Advancing Your Career

Everyone needs opportunities to advance their career. Working longer or harder at a day to day job will not make you wealthy or famous. It is how your skills serve the company’s needs that create opportunities.

How can you advance the company goals this year? What opportunities do you see? What projects need your skills?

Usually you will have to sell yourself or interview for opportunities. The biggest mistake is thinking of your own needs, not the benefit to the customer. 

Here are some interview questions and there meanings from 

Ramit Sethi’s blog. 

Question #1: What’s your biggest weakness?

What they’re really asking: What are you doing to improve yourself?

Question #2: Where do you see yourself in X years?

What they’re really asking: Are you just going to jump ship once a better opportunity comes along? (Hiring is expensive, the company wants to keep you)

Question #3: Can you tell me about your work history?

What they’re really asking: What are your strengths and how have you grown? (What wins have you got as a result.)

Question #4: Why should we hire you?

What they’re really asking: What value are you going to offer?

Remember it is about the company. Put yourself in the manager’s position, and reframe your answers to how you can help them.

Worked with a manager who hired talented, overqualified people for his openings. Did not matter only about the current opening. It was important to him these people worked with him in his company, even though they would soon be working for other managers. He had the vision to know even though he would have to hire again, he was advancing the company’s future by hiring great people. 

How Not to Negotiate

President Trump and Nancy Pelosi are demonstrating how not to negotiate during this shut down. No resolution has been reached nor looks possible.

President Trump stated last minute he would veto an agreement between the House and Senate because it did not contain $5 billion for a wall. Provided no other guidance and held up the deal last minute on one condition. Note just as the new Democratic House of Representatives was seated. Obvious power play.

The new/old leader of the House was not going to be upstaged. Nancy Pelosi’s position, No money for a wall Ever.

With two stubborn dug in people, there is no deal. Both think the other side is losing and will cave in. President Trump puts impossible deadlines on congress and then delays reacting when deadlines pass. Nancy Pelosi has been in the House since 1987 and knows politics takes time. Both are entrenched in their positions. Government employees and the public will eventually suffer far longer than is necessary.

Successful negotiating requires you to understand what the other person needs and wants. Helps if you know what you need and want as well. Clarity about goals and pricing simplifies negotiating.

Treating people with caring and respect works. Resistance goes away when people discover you care about their needs. Ask a lot of questions. Listen. Research their needs and market. Talk with people who work with the person you are negotiating with. Create new solutions so both sides win.

Dealing with a sociopath / bully /dictator? Buy off their cooperation or intimidate them into seeing it your way.  Walking away from the table sometimes is the wisest choice rather than working through the stress these people create.

How will the government shut down be resolved? Eventually someone will collaborate, probably in the Senate, to find more money for border security from a Republican item budget and more money for a Democrat supported initiative. Suspect President Trump will get $1.5 - 2.5 billion when this settles, but no prediction when this shutdown ends.

Alligator (right) and Manetees (below)

You are Enough for Change

Most people fear change.  We would rather do anything in our routine. It’s easy. Why work so hard. We will look foolish.

Change is unavoidable. You are not the toddler learning to walk, a skinny teenager eating everything in sight, a first time kisser, a new employee, nor a lost traveler. Most of us weigh too much, been injured, have medical condition(s) and experienced life's losses.

We change and progress every day. Technologies we adapt to and embrace. Would you give up your computer? Your smart phone? The lessons we learned growing up or living? Teams you belonged to. I wouldn’t either.

Let your failures go. Stop beating yourself up for mistakes. Give yourself credit for all the things you tried, what worked, your successes, and people you helped.

Be present and do your best. You are enough to handle any change with practice. And you don’t have to do it alone.

2019 Business and Real Estate Thoughts

Looking at our 401K statements may be difficult. Wild 4^thquarter has many of us wondering what to do. Stock markets fell 12% to 17%, volatility has returned with a vengeance. During last 6 months, Seattle real estate fell 11% though buyers will tell you buying a home is still difficult. 

Don’t often drift off business, careers and leadership beat, but will add my thoughts what is coming this year. First not a professional, but an investor with a very small ‘i’. Was a real estate appraiser, but not for 8 years. No one knows what will happen in 2019 despite what gurus tell you. I certainly have no insider information, just common sense.

My 401K was down ~5% in 4^th quarter. But was up 17% over 3 years, or 5.5% per year. In mid-2018 looked at the length of the bull market, and put a fourth of my money in a stable fund paying 2-3%. Reduced my stock percentage to be even with bond funds. Probably reduced my 2018 returns, but prepared for current market.

Recessions do not happen on a schedule. We may be in the midst of one now. The US & Japan’s economies are strong, China’s economy is slowing, and Europe’s economy has major risks in banking sector and Brexit. Don’t forget risk of trade war between US and China. Overall the world economy has been resilient. 

The Federal Reserve Quantitative Easing and keeping low interest rates too long (Bernanke and Yellen) have inflated value of assets such as stocks, bonds and real estate. The Fed, European Central Bank and Bank of Japan are now ending accommodative policies raising interest rates. 

What should we do now? First don’t panic. After a ten year bull market, a recession in asset values would be normal. Expect this to take 1.5 to 3 years to correct. Values typically drop by 20% to as much as 50%. With the current market we may be halfway there. Some stock prices are looking better at lower P/E’s.

Real estate is local, so harder to analyze. Understand buyers waiting a year or two to potentially save money by buying then. West coast real estate could fall another ~10%.Regulations since the 2008 crash will make prices fall a smaller amount as mortgages are stricter. Again your market is different.

Look at your situation and risk tolerance. If you are still working keep saving. Diversify your investments to include cash, interest and dividend paying assets. Bonds do have risks in raising interest rate environments, but I only expect the Fed to raise interest rates once or twice in 2019. 

My thoughts are to keep investing in my 401K. 2^nd half of 2019 or in 2020 expect to raise the percentage of stocks in my account. Not planning to retire until in my 70s or later, am planning for savings to grow after this is over.

You may want to delay retirement a couple years. Some of my entrepreneurial friends may plan for less growth, or look for a safe haven to work in until this pullback is over. 

Expecting a normal recession, not a great depression. However no one really knows if will end soon or later. By preparing we will get through this like the many recessions we have lived through.