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It’s a personal journey of discovery that I hope will inform, inspire, and empower. I’ve been sharing my journey for more than twenty years with small groups of college-aged men and women, showing them how to get a head start on their professional and business lives and have fun doing it.
Read Chapter ExcerptsNo Shorts, Flip Flops, or Sunglasses
Chapter 1: References A Pond Request
The most common issue facing the young people our company recruits today is the reluctance many parents have about letting their sons and daughters work while attending college. But studies show that if a student finds work while they’re in high school, and then continues to work part-time through college, they’re much more likely to get a job when they graduate. Not working means missing out on important experiences—including disappointment—that can help them learn how to cope in the real world and shape their view of it. Without some sort of work experience, college students often graduate without ever having to prepare a résumé or go through the interview process. They emerge into the real world assuming they’re qualified for a first-class job in a professional setting. Not so fast. It turns out most companies now prefer new hires who already have some workplace mileage behind them, to avoid having to teach them from scratch. You’re going to make mistakes no matter where or when you launch your working life. Why not make them while you’re still in school and get that part of your education behind you? A résumé is not an essay. It’s a table of contents of your activities that are relevant to your work potential. The more you try to cram into it, the less impressive you appear, and the more excuses you give someone to throw your résumé away. The less you tell, the more you leave to the imagination. A résumé is supposed to tease someone into wanting to know more so they will invite you in for an interview. If I never see another résumé with the words “creative,” “innovator,” “visionary,” and “passionate” in the summary at the top—the objective—it’ll be too soon. Steve Jobs, the late founder of Apple, was an innovator once he had invented something and started his company. Until then, he was a kid in his parents’ garage with a soldering iron and a crazy idea. You might be a visionary, but unless you’ve got something on your résumé to prove it, keep your visions to yourself. You might be creative, but unless you have evidence and the job you’re applying for specifically calls for it, telling people you are comes across as BS. The rule is show, don’t tell. You will be evaluated on what you’ve done, not what you hope to do. Chapter 3: No Shorts, Flip-Flops, or Sunglasses Suppose you were a miniature person trapped inside a salad bowl. How would you get out? Believe it or not, that’s a question that has been asked during a job interview. It’s one of the more questionable questions you might be asked at companies that look for young, innovative thinkers. Both Google and Microsoft used to ask applicants, “Why is a manhole cover round?” (There are seven practical answers to that one, including that a round manhole cover can’t accidentally fall through the hole.) “If you were a punctuation mark, which would you be?” “Try to sell me a wooden saucepan.” These are trick questions meant to test your problem-solving or creative skills. There are no right answers. Chances are you’ll never be asked any of them. You will likely be asked some traditional questions and you’ll do yourself a big favor, and feel more relaxed and competent, if you think about a few of them beforehand. If you’re seriously interested in the job, you might want to have a good answer on hand for these. You, the thirty million or so men and women who are starting your professional working lives, are closer to your parents than any previous generation. Your folks have been there in the bleachers, the auditoriums, the waiting rooms, and everywhere in between. You trust and respect them. They may even be your best friends. You want to please them and meet their expectations for you. BUT, many of you will need to set boundaries if you want to avoid being tagged by hiring managers and supervisors as one of those people—the ones who show up for an interview with Mom or Dad, or whose parents want to help negotiate their kids’ salaries, or call the boss to complain about their kids’ hours. It’s time to get real. This is your life. Mom and Dad, we love you! But we’re not hiring you. We managers think it’s great you have a sharing, honest relationship with your sons and daughters and you’re always looking out for them. Just make sure you avoid undercutting your sons’ and daughters’ self-confidence, and their dignity, without realizing it. One of the techniques we’ve used to illustrate ethical dilemmas is a story that’s been passed down in our management over the years. I like to use it when we have recruiting meetings when parents are invited. An armored car driving down the highway hits a bump and, unbeknownst to the driver, the rear doors open up and the money starts flying out. The truck drives on and there’s money scattered everywhere. People are stopping their cars and jumping out. There are two types of people: the ones who shout, “Free money!” and grab as much as they can; and the ones who say, “Somebody’s lost their money and we have to make sure it gets back to its rightful owner.” I tell the parents, “We teach our reps to think and make the right decisions, and make them instinctively. First I ask them, ‘In this story, which type of person are you?’” Pause. “Then I ask them, ‘How long did it take you to come up with your answer?’” Young people take their cues from those they know best, their families. If you are a parent, your daughter’s or son’s success may depend on their ability to make good choices on the fly when you aren’t around to advise them. Make sure you are setting a high standard, especially when it comes to integrity. Chapter 6: The Party Stops Here If college is a jungle (think Animal House), the office is the zoo. Many students go into the zoo thinking they’re still in the jungle. The office chit-chat tends to be about how hard they partied last weekend and where they’re going to be partying hard next weekend. Men and women whose brains are still back there in the frat or sorority houses will talk about each other using the crude terms that have become commonplace in our culture. If you happen to work with superiors who talk this way, here’s how to have some fun—never, ever use language that is foul, demeaning, dismissive, racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, pornographic, intolerant, hurtful, or mean. Keep your politics and faith to yourself, and resist the urge to argue with those who don’t. Keep this up and you may be surprised how quickly others adapt to your standards when they realize it matters to you and how, compared with you, they sound coarse and common. If this happens, others will be showing their respect for your values, which you established by not saying something. That’s a form of leadership–by example–that is authentic and effective. For most of us, that first real job is both exhilarating and terrifying. It’s exhilarating to finally hear someone tell you, “You’re hired.” If you’re like most people, before you even start the job you’ll be plotting to buy a few things you think you’ll need or you always wanted. If you’re ambitious, your head may fill with ideas about how to change things. When you get that urge, remember the baby chick. The first real job can be terrifying because, if your brain is still back at college, you may feel like it’s a test, one you desperately need to pass to avoid becoming a dismal failure in life. You want to keep from making a fool of yourself, or having to tell your family you got laid off or fired. Before you blurt out that great idea at work, take a walk around the block. There are always hidden agendas and office politics in every workplace. You can’t know whether your wonderful idea might have been suggested in the past and was rejected as ridiculous by your boss. Focus on what you can learn instead of showing what you think you know. The accomplishments and praise will naturally follow. Chapter 8: Connecting the Dots If business were a video game, to get the gold coins and the magic swords you have to help someone else prosper or solve a problem. You may think, What business help do I, a student (or recent grad), have to offer someone else? If you make a habit of getting to know what other people are doing, think about, and need, you’ll quickly find that what you have to offer is the chance to connect them with others. You might meet someone who’s working as a realtor just when you learn that one of your other connections is getting ready to sell a house. You might meet a young business consultant after you’ve connected with an entrepreneur who needs help with a business plan. Each time you connect two people, you’ve created a neighborhood in your professional village. Each time you solve someone else’s problem, your value goes up and the people in your village become eager to find ways to show their gratitude—by helping you. You’re connecting the dots but what will the final picture be? No matter how carefully you may plan your career, opportunities you may never have considered will pop up. The adventure of networking is never knowing where it might lead. |
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CHILDREN'S DYSLEXIA CENTERS A portion of the purchase price of this book will be donated to support the local programs of Children’s Dyslexia Centers, Inc., a network of fifty nonprofit centers in thirteen states that provide tutoring and training services for families with children affected by dyslexia, an inherited but treatable condition that affects how people learn to read, speak, and process numbers. Famous dyslexics include Thomas Edison, Winston Churchill, Leonardo DaVinci, and Walt Disney. Dyslexia affects about one in five children, boys and girls equally, and if left untreated is the primary reason teenagers drop out of school, contributes to juvenile delinquency, and puts them at risk of underachieving their potential as adults. Early professional help greatly increases a child’s chances of living a normal, fully functional life. 
First check presentation!
December 31, 2013
In the beginning, I was one of those partially formed souls, a college student discovering that inside this shy, introverted country boy was a strong desire to help others identify and pursue their goals. 
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