Path Choices: Getting Established

Getting Established

Hand to Heaven

Okay. So you created a highly targeted resume and they called you in for an interview. You dazzled them there, and they offered you the job. And you said, "Yes!"

In offering you the job, someone saw in you something that was "sacred to the touch." So now your foot is planted in the door and you need to turn your focus away from job hunting to getting firmly established in your new position. What do you do now?

Interview Model

The best way to establish yourself in this new position it to fulfill the prophecy you created in the interview process. You can review these interview tips for a lot of detail, but here are a few additional areas you must consider:

Performance Goals. Understand your performance goals. Make sure you know how your performance will be measured. Will your performance be judged by the subjective opinions of your boss, or are there objective measures that you supervisor will track, and that you can track, too.

Trust. Write down your commitments. Keep your promises. When you tell someone you are going to do something, write it down--perhaps in your planner. A friend of mine carriers index cards in his pocket just so he can write down his promises. Your typical person keeps about 50% of his/her promises, but people who right down their promises keep 90% or better. This is the best tool out there for developing trust with your boss and coworkers.

Mentoring. If the business has a formal mentoring program, great. If not, and time allows, find someone who seems to be doing all the right things and ask them to mentor you for awhile. I usually suggest one year.

It usually is a bad idea to pick a mentor farther up in your chain of command. Jealously and unhealthy attitudes will start to grow in your coworkers. Anyway, the folks in your chain should already be teaching you and helping you along, so mentoring with them is redundant.

What they will be committing to is an hour of time, once a month, for 12 months. You can take them out to eat for this hour, or you can meet them in their office or some other place. In a mentoring relationship, YOU drive the discussions and questions. You figure out what you want to accomplish and you lead every aspect of the learning. Do not discuss confidential matters with them unless you have talked to them about confidentiality in advance, or unless you really trust them. It is also a good idea to schedule all 12 of your meetings at the beginning of the year--people tend to be more likely to keep the commitments.

This mentoring helps out in a couple of ways. First, it is a great, informal way to learn. You can learn things through this process that you would NEVER learn in formal training. Second, it is bold. Most mentors will be flattered and extremely impressed with the humble, "get er' done" attitude necessary for someone to attempt a mentoring relationship. These mentors often go on to open doors for their proteges and create opportunities the proteges otherwise would not have had.

Don't gossip. It cheapens you, and erodes trust.

Identify Snakes in the Grass. There will be people out there who do not have your best interest at heart. They don't even have the company's best interest at heart. Watch out.

Commitment. There will be times when you will feel that you have been lied to about the job. You will be disillusioned and your commitment will waver. Each day, renew your commitment to your boss and the company. Remind yourself that when you took the job your committed yourself to the company and your boss. Your main job is to make your boss look good.

Thanks. Look for ways to congratulate or thank people for doing excellent work. Remember that when others succeed, it can create opportunities for you. This makes the workplace much more pleasant. And you will get noticed by others. Be specific in what you are congratulating them about or thanking them for. Mention the specific act. You can congratulate and thank people you do not like. You are recognizing the deed, not the person. But don't go around thanking and congratulating people all the time. Overdone it will cheapen the act because it will appear insincere.

Change. It is not just coming--it is here and trying its best to pass you by. I know it's tough, but you have to embrace it. In today's work, the people who thrive are those who are able to adapt themselves to the rapid changes in our work settings.

Prayer. If you are so inclined, pray for your work and the people there. Any job must be done, and it must be done well. Life is tough on a lot of people. Lift them up to God.

The great actor Peter O'Toole echoed Mr. Cummings' quote at the top of this page by noting that "most successful people got that way because someone in their past saw something in them--some talent, some gift, some opportunity. They then brought this gift to the light of day, gave them encouragement, and helped them on the endless and difficult path of working to perfect this gift and achieve their destiny."

It's hard to find your purpose in life--what you were truly meant to do. It's not always about what your talents are or what you are passionate about. But most of the successful people we've talked to at Path Choices have had someone in their lives who gave them the right encouragement. Opened a door for them. Picked them up at the right time. Pointed the direction they needed to go. Revealed their sacred touch.

Glass Hand Sometimes the relationships with these "revealers of the sacred touch" are long and personal. Sometimes they are short and distant. But if you think about it, I bet you can find a person in your past who pushed you on your destiny. Who, as Mr. Cummings observed, "encouraged you to be nobody but yourself in a world that is doing its best to make you somebody else."

Forget about latching your reputation onto that of others. Some people try to do this, but it's a smokescreen. Teams don't have values. People do. Teams don't have talents. People do. Teams don't have organizational commitment. People do. Everything is personal. And your gift to your boss and your organization will show the world your sacred touch.



Program 1:31 book donations newsletter ERC endorsed resume creators about us thank you contact us legal welcome	Getting Established Okay. So you created a highly targeted resume and they called you in for an interview. You dazzled them there, and they offered you the job. And you said, "Yes!" In offering you the job, someone saw in you something that was "sacred to the touch." So now your foot is planted in the door and you need to turn your focus away from job hunting to getting firmly established in your new position. What do you do now? The best way to establish yourself in this new position it to fulfill the prophecy you created in the interview process. You can review these interview tips for a lot of detail, but here are a few additional areas you must consider: Performance Goals. Understand your performance goals. Make sure you know how your performance will be measured. Will your performance be judged by the subjective opinions of your boss, or are there objective measures that you supervisor will track, and that you can track, too. Trust. Write down your commitments. Keep your promises. When you tell someone you are going to do something, write it down--perhaps in your planner. A friend of mine carriers index cards in his pocket just so he can write down his promises. Your typical person keeps about 50% of his/her promises, but people who right down their promises keep 90% or better. This is the best tool out there for developing trust with your boss and coworkers. Mentoring. If the business has a formal mentoring program, great. If not, and time allows, find someone who seems to be doing all the right things and ask them to mentor you for awhile. I usually suggest one year. It usually is a bad idea to pick a mentor farther up in your chain of command. Jealously and unhealthy attitudes will start to grow in your coworkers. Anyway, the folks in your chain should already be teaching you and helping you along, so mentoring with them is redundant. What they will be committing to is an hour of time, once a month, for 12 months. You can take them out to eat for this hour, or you can meet them in their office or some other place. In a mentoring relationship, YOU drive the discussions and questions. You figure out what you want to accomplish and you lead every aspect of the learning. Do not discuss confidential matters with them unless you have talked to them about confidentiality in advance, or unless you really trust them. It is also a good idea to schedule all 12 of your meetings at the beginning of the year--people tend to be more likely to keep the commitments. This mentoring helps out in a couple of ways. First, it is a great, informal way to learn. You can learn things through this process that you would NEVER learn in formal training. Second, it is bold. Most mentors will be flattered and extremely impressed with the humble, "get er' done" attitude necessary for someone to attempt a mentoring relationship. These mentors often go on to open doors for their proteges and create opportunities the proteges otherwise would not have had. Don't gossip. It cheapens you, and erodes trust. Identify Snakes in the Grass. There will be people out there who do not have your best interest at heart. They don't even have the company's best interest at heart. Watch out. Commitment. There will be times when you will feel that you have been lied to about the job. You will be disillusioned and your commitment will waver. Each day, renew your commitment to your boss and the company. Remind yourself that when you took the job your committed yourself to the company and your boss. Your main job is to make your boss look good. Thanks. Look for ways to congratulate or thank people for doing excellent work. Remember that when others succeed, it can create opportunities for you. This makes the workplace much more pleasant. And you will get noticed by others. Be specific in what you are congratulating them about or thanking them for. Mention the specific act. You can congratulate and thank people you do not like. You are recognizing the deed, not the person. But don't go around thanking and congratulating people all the time. Overdone it will cheapen the act because it will appear insincere. Change. It is not just coming--it is here and trying its best to pass you by. I know it's tough, but you have to embrace it. In today's work, the people who thrive are those who are able to adapt themselves to the rapid changes in our work settings. Prayer. If you are so inclined, pray for your work and the people there. Any job must be done, and it must be done well. Life is tough on a lot of people. Lift them up to God. The great actor Peter O'Toole echoed Mr. Cummings' quote at the top of this page by noting that "most successful people got that way because someone in their past saw something in them--some talent, some gift, some opportunity. They then brought this gift to the light of day, gave them encouragement, and helped them on the endless and difficult path of working to perfect this gift and achieve their destiny." It's hard to find your purpose in life--what you were truly meant to do. It's not always about what your talents are or what you are passionate about. But most of the successful people we've talked to at Path Choices have had someone in their lives who gave them the right encouragement. Opened a door for them. Picked them up at the right time. Pointed the direction they needed to go. Revealed their sacred touch. Sometimes the relationships with these "revealers of the sacred touch" are long and personal. Sometimes they are short and distant. But if you think about it, I bet you can find a person in your past who pushed you on your destiny. Who, as Mr. Cummings observed, "encouraged you to be nobody but yourself in a world that is doing its best to make you somebody else." Forget about latching your reputation onto that of others. Some people try to do this, but it's a smokescreen. Teams don't have values. People do. Teams don't have talents. People do. Teams don't have organizational commitment. People do. Everything is personal. And your gift to your boss and your organization will show the world your sacred touch.
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