career

4 Reminders for a Successful Career Change

I’ve recently had a career change. I moved to Operations from being in Admin for about three years. It’s not so far off from my previous position, though instead of calculating growth and creating plans to increase market share, I went to giving out solutions on how customers can take better care of their credit cards accounts. (I never thought I’d be debt collector, ever! I personally hate debts!)

Anyway, I made all the considerations before I applied for my current job – the working hours, industry culture, some pay cuts. But I know, I’m not the only career shifter who’s having the occasional blues. Sometimes, I really miss working late into the night, the nonstop follow-ups, as well as going around town to make sure that people know about my brand. I just really miss the ‘going-out’ part the most. I find the walls of my current office suffocating sometimes and I really like to get away. Then I’ll remind myself of the reasons I’m right here.

So, for those who have recently change careers, I hope the following reminders would be helpful to you. Whenever I feel the urge to leave or become sad or miss the life I left behind, these are what I think about:

1. The “Why” of the Career Change.

We’ll all have our reasons. Reasons we deemed valid and important and urgent. We wouldn’t take all the risks and accept trade-offs if our reason is not worth betting on. You must always go back to that. And remember that changing careers is like starting over, drawing square one. And I’m sure even before you went to that first job interview, you’re mind’s made up. This is what you wanted to do. Be thankful now that you got it. Live it. Focus on the opportunities. Remember, it’s your win because you get to start over. Some people never even had their chance.

2. The 3 A’s – Adjust Aptitude and Attitude.

You’ve had work experience, learning curve is not some strange, new concept for you. You know you got to adjust, it’s either you’ve got to shave off or gain an edge so you can follow on this new track. You have to gain skills, and that means learning, which also means it’d take time and patience and effort and love. You got to develop genuine love for what you’re doing. It’s the only way, it’s the only way you can succeed. That would depend much on the attitude that you’ll bring into the job. Keep the enthusiasm, keep being interested. Learn. Never stop. Reach out. Ask. But remember to do your own research, too. There’s just too much that people can teach you.

3. Reach Goals.

Of course, you’ve got to measure up. Determine what you’re aiming for. Break them down so you can work on them on a weekly, monthly, and quarterly basis. Challenging yourself to surpass the minimum requirement of the passing scores will keep you motivated. Also, you may look at it as an indication of how flexible your skills are.

4. New Connections.

Your new environment gives you the opportunity to connect with new sets of people – different backgrounds, expertise and culture, even. And being around these people can be really exciting, though intimidating some of the time. But it’s going to bring you new experiences and joy. It’s going to expand your relationships and it opens possibilities for friendships, mentor-ship and inspirations. People can really be awesome. And if you just wait long enough, they’d surprise you.

You may also have your own set of reminders for a successful career change. We’d like to hear them. Please free to leave a comment below.

As always, thanks for dropping by.

Mentors Preach: Lessons Practiced at Work… and Life

It’s said that if you want a great career, look for a boss, not a job. I’ve been blessed to have worked with brilliant mentors in recent years. Though none of them is perfect, all of them contributed to what I know now. I will only have my gratitude to offer them.

Here are some of those important lessons I learned from my mentors, both useful at work and in personal life:

Do one thing at a time.

This means you got to learn how to properly prioritize your tasks. Everyday is a cycle of work that’s left undone from yesterday and tasks assigned to us today. It’s not uncommon to hear some coworkers complain over workloads and new projects. Multitasking has also been a common practice. I feel blessed that I got to work with a boss who recognizes the value of time. He’s also one to meticulously screens the quality of work. When tasks stack up, he’ll often say, “Drop everything and work on the first item on your list. ‘Cause if you’re finally done with that, then you can stop thinking about it. And you can put your whole attention to the next item.”

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Do not fall in love easily.

“Sometimes, when we love something or someone, we’re content to let them be the way they are. It seems to us that they’re already perfect. But that’s loving blindly and that’s not helping them. Always challenge what you’re seeing right now. Identify what’s working. Ask what’s not working and how the change can be facilitated.” In effect, these statements best describe how branding/rebranding works. And to be working with such an excellent brand person is truly a great experience. These words ring true to our personal lives and a wide range of other industries as well.

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You can be good leader and a kind leader at the same time.

Though not in the exact words, Bob Davids said, “If you push people, deep inside, you wouldn’t know where they will go. But if you’ll show them how it’s done, then they’d follow you…And whenever you give power to your subordinates, that power comes back to you in the amount that’s always greater than what you’ve given away.” This sums up my experience with this particular mentor. She guided, encouraged and trusted me to do the things that I myself didn’t think I can do. Of course it wasn’t always perfect and there were times when I’ve been all over the place, but my mentor’s patience and generosity carried me through.

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Sincerity goes a long, long way.

When I thought people whose names are as good as VIP pass only exist in fiction, there’s actually this very cool guy who’s just that. Of course, it took him much time before he gained this advantage. He told me, “Initially people would only do business with you if they perceive you as the better deal, but that’s just the start. What you must do is to sustain that initial contact and continue to establish the relationship – be reliable, be trustworthy, genuine and concerned. It’s a tricky world out there and while you must do your job, you should also learn how to play it cool and enjoy yourself.” And yes, guys, he acts as he preaches.

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Dedication takes you places.

Most of our superiors have been in the company for at least three years. The amount of time that they’ve put into the job may be tracked, but the dedication that they’ve put in along those minutes is definitely immeasurable.

I’ve met a Manager who’s been with a 48-year old company for 32 years and another who chose to work during weekends to deliver reports on Monday.

I think people with this amount of dedication also has a great sense of accountability, not with just the output but with the people working under them. They are also usually the people who occupy the higher ranks. We always complain that we’re overworked or the tasks just keeps piling up. But not everyone in the higher rungs passes down the work, some of them shoulder the bulk of the load themselves. They may even have made greater sacrifices. These mentors taught me that I should be thoroughly responsible and dedicated to my tasks and that I can always give just a bit more to go the extra mile.

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You may also have other lessons from your mentors, feel free to share them in the comment section below!

What’s it like to be a Store Manager?

I met Kris Herbert delos Reyes during my very short stint in a BPO company. We’re both management trainees.

Kris has long been a manager of different popular food and clothing stores in the country. He’s got an aggregate seven years of experience in store operations and leadership.

I’m really inspired by the man, because he’s not only smart, he’s very humble, too. And I got him to share his experience with us so that anybody there who wants a store management position one day may get to know what it’s like.

Dream or circumstance?

When asked if he really aspired for this position, he explained, “It was never my plan to be in store operations. I was a graduate of Psychology and I expected to be a part of the Human Resource industry. But the need for male HR employees is very low, so I decided to look for other options.”

Daily Duties

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As a store manager, you’ve got three major duties. According to Kris these are:

1. Overall supervision and managing of daily store operations.

This means you got to check on your goods or services, your employees, and reports. You also have to oversee customer relationship.

2. Make sure that standard procedures are being observe or implemented.

Every store communicates and reports to the company’s head office. The store receives instructions on displays, promos and updates with regards to the products, services or customer interaction. So, the manager needs to make sure that his store is compliant.

3. Make sure to hit your numbers.

In other words, if sales target for the month is a million, then your figures at the end of the month must be a million or more. If not, you got to present the reasons your store didn’t meet the target and propose actions on how to achieve it.

Upside, Downside

When asked what he liked most about the job, Kris says, “I get to influence other people and help them become more productive employees of the company.” He finds fulfillment whenever he sees his crew get promoted or deliver better results.

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But as manager, you got to be accountable for everything – every little thing in the store. And this is what Kris finds to be very challenging. He adds, “Anything that affects store performance reflects how efficient and effective you are as a manager.”

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So no matter if it’s the hours of operations, the weather or changing customer tastes, you got to know how to make it work.

One thing a store can’t survive without is…

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Teamwork. Everybody’s role is important. Some may argue that some people have easy or difficult task but, the thing is, each must perform at the best of his/her ability and assume responsibility. I always tell my crew, “Gawin nating madali ang trabaho ng isa’t isa.(Let’s make each other’s job easy [by doing our part].)”

“When you sell service, you sell a relationship.”

That’s what Kris’ Operations Manager (OM) used to say to them. He went on, “Competition will always be there. And you just can’t rely on brand to hit the target. It’s not really a priority to customers anymore. Customers go where they feel welcome, where there’s genuine concern for what they truly need. It may sound sappy, but customers really want service that comes from the heart.”

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So in this consumer driven market, Kris thinks that the trend will shift from being brand-centered to service-oriented.

I want to be a store manager!

If so, Kris has this advice for you:

Strong leadership skill is indispensable. You got to be highly analytic and logical. Most of all, you got to be a risk-taker. You should have the courage to speak for your crew and your store performance. Most of all, you got to be people-oriented. Treat your crew fairly and let them know that they are important.

The writer thinks that a store manager must also be an excellent juggler. So much to do, so much to think about but you got to keep your balance. 🙂

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So there ends our interview with Kris. Hope this gives you a glimpse on the career of a store manager.

If it so happen that you’re a store manager or aspiring to become one, let us know what you think about this post. Thanks for reading!

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