#decisions #MakingDecisions #HowToMakeDecisions #deciders
Different people make decisions in different ways.
Some have to consider all the options before making a decision.
Others fear making decisions, and try to avoid them.
Still others make decisions quickly, and go with whatever they decide.
We all have to make decisions. Some are very important. Some are not. Some are whimsical. Some are very serious.
How we go about the process differs from the type of decision, and our natural tendencies as people.
Regardless of the type you are, some decisions won’t go away because you don’t want to make them. Others can actually be postponed, and could become moot as time passes.
There are no rules for decision-making, but there can be perils. Some decisions will result in something bad no matter what one decides. Others have a clear good option, vs. bad. Some may not see, or want to see, the clearly good option and still opt for the bad one.
Among the serious decisions: Where do you want to live? Whom do you want to marry, if anyone? How big a family do you want to have, if any? What do you want to do for work?
Among whimsical decisions: will you buy that ice cream cone as you walk by it? What will you do for fun today? What would you like to have for dinner? (Note: Decisions such as the ice cream cone may be just fine once in a while, but too many spontaneous ice cream cones can have unintended consequences).
A decision-making disease called analysis paralysis is common among people who don’t like, or have trouble, making decisions. It’s always good to think before one does, but over-thinking can deprive one of good things over time. It’s important for a decision to FEEL right, as well as BE right.
A decision can feel right, but the alternative can be right. It may take a few bad decisions to learn that, but most wise people do.
Getting advice on decisions is advisable for many things. Advisers don’t always know what you think is best for you, but information and voices of experience never hurt. It’s always best to rely on professional opinions when a decision is beyond your level of expertise.
Usually, there are people in your life who love making decisions for you. Parents, teachers, even friends fit that bill. Certainly listen to people you care about, but always know in your own mind what is best for you.
There are no rules for making decisions, but there are guideposts. First, if you have a decision deadline, think, but don’t over-think. If you make a decision that will be long-lasting, try to make it work, even if you have days in which you think it is not going to work. A phenomenon called fear of loss, or fear of missing out, often creeps into the process. Consider this intently. If I don’t do/go, what will happen? If I do/go, what will be lost?
Previously, we talked about ice cream (plug in your own treat here). Some things are harmless done occasionally, or in moderation, but done too often, or at too high a quantity, can be harmful.
In summary, find your sweet spot – that point in the decision process at which you’ve thought enough and can go for it, or not. Like the occasional ice cream cone, finding your sweet spot can be your greatest reward.
Peter
Monthly Archives: November 2022
CRAFT A RESUME THAT TELLS WHAT YOU DID
#resumes #JobInterviews #managers #prospects #jobs #workers
In separate ads for Wavely, the job-searching platform, a hiring manager is looking for that special something in a prospect that his or her resume does not reveal.
The second ad shows the prospect hoping the hiring manager will find her to be the perfect candidate.
Thus, we have the competitive world of hiring.
In the past, resumes were seen as a tool to hire or get hired. Prospects tried to craft a resume that would make him or her stand out in a pile.
The resume evolved from simply listing job titles, duties and years of experience to trying to convey how the prospect brought value to the company he or she worked for. In other words, the resume turned from a roster of experience to a story of experiences.
In today’s hiring world, in many cases, there are fewer prospects for every job.
So, how does one stand out? One has to tell his or her story, as briefly as possible.
Hiring managers, in most cases, do not want to read long narratives. But they want to know not only what the prospect did – job titles seldom reveal that – but how effective the prospect was. That involves telling the hiring manager how the prospect’s effort(s) either made money for the company, saved the company money or added some other value to the company.
That’s a tall order for many applicants. Many see themselves as a performer of routine tasks – tasks the employer finds vital, but not necessarily game-changing.
How does a prospect who has experience as a clerk, for example, convey his or her value?
Perhaps the prospect can tell, briefly, how he or she helped his or her boss succeed.
Or, he or she could spell out how much time he or she saves his or her boss.
In short, stories sell, and everyone has stories.
In the past, many hiring managers didn’t always know what they wanted in an ideal candidate. They had to know it when they saw it (in a resume).
Today, hiring managers largely know what they want, and it’s up to the prospect to display that. Certainly, a hiring manager can still stumble upon an unusual candidate. But, generally, the managers have pictures in their mind of what the ideal candidate is.
For the candidates, overselling oneself can be fraught with peril. Truthfully telling your value is usually the best avenue.
Confidence is also a good trait for candidates. It’s not easy to display confidence in a resume, but, if a prospect gets as far as the interview, that’s when he or she can display confidence.
Hiring is not always easy. Getting the right job is not always easy.
For the prospect, the job description does not tell you everything. For the manager, the resume does not always tell you everything.
But both can give some clues about the job, or the candidate. One may have to get further into the process to know whether a job and a candidate are a match.
In summary, if you are looking for a job, have your resume tell the employer what you did, rather than what job you had. For the employer, look to find out what the prospect did, rather than the job he or she held.
May all managers and job seekers find the perfect matches.
Peter
5 P.M.: IS THAT QUITTING TIME FOR YOU?
#9to5 #WorkSchedules #JobDescriptions #CompanyManuals #5PM
Time has been memorialized in song:
“It’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere,” by Alan Jackson, with Jimmy Buffett; “5 O’Clock World,” by the Vogues; “9 to 5,” by Dolly Parton, to name a few.
These songs presume, among other things, that most people work a regular schedule. And, when the clock strikes 5 p.m., people go home to do whatever they want.
It begs today’s question: Are most people on such a regular schedule?
Chances are, most people are not. Some are on a regular schedule to start the day, but their day doesn’t necessarily end at 5.
Others work complicated shifts – nights, weekends, holidays etc.
For others, the job never ends. They may go home, but work comes with them. The phone always rings. Urgent e-mails pop in. Such a situation has been dubbed “the electronic leash.”
So, if you are actually on a routine schedule, be thankful. But, know that that could change at any moment.
Part of the reason some folks, particularly women, are staying out of the work force since the COVID-19 pandemic, are not only complicated schedules, but also not knowing how they can work and care for children, whose schedules can flex depending on sickness, weather and other circumstances beyond their control.
In short, working is not what it once was for many people.
Certainly, some workers want flexibility. They want to be able to work when they can, and from where they can.
To attract the best people, companies may have to look at some flexibility to make it worth the employees’ whiles to work there.
As a prospective employee during a job interview, are your first questions something like: what time do I start, and what time do I go home?
For a few jobs, those questions may be appropriate. For most jobs in today’s world, at least in the employers’ minds, those questions are irrelevant.
The same goes for written job descriptions and company policy manuals. If companies still use them – some may have to for legal reasons – you, as an employee, must know that these documents are fluid. Job descriptions and policy manuals, if not on paper, in fact will change over time.
It makes one long for the days of set hours, set duties, set expectations etc. Of course, no one wants set pay. Everyone wants to get raises. But, in some jobs, pay is set. Period. Take it or leave it.
A big part of the reason we can create many jobs, yet still have people out of work is NOT because people are lazy and government benefits are paying them to stay home. (Some of those cases may exist, but not many).
The crux of the problem is that work and life have become more complicated. Companies reorganize often. Job descriptions change multiple times. A person may be hired to do Job X, but ends up doing Job Y – a situation that may have been a deal breaker for the employee, had he or she known it was coming.
In summary, don’t presume a job is what it seems. Don’t presume, as employees, that more will not be expected of you than you think, often without more pay.
It’s not a 9 to 5 world for most. You have to have your eyes open to that.
Peter
VIRTUE OF BEING NICE
#BeNice #kindness #performance #credit #action
Perhaps your mother told you as a child, when you did something she didn’t like, “that’s not nice.”
In the current movie “Banshees of Inisherin,” we learn that ending a long friendship is “not nice.”
As you grew older, you may have learned that “nice guys finish last.” Some confusion may have set in, because mom taught you to “be nice,” but, by being nice, you won’t win.
As years went on, you may have learned that kindness is a virtue, to the point that you were inclined to perform random acts of kindness. Perhaps, these random acts were not witnessed by anyone, except you, and the person to whom you were kind. That recipient was the only one that mattered in that instance.
Later, you learned that character was built by doing good things, even when no one is watching. In other words, you were DOING rather than performing. It may have made you feel good, but you got no “credit” for it.
In today’s world, for many, it’s ALL about performance and credit. They even try to make bad actions look good to an audience, thereby getting “credit” for it.
This milieu might make it a good time to relearn, perhaps through “Banshees,” the virtue of being nice.
It is indeed possible to create a persona in yourself that is both nice and winning. In fact, such a persona is a foundation for success in whatever endeavor one chooses.
If you own a business and people work for you, those who are “nice” to their employees tend to get more out of them.
Unfortunately, some who own or manage businesses are nice to customers, because they have to be, but are not so nice to their workers. In this labor market, such people may be chronically short-staffed.
Also, today, many long friendships and relationships have become strained for various reasons, including the hardness of opinions and the growing willingness to avoid those who have certain views.
Such willingness can manifest itself in many toxic, even violent, ways. Not nice at all.
When one gets to that point, he or she may need to not necessarily change his or her opinions, but craft a persona that allows him or her to be “nice,” even to those with whom he or she disagrees.
One way to do that is to avoid inflammatory conversation topics. Another way is to enjoy what you both enjoy.
So, in a complex world, a combination of niceness, enthusiasm and drive can help lead one toward success.
In the past, it’s has been said that one does not have to like you, he or she just has to respect you. One who realizes that respect is earned, not demanded, will be the more successful. One may earn such respect by simply being nice.
One has to wonder when niceness became so unnecessary. For many, niceness comes naturally, no matter what happens to them. Others, who may have been jaded by some event or circumstance, may have lost their niceness.
Be nice. Work hard. Don’t step over others, as that may taint your success. Real success is achieved not at the expense of others, but with the help of many others.
Peter