www.forbes.com: A great boss can make you feel engaged and empowered at work, will keep you out of unnecessary office politics, and can identify and grow your strengths. But a bad boss can make the most impressive job on paper (and salary) quickly unbearable. Not only will a bad boss make you dislike at least 80% of your week, your relationships might suffer, too.
7 comments:
First I have to get a small rant off my chest concerning the author's writing style. I'm not an expert writer, but neither am I posting articles on Forbes.com. A boss cannot "literally, make or break your career," he or she can only actually do so. And what's with the comma after literally? I can almost swallow all the misused semi-colons throughout the article, but wildly unnecessary comma in the header? That is unforgivable. Just goes to show, details matter and your audience is much less likely to listen to what you have to say if you don't say it well, or at least competently.
As for the content of the article, I do think most of what Ms. Christensen has to say is valuable advice. I think it's important to remember when on an interview that it's not just you who is on the hot seat. You should be learning about them and trying them out just as much as they are trying you out. For me, remembering this helps balance the power differential in an interview setting.
The pronoun usage the author mentions is a great telltale of management style. I've written about this before on these hallowed pages, but I'll say it again: there's nothing less motivating for me than when a manager says, "I need to get this done by the end of the day." The only natural response to this, in my opinion, is, "Great. Go ahead then. Have at it... Oh, I'm sorry, did you mean We, as a team, a respectful group of adults with a common set of stakes and goals, need to accomplish a task for which you will provide the necessary information, resources and support and which I will carry out in a professional and timely manner? Gotcha. How may I help you?"
Of course just using the right pronoun is just a step, you have to believe in teamwork to work in that mode, so beware the manager who talks the talk but don't walk the walk.
The other points in the article are obvious but worth mentioning. I would add in general you need to have researched questions to ask that are relevant to you and your potential place in the company, and that highlight your unique insight that will make you the perfect fit for the job. When the interviewer asks if you have any questions for them and you don't, it doesn't come across as easy going, it comes across as un-knowledgeable, un-invested or, at worst, incompetent.
I may be speaking from an ignorant place, call it age, limited job experience, etc etc. But I just don't see how a bad bass can really create such an impact over your life. Especially to the point that I would need to read an article about recognizing different characteristics of someone who is a poor boss. You don't often get to pick the people you work with, or even your job. I don't know about other people reading this article but I don't really come from a social-economic background where I can afford that luxury. Work is work. And if I am especially willing to risk certain securities by choosing a career path in the arts, then I will even more so not look good employment in the eye and sneer about it. Also something to consider is that in an interview, when you're in the hot seat that they may be testing you? Trying to see how you fair in stressful or difficult situations? Not always conducive to idea employment sure but never the less, if I want a job, a difficult boss isn't going to make me do anything less than proceed cautiously.
These are all really good tips, not only for spotting a bad boss, but just for spotting somebody you likely don’t want to work with on a project.
I think the most useful of this list is “They can’t give a straight answer.” I don’t know that I would want to work for a company if they wouldn’t tell me why the vacancy was created in the first place.
“They’ve got a record” is another interesting thing to look at for in a boss/potential colleague.
Somebody that has worked on a bunch of projects very briefly, or has worked many different places is probably not somebody that you want to work with on a long term project.
I have to disagree with the a “being concerned with your hobbies. “ Obliviously there is an inappropriate amount of interest you can show in an employees life, but asking questions about a persons hobbies is totally reasonable if it helps the potential employer / colleague get to know the other better.
The first tip about pronouns at first glance seemed a little silly but after thinking about it more, it is fascinating how basic language can reveal the inner workings of someone's mind. It would drive me crazy to have an interviewer mindlessly on their fine while talking to me. I remember during an audition workshop, we were told if those running the audition weren't looking at you or were paying attention to something else, that it didn't mean anything. Still, while some HR personnel maybe high up enough they could write off using a device, it certainly doesn't distinguish them as future attentive listeners.
Although most of my interviews have been with people I already knew or for college admissions, looking back, most of the interviews I've had have "obeyed" these guidelines. Moving forward, it is certainly something to pay attention to when interviewing with a possible designer or director you may work with.
This article reveals an interesting and important perspective which I think I tend to gloss over. When applying for a job or even when work with a new person on a project or show, It obviously important that all people involved can get along. While I usually only think of the ways I can improve and change myself so everyone will see me as qualified, it's just as important to examine the people you will be working for. While it seems like a bold, potentially pretentious move to outright ask your future employer questions about their work style, it's an important thing to do. Too many times have I heard stories about people who are totally qualified for a job, but then are under poor leadership. THe tricky part of this tactic seems it would be finding a genuine and kind way to "interview" your employer.
This article raises a good overall point about interviews. Many people forget that when they are interviewing for a job you are also trying to decide if thats a place that you want to be working, and who your boss is can really influence that. I found this was true a few years back also when I was interviewing at various colleges and I was hearing about friends experiences as well. There were many times that I would hear about a specific school and their interviewer as why that school had come off someones list.
This article is pretty good and useful. This is something that you can really look for when you go to a job interview. I'd also add something like "nosy" and "being unreasonable" onto the list too. I used to have a boss who wants to know about my personal life and I figured later that she open my chat to find out who I was talking to when I left my phone of the table. This may be something that will not happen at the interview but one thing that I learned was to do some research about the company and if you can, also do some research on whoever you think "might be possible" to be your interviewer. This included Facebook, Instagram, tweeter, and so. Especially if it's a small company,you'll be surprised on how much you can get the information about the company and your future boss. Just like they look for your information on social network, you can do the same way too.
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