Tag: Deon Duncan

June 19, 2015 Posted by dduncan in Career

Why are people afraid of managing?

I overheard a conversation on the train while heading to work one day that made me think. It was between two young ladies (both their early to mid-thirties by my estimation) talking about career aspirations. One started by saying she was morbidly afraid of being a lifer: a term used to describe criminals who have been sentenced to life in prison, with no chance of parole. Of course she was using this in the context of being stuck at the same job or in the same position for her entire working career. My ears perked up, because to me, that was a very valid fear and should serve as motivation to keep one looking for fresh opportunities for development and progress. Intrigued, I began to listen more intently and a few moments later the conversation took an interesting turn.

In her response, the other young lady stated that her biggest fear was being a manager. She then went into a five minute, expletive filled diatribe about why she felt so strongly about it. Here is a summary of what she said (minus the expletives of course): “Managers have too much responsibility. If something goes wrong with anyone on the team, it is the manager’s problem. Managers have to be involved in everything. Managers always have to come early and be the last ones to leave.” She rounded off her contribution by expressing her desire to work autonomously and be responsible for just herself. This sentiment seems to be increasing in popularity, but it was not always this way.

I recall over 10 years ago when I was just starting my professional journey, I believed that a sign of progress and development was being responsible for someone else. That could have meant being a mentor, team lead, supervisor or an official manager. This mindset was adopted because there was and still is a widely accepted practice of taking the most tenured or experienced hire and making them manager over others. That implies that elapsed time makes you a perfect choice to become a manager.

Fast forward ten years and I have realized that this ideal is an absolute mistake. While it is true that experience is a contributing factor in making a good manager, people skills and other intangibles are far more important. What I have experienced is that if you are incapable and unwilling to shoulder the responsibility required in helping develop and motivate others, while ensuring that the department and company goals are being achieved, then you are not the one for the job.

For the majority of us, we learn about management from experience with the managers that we have. If we had horrible experiences, we are going to be either inspired to be better or shy away from it entirely. In the new professional climate, there are many individuals opting to stay away from managing in general and are very content playing the role of an individual contributor. With an upward trend in the use of contract and freelance workers in several industries that may have been traditionally staffed by full time employees, many feel secure in focusing on the role of expert. Despite this, there is no escaping having to work in teams or being accountable to a manager or supervisor.

So back to the second lady from the conversation mentioned above. Her disposition is totally fine and if her reasoning is anything like I described then it makes perfect sense. Not aspiring to be a manager should not affect your development if all you desire is to focus on and develop your expertise. However, for this to happen you must be in an environment that facilitates that desire. Pay careful attention to this point because many places views progress as the only way to reward good performers and shying away from managing in such an arena only serves to alienate you, which could negatively affect your career.

As I close, I admonish that you should really only chase after being a manager if you are prepared for the work that it takes to be effective. Other than that it is perfectly fine to steer clear of it. Management is not for everyone. I am sure anyone who has or had a bad manager will definitely concur. However, the role of an individual contributor can be as equally a viable pathway to building a successful career. Do what is right or you!

Until next time remember: as long as you have life you should live it to your fullest potential.

Tags: career, career development, Deon, Deon Duncan, Deon E Duncan, Duncan, How to make it from the classroom to the cubicle, managing, self development, self management, weekly wisdom

April 6, 2015 Posted by dduncan in Career, For Students

Is there such a thing as Professional Loyalty?

This is my first post in quite some time. Please note that I have not been negating my commitment to helping others maximize their potential. I recently conducted a two-day Career Development workshop and a forum where I gave the key-note, that I spent several months preparing for. I am happy to say that the feedback has been outstanding. The ideals and philosophies that I have been sharing on this blog and in my book, How To Make It From The Classroom To The Cubicle, have been put into practical form. The exciting news is that there are more training workshops and forums already scheduled! Contact me and I will gladly provide details.

Today though, we will talk about an important topic as you consider the pathway to professional success: Is there such a thing as Professional Loyalty? In government based jobs such as teaching, fire services, law enforcement, etc., it is still common place to see individuals enter and remain for their entire career within the same office or district. However outside of this the story is very different. Gone are the days of entering a job out of school and staying within the same organization or in the same location for an entire career. It still happens but is much more infrequent. Recent graduates and those who are about to enter the workforce must be prepared for this reality, but what about the rest of us?

In a very dynamic economic climate things change rapidly. One day your company and industry can be high flying and the next year management may decide or forced to close up shop. There is also the disturbing trend of massive layoffs or compensation cuts simply to balance the books; which results in employers asking employees to achieve more with fewer resources. The long term employment outlook is being impacted by economic factors that are beyond the control of the employees. Employees now have the responsibility to consider these factors alongside their career advancement aspirations when deciding if they should leave or go. With this in mind, employers may decide to offer promises of future rewards if employees stay loyal, however what should you do?

The answer is not so simple, but here are some assessment criteria that will help you determine whether to stay or go:

Just because others are being let go or are leaving voluntarily does not mean you must do the same.

When people leave, a vacuum is created, meaning that there are things that they previously did that aren't getting done anymore. That means that there are potential opportunities for you to take advantage of. If the premise for leaving is to get more opportunities, then there is reason to stay in a case like this. However, if time is passing by and you are aggressively trying, but not getting access to those opportunities or management has made promises that seem to be indefinite, then it is time to move on.

You were hired to fill a position, with a promise for career growth and things are threatening to become stagnant.

Ask for time frame commitment. We all know that things change especially in the life of a company. Business needs evolve, priorities evolve and management is always trying to keep things aligned. Though context may change, a commitment for employee growth and development should not. As a manager I have learned that when there are no opportunities, make one. In other words management should NOT go back on promises made when it comes to employee advancement. If over a period of time nothing is happening the manager should bring it to their employee's attention so that things can be re-evaluated. However, if after doing so, the attitude and actions do not match promises made, then you know that it is time to go.

Growth can be achieved organically or via transplant.

Just like in botany, there comes a time when decisions have to be made as to whether there is room for growth or if the only opportunities exist elsewhere. It is really up to you as the employee to make this assessment. Very few employers would be pragmatic enough to make this call for you as such a decision is really in the best interest of the employee only. Sometimes the move can be a different role within the same organization. Contextually it is a new job, but consider that the culture, general work environment and the aforementioned economic factors would probably be the similar if not the same.

Fundamentally, loyalty is a two-way street. As an employee, you should be as loyal as the employer is loyal to you. If things are not exactly perfect, but there is constant reassurance from management that they will honor their commitment to you, then that is worthy of holding on to. However, if there is nothing but empty or broken promises and a general apathy to your overall growth, then RUN! Unfortunately in my tenure I have seen many folks stay when they definitely should have left and companies allow promising employees to leave when there was good reason to incentivize their staying.

I will summarize it by saying as long as you have evidence as to why you should stay then stay, but if after an honest assessment you determine that there is no commitment toward your growth AND there are no opportunities for you to take advantage of, then it is time to move on. To simply answer today's question, yes there is such a thing as professional loyalty; it is a shared responsibility between the employer and employee.

Until next time remember: as long as you have life you should live it to your fullest potential.

Tags: career, career development, Deon, Deon Duncan, Deon E Duncan, Duncan, How to make it from the classroom to the cubicle, job search, loyalty, self development, self management, weekly wisdom

January 16, 2015 Posted by dduncan in Career

Why should you ask for more responsibility at work?

Welcome back to the Weekly Wisdom blog. Firstly I would like to thank you for returning. If this is your first time, thanks for visiting. Remember that the full archive is available and you can search for a topic that interests you. And if you don't find what you are looking for, drop us a line with a question and we will work on publishing a response just for you.

Today we are going to explore a topic that will interest some of you and scare the rest, Why should you ask for more responsibility at work? You might be thinking to yourself; Why would anyone in their right mind ask for more responsibility? And doesn't more responsibility mean more work? You are right to question and hopefully today's post will help you find the answers.

The primary purpose for this dialog is to bring to light a fundamental truth about building a career, progress is essential. You see, every time you get increased responsibility it indicates progress. More money does not necessarily mean more responsibility and you must be careful when you chase after the money and forget that there should also be some responsibility to go with it. Let me give you an example to further illustrate this point.

I am a huge sports fan and every so often you would hear about an athlete who signs a mega deal to be the star player on a team. Unfortunately, they do not always live up to initial expectations. It is not uncommon for to see these players get diminished roles on their teams which often results in added pressure to perform. As you can imagine, supporters and critics alike do not make things any easier. What point are we driving at here? What makes a player happy, the money or playing? Shouldn't he just enjoy being paid for doing nothing? You see, for a guy like this, the money is great but it is not enough to satisfy his desire to be in the game. We too must adopt this mindset in our professional lives if we are going to be successful. This principle is important because, just like in sports, the moment it is determined that you are too costly to keep around for the value that you are bringing, the relationship will be terminated.

With that understanding, we must look at having more responsibility as an opportunity to prove your worth to your employer. It exposes you to new areas and experiences that can help you grow as a professional. These experiences add up over time and only serve to make you a more versatile and well rounded employee. In the modern corporate landscape, an employee who can develop new skills over time is better suited to ride the waves of change when it does come.

As I close today's segment, asking for more responsibility shows a desire that most others don't have and definitely sets you apart from the rest. One word of caution though, if you are unreliable in your current scope of responsibilities then this advice is not for you. You run the risk of raising the ire of management. You are better suited trying to perform at expected levels before trying to handle more.

Until next time remember: as long as you have life you should live it to your fullest potential.

Tags: career, Deon, Deon Duncan, Deon E Duncan, Duncan, How to make it from the classroom to the cubicle, self development, self management, success, weekly wisdom

November 7, 2014 Posted by dduncan in Career, For Students

Practical ways of becoming and remaining successful: Don't measure your success with that of others

Today marks the last edition of the series, Practical ways of becoming and remaining successful. It is entitled: Don't measure your success with that of others. In this installment we explore the perils of trying to measure ourselves using someone else's measuring stick. Based on the first blog in this series (link here) the goals that we set for ourselves on the quest for success must be personal-- which implies that the success that we are to discover must also be personal. The best way to explain this is the use of a sports analogy.

The journey to success is often likened unto a race, which conventional wisdom tells us there must be a winner. If that is the case, does it imply that in this 'race' toward success all of the other participants are destined for failure? Does it also mean that we all should give up once someone is officially declared the winner? I say not so! If you have ever witnessed a men's 100 meters dash at an Olympic athletics competition, you would see that when the race is over there is more than one person celebrating. Why is that? Well if you understand a fundamental dynamic of success then it will make sense. If coming in second place is the best that you can do, then you will be doing yourself a disservice by not being comfortable with that fact. You see, you will never be happy if all you do is keep comparing yourself to other people. I am not saying that they can't serve as a source of inspiration, but to have an obsessive compulsion in trying to match up or even outdo the competition in every aspect is very unhealthy. It is under such conditions that jealousy and greed are developed, which can result in cutting corners to make up the shortfall.

On the other hand, there are those of us who are working night and day trying to live up to some unrealistic expectation that may not likely come to fruition. And it’s not because you don't have the desire, but maybe it just was not meant to be. The best example is a parent-child relationship. A parent may have lofty aspirations for their child to become a doctor. What then happens to a child who wants to be a chef, but enrolls into medical school simply to please the parent? His/her parent’s desire is not going to compensate for the hardships they may endure. This is why setting your own goals is important. The ideal scenario is when a parent can help a child to set goals and then provide support in helping them to attain those goals.

Handling your success can be summarized into the common expression- be comfortable in your own skin. It doesn't mean that once you make your decision the process will then be easy. Please be warned that this could be quite the contrary. It means that once your planning is over, you enter this race with the understanding that there will be challenges and times of second guessing and even major frustrations. However, knowing that the dream that you are chasing after is all yours, gives you the inner strength to keep running and a greater sense of satisfaction when success does indeed come.

So what have we learnt from this discourse:

Setting goals is the most important step in being successful. After all, with no finish line how can you tell if you have made it. The goals must be challenging yet realistic. Don't bite off more than you can chew all at once. Break them up into smaller goals so that there is a continual sense of progress.

Once the goals are set the work begins. There will be obstacles, good days and bad, however you must believe in yourself! Trust in your ability and most importantly trust in your gut instinct.

Acting like you belong is a take on the old adage, think like where you are headed and not where you currently are. It is simple, yet revolutionary. It tells you that you cannot be bogged down by your perceived differences and or weaknesses. You either belong or you don't! It is your decision.

Focus, focus, focus - Do not take your eyes off of the finish line! Anything or anyone who is in your way needs to be removed.

Lastly you alone can determine what success is. Chasing after someone else's dream will only lead to a life of frustration.

If this series has been insightful please leave a comment or send me a message. If any questions may have arisen while reading this series, by all means send me questions and I promise I will answer them.

Until next time remember: as long as you have life you should live it to your fullest potential.

Tags: career, Deon, Deon Duncan, Deon E Duncan, Duncan, focus, goals, How to make it from the classroom to the cubicle, self development, self management, success, vision, weekly wisdom

October 24, 2014 Posted by dduncan in Career, For Students

Practical ways of becoming and remaining successful: Eliminating the noise

Today our journey continues with the fourth installment of the series, Practical ways of becoming and remaining successful: Eliminating the noise. We are almost to the end with only one more remaining. If you are joining this discourse and have not read the others that preceded, I recommend that you go back and read them once you have concluded reading today's offering. It is really important that you get the entire picture of what is being communicated in this series. Now let us begin with today’s message.

I submit to you that you that your ability to eliminate the noise has a direct bearing on the level of success that you can attain. It also impacts the timeline in which you can see this success. Distractions and a lack of discipline are lethal dream killers, which leave many individuals who once were loaded with potential, wondering what went wrong. Focus then, is a powerful and necessary character trait one must develop. To better understand focus, let us examine the image above of a racehorse.

As you may have noticed in the picture the horse is wearing blinders or blinkers. In general if you have ever carefully observed a horse race you would notice that most if not all the horses where blinkers. Have you ever wondered why? The answer is encapsulated in the very nature and anatomy of a horse's eye. It is said that the equine eye is the largest of any land mammal. It has the ability to see a staggering 350 degree range of monocular vision. However most of this vision is peripheral, which is relatively poor. As a result a horse is easily spooked when it is approached from its periphery and tends to rear on its hind legs or take flight as a defensive strategy.

I did some research to find out why race horse owners see it fit to put blinders on their horses and this is what I discovered:

Blinders help the race horse run in a straight line. Because of its vision a horse has the propensity to run in a diagonal line, so blinders reduce the peripheral vision and keeps the horse's focus down the track.

Blinders help the race horse from being spooked by the other horses in the race. Remember it is in the horse's nature to be alarmed by objects that are moving in its periphery, which means that a horse race is the perfect environment for a horse to become unsettled.

Blinders prevent immature horses from turning around and looking at its rider. Imagine how dangerous this can be for both horse and rider if this occurs at full speed in the middle of a race.

From these examples it is evident that blinders help a horse to keep focused, by keeping its eyes looking forward and reducing distractions at crucial moments. The same ideology is applicable to you. Are you so prone to distractions that you easily lose focus and begin placing your attention in other directions apart from your goals? Or are you easily spooked by competition? The moment you realize that there are others vying for the same position, same prize, same promotion and same job, you get scared and your instinctual reaction is to take flight? If this describes you today then you are in need of proverbial blinders. You need that ability to block out all of the distractions and noise that can take you off your course.

As I close, I challenge you to do some soul searching in order to identify all of the distractions that are preventing you from living out to you full potential. It is only after you have identified these distractions that you can create a plan to block them out. Remember what distracts you may not necessarily distract me, so this exercise requires a serious self-assessment. I guarantee you that eliminating the noise will make a world of difference as you continue on your quest to success.

Until next time remember: as long as you have life you should live it to your fullest potential.

Tags: career, Deon, Deon Duncan, Deon E Duncan, focus, goals, How to make it from the classroom to the cubicle, self development, self management, success, vision, weekly wisdom

October 16, 2014 Posted by dduncan in Career, For Students

Practical ways of becoming and remaining successful: Self Belief

In today's blog we are on number three of the series entitled, Practical ways of becoming and remaining successful. We will focus on the ever important subject of self-belief.

Talent, ability, skills, training and opportunities are all essential elements that one must have to experience success. However, I submit to you that the absence of self-belief is a sure way to retard any potential achievements. Believing in one's self is bigger than just about the ability that you have. It is a catalyst that keeps you in the game when all the signs around you point to failure. I came across a study recently which was spearheaded by Dr. Carol Dweck of Stanford University in California. It was entitled Growth Mindset, and if you do some searching online you will find some good information. The idea behind this study is that an individual's drive, discipline and determination toward achieving can help make up the talent or intelligence gap when compared to their contemporaries. The study tracked students from a young age for a number of years and found that children who were identified as having comparatively less ability than their peers were able to make up that achievement gap. And in some cases supersede those who were significantly more advanced at the same starting point.

In other words, students were able to effectively make themselves smarter by simply believing and willing themselves into working harder.

Isn't this simply outstanding? How many times do we limit ourselves to societal standards and groupings? This thinking has caused many persons to view themselves less capable than others and effectively stunt any growth and development, by quenching all belief and desire to achieve. The study also goes on to demonstrate that those who were labeled as having advanced intelligence and ability have to fight the tendency to be lax when it comes to discipline and desire. Why? See, it’s easy for someone to believe in themselves or their ability when they never really faced major challenges. But how they cope when the challenges do come is extremely important. Be reminded that someone on the other side of the spectrum would have been facing challenges all their lives, so they would already have experience in dealing with them.

That said, it does not matter where on the ability scale you find yourself. The potential for you to advance and achieve beyond your societal labeling depends on you. You must have that self-belief that pushes you past the purported limits and be the over achiever that you have the potential to be.

So where are you today? Have your eyes been opened to the fact that the one thing you are not born with or that you could get qualified in is essential to maximizing your natural talent, academic achievements and professional qualifications? Yes, self-belief is a trait that you have to extract and perfect yourself. No one can force you to believe more in yourself. You can only be inspired to do so. My hope is that after reading today's blog you are inspired and begin to chart a course beyond your initial expectations.

It is never too late!

Until next time remember: as long as you have life you should live it to your fullest potential.

Tags: career, Deon, Deon Duncan, Deon E Duncan, Duncan, How to make it from the classroom to the cubicle, self development, success, weekly wisdom

October 3, 2014 Posted by dduncan in Career, For Students

Practical ways of becoming and remaining successful - Acting like you belong

In today's blog we are going to continue with the series, Practical ways of becoming and remaining successful. Today we will focus on the second installment entitled, Acting like you belong.

I attribute a large portion of my ability to think successfully to my dear mother. More specifically to the advice and support that she gave during my formative years as a student. My mother was an elementary (primary) school teacher for some 34 years and she was and still is loaded with wisdom from her vast experience. Let's face it, after all that time she should know what she is talking about.

Probably the single greatest piece of advice she ever shared with me was; the classroom is the greatest equalizer. Allow me to expound on this concept. Having been a teacher for all those years she was able to determine that all the perceived advantages that one student might have over another student, did not automatically guarantee more success. And by perceived advantages I mean; a stable home, parents that care, a family that values education, a family who has the means and willingness to help their child succeed, etc. The idea is that, if you work equally as hard, or harder than the student sitting next to you, then you give yourself an equal opportunity to be successful.

Don't get me wrong, there is overwhelming evidence that tells us that a child from an unstable home is unlikely to be as successful as a child from a stable home. However, as my mother would often quip, disadvantages are ready made excuses. And I take it further by saying excuses are excuses. The only one who suffers when you ultimately don't succeed is you. So excuses are simply your justification for doing so.

This mindset has continued with me as I transitioned from academia to the professional ranks. Despite the fact that there are no more physical classrooms, the philosophy remains the same and translates into, what I call acting like you belong. In the professional world the odds are likely to be stacked against you. There will always be people with more years and better quality experience, more degrees or qualifications from better schools, more connections and the list can be never ending. Today's blog is to ensure that you too adopt this principle.

You become your greatest enemy when you itemize these perceived disadvantages and allow them to psyche you out. Acting like you belong is basically assessing these disadvantages, formulating a plan and working toward overcoming them. For example, if you get hired for a job, the experience and qualifications of everyone else should not have any effect on your ability to exercise your duties. What you should assess is how effective each individual is and what role their experience and qualifications play. In fact, it helps you realize what you are missing and what you should consider doing to get you where you need to be.

In closing, acting like you belong is all about you. Even though others can help provide motivation, you are the only one that can implement the changes required for settling in. Doing so will boost your confidence by removing any self-doubt and also by shaping the perception of others toward you. Ultimately what matters the most is how you see yourself! So today, make a decision to act like you belong. Look past your disadvantages, setbacks and mistakes of the past and take the first step to overcoming them all.

Until next time remember: as long as you have life you should live it to your fullest potential.

Tags: career, Deon, Deon Duncan, Deon E Duncan, Duncan, How to make it from the classroom to the cubicle, self development, self management

September 13, 2014 Posted by dduncan in Career, For Students

Practical ways of becoming and remaining successful - having a vision

Vision Road Sign with dramatic blue sky and clouds.

Today we are going to begin a series of blogs entitled, Practical Ways of Becoming or Remaining Successful. In this installment we will explore the topic of Having a Vision. I have been asked countless times by students and working professionals this question: How did I know what I wanted to be career-wise? The truth is, at least in my case, there were a number of iterations before I finally decided. Before I expand on this point any further let me define success. Success is simply: achieving a goal. On your march toward being successful, you will have to face numerous cycles of goal setting and achieving. This is why having a vision is important. Knowing where you want to ultimately be, will determine how many cycles are required in getting there.

Let’s get back to my story. My first career choice was to be a university professor. After that desire waned, I really wanted to become a medical doctor. But alas, that was also short-lived. As time went by and as I got a little more experience I became decided on a career within the Information Technology field. More specifically programming. You are probably wondering why so many changes? Well I have learned that in setting a vision for yourself you must do some sort of assessment as to what it will cost you to get there and then how well suited you are to that particular career. In my case, the fact that I ended up in Information Technology meant that I was pretty good at mathematics, problem solving and that I had a penchant for torture! All kidding aside, it is obvious that if you are not quantitative by nature you are probably not well suited for a career in Information Technology.

The assessments can be very deep, like future earning potential or job availability in your city or region. Or they can be really simple, like in my case with becoming a university professor. My parents were both teachers and I could not convince myself that a life of teaching was for me. Whatever the criteria, you must be sure that you do not set yourself up for failure by ignoring the warning signs. Apart from telling you what you are or are not well suited for, an assessment can also let you know how much work is required for you to attain your goal. For example, if you are not quantitative by nature and you want to pursue a career in Information Technology, you need to train and practice for as long as is required to develop this skill. This concept can be applied to any career.

In my book, How to Make it From the Classroom to the Cubicle, I used a very interesting analogy to stress the importance of setting goals and having a vision for yourself. I described a scenario where a pilot gives his customary post-take-off greeting to passengers over the plane’s PA system, stating that there is no destination. Imagine how terrified you would feel as a passenger on such a flight, knowing that a sensible pilot will go through all of the motions, including taking off, without having a final destination. Well unfortunately, this is exactly what we do when we embark on a career with no end goal in mind. Some people literally float from job to job with no real long-term plan. The result is the same as in the aforementioned flight. You can either fly around until there is no fuel left and crash, or you can make an emergency landing before a fuel crisis but end up miles off course.

So then, what do I suggest? Create a vision for yourself. I mean this in a very literal sense. As a first step, write down the things you want to achieve and when you would like to achieve them. In our house we have created a poster with everything we want to achieve and pinned it on the wall close to our bedside, so that every day we look at it we have a reason to get out of bed. Why is this important? Seeing where you are aspiring to be everyday can motivate you much more than just leaving thoughts floating around in your head. We get so busy or tired sometimes that we may forget why are doing what we are doing. But having that visual aide in plain sight every day helps build us up when we are down and discouraged. It also can help to suppress negative thoughts as we constantly fill our minds with images of our destination.

I will end with this. One pitfall you must avoid is chasing after the goals that someone else has set for you. This is very dangerous and can lead to a life filled with frustration and void of fulfillment. Another major pitfall is to sit idly by waiting for something big to happen. Nothing just happens when it comes to career building and if you are not proactive, then you reduce the probability of reaching your end goal.

Thank you for reading today’s blog, your feedback is very important to me so please leave comments below or submit any questions you would like answered by clicking here.

If you would like to get a copy of How to Make it From the Classroom to the Cubicle please click here.

Until next time remember: as long as you have life you should live it to your fullest potential.

Tags: career, Deon, Deon Duncan, Deon E Duncan, Duncan, goals, How to make it from the classroom to the cubicle, vision, weekly wisdom

July 25, 2014 Posted by dduncan in Career, For Students

Why Internships?

Hi, my name is Deon and I am a product of internships. I saw a funny picture circulating on the internet recently. It was an image of a chicken and an egg. The egg was wearing a graduation cap and what seemed to be his hen mother cutting a very forlorn figure on what is supposed to be a joyous occasion. The caption read, "To get a job you need experience, and to gain experience you need a job". I have to admit at first it seemed really hilarious. Then after a few days pondering on it, it seemed less funny and more of a humorous take on a very serious issue.

Every year thousands of students graduate from university with their diplomas in hand. Their reward-- an arduous job search that is rife with uncertainty. As far as I have noticed, things have definitely evolved since the days of my post-graduation job search. One of the most overwhelming factors is the number of experienced hires that have flooded the market. Years of systematic layoffs have impacted hiring practices on two fronts: there are fewer jobs and more graduates to go around and secondly, there is stiff competition from the experienced hire community. Another difference I have observed is that many hiring managers have scaled back on the number of "fresh graduate" hires. The reason? Budgets that were once set aside for comprehensive training programs have been reduced and in some firms cut all together. Instead, recruiters are looking for hires who can contribute from day one, which usually means that the new graduate without any experience sometimes gets overlooked. What then is the answer to this dilemma? You guessed it, internships.

An internship is defined by dictionary.com as: any official or formal program to provide practical experience for beginners in an occupation or profession. Internships were invented to give soon to be, as well as newly minted graduates an opportunity to gain some useful experience. The concept is great. It gives young professionals valid experience with which they can bolster their resumes and get a leg up on others who have none. Internships can start from as early as high school. I remember my first internship. It was in high school back in the day. I worked as a graphics design artist for an advertising agency. It was a very insightful experience and I learned a lot during that summer. The biggest lesson? Graphics design work was not for me. It was not that I was not good at it, I was decent. But those who I worked with were so much better, talented and artistic. It helped me realize that it was something that I was good at but not passionate about, which is a feature that makes internships so valuable.

Internships not only give you an opportunity to get some experience, but as in my case, it also serves as a dry run into the industry or the company that you are interested in. Lucky for me, I had my first while in high school, which gave me ample time to change the academic qualifications that I would then pursue. However, many college students find themselves switching majors based on internship experiences as well.

The benefits of internships are also great for the organization. As a hiring manager, an internship gives you an opportunity to assess a potential hire much more effectively than an interview ever would. With an interview, you have to make a decision based on evidence. But, you are also taking a risk that hopefully what you observed during the hiring process will actually work out in the long term. With an internship, you get some extra time and you don't have any long-term commitments to make a full-time hire. If you like them you can move forward, if not you can move on.

When it comes to internships, experience is more important than pay. I have known individuals who have turned down excellent internship opportunities because they simply could not afford to work for very little pay. My advice is that the onus is on you to make it work, as long as you are getting the right experience. Any experience, and I mean any experience is better than none at all. Even if your internship is only for 2 half days a week, the learning on the job has much more developmental value than sitting in a class room.

I close with this, I fully endorse internships. If possible one should have at least a few before graduating college, starting while in high school. Nothing could better prepare you for work than actual work. Some places have formal programs, others have co-ops which offer students credit toward their graduation requirement. The rest may depend on the manager or department to make it happen. Whatever the arrangement, just remember it takes a considerable time commitment on the part of the employees to facilitate an intern, so maximize it!

Until next time remember, as long as you have life, you should live it to your fullest potential.
Tags: career, Deon, Deon Duncan, Deon E Duncan, How to make it from the classroom to the cubicle, job search, self development, weekly wisdom

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July 16, 2014 Posted by dduncan in Career
Is work life balance really attainable?

Work life balance seems to be a buzz phrase in corporate culture. Ever since the economic downturn began in earnest many companies, organizations and institutions have been running very lean. Cut backs in staffing have increased and the expectations are now that we as workers are supposed to produce more with less headcount with which to distribute the labor. In many places there are expectations for overtime quotas, working on the odd weekend, extended work days all designed to mitigate the ever growing workload. With all of these factors it is no surprise that work life balance is a topic of great discussion.
Employees the world over have been pushing the limits of time spent on the clock while sacrificing their personal lives. From my experience I have seen certain individuals give there all to their companies and wound up disappointed because their efforts were not recognized by the management that they work for. I have also seen employers set unreasonable expectations, which pretty much set up whoever dares to try for failure. With that in mind, it is a flawed expectation by employees that the responsibility of implementing of a favorable work life balance lies squarely in the shoulders of their employer. Allow me to explain; it is not absurd that an employer asks an employee to put in some extra time to get some tasks completed, but having an employee work an inordinate amount of hours with no end in sight and to imply that continued employment maybe in jeopardy by refusing to do so, is totally unacceptable.
Work life balance is different for every individual, for example when I was fresh out of school, I would work long hours; primarily because it was requested of me. However interestingly enough, I developed a habit of working late whether or not I was asked to do so. I decided that as long as I was trying to pay my dues, I was going to put in the extra time and effort. At that time I was also single, had no children and no real commitments outside of my work life so the only thing I had to manage was my social life. For me it was fine because I was there to learn and trying to impress. However this would not be true for others that I worked with. Many had huge problems with the constant 60+ hour work weeks because it infringed on their family time and other commitments. As you can also imagine, in a highly competitive work environment you really strive to avoid the perception of contributing less than everyone else. This fact causes many to reluctantly sacrifice their non-work lives in order to keep up with the status quo.
There are many books, blogs, websites, YouTube clips and innumerable other resources that talk about work life balance and they all offer some sort of advice with varying levels of effectiveness. If you so desire you can avail yourself as I did. I must admit that some material was really outstanding. Today however I am going to close with a few pointers from my experience.

The first and most important rule:
If you are going to work extra-long hours it must be worth it! If you need to spend a host of extra time because you are not the expert at something, become the expert so that you can complete tasks in a faster and more efficient manner. Wherever I think I lack in a certain skillset I spend time trying to improve in that area.

Do not waste time:
There are many things that can eat your time at work like small talk, online shopping, Facebook, long bathroom breaks, long lunch breaks, errands and appointments during the work day. The first time I reviewed this a few years ago I was able to reclaim an extra 5+ hours a week and it made a huge difference in what I can accomplish in a work week.

Do not waste time too:
I mention this a second time because those mentioned before were non-work related. It is possible to waste time under the guise of doing our jobs. How is this fact possible wondering? The answer, in meetings! I only just learnt this within the last year or two; I was spending an inordinate amount of time in meetings. Am I implying that all meetings are a waste of time, no! But when every meeting I was attending was starting 15 minutes late and finished 25 minutes later than the scheduled end time then I found myself having to make up time at the end of the day. I had meetings with no agendas, where the interested parties were unprepared and what should have been a 15 minute discussion lasted an hour. My solution, decline all meetings that had no agenda, structure or purpose. Also, I capped the grace period for meetings to 10 minutes, if decisions were to be made, I made them. If the interested parties came late we just have abbreviated meetings which end at the original scheduled end time and if all else failed, schedule another meeting. The result another 5+ hours of time I was able to recoup.

Start early:
You would be amazed of how much things you can get done if you start your day early. Come in 1 hour before your scheduled start time before most of your coworkers have arrived, you will find that there are little to no distractions. Phones don’t ring as much, there is no one walking up to your desk looking for small talk and you are able to concentrate better. This makes a considerable difference to your productivity, plus it looks good.
Doing all these things in conjunction with speaking with management is pivotal to driving your work life balance to a favorable measure. The main point I want you to understand is that no one else can do it for you and you can’t achieve it without the corporation of management. So you must work together to make this a reality.
Please leave some comments and share your thoughts on this article and on work life balance.
Until next time remember, as long as you have life, you should live it to your fullest potential.
Tags: career, Deon, Deon Duncan, Deon E Duncan, Duncan, How to make it from the classroom to the cubicle, self development, self management, weekly wisdom, worklife balance

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