Originally published November 21, 2018 For years I’ve been blessed to land jobs along my career track, whether or not I seemed qualified on paper. Every time I change jobs, though, the journey to land the next one has been riddled with struggles to help prospective employers see past what one outright called “your lack…
Originally published January 24, 2017 Anyone who knows me knows I’m an efficiency hound. A year ago, during my annual performance evaluation at work, I listed among my team goals “to develop with my supervisor the most efficient nonprofit finance team in the region”, a goal I borrowed from a former supervisor with a different…
Originally published September 10, 2015 I wrote a few weeks ago about my supervisor’s response to my request for a 90-day review. She granted me the review, during which we looked over my first 90 days on the new job and looked ahead to our goals for the next 90 days. A month later, company-wide…
Originally published August 20, 2015 It’s that exciting milestone in any new job, at which you and your supervisor get to swap stories about how well – or poorly – you’re doing. And for me, that time rolled around two weeks ago. Hard to believe that I had been at this new gig for three…
Originally published February 10, 2015 A relationship told me this past week that he and his wife, who doubles as his business bookkeeper, have gotten super-organized since our meeting to close out their 2014 financial records. Another colleague has sold her old laptop (which wasn’t old to begin with), purchased a new one, and solicited…
Originally published January 20, 2015 If you’re anything like me, God forbid, you probably assess yourself as rigorously as your employer does during your #First90 days on the job. I don’t have a system or scale by which I measure the start of every job I’m hired to do. Still, I make it a point…
Originally published January 15, 2015 One of my connections on LinkedIn wrote me to compliment me on what he describes as a unique background. Specifically, he clarified, mine is a long list of diverse job experiences. I’m grateful to him for pointing this out. After he mentioned it, I started looking at my experience a…
Originally published January 7, 2015 I love visiting the offices of the nonprofit and small-business relationships I maintain for part-time income. And don’t worry; relationships are what most businesses call customers or clients. I prefer “relationships” because the other two words are so clumsy. Anyway, whether I’m juggling a full-time job and independent contracts or…
Originally published April 10, 2014 Tax season is winding down, and I’m finally ready to file mine. Each year, I wait until my clients have filed their taxes before I file. Historically, this has been because some of them file 1099’s – including mine – as part of their tax preparation and because my conscience…
Originally published August 2, 2013 Good morning, Colleagues, I have off from work today. I’m not sick. There was no emergency. I’m not working from home. I have off. I took a vacation day on the heels of our finance audit, which is just an e-mail or two away from completion. Why should you care…