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Welcome to “Proactively Managing Your Career Newsletter”

Issue  #5

Brought to you by Iris Wood from Pro-Active Human Resource

Management  http://www.proactivehrm.com/index.html

Inspirational Quote

Formula for success: Rise early, work hard, strike oil.
J. Paul Getty

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Welcome back to Proactively Managing Your Career Newsletter

Topics covered in issue #5 

• Succeed the natural way

• Success Story - Asking your company for training / professional development.

• Business skills training

• Settling successfully Into your new Job

In my last newsletter I said I would provide information about the impact

of Globalisation on the job market. There wasn’t a great deal of interest

shown, but the people who did write to me had heard of companies

moving abroad. and were concerned for their own future. This is why

ongoing career development is so necessary as well as keeping up

with trends in the labour market.

Here is an article that is well worth looking at. It is basically showing you

how to ' Fire Proof  Your Career".

Globalization spawns wealth, but not equality as deep poverty persists
By Edward Roby

Once again I would love to hear from you about the relevance of this

newsletter or topics you are interested in.

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Career Advancement

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Succeed The Natural Way

Getting ahead needn’t be a complicated, contrived process of

scheming and manipulating your way to the top. It can be as

simple and natural as “doing the right thing”. Here are some tips to

succeed in business the natural way:

Develop a reputation for kindness. Genuinely caring about the

needs of others - customers, managers, co-workers and suppliers

alike - is a powerful key to success.

Keep your ego in check. Be willing to put aside your agenda to

benefit mutual goals.

Remain positive. Resist the impulse to get entwined in the office

grapevine. Instead of complaining, try to look at negative situations

another way and make a point to say positive things about people,

instead of joining in on office feuds.

Work hard. Your first priority should be to do the best you can to

meet the goals and those of the organisation you work for.

Office politics, co-workers mood swings and petty arguments will

usually take care of themselves, if you overlook them.

Keep your word. Don’t make commitments you can’t keep.

Consider verbal promises as contracts and write them down to

ensure they’re fulfilled.

While sometimes it may seem that bending the truth, playing office

politics and undercutting others will help you get ahead, you’re

much better off conducting yourself with honesty and integrity.

Not only will you build a firm foundation for success, you’ll also find

it easier to live with yourself during the day and to sleep well at night.

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Professional Development 

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I had an e-mail from Karon of Wollongong who finally plucked up the

courage to ask her employer for some outside training to be attended

in working hours.

She said.... “Encouraged by your newsletter I thought I would check

if my company was willing to pay for training in company time.  I enjoy

my job and I know they value my expertise, but they had never thought

of staff development and although surprised by my request, and my

“sales pitch’ as to how it can benefit them, they said yes.  That was the

beginning of a nightmare.  I knew I wanted to do Project Management,

but had no idea how to look for an accredited (if possible) course,

I tried the University to do a single unit and that was not possible.

TAFE didn’t offer any courses inside or outside business hours, so

I turned to the Internet.

It soon became apparent that you needed to belong to an Industry

Association or Professional Organisation to find relevant training in

business hours. 

I did find some were prepared to take me if they could not fill their

places with members; however, they wanted over $6,000 just for a two

day course!  There was a possibility of a Project Management course

starting the following  month, but I would have to wait and see if

members filled all the places. In any case, I wouldn’t expect my company

to pay for what I thought was an outrageous cost.

I turned to a friend, who was home on maternity leave, because I couldn’t

take up any more time looking around.  My friend thought about it for a day

and got back to me.

I have goggled and yahooed, she said, and I could only come up with

Distance Learning.  This sounded ok as it meant I could take time off

work to complete my assignments, which was an alternative option.  

She said she wanted to know what I thought about it before she went any

further.

Sounded ok, but how do you know if the company is credible I asked?

I don’t know, I will have to find out, was the answer.

I didn’t hear from her for about 2 weeks and I was really busy during this

period.  Ironically I was in the middle of managing a project that was

outside my division and area of expertise, and I felt very much out of

my depth, but still coping. 

The Project Manager who had implemented and started the project was

very qualified and experienced.  I was told, with a grin, that he had caught

the mumps. My boss thought I could step in and handle it because of my

interest in project management, and it was a good career opportunity for

me.

I was beginning to think the whole idea was a disaster.  I couldn’t even find

a course on project management and here I was being thrown into the

deep end.

The end result was that my friend got back to me and said that only one

Distance Learning Programmes had the course I wanted but they were

only offered one once a year and it the next one was booked out.

She later rang back and said she had found one appropriate course and

asked me if I wanted a holiday.  She just said wait for the brochure it is in

the mail.

Now that distance learning held no further options, so my friend tenaciously

pursued the task she was given and eventually found a course..

When I received the brochure it was on a course being held on the Gold

Coast in Queensland, Australia, and lasted 5 days.  I thought the price

was reasonable, compared to what I had seen locally, and it was

off season so the accommodation and meals package was quite

reasonable, but still $5,000 I sighed ,and put it back in my in box.

My manager, who rarely ventures into my work area, passed by and

saw it.  Oh you have found a course have you? he asked. Yeah right

said I -I could do with the holiday. I nearly fell on the floor when he said,

let me take it away and I will make some enquiries.

He came back in the afternoon and had spoken to people within the

industry and he was told the training was excellent and coincidently

was highly credible within our own industry.

You can’t miss this, he said.  Book yourself in.

My mind was racing – kids- husband - meals, and who would drive

the kids to school etc. I rang my husband and he said great, "don’t worry

darling, we will work it out".

The biggest hurdle in this professional development idea is finding an

appropriate course at the right price.

My friend said she came up with some interesting courses from distance

learning packages and they are worth having a look at.  Perhaps that can

be a subject or the future.”….?

Thanks for sharing your story Karol. I think we get the picture.  I will check it out and see if I can come up with a site showing all training

courses.  

The moral of this story is, if you want to something, “always ask”. 

copyright Iris Wood 2007

PS. I found some training

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Surviving in the Workplace

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Settling Successfully Into Your New Job

The euphoria of getting a new job can sometimes be overcome by

apprehension about what comes next. After all, you're "the new kid on

 the block," and there's much to learn--about your new job duties and

much more. But here are some things you can do to make the process

 go smoother.

1. Dress for success. You'll want to look professional. Dress on the

conservative side for the first week. Once you've got a good idea of

what's appropriate and what isn't, you can adjust your style.

2. Be on time. You never want to start your new job by being late, so

make sure you allow plenty of time for your commute. Plan the most

direct route, but be aware of alternates in case of an accident or other

traffic snarls.

3. Get to know people. Be polite and friendly to everyone you meet,

whether it's the receptionist or the general manager. Introduce yourself,

smile, and make eye contact. Make a positive first impression. Ask a

bout your coworkers' interests.

4. Ask questions. From "Where's the bathroom?" to "Which tool do I

use for this task?" It's OK to ask for help! Your coworkers will feel good

about doing whatever they can to assist you. Let them. It's always better

to have to ask the right way to do something than to try to figure it out

n your own, mess up, and have to do it all over again.

5. Remember your place. You may feel "qualified" to tell your new

coworkers that there's a better way to do something, but be patient.

Every workplace has its own way of doing things. Never say, "That's

not how we did it at my old company!" (You're coworkers may invite

you to return to your old company!) Be patient and become an accepted

member of the team before you make suggestions for improvements.

6. Be careful about office politics. Pay attention to the grapevine, but

don't contribute to it. Do not accept at face value what one employee

says about another; form your own opinions based on your own

interactions and judgment. Never complain about anyone at your old

job or your new one. Figure out who has the real authority to give you

work to do, and who is trying to take advantage of your newness.

Above all, keep a positive attitude, do your work to the best of your ability,

and keep an open mind. Before you know it, you'll be climbing the career

ladder and giving advice to newcomers!

Bonnie Lowe is author of the popular Job Interview Success System

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A Little Bit of Trivia

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Did you know?

In the first 48 hours of life, the larva of the Polyphemus Moth of

 North America eats its way through the  equivalent of 86 000 times

 its own birth weight. This is the equivalent of a 7 lb (3.17kg) baby

 taking in 269 tons of food!

*To achieve the endurance record for yo-yoing, Jason Stremble

 and Scott Fletcher yo-yoed continually for 130 hours and

 13 minutes at Scarborough in Ontario, Canada.

 *In 1955 a 47 feet long (14.32,) Sperm Whale was found entangled

  in a submarine cable at a depth of 620 fathoms (1134m). This meant

  that the whale was withstanding a pressure of 1,680 lbs per sq. in.

  of body surface

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 This is all for this month. I hope you found his issue of

 Proactively Managing Your Career Newsletter  informative.

 Your feedback will be appreciated. 

 E-mail me at newsletter@proactivehrm.com

 As always, to your success - cheers

 Iris Wood

  PS.  If you have enjoyed this series of newsletters feel free to

  forward this issue or past issues to friends or colleagues who might 

  find it  useful.

http://www.proactivehrm.com/index.html