[mks_dropcap style=”letter” size=”52″ bg_color=”#ffffff” txt_color=”#000000″]I[/mks_dropcap] sucked at my first job. It was 1992 and I had just been hired during a recession at Metropolitan Bank. Barely out of training, my boss Michael called me into his office and explained that my coworker Jean had blamed me for missing her deadline.

What I learned working for Michael and in the last 20 years of hiring and managing my own team will help you work smart to avoid career-ending mistakes and help you succeed at a great company where the standards are high. Below, I share how you can be better than 95% of your teammates and get consistently promoted.

Back at the bank, when Michael reviewed my work he couldn’t tell if I had screwed up or not because my documentation was weak and unorganized. Even if I was a little humiliated to be put on probation just a couple months after starting my first permanent job, Michael turned out to be an awesome boss. What he wanted was simple and correct. He just wanted me to work smart.

It’s easy to suck at your job if you don’t know what your boss wants. Today, if you follow a lot of career experts, you’d think your boss wants you to ‘brand’ yourself. ‘Personal branding’ might be hot now, but we don’t want it. It’s a lot of crap. We crave honesty and sincerity. You’re not a corporation or a cow.

Creating a brand image or personality for yourself is empty marketing – a CYA policy that gets in the way of doing real work. Work smart and everything you do builds trust and value – you won’t need a CYA policy because you’ll always be in demand.

Ironically, your boss doesn’t want to take time to teach you what working smart means. In fact, most bosses would have difficulty listing 20 specific teachable ways to ‘work smart’. Most will say it’s an inherent talent you’ve either have or don’t. I don’t buy it. Below you’ll find 20 ways to earn your boss’s respect and admiration for your work. So, decide for yourself if ‘working smart’ can be learned or not.

It’s not about becoming your boss’s pet. Ultimately, working smart is a step on the path to finding satisfaction in your work. Until you can match-up what you do with who you are as a person, you’re unlikely to find happiness at work. The problem with sucking at your job is that it gives you very little power to make changes.

You need some leverage to get flexibility in your career — that might mean money in the bank (also called f*ck-you money) or a good relationship with your boss and previous bosses (for references). You can get all those things by working smart. You can also quit your job and start a business (if you do, your boss is now the customer and all the lessons below still apply). This is about being effective, nothing else – about becoming a diamond in the eyes of your boss.

If you’re in a job search and want to work at a great company, the rules are the same. The only difference is that everything you write and say will be scrutinized more closely for clues as to how you will perform on the job. If you suck in the job search, we know you will suck on the job. Want to get it right? Use “The complete job search guide – how to land a job at a great company“.

The stakes are high. Twenty-five years ago when I was starting my career, the difference between being average and working smart was the difference between a good career and a great career. That was before the Internet. Today, working smart can make the difference between having a career and having nothing. Your competition is radically tougher today — game on!

Your thoughts become actions so choose the advice you take to heart wisely. There’s a career expert on every corner today. Most have not built companies as I have. Most have something to sell you; I don’t. These lessons exist because I love to teach and write, which is why DiversityJobs.com offers free career advice and tips you won’t hear anywhere else. OK… I also hope you’ll share these pages with your friends and use our job search engine.

You can graduate from Harvard, Princeton, or Yale and still suck at your job. They don’t teach you how to work smart at school. If you do have a fancy degree, expectations on you will be sky-high. If you don’t deliver the goods, your boss is going to think you’re overpriced and may just let you go. On the other hand, put these lessons into practice and you’ll carve your name on the world without an Ivy League degree or even without any degree at all.

20 THINGS YOUR BOSS WANTS FROM YOU

Entry-level

1. Don’t suck at e-mail
2. Don’t suck at instant messaging
3. Want to be taken seriously? Do this.
4. Know the shortest path to succeeding in your job?
5. 2 habits that show you are trustworthy and mature
6. Is your attitude subtly toxic?
7. Don’t interrupt me
8. Don’t make me interrupt you
9. Be precise, be specific and be blunt
10. Fail to do this and you may get fired

Above and beyond: Tame your ego

Experienced

1. Got ‘the ace factor’?
2. Never do this
3. How to handle your mistakes like a pro
4. 10 ways to improve your emotional intelligence
5. Are you blocking conversation (when you think you’re listening)?

Advanced

1. Perform like a surgeon
2. What your boss doesn’t want to tell you (and you need to know)
3. Stop whining – take ownership
4. Show up ready for battle
5. Know yourself and follow your bliss

Important:

1. Rules are meant for breaking, but master them first and then break them.
2. My team knows I don’t always lead by example. I’m better at some of these than others. Especially where I’m weak, I like to see corresponding strengths in my team.
3. Like any good boss, I hope to hire above me – to hire a team that’s smarter and better than I am!

Get the ebook!

If you liked what you read here, and think you may want to refer back to this guide later, grab the e-book version for Kindle – we’re hoping you’ll thank us with a five-star review on Amazon if you found this material helpful. The ebook also includes our job search guide.

For comprehensive advice on the entire job search process, read our complete guide to landing a job at a great company or visit our career advice hub.

When your boss reviews your work, typically she’ll suggest some improvements and correct some errors. It’s the errors that are really dangerous to your career.

There are two kinds of errors. First, there’s the harmless kind, where you make a mistake that just about anyone in your shoes would make. You are new on the job, for example, and still learning the ropes. There are lots of other acceptable ways in which you might screw up.

The second type of error is the career-killing sort. If your boss finds easily preventable errors in your work, you will be lucky to keep your job and definitely won’t be promoted if you repeat them regularly. What’s an easily preventable error? That’s an error that –

• you could have detected yourself by checking your own work or
• you’ve been trained not to make and to watch for or
• is due to haste, inattention and carelessness.

When you make easily preventable errors, you’re telling your boss that you need babysitting. Trust me, she doesn’t want to be your babysitter! If you really want a promotion, you will need to show your boss the opposite, that you are ready to babysit others.

Show your boss you don’t need babysitting by checking your work carefully before delivering it:

• Proofread by reading out loud – you will catch many more mistakes, if not all of them. Next, scan your writing backwards. Yes, I mean that – start with the last word on the page and work your way from right to left, bottom to top. Both of these techniques prevent your brain from running on autopilot, which is how you miss mistakes.
• Have a coworker or friend review your work. Sometimes you are too close to a project and know too much about it to step back and see it the way it will be perceived by others.
• Give it a real-world test. Run through the process from beginning to end without skipping any steps or making any assumptions.

Make checking your work a habit and you’ll build trust with your boss that will eventually get you promoted.

Get the ebook! If you liked what you read here, and think you may want to refer back to this guide later, grab the Kindle version – we’re hoping you’ll thank us with a five-star review on Amazon if you found this material helpful. The ebook also includes our job search guide.

For comprehensive advice on the entire job search process, read our complete guide to landing a job at a great company or visit our career advice hub.

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It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you in trouble.
It’s what you know that just ain’t so.  — Mark Twain

First Officer:  We did something to the altitude!
Capt. Bob: What?
First Officer: We’re still at 2000—right?
Capt. Bob: Hey—what’s happening here!
Control tower:  Eastern 401, I’ve lost you on radar—and your transponder.  What is your altitude?
Pilot: Miami Approach, this is National 611.  We just saw a big flash—looked like it was out west.  Don’t know what it means, but we wanted to let you know.
Pilot: Lan Chile 451—we saw a big flash—a general flash, like some kind of explosion.

Capt. Bob Loft’s last words were spoken on approach to Miami International Airport on a clear December night with 10 flight attendants and 162 passengers on board. With 30,000 hours of flying experience, Bob piloted his airworthy Lockheed L-1011 (Eastern 401) into the Florida swamp in 1972.  Pilots call this CFIT or Controlled Flight Into Terrain and it’s a leading cause of airplane accidents responsible for over 9,000 deaths in the history of aviation.

When you want something, whether it’s landing a passenger jet safely or asking for a raise from your boss, it helps to pay attention to your surroundings. That’s called situational awareness. It helps you get what you want, and it helps to practice.  Practice will help you detect danger when it exists and dismiss the source when it poses no threat.

Better situational awareness would have saved the lives of the crew and passengers on Eastern flight 401.  The pilot and first officer got wrapped up in solving a tempting little puzzle and lost sight of the big picture — flying the plane.  The distraction? An indicator for the landing gear in the nose did not light up as expected.

Because the captain failed to delegate, everyone in the cockpit was involved in troubleshooting and flying the plane became an afterthought. In the middle of it all, First Officer Albert Stockstill noticed an increase in airspeed and assumed it to be an acceleration in level flight, but he should have checked to see whether the plane was accelerating in descent. As a result, he eased off the throttles making one of several deadly mistakes made by the crew.

Asking your boss for a raise seems harmless compared with piloting a passenger jet, but there are still potential dangers to your career. How’s your timing? Who are the real decision-makers? What’s on your boss’s mind and what is his decision-making process like? How is the company performing financially? How does your boss feel about your performance? What does your boss’s voice tone and posture tell you? Ask at the wrong time and place in the wrong way and you’ve just performed the equivalent of controlled flight into terrain with your job.

You develop and practice situational awareness by asking questions. Notice the questions above? You ask yourself the questions when the answers can be learned by observing and you ask others when you can’t learn the answers on your own.

Backup and you’ll see that the very first step is for you to believe that your awareness is incomplete, that what you don’t know is important. Then you will start asking more questions, listening more and paying closer attention to changes in the scenery.  As you gather more information, you’ll find some clear-cut situations where additional information will point to better decisions and more successful outcomes. However, more information won’t always lead you to obvious answers.

Fortunately, when you are paying attention to your surroundings, often your body and your subconscious mind will know things you can’t put into words. Trust your gut – listening to those gut feelings is an important part of developing situational awareness.

Situational awareness requires practice so it won’t interfere with your activities or your performance. Until it becomes second nature, it will be uncomfortable and may get in the way. Practice is about getting through your day relaxed but aware and only shifting gears into focused awareness when you perceive threats.

Ultimately, situational awareness is not just about getting a raise from your boss. It’s a critical ingredient for working smart and exercising good judgment. Without it, you’ll always be the one in your group that needs babysitting. With it, you’ll be the one your boss relies on and promotes.

In fact, author Mike Spick asserted in his book about air combat that good situational awareness is “the ace factor.” He concluded that the top-scoring aces of  World War I and II typically avoided high confusion entanglements preferring to pick off stragglers. They succeeded through awareness of their own limitations and by keeping out of situations they could not cope with – essentially good situational awareness.

How to develop better situational awareness (developed by the military and aviators):

1. cross-train on group members’ tasks – learn your coworkers’ jobs
2. discover the mindsets and motivations of group members
3. use checklists for tasks and keep them up-to-date
4. get briefed on internal meetings you can’t attend
5. spot-check your group’s activities
6. monitor public communication traffic
7. listen to information that is not directly relevant to your group
8. cross-talk with other small groups
9. develop strong communication with your boss and other higher-ups
10. get shift changeover briefs
11. develop technical proficiencies
12. shadow a senior group member when you are new
13. learn the mission, functions, and intricacies of groups above yours
14. brief your leader more often with progress reports
15. share experience and information
16. if you are a leader, avoid handling technician duties
17. make sure the correct group leaders are participating in discussions/events
18. check information within the team
19. communicate relevant information to others
20. coordinate activities with other small groups

Pay attention to signs that you are losing your situational awareness:

1. information from two or more sources doesn’t agree
2. fixation on one thing to the exclusion of everything else
3. confusion or bafflement and possible anxiety about a situation
4. failure to look around – everyone has their heads down
5. failure to meet checkpoints or milestones on plan
6. failure to adhere to standard operating procedures
7. failure to comply with expectations or limitations
8. failure to resolve discrepancies
9. existence of unresolved personal conflicts
10. communication is partial and ineffective with vague or incomplete statements

Know what kills situational awareness:

1. task saturation – when you lack a plan or you are unprepared, small surprises can overload you quickly
2. physical stress – hunger, temperature, noise, fatigue, and lack of physical endurance
3. mental stress – workload, death, divorce, demotion, and economic factors
4. rebelliousness – when you don’t like to be told what to do you overlook rules and procedures designed to protect you
5. impulsiveness – when faced with a decision, the need to do something, anything right away
6. invulnerability – thinking that “it won’t happen to me.”
7. macho – feeling the need to prove you’re better than others
8. resignation – feeling that everything is out of your hands and chalking it up to luck

Know what happens when you experience stress (due to chance, poor planning or lack of preparation which causes demands on you to exceed your ability):

1. omission — you let things drop by failing to respond to important signals
2. error — you make mistakes
3. queuing — you delay some things you can’t handle
4. approximation — you accept lower standards of performance
5. fixation — you concentrate on one item while ignoring another
6. regression — you revert to an earlier procedure or action
7. tremor — you tremble or shake from increased tension
8. escape — you give up, panic or freeze

In an emergency, remember this:

1. stay calm — think for a moment, weigh the alternatives and choose one
2. remember that fear and panic are your greatest enemies
3. don’t hesitate to declare an emergency
4. let other people know about your situation
5. don’t delay until it is too late
6. move around, get some air, stretch your arms and legs
7. if you make a mistake that you were able to correct, forget about it and focus on what comes next
8. focus on the situation, not the emotion
9. always have a “plan” and a “backup plan” and leave yourself an “out”

Finally, thanks to Verne Harnish for reminding us to consider Amundsen’s philosophy:

You don’t wait until you’re in an unexpected storm to discover that you need more  strength and endurance. You don’t wait until you’re shipwrecked to determine if you can eat raw dolphin. You don’t wait until you’re on the Antarctic journey to become a superb skier and dog handler. You prepare with intensity, all the time, so that when conditions turn against you, you can draw from a deep reservoir of strength (knowledge). And equally, you prepare so that when conditions turn in your favor, you can strike hard.

Get the ebook! If you liked what you read here, and think you may want to refer back to this guide later, grab the Kindle version – we’re hoping you’ll thank us with a five-star review on Amazon if you found this material helpful. The ebook also includes our job search guide.

For comprehensive advice on the entire job search process, read our complete guide to landing a job at a great company or visit our career advice hub.

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Want your boss to trust you and delegate more responsibility to you?

First, be very careful to separate fact from opinion in your mind and in your speech. Your boss wants the facts first and your opinion second. Give them in that order and make it clear which is which. Separating fact and opinion is the foundation for good judgment and good judgment is the foundation for trust and responsibility.

Second, never bring your boss guesswork without also bringing two ways to fact check your guesses. If you feel compelled to speculate — offer to research or experiment as necessary to draw a solid conclusion. So, if you speculate, follow it up with – “I’ll find out by…”

Why go to the trouble of researching answers? Because you’ll:

• discover you can answer a lot of questions yourself
• become a source of positive energy
• build confidence in yourself
• show you understand that your job is not to pose riddles but to solve them

Show your boss that you are good at gathering facts, telling the truth about what you found and forming reasonable opinions around those facts. Do that and you’re well on your way to making yourself indispensable!

Get the ebook! If you liked what you read here, and think you may want to refer back to this guide later, grab the Kindle version – we’re hoping you’ll thank us with a five-star review on Amazon if you found this material helpful. The ebook also includes our job search guide.

For comprehensive advice on the entire job search process, read our complete guide to landing a job at a great company or visit our career advice hub.

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Lack of doubt and overconfidence are toxic to your career. A curious mind, on the other hand, is invaluable in business and a healthy sense of doubt is one of the most important characteristics of effective people. People in power know that learning and growth start with questions. We pay attention to the questions you ask in job interviews and meetings.

Questions like these really matter and change people’s lives (from big to small):

• What should I do with my life?
• Is this job a good fit for me?
• Where am I going in my job this year?
• How valuable is my work to the company?
• What will I accomplish this quarter?
• Am I getting enough feedback and guidance from my boss?
• Am I on track this month?
• How does this work? Why?
• How could I improve this?
• What can I learn from this?
• Am I prepared for my conference call this afternoon?

How do I know when a new member of the team is unlikely to work out? It’s usually someone who asks few questions during training, then sits down to work and charges ahead with full confidence (usually doing the wrong thing) without checking in for feedback until I request an update.

Some people are naturally more curious than others — but forget about that because you can create your own healthy sense of doubt with practice. Our minds generally do what we ask them to – ask and ye shall receive.

So use this checklist:

1. Hang a list of daily questions for yourself in your bedroom and/or your office.
2. Put questions in locations that will remind you at the right time in the right place. I keep a card on my monitor that says “Prepared? Specific enough? Documented?” No, it doesn’t always work, but I’m still a little better with the reminder than without.
3. Ask yourself “What am I missing? What other possibilities are there? What consequences might flow from this?“ Consider a longer list of options and try to include some wacky ones. Get outside your comfort zone for a moment.
4. Spill your guts. When you’re tempted to ask something but feel inhibited or fearful about asking, pay close attention – it’s usually a question that needs asking. Just ask. You’ll find the cost of not asking is almost always higher.

Get the ebook! If you liked what you read here, and think you may want to refer back to this guide later, grab the Kindle version – we’re hoping you’ll thank us with a five-star review on Amazon if you found this material helpful. The ebook also includes our job search guide.

For comprehensive advice on the entire job search process, read our complete guide to landing a job at a great company or visit our career advice hub.

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In the best job search guide online, I recommend that you blog to show your talent and passion. But, that’s not the full story – I’ve screened out more job-seekers than I’ve hired because of their blogs.

To make sure no one ends up unemployed because they followed my advice, here’s a guide to making sure your blog doesn’t kill your chances of getting hired.

First, let’s look at the blogs that have killed my interest in a candidate – they’ve included a job-seeker:

• promoting himself as an online marketing ‘get rich quick’ expert
• with pictures of himself firing his automatic assault rifle
• talking enthusiastically about his binge drinking
• and a few with tragically ugly websites

There’s a lot of common sense advice to give about blogging which I’ll dish out before moving on to my favorite topic – the easiest mistakes talented writers are prone to make.

Don’t:

• badmouth your previous bosses or employers
• talk about religion, politics, or sex
• post unflattering photos
• babble – keep your posts short and sweet

Do:

• post consistently and keep it up-to-date (once a month at least if job searching)
• include your resume in an attractive format (word or pdf)
• share your personal life (family, friends, pets, interests, and hobbies) but keep it PG or G rated
• be genuine – let your readers hear your thoughts
• be positive – you can bleed some, but always find the silver lining
• talk about what’s happening in your profession
• keep an updated blogroll to show who you follow and read

Now, for the mistakes most easily made by talented people! That’s the presentation – your book cover. You can write great, meaty, wise, or brilliant content, but if the cover of your book is terribly dull, ugly or error-riddled – many recruiters will write you off at the cover. Aim to fascinate with your blog‘s elegance. Give yourself some mystique!

First, your grammar and your spelling should be nearly perfect. Use spellchecker! Beg your friends and family to proofread you. Here’s why – easily preventable errors tell your future boss that you’ll need babysitting.

Second, you need a pretty dress. Ugly does not sell. If you’ve been told you don’t have much fashion sense, that’s a sure sign you’ll need help making sure your blog isn’t ugly. Sure, you can find a few examples of ugly blogs written by rich and famous authors like Mark Cuban. Don’t let those throw you off the trail.

Look at these fashion makeovers! Are those really the same women? By the way, if you don’t see much difference in the before and after pictures, you need to let someone else make your blog design decisions. Let me show you a few examples of good/great blog design, the simple and clean look you want for a professional blog:

• Ben Horowitz
• Brad Feld
• David Cancel

If you’re using WordPress, here are some minimalist theme choices that will do the job:

• Cleanfrog
• Clear
• Europe
• Vigilance
• Wu Wei

So what does your blog look like?

For comprehensive advice on the entire job search process, read our complete guide to landing a job at a great company or visit our career advice hub.