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.

Banning The B Word

I can’t today.

I don’t have time.

I won’t make it…

I recently heard a wise man challenge me and my associates to ensure that we do not mistake busyness for productivity. In our Worx culture, we live to live less busy. To ensure that our answer for, “how are you?” is not busy. It’s a passive way of replying “I don’t have time for you; everything else is a priority before you.”

That’s when I realized words that once held the power of positive action, we’ve turned into negative connotations via one tiny stroke in the air. With this mark, we create contractions. I call them four-letter words.

As I was recently browsing on one of the greatest time wasters (and I say I’m too busy?) a post across the great Atlantic Ocean caught my attention:

“Time is a created thing. To say ‘I don’t have time,’ is like saying, ‘I don’t want to.'”  

-Lao Tzu

When I was younger, my brothers tried to convince me “they” [the government] were going to change time. Either they would add a day or elongate the days by hours. How would it affect us as humans? It would change our school schedule. In the negative. I almost believed them.

However, looking back I think how many times I hear myself and adults wish for more hours in a day. Because we don’t have time. Because we are too stressed. Because we are too busy.

So we can’t, we don’t and we won’t.

However, since working at Worx, I learned two invaluable practices:

Make the moments count: We must learn time isn’t about us; it’s about others. Everyone is allotted 24 hours a day no matter where his or her hour hand is. It’s not about borrowing, giving, taking, wishing away, looking back or speeding up time. It’s about sharing time.

Make the conversations intentional: Ban the apathetic four-letter words. Including the “B” word, busy. Be presumptuous. Someone at some point will be asking you, "how are you?" Prepare your answer. Assume that someone will ask for a favor or invite you to be part of his or her inner circle. Be imaginative and find a way to abstain from those pesky go-to contraction words.

Because you do have time. You just have to decide if you want to or don’t want to.

Are you going to let that tiny stroke in the air steal your action? Are you going to do or don’t?

My Couch Understands Me...

It’s a Wednesday night, and I am dead-tired from a bad night of sleep, a long day at work and a cranky toddler. After I put my daughter to bed I eat a bowl of cereal while binge watching a show that I am not even enjoying. All of my motivation to do anything else has absorbed into the couch cushions. Well crap.

Maybe instead of watching Netflix, I could work on one of the many side projects I think about everyday. I know that tomorrow I will absolutely regret not doing it. What the heck happened to my motivation?

Lack of motivation can be attributed to many factors. Ignoring your physical needs is a big one. When life gets busy it is easy to go without breakfast or eat a late lunch. I am guilty for picking up Morgan after she has dinner at daycare and completely neglecting to feed myself, hence the bowl of Cheerios. It is really difficult to want to do anything when your blood sugar is low.

Having to make too many decisions at once can drain your batteries. Have you ever had the feeling where there is so much that needs to be done you just want to take a nap? Blame it on your brain. The more choices you make throughout the day, the harder each one becomes for your brain and at some point it starts looking for shortcuts.

How do I fix it?

If you are simply not taking care of yourself – start there. Think about where you could be going wrong with this and correct it. To help with an overwhelming amount of decisions, make a list and prioritize what needs to be done now versus what can wait.

Lastly, find something that you really want to do and do it! This could be as simple as finally cleaning out your fridge. Getting started is the hardest part. Once I get moving on something, you better believe I won’t stop until it’s done.

Cut A Mama Some Slack

The moment someone at a business function finds out I am a mom, the first question to come up when I tell them I bring my child to work is how I handle a threenager and work responsibilities. There is no magic solution, and the same thing may not work for everyone, but this is the way I roll.

Having a support system is extremely important. My husband works a non-conventional work schedule and is fortunate enough to have off several days during the week. That takes care of my little nugget two days out of five. My mother is generous enough to have her over on Thursdays, which takes care of one more day. That leaves two days where I need to be a productive human being and nurture the growth and the well-being of mini-me, while at the office.

I am lucky enough to have a child that is even-tempered on most days. She occupies herself with books and toys, coming into the office multiple times a day for hugs, snacks and sometimes out of boredom. Boredom is where a little bit of mom-guilt kicks in: On one hand, I have invited her to be a part of my world instead of sending her to a stranger for day-care, and on the other I feel like she is being deprived of experiences with other children her age. I counteract this guilt by making sure we eat lunch together outside, away from the phone and emails. I also make a point to share some quality mommy-daughter time after work – going to the park, picking berries, coloring, Play-Doh, baking, etc.

In the grand scheme of things, people around the world have bigger problems, so I have made a conscious decision to cut myself some slack – and if you are a working mama, you should too. As mothers, we are all doing the best we can.