Last month I attended the annual awards conference of Catalyst, an organization that advocates for women in business. Xerox CEO Ursula Burns was the lunchtime speaker. She was refreshingly blunt, funny and engaging. One of the points she made was that mentors are an important part of a successful career: “Men and women need them, but women need them more.”

That made me a bit concerned, as I’ve never really had one. I asked Tiffany Dufu to spell out just what mentorship can do for women in particular. Dufu is chief leadership officer of Levo League, a startup devoted to getting Generation Y women to the top. Mentorship, she says, “helps you achieve clarity through guidance and encouragement.”

Many women want to find a mentor, but it’s hard to go about that if there’s no obvious candidate lurking in your office. And there may not be, since senior women are relatively thin on the ground. Dufu says you should definitely seek out men as well. She advises mentees not to think about mentorship in terms of one person, a savior who’s going to magically elevate your career.

“It’s valuable to have multiple mentors at one time, because that’s how you can shape one element of mentorship, which is learning more about yourself,” she says, and adds that various mentors should be giving you messages about yourself that are consistent: “That is how you build a level of self-awareness about what to do next in your career.” Levo League now has an online mentorship program allowing members to tap many senior women for advice.

Dufu says she’s had wonderful mentors in the past who were totally unconnected to her company or industry — women “who had been around the block several times and could provide guidance.” So don’t feel your mentor has to be someone from work.

Ashley Milne-Tyte is a radio producer and reporter based in New York City. She hosts a bi-monthly podcast called “The Broad Experience” about women in the workplace.

The post The Broad Experience: Find a mentor, ladies appeared first on Metro.us.

There is both professional and personal risk involved with aspiring for a creative career. Parsons School of Design faculty member and teacher of his self-designed course “Creativity: Making a Living With Your Ideas,” B. Jeffrey Madoff says: “Anyone pursuing a creative career should realize it’s a job. A fun job. However, discipline is essential and like an athlete, dancer or musician, practice and challenge yourself constantly to get better.”

How do you approach building a creative career with your students?
As a teacher, my job is to provoke, entertain, disrupt and educate. I crack jokes, make outrageous things up, call on students randomly to include everyone in the discussion and most importantly, create an environment where the students will feel safe so they will not be afraid to speak up.

What would you say to someone who believes they have failed at making a creative career work?
It’s important to define what failure is for you. If a person has failed in their pursuit, it’s important to understand why. Failure can be a terrific learning experience. Failure to me, is not trying. As long as I keep trying and keep learning, I haven’t failed.

What are some motivational tips for people wanting to get a creative career underway?
Motivation is why you do something: for money, fame, approval, and satisfaction. It’s up to the person to keep themselves motivated by what they hope to get out of what they do. One can be supported and encouraged by others, but the motivation has to come from within. Creativity to me is a passion to affect change. Passion is internal. Follow your passion.

Are there ways to take a current career and make it creative?
Frank Zappa defined music as “any sound you can control.” It’s all about how you look at what you do and how you act on it. Music, painting, boxing, mathematics; everything can be creative or drudgery. A creative person discovers the ways to make what they do interesting.

Starting a creative career requires these things:

• The clarity to determine where and how one wants to apply their creative efforts.
• An awareness of the distinctive difference they can bring to that pursuit and the ability to articulate that difference to the gatekeeper you need to get through, e.g. investors, employers, consumers, etc.
• The knowledge that there is a market for what it is they want to create.
• Not being paralyzed by the fear of risk or failure because if you are afraid of either you will never do anything interesting.
• Thick enough skin to persevere through the inevitable rejection and criticism you’ll receive.
• The realization that whatever you create it is separate from you. Criticism and rejection shouldn’t be taken personally.

The post Expert advice: Building and sustaining a creative career appeared first on Metro.us.

Loving your job just might be the oldest career objective out there. For the founders of the website “Live in the Grey,” it’s the idea they hope to make into a movement. Friends Maneesh Goyal and David Munczinski decided that the new crop of entrepreneurship-minded young people would benefit from a place to find out how people like them — with an idea and some passion — were able to merge what they love with what they do. We asked  founder Maneesh Goyal for his advice for young professionals.

So, what is your advice for people just starting out?
We believe your first step has to be discovering and defining what moves you. For me, it was as simple as sitting down and writing out “what doesn’t feel like work”. I took these passions and eventually entered the event marketing industry.

People are making their own paths more frequently now. What’s your practical advice to them?
Before you can chart your own path – whether in a company, as a freelancer or as an entrepreneur – you need to have a clear vision for where you are going, while being open to unforeseen changes. You have to start by truly defining what is fulfilling to you. For us, fulfillment is the cross-section of personal and professional, and fulfillment is fundamentally necessary to sustain anyone in their career. We highlight the stories of people that are “grey” to inspire people to get there on their own.

What scared you most about taking the leap into a new venture?  
The most intimidating aspect of starting Live in the Grey was overcoming the fear that our philosophy was only a personal outlook we share as co-founders. Was anyone going to appreciate and be inspired by these ideas? Fortunately, we have found an engaged audience through our site and events. This is always a risk for a person or a group starting a venture with a mission. Our message is “risk makes life remarkable” – and that means redefining risk from something to be scared of into something to embrace.

The post Escaping life in black and white with “Live in the Grey” appeared first on Metro.us.

According to a study published by Drexel University’s Center for Labor Markets and Policy, teens who spend some time bagging groceries or syphoning fries into happy meals have a larger shot at success throughout their career.

Paul Harrington, a Drexel University labor economist and lead author of the study, says that work experience in a formal job during high school (from ages 16 to 19) correspond to a 20 to 25 percent increase in salary for teens almost a decade later. In this case, a “formal” job means a gig in food service or retail for a larger company, as opposed to work like babysitting or cutting the neighbor’s grass. High school students who work, he says, are also more likely to have a job a decade after high school than their peers. The numbers are even stronger for teen boys, Harrington says.

“I think there’s a dignity in work,” Harrington says. “It’s really important for people to understand how they contribute to making an organization function. The way you understand how that works is by doing it.”

The study did reveal some bad news, however. As the economy has suffered, jobs for teens have become more difficult to come by. In the Metro Philadelphia area, the study revealed that in 2000, about 44 percent of teens between the ages of 16 and 19 had jobs. Today, that number has fallen to 25 percent, mostly due to the lack of employment opportunities and to the fact that older workers are holding onto jobs longer than they have in previous decades.

The other piece of data that the study revealed is that attendance in high school is a very strong indicator of good things to come. Harrington says that having high daily attendance in high school means that students have a much higher chance of graduating from college.

“Woody allen said 90% of life is showing up,” Harrington says. “Turns out he was right.”

The post Tie on that apron, kids: Drexel University study says teens who have jobs are more likely to succeed appeared first on Metro.us.

When most people think about improv comedy classes, they think about over-the-top performances and aspiring future Saturday Night Live cast members. While this reputation for goofiness might seem ill-suited for the buttoned-up professional world, many improv theatre companies are challenging these expectations by offering corporate training courses to various companies. By drawing upon lessons from the world of improv, instructors strive to promote the development of team building, communication and problem solving skills applicable to the workplace.

“Improv is so cavalier and edgy,” conceded Carter Edwards, who helms the corporate leg of the Upright Citizens Brigade. “But as soon as we started this, we started to see how translatable the philosophies of improv were to corporate training.” Chief among these philosophies is the strategy of ‘yes, and,’ which encourages actors in a scene to accept and build upon anything their partners create. “The majority of the corporate world would never think to do this, but as soon as we describe it to them, there’s a major a-ha moment that goes on with the participants,” Edwards said.

To help professionals work harmoniously and productively, Rob DiNinni of Stage Coach Improv has also made ‘yes, and’ a central tenet of his corporate improv program. “If you acknowledge and understand someone’s point of view, you create a collaborative environment, DiNinni explained. “You can debate instead of negate.”

Employees often bring these lessons back to their jobs after completing the program. Rebecca Cronin partnered with Stage Coach Improv as part of her work at Phillips. She described a heated meeting at the office shortly after several employees participated in a Stage Coach training session. “One of my colleagues stepped in and said, ‘yes, we’re going to do that, and…’ in a really exaggerated tone, and got everyone laughing,” Cronin said. Recalling the lesson from improv helped get the meeting back on track.

Despite these professional benefits, it can be difficult to convince people to unwind in a work setting. “With professionals, you have folks who are at their best in front of a computer,” DiNinni said. “We try to create a psychological safety net so everyone feels comfortable taking risks.”

The majority of participants do eventually get past that hump. “I love watching the transformation in people when they finally relax enough to have fun with it,” Cronin said. “These workshops are the time and place for it.”

The post When the office gets goofy: Improv for professionals appeared first on Metro.us.

The season for summer getaways is fast approaching. But for those who are still wet behind the ears in a new position, is vacation really a possibility? Some companies have a clear policy of when an employee can cash in on paid time off, while others are more vague. We asked the experts just how soon is too soon when you’re a recent hire.

The first ninety days at a company are usually a trial period when the employee gets situated. In most cases, paid time off is accrued after that. “For this reason, it is generally advisable to not take a lengthy vacation, more than two days off, for at least six months. Even better – wait until you have completed your first year at your new job,” suggests Lahle Wolfe, writer for About.com’s Guide to Women in Business.

If you have travel plans prior to starting, it’s best to be upfront about it. “If you know you have a major vacation planned when you receive a job offer, it’s best to be honest about it with the hiring manager,” says Lori Hourigan, Regional Manager for staffing firm Robert Half. “If you explain the situation and give enough advanced notice, most supervisors will try to accommodate your existing plans.”

When you don’t have pre-standing plans it’s important to go into vacation negotiation delicately. “If you must ask at the start of your new job, be thoughtful in not requesting time off during a crunch period,” Tina I. Hamilton, Professional in Human Resources, president and CEO of hireVision Group, Inc. “And defer to the vacation requests of more tenured staff whenever possible. These considerations will pay off for you in the long run, and as you get established, your peers will do the same for you.” Make yourself comfortable at work, live it up when the weekends come, and start planning an outstanding vacation for next year.

The post Vacation: how soon is too soon at a new job? appeared first on Metro.us.

Using jargon phrases such as ‘think outside the box’ and ‘touch base’ will make you an unpopular colleague, and can destroy workplace morale, according to a new study of the worst office habits from Britain’s Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM).

Around 64% of those surveyed complained of ‘management speak’ in the workplace. Colleagues arriving late to meetings upset 65% of respondents, while 60% had a problem with gossip. Clothing choices and refusal to make tea or coffee were also common reasons for irritation.

The study urged management to proactively address such problems, which although seemingly trivial, can escalate into serious issues.

“People treat these as minor irritations but there is a cumulative effect,” David Pardey, ILM’s Head of Research & Policy, told Metro. “If no-one takes action, it communicates a lack of care or respect that can lead to departures, or in the case of gossiping, legal issues such as bullying cases.”

Managers must address such problems, Pardey added. “The first time one of these issues arises, the manager is not responsible. The 10th time it is squarely on them.”

Workplace irritations are widely blamed on long hours, but Jonny Gifford, research adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, disagrees. “Job satisfaction has increased during the recession, despite the fact we are working harder. This is due to a rise in worker influence, involvement in decision-making, and a more open culture.”

ILM tips to be a model colleague

1. Treat people well, and with good manners.
2. Be on time for meetings – lateness is disrespect.
3. Avoid ‘management speak’ – it alienates and confuses people.
4. Think about the best mode of communication. Face-to-face is often better than email.
5. Consider how noise you make affects colleagues.

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It’s that time of the year again when students are graduating and are desperately looking for jobs. While some students may have already secured one, others are in panic mode and are even willing to settle for a position just to have an income. A new national study by my company and AfterCollege — the student employment website — of 600 student’s shows that 79% have had at least one internship in the past six months, 57% of those internships were unpaid and 76% didn’t result in a job offer. These numbers are staggering and it just goes to show you that the job market isn’t getting any better. Here are some tips for securing your job upon graduation:

1. Don’t take anything for granted. 44% of those surveyed only apply to between one and five jobs at a time. After submitting your application, don’t stop and wait for a response, keep going. You can’t rely on anything and need to be proactive in your job search if you want results.

2. Work harder at it. 44% of those surveyed only apply to between one and five jobs at a time. You need to make your job search a full-time job. The more jobs you apply for, as long as you’re qualified for them, the higher the probability of success.

3. Think like an entrepreneur. When asked if they were interested in starting a company in the next few years, 62% of students weren’t interested. Entrepreneurship is now a viable path to employment so if you have a great idea, and some ambition, you should do freelance work or create a new product or service to solve a market need.

4. Find networking opportunities. 57% of students wish their schools offered more networking opportunities. It’s your responsibility to find and create your own networking opportunities, even if your college doesn’t have them. Use eventbrite.com or meetup.com to find networking opportunities in your area that relate to your profession.

5. Come to interviews prepared. 37% say that the most stressful part of the job application process is preparing for the interview. I’ve also found that employers feel that students come to interviews unprepared. Through the Internet, you can find out information on the people you’re interviewing with, the company and industry news.

Dan Schawbel is the author of the upcoming book, Promote Yourself: The New Rules For Career Success (Sept 3^rd, St. Martin’s Press).

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The bar is high for laughs with history for tour guides around the country.

Even after 16 years as a tour guide, Josh Silver still breaks out in an irrepressible ear-to-ear grin when he discusses the history of Philadelphia.

He started in 1997 as a part-time guide at Clifton House — a historical home just outside of Philadelphia — and discovered he was a natural. Silver has an affinity for local history, combined with a habit of describing events and artifacts with strict precision: “My friend calls it my bow-tie way of talking,” he says with a laugh.

“The challenge for me is staying fresh. And that takes a lot of self-generated motivation,” explains Silver. “After a while you have a lot of material to lean on, but you’ve got to push yourself to keep learning and incorporating new things.”

Today Silver is one of the most sought-after guides in the city. But he still has to hustle to remain a full-time guide. There are few — if any — Philly tour guiding companies that offer full-time work, and almost all hire guides exclusively as freelancers. Silver has worked for almost every tour guiding company in the city, and currently rotates between two small for-profit companies and one nonprofit.

“It can be an excellent way to get some supplemental income with something that’s always challenging and keeps you learning,” says Silver. “But if you want to do it, I think the first step is coming out of your shell. There are monthly meetings of tour guides. There are tours offered every day. Get out there and start talking to people, because that’s a big requirement for the job.”

Quoted:

“It’s not like [a lot of service industry jobs] where you’re often treated poorly. Very simply, you know where to go and they don’t. You’ve got the inside scoop, so people don’t look down on you when you’re serving them.” New York tour guide Robert Westfield (www.robertwestfield.com)

The post Tour guiding your way to success appeared first on Metro.us.

The job application process is shifting due to applicant tracking systems, which are online résumé aggregators that most midsize to large nonprofit and corporate entities use to weed through candidates. Trudy Steinfeld, assistant vice president and executive director of the NYU Wasserman Center for Career Development, helps you navigate the new system.

Talk to the robots (mostly)

Do: Maximize keyword searching
“Say they’re looking for a candidate who’s detailed, can communicate and is a good editor,” Steinfeld says. “When they get résumés, they’ll search the system for those keywords. If you don’t have those words on your résumé, even if those skills are displayed differently, your résumé is likely not to be identified.”
Don’t: Go overboard
“I recently heard an interesting story: There were 10 openings in this company and one person’s résumé was identified with every keyword search, though the jobs were completely different. The candidate included keywords for every job, made the text white [so it was disguised] and put the résumé over [that text]. They tossed the résumé when they learned of the stunt.

Numbers game: quantify your results
“If you’ve worked on a project and there are quantifiable results, provide the numbers,” she says. “Employers are into analytics; having an actual measure of your success can really help. Say you want to be a fundraiser. If the organization that currently employs you was taking in $1 million a year when you arrived, and now brings in $1.5 million a year, say that. People are results-oriented.

Old is new: Send a fax
“Especially when applying to small organizations, fax your résumé. Most offices still have a machine and — guess what? — it never rings,” Steinfeld says. “I’ve noticed that in my own office, when the fax machine rings, people wonder, ‘What could that be?’ It could be your résumé. It sounds crazy, but the reality is, I test this out all the time with employers and they say, ‘Yeah, if I get a résumé over the fax machine, I’m curious.’ Say, ‘I also sent this online, but I wanted to make sure it got into your hands.’”

The post Tricking the applicant tracking systems appeared first on Metro.us.

Mobile job search apps, which enable you to apply for a position from your phone, are popping up all over. Major search sites like Monster and Career Builder offer an app that lets you to browse postings, update your status and apply right from your phone. But is all this technology making the search for a new job easier, or is it just one more thing to keep track of?

According to Luis Salazar, more mobile application programs would mean a greater chance at job placement for many hourly workers. Salazar is co-founder and CEO of Jobaline, a mobile platform that connects job-seekers with companies. “The hourly workers, which are 59 percent of our economy, are especially left behind,” says Salazar.

“These important workers often either lack Internet access or only access the Web using mobile phones. When we bridge the gap by providing mobile recruitment tools that address job search needs, workers and employers alike will have the ability to find a better fit.”

Companies that create an app need to focus on keeping it concise and user-friendly. “A well-designed mobile recruitment system can reduce the amount of time and effort necessary for a candidate to apply, leading to higher application rates and fewer orphaned applications,” explains Mahe Bayireddy, CEO of iMomentous, a mobile talent recruiter.

“By integrating with DropBox, Google Drive, and social media such as Facebook and LinkedIn, applying for a job through mobile can be simple. Forms that once took upward of 20 minutes to complete can be automatically pulled from existing profiles,” Bayireddy says. Like so many other technological advances, if you’re not keeping up with the times, you’re falling behind.

“Five years from now, it’s impossible for us to imagine a world where most job searches and applications will not happen through a mobile device,” says Proven’s CEO, Pablo Fuentes. Proven is a job search app that lets users send résumés to job sites. “Today, people are doing banking, travel, and taxes on their phone. Tomorrow, mobile will be the standard for job searches.” Julia west

The post Put the ‘app’ in job application appeared first on Metro.us.

Take it seriously
Treat your online profile as a professional asset and determine if it positions you the way you want it to. Google yourself often and see what the world sees when they look for you.

Commit to a professional online persona
You will be judged by what you post and what others do, too. Select a professional voice and spell-check your postings. Don’t post or say anything online that you wouldn’t want your grandmother or boss to see.

Monitor
Sign up for free, no-obligation alerts on a site that manages online reputations. Enter your name or other keywords and be alerted when potentially damaging materials are posted about you. At Reputation Changer, the technology crawls the “deep Web” going beyond what search engines look at to see what dangers may exist.

Take proactive control
Commit to ensuring that the entire first page of Google’s search results for your name or your company bring up websites or pages that you control.

1. Even a site like Yelp or Wikipedia portrays you in a particular way, so make sure you control the message.
2. Set your Facebook privacy settings so that nobody can tag you in a picture without your approval. Review the privacy settings of all the social media sites you use.
3.  Create online assets using your exact personal and/or company name as the title (such as .com or .net). Use social media profiles and free blogs. Update and post to these pages consistently. The volume of activity required depends on how prominent you are. The more prominent you are, the more active you must be.

Prepare for the worst and react fast
Proactively build up some messages that you can release if a negative news story breaks. If you believe that people may post negative or embarrassing things about you, try to head it off, but expect that you cannot. Once it is out there you can only react to it. If you need to apologize, do that, but don’t debate online because it drags out the conversation. Shift the conversation to the things that you want people to focus on.

By the numbers
70 percent of U.S. companies say that they have disqualified candidates based on what they find online about them. By 2014, 53 percent of all retail sales (online and offline) will be influenced by the more than 1.6 trillion searches conducted per year.

— These tips were compiled by Michael Zammuto, president of Reputation Changer, a company that helps people manage their online personas.

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Bea Arthur is the founder and CEO of Pretty Padded Room, a website that provides online therapy to women on their own time. We sat down with Arthur to ask about her experience running her own business.

When did you start your company, Pretty Padded Room?
I just had the two-year anniversary of my business in February, and celebrated with a fancy meal and even fancier wine from Trader Joe’s.

What’s your favorite moment of the work day?
We have been able to help clients from all over the world in all kinds of circumstances, so I love it when I get a message thanking us. We had a client in the United Arab Emirates tell us that therapy wasn’t an option where she lived, so it was nice to know that we helped her feel heard. It keeps me going on tougher days.

What is surprising about your job?
I spend a lot of time alone. Even though my days are filled with meetings, connecting with clients and following up on leads, it’s all done remotely. Entrepreneurship can get lonely. I talk to myself a lot!

How does your job affect the larger community?
I believe my team and I are making a difference in the world. With our little site, we’ve been able to provide therapy for people who wouldn’t have had access to it otherwise. We’ve all had moments where we wanted to scream or cry, so being able to be there for someone during those moments means a lot to me.

A client video chats with her therapist via prettypaddedroom.com

The post Working it: Bea Arthur, Web entrepreneur appeared first on Metro.us.

Working from home sounds like a dream, but the reality is that it requires a lot of skills. To work from home you must be self-disciplined and able to manage time, but there are many other characteristics that come with being a successful at-home worker.

Distinguish work time and play time: It’s easy to fall into the trap of constant connection when working remotely, but that doesn’t help your stamina. You lock yourself in a home office during work, so why not turn off your phone during personal time?

“You must make personal time off-limits for work as much as possible,” says Sabina Ptacin, co-founder of the online business community Tin Shingle. “This could mean no laptops in the bedroom or no calls during dinner. Try to be a realistic business and know when to turn off and on.”

Prepare for social isolation: Working outside of the office means no water cooler chatter.

“Because remote workers are isolated from their co-workers, supervisors and customers, they must be comfortable fulfilling their social needs outside of work or via electronic channels like instant messaging, phone and email,” says Jeff Facteau, vice president of professional services at SHL, a talent measurement company. When you find yourself longing for actual human interaction, schedule a lunch meeting.

Don’t forget, it’s still work: When you work according to your own schedule, deadlines can be tighter and resources may be harder to find. You have to treat work like work, regardless of what else is going on.

“Remember that bosses want employees who get things done. Deliver on what they want and they won’t care if you are in that cubicle or working out of a Starbucks,” suggests Jane Miller, founder of Janeknows.com and author of the upcoming book “Sleep your Way to the Top (and Other Myths About Business Success).”

“If you can get results and wear your bunny slippers, you’ll have the best of all worlds,” adds Miller.

The post Working from home still means work appeared first on Metro.us.

It’s that time of year again when we break out the cleaning products and industrial-sized trash bags, and now’s also the perfect time to do a little sprucing up on the career front. Whether you’re in the midst of a job search, or looking to improve your standing situation, a little elbow grease and polish will make your career shine.

If you’re actively looking for a new job, Executive Director of Rollins MBA’s Career Development Center Jane Trnka suggests reassessing your search plan. “How many hours are you dedicating to your search? How are you allocating those hours? By creating a calendar, charting out and making deliberate plans, you will avoid the ‘I can do it tomorrow’ self-talk and take productive action in a more timely manner.” Cut down on the hours spent aimlessly surfing and search with precise timeframes and goals in mind.

If you’re employed but keeping an eye out for a more fulfilling position, take a good look at what you’re putting on the Internet, it could be hurting you. Comb through your social media platforms and make sure they are scrubbed clean. “Be thoughtful about what you’re posting on your own social channels,” says Ben Martinez, HR director at thedigital recruiting platform HireVue. “You might want to consider deleting some old items if you feel they won’t go over well with a new boss,” he adds.

If you’re looking to dust off the cobwebs on your current position, it helps to be concise. Clear off the clutter and get to the heart of what your job is. Dorie Clark, marketing strategy consultant and author of book “Reinventing You: Define Your Brand, Imagine Your Future,” explains the importance of a career’s sharpened narrative. “Take control of your narrative by creating a one or two sentence statement that explains where you’ve been and how that uniquely positions you for the future,” she says. Now you’ve got a sparkling view of how to move forward.

What to toss

It wouldn’t be spring cleaning without a little purging. Joseph Grenny, co-author of the personal improvement book “Change Anything,” lists the top five bad job-search habits. It’s time to haul these to the curb.

• Unreliability
• “That’s not my job” attitude
• Procrastination
• Resistance to change
• Negative attitude

The post Tips to spring clean your career appeared first on Metro.us.

Over the last 35 years, Portland-based pianist Jill Timmons has created a sustainable career, without losing sight of her passion for classical music. And after 10 years of research and writing, her latest book, “The Musician’s Journey: Crafting Your Career Vision and Plan,” is finally set for release this month. In it Timmons shares her formula for a success-sans-starving career in music.

“I spent a lot of time researching before I began writing. I found a lot of books on the vision process – getting in touch with what you want to do in music most. And I found a lot of books on the nuts-and-bolts business aspect of having a career,” says Timmons. “But I couldn’t find anything that joined these two together, so I thought, ‘Well, I’m going to have to write it.’”

Timmons received her doctor of musical arts degree from Washington University, and her master of management from Boston University. She owns her own company, Arts Mentor, which consults teachers, artists, nonprofits and students on their artistic ambitions.

Over the years Timmons has performed at Carnegie Hall, founded an arts consulting business and reached tenure at Linfield College, along with a slew of other gigs and “reinventions.”

But all of her work has been related to music, and she encourages other musicians to embrace a similar piecemeal approach.

“I think the biggest mistake that most artists make is calculating their career based on what is outside of them, rather than considering the question, ‘If I didn’t have to make a living, what would I do?’ Because that’s the focal point, and everything needs to grow from there,” says Timmons.

“Making a living and being an artist are two separate things. Sometimes they intersect, but not always. To let your happiness hinge on, ‘I must get a job, tomorrow, in my field, or I can’t be an artist,’ is just self-defeating.”

The post Skip the starving artist phase and forge a career in music appeared first on Metro.us.

PA for a Day worker, Jennie Wright did a job for a personal chef by picking up a package from the client’s Manhattan apartment and delivering it to a Williamsburg apartment building. 

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Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s new book, “Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead”, has topped both the New York Times and Amazon best-seller lists for weeks. In it, she argues that women hold few leadership roles in part because of their own internalized fear and doubt. She urges women to “lean in”: accept responsibilities without hesitating, promote themselves, and not “leave before you leave,” her catchphrase for bowing out to have kids long before considering pregnancy. Some critics have deemed the elite and fortunate Sandberg an unfit mouthpiece for all women; others argue that she doesn’t intend to be. Here, a more specific response: some of the city’s most successful working women add their personal experiences to the conversation.

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  View Slideshow

  PHOTOS: Leading ladies, powerful women executives

THE REACTION

Tocci: I “leaned in” instinctively because I can be an unabashed self-promoter and I like to be in charge. I don’t think it’s necessary to lead in an arrogant way and I think that is what Sandberg meant when she commented about the importance of being likable. My observation is that women aren’t raised to lead. There have been thousands of years of instruction about being “ladylike” and absolutely no guidance on being the person in charge. I took Sandberg’s point to be that now that women CAN be the person in charge, they should be conscious of moving toward that goal and not be afraid of the opportunity.

Lebenthal: “Leaning in” means going for all the challenges openly. There isn’t a teacher monitoring you and grading. It’s every person for him or herself.

White: I can’t profess to having “leaned in.” I’m not into actively promoting myself. My nature is to let my work speak for itself. Fortunately I’m with an organization that has fully supported that.

THE EXPERIENCE

DeCesare: While I was on maternity leave, a colleague of mine was promoted. When I asked my VP why I was not even called about the position, the response was, “Well, you just had twins.” I realized I had to have a conversation with both myself and my boss about my goals. I let him know that indeed I did want to apply for the job, and that being a mother made me an even smarter and more dedicated worker. The fire storm this ended up causing changed the way the company handled women in the workplace. Also, I got the job.

Tocci: When my career took off, my husband and I made an important decision together that he would be the stay-at-home parent for the most critical years of our son’s childhood. I realize we were lucky to have that option. It was always women who would say to me, “Don’t you feel bad traveling and being so busy with a young child at home?” My response was “I’d feel worse if my son saw that I wasn’t able to work out how to pursue my passion.”

Anvik: In one of the worst economies we’ve seen in decades, I left a great job at an agency with summer Fridays, bonuses, health care and a guaranteed paycheck to launch a start up. I didn’t listen to any advice (male or female) that perpetuated the idea that women should play it safe. I knew I would make it, and that if by some chance I didn’t, I was smart enough to figure out a Plan B.

THE ADVICE

Lebenthal: Think of your goal as a destination on a map: Without knowing where you are going, it will be impossible to get there.”

A. White: At times I have “leaned out”, choosing family over work. I skipped traveling to an important internal meeting last fall to go to my son’s first day of kindergarten. I really needed to be at that meeting. Working mothers face these trade-offs all the time, and they can be extremely difficult.

C. White: I have to work, which sometimes means that family needs to arrange itself around my work. However, I’ve never felt any significant guilt about that. We all benefit.

Anvik: A female executive, when I started my first job, said, “I want to help you be amazing. You make me look good, I move up, and you move up. Then the next girl that comes in, we’ll help her too. This is not competition; it’s cooperation.”

The post Lean in: powerful women executives give their opinions and advice appeared first on Metro.us.

Meet the women featured in Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s new book, “Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead”.  Her book features opinions and advice from powerful and influential women executives.

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Ashley Milne-Tyte says women need to stick to their guns while being polite when negotiating a raise.

How often do you negotiate a raise? If you’re female, the answer is quite likely to be not often, or even never. My first time came about 12 years ago. I was in my 20s and about to switch roles within a company. My co-worker told me I should shoot for a number that constituted a 25 percent raise. It seemed like a huge amount and I found it horribly awkward to discuss money — let alone think I was actually worth something. I squirmed at the thought. But during the interview, I summoned up the courage to make the ask. My supervisor acted surprised, which made me uncomfortable, but I managed to resist backing down.

He muttered that it was a very large raise and I was unlikely to receive that much. Still, he said he’d see what he could do.

I got it.

That was my first lesson in negotiating. Just ask — they can always say no. In almost every study done on negotiating, women simply don’t ask for raises as frequently as men do. It’s one of the many reasons for the gender pay gap. Of course, I know men who hate negotiating as much as I do (I never said it was fun) and women who consider it a point of pride to fight fiercely for what they’re worth. But in general, women face particular challenges when it comes to asking for what we want.

Society still views women as nice and accommodating. Asking for more money doesn’t fit that picture. So we have to be careful how we do it to avoid turning people off. But if you don’t ask, you have no idea what you could get. You could be turned down, but isn’t it better to find out by asking in the first place?

Do’s and Don’ts:

DO your research first. There’s a ton of it out there. I recommend Shenegotiates.com and the book “Ask for It: How Women Can Use the Power of Negotiation to Get What They Want” by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever.

DON’T immediately back down if your boss balks at your request. This is all part of the game.

DO remain pleasant and polite throughout. Research shows women can get more from negotiating if they keep playing nice while sticking firmly to their guns.

DON’T say things like “because I deserve it.” It gets interviewers and managers all hot under the collar because it goes against gender norms for women.

Ashley Milne-Tyte is a radio producer and reporter based in New York City. She hosts a bi-monthly podcast called “The Broad Experience” about women in the workplace.

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Writing cover letters is arguably the worst part about job searching. Making yourself sound fun and cool but also professional and hardworking is exceptionally hard.

The folks at BuzzFeed seem to understand that.

A job listing for Support Specialist at BuzzFeed takes an unorthodox approach at vetting potential candidates.

To apply, BuzzFeed asks applicants:

“Instead of a cover letter, please send us instructions on how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Text, images, video … the format for your PB&J tutorial is up to you, as long following your instructions results in a really delicious sandwich.”

“One of the main responsibilities for the Support Specialist will be creating documentation and FAQs for our editing tools,” Alice DuBois, BuzzFeed product Lead for Editorial Tools, said in an e-mail to Metro. “We’re interested in getting a sense of applicants’ communication style. So instead of a cover letter, which tend to be generic and forgettable, we’re asking people to demonstrate a skill they’ll have to use in the job.”

Applicants will still have to submit resumes and interview for the positions, though Chris Johanesen, BuzzFeed VP of Product, had the idea to conduct one of the interviews over GChat, since the support specialist will spend a lot of time helping people via instant messages.

“Many tweets about this job posting seem to suggest that BuzzFeed has decided to request PB&J instructions instead of a cover letter for all of our job postings, so I want to point out that we made this request only for the Support Specialist position,” DuBois said.

In addition to amazing sandwich making skills, candidates must possess amazing communication skills, problem solving skills and of course a sense of humor.

Follow Mary Ann Georgantopoulos on Twitter @marygeorgant

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Pierre Khawand says that optimizing productivity depends on working in bursts.

Some days, you feel like you got nothing done at work. It’s not uncommon: The email inbox grows, an instant messages pop up and colleagues interrupt your workflow. Productivity consultant and author of “The Accomplishing More With Less Workbook” Pierre Khawand says: “When we are working a few minutes here and a few minutes there, we are staying at the superficial level and not getting deep into anything.” Here are his strategies for digging in deeper to get more work done.

How can people reach their level of optimal productivity?

The first element has to do with how results change with time when we are working on a task. When we start to work on the task, we get results. But at some point, the results level off and then diminish, because either we get mentally tired and are no longer productive, or we need someone else to do their part before we can continue. This is all good in theory, but what happens in reality is that a few minutes after we start to work on a task, we get interrupted. When we get interrupted, our results go down to zero — this happens again and again, and again. It’s part of life in today’s work environment.

So how do we stay on task?

A key element is starting the day by identifying what we intend to accomplish that day and ending the day with a reconciliation process. That ensures that we close the loops on open issues. Instead of starting the day with e-mail, we should stop for a minute or two to reflect on what is important and what we want to accomplish. Then, put it in writing.

The idea is that we need to stay focused long enough so that we can achieve in-depth thinking, creative problem solving and get meaningful things done. Depending on the task, it can be 15 minutes, 30 minutes or several hours. Once we have accomplished something meaningful, it is time to stop our “focused” session, and switch to being collaborative — handle email, phone calls, have live discussions. This is the collaborative work where we get the most of our team productivity and equally important results. After the collaborative session, it is time to take a break — do something that gets us re-energized and ready for the next focused session. No significant productivity gains, and therefore no significant accomplishments, can be achieved if we don’t optimize our workflow by recognizing the concepts described above: focus, collaborate, then play!

Burst out:

Working in bursts manages tasks, interruptions and energy. It makes you feel invigorated and accomplished as a result.

• Alternate between focus, collaboration and play.
• Be intensely and wholeheartedly in each burst. That’s what the “burst” label is for — to maximize output.
• Each burst should build toward and enhance the next burst.

For more tips and information, see here.

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There’s no get-rich-quick scheme when it comes to blogging. Creating a website, building an audience and eventually garnering revenue is an exhausting process — which is why most successful blogs are labors of love. A good blog stems from an unwavering desire to do the thing you most enjoy and share it with the world.

Lauren Lilling had a degree in finance, but Wall Street just wasn’t cutting it for her. A year after starting her blog, Keep It Sweet Desserts, Lilling left the world of finance and devoted her time to a new business: a blog and “e-bakery” where users can order treats like her seasonally appropriate “Matzo-crack” salted chocolate matzo.

Like any savvy business owner, Lilling drew on what she knew. “As someone who worked in finance prior to starting a business, I was able to use skills from my previous career, leverage the social media buildup I had from blogging and build on the relationships in both places,” she says.

Babette Pepaj runs TECHmunch, a conference for food bloggers to help them do  what Lilling has done. Pepaj travels around the U.S. to help food bloggers make their work more financially rewarding, she says.

“The unsuccessful bloggers I’ve seen are the ones who are short-term planners,” says Pepaj. Most important, she says, is keeping the blog active to attract interest from advertisers: “You can’t expect a brand to look at your blog that hasn’t been updated in four weeks and think your community is engaged,” she says.

Tips for making a blog into a career:

•    Have a clear focus. In this case, casting a wider net will not necessarily get you a wider audience.
•    Be patient, but be persistent. The money isn’t going to come rolling in, but regular posting and diligence will certainly help.
•    Use social media. Utilize different platforms in order to promote your brand and drive traffic to your site.

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In 2008 Dave Stewart was laid off from his maintenance tech position at a Pennsylvania nursing home. The news came as a shock and, as a result, he decided to take his career in a radically different direction.

Stewart is now one of a select few Americans that make their living through eBay. (The company claims 1.3 million sellers worldwide, but experts believe the number of individual, primary-income eBay-ers to be much smaller.)

“I no longer wanted to be dependent on someone else providing me with paycheck, because I saw that you couldn’t rely on it as much as I did,” says Stewart, from his home in Bucks County, Pa. “I wanted to be self-employed, but wasn’t quite sure how to get there.”

Inspiration struck, along with a bit of luck: He discovered a stockpile of obsolete car parts in his grandfather’s cavernous garage. While his family was skeptical, Stewart was convinced there was a market for outdated parts.

“It started out as an experiment — just a few parts on the [eBay] page. They really sold fast, and I had an inkling I was on to something,” says Stewart “Pretty soon, I had an eBay store, and I couldn’t keep up with the orders.”

Stewart’s success wasn’t based on luck alone. He operates his business with the systematic, detailed approach you’d expect in a much larger operation. Every one of the 1,600 items in his eBay store is researched thoroughly and displayed with precise photos and descriptions. These days, car parts represent less than half of the items in his store.

“To be successful on eBay, you have to be a salesman. It’s like other sales jobs: If you’re good at it, you can make a living — but only if you’re good,” says Stewart. “It’s all about keeping people’s interest with new merchandise. You can’t just let it sit there and expect to make something.”

Q & A
Temple University management professor Paul Pavlou has been studying eBay for 15 years, since the company’s early days. He gave his expert advice:
How has the eBay game changed in the past five years?
A lot has changed ­— some that’s good for the individual, and some that isn’t. eBay has attempted to attract much larger sellers, and they have adjusted their model somewhat because of that. However, it’s a larger platform now, and the access to the market, logistics and infrastructure is still quite remarkable for the individual.

What sells best on eBay right now?
We’ve seen a trend toward used cars and products for used cars. eBay Motors is now one of the most popular platforms.

The post The power of one plus eBay appeared first on Metro.us.

It’s a buzzword you can’t escape: “networking.” There’s no shortage of networking events taking place in your area, but simply showing up to one of these schmooze-fests isn’t enough. We learned a few tricks to help you work the crowd and leave an event with the business card that will help you get your next job or promotion.

Listen to people

Pay attention to what people are doing, who they’re working with and what their background is. Bill Corbett Jr. is president of Corbett Public Relations, Inc. and has two decades of networking experience. “If somebody is pushy, they are not networking,” he says. “A businessperson needs to listen 80 percent of the time and speak 20 percent of the time. Learn to ask the right questions.”
Look approachable
Try to give the impression that you are completely at ease, even when you aren’t. If you relax, you will appear more approachable, and you’ll certainly enjoy yourself more. Having your phone out is distracting and can turn people off. “Put your electronic device away, and be engaged with everything that is going on around you,” says Christina Steinorth, psychotherapist and author of “Cue Cards for Life: Thoughtful Tips for Better Relationships.” “If you’re constantly texting or talking on your smartphone, others will feel that you are only present at the event to go through the motions,” she adds.

Go for quality, not quantity
The goal is not to leave with your pockets stuffed with business cards. “Sometimes I have left networking events with more than 40 business cards. That’s way too many,” says Vicky Oliver, author of “301 Smart Answers to Tough Interview Questions.” “It’s better to have two or three leads but then really follow up with them.” Speak with these people again and build a professional relationship; make them count.

The post How to network like a pro appeared first on Metro.us.

University of St. Thomas professor Stephen D. Brookfield is perhaps the most prolific writer on adult higher education in the U.S. His books use personal experience to flesh out his teaching philosophy. Brookfied’s latest, “Powerful Techniques for Teaching Adults,” takes a look at power dynamics.

“Power is everywhere in the classroom. You can’t avoid it,” he says, from his office in Saint Paul, Minn. “So I thought, instead of writing a book that’s full of these approaches — which is probably what people are expecting — let’s examine how these power dynamics skew the way teaching techniques are experienced by students.”

“Powerful Techniques” touches on a number of concepts Brookfield has written about before: developing critical thinking, facilitating discussion, utilizing the creative arts. But this time the author emphasizes the adjustments he has made to his teaching style due to notions of power and trust.

Though Brookfield is still a believer in student-controlled, self-directed learning, he now introduces the concept with more than a touch of caution.

“If I’m asking people to make decisions about the curriculum, or I’m involving them in setting up the grading system, one of the responses I often get is: ‘You’re playing a game with us and we don’t know what your agenda is,” he explains. “So now I begin by saying, ‘Here are the non-negotiable things  about the class; here are the things I want you to decide; and here are places where we can negotiate.’ By being less naive about us all having the same power, I’m able to gain a student’s trust and build something from there.”

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From behind the lectern at Wharton Business School, to the candy-colored halls of Google, to an upcoming trip to a military base in Afghanistan, Stuart Diamond wants people to know how to negotiate. His book, “Getting More: How You Can Negotiate to Succeed in Work and Life” takes a realistic perspective — coaxing a cranky toddler to bed, asking for a raise, getting a job after switching careers — to teach people how they can achieve more. Diamond says the key to negotiation is just to have a good conversation. Here’s what we learned from our good conversation with Diamond:

Focus on your skills
Experience is not why people give you a job. It’s all about skills. I encourage people to figure out not what experience they have, but what skills. It’s the skill the employer wants. I once counseled a medical doctor about moving into a financial consulting career. He had leadership abilities, he was organized and he had a vision. He said: “You can teach me the financial stuff I need to know,” and he was right. People assume experience means skills but it doesn’t.

Negotiating a job or a raise is about them — not you.
A good negotiation is just a conversation. The less stressful it is,the better. When somebody is sitting across the table looking at you, they’re thinking, “can I stand this person every day?” That’s the pictures in their head. People think it’s a game, it’s not a game or a dance – it’s just a talk.

Know the pictures in their head
My first question to an employer is: “why are you looking for somebody?” I want to find out who they are, I want to find out what’s in their head. Finding out the pictures in their head is the most important way to get more. I once applied at Morgan Stanley. I said: what criteria do you use to hire people? The interviewer replied “what criteria should I use?” I listed all the things I was good at and she hired me! The more you know about the other party, the more you know what to do.

Attitude is really important
If I have a can-do attitude and I’m willing to work any time and anywhere, if I find solutions not problems, that’s what will get me the job. If some one has a lot of experience and bad attitude, I wouldn’t take them over a person with no experience and a great attitude.

The first salary negotiation isn’t as vital as you’d think.
A lot of people think that it’s really important to get the best salary you can going in. I don’t think that’s true. I think it’s important to get a commitment for them to pay you more if you add value going forward. The salary they’re paying you for is budgeted for, but if you say if I add a lot of value to you, people are much more willing to pay out of additional future revinues. What will they pay you next year? People hardly ever do that and it’s a lot better of a way to approach the negotiation.

Ask for intangibles
If they can’t pay you the salary you want but suggest intangibles that don’t cost much, you can sweeten the deal. Moving expenses, tax advice, mortgage cosigning, education and training – there are all kinds of things that HR has at their disposal that don’t cost very much and that people hardly ever ask for. Companies are often only too happy to give you these things.

Talk to your elders
There is always somebody old that’s been put out to pasture at any company, some old guy or woman who’s been there for 40 years who’s about to retire and nobody talks to them. They have the whole company at their hands. They will tell you everything you need to know about succeeding in that company.

The post Negotiating tips from a master-level negotiator appeared first on Metro.us.

Adapted from Working with Bitches by Meredith Fuller

The Excluder sees other women as oxygen thieves if there is no personal gain from communicating with them. She can pretend you don’t exist and fail to pass on important information.
The solution:
Don’t chase after her. The more you dance after her, the more she ignores you. Minimum required communication and protocols such as basic greeting is likely to result from a stern word from a more senior manager. Make sure you obtain necessary information from any other sources.

The Insecure micromanages everyone, trusts no one and thinks that no one knows better than she does.
The solution:
She is usually anxious and worried; this drives her perfectionism. She needs regular updates to allay her fears, so keep her updated before she chases you. Keep your work and desk tidy to get her off your back. Determine the type of outcomes needed, and reassure deadlines/delivery/quality standard/success. Get up as soon as she strides over to your desk so that you can speak with her without her peering over your shoulder at your computer.
She has to nit pick, so the fewer criticisms the better and consider that as praise. Make sure you have colleagues or friends to give you feedback about how well you did on the project.

The Toxic is a two-faced game-player who should never be trusted. She’ll suck up to you and be your best friend one minute, then gossip about you the next.
The solution:
Keep your distance figuratively and literally. Physical closeness makes it easier for her to slime you, vampire your energy and irritate you with her blackness. Refuse to gossip; refuse to let her whisper or mutter ambiguous statements — call her on them.

The Narcissist is a self-serving ego-centric mean girl who expects everyone to admire her. She doesn’t care about the good of the company, only about looking good, and expects you to feed her ego.
The solution:
Don’t expect much, if anything. If you need her buy-in on a project she needs to think it will be a feather in her cap, or offer an opportunity to bathe in the light. Let her — she probably does it well. If she is denied applause and attention, she will sulk and turn belligerent and de-motivated.  Never become a handmaiden by doing personal favors or odd-jobs such as minding her animals, or covering for yet another manicure trip when she is supposed to be at a meeting. If you notice something about her (such as fabulous shoes) before you start the task with her, she is less likely to resist. Things will take longer, so allocate a little more time when working with her.

The Screamer cries for attention, yells to intimidate, screams to insult, and then yells some more for good measure.
The solution:
Two year olds in supermarkets do this. Notice the smart parents who stand away from the flailing limbs, breathe deeply, wait, or comfortably refuse to engage. No point trying to outscream her—she has more practice. If your organization is ok for you to say “I’ll come back when you are calmer,” leave. Humor may defuse the situation. Keep your distance, and stay close to a doorway—don’t allow her to box you in. Also check—is she rude and unaware? Some screamers have never been told about their unacceptable behavior (because people are too afraid; they assume she must have been told but it doesn’t work; or she has slipped through performance review cracks for so long it doesn’t seem worth it.) Sometimes, kind feeback can help. Remember, that level of anger usually hides hurt or resentment.

The Liar has mastered the art of excuses, quick fibs and charming manipulations.
The solution:
Never trust them. Never be alone with them — they will twist whatever is said or done. They like the game, and usually escalate. At some point they will have to go, but you may not wish to wait them out if you report directly.

The Incompetent lacks knowledge, work ethic and awareness. She makes you do the work for her or takes credit for your work in order to make herself look good.
The solution:
Her arrogance may be defensiveness or she simply doesn’t know what she doesn’t know. She will be suspicious that any info or advice from you is to show her up or is a challenge rather than support, so get it across from neutral sources — e.g. association newssheets or tips, articles, or other people.

The Not-a-Bitch may have an unfortunate or disagreeable manner, but is just trying to do her job.
The solution:
Look at your own behavior — don’t project your laziness, tardiness, lack of attention or lack of manners onto her. Learn from her.

The post 8 Types of workplace bitches — and how to handle them appeared first on Metro.us.

Fortune recently released a list of the Top 100 companies to work for. At the top of the list was Google, followed by the analytic software company SAS and CHG Healthcare Services in Salt Lake City. Each organization varies greatly in size and product, yet they are all developing a positive, successful environment.  Looking closer, it appears these companies are doing many of the same things right.

Fun and freedom are a common thread for the companies on Fortune’s list. “If it isn’t fun, no one is going to be there for very long. Team outings, ping pong tournaments — whatever fits your culture — create opportunities to laugh and to see each other outside of just your day-to-day professional titles,” explains Nick Worswick, corporate vice president and general manager, at Seamless.com.

CHG Healthcare, number three on the list, keeps things lively with employee talent shows and trivia tournaments. Casual get-togethers and friendly competition often aid in talent recognition and team-building.

These tactics keep employees happy, which is vital in the hospitality business. Coming in at No. 28 on Fortune’s list was Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, owners of Philadelphia’s Hotel Palomar and Hotel Monaco. “At Kimpton, fostering a culture of care with a focus on fun has proven to be a recipe for success,” explains Mike Depatie, CEO, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants. “Our employees are our brand, which is why we place an incredible amount of emphasis on making them feel their best at work.”

The perks of being an employee

It’s safe to say we all want work to be fun, but fun isn’t the only thing that makes for happy employees.

“While perks like free cappuccino, rock-climbing walls and nap rooms are very nice, they remain perks,” says Doug Claffey, CEO of employee survey company, Workplace Dynamics. “What we have found is that while these benefits are nice to have, they don’t drive true employee satisfaction.” According to a 2012 Workplace Dynamics survey of 1.7 million workers, people most desire the chance to be heard as well as a “visionary and inspirational leader that employees are confident in.” It probably doesn’t hurt, though, if that leader wants to put in a foosball table.

The post They wouldn’t call it work if it was supposed to be fun, right? appeared first on Metro.us.

With her 2008 book — “Introvert Power: Why Your Inner Life is Your Hidden Strength” — Dr. Laurie Helgoe celebrated introverts and their power to develop rich, complex inner lives. But in today’s hyper-friendly, team-centric workplace, introverts often find their natural inclinations less than encouraged. A new edition of “Introvert Power” was recently released, with analysis of the latest studies on the psychology of inward-looking personalities. We asked Dr. Helgoe to tell us about the her findings.

Is the American workplace geared toward extroverts?
Today’s work culture tends to be an extrovert-centric. There is an emphasis on processing things as teams. Brainstorming, which is a very extroverted process — thinking aloud about ideas — is a disconnect for someone who likes to form ideas privately.
How can introversion be used to your advantage?
Being honest is a good start. Sometimes introverts feel pressure to act extroverted, pretend they like social events and the high level of social stimulation. But when they finally say they need some quiet to get work done, people respect that. At some point the work has to get done, and introverts have an advantage in tolerating the solitude that is often required for that.
What leadership style best suits an introvert?
There was a groundbreaking study a couple years ago that found that introverts lead more productive teams when they’re supervising proactive people. They were able to encourage the good ideas from their employees. Introvert leaders require less attention, so they’re more willing to let the attention spread out.

How should managers reward their introverted employees?

Don’t throw them a party. A gift certificate for a massage is always lovely.

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