1. business and industrial

Five ’ClockNews
®
from the Thought Leaders in Career Management and Outplacement
A Publication of The Five O’Clock Club®—www.FiveOClockClub.com
July 2012
$4.95
Vol. 26, No. 7
How to
Manage Your Boss
by Susan Bloch, Certified Five O'Clock Club Coach
If you think your boss is stupid,
remember: you wouldn’t have a job
if he was any smarter.
John Gotti, American mobster
W
hat comes to mind when
you hear the term “managing
your boss?” Does it conjure
up thoughts like “tell the boss what to
do,” “keep the boss happy,” or “keep
the boss out of my hair?” These could
all be true—depending on you, the boss
and the situation. There is a lot to gain
from having the ability to manage your
boss and definitely a lot to lose if you
don’t.
We all come to work with different
sets of experiences, skills, behaviors and
values that often cause friction in the
workplace. The skill of managing up
enables you to work with your boss’
style by focusing on your shared goals
and the results you are both trying to
achieve.
A good boss can motivate you to
perform, improve your work-life and
job satisfaction and help you advance in
your career. To have this kind of relationship takes effective communication
and attention. For example, knowing
when to interrupt or disagree with your
boss is a skill that savvy employees need
Susan Bloch
to develop. This
kind of attention can also help you
avoid those irritating behaviors that rub
the boss the wrong way and cause you
to fall out of favor. Without properly
managing your relationship with your
boss, you put your professional development and success at risk.
Below is an example of what can
happen when a relationship is not properly managed.
It’s mutual: You depend on your
boss for direction, feedback and
support while your boss depends
on you for new ideas, hard work
and cooperation.
Case Study: Sam
New Hire Style Clash
When Sam interviewed with the
team, it was clear to him that Don, the
hiring manager, had a very different
work style and it could be a challenge
working for him. Don required a lot of
information to make a decision. He
liked to ponder ideas out loud and usually he got side-tracked and went off on
tangents. He was a loner and didn’t like
spending much time with others. Sam,
on the other hand, liked to look at the
Continued on page 3
Also in this issue
·
Happy Clients Write to Us · How to Survive a Long Search
· WorkSmarts: Be a Winner on the Job
My Employer is Abusing Me
I’LL LEAVE WHEN THE ECONOMY LOOKS BETTER
W
ith the economy still looking
uncertain, many managers
have adopted a “be glad you
have a job” attitude toward their
employees. Severance packages and outplacement help for the downsized have
continued to dwindle in some organizations (while others try their best to help
those they are forced to let go). Some
survivors of layoffs are being asked to
put in 70- and 80-hour weeks to pick
up the slack left by their former coworkers. Employers who take a shortsighted approach to the current economic situation overlook the undeniable
fact that things will get better.
“The same thing happened in the
’87 to ’92 recession and again in ’02
and ’03,” says Dr. Richard Bayer, a
widely published economist, ethicist,
and COO of The Five O’Clock Club.
“The balance of power between management and employees shifts over time.
Right now management holds most of
the power, but that will change: it’s happening slowly, but the economy will
rebound.”
“Though we never advise people to
quit their jobs,” asserted Bayer, “we have
a lot of people asking what they can do
now to prepare for when the ball is back
in their court.”
Bayer outlined the following tips
for job hunters waiting for the upswing:
1. Develop Your Long-Term Plans.
Where would you be working if
you had a choice?
2. Jot Down Your Accomplishments
in Your Job.
When you are ready to search, you
may not be able to remember all the
amazing things you have done. There is
a reason you were asked to work longer
and harder: your skills are valued.
job interviews or
networking meetings.
5. Have Your JobSearch Buddy or
Your Small
Group Help With
Practice
Interviews.
Practice how you’ll position yourself
when the time finally comes. We are
seeing more employed people coming to
the Club. They’re just getting ready, and
they may just get lucky as well. l
Cheers, Kate
3. Informally Speak to Others in
Your Industry.
Find out what is happening in
other companies. You can do this by
going to association meetings and reading trade journals. Contact experts who
have written articles. It would be helpful
to know if other employers in your
industry are being abusive too. If so,
begin thinking about other industries
that may treat people more fairly.
4. Make Time for Job Search and
Career Planning.
If you don’t make time for a job
search, you may be stuck until you’re
dumped. So you have to make time, but
in a way that does not jeopardize your
job. Take longer lunch breaks, or
request time off. Somehow squeeze in
THE FIVE O’CLOCK NEWS
from America’s Premier Career-Coaching Network
VOL. 26, No. 7
ISSN 1082-3492
July 2012
The Five O’Clock News is a publication of The
Five O’Clock Club, published ten times a year for $49.
The Five O’Clock Club is a non-denominational organization based on protecting human dignity: putting job
hunters and employees first. It provides affordable, stateof-the-art career coaching services directly to individuals
and via the corporate market. Services include lectures and
career coaching in small
groups through a nationwide network of branches,
and private job-search as
well as executive coaching
through certified Five
O’Clock Club coaches.
Article submissions
based on 5OCC methodology are welcome. There is
no guarantee of publication. All submissions become
the property of The Five O’Clock Club, Inc.
Address all comments, questions & suggestions:
KATE WENDLETON
The Five O’Clock News
300 East 40th Street, 6L
New York, NY 10016
Kate Wendleton, President, Editor-in-Chief
John Fitzgerald, Associate Editor
Call 212-286-4500 for information on
becoming a member and subscribing to
The Five O’Clock News.
E-mail: [email protected]
Copyright ©2012 by The Five O’Clock Club. No
portion of this publication may be reprinted without
the express written consent of The Five O’Clock
Club. The writings contained within the pages of this
publication do not necessarily reflect the opinions of
The Five O’Clock Club. The Five O’Clock Club ®,
The Forty-Year Vision®, and The Seven Stories
Exercise® names and logos are registered trademarks.
All rights reserved.
2
THE FIVE O’CLOCK NEWS / JULY 2012
HOW TO MANAGE YOUR BOSS
Continued from page 1
facts, make a decision and move forward. He also valued building relationships; people, not information, were the
most important resource for Sam.
Sam quickly tired of Don’s endless
demands for more information. He’d tell
Don he’d get back to him but then get
busy with something else and not follow
through. After a few months, Sam
noticed that he and Don weren’t communicating very much. He was actually
happy about that since talking to Don
could get tiring. Sam felt he was doing a
good job; he was working hard building
relationships and people really seemed
to like him. Sam thought things were
going well.
When it came time for Sam’s 90day review, he was shocked to hear that
his performance was not satisfactory.
Don went on and on about the reports
Sam had neglected to turn in and his
lack of attention to detail. Don suggested that perhaps Sam should think about
looking for a different position since this
didn’t seem like a good fit.
Where Did Sam Go Wrong?
Although Sam picked up quickly
that his style was very different from his
boss’, he never focused on what he
could do to bridge that gap. Instead of
trying to manage the situation, Sam
ignored it, resulting in serious consequences for his future at that company
and perhaps even his career.
Sam’s situation is an example of
what can happen when you don’t manage the relationship between yourself
and your boss. Ignoring your boss’ style
or his priorities is never a good strategy
for success. Sam knew from the beginning that Don was detail oriented and
deadlines were important to him.
Instead of adjusting his own work style,
Sam decided to work around Don and
try to be successful by demonstrating his
strengths. Sam missed an important first
step when starting a new job: understand the value of your relationship with
your boss.
In this article, we will consider several topics: understanding who you are,
where you are in your career and how
you can develop in your career. We’ll
provide some tools to help you understand your boss and guidance on how to
deal with difficult situations. We’ll close
with some important tips to help you
build a more effective relationship with
your boss.
Get feedback on your
performance from
your boss and peers.
Understanding Yourself
You have a mutual dependence with
your boss. You depend on your boss for
direction, feedback and support while
your boss depends on you for new ideas,
hard work and cooperation. You both
have needs and both benefit from working together. So start building a strong
relationship with your boss by developing a good understanding of yourself.
What gives you job satisfaction? What
upsets you? Are you an extrovert or an
introvert? Are you detail oriented?
Understanding yourself will give you a
major advantage.
To do this you need to collect some
data. Many organizations have made it a
customary practice to ask managers to
participate in a process called 360degree feedback. This process starts with
you identifying a small number of people in all areas of your work-life (hence
the 360 title) and asking them to complete a confidential survey about you
that is sent to a third party for tabulation. You select a group of your direct
reports, your boss and perhaps his or her
boss, peers and sometimes customers.
The survey provides information about
you in a number of areas including
communication, management style,
leadership skills and technical knowledge. The results can be a real eye opener. You will learn what people at all levels experience in working with you.
If you don’t have the luxury of participating in 360-degree feedback, think
about creating your own tool to get the
information. Depending on your work
relationships, you might be able to set
up a series of meetings and have a serious discussion with selected staff to
learn about yourself.
Talk with your peers. You can put
together a short list of important questions and, for the price of a cup of coffee, you should be able to get some valuable feedback. Questions that provide
good insight include:
· “In working with me, what do you
see as my three top strengths?”
· “If you were putting together a
work team, can you think of an area
where I would add value?”
· “If I wanted to improve one aspect
of my communication skills, what
should it be?”
These questions are specifically
worded so they encourage the recipient
THE FIVE O’CLOCK NEWS / JULY 2012
3
HOW TO MANAGE YOUR BOSS
to share information. People will usually
provide feedback if they see that you are
open to hearing it and are sincerely
interested in making changes.
You could also contact your Human
Resource Department to see what they
offer or suggest. Many companies provide training and professional development. Classes are offered internally or
through a variety of outside organizations, so it should not be hard to find
something that gives you an opportunity
to develop your self-awareness and
receive feedback. It doesn’t matter how
you get the information to build your
self-awareness but it does matter that
you get it.
Case Study: Michael
Finding Ways to Get Feedback
Michael was feeling frustrated. He’d
been in his new Senior Manager position for a year and he had no idea if he
was doing well and if his boss, Sally, was
satisfied with his performance. She was
always so busy that it was hard to get
business questions answered, let alone
receive any performance feedback. He
knew Sally was uncomfortable with any
type of confrontation, so asking her
point blank, “How am I performing?”
would be too threatening.
On a day when he was feeling particularly isolated, Michael stepped into
John’s office and asked his colleague,
“Do you ever wonder how you are performing in this job?” John, also a Senior
Manager reporting to Sally, smiled
broadly and said, “Yes, I wonder about it
but I don’t have a clue how to get Sally
to take the time to give me feedback.”
As they talked, they realized that it
would be very helpful to get some performance feedback so they could work
on any deficiencies that emerged.
Michael and John decided to write
down a list of questions they’d like
answered by their boss. Then they constructed a conversation that was very
developmentally focused and non-threatening. They identified a more seniorlevel position in the organization that
they would like to grow into and wanted
4
to know what skills they needed to
develop to be successful in that position.
Michael thanked John for his time and
went back to his office feeling reenergized and focused.
Later that week, Michael looked for
an opportunity to catch Sally at a time
that she was relaxed and available. He
got his opportunity on Friday when they
were both walking back from a meeting.
Michael told Sally he was thinking
about the future and shared that, at
some point, he would really like to move
into the director role in the Marketing
Department. He asked Sally what she
knew about the role and what skills he
would need to develop to get there. She
gave him a lot of information on what
that role involved and provided feedback
about his strengths and how she thought
he would be a really good fit for that
role. In a casual hallway meeting,
Michael got the feedback he wanted on
his performance and skills.
This case study is one example of
how you can manage your boss.
Unfortunately, it is rare to find a boss
who takes the time to give performance
feedback unless it is time for an annual
review. Taking responsibility to get this
information becomes part of your job.
Once you have information on your
strengths and areas that need development, the next step is deciding what you
want to do about it. If you go through a
formal 360-review process, you’ll most
likely work with a consultant or coach
to review the feedback and develop an
action plan. If you are working on this
process independently, there are many
resources available including management development courses offered
through universities or local business
training centers. Hiring a management
coach is very common today and this
can be a great help in developing skills.
Some organizations provide mentors to
junior or mid-level employees. This can
be a great resource since your mentor
will know both you and the organization. You can get feedback on your
skills, learn more about your organization and be introduced to contacts that
can help in your career development.
THE FIVE O’CLOCK NEWS / JULY 2012
The actions you take will vary,
depending on the particular skill or
behavior that you are trying to develop.
For example, if you are weak in a technical skill like accounting, you could
enroll in a class. If you are described as a
micro-manager, however, you’ll need an
action plan that includes more than a
training class. Talk to your Human
Resource Department or other managers
that you respect to get suggestions on
resources.
It may be necessary to
take a course on your own
to move forward in your
skill development.
What You Need from Your Boss
The type of support you require
from your boss will vary with your own
experience level and where you are in
your career. For example, when you are
just out of school or new to a profession,
you require a certain amount of attention and direction from your boss. As
you gain experience, your needs change.
Some bosses recognize this, but not
always. You need to take responsibility
to get what you need and get rid of what
you don’t need. Below are three scenarios describing tips and strategies for getting what you need at various stages in
your professional development.
Professional Development Level I
Strategies
If you are in the beginning of your
career, the best boss for you is one who
acts as a mentor or coach. It would be
very helpful to have someone who
would give you feedback on your
strengths and areas needing development
and who would encourage you and
motivate you to do your best. How do
you turn your boss into this kind of person?
Here are some steps you can take:
1. Ask for a regular meeting for
which the agenda is simply, “Tell me
how I’m doing and what you’d like to
see me work on.” During your first year
on the job, this should be held once a
HOW TO MANAGE YOUR BOSS
month. After that, it can be held once a
quarter. It doesn’t matter if it’s a casual
lunch meeting or a more formal gathering in the office at 3 p.m. If your boss is
not comfortable with giving feedback,
you should prepare a list of questions
that will get you what you need. For
example, “How did I do on the presentation last month? Please tell me two
things that went well and two areas that
could be improved.” “What did you
like about my sales presentation? How
could I improve it?”
2. Establish quarterly or semiannual goals and give them to your
boss. Make sure that you are both setting the same priorities for your work.
3. Find a way to share your career
goals with your boss. Make sure he
knows where you’d like to be in two
years, what skills you’d like to develop
and what future education you are interested in. At a minimum, you should
have this conversation on an annual
basis.
Picture yourself as a business
partner with your boss and
try to see the criticism as an
opportunity to grow.
Professional Development Level II
Strategies
By this level you probably don’t
need or want a lot of managing from
your boss. You bring the knowledge and
skills to do the job, so what you really
need is a good understanding of the
direction the company is going
and the priorities of your position. To be successful, it is critical
that your boss clearly articulates
his expectations and that you
clearly understand them. In addition, you need to understand
your department’s priorities and
how you can help pitch in when
needed. Steps to managing your
boss at this level include:
1. Ask to be included in
appropriate business meetings.
2. Look for ways you can
support teammates.
3. Take a leadership role when
possible.
4. When you present your boss
with a problem, try to offer a solution.
5. Get on your boss’ calendar once
a quarter to review priorities and get
feedback on how you are performing.
Professional Development Level III
Strategies
Once you reach a certain level of
expertise, your needs in a boss become
very different from what you wanted at
the beginning of your career. At this
point, your boss is there as a sounding
board, that is, someone to share ideas
with, discuss strategies and define priorities.
Steps to managing your boss at this
level include:
1. Set up a regular meeting schedule, at a frequency that supports enough
communication so priorities are always
clear.
2. Make it your business to understand what your boss is working on and
how you can be of support.
3. On an annual basis, ask for
feedback on your behaviors and identify
what skills you need to develop.
Understand what it would take for you
to replace your boss.
Developmental Needs: How to Grow
your Career
One area that seems to always get
lost in the workplace is employee training and development. Smart companies
have long realized that a key factor in
retaining good employees is the ability
to offer career growth opportunities.
Unfortunately, most companies do not
take the time to focus on this, so it
becomes an area where you must take
responsibility to make things happen.
Identify your developmental needs,
clarify your career goals and communicate them to your boss. Think about the
future and picture what you’d like to be
doing three years from now. What skills
and experience will you need to get
there? Ask your boss for input and share
any suggestions that you feel will help
you reach your goal. For example, ask to
be part of a committee or volunteer to
run a project in order to gain valuable
experience that will challenge you in
areas that extend beyond your current
day-to-day responsibilities.
Ask for a mentor or coach. Spend
time with someone more senior in the
organization to learn new skills and
behaviors. It is also a way to be introduced to others in the organization that
you normally would not have contact
with.
Another path for development is
through education and training courses.
Discuss these with your boss. Talk about
your future goals and what you think
could help you get there. See if you can
get any tuition reimbursement from
your company. Be flexible if your goals
are not in line with what the organization needs. Many companies only pay
for courses that are job related, so it may
be necessary to take a course on your
own to move forward in your skill development.
Become active in
groups to grow professionally.
Ask your boss to steer you in
the right direction. If your
interests are in a different area,
do research to identify professional groups in your vicinity
and talk to colleagues and
friends to see if you can get
contact names in these groups.
Networking with professionals
in your field of interest is an
excellent way to hear about
learning opportunities or
THE FIVE O’CLOCK NEWS / JULY 2012
5
HOW TO MANAGE YOUR BOSS
potential job openings.
Have a conversation about your
development with your boss at least
once a year, on your own initiative if
necessary. Discuss the agenda ahead of
time and come prepared to run this
meeting. Keep your boss’ communication style in mind and make sure that
the format you choose is one that is
compatible. For example, if your boss is
casual, perhaps going for coffee and talking in a relaxing environment would be
a good idea. However, if your boss is the
quiet type and not a smooth communicator, providing a list of questions ahead
of time and structuring a more formal
meeting should get some results.
Understanding Your Boss
Now that you see the importance of
having a good understanding of yourself,
let’s turn to developing an understanding of the person you report to. Here are
some helpful tips to begin the process of
understanding your boss:
1. Learn your boss’ management
style. One way to do this is by taking
the time to watch and listen to what
your boss does and says with other
groups and individuals, peers, secretaries
or assistants, board members, customers,
etc. Does your boss work lots of extra
hours in the office? Socialize with others
from work? Communicate by phone,
emails, and formal memos or in person?
Prefer frequent updates or just an occasional briefing? By observing your boss
in various situations, you will gain a
good understanding of his values and
what is important to him.
2. Recognize the areas where your
management style and the boss’ management style are complimentary and
where they diverge. It is your responsibility to strategize on how best to make
your strengths, weaknesses and style differences work together well. If you think
you’re going to get the boss to adopt
your style, think again. To have a positive relationship, you’ll need to be the
one who demonstrates flexibility, is able
to compromise and shows a willingness
to take direction.
6
3. Don’t overlook the importance
of little things in a boss’ management
style. Small things can be very helpful in
developing and maintaining a good
working relationship. For example, if the
boss is a stickler about being on time
and starting a 7:30 a.m. meeting on the
dot, get there on time (or even a few
minutes early). If you arrive even a few
minutes late, it may be a problem.
4. Choose your battles wisely and
address them one-on-one with the boss,
in a confidential setting. There is nothing more fruitless than watching a
smart, skilled manager suddenly embark
on a suicide mission by going head-tohead with the boss on a relatively small
issue or wrong approach. And even
worse, to do it in front of an audience.
When you have differences to air or
problems to resolve, take it behind
closed doors.
5. Wherever possible, meet your
deadlines; but if unforeseeable problems
intervene and a deadline becomes
impossible to meet, let the boss know
this ASAP. Waiting until the last minute
and hoping for a miracle isn’t too smart,
particularly when the boss may have
built a schedule around your deadline.
Observe which colleagues have
a particularly good working
relationship with the boss and
ask them for suggestions.
Communication Style
Communication is a major component of your relationship with your boss
and it is also an area where many
employees fail. People communicate in a
variety of styles and you should learn
what your boss’ style is and communicate using techniques that will prove
successful.
If your boss moves at a fast pace,
makes decisions quickly and doesn’t
make time for chit chat, your interactions should be concise, organized, fastpaced and to the point. This type of
boss will appreciate your ability to articulate the “big picture” without long
THE FIVE O’CLOCK NEWS / JULY 2012
explanations. Learn to express yourself
using bullet-point statements and speak
with confidence.
If your boss is logical and analytical,
you’ll be better off providing a sufficient
amount of data. Understanding your
boss’ communication style helps you
speak the same language as your boss.
Some bosses are very people-orientated, and face-time with you is important. Others prefer to communicate
through email and don’t want a lot of
discussions. Whatever the style, it is part
of your role in managing your boss to
become familiar with your boss’ style
and react to it in a way that will be productive and appreciated.
Dealing with a Difficult Boss
Successfully managing a difficult
boss is a challenge. A good place to start
is to try to understand the reasons for
your boss’ difficult behavior. If your boss
is normally reasonable and the difficult
behavior is the result of stress or work
overload, there is a good chance that
things can change. You should communicate your issues/concerns in a helpful,
positive manner and try to create an
atmosphere for problem solving.
However, if this hostility or chronic
abuse is a regular occurrence, it is less
likely that the behavior will change. If
this is the case, you might need to seek
counsel from a mentor or human
resource professional to evaluate your
options.
When talking with a difficult boss,
never be confrontational. Try to carry
out your conversation in a non-adversarial way so you do not further damage
your relationship. Criticism is tough to
take, but try to see it as valuable information about how to do better. Try to
separate your ego from your business
persona. Although it will be hard, try
not to react emotionally or defensively.
Picture yourself as a business partner
with your boss and try to see the criticism as an opportunity to grow.
Having a difficult boss is one of the
biggest challenges you face in your
career. Sometimes it helps to seek out-
HOW TO MANAGE YOUR BOSS
side counsel or support to figure out the
best approach in dealing with an unreasonable personality. Talk it over with a
trusted colleague or a Human Resource
professional to get a different perspective
and to calm down. Remember, however,
that every organization has its own culture
and it is important that you use your
political savvy to determine what is acceptable in your organization and what is not
tolerated. For example, if bullies are
looked up to and supported by senior
management, it’s a losing battle to try to
fight it. You are probably better off looking for a new position.
Case Study: Hannah
Hannah was excited to learn that
she received the sales position reporting
to Kate. Kate seemed like a smart
woman with much experience and
Hannah was sure she could learn a lot.
It didn’t take long, however, before
Hannah became disappointed.
When Hannah first started, Kate
was very friendly and supportive. She
assigned Hannah some clients and
helped her prepare her first presentation.
Soon after that, Kate became very hard
to reach. She was rarely in the office and
when she was, she was behind closed
doors. Hannah approached her one time
but received a harsh look that basically
said, “Leave me alone.” Kate did not
hold back when she disapproved of
something Hannah did. She would ask
her questions in a manner that felt belittling and many times she did this with
others around.
There were two other team members who worked with Hannah and it
was obvious that they were having trouble dealing with Kate. One member was
terminated after Kate accused her of not
being able to perform her job. The other
teammate confided that she could not
work with Kate and was looking for
another position.
After six months on the job,
Hannah decided that if she was going to
stay in her position, she needed to have
a conversation with Kate and come up
with a more comfortable way of work-
ing together. Hannah set up a meeting
and went in prepared to make her
points clearly and professionally without
getting emotional. Hannah explained
that although she really liked her job,
she felt that communication between
them needed to improve and she had
some suggestions to share. Kate listened
as Hannah gave some examples of when
communication had broken down and
she continued to listen as Hannah made
suggestions on how to improve things.
Surprisingly, Kate seemed pleased
that Hannah had stepped forward and
raised these issues. She said she didn’t
realize how unavailable she had been and
suggested that Hannah leave her voicemails when she needed something and
she would make every effort to return the
call that day. Kate shared that she was
under a lot of pressure from her boss and
she didn’t mean to take it out on
Hannah. She told Hannah that her work
was excellent and that she had a lot of
potential. Kate understood that it was
upsetting to receive criticism in a public
setting and she agreed to make sure that
they were alone if she was going to say
something that had a negative tone.
Hannah was pleased that she made
the effort to improve her relationship
with her boss. Although working for
Kate continued to be challenging,
Hannah felt she could handle the situation. Her self-confidence grew and she
continued to be a strong contributor.
areas by carefully observing and talking
to colleagues when you are new to a
position.
4. Don’t speak badly about your
boss in public or private. It’s okay to disagree but don’t sink to a level that is
unprofessional.
5. Make sure you get the information you need. If your boss is not forthcoming with it, ask for it. Communicate
in whatever fashion is appropriate but
don’t sit back and wait for something to
come your way.
6. Learn the corporate culture and
use appropriate behaviors.
7. Review your priorities with
your boss regularly and stay focused on
them. Build credibility by addressing the
boss’ problems.
8. Learn to read your boss’ body
language so you know when it is an
appropriate time to talk and when it’s
best not to disturb.
Managing up is a skill that every
employee needs to learn. Think of it as
YOUR responsibility to build the relationship. This attitude will get you the
results you want.
Understand the boss’ priorities, likes
and dislikes, sense of urgency and style
of communication and adjust your
behavior accordingly. In many ways,
managing up is simply having the right
Tips for Success
Here’s a list of how to be successful
at managing your boss:
1. When your boss speaks highly
about a project, report, organization,
etc., use that knowledge to get a sense of
what the boss rates as “good” in a variety
of areas. Knowing the boss’ definition of
“good work,” including content and
process, is very important.
2. Observe which colleagues have
a particularly good working relationship
with the boss and talk to them. Find out
what they think is the best way to work
with the boss and get suggestions on
how to be successful.
3. Avoid stepping into sensitive
SOON available at
www.fiveoclockclub.com
and Amazon.com
THE FIVE O’CLOCK NEWS / JULY 2012
7
Summer is One of the Best Times to Job Hunt
Tell your competition to keep on relaxing. Five O’Clock
Clubbers keep on going—and get the jobs. August and
September are two of the highest hiring months. Who gets
hired then? Those who searched in the summer. Be sure to
tell your friends about us: www.FiveOClockClub.com
Email: [email protected]
“The Five O’Clock Club is plain,
easy-going and unconventional . . .
Members or guests need not
don their dress suits to attend
the meetings.”
(From the Club History
—written in the 1890s)
LETTERS — FROM HAPPY CLIENTS AND HR
To Mary Anne
Walsh, Ed.D.
THANK YOU
again, Mary Anne,
for your wisdom,
patience, and
extremely helpful
feedback. I was
Coach Mary Anne
cognizant of your
Walsh, Ed.D.
advice. Right after
I pleaded my case for a higher salary, I
did shut up! — and in a few days got
$5,000 more! LOL I wouldn’t have
gotten to this point without your support and am so grateful. You are terrific!
By the way, as The Five O’Clock
Club suggests, I had emailed my
résumé and a cover letter directly to
the hiring manager in addition to
applying online. When the recruiter
contacted me, she didn’t mention anything about the hiring manager perhaps forwarding my email to her.
Maybe it really was just pure luck that
the recruiter found me out of the hundreds of résumés she got, but I doubt
it.
As I said, you are terrific!
Robert
Hi HarrietI just accepted a job offer so
I won’t see you
for a little while.
Thank you for
your assistance!
Let my small8
Coach Harriet Katz
group members know that it really did
help to network, it does give you an
“in” when you send off your application—they recognize your name and
already have a “feel” for what you are
like. Even today, I spoke with one of
my contacts who gave me a heads up
about another job opening and they
wanted me to send in an application—
they said they would keep an eye out
for it so I could interview.... so it is a
technique that just keeps working and
people keep you in mind. Having
more than one job offer come in also
helped me negotiate a better salary as
it gave me more confidence and I did
not feel that “it is my only chance at a
job”....I knew there was a back up.
Take care.......
Shawna (heathcare professional)
From an HR Manager:
Kate,
I’ve spoken with [our former
employee] and she’s very excited about
your program, having spoken with
your rep and for an initial call with
her coach (to set up their first meeting). She has her first one-on-one
with her coach tonight and will be
starting her small group after that.
She’s already completed the first draft
of her résumé and is ready for suggestions and advice, so she’s very much in
the go-forward mode, which pleases us
a great deal. She mentioned to me
that without this program, she would
have felt “lost.” Will keep you posted
on the feedback she gives us.
Best regards,
Shirley
THE FIVE O’CLOCK NEWS / JULY 2012
Hi Bert,
I hope all is
well and you and
your family.
Thanks for all
your encouragement and loving
support in acquiring my new job. I
Coach Bert Marro
truly believe in
the 5OOC
methodology as it has worked for me
on 3 occasions (in California, Hawaii,
and now Israel). Incidentally they all
came about the same time, just before
the Holiday Season! As you stated
many times, summers and holidays are
probably the best time to being doing
your search.
Bert, I really want to make a good
impression to stay with the company
for at least 2 years. Both of my last
two positions lasted for too short a
time and I am experiencing fear of losing this position. I like the staff and
the project. Although I have never
held this specific engineering title, I
think it is a wonderful opportunity to
advance my career because of the
scope of the project. I am committed
to performing at a high level and
doing a good job. I am creating the
possibility of being Powerful and
Unstoppable.
What do you suggest to insure I
advance my career and make a good
impression? I’m ready for the next
step.
Best Regards
Moshe
10 Tips for Surviving a
Long Search
T
his is still a tough market and
some people are having long
searches. People who conscientiously work the Five O’Clock Club
methodology—and who truly do put in
35 hours a week on job-search—still arrive
at the stage of receiving offers within two
to four months. But longer searches are
not uncommon. As things drag on, people
feel their morale and energies slip away.
How do you rebound? The Energizer
Bunny has to be your role model, and it is
especially important to maintain a positive
attitude to have a successful campaign
with a happy ending.
Here are Ten Tips to help keep people
motivated when things look bleak:
1. Do something new.
People who have been unemployed a
year might tell you they’ve been “looking
for a year.” But chances are, there are “new
things to do.” For example, try professional-level volunteer work, join associations,
earn some money some way. It could keep
you feeling like a winner. We encourage
job hunters to do what they have to do to
keep body and soul together.
Review the Five O’Clock Club
methodology. Have you skipped any steps?
Something you overlooked might be the
something new to try—and be honest with
yourself: Are you really spending 35 hours
a week on job search?
jobs are filled through search firms and
ads. The most overlooked technique is
direct contact (which is not the same
thing as networking). Our job hunters are
getting 36% of their meetings by contacting companies directly. Follow their lead:
find out the names of department heads.
Try to get in to see people whether or not
they have openings. “You never know
when you’ll need someone like me” is one
approach.
4. Be flexible on salary . Some people
are not making what they made three
years ago. People should expect to be paid
fairly at current market rates, and the market is not very strong right now.
5. If you’re forced into a low-paying
position, remember that this is all temporary. Whatever kind of work you might
settle for, whatever you get paid—think of
it as temporary until the market turns
around. Don’t beat up on yourself, “Oh,
this is what my life has come to after all
these years.” Instead, do what you have to
do to bring in some money and keep
yourself healthy emotionally. The situation
will all change again in a few years. You’re
just trying to get through this rough
patch. By the way, some people are getting
mulitple offers and very good salaries.
2. Expand your targets! Think outside
of the box. If you have been looking only
in your major metropolitan area, look in
the suburbs. People who have worked for
accounting firms should look on the client
side: explore accounting for not-for-profits
or small- to mid-sized corporations. There
may be literally hundreds of companies
and organizations to explore, most of
which can be unearthed by just a few
hours of Internet research—which brings
us to the next tip.
6. Be around POSITIVE people. It doesn’t help to associate with people who wallow in depression and take perverse comfort in telling themselves about “how bad
it is out there.” Join associations to make
positive contacts and meet people with an
upbeat attitude—and to keep up-to-date
in your field. Five O’Clock Clubbers work
at keeping a positive attitude, measure the
effectiveness of their searches, and keep on
plugging. Of course, they also have a
career coach to help them see that the
glass might just be half full and guide
them through the process.
3. Use many techniques for getting
meetings. Most job hunters rely on search
firms and ads. Yet fewer than 10% of all
7. Continue to job-hunt even if your
heart isn’t in it. When you were in your
old job, there were days
you didn’t feel like doing it, but you did it
anyway because it was your responsibility.
Job-hunting is your job right now. Some
days you don’t feel like doing it, but you
must. Make a phone call. Write a proposal.
Research a company. Do your best every
day. No matter how you feel. And somehow it will get done, as any job gets done.
8. Get a job-search buddy. Your buddy is
someone who is also searching whom you
can talk to — fairly often and informally.
“Here’s what I’m planning to do today in
my search. What are you planning to do?
Let’s talk tomorrow and make sure we’ve
done it.” You can probably find your jobsearch buddy in your small group at the
Club. To avoid giving each other bad
advice, be sure to follow the Five O’Clock
Club methodology. That is, read and reread
the books—and your weekly group will
help keep you on track.
9. Take care of yourself physically and
mentally. Job search is stressful, and stress
can prompt you to give up good habits
and throw in the towel, for example, stop
going to the gym, abandon your diet. So
take care of yourself physically. Watch your
drinking, eating, and smoking—they can
get out of hand. Get dressed every morning. Look good. Get some exercise. Eat
healthful foods. Take some time off to
recharge. Don’t postpone having fun until
you get a job. Schedule at least three hours
of fun a week. Do something you are normally unable to do when you’re working,
for example, go to a museum or to the
ballpark. You’ll be more relaxed and more
interesting when you go on interviews!
10. Remember: you are distracted , so
pay attention to protect yourself. We’ve
heard it from job hunters for years: they
get mugged, walk into walls, lose wallets
and purses—because their minds are elsewhere. Job search—especially a long
drawn-out job search—is not an ordinary
situation, and extraordinary things can
happen. Be on your guard. l
THE FIVE O’CLOCK NEWS / JULY 2012
9
CAREER MANAGEMENT ADVICE FROM OUR MANAGEMENT AND COACHES
WorkSmarts
Be a Winner on the Job
Build Relationships to Achieve Results
Navigate Politics and Personalities
Manage Conflict with Style
WorkSmarts will be available in July/August, 2012 at
www.fiveoclockclub.com or Amazon.com.
T
wenty-two of our coaches have
contributed chapters, as have
three members of our management team: Kate Wendleton,
President; Richard Bayer, Ph.D.,
Chief Operating Officer; and David
Madison, Ph.D., Director of our
National Guild of Career Coaches.
The coaches are from all over the
country: Anita Attridge, Bill Belknap,
Susan Bloch, Cecelia Burokas, Chip
Conlin, Nancy Deering, Robert
Hellmann, Peter Hill, Jim Hinthorn,
Stacey Jerrold, Nancy Karas, Harriet
Katz, Bernadette Norz, Joan
Runnheim Olson, Ruth K. Robbins,
Renée Lee Rosenberg, Hélène Seiler,
Win Sheffield, Cynthia Strite,
Margaret McLean Walsh, and Mary
Anne Walsh, Ed.D. You can find their
full bios (and the bios of some of our
other coaches) on our website in the
About Us section (www.fiveoclockclub.com), and mini-bios following
the Introduction in the About Our
Contributors section.
Is workplace politics getting you
down? This book was written by our
coaches in response to our Members’
requests about what we know about
business coaching. After all, The Five
O’Clock Club has always been focused
on the career development of our
Members—helping them to do well in
their present organizations, as those
organizations, and the world, change.
As organizations continue to flat-
ten their hierarchies, eliminate permanent staff, rely on outsourcing and
emphasize the bottom line to accomplish their goals, it is more critical
than ever for employees to develop
strategies that empower them to reinvent and position themselves for success in the workplace. The difference
between advancing in one’s career or
stagnating in it often rests on one’s
ability and willingness to become a
strategic thinker. An important step is
to understand one’s value and communicate that value to the company.
It has been well documented that
the employee who can take charge of
his or her career will be more productive, better satisfied, focused on results
and relationships, and therefore prepared to impact a company’s bottom
line. It is critical for individuals to
manage their own professional development. Unfortunately, too many
employees do not know how to develop strategies for success, whether they
are new to the job or seasoned veterans.
The Five O’Clock Club coaches
have identified winning strategies for
success on the job and we have compiled them in this book to make it
easier for every employee to learn how
to be more effective at work. Each
chapter is written by one of our
experts. The chapters include self-help
exercises and winning action steps,
which can be implemented immedi-
10 T H E F I V E O ’ C L O C K N E W S / J U L Y 2 0 1 2
ately. It is about helping employees to
become change-resilient, more secure
in themselves and their future as
organizations continue to adjust to
changing market situations. How can
one improve his/her executive presence? What does it take to identify
projects that drive revenue? Is change
seen as opportunity? To increase value
to the company, how can you focus
on results, not activities? In a very
diverse work environment, how can
workers from different cultural back grounds understand the impact of culture on doing business? Over the
years, our clients have come to us for
help while on the job. These are some
of the common issues raised frequently, which will be addressed in the
book.
Read what you need, but also
read all of the other chapters that you
think you may not need! The gems of
advice that you will pick up will surprise you.
Remember: All Five O’Clock
Club coaches go through a grueling,
four-month certification process so
they all speak the same language and
have mastered the research behind
what we teach. You’re in good hands
with a Five O’Clock Club coach and
we hope to hear from you about your
experiences. Write to us at [email protected] or call 1-800-5386645. K.W., 2012
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword
Introduction
About Our Contributors
Part One: Starting Out
1. That’s the Way We Do Things
Here—Understanding Organizational
Culture, Anita Attridge
2. Starting Out on the Right Foot in
Your New Job, Kate Wendleton
3. Conducting Your Quarterly Review
of Those Who Influence Your Career,
Kate Wendleton
4. Being Happy at Work: The Puritan
Work Ethic and Beyond, Richard Bayer,
Ph.D.
5. Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: The
Importance of Image, Cynthia Strite
with David Madison, Ph.D.
Part Two: Managing
Relationships at Work
6. Handling Conflict at Work, Nancy
Deering
7. How to Manage Your Boss, Susan
Bloch
8. Making Your Performance Review
Work for You, Cecelia Burokas
9. Performance Reviews: What
Managers and Leaders Need to Know,
Robert Hellmann
10. Focus on Solutions to Boost
Success, Margaret McLean Walsh
11. Younger Bosses, Older Workers,
Kate Wendleton
12. How to Handle Workplace Politics,
Win Sheffield
13. Office Gossip: The Good and The
Bad, Kate Wendleton
14. How to Have Engaged Employees,
Richard Bayer, Ph.D.
15. Keeping and Maximizing the Talent
You Have Now, David Madison, Ph.D.
16. Golden Rules for Creating WinWin Business Solutions, Harriet Katz
17. The New Diversity, Kate Wendleton
and Jeff Cohen
Part Three: Handling the Job
18. When You’re Feeling Overwhelmed
at Work, Ruth K. Robbins
19. Time Management: How to
Become a To—Do List Conqueror,
Stacey Jerrold
20. Work-Life Balance or Harmony?,
Bernadette Norz
21. Selling Your Value on the Job: How
to Be a Winner, Stacey Jerrold
22. Don’t Keep Your Head Down: Top
Five Strategies for Moving Ahead, Kate
Wendleton
23. Improve Your Performance in Your
Present Position, Kate Wendleton
24. When to Blow the Whistle, Richard
Bayer, Ph.D.
25. How to Overcome Suffering—
Especially in Your Career, Richard Bayer,
Ph.D.
26. Humility and Success, Richard
Bayer, Ph.D.
27. Attending Parties and Events: Tips to
Shine and Help Your Career, Nancy Karas
28. Networking…One More Time, Bill
Belknap and Hélène Seiler
Part Four: Getting Ahead
29. How to Ask for a Raise, Kate
Wendleton
30. The Promotability Index: Will You
Actually Get Promoted? Or Are You
Simply “Promotable?” Kate Wendleton
31. How We Respond to Life’s
Difficulties: The Most Important Factor
in Success in Life, Kate Wendleton
32. Staying Resilient and Achieving
Success: Positive Thinking Can Provide
a Boost, Renée Lee Rosenberg
33. Stay Focused; Take Control of Your
Career; Keep Yourself Marketable, Kate
Wendleton
34. The Eight-Word Message: How to
Make Sure Those Above You Know
How Good You Are, Kate Wendleton
35. Forging Career Security: Things to
Do When You’re Not Job Hunting,
David Madison, Ph.D.
36. Social Media: Five O’Clock Club
Coaches Talk about Using LinkedIn to
Improve Your Career, Kate Wendleton
37. No Matter What Your Age: The
Value of Having a Long-Term Vision,
Kate Wendleton
38. Virtue in Your Work-Life: What
Makes a Meaningful Work-Life?,
Richard Bayer, Ph.D.
39. The Mentor-Mentee Relationship:
Career Development Secret Weapon,
Peter Hill
40. Mentoring: How it Can Help Your
Career, Rob Hellmann for FoxNews.com
41. Isn’t It Time You Got Yourself a
Coach?, Anita Attridge
Part Five: For Executives
42. Achieve Success through Effective
Leadership, Rob Hellmann
43. It’s No Longer Business as Usual:
How to Stand Out in a Time of
Organizational Change, Chip Conlin
44. Ethical Decisions in Business,
Richard Bayer, Ph.D.
45. Smart Moves for Global Executives
Working in a Multicultural World, Mary
Anne Walsh, Ed.D.
Part Six: Moving On
46. Career Danger Signals: What to
Look for, Hélène Seiler and Bill Belknap
47. Eight Signs That Say It’s Time to
Change Jobs, Kate Wendleton
48. Time for a Change? Why Not
Consider a Nontraditional Career?, Joan
Runnheim Olson
49. Things People Do to Get Fired:
How to Avoid These Pitfalls, Richard
Bayer, Ph.D.
50. Why Executives Derail, Jim
Hinthorn
51. Get What’s Coming To You:
Negotiate the Best Possible Severance
Package, Kate Wendleton
52. How to Get Fired: A Review of
Smart Exit Strategies, David Madison,
Ph.D.
53. How to Terminate Employees
While Respecting Human Dignity,
Richard Bayer, Ph.D.
54. Compassion, Richard Bayer, Ph.D.
Appendixes
1. Exercise to Analyze your Past and
Present: Seven Stories Exercise®
Analyzing Your Seven Stories
2. Your Fifteen-Year Vision and Your
Forty-Year Vision®
About the Editors: Kate Wendleton and
David Madison, Ph.D. l
THE FIVE O’CLOCK NEWS / JULY 2012
11
Think of Us for Leadership
Development, Team Building,
Cross-Cultural Training,
Onboarding, and a host of other services
E
mployee performance and
retention are the name of
the game. Will your
employees stay when the market
improves? Will they follow the
new direction the organization is
taking? Consider some of the following programs, custom-tailored
to your needs.
For Managers and Executives:
· Business Coaching and Managerial /
Executive Development A highly structured approach used by all of our Executive
Coaches. Includes coach peer review and
regular reporting to HR. Used in conjunction with our book, “Navigating Your
Career.” Ask for a detailed description of
these programs.
· Leadership Development Our offerings include both one-on-one and group
training in Situational Leadership, training / assessment in Leadership Competencies, and showing managers how to coach
their staff to better performance. The result
is better managers and leaders, and moreeffective organizations. In addition, Five
O’Clock Club Executive Coaches, following our methodology, are experts at “difficult” employee relations issues, such as
managing non-performers, in giving candid
but supportive feedback.
· Executive and High-Potential
Onboarding How well an executive transitions into a new company will impact your
success. Close to 50%—nearly half of new
executives hired—quit or are fired within
the first 18 months at a new employer
(Source: Corporate
Leadership Council).
The 5OCC
Onboarding process
enables the new executive to assimilate into
the culture and perform
quickly.
For the Organization:
· Employee Engagement Programs
Using the Club’s methodology, we help
organizations to identify gaps and opportunities, and then facilitate solutions that will
help to increase employee motivation,
retain top talent, and ensure alignment of
employee efforts with management’s vision.
Our approach is founded on our experience that employees are an organization’s
most valuable asset.
· Career Development Programs–
for all employees, from the most senior
on down Help employees to see that
they have a future with your organization and help them to be more in control of their careers. We have delivered
these seminars to thousands of
employees, from 2-hour seminars for
every employee from the top, down, to
4 half-day seminars for selected groups.
The basic program always involves
assessment, which results in a career
plan for each person and a sense of control over their future.
· Highly experienced Motivational
Speakers get employees moving again!
· Virtual Team Building Training and
Coaching To stay competitive as well as to
reduce costs, organizations are embracing
virtual collaboration. If managed properly,
virtual teams can be smarter than traditional teams and ultimately more effective. And
the complexities of communication over
time, distance, cultures and space can be
managed for increased results. This training
with a coaching component will focus on
learning how to be an effective leader of
virtual teams.
· Retirement Planning Usually individual coaching, but also delivered in workshops. For those who have a few years to go
until retirement, those who have the option
to retire, or those of a certain age who are
losing their jobs and want to consider their
options. This is a not a financial planning
12 T H E F I V E O ’ C L O C K N E W S / J U L Y 2 0 1 2
seminar. Instead, we help
individuals to determine
their retirement activities,
and what they have to do to
make them happen. Used in
conjunction with our book,
“Achieving the Good Life
After 50.”
· Team Development Consultation &
Facilitation customized to suit your needs.
· Myers Briggs – MBTI for Teams How
an individual prefers to work influences how
they work individually and in teams. The
MBTI team assessment helps team members
to understand their own working preferences, those of the other team members and
how the team is working together. With this
information, teams can assess and increase
their communication, and problem-solving
and decision-making processes.
For International Employees
and Businesses:
· Cross-cultural Training and Coaching
for International Employees According to
studies, expatriates (natives of one country
in professional positions in another country)
are most in need of coaching (14-40% of
assignments end early) and, in fact, they get
the least coaching of all groups studied.
(Judge Business School, U. of Cambridge,
2008.)
· Accent Reduction and Language
Skills Enhancement for International
Clients (non-native speakers). Presentations
such as “Sounding Good in English —
Speech Tips for Non-Native Speakers.” As
well as one-on-one coaching.
P
lease do call us to discuss your organization’s needs. We have over 200
coaches to serve you.
Contact:
David Madison, SVP: 212-286-4500.
Email: [email protected]
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS FOR THE FIVE O’CLOCK CLUB
Professional, Managerial,
Executive and CareerStarter
Job-Hunt Groups
Meetings are held weekly
via teleconference or at
various physical
locations.
8
Hear one lecture per week at a physical branch or
via one of 16 lectures on CDs by Kate
Wendleton. (The boxed lecture set: $150 or
FREE with the purchase of 10 “Insider” sessions.)
'
;
Join the weekly small group discussion with
a senior Five O’Clock Club career consultant (for
the “Insider” program: via teleconference from the
convenience of your home, or anywhere else).
Enjoy The Five O’Clock Club website. Download
worksheets from the Members Only section.
Prices: Insider Program
Because of the popularity of “Insider,” our costs have
decreased over time. The savings are passed on to you.
Physical branches are more expensive. Prices are for individuals. If your employer is paying for you, please see our
“outplacement” price schedule on the next page.
This is a members-only organization.
FEES: $49 annual membership plus session fees,
which are based on member’s income.
Income
< $100,000
20 sessions
10 sessions
$100,000 +
Price
Per
sess.
Price
$540
$360
$27
$36
$810
$540
Per
sess.
$200,000 +
Price
Per
sess.
$40.50 $1215 $60.70
$54
$810
$81
Fee for books: $51 for the basic five books
plus two free booklets (purchased on our website)
Career Starters: Students; recent grads or
less than 10 yrs. out < $40,000; others
$490 package includes 1.5 hrs.
of private coaching,
10 group sessions, book,
16 lectures on CDs, 2 years’ membership.
Week of
Topic
July 2-6
HOLIDAY WEEK -No Sessions Scheduled
July 9-13 Keys to Effective Networking
July 16-20 Your Résumé and the Two-Minute Pitch
July 23-27 Beat the Odds with Search Firms & Ads
July 30-Aug 3Shortcut Your Search: Internet & Other
Research
Aug 6-10 Developing New Momentum in Your
Campaign
Aug 13-17 Getting the Most Out of Your Contacts
Aug 20-24 SUMMER BREAK - No Sessions Scheduled
Aug 27-31 Getting Interviews: Direct & Targeted Mail
Sept 3-7
HOLIDAY WEEK - No Sessions Scheduled
Sept 10-14 The 5OCC Approach to Interviewing
Sept 17-21 Handling Difficult Interview Questions
Sept 24-28 HOLIDAY WEEK - No Sessions Scheduled
(Yom Kippur)
Oct 1-5
The Five O’Clock Club Approach to
Job Search
Oct 8-12 HOLIDAY WEEK - No Sessions Scheduled
Oct 15-19 How to Turn Job Interviews into Offers
Oct 22-26 Developing New Targets for Your Search
Oct 29-Nov2 Four-Step Salary Negotiation Method
Nov 5-9
Advanced Interviewing Techniques
Nov 12-16 Keys to Effective Networking
Nov 19-23 HOLIDAY WEEK - No Sessions Scheduled
Nov 26-30 Your Résumé and the Two-Minute Pitch
Dec 3-7
Beat the Odds with Search Firms & Ads
The Five O’Clock Club ®®
Over 85 groups meet nationwide. Below is a sampling.
or visit us at www.FiveOClockClub.com
A Sample of Our Branches
n Central
Mon., 7:30 p.m. Central
Renée Lee Rosenberg
THE POPULAR
INSIDER PROGRAM
You are near a meeting of
The Five O’Clock Club —
with over 40 groups meeting weekly. To join the
“Insider,” a weekly smallgroup teleconference,
call 212-286-4500. Below
are a sample of the groups.
Wednesdays, 6:00 p.m. Central
Joan Harris
Wednesdays, 8:30 p.m. Pacific
Linda Warren
n East
Mondays, 8:30 p.m. EST
Renée Lee Rosenberg
Sr. Executive
($200,000 plus)
Tuesdays, 7:00 p.m. EST
Anita Attridge
Mondays 7:30 p.m. EST
Bill Belknap
Tuesdays, 8:00 p.m. EST
Damona Sain
Executive
($100,000 plus)
Wednesdays, 7:00 p.m. EST
Harriet Katz
n West
Wednesdays, 5:30 p.m. Pacific
Celia Currin
Please see our website (www.FiveOClockClub.com)
for the coaching staff and full offerings.
n Central
Tuesdays, 7:00 p.m. Central
Bert Marro
Attendance
Wednesdays, 7:30 p.m.
Central; Celia Currin
• Reservations required.
• Unused sessions are transferable to anyone you choose or
will be given to those in financial difficulty attending
more than 16 sessions.
• Most branches are geared to professionals, managers,
executives, and recent grads from a wide variety of industries
and professions. Most earn from $30,000 to $500,000. Half
are employed, half are unemployed.
• Attend at least 10 meetings in a row to develop
momentum and perhaps land an appropriate position.
Our research proves that those who attend on a regular
basis get jobs faster and at higher rates of pay than those
who attend sporadically, search on their own, or even
only see a coach privately.
• After ten sessions, still try to attend regularly.
Thursdays, 8:00 p.m. EST
Kathy Meeks
Students / Recent Grads
(less than $40,000)
Ask for Vanessa 212-286-4500
THE PHYSICAL
BRANCHES
n East
Tuesdays, 8:00 p.m. EST
Bert Marro
n NEW YORK, NY
Roosevelt Hotel
Mondays
Chip Conlin
914-788-5482
Wednesdays, 8:30 p.m. EST;
Celia Currin
Empire State
Wednesdays
Anita Attridge
908-696-9469
Professional /
Managerial
($30,000 to $100,000)
n West
Wednesdays, 7:30 p.m. Pacific
Linda Warren
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T H E F I V E O ’ C L O C K N E W S / J U L Y 2 0 1 2 13
Retention-Oriented
Coaching Programs:
Business Coaching (3 months)
Executive Development (9 months)
Intensive, 3-MONTH Business
Coaching Program for:
•
•
•
•
newly promoted managers or mid-level new hires
high-potentials
those wanting to make a lateral move
those you want to reward or make an investment
in
Intensive, 9-MONTH Executive
Development Program includes:
• extensive assessment instruments
• 360-feedback (structured interviewing and LSI 1 and 2)
• ongoing coaching and feedback to insure permanent
change
• a written action plan, reviewed by a second coach
Ask for our brochures and a sampling of our executive coach bios.
G
reat change means great opportunity. Whether you are in HR
or are a staff manager elsewhere
in your organization, these are exciting
times. People are a company’s greatest
asset, and it’s time to make the most of
your people.
Employee performance and retention are the name of the game.
Typically, many employees who feel
stuck during a recession say they will
leave when the market gets better. By
taking steps now that the economy is
still struggling, you can prevent this
from happening to your organization.
Both HR and executive management have a role in driving the required
change and making sure every executive
and manager has bought into the new
direction, understands why it’s important, and knows what to do next.
Executive coaching can serve an important function in supporting these efforts.
T
he Five O’Clock Club Business
Coaching and Development
Programs are designed for the
employees you value and want to keep.
These programs are meant to increase:
· leadership/managerial effectiveness
· productivity
· retention
The Return on Investment
Among the most pressing needs facing management today are the development and retention of top talent, as well
as the development of methods to
enhance managerial productivity. In fact,
a high percentage of managers in a new
position will not make it:
· The “jury is out on them,” they often
essentially struggle on their own.
· They may not quickly grasp the corporate culture or the informal organization.
· They may feel the pressure to prove
themselves and produce results too quickly, thus making mistakes.
Affordable Business Coaching
Most Business Coaching programs are
enormously expensive, even when the situation does not require a program of extended duration. In keeping with The Five
O’Clock Club’s approach of providing
The Five O’Clock Club Business Coaching Advantage
u A Team Effort: Our tightly-knit Guild of senior career coaches works closely together. We turn to each other for guidance.
After the primary coach has worked with your employee for four or five hours, a coaching peer will review the situation: assess the
direction of the coaching, brainstorm the situation, and help develop a course correction, if called for.
v A Proven Methodology that is the industry standard —based on over 25 years of research. Employees better understand
themselves and their organizations, how they fit in, and what they can do to improve their relationships with bosses, peers, subordinates and clients, and how they can most effectively help the organization move ahead. Our text, WorkSmarts, is used by professionals, managers and executives in for-profit and not-for-profit organizations of all sizes.
w
Devoted Coaches who truly care what happens to the individual. Unlike firms where the coaches are over-burdened with
a too-heavy client load, our coaches are responsive to their clients, use best practices, brainstorm with other coaches about their
clients, and are excited about each assignment because it means an opportunity to do the best for each client.
14 T H E F I V E O ’ C L O C K N E W S / J U L Y 2 0 1 2
high-quality programs at affordable prices,
we offer Business Coaching and
Development Programs that provide intensive coaching without the sticker shock.
The 3-month Business Coaching
Program ($5,500), Business Coaching, is
meant for:
· Mid-level outside hires and those
newly promoted
· High-potential employees
· Employees making a lateral move
The 9-month Executive Development
Program ($13,500) includes intensive
360 feedback, both through structured
interviews (one-on-one interviews with
peers, bosses and subordinates, or
whomever is appropriate), and through
the LSI, a computer-based feedback
mechanism. It is appropriate when you
want to affect change, and change takes a
while. You’ll see how thorough the program is when you look at the outline.
Highly Experienced Coaches
A coach must have the ability to
quickly assess the situation, ask the hard
questions, and provide guidance to affect
positive change. Our coaches are skilled in
doing just that and providing the structure
needed. What’s more, Five O’Clock Club
business coaches have business experience,
as well as extensive coaching experience,
helping clients: to
· assess themselves, the culture and the
situation,
· identify areas that need to be
addressed,
· develop a strategy for achieving business results quickly,
· anticipate problems, develop tentative solutions, and review the employee’s
performance in key situations, and
· create a development plan to follow
after he or she no longer has the ongoing
help of the coach.
You’ll be very impressed with all of
our coaches. Not only are they each top
business coaches, as you will see from
their bios, they all follow The Five
O’Clock Club methodology and have
worked together for years. Because they
are all using the same methodology:
· they speak the same language,
· conduct regular and smooth peer
reviews, and
· there is an inherent element of quality control.
Without a strong methodology, one
coach may start with a core assessment,
while another coach may just plunge in
with a situational analysis. All of our
coaches start with assessment, as one
example of our structured approach.
What’s more, they are well-disciplined in
the research-based, Five O’Clock Club
model.
The Business Coaching Program
starts with assigned exercises in our 350page “WorkSmarts” manual. This forms
the basis for understanding the executive
and his or her strengths, weaknesses and
goals in a uniform way.
Quality Control of Business
Coaching Programs
Five O’Clock Club Business Coaches
are of the highest quality. Most have been
Business Coaches for over a dozen years.
Just as with our outplacement program,
our Business Coaching program is one
you can trust. Our quality control
includes:
· Coaching Circles, where groups of
coaches meet every 6 weeks — in person
or by teleconference to learn new techniques, exchange information, and conduct peer supervision on specific (but
anonymous) cases.
· One-on-one support to coaches —
to review cases and get suggestions and
support.
· Client progress reviews with headquarters — to assess the progress of each
Business Coaching client.
· A quality-control call from our
Client Services Manager to the client
directly to assess how the coaching is
going, and to HR to review client
progress in accordance with ground rules
and confidentiality agreements. l
Business Coaching for Five
O’Clock Club Members
If you are a Five O’Clock Club member, you may meet with your coach after
you land your new job — and regularly
over the years to plan your career, handle
any issues that may come up, and make
sure you are on track. You will pay your
coach directly on an hourly basis as you
go along. No heavy up-front fees are
allowed.
If you would like to be matched up
with a business coach, just fill out the
Coach Request Form in the Coaches section of our website or email:
[email protected].
Customized Coaching
Solutions
Feel free to contact us if you would like
to explore other options including
tailored seminars and workshops.
email [email protected]
or call 212-286-4500.
The Five O’Clock Club
... a name you can trust
The Five O’Clock Club has been
privately owned by its founders since
1978. We are a dedicated team of
individuals who care about each other
and our clients.
WorkSmarts will be
available in June, 2012.
T H E F I V E O ’ C L O C K N E W S / J U L Y 2 0 1 2 15
Outplacement Checklist
Want to figure out which elements are important in outplacement services? We’re
making it easy. Here’s a handy Outplacement Checklist to help you identify the
services that truly help job hunters. We’ve indicated which services we provide job
hunters and those that we avoid. Then you can make up your own mind.
R Allow people to contin- R Career development, not
ue even after landing a job or just job search
Traditional outplacement services focus
consulting assignment
• This allows people to quickly earn
money, try out a new field, or have
executive coaching in the new job –
for the duration of a package lasting
one year or longer.
• Allows people to get coaching again if
they lose that next job.
• People can put their time on hold
for up to two years to return to
school, do consulting work or handle personal issues.
No one else does that!
on helping people get a job. We help
them find a career. Job hunters need
career direction through assessment sessions with a private coach who really
gets to know them well. The coach
helps job hunters determine where they
want to be in fifteen years, in five years
and in their next job. The assessment
process is so powerful that 58% decide
to change careers (field or industry).
Then they work with the coach privately to develop a customized résumé,
cover letter and job-search plan.
• The best career development materials (books, CDs, etc.) on the market.
• The best coaches are attracted to us:
• They work intensively with
clients over a very long period.
• They are paid handsomely –
but only for time spent with your
employees.
No one else does that!
S Avoid an emphasis on
space instead of coaching.
Provide a supportive group atmosphere
instead of costly and unnecessary office
space. We spend your money on coaching, the benefit job hunters need most,
rather than on office space.
S Avoid two-day seminars
S Avoid three- and sixPeople feel good during the seminar, but
month outplacement packages have no one to turn to when they need R
They are far inferior to one-year packages, and the cost is the same. A
Columbia University study said those in
three- and six-month programs feel the
pressure to take jobs more quickly, and
are more likely to take the first job offer,
however inappropriate. Those in unlimited programs get better jobs faster and
at higher rates of pay.
R A mix of employed and
unemployed job hunters
It’s a healthier environment to have a
balance of employed, self-referred job
hunters working alongside those who
have packages paid for by their employers. And it’s in the best interests of the
community to make this wonderful
service available to all who need help.
S
Avoid outside investors
Bowing to a Wall Street mentality
means that the firm cannot focus on
what is in the best interests of your former employees.
16
help. Instead, offer everyone a full year
of outplacement services to see them
through their search and any other
issues that may come up during that
time, such as family or health problems.
R A research-based, highimpact methodology
Many firms now claim to have a
“methodology,” although they are teaching the same old techniques but with a
web-based delivery. How effective are
those databases of stale job openings anyway? Why is it a coach in one office
offers them advice that is very different
from the coach in the next office?
Our research-based program:
• Over 25 years of research into who
gets the best jobs and how.
• Powerful assessment process with
private coach:
• 58% decide to change careers
(industries / fields).
• Can try out a new field while
still working with us.
THE FIVE O’CLOCK NEWS / JULY 2012
Immediate engagement
Why let a person suffer or stumble
around doing the wrong things? Instead,
you tell them the bad news—that they
have lost their job—and we immediately
tell them the good news: that you are
providing them with a minimum of one
year of outplacement, that Five O’Clock
Club Members always outperform the
market, and that they will have a coach
who will personally get to know them
and work with them throughout the
year—no matter what happens. Their
private coach will make a courtesy
phone call to them before sundown that
day. We FedEx books, CDs and
other materials that day.
No one else does that!
R Package automatically
extended at no additional cost
A member’s outplacement package can
be extended for any reason. e.g., if a
person takes a consulting assignment or
simply wants to take time off.
If the person loses his or her next
job or simply doesn’t like it, we help
that person find a new one!
No one else does that!
R Make sure you are getting your money’s worth
You get monthly reports with a human
touch on each former employee—not
computer-generated reports. Not only
do we report to you monthly to let you
know how they’re doing, we track them
down and work to get them back on
track if they have fallen behind in their
job search. This is in contrast to the traditional outplacement mentality of
“We’re here if you need us.” No one
else goes after your former employees
to make sure they’re okay.
S Avoid O/P firms that
have more people in sales
than in customer service
We have no sales force. Instead, we have
a customer service team that keeps you
informed and makes sure that your former employees are well taken care of.
No one else does that!
R
Pay the coaches well
We pay our coaches three to four times
more than they would get at any of the
traditional outplacement firms. They get
paid only when they work with your
former employee. So our coaches have
an incentive to want to work with your
employees.
R
Train the coaches well
When hired by a traditional outplacement firm, a coach with 20 years of
experience is up and running the next
day. But because we pay our coaches
well, we can insist that even very seasoned coaches go through our fourmonth certification process to unlearn
what they think they know about career
development and job search and learn
our methodology.
No one else does that!
R The best materials on
the market
Take a look at our materials versus
theirs. Our over 25 years of continual
research is poured into our five basic
books and CDs and other materials
(such as our 110-page bibliography of
research resources for job search and
career development).
In addition, if people want to have
their own businesses, they will get our
own 350-page book, Your Great Business
Idea: The Truth About Making It
Happen, plus coaches who specialize in
entrepreneurship. If people think their
age is an issue, we give them our book,
Achieving the Good Life After 50.
No one else does that!
R Weekly small-group
strategy sessions
Others have tried to imitate our small
group sessions, but without a proven
methodology to follow, they quickly
become didactic sessions on a specific
topic or “action” groups to make sure
job hunters are actively searching.
But are the job hunters doing the
right things? NO! Our job hunters are
relieved when they “master the methodology” and can tell how well (or poorly)
they are doing in their searches.
• They get individual strategic analysis in a group of their peers with a
senior coach.
• It’s a healthy environment: Half of
the attendees are employed!
• They meet with the same small
group every week.
• The process provides accountability,
innovation and camaraderie.
R A guaranteed number of
hours of private coaching
We avoid vague promises of unlimited
coaching with an overworked coach who
is penalized for spending too much private time with a job hunter. We also
avoid having a coach on duty who will
meet with anyone who needs help that
day. Your former employees have a
coach who gets to know them well and
is accessible and responsive to them.
R A website aimed at helping employees and job
hunters rather than one
focused on selling to HR
Take a look at www.fiveoclockclub.com,
and you can see where our emphasis is.
Compare it with any other firm’s website. HR people know that the job
hunter is the “client” for us. HR people
who care about their former employees
want an outplacement firm that also
cares, not one that is focused on selling.
No one else does that!
R
The bottom line
R
It’s your choice
We don’t drop job hunters who are having a difficult search. Instead, we
encourage them to continue with us,
perhaps with a different private coach or
in a new group to get a fresh start—at
no additional charge to you.
Life happens. People have health
problems and family problems. While
our typical job hunter is re-employed far
more quickly than those at traditional
outplacement firms, the real difference is
taking care of those who are having difficult searches and staying with them no
matter what problems they may face.
Ours is a different mentality—
focused on helping our members find
fulfilling jobs, while being keenly aware
of the personal challenges people face in
the wake of losing a job.
Either select a firm that focuses on sales
or one that focuses on service. Whether
you want us to work with 1 or 1,000
displaced employees, ALL of them will
get a level of personalized attention
unrivaled anywhere else. l
Five O’Clock Club
Outplacement
The Thought Leaders
Often imitated—Never successfully
Our Mantra
“We always do what is in the best
interests of the job hunter”
THE FIVE O’CLOCK NEWS / JULY 2012
17
Choose the Five O’Clock Club
for your employees.
— selected by employers who CARE
about the people they have to let go.
The Five O’Clock Club: Developing Great Careers!
“The Five O’Clock Club program is far more effective than conventional outplacement.
Selecting The Five O’Clock Club was one of my best decisions this year.”
SVP, HR, consumer products company
Traditional, SpaceBased Outplacement:
• Beautiful cubicles;
depressing atmosphere.
• Overburdened
coaches. E-learning.
• Vanilla career coach ing methods developed
in the 1970s.
• Program ends when
person lands a job or
consulting assignment
—or even sooner!
• If you don’t use it, no
follow-up to see how
you’re doing.
Virtual Outplacement:
• Web-based assessment.
• Worse than the vanilla
career coaching methods
developed in the 1970s.
• Limited programs and
limited one-on-one career
coaching.
• Primarily e-learning.
• Rely on job postings,
even though only 6% of all
jobs are found through ads
and search firms.
• Average search: 39 weeks
• If you don’t use it, no
follow-up.
Five O’Clock Club Outplacement — for employers who care :
• Minimum of one year of outplacement — even if employee loses next
job, decides to do consulting work for a while, or needs help handling the
political situation in a new job! And we’ll extend the year at no cost to you .
• Assessment, ré sumé, cover letter and job-search plan done with a
private coach, not over the Internet. 58% decide to change careers.
• Coupled with weekly small-group strategy sessions headed by a senior
coach. Same group; same coach. Job hunters get jobs in HALF the time.
• ONLY organization using a research-based methodology. Over 25
years of research. Not vanilla job-search coaching.
• When employees are given a choice, they choose us. Who wouldn’t
choose a one-year package with first-rate and significant career coaching!
• Average search: 16.4 weeks in this economy. 10 to 12 weeks in normal economic times — for professionals, managers and executives.
• Our coaches take a personal interest in every assignment they are given.
And our customer service managers follow up so no one drops away.
The Best Job-Search Materials Anywhere
Finally: a proven methodology based on over 25 years of research that can be
followed for job hunting, changing careers, consulting and freelance. Used by
thousands of members of The Five O’Clock Club — a national career coaching
and outplacement firm.
Why long-term programs?
To earn money, people may take jobs that are inappropriate at first, or land consulting assignments.
We continue to work with them. They may lose
that new job after 6 months or a year, or need
coaching to keep that job. The Five O’Clock Club
will continue to help them at no additional cost.
The Five O’Clock Club’s job-search techniques are covered
in four books and sixteen 40-minute lectures on audio
CDs. Five O’Clock Clubbers are urged to study the books
as if they were in graduate school. Each person gets:
• The set of 4 books
• Lifetime membership, including a subscription to our
monthly magazine, The Five O’Clock News
• A boxed set of 16 lectures (40 minutes each) on audio CDs.
18
THE FIVE O’CLOCK NEWS / JULY 2012
The Today Show, CNN, Larry King, CNBC,
The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune,
National Public Radio, The Wall Street Journal
. . . are just some of the places you’ve seen, heard, and read about us.
We work with an impressive list of publishing, financial service,
law and healthcare organizations, among others. These include
large public companies and over 60 not-for-profits. We work with
single individuals and also handle major downsizings. All downsized employees hear from us within 1/2 hour.
ALL OF OUR PACKAGES INCLUDE
AT LEAST ONE FULL YEAR OF COACHING
Invariably, when employees are given the choice of working
with other outplacement firms or The Five O’Clock Club, they
chose us. This is because we offer first-rate and significant career
coaching for a year, instead of office space or web-based programs.
eight follow-up phone calls to get a meeting (without leaving a
message every time). They know that when they are negotiating
they should first settle on the job, then find out about their competition, get the offer, and then negotiate the compensation. They
know that networking is a process of forming lifelong relationships,
and not a hit and miss process for finding someone who needs to
hire right now. And they know that they must work to get six to
ten concurrent job possibilities in the works — because five will fall
away through no fault of their own.
Much of the success of those who attend The Five O’Clock
Club can be attributed to learning these unusually realistic and
research-based approaches. Five O’Clock Clubbers get jobs in half
the time—a record unheard of in the industry.
Guaranteed private career coaching! (Hours listed below.)
If the employee needs help in the new job or loses the next job, he
or she can come back to us. Or he can try consulting work, put his
time on hold, and continue with us.
We would be happy to describe our services in detail.
Call David Madison, Senior Vice President, at 1-800-538-6645.
Or email: [email protected].
The Five O’Clock Club Headquarters, 300 East 40th Street
New York, NY 10016
www.FiveOClockClub.com
Five O’Clock Club Outplacement Prices
The Five O’Clock Club Job-Search Techniques
— based on over 25 years of research
The Five O’Clock Club job-search techniques upset common
assumptions about job-hunting today. The common myth is that
people get jobs through networking—or through answering ads,
directly contacting companies, or through search firms. Actually,
those are techniques for getting interviews—not jobs, and the distinction is an important one. It means that—contrary to what
most firms teach —a job hunter’s work begins when they get the
interview. It’s a difficult process to turn those interviews into offers ,
but The Five O’Clock Club shows its members how. No other
organization does that.
Or consider how people get meetings: Most people assume that
search firms, ads and networking are the way to go. Yet our mem bers get 31% of their meetings by contacting employers directly.
We show them how to do it.
They know, based on our research, that it takes an average of
Price
Private
Hours
Senior Executives earning over $200,000 / yr
Tailored Program (2-year coaching program & $25,000
--office space, administrative services, etc.)
$20,000
$15,000
Platinum (2-year program)
Premium (15-month program)
$10,000
Standard
$7,500
40+
40
28
18
Executives earning $100,000 to $200,000 / yr
Preferred employees (15-month program)
Premium (most common)
Standard
Bare-bones
$7,500
$5,000
$4,000
$3,000
22
14
9
5
Professionals / managers: under $100,000 / yr
Preferred employees (2-year program)
Long-Term Care (for long-service employees)
Premium (most common)
Bare-bones or clerical
$7,500
$4,000
$3,000
$2,000
28
12
8
3
T H E F I V E O ’ C L O C K N E W S / J U L Y 2 0 1 2 19
“We greatly appreciate the always high quality work that
The Five O’Clock Club does for our former employees.”
THE FIVE O’CLOCK NEWS
The Five O’Clock Club
300 East 40th Street
New York, NY 10016
1-800-538-4495
Email: [email protected]
Head of HR, major not-for-profit
Inside:
•
How to Manage Your Boss
Happy Clinets Write to Us
• How to Survive a Long Search
•
QUOTES TO INSPIRE YOU
Be sure to do your Seven Stories Exercise (available
in the Members Only section of our website):
Tell me a fact, and I will learn.
Tell me a truth, and I will believe.
Tell me a story, and it will live in my heart forever.
Native American Proverb
Let me tell you something you already know. The
world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very
mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your
knees and keep you there permanently if you let it.
You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But
it ain't how hard you hit; it's about how hard you
can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much
you can take, and keep moving forward. That's how
winning is done. Now, if you know what you're
worth, then go out and get what you're worth. But
you gotta be willing to take the hit, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you are because of
him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that
ain't you. You're better than that!
by Sylvester Stallone, author
Rocky Balboa
Never let your head hang down. Never give up
and sit down and grieve. Find another way.
And don't pray when it rains if you don't pray
when the sun shines.
Richard M Nixon
The Job-Search Buddy System
D
o you wish you had someone
to talk to—fairly often and
informally—about the little
things? “Here’s what I’m planning to do
today in my search? What are you planning to do? Let’s talk tomorrow to make
sure we’ve done it.” You and your jobsearch buddy could keep each other
positive and on track, and encourage
each other to do what you told your
small group you were going to do:
Make that call, send out those letters,
write that follow-up proposal, focus on
the most important things that should
be done—rather than (for example)
spending endless hours responding to
job postings on the Web.
With your buddy, practice your
Two-Minute Pitch, get ready for interviews, bounce ideas off each other. Some
job-search buddies talk every day. Some
talk a few times a week. Most of the
conversation is by phone and email.
Sometimes, people match themselves up as buddies. Just pick someone you get along with in your small
group. Sometimes, your coach can
match you up. However you do it,
Life is like playing a violin solo in public and
learning the instrument as one goes on.
Samuel Butler
There's nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter
and open a vein.
Walter ("Red") Smith, in Reader's Digest, July 1982
There is no doubt that it is around the family and the home that
all the greatest virtues, the most dominating virtues of human society, are created, strengthened and maintained.
Winston Churchill
stay away
from negative
people who
talk about
how bad it is
out there.
They will
drag you
down.
The small group changes over
time: people get jobs; new people
come in. If you lose one buddy who
got a job, get another buddy.
Your buddy does not have to be
in your field or industry. In fact, being
in the same field or industry could
keep you focused on the industry
rather than on the process. But you do
have to get along! The relationship
may last only a month or two, or go
on for years. Some buddies become
friends.
Of course, you should see your
Five O’Clock Club career coach privately for résumé review, target development, salary negotiation, and job
interview follow-up. It’s usually best
to get professional coaching advice
for these areas. l
“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.
“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times.
But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to
do with the time that is given us.”
J.R.R. Tolkien (The Fellowship of the Ring)
If you want to identify me, ask me not where I live, or what I like
to eat, or how I comb my hair, but ask me what I am living for,
in detail, and ask me what I think is keeping me from living fully
for the thing I want to live for.
Thomas Merton, writer and Trappist monk