In Search of the Fun-Forever Job
follow us
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Ask Ellis
  • Career Strategies That Work
  • Reviews
  • Invite Ellis to Speak
  • News and articles

Professional Presentations:  Key Ingredient for Career Mobility (Part 1)  

10/30/2014

2 Comments

 
Picture
I’ve been teaching Professional Presentations for many years, in two-day workshops in large organizations, one-on-one coaching, as well as one-hour versions in graduate school classrooms. Initially, the purpose of the programs, from the vantage of the sponsoring organizations, was to help participants improve their public speaking skills in meetings and larger gatherings. This coaching and teaching also was intended to assist in getting past the profound fears of public speaking that most people experience. 

Very slowly, I’ve come to the conclusion that not only is this fear-inducing skill important in many work activities – but it’s an important political skill. The political angle is simple. If your co-workers and management don’t know you’re doing a great job and possess critical skills, it’s almost like that tree in the forest. If they don’t hear or know about your accomplishments, then maybe you’re not so successful after all. 

The perception is key. 

The ability to present can mean as little as an important conversation with your boss or a job interview. How well prepared are you? How articulate are you and how effective is the manner in which you present? Are you getting your point across well? 

I certainly don’t mean to indicate that everything you say has to be prepared as though you were giving speeches all day.  In many circumstances, though, it’s important to be prepared. The most devout introverts need to be heard at staff meetings. Not everyone can speak easily without preparation, although the ability to speak extemporaneously is a talent that can go a long way in advancing a career.

Whenever I prepare to discuss this subject, I’ll start with a conversation about fear. It’s important to identify the level of the fear. I like to ask people how they’d rank that fear from 1 (abject terror) to 5 (willingness to speak with minimal preparation to a group of 500). Usually, the results average somewhere in the 2-3 range.  (Of course, some of the groups are self-selecting and included many terrified public speakers.) 

If you’re fearful of public speaking, even in very small groups, you’re not alone.  I like to research, at least once a year, recent surveys of common fears. One of the most recent lists of most common fears, in order:

1)                 Snakes
2)                 Public speaking
3)                 Heights
4)                 Being stuck in a small space
5)                 Spiders and insects
6)                 Injections
7)                 Death
8)                 Dogs
9)                 Crowds
10)               Going to the doctor

Tough not to notice that “death” is #7, and “public speaking” is #2.

It’s probable you’re in the majority when it comes to fear of public speaking – but in order to move your career along, it would help to improve. I never suggest that everyone must become a brilliant orator; what I do encourage is to try to become at least competent, or somewhat more comfortable when addressing groups or individuals in important situations. 

Just in case I haven’t made the point that presentations skills are important political attributes, I’m going to refer to yet another list. There have been many of these lists compiled where senior executives of large organizations are asked what the qualities are for predicting individual success in an organization. As you’ll see in a current list below, I’ve used this to prove my point.

Criteria for success (in order):

1)                 Clear articulation
2)                 General communication skills
3)                 Presentation skills
4)                 Listening skills
5)                 Simple etiquette
6)                 Appropriate business attire
7)                 Organizational skills
8)                 Telephone courtesy
9)                 Post-secondary school education level
10)               Previous experience

See something unusual in there? Aside from presentations skills being #3 as a critical component for success in an organization, also notice that the only “hard” skill listed is #10, “previous experience.” I search for these lists yearly; sometimes there are no “hard” skills listed at all, and sometimes as many as two. 

In other words, it’s not what you know or have done that counts most; it’s how you package it. Those so-called “soft” skills may mean more than the skill set. At least according to these lists.  Clearly, the same goes for an ordinary job interview, as well. 

Which is what brings us back to the issue of presentation skill. Not only is it important in career mobility, but it also frequently involves overcoming a significant level of fear.

In the next blog, I’ll tackle key elements in getting past the fear by thorough preparation, and improving your overall presentations style.  


Ellis

For a quick course on networking, pick up my Ebook, Networking: How to Make the Connections You Need

If you're looking for more in-depth advice on your job search, In Search of the Fun-Forever Job: Career Strategies that Work is available in paperback and Ebook. 


2 Comments

How Women Should Ask For A Raise (Forbes)

10/16/2014

1 Comment

 
Picture
Susan Adams
Forbes Staff

There’s no question that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella put his foot in his mouth last week when he suggested that women should not ask for raises but instead should just do a good job and have faith that they will get the pay they deserve. He made the baffling statements in an unlikely forum, a conference in Phoenix celebrating the achievements of women in computing. Microsoft board member and Harvey Mudd College president Maria M. Klawe had asked Nadella what advice he’d give women who are not comfortable asking for a promotion. Nadella’s answer: “It’s not really about asking for the raise, but knowing and having faith that the system will actually give you the right raises as you go along.”

As if he hadn’t done enough damage with that comment, he continued: “That, I think, might be one of the additional superpowers that, quite frankly, women who don’t ask for a raise have. Because that’s good karma. It’ll come back because somebody’s going to know that’s the kind of person that I want to trust. That’s the kind of person that I want to really give more responsibility to. And in the long-term efficiency, things catch up.”

Facing an immediate firestorm of criticism, Nadella tried to retract his words, though a tweet he sent late Thursday failed to make clear what he was trying to convey. He said he had been “inarticulate” about how women should ask for raises. He went on to say, rather confusingly, “Our industry must close gender pay gap so a raise is not needed because of a bias.” He also sent an email to Microsoft staff that was more succinct, saying he supported programs that brought more women into technology and that closed the pay gap. About raises, he said, “If you think you deserve a raise, you should just ask.”

Is there anything to be learned from Nadella’s gaffe? If the advice in his follow-up memo was correct, what is the best way for women to ask for a raise? What kind of obstacles do women face that men don’t and how can women overcome them?

For advice I interviewed eight career coaches, including five trusted sources in New York who have provided me with great wisdom for past career stories, and three coaches in Silicon Valley. All of them agree that Nadella’s initial comments were completely wrong-headed, even if applied to men.

“It runs contrary to everything I ever say to anyone in business,” says longtime coach Ellis Chase, 67, who coaches at Columbia Business School and is the author of In Search of the Fun-Forever Job:  Career Strategies That Work.”One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to assume that being productive, smart and working like a dog is going to get you recognition and compensation which of course is not true for anyone.” He adds, “Years ago a boss told me, ‘It doesn’t matter if you come in two hours before anyone else because no one sees you.’” While both genders should advocate for themselves and ask for raises, the coaches all agree that women find it more challenging to ask for raises than do men.

One encouraging piece of information I got from the three Silicon Valley coaches: Nadella’s initial notion that women should not ask for raises is not representative of tech culture in the valley. Though tech jobs remain dominated by men – only 29% of Microsoft’s global workforce is female – Lisa Stotlar, 51, who is based in Palo Alto and has been coaching for more than 20 years, says Nadella’s comments “don’t sound typical at all.” Says Mountain View-based coach Ada James, 32, “bosses have been very receptive when the women I’ve worked with have asked for raises.”

Still, women must overcome their own reluctance to ask for raises while confronting lingering sexism toward women who appear too assertive. As The New York Times noted after Nadella made his comments, Carnegie Mellon economics professor Linda Babcock, author of the 2003 book Women Don’t Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide, has studied women’s attitudes toward raises and promotions and found that they are more likely than men to be anxious about asking for more pay and better positions. In one study she found that 57% of male Carnegie Mellon business school graduates negotiated their starting salaries compared to just 7% of women. In a 2005 paper she and two co-authors found that women who tried negotiating with men for more compensation, suffered more push-back than men. (Though when men and women negotiated with a female boss, the boss didn’t differ in her reactions to both genders.)

Babcock’s research may be dated, but three of the eight coaches told me that they think women who ask for raises get penalized because of their gender. “If women are more assertive, people aren’t used to that,” says Marianne Adoradio, 64, a San Jose coach with 20 years of experience.

The good news is that women can counteract gender bias and boost their pay considerably. Palo Alto coach Stotlar even thinks that this is an especially good moment for women to get ahead because of recent attention to the lack of diversity at tech companies. In addition to Microsoft’s poor diversity numbers, last summer, after Apple released a report showing that women make up just 30% of its employees worldwide, CEO Tim Cook said he was “not satisfied” with the gender and racial breakdown at the company.

So what should women do to increase their compensation? I’ve combined the wisdom of the eight coaches here to offer 12 directives.

1. Lean in. To borrow the title of the best-selling book by billionaire Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, women should pursue higher salaries and promotions, despite their reluctance and in the face of lingering sexism. I personally empathize with women who prefer to take a “mommy track” once they’ve had kids (I did that for some years after my son was born in 1996). But like Sandberg, coach Connie Thanasoulis-Cerrachio says that women are too quick to assume they can’t handle more responsibility, which can also bring a higher salary. She has a client right now who is earning $350,000 as a senior vice president at a financial services company. The woman’s bosses asked her to interview for a managing director job which could double her salary. But the woman didn’t want to pursue the opportunity. Thanasoulis-Cerrachio insisted she explore it. “I’ve never had to talk a guy into something like that,” she says.

2. Build relationships in your industry and your company: Coach Anita Attridge, who worked for 20 years in human resources jobs inside companies, including more than 10 years at Xerox, says she’s observed that women aren’t as natural at networking as men. One of her clients who was earning $300,000 at a pharmaceutical company, wanted to make a play for her boss’s job. But Attridge says the woman hadn’t been effective enough at getting to know the right people. “She had done a sterling job and made great accomplishments but she had no relationships with the people in the company who were going to be making the decision.” She didn’t get the promotion. Longtime coach Eileen Wolkstein, 71, observes, “women tend to form relationships that are less up than across or down.” They’ll be friendlier with the administrative assistants than with the senior staff. Wolkstein also notes that there can be a hazard in befriending more senior women. “The sisterhood is not necessarily alive and well,” she says, and women bosses may feel they had to work hard to get where they are and younger women should pay their dues. Attridge notes that at Xerox, CEO Ursula Burns was a master at cultivating relationships across the board. “She did what a guy would do.”

3. Know your value. Relationships inside and outside your organization can help you do this. Money is still a taboo subject but Attridge suggests you get to know someone in HR6 who can help you at least get a sense of the range your job pays and whether you’re in the ballpark. Online sources like PayScale and Glassdoor are also great resources. New York coach Sarah Stamboulie suggests that women “do the math” to determine what they’re worth. Add up what you did for the company in the last year. Did you increase sales by $50,000 or $100,000 or contribute to a project that enabled the company to bring in a new client?

4. Talk up your accomplishments. Go beyond your boss and seize the chance to talk yourself up to others in a position to help you, says Stamboulie. Example: If you’re in the elevator with a senior manager and they ask you how you are, say things are great and you got the latest project in on time. Convey that you’re a team player by praising your boss.

5. Take advantage of a win. When you finish a project, successfully woo a new client or close a deal, consider initiating a salary discussion then, especially if your accomplishment helps your boss’s reputation within the organization. “Timing is really important,” notes Stamboulie.

6. Make a long list of your accomplishments. You should stay on top of this all the time. Document your achievements and praise from higher-ups. When you prepare for a salary discussion, come with specifics and numbers. You increased sales by 30%, you smoothed over a troubled overseas client relationship, you hired and supervised a new employee who has become a superstar. Chase says this is a common weak area for women. Many are not natural self-boosters. Overcome your fear of self-promotion.

7. Talk about your plans for the future. Too many people stop at what they’ve done in the past, says Wolkstein. Come up with a plan going forward. “You don’t just get paid for what you did,” she says. “You get paid for what you’re going to contribute.”

8. Keep emotions out of it. Even if you feel like you’ve been treated unfairly and you’re angry that a male colleague with your job title and experience is making $20,000 more than you, keep your feelings in check. Otherwise you’ll put your supervisor on the defensive. “Nobody wants to hear, ‘it’s only fair,’ or ‘I need,’” says Chase. When you bring up a salary number, present it straight, without feeling. This is what you know about the rate for your level of responsibility. Don’t compare yourself to John in the next office.

9. Rehearse. Practice with a coach or loved one. As I mentioned above, women who feel that asking for a raise is the last thing they want to do should come up with a script about their accomplishments, plans and salary expectations based on the information they’ve gathered about what they think they deserve. Then practice that speech until you have it down cold. I’m not trying to give my coach-sources free advertising here but I do think compensation negotiations are an area where coaching can more than pay for itself.

10. Give them time to think. Stamboulie advises coming into a salary negotiation with a one-page takeaway. If the supervisor doesn’t engage you when you make your bid for a raise, step back and offer to leave them with some information. Make your presentation, put your sheet on the desk and say you’ll come back in a few days.

11. If you don’t get what you want, plan an exit strategy. “Why stay where you can’t move?” asks Chase. “There is no job worth being miserable over.”

12. Be vulnerable. This advice may seem to run counter to everything I’ve written here about how women should lean in and push for what they deserve. But Mountain View coach Ada James convinces me that the concept is worth considering. It comes from Brené Brown, an author and research professor at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work who has done a popular TED talk. The idea is that the very act of asking for a raise makes you vulnerable. “You’re living a full and engaged life by putting yourself out on the line,” says James. “Showing up in the negotiation room is vulnerable.” Adds James, “You can be really strong and vulnerable at the same time. That’s what bravery is.” I agree.

Read the article on Forbes



1 Comment

Volunteering - a good idea for career transition?

10/8/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
There has been much discussion about whether volunteerism is a useful technique in career transition. I remember a Washington Post article about a year and a half ago that cited a study claiming that 27% of volunteer jobs lead to other full-time paying jobs.  

I'd like to expand on that idea. I don't think volunteerism is only beneficial to the lower-skilled job seekers mentioned in that piece; I think it's good at any level. Since the article focused on that particular group, I'd like to talk about the others who are more skilled and experienced.

On a purely emotional and practical basis, volunteering is a great idea for building structures into your day. That's always a big problem with people who are out of work all of a sudden - their regular structures, and peers, disappear. 

I don't encourage clients and students to seek full-time volunteer positions, though, because it would take them out of their regular, structured search activities, and the loss of momentum is problematic. Go for part-time. Three days a week would be fine. No more, because it won't leave enough time for a reasonable job search, or at least my version of one.

I think finding the right volunteer situation is critical for those who are more educated and skilled. By "right," I mean something that might add a skill necessary for your targeted career goal, or might reinforce an existing one. If you're an events planner, for example, getting involved in fundraising activities for a non-profit would be a great idea. Or if you're in finance, why not offer services in the financial area of a non-profit? Even though it might not be the same as the jobs you've been doing, it's something you can point to when going out on the job market. 

There's one part of this most people overlook. If you're going to offer your services for free, you can negotiate! Yes, negotiate. I frequently tell the people I work with that they should discuss a few items up front:

•    Ask if you can be called a consultant, rather than a volunteer. Looks better on the resume, and sounds better in networking and interviewing.

•    Be sure what the role is, that it won't be a bait and switch situation. For example, you've been told you're going to help them design a new system for membership, and then you find out after you start you're doing data entry. Not useful for you.  Don’t do it.

•    Ask if they'll provide excellent references for you (calling you a consultant, of course), assuming you do the terrific job that you will.

•    Also, if you're going to do that terrific job for them, would they assist you by perhaps providing some help in building new networks?

•    And . . . perhaps, if things work out well on both ends, would there be a possible position that might become available (if you're interested, of course)? 

I'm not surprised by the 27% number provided in the article. I’ve always thought that volunteering during a search is a no-lose proposition, if set up well. 

Ellis


For a quick course on networking, pick up my Ebook, Networking: How to Make the Connections You Need

If you're looking for more in-depth advice on your job search, In Search of the Fun-Forever Job: Career Strategies that Work is available in paperback and Ebook.


0 Comments
    Picture

    Ellis Chase

    Ellis Chase is one of Manhattan's top career management consultants and executive coaches.

    Archives

    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013

    Categories

    All
    1984
    Business School
    Business Women
    Career
    Career Advice
    Career Advice
    Career Change
    Career Change
    Career Coach
    Career Coach
    Career Mobility
    Career Path
    Career Transition
    Columbia University
    Employment
    Forbes
    Free
    George Orwell
    Graduation
    Holidays
    How To
    How To
    Indie
    In Search Of The Fun Forever Job
    Interviewing
    Interview Questions
    Interview Questions
    Job Candidate
    Job Candidate
    Jobs
    Job Search
    Job Search
    Long Distance Job Search
    Mba
    Negotiating
    Networking
    Non Fiction
    Non-fiction
    Performance Reviews
    Personal Brand
    Presentation Skills
    Professional Presentations
    Resumes
    Salary
    Social Intelligence
    Strategies
    Susan Adams
    Vacations
    Veterans
    Veterans Day
    Women

    RSS Feed


Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.