cheryl santa maria

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Here’s another one from my archives, written in September ‘09 for Jobacle.com.  Apologies once again for the irregular posting on this blog.  While I haven’t been here, I have been working on a couple of exciting projects behind the scenes – expect an announcement soon.  In the meantime, enjoy this old post. 

***After moving eight times in the last nine years, I have come to the conclusion that I really hate moving.

Aside from having to put everything I own into boxes, moving is the only way to truly appreciate all of the garbage that I own. Dumping the contents of my junk drawer on the floor revealed, among other things, Weezer tickets from a concert I attended in 2003, a broken Tamogotchi and my old pager.

I guess a part of me is hoping that the items I’ve outgrown will serve some sort of future purpose.  That’s highly unlikely, though.

It’s important to know when to clear the clutter out of our lives because if we don’t, we get bogged down with useless junk and have no room left for new and exciting things.  This doesn’t just apply to our personal lives, of course – we need to know when to “clear out the clutter” in our personal lives as well.

Have you ever seen the film Office Space? remember Milton Waddams?

After giving his life to Initech poor ol’ Milt was was banished to Storage Room B.  As a final slap in the face the bastards in charge took away the one bright spot in Milton’s day - his trusty red stapler. Unfortunately Milton’s fate is a common one in the professional world; most companies have a glass ceiling and once that ceiling has been reached there’s nowhere else to go.  While Milton may be the victim in this scenario, it’s his fault for allowing himself to fade into the background.  Getting bogged down by the routine, day-to-day responsiblities of a job – the “clutter” if you will – and not taking the time to grow (both personally and professionally) is a sure sign that you will one day become obsolete.

When that happens it’s time to start looking for new employment.

I know, I know – change can be scary. But change is a helluva lot better than wasting away at a job that isn’t challenging or fulfilling.

I’m pleased to say that my Tamogotchi and pager are now sitting in a garbage bag at the end of my driveway. Getting rid of my clutter wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. In fact, it was actually kind of liberating.

I couldn’t part with the Weezer tickets though – those have been tacked to my fridge.

Baby steps, right?

Hey, cut me some slack - taking  a small step in the right direction is worlds better than not moving at all …

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I’m on vacation until 2010.

I’ve been lounging around the house, eating and drinking, meeting up with friends, having in-depth conversations with my cat … life is good.  I didn’t mean to neglect this blog completely, but it appears that I have.  As an offering of good faith here’s an article that I found in my archives.  It was written in July ‘09 for Jobacle.com.

***

Work-related stress is on the rise in North America and with it has come an unprecedented spike in disease, disorders and discontent. Obesity has reached epidemic proportions, heart disease is soaring, divorce rates are mounting and “me” time is becoming obsolete.

According to Work Stress, some of the primary causes of workplace discontent are:

- long hours;
- incompetent leadership;
- conflicting demands; and
- lack of recognition.

I’m sure you can sympathize with most of these things. Many of us have buckled under the pressures of strict deadlines, zero communication and bureaucratic red tape. Throw into the mix the bumper-to-bumper traffic that commuters are forced to endure and it’s a wonder we’re still standing, let alone reporting to the office.

Forced to take on too many projects? Unable to move forward because you’re busy fixing other people’s mistakes? You’re not alone. These things wear us down eventually, that’s for sure, but oftentimes it’s the little things that push us right over the edge.

For most workers, the “last straw” isn’t the incoherent manager but rather, the photocopier machine that’s always jammed and out of paper.

Or the coffee mug that keeps disappearing from your desk.
Or the person who keeps stealing your lunch from the communal fridge.
Or the printer that’s always out of toner.
Or the people who make a mess of the bathroom.

If you ask me, one of the main causes of work-related stress is the fact that we’re forced to share our offices with inconsiderate people that we (likely) wouldn’t socialize with in real life. And to make matters worse, jerky behaviour appears to be contagious.

I’m not going to lie. I’ve done some pretty inconsiderate things when no one is looking, simply because everyone else appears to be doing those things, too.

And that’s the problem.

Being thoughtless at work may seem like a small thing but it can snowball rather quickly and working in an office that appears to be void of human decency is far more depressing than an impromptu board meeting or a demanding client.

As much as we’d like to blame our companies for everything, we tend to be the biggest sources of our discontent. Workplace stress is unavoidable, but it becomes a heck of a lot more manageable when people learn to be considerate of one another.

Remember that the next time you’re about to leave your dirty plate in the kitchen sink for someone else to clean.

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My Friend Ernie works as an IT Technician for a small consulting firm.  For the first three years Ernie enjoyed his job but he found the four-hour daily commute daunting.

When he decided to look for a job closer to home he informed his boss out of courtesy. He joked with his co-workers that he dreamed about being laid off.  In reality, receiving one of his company’s generous compensation packages would be like a dream come true.

A few weeks later strange things started happening around the office.  First a pay freeze was initiated.  Then the Christmas party was cancelled.  And then, one by one, the people from Ernie’s department started to disappear.

Eventually Ernie was the last person remaining.  His work week, which had ballooned to seventy hours, was excruciating.  He was too exhausted to search for a job after work but he plowed on, convinced that a pink slip was in his future.

Three months later Ernie cornered his friend from the HR Department and demanded to know why he hadn’t been laid off.

“Everyone knows that I want a job closer to home,” he said.  “Why am I still here?”

“Layoffs are expensive,” the friend replied, lowering his voice to a whisper.  “Why should we pay you tens of thousands of dollars to leave when you’re planning on doing it voluntarily?  We needed someone to compensate for the  lay offs.  You were the most economical choice.”

The moral of the story, my friends, is that you must be careful what you say at the cubicle farm because if you reveal too much, there’s a strong possibility that it will come back to shoot you in the foot.

Sixteen months later, Ernie is still employed with the same company.

I don’t see much of him anymore.

All he ever does is work.

* Yes, this is a true story. I've changed the name to
protect my poor, over-worked friend's identity.

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In the corporate world, it’s the early bird who gets the worm. Those who speak first, and with the loudest voice, often reap the biggest rewards. Group interviews are a great way for employers to spot the much-coveted “go getters” in a pack, and they indicate how a candidate responds to stress and interacts with others. During a group interview job seekers are at their most vulnerable, and some would-be employers like to exploit the situation. One way they’ll do this is by interjecting a particularly off-putting question near the end of the interview, at a point when candidates are starting to feel comfortable.

There are a few variations on the type of “bomb” questions that employers like to drop, but the most popular incarnation is this:

Besides yourself, who in this room would you hire?

Scary, right?

On the Tenure Track rightfully refers to this as the “most cutthroat interview question ever” and to make matters worse, there is no “right” way to answer the question. If you list the fine points of your competitors, you take attention away from yourself – the last thing you’d want to do in an interview. If you pick the same candidate that everyone else picks, you’ll come across as unoriginal. If you go for the underdog in the room, you may be deemed unqualified too properly assess a situation.

Lionel, a long-time bank executive tells me that this question is often used as a “scare tactic.”

“[The question] is a way for potential employers to pit interviewees against one another,” he says. “It’s sneaky because it forces candidates to surrender what little control they had in the interview process.” The only plan of attack is to centre the answer around yourself.

Instead of saying:

“I think Jane would make a great programmer because she’s analytical and she knows the product,”

you could say:

“Like me, Jane is analytical and she understands the product. I think we’d be a great team because, in addition to Jane’s strengths, I also have solid experience as a software developer.”

It’s not perfect, but it’s the best solution I’ve come up with. Seeing as most companies – even the “hip” and “forward thinking” ones – like to use this question, it’s only a matter of time before this bomb is dropped on you.

While I can’t guarantee you’ll pass your group interview with flying colours, being prepared will save you from dissolving into a sputtering, crimson mess. Sad to say, but that may give you a huge advantage over your competition.

Happy job hunting.