10 Tips: Managing The Year Of Diminished Career Expectations

Posted by • October 25th, 2011 • 1,202 Comments

There are lots of people writing about how to do resumes or manage a job search, but not too many who are willing to admit there’s an elephant in the living room. But there is, and I’m going to give you a few tips on how to deal with it.

The elephant is your job – the one you’re in and want out of, or the job you’re considering taking to get away from the one you have. Chances are it’s not the job you want, or the one you trained for or think you deserve. It pays the bills, but it doesn’t get you excited. It doesn’t use all your skills. The workplace culture or environment leaves something to be desired. Maybe the commute is killing you and the person in the next cube eats sardines every day for lunch. Maybe you don’t even have a cube.

Welcome to the new job reality: diminished expectations.

We all want a great job but until the economy turns around, a good-enough job will have to do. But no one can afford to treat a job as though it’s just ‘good enough.’ To survive – both in the job and in your head – you’ll have to bring your A game every day. Even if it is a B- job.

Here are some tips for managing in a time of diminished expectations:

  • Use positive affirmations to get yourself through the day. This sounds hippy-dippy but it works. Think positively. Tell yourself a positive story about your job, and it will be survivable.
  • Teach yourself one new skill a month. If you’re not challenged intellectually you probably have spare cycles. Study statistical analysis – it will come in handy when making charts, and it also requires analytical thinking. Teach yourself Excel or Powerpoint – the real skills, not just 101. Set up a website.
  • Start blogging. Writing things down makes them easier to process and brings insight. You can rant, but it’s more productive to write about a positive aspect of your job, or the day.
  • Polish your resume. Do this once a month. Frequent updates to online profiles make you more attractive as a candidate.
  • Help a co-worker. Perhaps one of your colleagues could use help with a task. Maybe it’s something you’re interested or skilled in. Either way you get karma points.
  • Think about what you really want to do when you grow up. Examine your life, your decisions, your failures to decide, your current status. Be unflinching. This will prepare you for the next tip.
  • Write a job description for your dream job. Then read your resume and look for the disconnects. Now you have new tasks and a new goal.
  • Network with people who have the job you want. If you’ve done the two bullets above you’ll be better positioned to make this pay off.
  • Seek out a career coach to help you examine – and possibly reset – your expectations. Maybe you’re way off. Maybe you weren’t an A student but thought you could bluff through to a big job. Not in this economy, and maybe never again. Be prepared to revise your life plan, at least the short-term version.
  • Do something for someone else. There’s huge satisfaction in helping others. Volunteer and you will become thankful.

Got some of your own techniques for coping with unrealized expectations? Let us know.

Meghan M. Biro is a globally recognized leader in talent strategy and a pioneer in building the business case for brand humanization. Founder of TalentCulture and a serial entrepreneur, Meghan creates successful ventures by navigating the complexities of career and workplace branding. In her practice as a social recruiter and strategist, Meghan has placed hundreds of individuals with clients ranging from Fortune 500s to the most innovative software start-up companies in the world, including Google, Microsoft and emerging companies in the social technology and media marketplace.Meghan is an accomplished consultant who has helped hundreds of individuals in all levels in the organization (V,C level executives, mid-career, mid-level managers, software architects and recent college graduates) and across generations (Gen Y to baby boomers), develop effective career strategies that propel them to achieve personal and professional success. Meghan is a speaker, practitioner, author, blogger and mentor who is passionate about the subjects of leadership, recruiting, workplace culture, social community, branding, and social media in HR. She is Founder and co-host of two Twitter Chats: "#TChat, The World of Work", a long-standing weekly chat and radio show and #HRTechChat, both communities dedicated to addressing the business needs of the rapidly evolving people-technology landscape. Meghan is an avid social community builder who is inspired by connecting the people and talent dots.Meghan is a regular columnist at Forbes and Glassdoor and her ideas are often quoted, featured on top publications such as CBS Moneywatch, Monster, Dice and various other HR, Social Media and Leadership hubs.

Tags:
,
Categories:
Career Advice
  • http://TheVoiceofJobseekers.com Mark Anthony Dyson

    Great post. The theme I glean from this is making the job search less about you. The gimme, gimme, lemme, gimme approach thwarts the spirit of reciprocity. 

  • Debbie Christofferson

    I really
    like this post, and the big point to bring your “A” game every day.
    It’s like the job hunt and getting thru the 1st interview, and compares to
    what  you hear Simon Cowell say to American
    Idol and X Factor candidates—you have to bring you “A” game every time.  You’re also asked to focus on the positive.

    There is another
    way to build you’re “A” game for your career and life beyond your employer, or
    even if you’re working to get back into the job market. 

    Get involved
    in the trade group for your profession–I started small and worked up. What
    I’ve found, is that is an outlet in many ways for my passion and purpose and I
    love it.   It serves as a positive outlet
    and a simple way to build professionally outside any workplace.

    It also
    benefits you professionally and gives you presence and credibility you would
    not have otherwise–built over time and contribution. It exposes you to
    relationships and people on your local, national and international levels that
    you could not obtain otherwise, depending if you are what level of leadership
    and participation you support. The greatest value is within peer board members
    and participation, although you also build solidly within the constituency you
    are serving.

    You can do
    this in as little time or focus as you like–just pick a place and activity you
    enjoy to start. I’ve been on several boards locally and when they stop feeling
    right, or if they never do, I move on. It’s volunteer time, put it where it
    matters and where you find a fit for yourself.   

    This was not
    my original intent when I volunteered 1st with my local professional group for
    my field (and several others I served). My goal after leaving Intel after 20
    years, was to connect professionally–I find myself on the outside and not
    being as connected as I thought. As an independent, I was too isolated so I
    went and changed it.

    It’s made a
    substantial positive impact in my life and career, independent of my employer,
    self-employed, contracting or as a hired manager. It also affects employment in
    every way, for the positive. I do this on my own time as a contractor
    currently. I give much of my time and self–and with passion–I love it all. As
    an employee, only one company and one specific manager at that company–said I
    could not be engaged in this activity during work hours, because there was no
    benefit to them.

    Employers
    benefit substantially whether they see it or not–any company where you
    work–because you extend your network of contacts and expertise, and you can
    reach out for any resource you need. It’s all good.

    A
    professional association or trade group is recommended because of the direct
    tie-in to the field you’re in or want to be. 
    A charity or community organization can work when they involve your
    personal passion, but they’re tied less directly to your profession (and the “B”
    office situation noted above). 

    I encourage
    people to engage more in their field outside of their office, to support their own
    personal “A” game. It works and it can change your life.

  • http://www.ganpati-industries.com seo freelancer

    Thanks for posting.