You like your job. You like your company. You’re a great performer. The next step is a management job. Right? Not so fast. Before you post or apply for a management job, you need to think about if a management job is right for you. That fact that you’re a great salesperson, engineer, or financial analyst doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll be a great manager. In fact, your ability to succeed in an individual contributor role may actually work against you as a manager. Let me explain. Related:The Secret To Being A Great Manager Way back in the 1960’s, David McClelland, a social psychologist at Harvard, suggested that human beings have three essential needs: achievement, affiliation, and influence. His research indicated that most of us have all three of these needs, but that we differ in how important each need it to us. Why am I telling you this? Simple. Great individual performers often have a high need for achievement. Successful salespeople have a need to close sales and beat quota. Successful engineers have a high need to bring projects in on time and under budget. Successful financial analysts have a high need to produce useful and usable reports that will help leaders make better decisions. On the other hand, successful leaders have a high need for influence. They enjoy getting work done through other people. They enjoy helping others perform at their best. They enjoy influencing key decisions. That’s why it’s a cliché that the best salespeople often make the worst sales managers. Individual contributor positions require technical skills. Managerial positions require relationship skills. I have coached over 1,000 leaders in my career. One of the biggest complaints I hear from them is, “I don’t understand why he (or she) doesn’t see what has to be done. When I was a salesperson/engineer/financial analyst, I always knew exactly what to do without being told. I just did it. Why don’t they?” What we’re seeing here is a person with a high need for achievement holding other people to his or her standards. Employees differ in what they need in order to succeed. Some need training, some need hand-holding, some need a confidence boost. Managers with a high need for achievement often have a hard time understanding this. Managers with a high need to influence welcome the challenge of helping different employees with different needs succeed in their jobs. I’m not saying that you can’t succeed as a manager if you have a high need for achievement. In fact, that need may drive you to figure out how to be influential with each of your employees. However, you will have to work harder at your managerial job – at least at first – then someone with a high need for influence. Then there are people with a high need for affiliation. These folks can have a difficult time transitioning into leadership roles, too. People with a high need for affiliation often are conflict adverse. They like harmony. They want everybody to get along. However, a big part of a leader’s job is to provide feedback to the people he or she leads. Sometimes the feedback will be negative. People with a high need for affiliation tend to have a difficult time doing this. They worry about upsetting people when they give them negative feedback. This is especially true for leaders who must manage people with whom they have previously been peers. The point here is simple. If you’re considering moving into management, or have been recently promoted, think about what drives you. If you have a high need for achievement or affiliation often you will have to go against your natural instincts to succeed as a manager. This doesn’t mean that people with high achievement or affiliation needs can’t be great managers. It does mean that they’ll have to be willing to modify their predominant style to succeed in a managerial role. This post was originally published on an earlier date.
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
BigstockMake a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
- How did I learn about this job?
- How did I apply for the job?
- Did I earn an interview?
- What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
BigstockAre you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
Let's start with resumes!
Every resume should be tailored to the position in order for it to stand out to recruiters and hiring managers. It may seem like a lot of work, but it's actually less work than submitting the same resume over and over again and never hearing back.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
BigstockYour job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
- Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
- Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
- Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.