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Re: Career Do-Over: Interview with Serial Entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki

Greg Barrette — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 23:35:54 -0000

"Your first few jobs after college don’t really matter so chill out."

With the way the economy is right now, I think that quote gives most current young professionals hope. And hope is exactly what they need in such a competitive job market.

Also, I cringed when I read Guy turned down the interview for the CEO position of Yahoo. After seeing all his success, maybe Yahoo feels regret for letting him turn them down? That's one way to look at it.

Re: Why HR’s Just Not That Into You

Greg Barrette — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 10:51:19 -0000

These days when you’re applying for a job, the majority (or all) of the application process is via the internet (website, e-mail). However, most HR departments still give you the chance to apply using old fashioned paper and envelope. JT, do you think one option of submitting your application is better than the other? Should people do both?

Better yet, what if I was applying for a job and I submitted my application in person. I would literally hand my resume and cover letter to the hiring manager or someone in HR. Do you think this would increase my chances of getting the position?

Re: Flirting in the Workplace: It’s All Fun & Games Until Someone Loses Their Job (Unless You’re Tom Brady!)

Greg Barrette — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 18:30:44 -0000

Being cautious of your conduct in a workplace environment is so crucial.

If you catch someone on the wrong day and in the wrong mood, a simple compliment can be taken the wrong way and you could be sitting in front of your manager before you know it, trying to talk yourself out of a sexual harassment complaint.

Reading this post reminds me of an episode of The Drew Carey Show when Drew is accused of sexual harassment from a co-worker for attaching a simple cartoon to the bottom of a memo. I believe it had something to do with a french fry flirting with a caterpillar. This is a quote from that episode:

Drew: (drafting a new memo) From now on, all employees will be required to bring their sense of humor to work every day. This replaces the normal practice of having a stick up your butt!

Now since it's just a television show, this scenario comes off as humorous. I agree with Drew that sometimes people just need to 'relax' but that's not how things always go in a workplace setting. Innocent actions like the one Drew had occur everyday and most of the time go without punishment. However, you still need to be careful of what you say and do. Just having your name mentioned in the same sentence as 'sexual harassment' can tarnish your professional reputation.

Read this quote by Mary Lorenz. It offers some great advice:

"Know your audience. Some people may appreciate a dirty joke here and there, others won't tolerate them. Even complimenting a person's physical appearance can be tricky.

Someone who doesn't know you better could construe a well-intended compliment ("That sweater really brings out the blue in your eyes") as a come-on. Try to keep flattering remarks related to work ("Great presentation today!").

Bottom line: Play it safe. When in doubt, keep it outside the office."

Question: If you do notice inappropriate behavior in the workplace, do you think it's better to approach the participants before raising the issue with management? Or is it better to go straight to management?

Re: Feeling Bad About Your Career? It’s a Good Thing

Greg Barrette — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 14:06:41 -0000

Great story. I had this sort of experience a couple years ago when I was the President of a college organization.

During my tenure as President, there were so many moments where I was overwhelmed, frustrated, and stressed to the max. It was difficult dealing with 60 different personalities. I remember asking myself, “Why am I doing all this, is this worth it? What am I getting out of this?” In fact, part of me never wanted to be a ‘leader’ again. I wasn’t certain if I was doing a good job or not but I pressed on and continued to be a leader the way I knew how while trying to learn from my mistakes.

Well a couple months after my year-long term was complete, I had my ‘Ah-ha Moment.’ I found out my organization received the highest honors possible at our annual awards banquet. We were the most successful organization on campus during my year as President.

It was at that moment I realized everything I did, all the energy and time I put into my position, was the most valuable thing I’ve yet to do in my life. I learned so much from my term as President and I apply what I’ve learned to everything I do in order to be successful.

I now look forward to every opportunity I have where I can be a leader.

Re: Respect Authority? Not Me! (and it helps my career!)

Greg Barrette — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 11:05:46 -0000

Awesome story Chris. This article on authority makes me think about the possible negative/positive influences of power in the workplace.

It’s often assumed employees are the ones who must serve managers. Well I can’t help but look at it from a different angle and believe managers are better off serving employees:

“Your employees or subordinates look to you for care and guidance quite analogously as children perceive the parent, guardian or teacher.” (mdpme.com)

Sometimes when a person is put into a management position, she/he does not understand how to properly use their authority right from the get-go. Instead, an inexperienced manager (and sometimes experienced) will simply “tell employees what to do” when the manager and employee should be working together to complete a task. This is unfortunate because when something goes wrong, managers often look to blame the employees when in fact they should really be looking in the mirror:

“The employee who fails probably lacks a trainer who trains.” (mdpme.com)

Re: T.A.P. into CAREEREALISM (Get Free, Personalized Help from Career Experts)

Greg Barrette — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 14:06:06 -0000

With the job market being so competitive right now, I feel this is such an appropriate time for a program like this to be developed.

If you're using Twitter and you're currently unemployed, you better be using this as a resource for career guidance. Considering it's a free tool, you'd be silly not to.

Re: Recent Grad Gets Dream Job in 2 Months…Here’s How

Greg Barrette — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 12:42:01 -0000

Congratulations Mari! You must feel like the weight of the world has been lifted off your shoulders.

I love JT's approach to helping those who are currently dissatisfied with their career or are having difficulty finding work. CAREEREALISM University is a unique idea and it has success written all over it.

It seems this program is focused on giving users a very personal experience. This is great because it's much easier to give advice to someone when you know them on a personal level. Instead of the user having to adjust to the program, the program adjusts to the user.

Re: 3 Ways Unpaid Internships Pay

Greg Barrette — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:37:22 -0000

I appreciate all the positive feedback from everyone!

This is a topic I've been wanting to write about for a long time now. It feels good to finally share my thoughts.

Thank you for reading!