Work has a habit of revealing a lot about you. Coworkers watch what you do and then draw conclusions like you: Really know how to get stuff done the right way (or not) Are someone who should be promoted (or never allowed to supervise) Want to keep getting better (or only do enough to get by) You assess yourself too each time you cross a work hurdle, discovering that you: Take to new assignments with relative ease (...

Have you noticed how amazing everyone is these day? If not, just listen. Somehow we’ve become surrounded by all these amazing people who do amazing work with amazing colleagues in amazing places during these amazing times. Someone may be saying that you’re amazing too. By definition, to be amazing means one needs to affect others with great wonder, to astonish. That means creating great surprise or marvel...

It’ll get you every time. That last question in a job interview that catches you off guard. Serious job candidates spend lots of time preparing what they’ll say to make a positive impression on the interviewer. They work hard to: Anticipate the questions to be asked and the experiences they’ll draw on to answer them Master the behavioral interview process (those situation, steps taken, and results/outcom...

Self-awareness is your friend. Self-absorption your enemy. Being fully cognizant of your skills and behaviors as they play out in the workplace is empowering. Being excessively involved in your own self-interests isn’t. Self-awareness starts with humility. At work, it’s not all about you or me. It’s about the value you bring, with the needs of the work being more important than your needs. If this sounds harsh...

Resume panic–that unique feeling of crippling dread that overtakes you when facing the need to promote your skills and experiences to get a new job. Needing a job is unnerving enough. You’re in transition, going from where you were to someplace new. The competition for that new job starts with a resume that can get you an interview. Ditch the panic. Panic gets you nowhere. In fact, it puts you at risk. When athletes panic,...

Maybe you're sick of it-that "follow your dreams" bit. It can be annoying when fabulously successful people deliver that seemingly hackneyed message. Their words make it sound so easy, as though our dreams are actually clear to us and the path obvious. Their encouragement can even sound a bit like criticism. Ugh! We often convince ourselves that realized dreams are for other people-mostly celebrities, pro athletes,...

We can be our own worst enemy if we’re not careful. We’ll tell ourselves that we: Bulletpoints: don’t measure up never seem to get things right keep falling short of expectations are out of favor with the boss The more we doubt ourselves…the more we doubt ourselves. It’s a downward spiral we need to stop, and fast! Heads up. I’m a big sports fan. I watch golf, tennis, basketball, baseball, football, and...

You can run but you can’t hide. Mistakes, poor decisions, sub-par performance, unbecoming behavior, and unmet expectations stalk even the most skillful among us. Performance missteps will happen spite of our best efforts to avoid them. In every case they belong to us. We own them and it’s in our career best interest to admit that. Excuses cut deep. We don’t want to goof up at work. It feels bad. When it happens...

Like it or not, we’re living in a world of “like, ” or sometimes the dreaded “unlike.” “Liking” on social media, company websites, and blogs has become an obsession by many to: Feel affirmed by people known or unknown Become part of a community of other “likers” Support “like” requestors, whether we really do or not Most people want to be liked. I know I do. The reality, though, is that not all the people lik...

Failure happens in spite of our best efforts to avert it. Fear of impending failure can be haunting, even crippling. It can drain our self-confidence, crush our optimism, and stress our every move. It can also ignite us to fight the good fight, motivating us to do whatever it takes to stop it. But failure will come anyway. When it does, we often feel defeated, believing our personal brand is forever tarnished and o...