5 Ways New Grads Can Get a Boost Up the Corporate Ladder

Don't be shy about sharing your ideas. This assertiveness will help you stand out and get promoted.</P><P>When you’re at the beginning of your professional career, that corporate ladder can look pretty tall from the bottom. But while you’ll have to work hard (and be patient) to merit promotions, there are a few tips and tricks you can use to move up that ladder faster.</P><P><B>1. Show off your knowledge of a brand’s product. </B>When interviewing for a role, you’ll stand out more if you know a brand’s product inside and out. Jess Lee, CEO of Polyvore, an online shopping platform, says it’s important to impress your interviewers with your knowledge of their product. She says: “Become a user, study the product, learn its strengths and identify some areas for improvement. Bring it up in the interview, or better yet, prepare something that you can share with the interview team."</P><P>How to do it: A little Web research can go a long way, but go beyond just visiting the potential employer’s website. Look for reviews of the product, as well as company news that you can bring up in the interview.</P><P><B>2. Leverage LinkedIn. </B>You know that connecting with professional contacts on LinkedIn is a good idea, but if you’re not maximizing the potential, it’s a waste of time. LinkedIn’s newly enhanced mobile app lets you glean details about the person who’s interviewing you. So even if you wait until the last minute, you can still find what you’ve got in common, which can warm up your job interview.</P><P>There’s also LinkedIn's Job Search app that you can use to find your next career move – without worrying that your boss will catch you searching for jobs on your desktop. Use LinkedIn to stay on top of what content your contacts are sharing, and amplify its reach by sharing it with your network. Also participate in LinkedIn groups to learn from others, as well as establish yourself as an expert in your field.</P><P>How to do it: Carve out time each week to add new contacts, explore what they’re sharing and send quick outreach messages.</P><P><B>3. Put your ideas out there. </B>Don’t be shy about sharing your ideas, says Leisa Peterson, founder of WealthClinic, a community centered around learning about finances. She calls herself a “22-year veteran of the corporate ladder,” and she's found that by sharing ideas, she was able to show her boss that she cared about the company and was constantly thinking about ways to improve the bottom line.</P><P>In one role at a company that worked with credit unions, she noticed the credit unions struggled with several things she thought the company could help with. She suggested a way to capitalize on this space by creating a product her company already had experience with. Peterson says: “It was a big idea that led to me gaining a huge amount of respect in my manager's eyes, which most importantly led me to see how powerful my ideas were and the power of what happens when you go outside your comfort zone. That idea and all that I learned is what got me hired by Wells Fargo.” </P><P>How to do it: Peterson says you should spend time thinking about how your idea will work so it is reasonable to execute. And even if it doesn’t come to fruition, your assertiveness shows your manager that you care about the bottom line. This will help you stand out and help you get promoted faster.</P><P><B>4. Stick with the hard work. </B>Many grads feel that entry-level work is too mundane and doesn’t offer enough of a challenge. Realize that this work is a necessary part of your climb. Prove yourself at the easy and rote tasks, and you’ll soon be rewarded with something more engaging.</P><P>Stick out your first job – no matter how much you may dislike it – for at least a year. You need the credit on your résumé, and you don’t want future employers wondering if you’ll flee after a few months.</P><P>How to do it: Find ways to challenge yourself in the job you’ve got. That might mean asking your boss for additional responsibilities, learning new software or attending career development classes. </P><P><B>5. Get a reputation. </B>You aren’t stuck at one company for your entire career, so it’s important to make connections beyond the walls of your office. Barry Maher, author and speaker, says it’s imperative that you be active in your field and work to gain an industry-wide reputation. He says: “If it turns out your company doesn't appreciate you, maybe another company will.”</P><P>How to do it: Find industry networking events and start attending them. Write a professional blog (that's not associated with your company), and share your insights on your industry. Be active on social media, and connect to others in your field. If you’re so inclined, look for speaking opportunities that will further brand you as an expert in your field. Then when you’re ready for your next career move, you’ll already have a solid network of people in your field to turn to.</P><P><B>Lindsay Olson</B> is a founding partner and public relations recruiter with Paradigm Staffing and Hoojobs, a niche job board for public relations, communications and social media jobs. Hoojobs was voted as a Top Career website by Forbes. She blogs at LindsayOlson.com, where she discusses recruiting and job search issues and is chief editor of the HooHireWire – The Hoojobs Guide to Hiring & Getting Hired.  <BR></P><br /><p><a href="http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2014/08/21/5-ways-new-grads-can-get-a-boost-up-the-corporate-ladder" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">View the original article here</a></p>

5 Ways New Grads Can Get a Boost Up the Corporate Ladder

Don't be shy about sharing your ideas. This assertiveness will help you stand out and get promoted.When you’re at the beginning of your professional career, that corporate ladder can look pretty tall…

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3 Reasons Managers Should Help Their Virtual Team Network

Virtual team members can connect with their counterparts on the ground via Google Hangouts and Skype.</P><P>From Google Hangouts, to Skype to text messages, connecting with a team virtually is easy and cost effective. Team members with the specific expertise you seek might not live around your geographic location. Reaching out virtually makes good business sense when finding the best person to fulfill a need or work on a project.</P><P>And yet it also produces a whole other set of concerns. One common concern is if a virtual team member really needs to network at events or industry conferences. It’s interesting that the sentiment “out of sight, out of mind” sets the tone for virtual team members. Since these virtual team members are not within the immediate group that might have day-to-day and face-to-face interaction, their professional development needs and even industry interactions are not given the same importance that’s afforded to in-house and in-person team members.</P><P>Here's why it's equally important for your virtual team members to network:</P><P><B>1. </B><B>Connective resources. </B>Well-connected team members, whether virtual or face-to-face, will have access to and knowledge of resources that an isolated team member would not. Not knowing where to go, who to ask or who to connect with are some of the products of a team member that is not networked and not continually developing his or her social skill set and connections. Businesses can learn vicariously through their virtual team members' networking experiences. The business can use that insight as they encounter different people and companies that are not easily accessible.</P><P>Through extensive social networks, a virtual team member taps new and different resources and also becomes even more productive. It’s easy to forget your virtual team members and assume that they're self-sufficient. Yet if they feel uninvolved on disengaged, it can affect their problem solving-skills. And often, in the employees' perceptions, it devalues their contribution to the team. It’s tough to help out, share numbers and share resources when you don’t really know someone. The networking events that are often forgotten are those that involve all of your internal and virtual team members meeting and getting to know each other. Networking within your teams is vital to create an understanding of each person’s expertise and how they can assist.</P><P><B>2. </B><B>Fewer degrees of separation. </B>When a team member feels disconnected, which can happen in a virtual office setting, it can have a negative effect on their abilities to problem solve and reach across parameters for assistance. They can become siloed and even negative. When your virtual team gets to know the team on the ground, the relationship provides a cohesive environment to increase innovation. Creating a collaborative environment is beneficial to all involved. It helps in painting that bigger picture of how they contribute and how they are valued. It gives a stronger sense that they are an important part of the organization’s brand story. </P><P><B>3. </B><B>Positive representation. </B>When a virtual team member feels connected, they represent your business better. They feel like part of the team and overall plan. They also get a better sense of the big picture when they interact with others who learn how vital that person’s connection is to your company. They have the chance to understand, in human form, what your company actually does and how it makes a difference.<BR><B><BR>Teach them how to network. </B>Providing skills that support your team encourages the members to be the best versions of themselves and creates an empowered team that's encouraged and excited to be working together. Owners save time if they themselves make the connection. If the owner can make the introductions between team members, it gives validation and importance to the connection. It also models to team members how to interact and provides a strong visual of the connectivity of each team member. It also maximizes learning if current team members can meet with and acclimate to new virtual team members. </P><P>Anytime you have a highly motivated, committed and productive group, it’s a result of creation and cultivation. As the leadership of an organization builds a culture that has clearly defined goals, those goals are supported by everyone all the time. The focus is not on individual job descriptions. The focus is on everyone doing what’s necessary as a group to achieve the organization’s goals. In part, this means immediately addressing negative behaviors constructively to produce the needed behavior change and rewarding positive behaviors. It is amazing how quickly a dynamic and committed organizational workforce can be created. </P><P><B>Maria Elena Duron</B> is a brand relationship trainer, national presenter, author and small business marketing coach specializing in helping individuals, teams, businesses and organizations apply the concepts of the book “The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace” in their daily business and interactions with customers. She is editor-in-chief of the Personal Branding Blog. <BR></P><br /><p><a href="http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2014/08/14/3-reasons-managers-should-help-their-virtual-team-network" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">View the original article here</a></p>

3 Reasons Managers Should Help Their Virtual Team Network

Virtual team members can connect with their counterparts on the ground via Google Hangouts and Skype.From Google Hangouts, to Skype to text messages, connecting with a team virtually is easy and cost…

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