Confidentiality and Your Career

Since I'm based in Seattle, many of my consulting projects are with organizations based here in Seattle.

A couple of weeks ago, I had a day of strategy development meetings with one of my top clients downtown. Returning from lunch early, I grabbed a coffee and went through e-mails in the lobby. Immediately next to me were two people having a work conversation that never should have taken place in a public space. 

Long story short... An employee was meeting with an HR leader to discuss inappropriate things that happened in a skip-level meeting (a meeting in which an employee meets with their manager's manager).

Because I am your HR doctor (*grin*), a few things I want to ensure you know:

1) Never initiate a work conversation that pertains to anything confidential in a public place. Ever. Just because you caught a busy person "with a free moment" doesn't mean you can have a sensitive conversation in public that should be occuring in a private setting.

2) Similarly, if approached, don't be caught off guard and enter into such a conversation. Find a 100% private location or schedule a time when you can meet in a 100% private location. Demand this even if the person is senior to you.

3) By "conversation" I mean not only personal things that pertain to your employment, but also any topics that can be tied to anything of a confidential nature (client information, NDA-related matters, etc.).

I'm bothered to know that an HR leader would think that a lobby is a satisfactory location for such a conversation. Just because you may see similar behavior modeled in your organization, that doesn't mean it's okay. Courteously state that you'd be more comfortable discussing said topic in a private location.

Workplaces are getting increasingly fast paced. Each day, slow down and remain grounded enough to do the right thing – to model professional, respectful behavior and to expect it from others.

Happy Holidays 2017!

2017 has been an unsettling year in this world of ours. The news is full of depressing stories, global relations are very tense, and people seem more disconnected than ever. 

On top of this already disquieting landscape, many people here in the United States – and, more so, around the world – have to endure a lot of day-to-day hardship. About 2 of 3 people lack access to clean drinking water and about 1 of 3 people live on less than $1 a day. In a world with so much wealth, it really is unimaginable.

These realities also give me perspective. Perspective to remember that, as a successful member of society, I can always do more to help in making the world a better, more welcoming place for those not as fortunate as I.

Oftentimes, when I get into these topics, I have to resist the urge to feel as though I am getting “off topic” from the core purpose of Tandem Powered. During those moments, though, I’m quickly reminded that this, too, is what Tandem Powered is all about.

Tandem Powered is, of course, about consulting, resume writing, and career development. Essentially, inspiring people to get better aligned with their authentic selves and, therefore, closer and closer to career (and life!) satisfaction. If you’ve used Tandem's services or have spent some time here on the website, you likely know that it goes deeper than that.

My desire to empower people and communities transcends career development activities. In fact, Tandem Powered got off the ground emboldened by the belief that we are all connected as world citizens. Meaning, what’s good for you is good for me.

In the spirit of doing my part to be a uniter, here are a couple of things I want to share as we enter into the holiday season.

1) First, know that Tandem Powered is committed to the #OpenToAll campaign. No matter who you are, where you're from, who you love, etc., you are wholeheartedly welcome here. I know – from my experience in work and life – that our differences do in fact make us stronger.

2) In the #OpenToAll spirit of connection, I am going to run a promotion through 12/31/2017. If you purchase my Tandem's Essentials package for yourself and someone else, you'll receive a $100 discount. Be sure to mention this e-mail when you get in touch.

Being a responsible world citizen has always been at the core of this business. Thanks to all of my clients – past and future – for trusting me with their personal or organizational development. We are connected!

Happy Holidays

The Career / Business Doctor is in!

As Tandem has grown over the past decade, more and more clients are requesting coaching sessions. Because I also do HR / Business Consulting (often traveling globally) and Resume / Career Development Consulting, my schedule can rarely accommodate the time needed for a traditional series of coaching sessions of 40-50 minutes/each.

Similarly, I get so entrenched in robust consulting projects that it restricts my ability to help companies with matters that can be addressed quickly.

That's about to change!

Starting immediately, I am rolling out my Spark Sessions service to both Corporate and Individual clients. Essentially, Spark Sessions will be all about providing quick consulting sessions addressing clients' pressing issues – a workplace dilemma, salary negotiation tips, interview tips, etc. Each session will be 15-20 minutes and will allow me to consult with clients who are asking for a brisk, collaborative consultation to address a specific issue.

As the name Spark Sessions suggests, each conversation will serve as exactly the catalyst the client needs to take the next step forward.

I've been testing the service with my top corporate clients and with my Individual VIP clients (anyone who has been a client returns as a VIP client), and it's been very successful. In the coming weeks, I'll be rolling Spark Sessions out more broadly with the goal of fully implementing them in 2018.

Is there something on your mind that could benefit from my perspective? Get in touch so that I can share details and pricing.

Your Rambling Resume is a Problem

I got a lot of interesting e-mails, asking about the "rambling" I was referring to in my last blog post.

"What constitutes rambling," many e-mailers asked.

Good question.

Rarely, if ever, do candidates get it right on their resume. Many are far too short, which tells reviewers one thing about preparedness, confidence, etc. Far more, however, veer heavily into rambling, which is even more telling.

Why? Because savvy employers know that rambling is an indication of two things:

1. A lack of confidence. Candidates feel so uncertain and lack so much confidence about what they've done, that they feel as though they have to mention every. little. detail. in order to sound busy or important or good at multi-tasking or promotable or like a team player.

2. The inability to gauge importance. Employers want to know how you moved the mark in each of your prior positions. If, for example, you are the Director of Customer Relations, they know that you are responsible for the department that oversees customer satisfaction. They want to know how you increased customer satisfaction (and other KPIs), not the exhaustive list of responsibilities that enable you to do so.

Rambling is a resume (and interview) killer.

Let me help you!

Make More Money by Keeping Your Resume Up-to-date

The title of this post may sound like click-bait or some late night infomercial, but it is actually true. There is a fairly straight line between keeping your resume up-to-date and increasing what you earn.

1. I write a lot about the power of quantifiable achievements on a resume, but the power of capturing your achievements is not just helpful in the past tense. If you are consistently recognizing your achievements by updating your resume, you are more likely to operate with an achievement mindset – seeing and seizing on opportunities to make an impact. That increased performance is what gets you noticed and increases the potential for a promotion.
2. To that last point, operating with an achievement mindset increases your potential for a promotion, but only if the impact you make is noticed. By consistently updating your resume you are habituating the process of concisely communicating your achievements. So, when it comes time for your performance evaluation, you can come to the table with a clear outline of the impact you have made, which increases the likelihood that you will get a raise or bonus.
3. I can't tell you how often clients get in touch and need a rush resume update because the perfect job showed up, but they are not prepared to apply to it. If you always have your resume at the ready, when opportunities arise, you are prepared. Not only does this mean you can quickly throw your hat in the ring, but because so many candidates won't be prepared, you'll stand out.