Interviewing for a new job – especially one you really want – is always nerve-wracking. These days, it seems the entire process is more grueling than ever. In an annual review of the “Top 25 Most Difficult Companies To Interview”, Glassdoor.com reported that recently “…the average length of the entire interview process is increasing, from an average of 12 days to an average of 23 days.”
By Rebecca Caum
The power of social media lies in its ability to deliver information with unprecedented speed to a global audience. Like most kinds of power, the inherent risks are congruent with the potential benefits. We have all figured out how to avoid the most common mistakes: set your drinks aside, don’t post your political views, and leave all things private as just that—private. But, what about using social media at work—is being social becoming as important of an asset for America’s top CEOs as reading a balance sheet? Can being social online or having a blog actually advance your career?
By Nneka Orji
“Putting you in handcuffs”; so reads the Forbes 2010 article title about non-compete clauses in employment contracts. This negative portrayal of non-competes is not unique. A Harvard Business Review blog titled “Non-compete clauses punish the wrong party” is just as damning, and a recent poll by the Boston Globe has shown that 70% of the Massachusetts respondents want non-competes banned across the state.
By Tina Vasquez
If you ever needed a reason to get over your fear of public speaking, new research from Weber Shandwick should do the trick. The public relations firm reports that a full 60 percent of women who speak at executive conferences also have a seat on boards, which the firm says demonstrates a “direct ‘speak and sit’ correlation.” The firm also asserts that top US women business leaders who engage audiences are more apt to be acknowledged as effective leaders.
Liz Rizzo, Weber Shandwick’s research partner on the study, says that in reality, only a third of board seats are filled using “traditional” methods.
“Most board appointees come from networking and referral, so what better way to make those connections than by speaking at a conference?” Rizzo asked.
According to Weber Shandwick’s executive vice president, Carol Ballock, there’s no better time to consider speaking at conferences. The EVP says the opportunities in the conference space have never been better – but you have to choose the “right” space.
“You have to be strategic if you want your efforts to translate in a bigger way,” Shandwick said. “Who will be in the room? What will you be talking about? If you’re speaking at a well-chosen conference, there’s more than your time on stage to consider. You’ll have conversations with editors, interviews with writers, one-on-one meetings, and opportunities for joining new networks, networks you may not have been able to join otherwise. If you choose the right conference, you don’t have to do a whole lot to get a high return.”
Taking The ‘Right’ Approach
Raleigh Mayer, founder of Raleigh Mayer Consulting, and a frequent partner contributor to theglasshammer.com on topics such as public speaking, executive presence, and leadership agrees landing a speaking engagement is phenomenal and can clearly add a much-needed boost to your career.
Mayer goes on to say it’s important “that when the opportunity is given, you’ve got to be ready for it, making sure to avoid the mistakes often made when speaking to a large group of peers.”
The seasoned public speaker says this includes diminishing yourself, both physically and verbally, by apologizing, refusing to take credit, or shrugging off and avoiding attention.
“We do this because we are taught that it’s wrong to be the center of attention, or we feel uncomfortable attracting it,” Mayer said. “We sit when we should stand, sometimes ramble and fail to make solid points, and often engage in reflexive and inappropriate apologizing, or what I call diminishing disclaimers: ‘This is just an idea’; ‘It’s only my opinion’; ‘I may be way off-track here’, rather that stating our viewpoints or recommendations directly. Teenage girls criticize their counterparts who behave too confidently by saying, ‘She thinks she’s all that,’ meaning, ‘She thinks she’s better than everybody else.’ Executive women should take a tip from the men: earn that label, and take it as a compliment.”
Company Visibility & Career Advancement
At just 36, Czarina Walker is CEO of InfiniEDGE Software, Inc., a Louisiana-based custom software development company. She has also participated in a wide-range of speaking engagements, from local and national to entrepreneurial and technical. The benefit, she says, is two-fold.
“It kept us in front of the public when we are traditionally a field that people do not think much about. We found that customers generally remembered us better because they saw that I had spoken at various events,” Walker said. “The ability to think on my feet while speaking has also had a great deal to do with my personal and professional success. Within eight-months of agreeing to do at least monthly speaking engagements in business or industry, I was asked to participate in four boards at the same time.”
Too Much Visibility
What the CEO didn’t anticipate, however, was the amount of time that all four boards would involve, and that they would also require her to take on additional speaking roles. Walker came to realize that she had to be more careful about the amount of time she was devoting to speaking and serving on boards. The realization came after she asked her employees what made their company different.
By Jessica Titlebaum
According to a conversation between Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman and psychologist Gary Klein, one of the ways we define leaders is by their ability to make decisions and trust their instincts. In an era of technology and information overload, how can you listen to your intuition with confidence? Below is an explanation of how to find your intuition, strengthen it and use it like a skill.
The Science of Leadership
“Really great leaders have very high emotional intelligence. It’s not about IQ, but more about self-awareness of strengths and limitations,” said Robin Ross, founder of RSR Advisory LLC, a coaching and consulting firm, which enables her to explore the neurology of leadership. “In regard to intuition, leaders have honed in on their self-awareness and can listen to that voice coming from within.”
Ross explains that your intuition comes from the oldest part of the brain.
“True intuition taps into the subconscious part of the brain, the basal ganglia. It’s the same part of the brain that remembers patterns and memory,” said Ross. “What’s interesting is that the basal ganglia is also connected to the intestines so a gut instinct really is a gut instinct.”
One part of the brain that Ross says is not directly connected to the basal ganglia is the language center, or the area known as the prefrontal cortex.
“There is no direct connectivity to the verbal cortex so when someone says they have a gut feeling but can’t put it into words, there is a reason why.”
Ross explains that there are times when you have to question your intuition.
“If you have past situations that are bubbling up and you know the correlation is wrong,” explained Ross, “this would be a good example of a time to listen to your intelligence, not your intuition.”
She said another example where questioning your intuition might be necessary would be when you are in a completely new situation and past experiences would not bear any resemblance to the outcome of the new event.
“When in highly volatile situations women should look at all the factors, not just their gut reactions. However if they have looked at all the data and it still doesn’t add up, trust your gut,” said Ross.
According to Ross, one way to benefit from a strong intuition is to bring it up in job interviews.
By Mai Browne
If you’re doing business in China and an associate asks you how much money you earn, don’t be offended; he or she is probably just seeking a way to find common ground. Marie Seton O’Brien, a forensic due diligence consultant, learned this lesson while working in Beijing a few years ago for New York Global Group, a global strategic advisory, venture capital and private equity firm.
“In addition to salary, lots of people asked about my age and marital status,” said O’Brien. “At first I was taken aback, but then I realized that these questions were just a jumping-off point for building a relationship.”
When working in a foreign country, gaining an understanding of cross-cultural differences – and how they impact communication, teamwork, management and business development – is critical to your success.
Here are 5 things to think about when you travel to Asia for business:
1) Don’t expect everyone to brainstorm in the meeting.
When conducting meetings between Westerners and the Chinese (or other cultures concerned with “losing face”), make sure to invite those who are quiet to speak, and let them know in advance what topics on which you will ask for their input.
One example came to light this year in a HBR Blog Network article written by cross cultural change expert Erin Meyer, Professor at INSEAD Business School in France. Meyer describes a big lesson she learned around expecting people from other cultures to automatically follow her modus operandi. Meyer conducted the session with a colleague named Bo Chen, a journalist and the Chinese country expert in attendance at a French car manufacturers meeting.
Chen’s role was to present two concrete business examples to illustrate each cultural issue Meyer would be covering, but he stayed silent throughout until finally invited to speak. Chen explained his reluctance to jump in,
“We Chinese often feel Americans are not good listeners because they are always jumping in on top of one another to make their points. I would have liked to make one of my points if an appropriate length of pause had arisen. But Erin was always talking, so I just kept waiting patiently. My mother left it deeply engrained in me: You have two eyes, two ears, but only one mouth. You should use them accordingly.”
In the US, speaking up when you have an idea is culturally expected and extroverts are often promoted into leadership positions in part because of that trait. Furthermore, it is traditionally believed that the loudest person with the most executive presence is the authority on the topic at hand. Laura Liswood’s book, The Loudest Duck, is a fabulous resource to take along with you on these trips as she explains cultural nuances around how we are programmed to believe such expressions as “the squeaky wheel gets the grease” in the West. Liswood refers to these idioms as what our Grandma taught us and, as demonstrated in the example above, Mr. Chen’s Grandma and Ms. Meyer’s Grandma weren’t on the same page.
2) Understand the hierarchy and power and authority dynamics at play.
In the above example, when Meyer asked Chen why he hadn’t spoken earlier, he turned to their clients and said:
“In this room, Erin is the chairman of the meeting. As she is the senior person in the room, I wait for her to call on me. And, while I am waiting, I should show I am a good listener by keeping both my voice and my body quiet.”
In the Asian business culture, there are expectations around who is supposed to talk and who is supposed to listen that Westerners tend not to share.
3) Get cross-cultural training.
Meyer’s example is a powerful illustration of the critical need to develop multicultural competency in our increasingly global economy. Many large global companies provide some training, but if your company doesn’t, see if it will reimburse you if you take an outside course on the subject.
By Jarod Cerf
During the Fifth Annual RegentAtlantic Wall Street Women Forum, host and event founder Jane Newton of RegentAtlantic polled the attendees via text on whether they thought women in finance had more opportunities today as compared to six years ago.
Of the over 100 managing directors, c-level executives, and thought leaders who were present, 57.7% stated wholeheartedly that significant progress had been made, with 26.8% suggesting that additional efforts were required to ensure gender parity in advancement to senior positions.
Both were touched upon by keynote speaker Lisa Carnoy, Head of Global Capital Markets at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, who described her leadership style and expectations for the future as “full of optimism, with faith in the long-term potential of the industry.”
“To build on that momentum, though,” Carnoy asserted, “we need to think about how we recruit talent, develop our teams, and provide effective feedback. We also need to tout our accomplishments, because we can’t assume that our superiors know what we’ve done. We have to define what success means, for us, and how we’re going to meet our goals.”
Defining Success on Your Own Terms
“There’s an old Haitian proverb,” Newton remarked, as she and Carnoy discussed career trajectories, “one you’re quite fond of quoting, that goes ‘dye mon, gen mon,’ or ‘beyond the mountain, there are mountains again.’ Can you tell us how that’s shaped your achievements and the way you work?”
Carnoy, in response, recalled quite vividly the challenges facing Merrill Lynch in the days leading up to its merger with Bank of America: “It was an incredible privilege, to be on the team responsible for raising a significant amount of equity in such a short time. As long as we can resolve a single issue by the end of the day, though, we’re always capable of ascending the ones that follow.”
It’s that resiliency and passion for inspiring others to take initiative that Carnoy hoped to impart to the attendees. “I have a list of things I’m thankful for and of people who’ve supported me,” she noted. “Among them, my husband, my children, and my ‘Gang of Four’—the women who’ve grown with me and become like family, who pushed me to be honest and direct with my peers about what I want from my career and how I’ll prove my worth each year.”
“And that’s the best way to win people over to your cause,” she added, “by being open and candid with them.”
By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)
The Glass Hammer is taking a few days off to celebrate Thanksgiving here in the US. We’d like to give thanks for all of the incredible women (and men) who are working hard to shatter the glass ceiling.
If you have some time off this week, why not catch up on a few of our recent most popular stories?
- Voice of Experience: Pamela J. Craig, Chief Financial Officer, Accenture
- Under Pressure: The Great American Work/Life Speed-Up
- Networking: Why Even the Biggest Events Have Strategic Value
- The Future of Women in Financial Services
Additionally, The Glass Hammer is always looking for ways to showcase the women who inspire and empower us – if you’d like to nominate someone to be profiled on the site as Voice of Experience, Mover and Shaker, or Rising Star, please get in touch with me at melissa@theglasshammer.com. We’re also looking for more Intrepid Women, who are pushing their boundaries personally and professionally, as well as subject matter experts to contribute to our ask-the-expert column.
Finally, this is a busy time of year for just about everyone. In honor of Thanksgiving, consider taking few minutes to thank your mentor for their help and advice. A simple thank-you goes a long way, and will be much appreciated during the holiday rush.
By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)
The White House Project is still accepting applications for this weekend’s New York event. For more information contact Janeen Ettienne at jettienne@thewhitehouseproject.org.
“Women take charge to take care. Meaning, women usually embark on a campaign because of an issue that they have organized around either personally or in their communities,” said Marie Wilson, founder of the White House Project.
She continued, “And when elected, they are more likely to stay in close touch with their constituencies, because the majority of women office holders didn’t get there through high-powered lobbying firms and a blanket of press coverage. They got to their elected office through the grassroots networks.”
Once a year in several states, the White House Project hosts a weekend-long training retreat designed to equip women with the leadership skills they need to run for political office. Go Run provides training in communications, fundraising and campaigning, with a focus specifically on overcoming the unique challenges women have traditionally faced.
This Friday kicks off New York’s Go Run weekend training program. The weekend’s special guests include The Honorable Maria Del Carmen Arroyo, New York City Council Member, District 17; The Honorable Andrea Stewart-Cousins, New York State Senator, District 35; The Honorable Gale A. Brewer, New York City Council Member, District 6; and Uma Sengupta, Democratic District Leader, District 25, Part B, as well as plenty of impactful instructors.
Kristina Goodman, Director of PR and Marketing explained, “Our goal is to equip, inform and inspire women to take their leadership to the next level, either as a community organizer, a candidate, or in their own lives.”
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By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)
“Reading a book about personal finance sounds like the worst thing I’ve ever heard of,” joked Alexa von Tobel, CEO and Founder of LearnVest.com, a website designed to “provide trusted personal finance education in a simple, easy-to-understand manner and help women everywhere take control of their finances.”
Personal finance is a subject von Tobel recognized as crucial a few years ago, as a senior at Harvard University. She had just been accepted to Harvard Business School, and was about to begin a career as a hedge fund trader at Morgan Stanley – and yet, with all of her business education and experience, she says, she had absolutely “no clue” about what to do about her own personal finances.
“Very few schools actually teach the basics of personal finance – which actually affects every day of your life,” she explained. “We want to educate as many women as possible.”