Me...in my 15 minutes

Like who is THAT?

In case you blinked last Monday (like the rest of the world), I was on the cover of the RedEye and in a feature story about Gen Y job hopping.

I’m a little peeved the reporter didn’t plug my blog (since that’s how she found me to do the interview). But, oh well–I’ll remember for next time. You can read the story here. I discuss the upsides to job hopping, essentially explaining that employers don’t care if you job hop if you can produce good results. No one wants a job hopping malcontent.

Oh, did my boss freak? Kind of. But, more on that later.

Update: No, I do not walk the streets of Chicago looking this evil, however, the photog just managed to catch a pic of me looking less than smiley

Frankly, I don’t buy it.

People who think they are bad writers overemphasize how horrible their writing skills actually come across. They become overly apologetic about written work. They believe their sentence structure is barely coherent and reads like the stuff from CroMagnon magazine.

In actuality, it’s people who think of themselves as good writers as the worst offenders. They are the worst writers because they think they are so good.

They’ll become screeching prima donnas of the worst kind if someone dares critique anything they’ve written (typos excluded).

Writing is a skill like any other.  Just like you can learn to dance, sing (or at least carry a tune) and play the guitar – lots of stuff can be learned. Will you be Debbie Allen, Christina Aguilera or John Mayer?

No, not necessarily.

But, are you trying to be? That is the difference between respecting a learned skill and appreciating talents. The nuances lie in how much effort you put forward into doing something well (talent or skill). Worthwhile endeavors cannot be concerned with whether you were born with a knack for language, music or sports.

Talent is natural skill. People overrate the good (or bad) that it brings.  Then again, I’ve never had to worry about my bad writing – I’ve had over 20 years of practice.

What do you think? Is talent overrated? Should people concentrate on building their skills in context to their talents?

But, those days are behind me.

And, while job depression (or JD) is not always about a job – here are some ideas that have helped me “suffer” the bad times a bit better.

Read something on the way to work

If your commute is longer than 10 minutes, have something enriching and fun to read on the way there. Even if you drive – invest in audio books.

They take your mind (partially) off the commute and reward you with the company of a “voice.”

Make at least one “work pal” – two is better

You need someone to commiserate with – work pals do that. Don’t make friends with the complainers or the embittered employee.

Opt for the cheery coworker with a sunny disposition. The last thing you need is a Debbie Downer adding to your JD.

Leave the office (preferably on your lunch hour) at least once or twice a week

If the only time you are outside your office is when you enter the building and leave again at 5 pm – you are dooming yourself to more misery. Make sure you leave your office building a few times a week so that you aren’t steeped 8 hours a day in a depressing environment.

Have a work idol

Work idols are kind of like mentors, but you may not take them as seriously. They’re mentor-lite. They’re people whose work you admire or have an outlook on professional life that you’d like to (loosely) incorporate into your own.

The reason to have this?

I like to adopt a WWSGD?* or WWPTD?** approach to things when I’m stumped on a problem at work. It helps me incorporate an alternate perspective and take the “me” out of my problem solving.

*What Would Seth Godin do?

** What Would Penelope Trunk do?

What other ways can you navigate a less than happy professional life?

The CYA mantra insists that work be done in vacuums at your cubicles. As long as you take care of your part of the load – everyone is fine.

Not so.

If I’m only making sure that what I do gets done – how am I ensuring the success of my team? I’m not. I’m selfishly (and blindly) leaving bits and pieces out of the intricate work equation. I ask just enough questions to get my work done (maybe). I get just enough information to figure out my next steps (maybe).

I don’t know what the guy in the next cube does all day, but why bother? I’m covering my ass.

A CYA atmosphere is certainly very productive, but it most likely isn’t very innovative. Employees will do what works. They will function like the appropriate cog within the machine quite well.

And, to hell with everything else.

Why?

Because predictable results easier to manage instead of the trouble a mistake may cause (even the benefits of discovering how to take work to a whole new level don’t pose enough incentive).

The trouble atmosphere

I don’t know abot you, but I don’t want to work anywhere that intimates that if I were to make a mistake –it’s the end of the world, thus the need for covering my ass. This is the kind of atmosphere the CYA mantra breeds. It inappropriately suggests that trouble is ahead for mistake makers.

You are rewarded for things done right, but you may not learn anything in the process.

And, isn’t learning something new the whole point?

Celebrating Mistakes

Short of a grossly egregious error, mistakes are a part of any job. As long as humans are doing PR, manufacturing and finance – mistakes will be made.

The real trouble comes from not learning from your mistakes. Therefore, if you (or your organization) want to grow, the CYA mantra has no business manifesting itself in the minds of employees or managers.

If you want to read more about why mistakes should be celebrated, read this post at the Chief Happiness Officer

If you are interested in publishing, act like someone interested in publishing.

This means networking with industry insiders, keeping up with trends and news about the industry, perhaps even blogging about it. Volunteer with professional circles and find a few mentors.

You should study various jobs inside the industry that appeal to you and figure out how much of those skills are hard (like learning certain software, knowledge sets, etc.) versus soft (negotiation skills, being a “people person” etc.).

Cycles don’t break overnight, but change can be like magic

Transitions happen slowly, there is no exception when it comes to changing careers.

Finding a new career is fraught with rejection, false starts and misunderstandings. It’s the beauty of the learning process.

And, the relationship with our career (or job) is best described as the relationship we have with ourselves. We can’t take it too seriously or think it is beyond reproach or change.

We have to give it simple definitions but realize that those definitions are not binding. Have respect that it exists and someone saw a need for it. Enjoy it for what it is now, but always appreciate and strive for something new.

This is how change can seem to come over night, but in actuality, has been a long, toiling process in which the effort you put in is its own sweet reward.