Avoid these 6 ways to hurt your reputation in a new job

There are many ways you can inadvertently damage your reputation in a new job. As my former client found out, showing up late on your first day of work is one of those ways. Here are six ways you can sabotage your reputation that you should avoid at all costs:

#1 – Show up late on your first day of work: This is my number one “no-no” when it comes to starting a new job. Showing up late may damage your reputation because it can make you look unreliable and unable to plan for potential obstacles. If you can’t even make it to work on time, do you think your manager will trust you to finish a project on time? Always give yourself plenty of extra time to get to work for the first few weeks so you can get a feel for traffic patterns and how much time you’ll need. Bring a book or magazine to read in case you get there early.

#2 – Wear inappropriate attire, based on the company culture: Wearing a dark suit is not a good idea if you’ve been hired by a start-up company where everyone wears jeans and shorts to work. Similarly, wearing too casual attire to a company where most employees wear suits five days a week won’t work either. Take the time (before your first day on the job) to understand the company’s culture and find out from your new manager or HR representative as to what attire is appropriate. Never wear perfume or cologne to work – leave these for evenings and weekends. There’s almost nothing more annoying as a manager than having to hold a discussion with a new employee because their over-powering

#3 – Refer constantly to how your previous company did things: When you keep referring to things saying, “That’s not how we did it at ABC company,” or “Where I came from, this is how we did it and it worked much better,” you will severely damage your reputation. Why? Because nobody likes an arrogant know-it-all who thinks they are better than other employees or who believes their previous company did things better. I once led a department after the parent company had purchased and merged five companies into one. Ego-bragging about former companies was so prevalent I implemented a fun way of calling attention to this negative practice. Whenever anyone used the name of his or her former company and someone pointed this out, the person had to add $1 to an empty shoebox in my office. When the shoebox was filled with money I used it for a pizza lunch for the team and to talk about the ego-bragging and why it was so detrimental to our newly combined company. After that, the negative practice almost immediately ceased.

#4 – Question the way (and why) things are done: Like I mentioned in item #3, no one likes an arrogant know-it-all. Before espousing your opinions in your new job, take the time to identify all angles of a situation. This means understanding the stakeholders, inputs, resources, processes, and outcomes/results. Once you have this information, you can dig deeper into certain circumstances using terminology such as, “Help me understand how…” and “How does department ABC then use this information to…?” How you word things is just as important as the questions you ask, so think before you speak.

#5 – Ask for time off: You’d think this would be a no-brainer “no-no”, but you’d be surprised at how often hiring managers express their frustration to me about new employees blindsiding them with time off requests. If you receive a job offer in June and your family already has vacation plans scheduled for mid-July, let the hiring manager know immediately (before you begin your new job) and proactively work with them to ensure your vacation will not disrupt the productivity of the department. Surprising your new manager with a personal time off request can damage your reputation because it can make you seem like a deceitful and immature person.

#6 – Spend time “water cooler gossiping” to get the “dirt” on people in the department: Everyone wants to get to know the people in their new company as quickly as possible – but don’t spend time finding out through the gossip “grape vine” around the water cooler or break room. Take the time to get to know colleagues first hand and form your own opinions. Don’t let other’s nasty gossip cloud your thinking when it comes to co-workers.

As my former career-coaching client found out, it can be fairly easy to damage your reputation in a new job. Once damaged, it can take time and effort to repair your work reputation. To avoid having to go through this situation yourself, be aware of the six key ways you can harm your reputation when starting a new job – and wisely avoid them!

Lisa Quast, Contributor

 

 

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From Idea to Business: Persistence is Critical

In honor of Entrepreneur Month, today’s column is an excerpt from my newest eBook, The Characteristics of a Successful Entrepreneur, premiering on Amazon this week.

There is no impediment that seems too great for a successful entrepreneur

Persistence is a vital characteristic of successful entrepreneurs. Driven by an indomitable spirit, successful entrepreneurs never give up on their dreams of building a viable business. There is no impediment too great. This unflagging attribute is a key characteristic of triumphant business builders.

Entrepreneurs face and tackle bewildering and potentially catastrophic situations. They possess courage, hope and a deeply held belief that they can survive the moment and continue to prosper. Personal strength, greatness, self-confidence, maturity and wisdom are by-products gained through unfathomable adversity. It has been said that men become great mariners when sailing on troubled waters, not calm seas. The same axiom applies in the business world.

Serious hardships may be financial in nature. They might also be employee-, client-, vendor-
 or investor-based. They may arise through human error or market conditions. I can see, in
 my mind’s eye, the depressed face of an entrepreneur who can’t make payroll or has just lost a substantial client. I can sense an owner’s profound frustration upon learning a product has failed and there is a lawsuit to manage. We can empathize with a founder’s pain when there has been a fire, theft or betrayal. Consider the emotions felt with the death of a spouse or key employee. These occurrences are severe, somewhat common, and require a powerful and thoughtful response.

During my forty years in business, I have experienced several situations that elevated my blood pressure and caused sleepless nights. They were emergencies that had to be resolved or the business would fail. I can recall with clarity, in the early days of MarketStar, a small technology client in Canada that would not send payment for the services we had rendered. Cash from the client was critical to our continuance as a startup company. We had to have the money the client owed us to survive. I repeatedly called the client’s president. I sent multiple messages via fax. He would not respond to my pleas. I was desperate. I wondered what I should do.

I decided to fly to Vancouver to meet him at his office, unannounced. He was startled to see me. “I’m here to collect payment,” I said. “I won’t leave until I have a cashable check for $50,000 in my hand. I will sit in your office as long as it takes.”

A few minutes later, I had what I had come to obtain and returned home satisfied with my actions and the results. Gratefully, MarketStar would not be added to a long list of defunct businesses. A treasured personal motto learned in my youth served me well: when the going gets tough, the tough get going.

For some heavy-laden founders, the obstacles are insurmountable and they quit. The dream they pursued comes to an inglorious end. As I visit with former entrepreneurs I have learned that immobilizing doubt and fear rule their thinking. They become paralyzed and unable to act. Disheartened, they feel helpless. They can see no good options, no appropriate answers to their state of affairs.

Having started and failed at four startup businesses myself, I can authentically sympathize with their dilemma. In many cases, the best decision is to turn out the lights and close the doors. For dedicated and persistent entrepreneurs, business failure teaches invaluable lessons — lessons that can be applied in the next venture. Entrepreneurship is a lifestyle; it’s an everlasting journey.

Most successful entrepreneurs have started and stopped several ill-conceived enterprises. I know of only a few lucky executives who have launched an award-winning business in their first try. Most of us need multiple attempts. We are, by nature, persistent souls.

If you plan to start your own business or you run one now, may I provide a few suggestions to help you when the going gets tough?

1) Don’t panic. Don’t give up. Be at peace. Have faith. Know you will develop an answer.

2) Take time to ponder and understand the situation. Obtain all the facts. Find out what happened and why.


3) Consider every option and every possibility to solve the problem.

4) Invite a trusted mentor to advise you on the matter.


5) Engage employees who can help.


6) Make a decision, then act.


7) Evaluate the results. If they are unsatisfactory, try something else.

Great leaders are survivors. They have weathered life’s stormy seas. They have moved heaven and earth to accomplish their business goals. They will never give up.

Alan Hall, Forbes Contributor

Speaker, author, investor and catalyst for entrepreneurial growth.  

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Is venture capital model no longer working?

The money manager mentality also meant that VCs became risk averse

KUALA LUMPUR: An expert on venture capitalism is of the opinion that the venture capitalist model is broken.

NOT BEYOND REPAIR: Green believes that the VC model is broken but it can still be fixed.
 
Jordan Green, chairman of the Australian Association of Angel Investors, said the latest generation of VCs has not been delivering results.

"Up until the mid-90s, VCs could reap a double digit return on investment on the companies they invested in," he told Bytz on the sidelines of the Asian Business Angel Forum (ABAF) 2012 here.

Green said today's VCs fail to do better than their predecessors because of their money manager mentality, and they aren't capable of advising entrepreneurs on how to viably commercialise their products.

"Venture capitalism predicated on the idea that people in the VC firm would be able to help the startups they invest in to grow effectively. But you need to have business experience to do this, " he said.

According to Green, many of today's VCs have the academic qualifications but not the experience of having run a business.

This situation arose when VC firms started to institutionalise, to give themselves bigger funds to work with, he said.

However, as the establishments got bigger, there was not enough qualified people with the right business experience to hire.

"As a result, those without any entrepreneurial skills could not properly help the startups move forward," Green said.

"And the money manager mentality also meant that VCs became risk adverse and would only fund startups when they started being profitable. This created the 'VC gap.'"

The gap is where entrepreneurs have difficulty getting funding between starting up and starting to show profitability - the period when VCs are most needed.

Green believes investing in a business requires empathy, and is not merely an intellectual exercise.

Malaysia is moving in the right direction by starting angel investor networks because this will give startups here an alternative to VCs when they need funding for their fledgling products and services, he said.

"Angels are actually replacing the VCs of yore. They are the experienced business people who can advise entrepreneurs on how to bring their products to greater heights," Green said.

The Malaysian angel investor network is still young, with two known agencies - the Virtuous Investment Circle and Pikom Angel network. Another is set to emerge later this year and is called the Malaysian Angel Business Network.

However, Green said, the VC model can still be saved if venture capitalism returns to its original investment model.

He said this will require braver institutional investors and a better understanding of how VCs should work.

"With the original intent and model, they can make better decisions and better help startups grow faster," he said.

ABAF is organised by Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd, which manages an investment programme that funds technology startups in the country.

The forum is aimed at bringing the best of Asia's angel investors, venture capitalists, decision makers, policy leaders and entrepreneurs to one location. Some 500 delegates gathered to hear 30 speakers at this year's event.


By JO TIMBUONG bytz@thestar.com.my