I had a conversation with a lovely young woman who’s just starting out…she’s three years into her career since graduating from school. She asked me some very good questions…so I thought it would be worth posting here.
1. “Do you need an MBA?”
I get asked this a lot. Full disclosure, I do have an MBA…I felt I needed one because I worked in banking and my undergrad major was history. But it’s a big time commitment, not to mention the costs. And at the time, the MBA meant a lot more…now, it might be a nice to have, but it’s definitely not a prerequisite for success. But I do think learning is a great thing, and there may be subjects you need to understand or you just enjoy. Take advantage if your firm has tuition reimbursement programs. Learning something is never a bad thing.
2. “All my friends have changed jobs, but I haven’t. Am I missing out on something?”
When you’re starting your career, all you’re really trying to do is figure out what you love, and what you’re good at. And hopefully the two are one and the same! Two years after I graduated from business school, it seemed everyone had changed their jobs. But here’s the thing…they didn’t change jobs because they had great opportunities (though they might position it that way), they changed jobs because they were unhappy. So don’t feel bad because you are happy with your job and your firm. As long as you’re learning, you trust and like the people you work with, and you feel a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment…you got it right. There’s no need to try other hotels if you’re already at the Ritz-Carlton!
3. “Can I talk to my manager about things like promotion?”
Absolutely. That is the conversation you should be having. Now, marching in and demanding that this be the year you get promoted isn’t the way to do it. Pick a logical time (usually midyear reviews are good times). A good opening:
“One thing that would help me. I’d like to continue progressing in my career, and it would be helpful to know what you think my development areas are to get to the next level?”
A couple of things will happen. Your manager will either be totally prepared to give you feedback, and give you some sense of where they see you in terms of your readiness. Your manager might be totally shocked that you’re thinking about promotion because they didn’t think you wanted it or because they never thought of you that way. Whatever the outcome, none of these scenarios are a bad thing. Either way, you’re opening up communications….the worst is when the employee and manager are in very different places on the subject.
4. “I get told I need to speak up more. How do I do that?”
Same way you get to Carnegie Hall…practice, practice, practice. You want to build muscle memory….and get your body used to it so it doesn’t put you in flight or fight mode. Start small: safe places like a staff meeting with your peers. Give yourself a goal: at least once a day, you’re going to speak up. Then every meeting you attend, you’re going to speak up. Here’s the thing: no one expects you to have the right answer …but they do expect you to have a point of view. And if all communication stopped, all business would cease. Nothing would happen. So that’s really how work gets done. So if you don’t speak, you’re not contributing in a very important way.
One strategy I use is I’m the “recap” person. I’m rarely the first person talking. I like to hear what everyone has to say. Then I sum up what I think the conclusions were “It sounds like we all agree x, but we’re still not sure about y”. Or build on someone else’s point…”I think Joe makes a good point because…..”. People love when you agree with them in public!
5. “What about compensation?”
This is tricky. It’s hard talking about money. My sense is the best you can do if you’re unhappy is have a conversation with your manager ahead of the compensation decisions and just say “I know you do your best to make sure we get paid fairly. If there’s anything you can do for me this year, I’d really appreciate it.” I am not a fan of getting another job and asking for a counter-offer (you’ve just shown me that you’re not loyal and am holding me hostage…how am I supposed to feel good about that?), am certainly not a fan of demanding it. But also not a fan of being entirely mute on the subject if you think you’re not being paid as you should be.
But let me also say that in the beginning, you shouldn’t be making decisions because of money. Now, if your lifestyle is awful, or unsafe because you’re not making enough, you have to assess what’s going on. But in the early days, what seems like a lot of money will seem like a rounding error when you look back. I laugh when I think about how we as grad students agonized over offers because one had a $5,000 signing bonus and one didn’t. Stay focused on the main goal: to learn, to work at a great firm with great people, and gain skills. The money will come. If it doesn’t, you’re that much more saleable in the market because you’re great at what you do, and getting the money won’t be an issue. Just don’t chase the money….chase the experience.