How to Stay Hired

We have all been there. Sweaty palms. Crinkled resumes. Scuffed shoes. It’s job interview day and despite sticking those germ-infested hooves in our mouth during an intense question, we snagged ourselves an illustrious position at our dream job. 

You see, several years ago, that was me. I remember what I was wearing, the weather, a few of the interview Q&A's.

After a while I got comfortable with everyone and work life proceeds. The mantra practice makes perfect fueled me through the day. However, a nagging question snuck in, how do I keep the dream alive? How do I stay hired?

And now I’ve planted it in your head…

Be On Time: Punctuality is equivalent to reliability. Not only should you be on time to plopping your fine rear anatomy at your desk in the morning (seriously, how many traffic jams can your encounter in a week. Seriously.) but you should be on time with handing your work into your boss and to your clients.

Be Honest: Own up to your mistakes. While it is a globally known fact that America is in crisis mode for an ever-growing debt, (you didn’t really think that was was a national secret, did you?) that is not the only deficit we own. We are deficient when it comes to taking responsibility.

Be Likeable: What does that even mean? If your coworkers grimace when you talk, that’s a strong indicator you are on the wrong spectrum of likeability. If you extend a BBQ invite and 80% of the office shows, you’re on the right track. Listen to people, share your food (be respective to food allergies and try not to get people severely harmed) and respect boundaries.

Be Open: Whether it’s opening up to others, being open to ideas or critique or helping others open up, shutting down means you lose out. Allow people to explore alongside you.

Be Proactive: Don’t wait for someone to ask you to do something. If you see the water is about to run over the sink ledge, for Niagara Fall’s sake, get up and shut it off even if you didn’t leave it on. A cautious person with a good set of eyes in the future who has the team’s back (quite the visual) is always an asset.

Be Versatile: Let people know about your multi-faceted skills and your willingness to use them whenever, however, and wherever needed. This may be your dream job in an illustrious team, but it takes many moving parts to make mighty things happen. Moreover, it takes all kinds of special too.

So finally, how to stay hired is to be hired. While being on time is essential, don’t just show up because it’s your dream. Be hired. And stay hired.

Here’s to many more years at Worx…because it just Worx for me.

Midnight Means Good Morning

“There’s no such thing as midnight because after 12 it’s a new day already.”

When a six-year-old tells you something so profound, you listen. And whenever 12am obnoxiously flashes across any digital devices, or the hour and minute hand perfectly overlay each other in a vertical position, these words will be sparked.

At that moment, however, I shook my head in wonder at how a mind so young could look at a world so large and complex and come to that conclusion. For him, 12am is an exciting time. For him it’s the promise that whenever mom said tomorrow, 12:01am marked a whole new journey. A clean slate. New possibilities. Endless possibilities

Meanwhile, we try to wrestle with the 24-hour time zone, going so far as to bargain with it through inventions such as fast-food, dishwashers, microwaves. All in an effort to speed up productivity rate while we can slow down our routine.

All it has done, however, is allowed for us to fill more hours with more fast-food mentality productivity. And we’re fried, no pun intended. See, time is one of the most coveted and yet casually treated commodities we can claim. Time has become a billable asset.

But to one little six-year-old kid, it was a discovery. He could recognize Sunday-Saturday, knew what yesterday, tomorrow and before or after meant. For a young guy, his reminiscing was sharp, but for as much as he lived in the now, he was always eager to live in the what’s next.

So much so, that that when trying to get him to sleep throughout the night he asked half-asleep and 100% disgruntled, “Why is it taking so long to wake up?” In other words, why wasn’t it time to get up?

All he wanted was for the morning to come so he could punch the possibilities in the face and conquer yet another day.

The only thing I want to punch in the morning is my alarm clock. (Did you know there’s actually a national holiday for this?) Regardless, we all have different schedules. We all live different lifestyles. But we all have developed a unique relationship with our bed that is hard to sever come wakey-wake time. But wouldn’t it be nice to develop some element of sentiment in which we look forward to getting up? 

Wouldn’t it be nicer if we got up in the morning and half the work was already done?

A Few Simple Ways to Kick-Start Your Day Wisely:

• Don’t Be an “I Have Nothing to Wear” Victim

Lay it all out…Our mom’s did this for us for years; it’s time we adopted the habit. This task includes more than matching an argyle vest with a checkered shirt. It’s about checking the weather to verify whether our clothing will be compatible with adverse weather conditions.

• Plan an Emergency Exit Strategy

Don’t get mad, get even? Yes, that doesn’t really work when you’re behind schedule, stuck in traffic or are still at home and unintentionally tried to give yourself a double shot of espresso via osmosis by spilling it down your front. No, don’t get mad, get up even earlier. Plan an exit strategy that will give you plenty of time to make your real entrance right on time.

• Block Time for Breakfast

For some of you that may not be food. But we all need to begin our day by digesting what energizes us. Maybe it’s exercise, maybe it’s reading, spending a few minutes with your children before they head off to school - maybe it is physical food. But what is the first portion of your day?

When we get up in the morning, we far too often see just another hour, another number and the endless tasks. I challenge you to see endless possibilities and that no matter what, 12:01am marks a whole new journey. A clean slate. New possibilities. Endless possibilities.

Relax!

Take a breather to take on the world.

Recently, I went on a weeklong camping trip in the wilderness of New England with my family. We had sporadic cell service, and even had to pull over and break out an ATLAS to find our way around. It was a nice escape from being available 24/7. It is no secret that taking time off can make you more productive. There is scientific evidence to prove it!

The more we try to keep up, the more trapped we become in the proverbial hamster wheel. The notion of accomplishing more by doing less seems absurd. A new and growing body of research across multiple disciplines shows that planned breaks – including daytime exercise, naps, longer sleep hours and more time away from the office can re-energize you; boosting productivity, creativity and job performance. I guess the boss was right all along in making us eat lunch away from our desks and encouraging walks outside on nice days.

In many work environments, downtime is considered wasted time. We rely on time to get things accomplished, but there is only a finite amount. We can’t make more hours in the day, but we can increase our energy. Energy also has a limit but, unlike time, it is renewable. Humans are not designed to burn continuous energy. We need periods of recovery to function. Our bodies are great at telling us when we need to recharge, but warning signs are often hidden by caffeine, sugar and stress hormones (adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol; respectively).

Working in 90-minute intervals with short breaks in between is a step in the right direction. Go outside: nature is more affordable than therapy. So is spending time doing things that matter. Taking the time for self-renewal can help you to be excellent at anything.

Mind If Cut In? Managing Interruptions at Work.

It occurs as part of the natural flow of things in the workplace and it is virtually impossible to avoid. It can make you lose your train of thought and hinder the progress of projects that require full and focused attention. I am talking about interruptions, my friends. While we all have to deal with it, some handle it better than others. Our office has a unique situation- the four of us are in one room with nowhere to hide.

Some interruptions are important, and it is a fact of life that from time-to-time your expertise will be needed outside of your regularly scheduled workday. Aside from in-person interruptions, we are constantly dealing with phone calls, emails and IMs. Good news; I have a few ways you could minimize the impact of interruptions on your productivity. They aren’t one-size-fits-all and the application depends on your work environment:

Plan for it. Your coworkers are not purposely trying to sabotage your carefully planned day – but as mentioned before, some interruptions are important and inevitable. In fact, you are probably aware of when certain interruptions are going to happen. When planning out your schedule for the day, allow some gaps in your day so interruptions won’t be such a big deal.

Take control. It is OK to tune out every once in a while. Just be sure to respond to emails, phone calls and the like in a reasonable timeframe. In our office, we “plug in” with our ear buds and tune everything out with music. This is our “Do Not Disturb” sign. If you are lucky enough to have your own office, you can place a sign on your door (but not all day). Share your system with coworkers: more than likely they will accept and respect it. They may even adopt your strategy!

Don’t interrupt others. We have all heard the advice to treat others the way you would like to be treated. Be a model for what you would like to see. Before launching into a full-on conversation, ask if it is a good time to talk.

Hide. I’m serious. If you have a smaller office where there isn’t a quiet place to focus, leave the office. If you cannot leave, find out if a half-day out of the office is possible. A few hours of focused time may allow you to accomplish more than you would in days of interrupted time.

Just say no. Some interruptions are necessary, but many of them can wait. If you are not available, ask the person if you can talk about it later. Don’t beat around the bush or make up an excuse, just be honest and matter-of-fact. Learning to say “no” is not always easy, but with time it can prevent a lot of headaches.

We are all in this together. If you communicate your need for focused time and establish a system, most people will appreciate and respect it.