nanaimo 9 to 5
I NTERNATIONAL A SSOCIATION
OF
A DMINISTRATIVE P ROFESSIONALS
N ANAIMO 9
TO
5
A Newsletter for Office Professionals N ANAIMO C HAPTER
M ARCH 2013
P RESIDENT ’ S M ESSAGE Happy “Almost Spring” everyone! As the daylight hours increase bit by bit with each passing day, I feel great anticipation for warmer and drier weather. I’m really excited about the guest speaker for our March chapter meeting. Diny van Beers of Vancouver Island University will be presenting “The Art of Taking Minutes.” Many administrative professionals think of minute taking as a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be. The presentation will examine why we take minutes, the basics of minute-taking, what the minutes should and should not include, techniques for minute taking, best practices (before, during and after the meeting), and current and future issues. This year’s Canada Divisions Conference (CDC) is in Lethbridge, Alberta from May 23 – 25. If you’ve never attended a CDC before, this a great opportunity to network with IAAP members from all over Canada, gain valuable education through great keynote speakers and attend the Western Canada Division AGM. The conference always includes local sightseeing opportunities, informal social events and ends with a Saturday evening banquet. Please visit http:// www.iaaplethbridge.com/cdc.html for more information about the conference, and consider adding this event to your professional development portfolio. Linda Brandmeier Chapter President
5 L ESSONS F ROM Y OUR F IRST J OB TO A PPLY TO Y OUR E NTIRE C AREER By Susan Ricker Your first full-time job may have been ages ago, but it taught you more lessons than you may realize. From spending habits to co-workers to promotions, your entry to the workforce was a never-ending learning experience. Reflect on your first job, and apply those lessons to your current role. 1. Getting along with your co-workers is just as important as doing your job—When you arrived on your first day, you may remember being both excited and nervous. Who would your new co-workers be? What would they be like? For 40-plus hours a week with your new "family," making a good impression and forming relationships made work easier and more fun. This remains true throughout your
N ANAIMO C HAPTER E XECUTIVE 2012 / 2013 President: Linda Brandmeier Vice President: Michelle Connolly Treasurer: Lorraine Markin Recording and Correspondence Secretary: Kristin Houvenaeghel COMMITTEE CHAIRS Flyers / Newsletter / Education / Meeting Coordinator: Kristin Houvenaeghel Historian: Lorraine Markin Membership: Michelle Connolly Ways & Means: TBD NEXT MEETING: March 13, 2013 The Art of Taking Minutes Presenter: Bruce Youngren Location: ABC Restaurant in the Days Inn CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE:
www.iaap-nanaimo.org
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N ANAIMO 9
TO
5
career, no matter how many times you change companies or jobs. You still have a "work family" that you spend much of your time with, and it's still important to keep that family strong. When you're close with your co-workers and have established a trusting relationship, everybody works harder and more efficiently. 2. Paychecks are for both fun and for saving—There's no thrill quite like receiving your first paycheck. It's a step into adulthood as well as a step toward the finer things in life. Suddenly, a nicer wardrobe and a new ride were deemed just as important as paying your bills, and saving money may have been a struggle. Getting smarter with money doesn't come naturally with age -- it's a discipline that takes practice and effort. Bills and practical purchases should take priority, and so does saving for the future. However, remember the excitement of your first paycheck and the validation it gave you for taking the job, and celebrate your hard work with occasional fun purchases. 3. Listen to and learn from your peers—When you started your first job, you had to adjust to your new co-workers, and you also had to rely on them to show you the ropes, answer your questions and support your efforts. Maybe you're no longer the "newbie," but you should listen to and learn from your peers just as much today as you did on your first day. Everybody you work with was hired for a reason, and everybody is an expert in some area. Not only can you take advantage of these areas of expertise when you have questions, but you should also return the favor and be just as helpful to them as they were to you. Make an effort to keep close working relationships with your co-workers, and create a strong, capable team that's ready to help the next new guy. 4. Always be prepared for meetings—The first several meetings you were invited to probably felt more exciting and special than the ones you attend now, though that's not a good enough reason to show up unprepared. It's easy to fall into the habit of "winging it" at meetings, arriving without ideas to contribute or reviewing any materials. Not only is this disrespectful to the person who called the meeting, but it slows down the productivity of the meeting as well. When you first began working, you likely felt an urge to prove your worth, so you went over the materials, came prepared with thoughts or ideas and contributed to the meeting in any way you could. Such a helpful attitude only makes you look better as time goes on. Don't fall for the misconception that experience means you don't have to try as hard. 5. Your job isn't a sure thing—The first week on your new job was filled with hesitant moves: "Am I allowed to do this?" "Is this OK?" "Will I get fired for this?" As you settled in, you realized how silly some of those thoughts were, and it was unlikely you'd get fired for that extra five minutes you took for lunch. Fast forward to now, and you're confident that you have earned enough freedom to do what you like, as long as your projects are finished. That mindset may lead to trouble, though. No matter how long you've worked somewhere, your job isn't 100 percent secure. You're working for others, and you need to meet their expectations first.
6 W AYS TO D AMAGE Y OUR R EPUTATION IN A N EW J OB By Lisa Quast “I think I just blew it with my new boss,” moaned a former career-coaching client over the telephone. “I thought I’d given myself enough time to get to my new job but there was an accident on the freeway blocking traffic. I ended up 40 minutes late to my first day of work and missed the staff meeting where she was supposed to introduce me to the entire department. I could tell from the look on her face how disappointed she was. She probably thinks I’m completely unreliable.” There are many ways you can inadvertently damage your reputation in a new job. As my former client found out, showing up late on your first day of work is one of those ways. Here are six ways you can sabotage your reputation that you should avoid at all costs: 1. Show up late on your first day of work: This is my number one “no-no” when it comes to starting a new job. Showing up late may damage your reputation because it can make you look unreliable and unable to plan for potential obstacles. If you can’t even make it to work on time, do you think your manager will trust you to finish a project on time? Always give yourself plenty of extra time to get to work for the first few weeks so you can get a feel for traffic patterns and how much time you’ll need. Bring a book or magazine to read in case you get there early. 2. Wear inappropriate attire, based on the company culture: Wearing a dark suit is not a good idea if you’ve been hired by a start-up company where everyone wears jeans and shorts to work. Similarly, wearing too casual attire to a company
N ANAIMO 9
P AGE 3
TO
5
where most employees wear suits five days a week won’t work either. Take the time (before your first day on the job) to understand the company’s culture and find out from your new manager or HR representative as to what attire is appropriate. Never wear perfume or cologne to work – leave these for evenings and weekends. There’s almost nothing more annoying as a manager than having to hold a discussion with a new employee because their over-powering perfume/cologne is disrupting office productivity. 3. Refer constantly to how your previous company did things: When you keep referring to things saying, “That’s not how we did it at ABC company,” or “Where I came from, this is how we did it and it worked much better,” you will severely damage your reputation. Why? Because nobody likes an arrogant know-it-all who thinks they are better than other employees or who believes their previous company did things better. I once led a department after the parent company had purchased and merged five companies into one. Ego-bragging about former companies was so prevalent I implemented a fun way of calling attention to this negative practice. Whenever anyone used the name of his or her former company and someone pointed this out, the person had to add $1 to an empty shoebox in my office. When the shoebox was filled with money I used it for a pizza lunch for the team and to talk about the ego-bragging and why it was so detrimental to our newly combined company. After that, the negative practice almost immediately ceased. 4. Question the way (and why) things are done: Like I mentioned in item #3, no one likes an arrogant know-it-all. Before espousing your opinions in your new job, take the time to identify all angles of a situation. This means understanding the stakeholders, inputs, resources, processes, and outcomes/results. Once you have this information, you can dig deeper into certain circumstances using terminology such as, “Help me understand how…” and “How does department ABC then use this information to…?” How you word things is just as important as the questions you ask, so think before you speak. 5. Ask for time off: You’d think this would be a no-brainer “no-no”, but you’d be surprised at how often hiring managers express their frustration to me about new employees blindsiding them with time off requests. If you receive a job offer in June and your family already has vacation plans scheduled for mid-July, let the hiring manager know immediately (before you begin your new job) and proactively work with them to ensure your vacation will not disrupt the productivity of the department. Surprising your new manager with a personal time off request can damage your reputation because it can make you seem like a deceitful and immature person. 6. Spend time “water cooler gossiping” to get the “dirt” on people in the department: Everyone wants to get to know the people in their new company as quickly as possible – but don’t spend time finding out through the gossip “grape vine” around the water cooler or break room. Take the time to get to know colleagues first hand and form your own opinions. Don’t let other’s nasty gossip cloud your thinking when it comes to co-workers. As my former career-coaching client found out, it can be fairly easy to damage your reputation in a new job. Once damaged, it can take time and effort to repair your work reputation. To avoid having to go through this situation yourself, be aware of the six key ways you can harm your reputation when starting a new job – and wisely avoid them!
R ULES F OR W OMEN TO C LIMB THE C AREER L ADDER By Lisa Quast According to an article by Julie Steinberg in The Wall Street Journal, one of the reasons why women hold so few executive officer positions and board seats in Fortune 500 companies is because they often lack the types of intangible skills that are needed to gain attention from management and that lead to higher-level roles. How can women get ahead and reach the executive level? Steinberg recommends nine rules women should follow. The nine rules women should follow according to Julie Steinberg:
1. Work hard 2. Do work no one else wants to do 3. Cultivate the people in charge
P AGE 4
N ANAIMO 9
TO
5
4. Know what you want and go for it 5. Promote yourself legitimately 6. Network with your peers 7. Make your own career 8. Leave to get ahead 9. Dress well and play golf As the former executive vice president and general manager at a $12 billion global corporation and a certified executive coach working specifically with women and their careers, four of Steinberg’s rules stood out for me: Work hard: What I learned during my climb of the career ladder in corporate America is that nothing will help you stand out more than doing excellent work that produces outstanding results. Not being assigned projects that will allow you to demonstrate your skills? Then volunteer to take on projects that will show your strengths and allow you to gain the necessary experience to move to the next level. Know what you want and go for it: If you don’t know where you want to go, how will you determine how to get there? Take the time to clearly define your career aspirations and then conduct research to find out the skills and experience necessary to succeed in those positions. Once you have this information you can create a career strategic plan. Having a career plan in place will ensure you achieve your aspirations efficiently and effectively – just like using a roadmap helps you reach a destination. Leave to get ahead: Working for a company that doesn’t recognize your talent or where a manager is blocking your career? When a boss purposely halted my career advancement, I chose to accept a position with another company. I was able to demonstrate my skills and was promoted three times within two years. Word spread quickly within the industry and the senior vice president of a different division in my former company sought me out, luring me back with a higher-level position and more responsibilities. The key in leaving to get ahead is to always refer back to rule number one; that no matter where you work, you must do excellent work that produces outstanding results. Dress well and play golf: What you wear creates an image or perception of the type of person you are, so choosing the right attire and acting the part is critical. As the old saying goes, “perception is reality” and women wanting to reach executive-level positions need to think about and consciously determine the type of image they want to project at work by choosing appropriate clothing, hair style, and make-up. As for playing golf, I had to laugh at this rule. As the only female on the management team of the service division of a large medical equipment corporation, one of the first actions I took was to learn to play golf. At this company, national meetings always included a golf outing and, as the only female, it was a great way to get myself noticed. Especially when on one of the golf holes I won the “longest drive” competition – you better believe management sat up and took notice! While experts have written more rules for women in business than I could ever list in this blog, Ms. Steinberg does an outstanding job of highlighting what I agree are the top nine rules for women to climb the career ladder. However, no matter what the other rules are, never forget the number one rule that must be followed to get ahead is to do excellent work that produces outstanding results.
OF
A DMINISTRATIVE P ROFESSIONALS
N ANAIMO 9
TO
5
A Newsletter for Office Professionals N ANAIMO C HAPTER
M ARCH 2013
P RESIDENT ’ S M ESSAGE Happy “Almost Spring” everyone! As the daylight hours increase bit by bit with each passing day, I feel great anticipation for warmer and drier weather. I’m really excited about the guest speaker for our March chapter meeting. Diny van Beers of Vancouver Island University will be presenting “The Art of Taking Minutes.” Many administrative professionals think of minute taking as a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be. The presentation will examine why we take minutes, the basics of minute-taking, what the minutes should and should not include, techniques for minute taking, best practices (before, during and after the meeting), and current and future issues. This year’s Canada Divisions Conference (CDC) is in Lethbridge, Alberta from May 23 – 25. If you’ve never attended a CDC before, this a great opportunity to network with IAAP members from all over Canada, gain valuable education through great keynote speakers and attend the Western Canada Division AGM. The conference always includes local sightseeing opportunities, informal social events and ends with a Saturday evening banquet. Please visit http:// www.iaaplethbridge.com/cdc.html for more information about the conference, and consider adding this event to your professional development portfolio. Linda Brandmeier Chapter President
5 L ESSONS F ROM Y OUR F IRST J OB TO A PPLY TO Y OUR E NTIRE C AREER By Susan Ricker Your first full-time job may have been ages ago, but it taught you more lessons than you may realize. From spending habits to co-workers to promotions, your entry to the workforce was a never-ending learning experience. Reflect on your first job, and apply those lessons to your current role. 1. Getting along with your co-workers is just as important as doing your job—When you arrived on your first day, you may remember being both excited and nervous. Who would your new co-workers be? What would they be like? For 40-plus hours a week with your new "family," making a good impression and forming relationships made work easier and more fun. This remains true throughout your
N ANAIMO C HAPTER E XECUTIVE 2012 / 2013 President: Linda Brandmeier Vice President: Michelle Connolly Treasurer: Lorraine Markin Recording and Correspondence Secretary: Kristin Houvenaeghel COMMITTEE CHAIRS Flyers / Newsletter / Education / Meeting Coordinator: Kristin Houvenaeghel Historian: Lorraine Markin Membership: Michelle Connolly Ways & Means: TBD NEXT MEETING: March 13, 2013 The Art of Taking Minutes Presenter: Bruce Youngren Location: ABC Restaurant in the Days Inn CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE:
www.iaap-nanaimo.org
P P AGE AGE 2 2
N ANAIMO 9
TO
5
career, no matter how many times you change companies or jobs. You still have a "work family" that you spend much of your time with, and it's still important to keep that family strong. When you're close with your co-workers and have established a trusting relationship, everybody works harder and more efficiently. 2. Paychecks are for both fun and for saving—There's no thrill quite like receiving your first paycheck. It's a step into adulthood as well as a step toward the finer things in life. Suddenly, a nicer wardrobe and a new ride were deemed just as important as paying your bills, and saving money may have been a struggle. Getting smarter with money doesn't come naturally with age -- it's a discipline that takes practice and effort. Bills and practical purchases should take priority, and so does saving for the future. However, remember the excitement of your first paycheck and the validation it gave you for taking the job, and celebrate your hard work with occasional fun purchases. 3. Listen to and learn from your peers—When you started your first job, you had to adjust to your new co-workers, and you also had to rely on them to show you the ropes, answer your questions and support your efforts. Maybe you're no longer the "newbie," but you should listen to and learn from your peers just as much today as you did on your first day. Everybody you work with was hired for a reason, and everybody is an expert in some area. Not only can you take advantage of these areas of expertise when you have questions, but you should also return the favor and be just as helpful to them as they were to you. Make an effort to keep close working relationships with your co-workers, and create a strong, capable team that's ready to help the next new guy. 4. Always be prepared for meetings—The first several meetings you were invited to probably felt more exciting and special than the ones you attend now, though that's not a good enough reason to show up unprepared. It's easy to fall into the habit of "winging it" at meetings, arriving without ideas to contribute or reviewing any materials. Not only is this disrespectful to the person who called the meeting, but it slows down the productivity of the meeting as well. When you first began working, you likely felt an urge to prove your worth, so you went over the materials, came prepared with thoughts or ideas and contributed to the meeting in any way you could. Such a helpful attitude only makes you look better as time goes on. Don't fall for the misconception that experience means you don't have to try as hard. 5. Your job isn't a sure thing—The first week on your new job was filled with hesitant moves: "Am I allowed to do this?" "Is this OK?" "Will I get fired for this?" As you settled in, you realized how silly some of those thoughts were, and it was unlikely you'd get fired for that extra five minutes you took for lunch. Fast forward to now, and you're confident that you have earned enough freedom to do what you like, as long as your projects are finished. That mindset may lead to trouble, though. No matter how long you've worked somewhere, your job isn't 100 percent secure. You're working for others, and you need to meet their expectations first.
6 W AYS TO D AMAGE Y OUR R EPUTATION IN A N EW J OB By Lisa Quast “I think I just blew it with my new boss,” moaned a former career-coaching client over the telephone. “I thought I’d given myself enough time to get to my new job but there was an accident on the freeway blocking traffic. I ended up 40 minutes late to my first day of work and missed the staff meeting where she was supposed to introduce me to the entire department. I could tell from the look on her face how disappointed she was. She probably thinks I’m completely unreliable.” There are many ways you can inadvertently damage your reputation in a new job. As my former client found out, showing up late on your first day of work is one of those ways. Here are six ways you can sabotage your reputation that you should avoid at all costs: 1. Show up late on your first day of work: This is my number one “no-no” when it comes to starting a new job. Showing up late may damage your reputation because it can make you look unreliable and unable to plan for potential obstacles. If you can’t even make it to work on time, do you think your manager will trust you to finish a project on time? Always give yourself plenty of extra time to get to work for the first few weeks so you can get a feel for traffic patterns and how much time you’ll need. Bring a book or magazine to read in case you get there early. 2. Wear inappropriate attire, based on the company culture: Wearing a dark suit is not a good idea if you’ve been hired by a start-up company where everyone wears jeans and shorts to work. Similarly, wearing too casual attire to a company
N ANAIMO 9
P AGE 3
TO
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where most employees wear suits five days a week won’t work either. Take the time (before your first day on the job) to understand the company’s culture and find out from your new manager or HR representative as to what attire is appropriate. Never wear perfume or cologne to work – leave these for evenings and weekends. There’s almost nothing more annoying as a manager than having to hold a discussion with a new employee because their over-powering perfume/cologne is disrupting office productivity. 3. Refer constantly to how your previous company did things: When you keep referring to things saying, “That’s not how we did it at ABC company,” or “Where I came from, this is how we did it and it worked much better,” you will severely damage your reputation. Why? Because nobody likes an arrogant know-it-all who thinks they are better than other employees or who believes their previous company did things better. I once led a department after the parent company had purchased and merged five companies into one. Ego-bragging about former companies was so prevalent I implemented a fun way of calling attention to this negative practice. Whenever anyone used the name of his or her former company and someone pointed this out, the person had to add $1 to an empty shoebox in my office. When the shoebox was filled with money I used it for a pizza lunch for the team and to talk about the ego-bragging and why it was so detrimental to our newly combined company. After that, the negative practice almost immediately ceased. 4. Question the way (and why) things are done: Like I mentioned in item #3, no one likes an arrogant know-it-all. Before espousing your opinions in your new job, take the time to identify all angles of a situation. This means understanding the stakeholders, inputs, resources, processes, and outcomes/results. Once you have this information, you can dig deeper into certain circumstances using terminology such as, “Help me understand how…” and “How does department ABC then use this information to…?” How you word things is just as important as the questions you ask, so think before you speak. 5. Ask for time off: You’d think this would be a no-brainer “no-no”, but you’d be surprised at how often hiring managers express their frustration to me about new employees blindsiding them with time off requests. If you receive a job offer in June and your family already has vacation plans scheduled for mid-July, let the hiring manager know immediately (before you begin your new job) and proactively work with them to ensure your vacation will not disrupt the productivity of the department. Surprising your new manager with a personal time off request can damage your reputation because it can make you seem like a deceitful and immature person. 6. Spend time “water cooler gossiping” to get the “dirt” on people in the department: Everyone wants to get to know the people in their new company as quickly as possible – but don’t spend time finding out through the gossip “grape vine” around the water cooler or break room. Take the time to get to know colleagues first hand and form your own opinions. Don’t let other’s nasty gossip cloud your thinking when it comes to co-workers. As my former career-coaching client found out, it can be fairly easy to damage your reputation in a new job. Once damaged, it can take time and effort to repair your work reputation. To avoid having to go through this situation yourself, be aware of the six key ways you can harm your reputation when starting a new job – and wisely avoid them!
R ULES F OR W OMEN TO C LIMB THE C AREER L ADDER By Lisa Quast According to an article by Julie Steinberg in The Wall Street Journal, one of the reasons why women hold so few executive officer positions and board seats in Fortune 500 companies is because they often lack the types of intangible skills that are needed to gain attention from management and that lead to higher-level roles. How can women get ahead and reach the executive level? Steinberg recommends nine rules women should follow. The nine rules women should follow according to Julie Steinberg:
1. Work hard 2. Do work no one else wants to do 3. Cultivate the people in charge
P AGE 4
N ANAIMO 9
TO
5
4. Know what you want and go for it 5. Promote yourself legitimately 6. Network with your peers 7. Make your own career 8. Leave to get ahead 9. Dress well and play golf As the former executive vice president and general manager at a $12 billion global corporation and a certified executive coach working specifically with women and their careers, four of Steinberg’s rules stood out for me: Work hard: What I learned during my climb of the career ladder in corporate America is that nothing will help you stand out more than doing excellent work that produces outstanding results. Not being assigned projects that will allow you to demonstrate your skills? Then volunteer to take on projects that will show your strengths and allow you to gain the necessary experience to move to the next level. Know what you want and go for it: If you don’t know where you want to go, how will you determine how to get there? Take the time to clearly define your career aspirations and then conduct research to find out the skills and experience necessary to succeed in those positions. Once you have this information you can create a career strategic plan. Having a career plan in place will ensure you achieve your aspirations efficiently and effectively – just like using a roadmap helps you reach a destination. Leave to get ahead: Working for a company that doesn’t recognize your talent or where a manager is blocking your career? When a boss purposely halted my career advancement, I chose to accept a position with another company. I was able to demonstrate my skills and was promoted three times within two years. Word spread quickly within the industry and the senior vice president of a different division in my former company sought me out, luring me back with a higher-level position and more responsibilities. The key in leaving to get ahead is to always refer back to rule number one; that no matter where you work, you must do excellent work that produces outstanding results. Dress well and play golf: What you wear creates an image or perception of the type of person you are, so choosing the right attire and acting the part is critical. As the old saying goes, “perception is reality” and women wanting to reach executive-level positions need to think about and consciously determine the type of image they want to project at work by choosing appropriate clothing, hair style, and make-up. As for playing golf, I had to laugh at this rule. As the only female on the management team of the service division of a large medical equipment corporation, one of the first actions I took was to learn to play golf. At this company, national meetings always included a golf outing and, as the only female, it was a great way to get myself noticed. Especially when on one of the golf holes I won the “longest drive” competition – you better believe management sat up and took notice! While experts have written more rules for women in business than I could ever list in this blog, Ms. Steinberg does an outstanding job of highlighting what I agree are the top nine rules for women to climb the career ladder. However, no matter what the other rules are, never forget the number one rule that must be followed to get ahead is to do excellent work that produces outstanding results.
