ajcjobs > BlogBreak > Archives > 2006 > November
November 2006
Dads need flexibility too!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I would suspect that there are countless number of men from the baby boomer age group who missed out on seeing their children participate in sporting events and other extra curricular activities while growing up. The generation X and Y parents are helping to change the rules of society.
Many companies are getting better at implementing work-life balance practices in the workplace. Allowing for flexible schedules, discretionary days, and shared job responsibilities has been a growing trend, however, mostly for women. In recent years, companies are starting to address the needs of fathers. One example is providing paternity leave for fathers with new born children.
According to a survey conducted by the Economic and Social Research Council, published by WorldatWork and funded by the University of Bristol, England, men who become fathers today, are not seeking shorter work days, but they do desire to have the opportunity to take time off from work to participate in activities involving their children such as parent-teacher meetings, school plays, sporting events, etc.
In many families today, the mother and the father both work and may have professional careers. Companies that are flexible and have strong work-life practices will be more successful in attracting the fathers and mothers of the future. In the future, dads will need to have the same flexibility as moms.
The Power of Relationships
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Can the company that you keep affect your professional life? Yes! Friends, social networks, and ‘chummy’ business associates speak volumes about you to others. Like it or not, people still believe that ‘birds of a feather flock together.’
The people you surround yourself with on and off the job, either pull you up or pull you down, but their impact on your future is never neutral. Each of the people you spend time with, listen to, take advice from, or just hang out with help shape your future, for better or worse.
Imagine having an interview, and later bumping into your interviewer in an awkward social situation at a nightclub - before the hiring decision was made.
Particularly when you are just walking in the door of the club at 11:00 pm with a hard-partying pack of friends.You can bet that impression is more lasting than your really good answer to an interview question.
Or, imagine breezing through an interview and leaving a smashingly professional image only to later find out that the prospective employer discovered your expletive-laden blog with ‘hot babe’ MySpace photos.
Both true stories, these young professionals’ careers have been altered because of who they know and how they behaved outside the ‘career space.’ And yes, many employers now regularly scout the internet to learn more about you! So be careful.
The power of relationships can be subtle, yet significant, because they help define who you are. Whether you know it or not, you will be judged in the marketplace by who you know. That could be your overachieving role models and enthusiastic references, or that could be your functionally-alcoholic college buddies who post less than flattering shots of them half-dressed and worshiping the porcelain shrine.
In the end, who you know can affect who you don’t get to know. And, right or wrong, it can make a difference in who ultimately become, personally and professionally
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What do you value in a job?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It is well-known that the primary reason people leave their jobs, whether by choice or by firing, is due to a misalignment in the values of that individual and the values of that organization. Depending on the degree of your misalignment, you might be able to hang in there for a few months, or even a few years, but if you’re not staying true to your values, you’re eventually going to crash and burn.
So what does that mean, anyway? Values. What do you value in a job?
A good way to begin to identify your work values is to think about what you enjoy doing or what you find important. To make it simple, people want to spend time doing things they value. The following examples will help you begin to identify what your work values are:
- If you value being with other people and socializing, you might not be happy in a job where you have little to no human contact.
- If you value being able to come home to your family at the end of the day, you may not be happy in a job where you will work a lot of overtime, or in a second shift position, or in a position that requires extensive travel.
- If you feel strongly about avoiding tobacco or alcohol, your values are not going to be very well aligned for working at a corporation that manufactures these kinds of products.
- If you’re an environmentalist, will you want to work for a company whose profits are tied to consuming natural resources?
- If you value being able to contribute creative ideas to a workplace, but your job requires you follow an inflexible routine, this is a misalignment in values.
- If you feel strongly about making a difference in people’s lives, and you don’t feel good about how your company profits from its customers, your values might not be aligned.
- If you find comfort in routine, your might not be a great fit for a hectic, unpredictable work environment.
The first step in making a career change is understanding what you value and find fulfilling in a career. Do you enjoy completing a project? Finding new solutions to a problem? Helping someone with their concerns?
The important thing to remember is that values are not really a matter of right or wrong. It’s a matter of how you prefer to spend your time. Your values can actually change as you progress through your career. What was fulfilling in your 20s might not be the best fit for you in your 40s.
Understanding your values will help you to make better career choices throughout your lifetime.
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Is religion taboo in the office?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
While our religious beliefs and the effects of our spirituality on our daily outlook can be an important part of who we are in our jobs, bringing our religious beliefs to work with us can be a difficult proposition.
What place does religion and spirituality have on the job? I’m not taking a stand either way; I’d just like to know the state of affairs in today’s workplace.
What’s acceptable and what’s “legal” in terms of religion and work? I don’t mean that your actions cannot portray your religious beliefs - actions often speak so much louder than words - I mean when you openly share your beliefs with others in the office or on the job site, what happens? Is this ok?
Sharing beliefs can range from outright proselytizing to just a casual mention in an isolated situation. In today’s workplace sharing beliefs may be either strongly supported or highly discouraged by the leadership of your company or organization. Obviously if you work in a faith-based organization, it’s much easier to be open with your beliefs and share them with co-workers. In other organizations, the effect of sharing your beliefs can range from encouragement to disciplinary actions or outright firing.
To what extent should religion, religious beliefs or spirituality have a place in the workplace? Many people of many faiths find that their spiritual beliefs help them to cope with daily life and make a difference in handling stresses and dealing with others at home and on the job. Spirituality cannot be separated easily from whom we are and how we carry out our job functions.
I’ve seen studies that indicate that seven out of ten people admit that they talk about religion at work. These discussions can range from finer points of religious beliefs and doctrine to ministering to co-workers with personal struggles. Other discussions can involve witnessing and recruiting others to a particular religion or practice.
Obviously, religious discussions at work may be misinterpreted or experienced as discrimination. In September 2005, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Preliminary 9-Month Report found religious discrimination charges increased 3 % from the comparable period of 2004. Whether these complaints are valid or not, the possibility of feeling attacked or discriminated against is there.
In an ideal world, we would hope that the workplace environment would be one of valuing diversity and respect for the beliefs of others. What is the experience of religious discussion or spirituality in your workplace? Does religion or spirituality have a place at work or should we all just avoid the topic at all?
Welcome to the new ajcjobs!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’m excited to introduce the new ajcjobs.com beta, the best place to find a job in Atlanta!
As you’ve probably noticed, we are unveiling a new look today. We took your thoughts and comments into consideration, and have made several changes:
- New site design
- Improved, consistent navigation
- A brand new job search engine
- Ability to find jobs by neighborhood
- New advertising opportunities
We have improved our job search capabilities significantly, making it easier for you to find exactly the job you are looking for. You start your search from the homepage by selecting a Job Function, Location or Type of Company, or entering any keyword. From there, you can narrow your results by one of several criteria:
- Job Function
- Location
- Type of Company
- Status - Full-time or Part-time
- Featured Employer - our top employers, with the most jobs
- Education required
- Additional keywords
And for the first time, you can drill down your search to the specific neighborhood. You don’t have to know a zip code (because who really knows any zip code but your own, anyhow?) With ajcjobs, you can search Atlanta the way you know Atlanta - by neighborhood.
My name is Valerie Nozick, and I’m the new ajcjobs Product Manager. I’ll be here all day Wednesday to answer your questions about the new site, and how to get the best out of it. Don’t know where to find something? Want to get some tips on improving your search? I’ll do my best to answer the questions.
I’ll start with a popular question - what happens to my saved Search Agent? Your search agents will continue to work with the new ajcjobs exactly as it did before. To save a new search and have it emailed to you as often (or as rarely) as you like:
- Login to your ajcjobs account
- Use the new ajcjobs search tool to define exactly the search criteria you want
- Click on “Save as Search Agent” in the left navigation, above the narrowing options
- Enter in a search agent name, and select how often you want email notifications about matching jobs
- Click on Enter
Don’t be afraid to ask other questions, or make a comment or suggestion. This is a beta release, and we are constantly looking for ways to improve things and make it easier for you to find the job you want.
Thank you for coming to ajcjobs. We hope you enjoy the new site design and job search functionality!
ajcjobs to partner with Yahoo! HotJobs
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Atlanta-Journal Constitution is among more than 150 newspapers that will partner with Yahoo! in an effort to share a larger audience and advertising base.
Yahoo’s HotJobs online recruiting Web site is expected to delve into other area’s, such as more exposure for newspaper content on Yahoo’s site.
This agreement comes as newspapers deal with the changing landscape of shifting circulation numbers and the need to adjust their business models.
The AJC firmly believes the Internet plays a huge part in it’s success and hopes this partnership will boost the efforts of its local sales dominance with Yahoo’s technology and larger footprint.
Read the complete story for more.
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Work and Politics
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We’ve sold out!!!
We don’t talk politics at work! We think it’s off limits! We think that how we vote is our private business. We think ONLY we know unless we tell someone.
I was listening to the returns two weeks ago, when a news commentator showed a circle graph of the voting percentages by republican, democrat, independent, libertarian, etc, for individual candidates. THEY (political parties, TV news shows, etc.) knew exactly how we voted and for whom! I thought, “How crazy it that?” There’s nothing private about politics!
So we go along “the road MORE traveled.”
The more we don’t talk about almost anything at work, the more we’re isolated and potentially influenced by the message. It’s the old Mushroom Theory of Management … keep all employees in the dark and feed them “waste.”
Candidates (parties) talk (trash) to and about other candidates (parties) all the time … AND we don’t talk politics? Crazy, again!
Let’s talk politics!! … I think what happened two weeks ago was TERRIBLE … no GREAT … no …! Oops!
What happens in your office when people talk politics? What’s happened to you? What do you do versus what you’d like to do?
Where and with whom can and can’t you talk politics?
The 30th US President, Calvin Coolidge, is quoted as having said, “No man ever listened himself out of a job.” Interesting, huh?
Calculate your Professional Value
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Is the President’s salary standing the test of time if in 1789 the President of the United States, George Washington made $25,000 annually and today the current President, G.W. Bush makes $400,000 annually in 2006? More importantly, is yours?
The average salary in the U.S. is $36,764; check on the approximate salary for your position and how you compare. Now obviously the salary for positions are based on a number of things, but it is important to conduct competitive intelligence when it comes to your pay. If you don’t keep an eye on how you stack up you may find yourself grossly underpaid.
Where do you begin in determining a fair salary for your position? You can determine the approximate value for your position by utilizing information that you can easily find online at the United States Census Bureau or through a company such as Salary.com. (This information is also helpful if you are moving to a new city with a different cost of living.)
This information should give you a good start to understanding your value to an employer. If your pay falls within the average range, great job maintaining your value! If you come in lower than the average you have some work to get your salary on track.
Of course, it is common for a person that stays with a company for a long time, to receive a 4% annual average pay increase each year. This will lead a to a below-average salary after many years with the same employer. Check and make sure you are making the amount you deserve.
So be aware of the average salary in your field. Remember to conduct continuous research on the salary of similar positions. If you determine you are undervalued, get your resume ready for a potential change. Then if necessary, take the next step and start interviewing. The main goal is: Make what you are worth!!
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Is your career going down the toilet?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It may be….
If you don’t use good judgment about what is professional and what is not. Cell phones have certainly opened up the world of communication and provided accessibility which is unparalleled in history.
However, I have to ask myself repeatedly if anything is so urgent that it must be discussed from the bathroom stall.
More and more, you find people in the corporate environment so compelled to perform that they can’t even take a 5 minute personal time-out in the bathroom!
Unfortunately if you are the recipient of a phone call that begins or ends with a “swoosh” - you may not feel completely respected by the caller.
The worse news is if you are gossiping about the unnerving bad habits of your boss or co-worker, you may find your career going down the drain once you realize that the “Gossip Busters” didn’t reform ‘Busybody Betty’ who just overheard every word! Let’s face it cell phones are addictive as are bluetooth headsets!
I have often got in the elevator with someone who looks like they are talking to themselves, when in fact their headset is just covered by their hair or a hat! Call me crazy but this really throws me for a loop! It’s so hard to tell when this culprit is talking to me or the person on the line.
I too think I am saving time when I call people walking down the hall, speeding down GA 400, or jetting onto Hartsfield’s runway. The question we all need to ask is are we doing ourselves any favors? After all, communicating is about more than picking up the phone.
It is about being ‘present’ in the conversation and actively listening to the other person. Focusing on the topics of discussion and responding in a articulate manner is something that chronic cell phone users may have forgotten.
Most would agree talking on the toilet is not professional, but the bigger question is are you using your cell phone as the business tool it was intended to be…not just for timely but effective communication?
Do you make calls while you are using the bathroom or have you been a recipient of toilet talk? Know any incessant bluetooth headset junkies?
Flexiblity for women only?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I opened up my Sunday paper yesterday and was glad to see the ajcjobs main story was about ‘Building a Case for Flexiblity’. However there is a major question that begs to be asked. What about the men?
It was a user comment written back in September that forced me to examine this question more closely. In response to my entry on women’s inequity in salaries, a reader named Nelson referred me to the work of Warren Farrell who has written extensively on men’s roles in the workplace.
I was able to hear Farrell present a workshop earlier this month. After years of advocating for women in the workplace, I found myself gaining a different understanding of the situation. He outlined the constraints on men. He spoke eloquently about the pressures that men feel in providing for families and in balancing their lives. Take a peek at his website: www.warrenfarrell.com.
Farrell says we need to look at these issues as they effect BOTH sexes. If only one sex only wins, we both lose. Power, he says, is about having control over your life. And isn’t that just as important for men? Organizations, in looking at reshaping how the work gets done should accommodate the lives of all of us.
So great work, Good Morning America for focusing on this issue. However, let’s see some examples of new work opportunities for both sexes!
Have you men been proposing flexible work options to your employers? What kind of reaction have you had? Any women read Farrell’s work? If so, what do you think?
Singing on the Job!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Don’t you just love it when you see someone that really loves their job? I was at the airport for a morning flight and in my haste to get there early to offset any security line backup, I had plenty of time to spare!
So instead of waiting, I decided to get some breakfast and I was drawn to a Popeye’s Chicken restaurant where a huge line had formed (you would think I would want to go where there was no line).
One of the servers behind the hot line was practically singing to the next person in line, “Good mornin’ darlin’, what wonderful thing can I get for you today? Honey, you have a fabulous day, and how about some grits with that order.”
She was a total bundle of morning excitement spreading energy and warmth to everyone who could hear the sound of her voice. After I went through the line, I sat and ate my breakfast as I watched her perform to the crowd. Several people whom I presume are frequent fliers knew her by name, and even came up to wish her a happy birthday!
On the flip side of my flight, I stood in the rental car line where they had messed up my reservation. When I finally got up to the counter, the lady standing behind had a serious attitude, sort of passive/aggressive…you know, when the bottom half of the face is smiling and the top half has the eyes of a murderer. I asked her why I couldn’t get what I had ordered, and she flew off the handle and said that it was out of her control to get me a car with one of those navigation systems. She then looked at me with a scowl and said that she was past due getting off work, and I would have to wait for the next person coming on duty to help me. The slightest question I asked her seemed to raise her blood pressure as she looked like she was a pressure cooker about to blow.
I couldn’t help but think of the difference between the Popeye’s server I had encountered this morning and the frowning, scowling rental car lady. You know, I think that if you hate your job so much, you should try to exit gracefully and begin looking for another job.
Do you love or hate your job? Do you skip to work every day or dread waking up because the office beckons?
Is Work making you Poor?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Have you ever actually sat down to calculate the cost of going to work? I bet the numbers will surprise you. Of course, we all know that having a paycheck is better than not having a paycheck.
So, being securely employed is definitely a good thing. But for younger employees, lower-paid employees and for anyone who is trying to save money or just trying to pull themselves out of debt, this opportunity cost can be a big strain the pocketbook.
Take a look at this scenario:
Jane is 26. She is single with no dependents and makes $25,000 per year, or roughly $12 per hour. Her net monthly income is $1,400, after taxes and her 401k contribution. She has a clerical position at a law firm, where she must dress professionally and attends college in the evenings part-time.
She lives in an apartment that she shares with two roommates, about 10 miles from her office, neither of which is convenient to mass transit. She drives a used 2001, 4-cylinder sedan. She doesn’t spend extravagantly, but likes to treat herself occasionally because she works hard.
These are her monthly expenses associated with going to work in any given month:
- Gasoline - $100
- Dry Cleaning - $50
- Clothing - $60 (she bought one new blouse and some extra stockings)
- Haircut, including tip - $45
- Lunches & Coffee Breaks - $75 (she usually tries to bring her lunch, but will sometimes go out with friends or colleagues)
- Birthday Gift for close co-worker - $15
- Food for potluck to honor retiring co-worker - $15
- Drinks after work to toast co-worker’s engagement - $20
- Gift basket order to support co-worker’s child’s fundraising efforts: $20
Grand Total: $400
That’s a staggering amount of money, given her take home salary. Yet, because she is eager to project a professional image and fit in with her co-workers and her immediate supervisors in order to advance her career, she feels as though she needs to blend into the social culture of her work environment and contribute when she can. In the end, she’s left with $1,000 a month for rent, utilities and food.
In Jane’s case, the lifestyle she needs to live in order to project the professional image that is important to her exceeds her financial ability to do so. So, what’s a girl to do?
Is employment causing you to be broke? How do you make ends meet?
If I didn’t have to work…
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Having the attitude of “take this job and shove it” is not usually a path to survival or happiness. However, considering the idea of “not having to work” could make for some real freedom and happiness! We could have that attitude in the same organization in which we’re presently employed or it could take us to a whole new world!
If you could live the attitude of “not having to work” in your present company, what might you do differently, how might you think differently and what might you say and to whom?
You could approach this at least two ways. First, you could approach it to “fix” things up where you work. Or you could approach it to even out the score with some folks.
Here’s an example, I was nearly always right at the top in performance as a sales person early in my career. My attitude slipped and my performance suffered. I could have left. But instead I decided that if I were to leave, I would leave on my terms as a top performer. I decided I had nothing to lose (“I didn’t have to work …). Both up and down the chain of command, I started making “outrageous” requests, pushing people to get what I wanted, and began getting great results. Interestingly, it got the attention of someone in another company who made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.
Another time, I heard I was going to be downsized. Again, with seemingly nothing to lose, I started politicking and taking aim at others that I thought were vulnerable. The outcome was someone else got the “pink slip.” I got things turned around positively for myself, had a good run, and left on my own accord with everyone satisfied.
From my experience, far too many people are NOT able to do what we’re talking about. Many find it threatening. To imagine that I could DO some of the things I’d like to do, to SAY what I’d like to say or even allow myself to THINK “outside of my comfort zone,” can be threatening.
I think that by not doing it, taking a personal (educated and measured) risk, we make ourselves far less productive, limit our future, and minimize our happiness and passion.
“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” - Henry David Thoreau.
Here’s a time and place you can say it! Go for it!
Make a name for yourself!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I have had the chance to speak at several conferences lately and wonder why I always see the same names presenting each year.
I want to encourage you to get out there and start making a name for yourself. Your career will only benefit from putting yourself out there.
Professional meetings are BIG business. It’s actually a $123.3 billion dollar business, according to Meeting Professionals International.
If you are interested in moving up, across or even off of the corporate ladder, think about what you know and pitch a proposal to the professional organization in your field. Start at the local level. Partner with someone who has more experience and is known in the group.
You can even propose a panel and be the moderator. See an example at an upcoming conference being held in Atlanta next week - The International Alliance For Women - Global Forum
Employers usually are very supportive of this as it gains visibility for their brand and their quality talent. You benefit from the reputation you develop.
Attend a few planning meetings so that when you make a proposal you gain recognition and credability.
Have you presented a program and found it has helped your career? What obstacles have you found while doing this?
Could nursing be your calling?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In my job, I constantly hear from people who want to change careers, sometimes for the right reasons, other times for all the wrong reasons. Whatever the final straw may be that brings you to the decision to change careers, you might want to look at nursing as a possibility. And DON’T quit reading if you’re a man!
While nursing has traditionally been a female-dominated career, men have real opportunities in nursing and often find it to be a really satisfying job. If and when they just are “man enough” to give nursing a try.
Whether male or female, here are some of the great things about nursing to consider:
As a nurse, you can really make a difference in someone’s life. You can even save a life. You see people at their best and at the lowest points in their lives and you’re there to make a difference. As a nurse, you can attain a real feeling of satisfaction of a job well-done when you do make a difference.
Job opportunities are everywhere - check out the job listings on ajcjobs! Nursing is one of the top jobs around in terms of available positions, salaries and other intangibles that go along with working in a helping profession. People will actually pay you to go to school if you promise you’ll work for them after graduation.
The potential for career growth and further development is unlimited. With a degree in nursing you are in high demand. You can change jobs when the old one gets stale. You can travel to other parts of the world and have someone else pay - and you can work while you enjoy the scenery and culture. When you’re ready, graduate degrees are available to increase your skills and your reimbursement as well. Unlike other fields, the skills of one nursing job often transfer very easily to another.
Nursing has very flexible options for students who want to enter the field after another career. Accelerated programs allow people with degrees in other fields. Accelerated programs for people with degrees in other fields to graduate from nursing school and be ready to become licensed as a registered nurse. All this happens in as little as 12 to 16 months.
Now for the downside:
Even with a nursing shortage, it’s really hard to get into nursing school. Nursing programs may turn away as many as 10 students for every one they accept. Nursing education is closely regulated and it costs universities more to produce nurses than marketing majors so student numbers are limited. Faculty shortages and limited numbers of clinical facilities (such as hospitals and clinics) cut down on the numbers of students Schools of Nursing can accept.
Nursing is a hard job, physically and emotionally difficult at times. Shortages in hospitals make the job market good for nurses but the nurses who are out there are working really hard to cover for unfilled positions.
You have to take some really difficult courses such as chemistry, anatomy and physiology and microbiology to become a nurse.
Not really downsides, just challenges right? If you’re up for a challenge, think of nursing when you’ve reached your breaking point in the business world. It might be the best step you’ve ever taken.
