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Follow this blog, beginning 12 days into homelessness. He sought out the Salvation Army and is sharing his daily story in his attempt to rise from homelessness. This isn’t just any man. This is my cousin an extremely talented artist, voice personality, and actor with no drug or alcohol addiction. If you like reality tv, try this reality blog, hopefully finishing with a rise up from homelessness. 

I will share his blog on twitter @lesahammond.

Avoiding conversations instead of addressing poor job performance is a bad idea.

Here are a few:

1. work in 90 minute cycles / A week off every 6 weeks
2. Focus on the relationships and the money takes care of itself
3. focus on value vs. cost (ROI)
4. you must realize that sales are insanity
5. perform like you are world class before you are world class

Now, watch the video if you are an entrepreneur or if you work in a company and are an intrapreneur.

A good article for managers.

QUESTION: I recently returned from maternity leave and my boss said that the Temporary handling my job did a better job than I do. So he hired the temporary employee. I was in a professional position and while he did not demote me (monetarily) he put me in a clerical position where I am mainly filing.

I know I am over paid for the job I am doing now and I feel like my job is in jeopardy since I’m being over paid for the position. I know they have to hold my job or a comparable job. Is this job really a comparable job since I’m working in a lower position but getting paid the same as I did? By the way, the company I work for is a very large Fortune 500 company. Thanks for your help.

RESPONSE: You have every right to be concerned. It doesn’t sound like the job you are doing now is comparable, but without knowing the details it is hard for me to make that assessment. Assuming you have been employed long enough to qualify under FMLA, whether what your boss did is technically legal is questionable and from what you are saying, it is doubtful.

I recommend that you write a letter to your boss explaining that you would like a meeting with him/her to discuss your position. Briefly state your concerns in your letter including that you feel there might be a violation of your FMLA rights. Since you in a large company, ask that a member of the human resources department attend the meeting. Explainthat you are concerned that the temporary employee hired to replace you was given your job, while in fact she/he was supposed to be in place to hold your job.  Include your feeling that the job you were placed in after your maternity leave is not a comparable position you held even though you have not received a reduction in pay and that you no only question how long the company can justify paying you above the normal salary for that position, but that you are concerned that your boss is just waiting what he might consider a reasonable amount of time to terminate your employment. 

Have a copy of the letter go to your manager, Human Resources and your Human Resources file. Keep a copy for yourself and ask that HR acknowledge receipt of their copy. When you have your meeting, state your concerns clearly and concisely. It might also be important to ask your manager what qualities the person who was hired to replace you has that you are missing and state that you are certainly open to feedback on improving your performance.

For more information go to the U.S. Department of Labor website: http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/.

Amy Champ, our September 2011 Role Model of the Month, lives an amazing life. Growing up poor and in a home with alcoholism and addiction inspired her to be independent and explore…

QUESTION: I’m an educator and with the credentials. It is time for me to reinvent myself. I have a Masters in Public Administration/post graduate work totaling another Masters in School Administration. I also have close to ten years of teaching experience (two which were supervisory) I’m pursuing an assistant principal or principal position.

My challenges are:
1-Employers being afraid to hire me because of my background. (If we hire her is she going to stay)

2-Being overqualified is something I never thought would happen to me.

Do you have any tips or strategies to combat being overqualified (when looking for professional positions)?

ANSWER: Maybe I am confused, but it neither sounds like you are reinventing yourself nor are you overqualified. It sounds like you are moving to the next level in your career. Many, in fact most educators, have at least a few years of teaching experience before going into administration and all have at least a Master’s degree with many having a PhD.

I’m not sure if you have just assumed you are overqualified or if you have been given that feedback by people who should know what they are talking about. If you have been given that feedback, I find that “overqualified” is sometimes code for something else. Off the top of my head, I can think of three reasons you might be told you are overqualified:

(1) If you have moved from school to school, and particularly if you have moved to multiple school districts, that could certainly be a problem indicating instability that would make potential employers wonder if you are going to stay.

(2) “Overqualified” might indicate is that you are too old to become a beginning administrator. If you are over 50 years old and particularly if you look it (none of us thinks we do), “overqualified” might simply be code for OLD. Yes, age discrimination is illegal, but in this case it’s hard to prove and virtually impossible to fight?

(3) If you are presenting yourself in interviews as if you think you are the only person who has your credentials and as if you think you are overqualified or “reinventing” yourself when you are in fact,qualified and taking the next logical step in your career, you might be turning the interviewers off. They may be mocking you when they suggest you might be “overqualified.”

Regardless of the issue, you can become an assistant principal or principal. You just need to find the right place to give you a chance. You might need to take a position a bit further from home than you had hoped. If part of the problem is that you have moved around a lot, you want to start establishing a pattern of stability; and have a good answer for why you have moved so much. When taking the next big leap in any career, it is good to get advice from people who are already in the position you want. In this economy it might take a bit longer, so have a plan and give yourself time. Take on leadership positions within the job you are in while you keep your eyes and ears open for the right opportunity.

Amy Champ, our September 2011 Role Model of the Month, lives an amazing life. Growing up poor and in a home with alcoholism and addiction inspired her to be independent and explore the world and her interests. Her story will inspire you.

Are you getting any work done at the office?

Jason Fried has a radical theory of working: that the office isn’t a good place to do it. At TEDxMidwest, he lays out the main problems (call them the M&Ms) and offers three suggestions to make work work.

QUESTION: I was in the military from 1999 to the end of 2004 (dec.24 2004), but I was in between jobs and unemployed from Jan. 2005 - Mar. 2006. I haven’t been putting my military experience on my resume because it’s beyond the 7 year mark, plus it’s not enough room to put it on my resume unless I add a second page. I heard that a lot of recruiters will not look at your resume unless it’s one page, so please help me come to a conclusion.

RESPONSE: Resumes a are very subjective thing. The trends regarding resume writing change with time. There are some recruiters who don’t like resumes that are more than a page, but most consider the information on the resume rather than its length. My philosophy is that you put pertinent information on your resume. If your experience in the military relates to the type of job you are seeking definitely put it on your resume. If your experience doesn’t relate to the type of job you are seeking you could simply put the 1999 – 2004 U.S. Military and the branch. Good luck in your job search.

A great Ted Talk on how we listen and ways to listen better. by: Julian Treasure

QUESTION:  I’ve been working with my company for nearly a year in an administrative role. Another co-worker started about the same time that I did in a “on the job training” managerial role. He is not my immediate supervisor. I do not have to report to him for any reason. I know that it has been said that office romances are a no-no but in my case it never really got as far as romance; the first date never really happened. He basically stood me up without explanation or apology. He stopped talking to me altogether.

He was later sent away for 6 weeks and returned with a nicer attitude. I later decided that I wouldn’t pursue anything with him (romantic) because of his Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde routine. We later became better friends and co-workers so I thought. Until, I discovered that I didn’t like him as a friend either. He was an ex-NFL player and college football star and I just couldn’t “worship” him anymore. So, I restricted our conversations to work and work only.

I was still polite but I just wasn’t personal. He, on the other hand, became very rude. Hanging the phone up on me, putting his hand in my face when he didn’t want to deal with whatever I needed him to address, and speaking down to me (using a harsh tone or words). I reported this to our boss and after that it actually got worse for a few days rather than better.

Now, I can hardly stand the sight of him. He doesn’t work. He spends most of the day on personal phone calls. If I ask him to address an issue, he is very rude and crude. So, I’ve began emailing him request or concerns and copying our boss on each one. He replies with emails that suggest that I don’t know what I’m doing or condescending tone, if he replies at all. I’ve heard him give the wrong information to our customers and have later gone to him in private about it. Needless to say, it wasn’t received well. I am thoroughly sick of him.

Even more sickening is the fact that his ex-football status lets him get away with everything! It is even helping him advance in the company, which seems so unfair. What is your best suggestion for dealing with this guy? In addition, he gets these personal phone calls in which numerous people in our office have answered. The caller can be VERY rude and I’ve already spoke to him once about it. He said that he would take care of it but nothing has changed in a year’s time. I honestly can’t express to you how much I can’t stand this man and the fact that I work so hard and my work is hardly being noticed. I almost feel like I need a glamorous past to make headway in this company. Let me know what you think and thanks for the advice. Co-worker woes

RESPONSE:  Even though office romances happen — after all we spend approximately 40% of our waking hours at work and therefore work a significant social ground — office romances are laiden with problems. When one person is interested and the other is not or when the relationship eventually goes awry, someone is bound to get hurt and many people do not handle it well. A relationship gone bad can turn a normally mature and sane person into a raving maniac. That generally does not work well in the office.

You could file a harassment complaint against this man, however that would not be my advice. If he is not doing anything other than being rude, it is best for you to act professionally. Your question leads me to believe you are a little bitter. Your best bet is to be extremely professional and polite. Don’t waste your time worrying about the information he is giving others, who he is talking to on the telephone, and whether or not he is doing his job; leave that to his manager.

Your focus should simply be on your job and doing the best job you can possibly  do. If he is incompetent, allow him to show his own incompetence without your help.

QUESTION:  How often can I request to see what is in my personnel folder? And what should I do if things are missing in my file such as commendations and awards? 

RESPONSE:  You do have a right to review your personnel file and your company has an obligation to make it available for you. However, most companies (smart ones anyway) create some policy around reviewing your employee file. You should look at your employee handbook or ask for the policy. There are generally limits on how often you can request to review the file. You might imagine how annoying it would be if everyone wanted to review their file weekly? Usually Human Resources (HR) will ask that you make an appointment to review your file. This is because there should be a representative present while you are looking at the file to make sure you don’t remove or change anything while reviewing it – not that you aren’t trusted, it’s just sound HR practice.

If you see commendations or awards missing you, can make copies of them and request that they be added to your file. In fact, you can always request that things be added to your file. If the commendations aren’t there, don’t read too much into the omission. Each company puts different things in personnel files. Some just stick with the legally required paperwork, while others put every little piece of paper that crosses their desk with your name on it in the personnel file. Whatever you do, even if your company doesn’t have a policy about how often you can look at your file, please spare the people in Human Resources and don’t request to review it more than twice a year; otherwise, you will make a nuisance of yourself and appear to be paranoid.