Inspiring Articles for the Professional Office Worker

Market Yourself in 5 Key Steps

By Caela Farren

As announcements of layoffs are happening fast and furiously, employees are sure to wonder if they're next. Perhaps they are. Or, perhaps they see this economy as an opportunity to willingly make a positive career move. Either way, employees need to know how to market themselves - both within the company and to prospective employers.

Step 1: Know yourself:

Identify what's unique about you and market yourself where you "fit" best. Be able to speak very powerfully about your special competencies, experience, client relationships, style, values, interests, and mission in life. MARKET your uniqueness broadly, BUT only take positions that let you shine and "be yourself." Do your homework as you're meeting and networking with people, inside and outside of your organization. Learn as much as you can about "what counts" in the organization - competencies, personality traits, values, experience, schooling, projects, etc. etc. Use what you learn as barometers of how best to market yourself - speaking to what's important for the organization or demonstrating that you "fit" the bill. Remember, pretending to be who you're not or doing what you don't love takes tremendous energy and rarely guarantees long-term success.

Step 2: Relate your unique talents to the needs and strategies of the business.

Most companies are looking for business savvy - people who understand the big picture. Managers are totally over stressed and seize upon professionals who are self-starters, are organization savvy, and come to them with ideas and recommendations rather than always having to be led or coerced.

Spend time really studying the company website (your own or others) so that you totally understand the purpose, mission, strategies, etc. Then, you will be able to speak articulately to two questions: (1) What is the unique value I bring (or could bring) to this organization? (2) What have been the major contributions you've brought to the mission, business strategies, or objectives in the past 6-12 months?

Step 3: Speak powerfully to your future capability based on prior accomplishments.

Prior accomplishments include both individual and team performance. For example:

Individual Performance - e.g. based on the growing industry trend of speed of response, I have developed a customer check-in system using e-mail alerts, that guarantees weekly contact with several hundred clients; I could help the company develop this as a more robust system for all sales representatives.

Team performance - speak to your unique talent in working with teams, e.g. I am an expert at "getting results" and "managing boundaries." Given that the company strategy is to build 4 new alliances with vendors in the first two quarters, I would be the best person for the job because....and cite the examples.

Step 4: Show how you are ready to address the major trends in the industry, organization, or your profession.

Again, do your homework and know the place you are targeting. The trends might be speed, cost effectiveness, dwindling resources, more diverse consumers, etc. Show specifically how you can help the company leverage those trends, citing examples from your past and speculating about the future. Demonstrate that you are already thinking ahead of the curve and that you are entrepreneurial, helping them get ready for powerful trends.

Step 5: Let your network and reputation shine for you.

Know how others speak about you. What do they value? What do they talk about to with others? What can you count on others for in speaking your praises? Listen when people introduce you at meetings, social events, sports events, etc. You will get great clues about what they really value about you. Once you know that, you know your reputation with them in great part. Build your network and do favors for people. Listen generously and go out of your way to take care of other people. You need depth and breadth in your network.

Make a map of your network - people in your industry, organization, profession and personal life. Many people limit their network to their organization and stop building other allies. What level of relationship do you have with them? Acquaintance, ally or advocate? The goal is to have all three levels in the whole playing field of industry, organization, profession and personal life. Let people in your network know what you are seeking professionally or personally. Get them to support you in your quest. Ask them the same question and help them. The broader your network of support the more powerful your marketing campaign.

Caela Farren, Ph.D. and principal of MasteryWorks, Inc. is a 30 year expert in career development for employees, managers and organizations. MasteryWorks, based in Annandale, VA, has been helping people design and develop their careers for the past 25 years.

Farren is also the author of Who s Running Your Career? Creating Stable Work in Unstable Times (Bard Press).

So Few Good Bosses, So Many Frustrated Workers

By Gordon Miller

Most employees think their boss is a lousy manager.

Brett Burke has never really considered himself to be run-of-the-mill. But when it comes to rating his current boss skills at being a good manager, he's no different than many of his fellow workers.

"Believe me, I wish it wasn't this way. I keep hoping the next one will be better. The problem is, I don't think most bosses know how to deal with today's workers," said Burke.

He may be right. According to recent research from Delta Road, a Denver-based corporate coaching firm, eighty-one percent of 700 employees surveyed classified their immediate supervisor as a lousy manager, up a third from sixty-three percent just two years ago. Another sixty-nine percent said their boss had no clue on what to do to become a good manager.

What Makes Someone a Bad Boss?

Delta Road's study found that the following were characteristics displayed by bad bosses: 

Why More Bad Bosses Than Ever Before?

"A workplace culture of lousy managers isn't new. Dilbert's pointy-haired boss has been adorning cubicles for years. The dramatic increase in the number of bad bosses, at least in the eyes of employees, is the big concern," says Gordon Miller, CEO of Delta Road.

Most managers have no experience or training in dealing with our new economy workforce. Today's employees have totally different requirements for their careers than the workers of the recent past. Most managers don't know what those requirements are let alone how to deal with them. "It's basically a huge misconnect," explains Miller.

"To further complicate the matter, seventy-nine percent of surveyed workers say they don't want to be managed, they want to be mentored. So how many of today's bosses make good mentors?" asks Miller. "How many have the skills to be a coach, not just someone who gives orders? Until more supervisors develop those skills, the problem will remain intact."

What's the Impact of Bad Bosses?

"The proliferation of bad bosses is contributing to a continued waning of employee loyalty. We found that more than one-third of all workers plans to change jobs in the year 2001," says Miller. In fact, sixty-seven percent of employees say their company does not deserve their loyalty, partially due to the lousy manager syndrome.

"Employee disloyalty is very expensive. Our studies show the average cost to replace a departed worker is around $36,000," explains Miller. Plus, when dissatisfied people leave for greener pastures, they also take unrecoverable intellectual capital, training investments, and sometimes other employees. Combine that with demographics that show there will continue to be a shortage of qualified workers for years to come, and you can see the magnitude of the issue. Even a softening economy won't have much of a impact.

"But the biggest impact may be the spill-over bad bosses have on the morale and productivity of people who decide not to leave the company. Most workers just don't understand why their employer doesn't do something about their lousy manager," states Miller. Consequently, they lose passion for their work and quickly slip into a mediocre performance level.

So What is the Answer?

"If you are looking for a quick fix, forget about it," says Miller. But the coaches at Delta Road agree that there are some short-term steps that both the worker and the employer can take to improve the situation:

For Employees:  

Miller contends that workers must come to grips with the idea that most bad bosses won't change anytime soon. One possible solution is to wander the halls of your current company, assuming you like the company, and identify a different position with a new manager that you could transfer to.