When Asking Questions in the Workplace Is the Right Thing to Do

Asking appropriate questions in the workplace is something that comes naturally to some people and to many others it is difficult to do. If you are in the second group, one reason may be that you’re worried you may look stupid. That fear can be overwhelming – and can actually get you into hot water if you don’t ask a question when you should.

Let’s say you’re an intern at a company and you are asked to assemble a huge written report with lots of numbered exhibits. You’re not sure whether the numbered exhibits should be inserted into the report where they are referenced, or whether all the numbered exhibits should be placed at the end of the report.

You MISTAKENLY assume that which way to do this is so obvious that you’ll look stupid if you ask. So you don’t ask. And you put the numbered exhibits interspersed throughout the report. Then you bring your report to your boss – who is annoyed because you’ll have to take the time now to remove all those numbered exhibits and put them at the end of the report.

Yes, the boss didn’t tell you. But she may have forgotten that interns don’t know standard company policy. Which is why you should have asked. Instead of being annoyed at being asked, your boss might have replied: “Thanks for asking. I’d forgotten you don’t yet know our company policy. What we do is ………”

I’ve talked before in this blog about NOT opening your mouth at work when it’s not appropriate to do so. Now I’m saying that you MUST open your mouth at work to ask questions when you are unsure what to do.

Of course, ask in a polite way. And don’t interrupt your boss in the middle of a conversation with someone else in order to ask your question. Stand patiently to one side while waiting. If your boss is a good manager, she’ll take the hint and ask if you have a question.

Oh, yes, and do NOT say “no problem” after your boss tells you which way to do the report. Instead say thank you – a little thanks goes a long way.

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Flipping Burgers and Beyond, work etiquette, intern etiquette, jobs, job, careers, career, internships, internship, intern, employment, etiquette

Fixed Mind: Saying No to Yourself Before You Ever Start

I’m a huge fan of the book MINDSET: THE NEW PSYCHOLOGY OF SUCCESS by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D.

According to Dweck, a person with a growth mindset eagerly tackles new experiences even if that person knows he/she may not at first be successful. A growth-mindset person understands that what’s important is the learning that takes place in trying new experiences. It’s not a question of how smart or how stupid someone is. It’s a matter of willingness to learn new things even at the risk of failing.

In my own life I extend this concept to business. Although I know a great deal about marketing, I can learn new ideas from almost anyone. Therefore, I’m always open to suggestions and recommendations. And if at first a suggestion doesn’t seem to fit my personal brand or my project, I’ll consider how that suggestion could be changed in some way to fit my personal brand or project.

In my treadmill-for-two exercising at the local gym, my business partner and I frequently take ideas and push them and pull them into different shapes before finding the shape that best fits our needs. This is classic brainstorming.

And it is important for teens, young people, and people much farther along in their careers to have a growth-mindset in order to be open to suggestions from others. Obviously, each suggestion has to be evaluated on its own merits. Yet there’s often a kernel of a good idea even in an idea that seems way out there. That’s where the classic brainstorming with friends, family, teachers or mentors comes in – so you can uncover that kernel and then nurture it in new directions

I encountered a particular version of a fixed mindset a few months ago. That time I totally missed the signals that the person wanted her writing validated rather than being open to suggestions in improving her writing – the ostensible reason for which she contacted me.

Moral of this post? Two points: First, a growth-mindset is a wonderful life asset. If you don’t have it, read Carol Dweck’s book in order to start opening your mind. Two, when dealing with people who have asked a specific question of you, make sure that they really want an answer rather than simply validation of their own opinion. You will be saved aggravation if you learn to spot early on the people who simply want validation.

And, of course, if that person is your boss, the question of validating someone else’s opinion takes on a wholly different meaning. We’ll leave that subject for another post.

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Carol S. Dweck, Flipping Burgers and Beyond, Mindset

Facebook Photo Part II – Choosing a Profile Photo

Have you ever been frustrated on Facebook when you want to see what a male teen looks like – and his profile picture is of three teen guys? Which one is he? Or a female teen trio that gives you no clue as to which one of these three teens is the profile page bio about?

In my June 6^th post I talked about NOT using an idiotic photo as your profile picture because Facebook is becoming more and more a business site. (See http://flippingburgersandbeyond.blogspot.com/2008/06/facebook-warning-beware-of-profile.html)

On the flip side, a head shot just of you (so your face is big enough to be seen and so we know this is you) should be used for the profile picture. Then pictures of you with friends can be included in your photo section.

And which head shot you choose should be given consideration. I personally feel that, for a teen male -- even one in college, a formal head shot in a suit is too stiff for a Facebook profile picture. My opinion is that the picture should be a good head shot with a nice shirt (no tie). And for a teen female, a nice top that is NOT too low is a good choice.

If the head shot appears so dark on Facebook that no one can see your features, use a different photo. A photo of a face that can’t be clearly seen isn’t any better than no photo at all.

With even cell phones taking pictures these days, you should be able to snap enough shots to find one good profile picture for your Facebook page. Remember that your Facebook page can be your business/career card to the world.

Extra tip: Of course as you grow older you’ll change your photo. Yet, at any one time on the internet, it’s preferable to use the same profile photo across all social media platforms of which you are a member in order to promote the good will generated by the recognition factor.

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Facebook, social media platforms, Flipping Burgers and Beyond

Summer 2008 Gloomy Job Market = Opportunity for Teens to Follow Their Passion

The economic situation this summer offers a terrific opportunity for teens to follow their passion. First, the situation:

In Harvey Mackay’s June 19^th email column, he reported an economic statement about summer teen employment from The New York Times:

“The job market of 2008 is shaping up as the weakest in more than half a century for teenagers looking for summer work. Little more than one-third of the 16- to 19-year-olds in the United States are likely to be employed this summer, the smallest share since the government began tracking teenage work in 1948."

Second, the opportunities:

• Teens whose parents wanted them to get a full-time paying job as a “rite of passage” – for example, at Starbucks or Wal-Mart – can point to the economic situation as a reason to use this summer instead to further their passion.

• Teens who wanted an unpaid internship this summer and haven’t found one yet have more “ammunition” to convince an employer that an unpaid intern can help fill the gap in a company where budget cuts have eliminated job positions.

Now it’s up to the teens to make lemonade out of lemons. And that means brainstorming to think of “outside the box” ways to pursue passions. For example, for a teen who is considering a career as a veterinarian: Why not see if a local vet needs a free extra pair of hands? This is a terrific way to learn whether you can really put up with all those animals all day long. Better to find this out before you apply to veterinarian school.

Or a teen who is interested in architecture can ask to tag along for the summer with an architect working on a major building project. Up close and personal is the best way to find out what headaches an architect deals with – clients, builders, garbage removal, etc. – and what negotiating skills are needed to navigate this maze of frequently conflicting objectives.

Or let’s consider artistic fields. You want to be a painter and your parents are convinced in such a path you’ll starve. See if you can spend the summer being the unpaid assistant to a currently successful painter. During the time you spend with the painter, you should have ample opportunity to talk about the obstacles the painter faced before becoming successful.

And consider volunteering for an organization that does good works. Even though this may not be in a possible career field, you can learn a great deal by watching the dynamics of an organization. Even when you’re making the coffee, keep your eyes and ears open to learn as much as possible.

Make the summer of 2008 the summer you followed your passion. Hopefully you will learn a great deal about pursuing a current passion as a possible career path. And, if nothing else, you should have good material for writing application essays for college or grad school.

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Flipping Burgers and Beyond, Harvey Mackay, teens, summer jobs, The New York Times

Parental Responsibility for Teens Over Age 18?

Today on the website www.communati.com a parent posted a very well-written blog (http://communati.com/jellen) asking about parental responsibilities for a teen under and over age 18. Here’s a small part of that post:

Does age 18 make my daughter an adult or just a legal one? Do I parent her as an adult or a dependent child? Do I require of her to dress with modesty because she is still in our home, or do I let her dress as she wills because she is an adult?

And here’s the comment I left on her post – addressing only a part of what she wrote:

I have a different take than many parents. I believe that high school does NOT prepare a teen for the adult world. There are so many, many things that are NOT taught. And these can range from things such as the difference between a savings account and a Certificate of Deposit to major subjects such as what happens to your credit standing if you don't pay your rent on time. I think it is the parent's responsibility (regardless of whether the child is past age 16 or 18) to continue providing real-world advice.

What I think is most lacking in young people's preparation for life is someone who works alongside of the teen to prepare him/her for adult life in the working world. For example, teens do NOT understand without help that dressing incorrectly can hurt their image – even when applying to a job such as a barista at Starbucks.

What I think you need is to find a mentor for your daughter who is not you so there are no mother-daughter issues to get in the way. This can be an actual person or an online person. As an example, I met with a high school junior two years ago and I was very upset that a kid who had so much going for him did not seem to "get" what he needed to do. A month ago – two years later – he emailed me out of the blue to tell me how he has been following my advice.

(See my blog entry http://flippingburgersandbeyond.blogspot.com)

I strongly urge you to find someone who can work with your daughter. (Not necessarily for pay.) This could be a career counselor at her community college or a former teacher who your daughter liked. It is so important though difficult for teens to understand that what they do now can affect the rest of their lives. And as parents we want to help make those lives as happy and productive as possible.

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Communati.com, teens, parental responsibility, Flipping Burgers and Beyond

Internet Brave New World: “Final” Frontier for Business/Careers

Twitter, Twhirl, Flock, Plurk – No, I’m not talking in Klingon. I’m naming a few of the new social media applications available on the web. And if you’re young – say a business major in college – you want to learn about these applications sooner than later. Why? Because this new frontier will be your world.

A great place to start learning is to go to http://www.ustream.tv/channel/blogcatalog and listen to the two free webinars sponsored by BlogCatalog.com featuring social media consultant Erica O’Grady. I listened to these two programs live and learned a tremendous amount of info. (I typed notes while listening.)

The next free webinar with Erica O’Grady is June 30. Get online a few minutes before so you can sign up for a free ustream membership. That way, when you type in your comments during the webinar your username will show up instead of something such as ustream 2789.

Of course, you can visit the new social media sites directly. Yet with Twitter, for example, I needed to learn more about it before I could even begin to get the benefits from sending tweets. (Actually, I usually send updates through Ping.fm on my Facebook account, which updates Twitter and several other of my social media sites.)

A great place to watch short free videos that explain such things as RSS feeds and social bookmarking sites is www.commoncraft.com. And if the free info you find on such sites doesn’t do it for you, check out the special reports section of www.publicityhound.com. Publicity Hound Joan Stewart has short inexpensive reports that make things really clear. I particularly like her special report on Twitter.

As opposed to me – who is trying to become a princess (queen would be expecting too much) of internet marketing in a very short period of time – if you’re young you can take time to learn about all the new online possibilities for business and career success.

Oh, yes, if you join Twitter (free), follow me at http://twitter.com/ZimblerMiller. And you can even send me a direct message by putting @ZimblerMiller in the What are you doing box on the home page.

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Twitter, Twhirl, Flock, Plurk, BlogCatalog.com, Commoncraft.com, PublicityHound.com, ustream.tv, Erica O’Grady, Ping.fm, Facebook, Joan Stewart

5 Ways to Avoid Embarrassment on the Web

Some of you who have been following my posts will think that I harp endlessly on this subject of avoiding embarrassment on the web. You may be right. But here’s the thing:

When a federal judge of the Ninth Circuit – reported in the June 13th Wall Street Journal to be “considered a brilliant jurist” – is forced to acknowledge that “he posted sexually explicit images to a personal website,” it can’t hurt to say this another time:

NEVER, EVER POST ANYTHING TO THE INTERNET THAT COULD BE DAMAGING TO YOU OR YOUR REPUTATION – NO MATTER HOW “PRIVATE” YOU THINK THE POSTING IS.

According to the Journal, the judge “thought the material was private, though he acknowledged sharing some with friends.” What part of “brilliant” was this stupidity?

Here are the 5+ ways to avoid embarrassment on the web:

• Facebook: Never post anything here that could damage your reputation.

• MySpace: Never post anything here that could damage your reputation.

• Twitter: Never post anything here that could damage your reputation.

• Bebo: Never post anything here that could damage your reputation.

• YouTube: Never post anything here that could damage your reputation.

• +: Never post anything ANYWHERE that could damage your reputation.

Now are we all on the same page?

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Judge Kozinski, Ninth Circuit, Flipping Burgers and Beyond