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Positive Talk
 If I asked what lays eggs, what would your answer be? I suspect that your answer would be the same one I get from my seminar audiences—a hen. However, the Russian sturgeon lays 10,000 eggs at a time and the hen lays one or maybe two. Why then do we not recognize the sturgeon for her efforts over the hen? The reason is promotion. The sturgeon swims quietly away after the act and the hen struts and clucks all over the barn yard saying, in effect, “Look what I did.” How do people in your organization see you? Are you the unnoticed sturgeon or the highly prized hen? Do you actively promote yourself? We spend more time on our jobs than we do on any other single item in our lives, yet most of us have no specific plan for moving up in our organization. It doesn’t take much to distinguish yourself from those around you, but it does require that you take control of your career path and manage it so that you achieve maximum results. This week’s column and a follow-up next week will help with some suggestions. Here are some things that experts in career management suggest you do:
1. Take active responsibility for your career. If you see a position or job opening for which you feel you are qualified, don’t hesitate to let management know you are qualified and that you want the job.
2. Make sure you have a current resume available at all times. Having a resume doesn’t mean you are thinking about leaving the organization. It can be a handy tool to let supervisors who do not know you well see your qualifications.
3. Take part in the writing of your job description. Over a period of time, most of us pick up additional duties that were not originally placed in our job description. These duties taken individually may not be grounds for a raise or promotion, but collectively they may be just that. Be sure that you keep a log of what you are doing, and the time required to do it, so you can make a logical presentation when you request that your job description be expanded.
4. Be sure your boss knows what you are doing. Prepare a regular report outlining your accomplishments for the week or month, whichever is appropriate, and submit it for his or her information/review. This allows you to showcase those things that went well and counterbalance the things that did not.
5. It doesn’t matter what others say or do, dress for the position you want. John T. Malloy proved that dress makes a difference. People will treat you differently if you are dressed as a laborer than if you are dressed as a manager. I like the comment that Mark Twain made: “Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.”
6. Always try to prove your value to the organization. Wherever and whenever possible, impact the bottom line by either saving money or generating income. In either instance, make sure that those you work for know the value of your service.
In next week’s column, I will give you a few more suggestions about how to enhance your career by standing out from the herd.
Bill Hodges Hosts “Spotlight on Tampa Bay
Bill Hodges also hosts an interview-format television program, “Spotlight On Tampa Bay.” It airs Mondays at 8 p.m., Bright House cable channel 950 and Verizon cable channel 30. His guests for October 20 and November 3 will be Florida State House Representative Ed Homan, MD from District 60. He is an Orthopedic Surgeon and a professor at USF medical school. Among his assignments in the legislature is sitting on the Committee on Health Innovation. This program will be repeated on October 22 and November 5 at 7:30 p.m. on channel 949.
Appearing on Monday, October 27, is Florida Senate District 12 Senator Victor Crist. Senator Crist will, among other things, give us his thoughts on subjects covered by the committees on which he serves such as the powerful Rules committee. The program will be repeated on Wednesday, October 29, at 7:30 p.m. on channel 949.
Bright House subscribers who cannot get the higher channels can get—at no installation fee and a monthly $1 fee—a box to allow access to the upper level government and educational channels. Call Bright House for rental details. If you are unhappy about paying extra to see your government in action, complain to your state representatives and the Hillsborough BOCC which have either caused this situation or been complicit in allowing it to continue.
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Bill Hodges is a nationally recognized speaker, trainer, and
syndicated columnist. Hodges may be reached at Hodges Seminars
International, P.O. Box 89033, Tampa, FL 33689-0400. Phone 813/641-0816.
Web site: http://www.BillHodges.com
Copyright 2008 Hodges Seminars International
© Copyright 2008 by The
Observer
News Publications and M&M Printing Company, Inc.
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