Career Success Archives

Switching to Digital: How to Jumpstart Your Remote Career [Guest Post]

September 17, 2018 by guest blogger 1 Comment

Jumpstart Your Remote Career

Jumpstart your remote career Remote work is on the rise and will most likely continue trending in that direction. Particularly with studies continuing to show that remote workers are happier, healthier and more productive.

Or at least they can be.

Whether remote work is a positive or negative experience all depends on how you manage it.

Here is a breakdown of the good, the bad and the ugly of remote work and how to deal with it.

THE GOOD:

Saves time and money

The average commute time in the US continues to hover at around 30 minutes each way, with commute times on mass transit being around 1 hour. If you add commute time into your workday, that extends an 8.5-hour workday to 9.5 hours if you drive and 10.5 hours if you take public transportation.

In addition, driving to work every day puts additional wear and tear on your car, which also increases your maintenance costs. Remote work eliminates all of that, giving you more personal time and fewer expenses at the same salary.

Better ability to create your own schedule for maximum productivity

The standard 8-hour workday is a holdover from the Industrial Revolution. It has nothing to do with how people work their best and everything to do with how to increase the factory efficiency. Some people do their best work at 4:00 am, while others aren’t functioning on all cylinders until at least noon.

Working remotely often allows you to work when it works best for you.

Better work-life balance

With the number of women in the workforce continuing to rise, this is putting a heavier strain on Millennials in particular to achieve work-life balance. If the average commute is 30 minutes, that also means that attending a mid-day school program would require a minimum of 2-3 hours to attend.

Remote work not only gives employees the ability to schedule time around family events but attending them requires less of an investment.

THE BAD:

Greater need for personal discipline

Working in an office rarely prevents people from checking their social media, but it can be a powerful deterrent to spending several hours on it. Your home also has distractions such as TV and piles of dirty laundry.

Working from home with no supervision can make it difficult to stay focused and on-task, requiring a much higher level of personal discipline.

Greater need for boundaries

When you leave the house to go to work in an office, there is a physical separation between work and home. While working in an office may require you to put in more hours, working from home can move in either direction.

It can either consume your life or the demands of your family, friends and loved ones can keep you from getting any work done.

Without the ability to set healthy boundaries, remote workers may find themselves even more stressed out at home.

Can create a sense of isolation

Humans are social beings and as much as working in an office in constant proximity to other humans can sometimes agitate, it can also be comforting.

In an office, there is always someone that understands what you are going through at work and people to process any major changes in the company with.

While it is not impossible for even remote workers to develop strong relationships with coworkers, it can be much more challenging.

THE UGLY:

You might get on the top of the list for downsizing

Nowhere is the phrase “out of sight, out of mind” more detrimental than when it comes time for downsizing. While remote workers may put in just as long hours as an office worker, no one sees that. While you may have children to feed and loved ones to care for, you don’t have a desk with pictures on it to remind everyone of this. When you are nothing more to employers than a name on a paper, it makes it far easier to make you the first to go. Working from home might require extra work on establishing relationships with colleagues and staying visible.

Can lead to severe burnout

No matter how hard we try, achieving a perfect work-life balance is never going to happen. Sitting at work knowing you are missing a child’s event because you can’t be there is stressful. What can be even more stressful is knowing you could be there, but can’t because you need to get work done.

If you let it, this can create an overwhelming sense of guilt, which can quickly lead to burnout.

WHAT TO DO

Use productivity tools

One of the key ways to overcome the guilt that remote work can create is to learn to focus on what you need to accomplish rather than on how much time you are spending doing it.

It doesn’t matter if you are self-employed or working remotely for others. No one can be productive for 8 straight hours.

By blocking your time into tasks rather than “work hours” you may find you get far more done in less time.

Some great techniques to check out are the Flowtime and Pomodoro.

Schedule your time

Once you find a good productivity technique, you can further its effectiveness by using a calendar app like Google calendar to schedule your time into blocks. One time management technique from the experts is to always schedule a blank spot into your day.

This allows you to manage last-minute emergencies that might arise. If none do, then you have a few minutes of ready-made free time.

Block distractions

There is a wide range of site blockers and other tools that can help you minimize distractions at home. You can also create better boundaries by having a work phone and personal phone and putting your work phone on “do not disturb” in the evening.

Take advantage of chat features and communication tools

While building and maintaining digital relationships may be more challenging than in-person ones, it is important to put in the effort. Not only can this help you avoid burnout, it also makes you more than just a name on a piece of paper when it’s time to downsize.

Working remotely is no more or less stressful or challenging than working in an office, it just requires different skills.

Some people thrive in remote work while others may struggle.

Even those innately inclined to telecommute had to struggle to become effective and productive in a home office. We all have the ability to build these skills and thrive in the place we find ourselves.

It just might take some effort.

This was written by Lisa Michaels. Lisa is a freelance writer, editor and a striving content marketing consultant from Portland. Ever since college, she worked remotely in different positions. Being self-employed, she does her best to stay on top of the current trends in business and tech. Feel free to connect with her on Twitter @LisaBMichaels.

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Are You a Square Peg Trying to Fill a Round Hole? [Updated]

August 13, 2018 by Marc Miller 22 Comments

Square Peg?

Are you the square peg trying to fit into a round hole in your career?

I have been working with quite a few square pegs. They just do not fit into the traditional roles that corporations define.

Some try to squeeze themselves into those roles. Some are very successful. Unfortunately, they usually end up unhappy and unhealthy. The stress of making themselves fit wreaks havoc on their physical and mental health.

I am starting to realize that I am—to some extent—one of these square pegs!

Note: This post was originally published in October of 2015 and was updated in August of 2018.

Becoming an Actor

For many of us when we started our careers we became actors. We were hired to play a role and if we stayed in character long enough we started to think we were that role. I have often written on this blog about becoming an extrovert in order to make more money. I am a closet introvert.

When I was in my 20s, 30s, and 40s, I could stay in character for long periods of time. When I reached my 50s staying in character became exhausting. I found that periodically I would become completely exhausted which seemed completely out of character. I would then need to take time to recharge. Unfortunately, I kept on getting exhausted and it took longer and longer to recharge.

In 2004, I went off to teach high school math in an inner-city high school in Austin, Texas. That first year was exhausting and I really did not understand why. I had convinced myself that I was an extrovert. You can learn more about this from my podcast From High-Tech Training to High School Teacher, and Why I Left.

That summer I really focused on resting and relaxing. I needed to recharge. When I returned in the fall, I thought I was ready but I was not. I left teaching at winter break and it probably took me a year to recover.

I had become an actor and continuing to stay in character was exhausting.

Have you been an actor at work?

Common Characteristics

Square pegs come in many forms, but let me describe their most common characteristics.

Creative – They have a very high interest in music, art, and/or literature. Many have abandoned those interests because they do not fit into what our economy values or is willing to pay for. Instead, they often express their creativity in colorful spreadsheets or attractive PowerPoint presentations.
Structure – They do not like staying between the lines. They want the freedom to do it their own way. They are good in chaotic situations where they get to make the rules.
Introverted – They work best when by themselves or on a small, cohesive team. If you ask them to make a presentation, give them plenty of time to prepare. Consider Steve Jobs who was very introverted. Jobs would rehearse and rehearse and rehearse before every product announcement.
High Empathy – They are kind, caring individuals who want to be treated similarly by their colleagues. I have worked in the high-tech field for most of my career. High empathy people are not generally welcomed or considered the norm.
Low Authority – They would prefer having a colleague to a boss. If you try to micromanage them, it is not pretty!

Do you see any of these characteristics in yourself?

These personality traits are largely incompatible with today’s work environment.

Today’s work environment does not highly value an interest in music, art, or literature.
You are supposed to follow the rules.
You are rewarded for being an extrovert. I am a closet introvert! But, I have learned to behave like an extrovert in order to succeed.
Emotions are not welcome in most workplaces.
Strong leadership is valued in the workplace, but some of us just want to left alone to get our job done.

Cultural Dyslexia

Another issue I currently see is cultural dyslexia. These are people who were born into indirect culture (Indian, Chinese, Japanese, etc.) but were then raised in their teenage years in a direct culture (the U.S. and Europe). They attend western universities and acquire some western personality traits.

The problem is that they do not feel they belong in either their birth culture or their adopted culture. I call this cultural dyslexia and we will see a lot more of this issue as people move around the world.

Does everyone suffer from cultural dyslexia who make this transition? No! However, I have seen it enough and how it causes them great angst in trying to fit in that round hole.

Cultural dyslexia is just another form of a square peg trying to fit into a round hole.

Another Example

I worked with a client who was a top-flight IT project manager. She had been seduced into multiple jobs only to have it end in a nasty divorce. She would take a position, run a project for a year and then her boss would give her the same kind of project again.

She would say … “well, ok.”

After another year the project would come to an end and her boss would put on another similar project. She would get angry and say, “NO!” Her bosses response was to think, “we are putting you in your comfort zone.”

The problem was her comfort zone was always to do something new. I hate to tell you but for the average project manager that is very unusual. She did not understand that she just did not fit the hole that her boss was putting her in.

Do you see yourself in any of these examples?

Are you a square peg?

Marc Miller

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What If You Are Not Passionate About Anything? [Updated]

June 6, 2018 by Marc Miller 61 Comments

What If You Are not Passionate About Anything?

Well, there are a lot of us out there who are not passionate about any ONE thing. We are passionate about a combination of things!

I have talked about those interests that you must fulfill to be happy. In my last post, I talked about my wife and her very high outdoors interest. She knew about this — kinda but she was not aware of it to the extent that she would go outdoors when she felt blue or just needed a boost.

What happens when you are not passionate about anything?

What if you have so many interests that there is not one thing that drives you? Society tells us that being passionate about one thing will drive you to success.

I hate to tell you but that is BS! I am not passionate about any one thing, but a lot of things, and I am fine just that way I am!

Note: This post was originally written in May 2012 and has been the most popular post on CareerPivot.com ever since. It was updated in June 2018.

Make sure and read the comments.

Interests = Passions

I do have a lot of interests but nothing I am passionate about. The following graphic came from my Birkman assessment. A score of 85 or above is a strong interest and a score over 90 is something you must have in your life to be happy. Notice I do not have any interests over 82. I like to do a lot of different things.

What you will notice about me is:

I like putting things together, either physically or logically. (Mechanical)
I like helping people. I have run help desks, support groups and been in training most of my career. (Social Service)
I like to research stuff and figure things out. (Scientific)
I like to propose ideas and communicate. (Persuasive)
To a lesser degree, I like the outdoors. (Outdoor)

For More: Do your skills match your interests in your career?

Multipontentialite

Multipotentialites have a lot of different interests. The problem is there is no single interest that drives them. The one common theme is they love to learn.

You could describe me as a multipotentialite. I like to do a lot of things, not just one.

For More: Are you a Multipotentialite?.

What do I not like to do?

I am not a reader AT ALL! (Literary)

If you have read earlier postings you would have learned that I graduated from high school reading extremely poorly. I read at maybe 30-40 words per minute. Reading was hard work! Even though I have overcome that in the last 30 years, I still do not read for enjoyment. I read books when required.

I do not love to do anything. I like to do a lot of things. This is both good and bad. On the good side, I have been able to move around in my career: programmer, engineer, trainer, IT consultant, public speaker, salesperson, school teacher, help desk support person, non-profit fundraiser and now a career designer.

On the bad side, I have been directionless from time to time. I wrote about this in my post when I left teaching titled, Dealing with that Directionless Feeling. Rather interesting – this post is found by readers using Google search every week. I am not the only one who gets this feeling from time to time.

What Can You Do About It?

I have long accepted that I need variety in what I do on both a daily and long-term basis. In my career, I have typically changed jobs or area every 3-5 years. This means I have made a lot of lateral career moves, which as a baby boomer, I was told was not something you wanted to do. We were supposed to always be looking for that next promotion.

I followed my own drummer!

I now try to make a change to my business every year to add variety.

I started the Repurpose Your Career Podcast in 2016, which has added a lot of variety. Learning how to produce a podcast has stretched me considerably.

The Career Pivot community website project was started in 2017 and is currently in beta. Building a membership website and community is something I have never done before.

In 2018, along with my virtual assistant, we have been re-organizing the website. You will probably notice the section –

Do You Need Help With …

at the bottom of every post and in the sidebar. We spent a lot of time digging through the nearly thousand pieces of content on the website and organized it into portals. This was fun! We created a Start Here page and eight portal pages.

I purposely make changes to keep things interesting. I am not passionate about anything. I am passionate about a combination of things.

How about you? Do you feel that you are not passionate about anything?

Are you NOT driven by a single calling? Check out my post about being a multipotentialite and let me know if that resonates with you.

Note: This post is found daily! If you have found this article you are not alone. There are a lot of us who are not driven by any single interest. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH ME OR YOU.

Marc Miller

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Are You Likeable? Does It Matter for Career Success? [Updated]

May 9, 2018 by Marc Miller Leave a Comment

Are You Likeable?

Is it important to be likable as it relates to your work and career? Do you consider yourself a likable person? Think about some of the best people you have worked with. Have they been likeable? Is it important to be likable to be successful?

In most cases, the answer is “yes.” Now, Steve Jobs was not exactly a likeable guy and for many years neither was Bill Gates. However, I think you will find a lot of very successful people found their success through being likeable.

Likeability and Your Career or Business

Currently, there is much being written on this topic.

Likeable Business: Why Today’s Consumers Demand More and How Leaders Can Deliver by Dave Kerpen.

It pays to be LIKEABLE!

You can have a rock-solid business strategy, unlimited resources, and the most talented people on staff. But only one thing is guaranteed in today’s hyper-connected society: if your business isn’t likeable, it will fail.

Likeonomics: The Unexpected Truth Behind Earning Trust, Influencing Behavior, and Inspiring Action by Rohit Bhargava

How to become a trusted resource for consumers in a society of constant manipulation

People decide who to trust, what advice to heed, and which individuals to forge personal or transactional relationships with based on a simple metric of believability. Success, in turn, comes from understanding one basic principle: how to be more trusted.

Likeonomics offers a new vision of a world beyond Facebook where personal relationships, likeability, brutal honesty, extreme simplicity, and basic humanity are behind everything from multi-million dollar mergers to record-breaking product sales. There is a real ROI to likeability, and exactly how big it is will amaze you.

Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success by Adam Grant

Givers are at the top and the bottom of career success. Bottom early in their career and at the top later in their career.

For generations, we have focused on the individual drivers of success: passion, hard work, talent, and luck. But today, success is increasingly dependent on how we interact with others. It turns out that at work, most people operate as either takers, matchers, or givers. Whereas takers strive to get as much as possible from others and matchers aim to trade evenly, givers are the rare breed of people who contribute to others without expecting anything in return.

13 Habits of Exceptionally Likeable People on Forbes.com by Travis Bradberry

Too many people succumb to the mistaken belief that being likeable comes from natural, unteachable traits that belong only to a lucky few—the good-looking, the fiercely social, and the incredibly talented. It’s easy to fall prey to this misconception. In reality, being likeable is under your control, and it’s a matter of emotional intelligence (EQ).

The 13 habits of exceptionally likeable people are as follows. They:

Ask questions
Put their phones away
Are genuine
Don’t pass judgment
Don’t seek attention
Are consistent
Use positive body language
Leave a strong first impression
Greet people by name
Smile
Know when to open up
Know who to touch (and they touch them)
Balance passion and fun

Being Likeable and Career Success

We all know that not all successful businessmen or women have been likeable. There have been a lot of evil or mean people who have been very successful. I believe that is changing and changing fast. Just look at the #MeToo Movement.

Being likeable will be even more important to your career success moving forward.

What has changed?

The speed of communication has accelerated. Just look at what has happened in Hollywood. Look what is happening in Washington D.C. with the sexual and ethical lapses of our politicians being called out and now being forced to resign.

Those who are not likeable will not create good karma and it will cost them…eventually. In this day in age, where everything you do is recorded, if you are not be working on being likeable, it will cost you. It may not cost you immediately – but in the long run – it will catch up with you.

This does not mean becoming someone you are not. It is being respectful, considerate and treating others the way you want to be treated.

It has been said many times that:

People hire people they like!

In my opinion, it is more important for your career success to be likeable than knowledgeable.

Yes, it does matter to be likeable!

What do you think?

Marc Miller

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Are Your Emails Ignored? Call Them on the Telephone!

April 30, 2018 by Marc Miller Leave a Comment

Emails Ignored?

I was trying to reach out to a LinkedIn connection last week and it appeared my connection ignored all of my email attempts. Emails were sent to their personal and business accounts. I sent them a LinkedIn message.

I got crickets back.

Most of you at this point would have given up.

Not me! I started looking for their phone number.

Yes, you can reach out to them on that device called a telephone.

We have all run into this situation where we send an email and we get nothing back. No response.

It could be:

The email ended up in their SPAM folder
They say it went ehh…
The volume of email that day pushed your note way down
They do not like you

Why they did not respond is completely unknown to you. You can make all of the stories up in your head and the reality is you do not know. I call this the MSU (Make Stuff Up) disorder.

Too Many Emails

We know a lot of time emails are ignored because we get too much email. By the way, I use a product called SaneBox to categorize my emails. If you are interested here is my affiliate link.

We all are afflicted by too many emails especially during certain times of the week. This depends on how many newsletters we are subscribed to, the email habits of our work colleagues and so forth.

What can we do?

Pick up the telephone! I know it is old school but then I am old school AND IT WORKS!

I Don’t Have Their Telephone Number!

In the old days, you could pick up the telephone book and find someone’s telephone number but now we have the Internet.

I wanted my LinkedIn connection’s phone number – so where could I find their phone number?

I looked on their LinkedIn profile. It was not in their contact information.

I scanned through their summary section of their LinkedIn profile looking for their phone number. Nope, not there.

I located their employer’s website and went to the contact page. No phone number there. Not to be deterred I googled “company name phone number.” I found the company phone number on several websites including the reputable website, Bloomberg.com. Great! I called the number.

First time I called I was shuttled to someone’s voicemail. Hmm.. later I called back and got a recording “no one is available to take your call.”

I then went to Whitepages.com and typed in the name of the person I was looking for. Bingo! It popped up with someone that was likely my contact. In fact, this person lived relatively close to me.

I called the number and got a voicemail. I left a message and I had an email response in less than 30 minutes.

Is My Phone Number Out There?

You may be wondering what information is available about you. Go to Whitepages.com and type in your name and zip code. You will likely be surprised that they know your age, address, names of your immediate relatives and other information. If you are willing to pay, you can find all kinds of information that is available to you or anyone else.

If you find that your emails are ignored, figure out how to find the person’s phone number and call them.

You might want to reach out to a close friend, relative or work colleague to get their phone number.

It reminds of the old AT&T commercial that said reach out and touch someone.

Go ahead and use the telephone when your emails are being ignored.

Marc Miller

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Jumpstart Your Remote Career

THE GOOD:

Saves time and money

Better ability to create your own schedule for maximum productivity

Better work-life balance

THE BAD:

Greater need for personal discipline

Greater need for boundaries

Can create a sense of isolation

THE UGLY:

You might get on the top of the list for downsizing

Can lead to severe burnout

WHAT TO DO

Use productivity tools

Schedule your time

Block distractions

Take advantage of chat features and communication tools

Do You Need Help With ...

Square Peg?

Becoming an Actor

Common Characteristics

Cultural Dyslexia

Another Example

Do You Need Help With ...

What If You Are not Passionate About Anything?

Interests = Passions

Multipontentialite

What Can You Do About It?

Do You Need Help With …

Do You Need Help With ...

Are You Likeable?

Likeability and Your Career or Business

Likeable Business: Why Today’s Consumers Demand More and How Leaders Can Deliver by Dave Kerpen.

It pays to be LIKEABLE!

Likeonomics: The Unexpected Truth Behind Earning Trust, Influencing Behavior, and Inspiring Action by Rohit Bhargava

Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success by Adam Grant

13 Habits of Exceptionally Likeable People on Forbes.com by Travis Bradberry

Being Likeable and Career Success

Do You Need Help With ...

Emails Ignored?

Too Many Emails

I Don’t Have Their Telephone Number!

Is My Phone Number Out There?

Do You Need Help With ...

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