Posts Tagged: MyPath
The Dos and Don’ts of Thank You Notes
Posted in Career Advice for Young Professionals Generation Y/Millennials Job Search Tips on November 23, 2010 at 1:03 pm
Last week I talked about how to ask people for advice. This week, I thought it would be helpful to talk about how to thank people for the advice (and any other assistance) you receive. How perfect that it’s Thanksgiving week, too!
Here are my top tips:
Email thank yous are acceptable. I admit I’ve changed my mind over the years about email thank you notes. For a long time, I preached the importance of sending handwritten notes through the mail. I still believe that a handwritten note on lovely stationery makes a great impression; however, I’ve come to accept that email thank you notes, even following a job interview, are perfectly fine (just be sure to research your industry and the type of company you’re applying to — some still prefer a handwritten note).
The main reason I now recommend email thank yous is that today’s world moves really fast and if people don’t receive an email from you within 24 to 48 hours of helping you or interviewing you, they assume you haven’t thanked them. Since snail mail can’t arrive this fast, especially in our world of corporate mailrooms and constant business travel, email is your best bet.
All of this said, I do not recommend texting a thank you in any professional situation. Thank you texts are only appropriate for something very casual, such as, “Thnx for wishing me good luck this morning!” (Of course I reserve the right to change my mind on this subject in a few years when email feels too slow!)
A thank you is always appreciated. I try to avoid using the word “always” in any advice I give, but I’ve racked my brain and can’t think of an occasion where a thank you note wouldn’t be a good idea (okay, I probably wouldn’t say, “Thank you for firing me.”). Even if you did send a thank you when it wasn’t necessary, it’s far worse not to say thank you when you should. I am constantly dismayed by the number of students who email me a career question, I answer it, and then I never receive a thank you. When I called out one student for not thanking me after I provided a lot of advice to her by email, she said, “I didn’t want to bother you with another email.” Trust me: a thank you is not a bother! When someone helps you, say thank you. Always. It makes the person feel that his or her time was appreciated, and it makes that person want to help you again in the future.
Here is a list of some of the occasions that deserve a thank you: when someone gives you advice, guidance or any sort of professional help; when someone makes a networking introduction for you; when someone passes along a job posting; when someone takes you as his or her guest to an event; when someone treats you to a meal; and when someone interviews you for a job.
It’s never too late to say thank you. I’ve had a lot of students ask me “how late is too late to send a thank you note?” and I truly believe that a thank you is always warranted and always appreciated, even if it comes much later than expected. If you do find yourself sending a belated thank you, simply say something like, “I truly apologize for the delay in thanking you…” or “This note is late but I am deeply grateful…” It’s better to feel a bit awkward and do the right thing than to hope the person doesn’t notice that you never showed your gratitude.
A thank you doesn’t have to be long. In terms of what to say in a thank you note or email, my advice is to keep it short and genuine. I like to start with the thank you, then mention something specific the person said or did to show I was listening. For instance, “Thank you very much for taking the time to meet with me this morning. I’m especially grateful for your advice to subscribe to Career Bloggers Daily. I’ve already signed up and look forward to reading it! Thank you again and best regards, Lindsey”
What other advice and tips do you have for saying thank you? Please share in the Comments.
p.s. Happy Thanksgiving!
Declare the Month of NO-vember
Posted in Career Advice for Young Professionals Gen Y Entrepreneurship Generation Y/Millennials on November 5, 2010 at 9:00 am
A few years ago I worked with an excellent life coach who helped me deal with, among other issues, stress. She asked me to bring my calendar to one of our sessions and together we looked at the number of meetings, phone calls, networking events, personal events, deadlines and errands I tried to fit into every week.
“Um, any guesses why you’re stressed?” she asked with a smile.
It suddenly seemed so obvious. My calendar was packed. Overflowing. I was stressed because, like so many people, I was trying to do too much. I was saying yes to absolutely every invitation and project. In the process, I was saying no to my own sanity.
This exercise happened to take place in the fall, so my coach assigned me the challenge of saying no more often in the hopes of clearing more space in my calendar. I decided to declare the 11th month of the year the month of “NO-vember” and say no to every non-essential activity or obligation that came my way during those 30 days. My default answer to every invitation or non-essential assignment (obviously I said yes to existing project deadlines and client requests), became “no,” “not now” or “let me get back to you.”
Here’s what I experienced, and what you might experience if you declare your own month of NO-vember:
- I became clearer on what I really wanted to do. Because I challenged myself to say no more often, when I felt myself desperately wanting to say yes to an opportunity, I realized what I really wanted — which projects got me most excited, which networking events felt most valuable, which activities really moved my career forward. If you find yourself undecided about where to take your career, try saying no more often and you’ll find the right opportunities make themselves clear and become absolute “yeses.”
- I accomplished more of my short-term and long-term goals. By clearing my calendar, I had time to get things done and start on projects that had been on my to-do list forever. I ended each day with a true sense of accomplishment. I know this is a “duh” — when you have more time, you can accomplish more — but we often forget that if you want to get things done, you have to make time to do things.
- I had more energy. When you work too hard and run from meeting to meeting to phone call to phone call to drinks to dinner to bed, you have no time to stop and refuel. I really do love the buzz and energy of being busy, but the truth is that when I’m really busy and overscheduled, I don’t feel buzzed and energetic; I feel really tired.
And, perhaps most surprising:
- No one really noticed! I thought all of my friends, professional colleagues and others would react negatively to my nos. I thought I’d lose multiple opportunities. I thought I’d get angry emails or phone calls from people who felt ignored or rejected. Instead, almost every time I said no to something, the response was, “okay.” Could it be that other people say no all the time? As a long-time people-pleaser, this was a revelation. I though you had to say “yes” all the time to be successful. What I learned in my month of NO-vember is that it is absolutely okay to say “no,” “not now” or “let me think about it” any month of the year.
I hope you’ll consider saying no more often this month or any month. And, as you’ve probably guessed, if you have a request for me this November, the answer will probably be a polite but firm NO.
Lessons from 4 Days Without My BlackBerry
Posted in Generation Y/Millennials on October 29, 2010 at 8:00 am
According to a recent post on NewYorkTimes.com, 75 percent of Millennial-aged American respondents to a survey sponsored by the Wi-Fi Alliance said that a week without Wi-Fi would leave them grumpier than a week without coffee or tea.
I read the article and didn’t give it much thought. After all, when would anyone actually have to live without wi-fi, coffee or tea?
Well.
Late Sunday evening, I landed in London after a long flight across the Atlantic Ocean. About three seconds later, I did what I always do when my plane touches down on the runway: I turned on my BlackBerry to check messages.
Although I had called my wireless provider before I left the U.S. to make sure my phone, email and texting capabilities would work overseas, my BlackBerry did not get the memo. “No Signal” was all it said, no matter how many buttons I pressed, no matter how many settings I adjusted, no matter how many times I turned it on and off and removed the battery.
The next day I tried everything to get it working — hotel concierge, mobile phone store, email to customer support, paying a fortune to actually call customer support from London — but my BlackBerry still would not work. So I resigned myself to four days without constant connection. Here is what happened:
1. I paid more attention to my surroundings. During some down time on my business trip, I took a two-hour double-decker bus tour of London. It was fabulous: Big Ben, London Bridge, Covent Garden, Buckingham Palace and all amazing stops in between. I’m embarrassed to say, though, how many times I felt myself instinctively reaching into my bag to check my BlackBerry for messages.
Each time I realized I didn’t have it, I was forced to notice more of the incredible architecture all around me, discern more of the marks from where bombs fell in World War II and take in more of the historical facts the tour guide was sharing. I know this sounds incredibly cliché, but I really did digest more of my surroundings because I was totally present and not splitting my attention between London and a tiny screen.
2. I missed sharing. All of that said, I also felt some disappointment that I couldn’t immediately share the experience with everyone back home. I’ve become so accustomed to tweeting, Facebooking and sharing on LinkedIn that I kept thinking about what I wanted to tell various people about various things — personal and professional — that happened on my trip. I wish I could share all of that with you now, but I forgot most of it. Social media really has become an indispensable and important part of my personal and professional life.
3. I checked email more efficiently. This is a well-known email management strategy, and one that I have trouble implementing when I’m in my own office. One of the most effective ways to manage email is to check it in batches a few times a day. Because I was out and about in London without my BlackBerry, the only way I could check email was in batches when I returned back to my hotel once or twice a day and in the evenings. I found that I zipped through messages pretty quickly because I answered them in bulk rather than in a trickle throughout the day. If you struggle with email management, give this batching tactic a shot. I’m going to try to stick with it when I get back to my desk.
4. I found alternatives. Instead of calling my husband from my BlackBerry as I usually do when I’m traveling, we used Skype and our webcams to video chat from across the ocean. It was great and we’re planning to do that every time we travel. Instead of calling in to a webinar I was teaching, I tried out the VoIP system on the webinar system and it worked just as well — and was totally free. And, instead of burying my head in my BlackBerry to find directions around town, I asked people for directions and, in the process, had some really nice conversations and got some great recommendations for additional places to see and things to do.
Will I go back to using my BlackBerry when I get home from London? Absolutely. But I’m surprised how glad I am that I had the experience of living without it. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, disconnected or in a rut, I recommend shutting off your mobile device for a few days and see what you learn. The results may surprise you.
The Single Most Important Resume Item
Posted in Career Advice for Young Professionals Generation Y/Millennials Getting from College to Career Internships Job Search Tips on October 8, 2010 at 5:53 pm
I recently moderated a panel discussion of prominent CEOs from three very different industries — professional services, social media and nonprofit. While they each gave excellent advice to the students in the audience who were interested in their particular fields, the CEOs all came together on one key point:
All employers in all industries are seeking one major resume item: leadership.
Why is leadership so important?
Read the rest of this post on my “College to Career” blog at MyPath.com…
Top 5 Recruiter Pet Peeves REVEALED!
Posted in Career Advice for Young Professionals Generation Y/Millennials Getting from College to Career Job Search Tips on June 28, 2010 at 11:57 am
While it’s incredibly important to do the right things in a job search, you also need to make sure you avoid doing the wrong things.
One of my favorite questions to ask recruiters is, “What are your biggest pet peeves about entry-level job candidates?” Below are some of the answers I’ve received. Hopefully this list will save you from committing any major faux pas!
- “Creative” resumes. I know you want to stand out from the crowd, but a perfumed, purple or paper airplane-shaped resume is not the way to do it.
- Not doing your homework. We live in the Information Age, so there is no excuse for not learning as much information about a company as possible before meeting a representative of that company at a job fair, information session or other recruiting event. You should already know the organization’s lines of business, competitors, current news and other facts you can easily discover from a website or a quick Google search. Asking a recruiter to tell you about his organization or asking what the company does is a quick way to strike out.
- Texting. Even if a recruiter’s mobile phone number appears on her business card or email signature, do not use it to text. Although texting is super-efficient, it’s way too personal for the recruiter-candidate relationship. By the way, the same goes for friending on Facebook.
- “Just following up.” There is a fine line between appropriate persistence and pointless pestering. It is absolutely fine to call or email a recruiter to say thank you for a company information session, to ask a few questions or to mention that you’ll be attending another event they are hosting. But “Just calling to follow up!” doesn’t add much to your candidacy. If you find yourself calling multiple times with no response, you may have to accept the fact that, as the famous dating book title says, this particular employer is just not that into you.
- Asking for too much too soon. I’m always shocked when recruiters tell me about college students and recent grads who ask multiple questions about bonuses, vacation time, perks and flexible hours before they’ve worked a day. I’m all for smart negotiation, but don’t let your ambition tip over into entitlement.
What other mistakes have you seen young professionals make? Share in the comments and save your fellow readers from major mistakes!
Tags: entry-level job search, MyPath, Recruiting
Podcast: View from the Other Side: Interview with a Former Campus Recruiter
Posted in Career Advice for Young Professionals Getting from College to Career Job Search Tips on April 15, 2010 at 1:25 pm
Have you ever wanted to know what goes on inside the mind of a campus recruiter? Here’s your chance!
Listen in on my conversation with Joy Schwartz, a former campus recruiter who is now a university career counselor. She’ll share the inside scoop from the other side of the job fair booth, answering such questions as:
- What are some of the biggest mistakes students make in the campus recruiting process?
- What can students do to stand out in the recruiting process?
- What is the most important question in a job interview?
- What is the best way for candidates to follow up with recruiters?
Click here to listen to this podcast on my “College to Career” blog at MyPath.com, and please share your thoughts in the Comments section below. You can also check out Joy’s blog at JoySchwartz.com.
Podcast: Why Two Jobs May Be Better Than One
Posted in Career Advice for Young Professionals Future of Careers Gen Y Entrepreneurship Generation Y/Millennials on April 8, 2010 at 3:16 pm
“Modern moonlighting” has become an increasingly popular phenomenon among young professionals. It involves working a full-time job and pursuing other projects on the side.
Why are people doing this and how do you make it work? Listen in on my conversation with Jenny Blake, who works full-time at Google and runs a coaching and blogging business, LifeAfterCollege.org, on the side.
Listen to the podcast on my MyPath.com “College to Career” show now!
On MyPath.com: Job Opportunities with Women-Owned Businesses
Posted in Career Advice for Young Professionals Job Search Tips Recommended Career Resources on January 28, 2010 at 9:09 am
I recently came across a study by the Guardian Life Small Business Research Institute predicting that about one-third of new jobs created over the next eight years will be at small businesses owned by women.
As a woman small business owner myself, I was really intrigued by this news. It also reminded me that many students and young professionals miss out on great opportunities because they overlook the potential to get a job at a (man- or woman-owned) small business.
In this week’s podcast, I share my thoughts on the opportunities available in small businesses, how to find these opportunities and the pros and cons of working for a smaller organization.
As always, I look forward to your feedback and comments!
Tags: career, job search, MyPath
