Tips for Summer

THE BIZ OF SUMMER

Here are ways to make beach season as beneficial as it is relaxing

Sunday, May 25, 2008

CAREER COACHING

Most people think summer is a time to put your career on hold and enjoy the warm weather. That is a big mistake. Summer provides a chance to move your career forward while your colleagues are sunning themselves on the beach. Here's how you can use this time to get a leg up on your career:

Demonstrate that you can do more. Offer to pick up additional responsibilities while people are on vacation to showcase skills your current position doesn't require. Your boss will appreciate your pitching in to help. If you are strategic in what you offer to do, it can lay the foundation for a future promotion.

Take advantage of things being a little slower around the office and use the time to learn new skills. Register for a course at a local university. Taking a summer class is also a great way to meet new people and expand your network. It may even help your social life.

Summer is not all about work, though. Everyone needs time away to relax. But while you are flying to your vacation destination or relaxing on the beach, try picking up a business book that will help you become more successful.

-- Lee E. Miller

BEACH BOOKS

Recommended by Ralph Izzo, chief executive of Public Service Enterprise Group:

"Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't," by Jim Collins ($27.50)

"This book illustrates the need to look past the next quarter and take the long-term view in order to achieve sustainable excellence."

Recommended by Tom Szaky, founder and CEO of Trenton-based TerraCycle, which makes organic liquid plant food and packages it in recycled soda bottles:

"Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things," by William McDonough and Michael Braungart ($27.50)

"This book is my inspiration. It shows how industry and commerce are at odds with the environment only because innovation slowed after the Industrial Revolution, and that with more thoughtful design, business can be more profitable and more eco-friendly at the same time."

Recommended by MaryLou Barreiro, Wells Fargo regional market president for New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania:

"How to Become a Rainmaker: The Rules for Getting and Keeping Customers and Clients," by Jeffrey Fox ($16.95)

"This is both an enjoyable read and filled with insights. His point is that to be successful, you need to understand the customer's value system."

-- Beth Fitzgerald

MUST-HAVE GADGETS

Item: Sony Digital Noise Canceling Headphones

Price: $399.99

Website: sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&productId=8198552921665348955

You need to focus. You need to think. And with all of the world's distractions, sometimes you need assistance. That's the idea behind these noise-canceling headphones, which will let you listen to industry podcasts, instructional videos or your favorite bands -- all while focusing on the task at hand and tuning out the noise from jet engines and nearby cubicles.

Item: Nuvi 200

Price: $219.99

Website: garmin.com/products/nuvi200

Here's a GPS unit you can drop in your backpack or pocket, making it easy to take with you when you're on a business trip and looking to explore an unfamiliar city (or just avoid getting lost). Not only that, the Nuvi 200 comes with other handy tools, such as a world travel clock and currency converter.

Item: WiFi Signal Locator

Price: $29.99

Website: mobileedge.com/items_accessories.asp?cid=7&scid=7&pid=24

Maybe you don't want to work during your vacation, but you've got no choice. And you've got a problem -- you need to track down a WiFi web connection. The keychain-sized WiFi Signal Locator will help you do just that. With its LED indicators, it will find the sweet spot for hot spots in cities, airports and elsewhere.

-- Allan Hoffman

RAINY-DAY MOVIES

Recommended by Annette Catino, chief executive of Piscataway-based QualCare, which provides managed health-care plans to employers:

"Erin Brockovich" (2000, starring Julia Roberts)

"I like this movie because the character Erin Brockovich wins by doing what is right. She has a lot of passion and she sticks by her guns."

Recommended by Bud Mayo, founder of Clearview Cinemas and CEO of Access IT of Morristown, which is converting movie theaters to digital film technology:

"Broadcast News" (1987, starring Holly Hunter, William Hurt and Albert Brooks)

"It combined comedy with reality, and it was the first major movie I played in the very first Clearview Cinema."

Recommended by Marge Perry, founder of MZM Construction, a Newark-based construction company:

"The Pursuit of Happyness" (2006, starring Will Smith)

"This is a true story of a man who, while he was living in a homeless shelter with his son, made it through a stock broker training program and went on to become one of the wealthiest men on Wall Street. The message is that business won't guarantee you success, but it will guarantee you a journey."

-- Beth Fitzgerald

Career Advice For Recent Graduates

Sunday, May 18, 2008

When Anne Bergen-Taylor was hired at an internet company in the 1990s, her boss told her: "Everyone here has an agenda for what they want you to do. You need to follow my agenda." And that is exactly what she did. As a result, Bergen-Taylor, now the director human resources at DeVry University in North Brunswick, neglected to build relationships with her peers and with people in other departments. So, when her boss was let go, she soon followed. It was an important lesson for her. It is not enough just to keep your boss happy; you need to find the time to build relationships with others throughout the organization. Your future success depends on their help and support.

Like Bergen-Taylor, new graduates frequently make mistakes that hurt their careers. While it is good to learn from your mistakes, it is even better if you can learn from others. Here are some tips to help make the transition from school to work a little smoother:

Technology is no substitute for spending time with people. Technology plays a critical role in today's workplace, and recent graduates are generally comfortable using that technology. However, technology can never replace face-to face interactions with others in the organization. Learn to be equally at ease speaking and contributing at meetings. Management makes Judgments about your leadership potential based on how you present yourself when you are in their presence.

Jake Greene, the twentysomething author of "Whoa, My Boss Is Naked, A Career Book for People Who Would Never Be Caught Dead Reading a Career Book: " says his contemporaries are often reticent to speak up at meetings, yet are very comfortable sharing their thoughts via e-mail and instant messaging. This leads to what he calls a "professional split personality" -- assertive and confident online, but shy in person. Hiding behind your computer won't help you advance. "Boomers need personal contact. If you need a keyboard to communicate, that will be a detriment to your career."

Develop interests and friends outside of work. In addition to building and nurturing a network within your organization, seek out and maintain a diverse set of friends outside of work. Too often, people trap themselves within their organization and their industry. That is career limiting. You never know where the next great opportunity will present itself or what information will prove critical to your future success.

Greene describes this as "having a Danny Ocean mentality," from the character George Clooney plays in "Ocean's Eleven." In the same way Danny Ocean has a multitude of diverse friends whose talents he can call upon when he needs to do a job, you, too, should build friendships with talented and interesting people in all walks of life.

Many people seek out friendships strictly based on their perceived career utility. Because people recognize what you are doing, that is often counterproductive. Keep in touch with individuals because you are genuinely interested in them, not only when you need something. Help them even when there is nothing immediately in it for you. That way, they will be more likely to think of helping you anytime an appropriate opportunity arises without your even having to ask.

Take responsibility for your own career. Nicholas Aretakis, a former vice president of worldwide sales for GlobeSpan in Red Bank and author of "No More Ramen," offers the following advice: "Be patient, but don't just wait for something to happen; make it happen." Too often, young people find the first job they accepted isn't exactly the job they thought it would be, so they leave and look for another job.

This cycle can repeat itself until it ultimately begins to negatively affect an individual's career. Rather than change jobs, a better response might be to seek out additional responsibilities in areas where you have an interest and can add value. In that way, you create the job you want.
Never stop learning What you are doing today can quickly become obsolete. Employers are always looking for individuals who are adaptable, and they frequently hire and promote people not because they can do every aspect of a new job, but rather because they are convinced the individual can learn whatever he or she needs to learn in order to do the job. So, take advantage of any training opportunities your organization offers. Continuously seek out learning opportunities.

Volunteer for assignments where you will develop new skills. Take courses at local universities and online. Constantly seek to develop yourself. Keeping up with trends in your field and continuous learning not only will keep you marketable, but also will advance your career.

All advice is not equal. Leon Fraser, a lecturer at the Rutgers Business School in Newark, offers one final piece of advice to new graduates -- be careful where you get advice from.

"Everyone offers advice to new graduates -- your aunts, your uncles, your parent's friends and even your friends who graduated just a few years ahead of you. Make sure the advice you take is not only good advice, but applicable to your specific situation."

A veteran human resources executive, Lee E. Miller is the author of "UP: Influence Power and the U Perspective -- The Art of Getting What You Want," and the co-founder of YourCareerDoctors.com, a website devoted to career success. Mail questions to Lee@YourCareerDoctors.com.