't any. Antithetical
though it may be to
current thinking, self promotion is what separates the
big cheese from the
blob of edible oil product.
But whining about your workload will backfire. Scott
says the key is being
visible, sharing the credit and being part of the team
that celebrates
victories. Livingstone once heard an executive search
specialist complain
that when she phones successful colleagues to find job
candidates, many paw
though their telephone indexes to find someone to
recommend. Few say
"Actually, I'd be perfect for that job."
IT WASN'T ME : Refuse to admit your mistakes, and like
Bill Clinton, you
could find yourself telling it to the judge. People
are much less
infuriated when you admit immediately that you made a
mistake and apologize.
Employers are not impressed when you deny, deny, deny
and then, weeks later,
relent and say, "Oh yeah. Uh...sorry,. I guess."
DON'T PLAY WELL WITH OTHERS : Avoid company and
industry functions if you
want a fast ticket to the bottom. You'll likely be
perceived as unfriendly,
says Livingstone. She suggests going to events where
people in your
industry congregate. But once there, don't job hunt;
you'll be seen as
self-serving. Instead, swap news on leadership,
markets and your industry.
"People often think networking is just chitchat," Coe
says.
"Networking is
an exchange of information that benefits both
parties."
FORGET TO BRING A MAP : Avoid making a career plan -
and keeping your boss
informed - and you might find your engine shunted onto
a siding. Coe
suggests you have a three to five year plan. The most
important thing is
that our boss knows you have goals and plan to achieve
them.
Self-satisfaction might be your worst enemy. Invent a
strategy so you can
figure out what you can do for your company and how
the company can help you
achieve your goals. Inform your supervisor when a
lateral move might be
better than a bump on the ladder.
WHEN OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS, DUCK : Stick to a narrow
view of success while
your company changes and you might be beheaded for an
early exit, without
the retirement party. Coe urges her clients to
reassess their careers
regularly, especially when there's a significant
change at the office or at
home. Sometimes people with their hearts set on a
certain path forget why
they ever chose that route. She mentions an employee
who was offered a
transfer to Australia but planned to turn it down
because she wanted to
finish her master's degree. Coe reminded the woman
that she had embarked on
the degree to help her reach her career goals, one of
which was to go to
Australia.
www.readersdigest.ca/mag/2001/11/lose_job.html?printer_version=1
