Job Out of College

Doing "BS work"

So you graduated college with a Master's degree and you are ready to work! If you are lucky enough to find a job you are qualified for, you may find that small menial tasks are delegated to you - you know, "BS work". If you are like me, it can sometimes get you disgruntled.

My advice - do it and do it well!

In a career interview with one of my mentors, I asked how he got to be in an executive level position. His answer - leadership and doing everything that no one else wanted to do. He told me about his entry-level position, where there were certain jobs or projects that no one else in the company wanted to work on because they were boring and uninteresting - so he volunteered.

After a while, people started recognizing the fact that my mentor worked on many projects (regardless of size) and he would always get everything done on time, on budget, and with great results. He established a very positive reputation & credibility in the company and before he knew it, he was managing larger and much bigger projects. The rest... is history.

So next time your boss asks you work on something seemingly insignificant, try to figure out how doing that task will benefit you and your career. There must be something you can learn from doing the task. Here are a  few:

1. Exposure - maybe you will have to work with someone outside your team or department with whom you will have to work for again
2. Education - maybe you will actually learn something! Managing people, time lines, budget, new MS Excel skills, communication skills, presentation skills, knowledge of the business?
3. Credibility - just like my mentor, maybe you will do such a great job, that you will get more projects to work on.
4. Responsibility - because the task may be small and seemingly meaningless, you will be solely responsible for following it through. On larger, more "interesting" projects, you will most likely have to work under someone.
5. Credit - hey, it may not be the most important thing in the world, but you still did it and did it well

So next time you are asked to do some "BS work", instead of grumbling about it, think about how you can benefit!

Taking Criticism

A few days ago, I had a meeting with 2 team leads for a project I'm managing. The meeting was a project issues meeting, where the 3 of us reviewed how the project was progressing and how we could modify our approach to accomplish our project goals more effectively. One team lead and I arrived on the subject of delegating more tasks to certain team members who were not as actively involved as the others. We felt that in order to get their dedication to the project, we needed to make them feel like they have a role in the project and to make them want to succeed. The other team lead stayed quiet during this conversation and for the rest of the meeting. I did not think anything of it at the time.

A few minutes after the meeting, the quiet team lead approached me and asked why I criticized his management style in front of the other team lead. Although it seemed like this comment came out of left field, I quickly asked some clarifying questions to get to the root of the issue. I explained that I realized there are different management styles that work for different people, but stated that delegating tasks to other team members has helped make my projects successful. This comment was not taken well. Although I further "sweet-talked" my way through the conversation to make him realize the benefit to my approach, getting so emotionally attached to the criticism the way the quiet team lead did is not an effective way to grow as an individual.

One of the most difficult and rewarding parts of the learning experience is being able to take criticism. I always try to take criticism lightly, no matter how much it annoys me at the time. I will argue until I'm blue in the face, but when I leave the conversation I think about the other side of the argument critically and see if there is any value. Using this approach, I am able to emotionally segregate myself from the argument and not necessarily lose face to the person I'm arguing with. It's always good to get other people's opinions - because who knows, they might teach you something!

My experience shows that the most important lessons I learn which make me a better person, come from people who are not afraid to give me criticism. As soon as you begin getting criticism, take your emotions out of the situation and try to understand what is being said and why its being said. Whether you accept or reject it in the end, you will at least know that it is a possibility and other people might feel the same way as your critiquer.  This goes for your career, education, and even your personal life. 

Not only should you take criticism, but you should ask for it! After an interview, feel free to ask how the interviewer felt you did. Ask how you could improve for next time. Although it may be difficult at times, it's one of the most valuable approaches to personal growth.

Leadership... or lack thereof

Since I have been 6 years old, I have been a member of a scouting organization which promotes leadership in adolescents. Many of the"higher-ups" in the organization have lost touch with what it takes to bring out leadership qualities in youth.

In my opinion, the only way to teach leadership is to:
a) lead by example & mentoring
b) throw them into leadership roles and let them figure it out themselves

When I turned 21, I was the camp director at a 3-week sleep-away camp for 7 to 11 year old boys. I managed a group of 16 to 17 year old counselors who were responsible for carrying out my plan. Because this was the first year they were counselors, they always had questions on how to carry out certain activities and how to solve certain issues. They relied on me as their leader to make any decisions for them.

I also had a camp administration to which I technically reported to. Due to a death in the family, I had to leave my camp for a few days and members of the camp administration had to take over leading my camp.

When I returned, the counselors were unhappy and stressed, the kids felt the counselors frustrations, and I had to clean up the mess. The counselors were frustrated because they felt they were being told what to do and how to lead their group of kids. They felt that they were doing a good job before and did not understand why these higher-ups were forcing decisions down their throats. Instead of trying to solve the problem for them, I encouraged them to discuss their issues and solve the issues themselves.

After that, the counselors  started making decisions on their own about how to carry out certain activities and how to lead their group of young scouts. They began creating their own plans and brought their own creative ideas to the table. They even began giving leadership responsibilities to their scouts - they began trusting their kids instead of baby-sitting them.

The children, the counselors, and I learned valuable lessons from the experience - and we all became better leaders because of the mentoring and trust in each other.

So before you go to your next job interview, try to think hard about how you are a leader and maybe more importantly, how you feel about leadership.

What are some ways you are a leader? How do you teach leadership to others? Are leaders born or are they made?

Additional Reading:

• John Gardner - On Leadership