Every week I check dozens of “career” blogs and other online publications, looking for things that will help you find a job, get promoted, develop your skills, and keep everything in perspective and balance. Here’s the pick of the lot for this week. I’m pointing you to items about perfectionism, checking out prospective employers, using your strengths, crafting an individual development plan, and learning from tough times.

From the New York Times: The Upside of a Job Done Well Enough

“I have been an employee since the age of 22, and for the past 15 years or so I have also been a boss. As a psychologist, I have spent much of the last five years thinking about, exploring with my patients and writing about the unhappiness that accompanies perfectionistic tendencies. All employees, especially in uncertain times, want to make the boss happy. Which means that when given an assignment, you want to do your best. But at what cost? ”

Wally’s Comment: This is an intriguing look at how trying to do a perfect job can come back to bite you.

From the Wall Street Journal: Job Seekers Go Undercover to Check Out Employers

“More executives are transforming themselves into “mystery shoppers” to scrutinize potential employers during these uncertain times. Such senior managers pose as customers to visit stores, dealers, distribution centers or Web sites. Applicants say the visits help them gain uncensored looks at staff, service and product quality. Some corporate boards encourage the practice for prospective hires.”

Wally’s Comment: “Mystery shopping” prospective employers is nothing new in retail. But the Journal suggests that, more and more, people in other fields are carefully checking out the real, on-the-ground situation at a prospective employer. It’s kind of like doing “Management by Wandering Around” without the management.

From All Things Workplace: Doing What Comes Naturally

“We don’t pay much attention to what seems to come easily to us. We should.”

Wally’s Comment: Steve Roesler shares some observations about how many of us think that our strengths are nothing special and therefore miss opportunities for both success and happiness.

From Great Leadership: How to Write a Great Individual Development Plan (IDP)

“An individual development plan (IDP) is a tool that helps facilitate employee development. It’s a two-way commitment between an employee and their manager on what they are going to do to grow. IDPs are often used as a way to drive leadership development. Organizations like them because they are visible, tangible evidence that leadership development is taking place. They can be monitored and tracked as a measure of progress, used as a way to drive accountability for development, and most importantly, if they are well written and taken seriously, they really do work.”

Wally’s Comment: Dan McCarthy has a career’s-worth of good and specific advice to share. In this post he describes how to either write your own individual development plan or help someone else write one.

From 45 Things: When Was the Last Time You Made a Career Deposit?

“When I was a child, my mother often talked about living through the Depression. As the oldest child, she was sent to live with relatives when her family could no longer afford to feed all three children. Even though her time away from the family only lasted about a year, it greatly affected her life.”

Wally’s Comment: This is a delightful and helpful post about learning from troubled times. It’s especially appropriate for Thanksgiving week.

At a party last weekend, I spent some time talking to a young man whose company was contemplating layoffs. One of my coaching clients wants to talk about what she and her husband should do if his company cuts his hours and his pay.

There are a lot of people in similar situations. Maybe you’re one of them. Maybe you’re trying to plan for an emergency in your life or career.

Public safety planners would call that a critical incident. A critical incident doesn’t happen often, but it has a huge impact when it does.

In public safety, a tornado or hazardous materials spill would be a critical incident. In your life, getting laid off probably qualifies.

You can plan for your possible critical incidents the way that public safety officials plan for the ones they might face. Start by making a list of potential critical incidents.

With coaching clients, I’ve found that spending a few days on the project gets the best results. That way you can make your list, and then add to it as you think of new things.

Be sure to involve the important people in your life. If you’re in a relationship, make separate lists and then compare them. Include natural disasters and things like a house fire. Be sure to include economic critical incidents.

Once you’ve got your list, make a plan for dealing with it. Plan for the most devastating events first.

For financial critical incidents, make sure you include things to make yourself less vulnerable. Pay down those credit cards. Build up your emergency reserve. Shift your life into lean mode.

Write out your critical incident plans. Writing out the plan makes it more likely that you’ll consider everything and include all the necessary details. Then put your plans somewhere safe.

Planning for possible critical incidents in your life give you two benefits. First, you’re as ready as possible if something happens. Planning before you’re under pressure means you’re more likely to be thorough and make good decisions about priorities.

Having a plan is a stress reducer. It’s a lot easier to deal with uncertainty if you know how you’re going to handle different situations.

Every week I check dozens of “career” blogs and other online publications, looking for things that will help you find a job, get promoted, develop your skills, and keep everything in perspective and balance. Here’s the pick of the lot for this week. I’m pointing you to items about alternative places to network, focusing your job search, letters of recommendation, non-compete agreements, and implications of the downturn for your working environment.

From Inc.: Alternative Places to Network

“no matter what the occasion–whether you’re at the yoga studio, your child’s soccer game or at a religious event–networking is possible. Here are three entrepreneurs who learned the prime venues best suited to their networking needs could sometimes be found under the most extraordinary circumstances. ”

Wally’s Comment: I really dislike the term “networking” because it implies an artificial process with only your good in mind. I like the idea of connecting with people and seeking ways to do each other good. Inc uses the term “networking” but we’re talking about the same thing and they’ve got some great ideas about where you can make connections.

From Fortify your Oasis: Job-hunting – lines in the water

“I see little point in firing off hundreds, or sometimes, thousands of unsolicited applications willy nilly. The standard thinking on this is that if you pursue a direct mail approach and get a 2-3% response rate, you will secure a handful of interviews every month and, by the law of averages, some kind of a job is bound to fall in your lap as a result. Hmmm. This is why on the blurb on the back of Where’s My Oasis it says, “in today’s marketplace, job-hunting is for dummies – the smart people career-hunt.”"

Wally’s Comment: Rowan Manahan offers of some of the best, real-world, advice on creating the career you’ll love to have. In this post he applies common sense to the process of job hunting. Think of it as applying “the law of the vital few” to your job search.

From Alison Green at US News and World Report: Letters of Recommendation Are Worthless

“Someone has to break it to you, so it’s going to be me: Please stop with the letters of recommendation. Don’t attach them to your resume and don’t offer them up at the interview. I know you feel good about them but, unfortunately, they aren’t useful.”

Wally’s Comment: Read this. You may not like what you read, but it will save you a lot of grief. Not to mention the fact that you’ll save on reproduction costs.

From Careers at MSNBC: That ‘noncompete’ can really tie you down

“Even though you may be desperate to keep your job or find a new one, think long and hard before signing a noncompete agreement. Among the flood of forms you get when you’re first hired, or paperwork a boss asks you to fill out as part of a new company policy, a noncompete clause or agreement may be lurking. If you sign it, you could be shooting yourself in the career foot. ”

Wally’s Comment: Employers have gotten good at slipping non-compete agreements into stacks of other documents for you to sign. They may tell you, “It’s just routine. We never enforce these.” When you hear that, you know it’s time to consider very carefully when and if signing is for you.

From Maximize Possibility: The Death of Work-Life Balance – 10 Ways to Recession Proof Your Job In A Down Economy

“Please allow me a moment to be extremely direct. The days of “work life balance” are OVER. The days of coming to work and adding questionable value… OVER. The days of no one really knowing what you do… OVER. The days of building a wonderful relationship with your boss and you having all of the power… OVER.”

Wally’s Comment: To be honest, you were supposed to be adding value at work before the downturn. Chris has good advice here. Things could get a little Darwinian out there.

I check out several newspapers around the country, looking for interesting articles. Last Saturday I found one in the Arizona Republic. The headline was “School encourages future dealers to entertain.”

That was enough to get me reading the story about a school for casino dealers. But what really got me thinking was the following:

“Cosmo Raymond says that helping his blackjack- and poker-dealer students understand that they audition for a dealer’s position, rather than interview for it, is a big part of his job at the ABC Bartending and Casino School in Tempe.”

That’s not bad advice for anyone. Whether you’re interviewing for a dealer’s job or any other kind of job, thinking of it as an audition can help you do better.

I’m not suggesting that you break into song to answer a question. I doubt that a couple of dance steps will help your prospects. But acting like a person who already has the job you want may be just the thing.

Dress the part. Dress like the person in the job would dress if he or she were in a formal business meeting.

Talk the talk. Every profession and trade has its own language Make sure you use some, especially if you’re being interviewed by your prospective boss. Show some enthusiasm about the issues and challenges someone on the job will confront.

There’s another benefit from thinking this way. It can be an early warning sign that the job you’re interviewing for is not for you. If you’re uncomfortable dressing the way you’ll have to dress, or if the challenges you’ll confront on the job don’t excite you, think twice before accepting it.

Every week I check dozens of “career” blogs and other online publications, looking for things that will help you find a job, get promoted, develop your skills, and keep everything in perspective and balance. Here’s the pick of the lot for this week. I’m pointing you to items about civility, networking, career saboteurs, working with your boss, and why just because it’s right doesn’t mean it will be easy.

From the Washington Post: Workplace Success Starts With Civility

“Mary Bomar believes in civility and kindness on the job — and she believes it works for the success of herself and others. Bomar, director of the National Park Service, sees kindness easing the way through tough moments in her career, from dealing with questions about George Washington’s slaves to moving employees into new positions. She sees it as a strategic asset in a job hunt or promotion, too, especially when candidates highlight how it helps them achieve. ”

Wally’s Comment: When I was young, older people expected you to have manners and were surprised if you didn’t. Today those expectations seem to be reversed. That’s why being civil has become a career strategy.

From Fortune: Be a better networker

“Many smart professionals are flummoxed when it comes to figuring out exactly how to get such a network started, and how to make their network grow and flourish.

Wally’s Comment: If you’re “flummoxed,” this will be a great post for you. If you already know something about networking this will be a good review.

From the Wall Street Journal: Defending Against Career Saboteurs

“Ways to Protect Your Reputation — and Your Job — From a Boss or Colleague With Ulterior Motives”

Wally’s Comment: Yes, there are people out there who wish you ill. And yes, you can do something about it.

From 45 Things: Five Ways to Network With the Boss

“You may wonder why you need to network with the boss when a) you see him every day; and b) you see him every day, dammit.”

Wally’s Comment: Your boss is your most important relationship at work. Here’s a novel look at how to handle that relationship well.

From Escape from Cublcle Nation: Who says following your dreams shouldn’t be hard?

“I have come to the realization that we cause ourselves a lot of stress by believing that if we just choose the right business, or quit our loathsome job, or find the perfect internet marketing system, or get that book deal that things will become easy.”

Wally’s Comment: Even if you’ve made the right career choice, it won’t always be easy and you won’t always win.

Geoff Colvin just wrote an article for Fortune titled: “Why Talent is Overrated.” Here is the intriguing teaser copy.

“The conventional wisdom about ‘natural’ talent is a myth. The real path to great performance is a matter of choice.”

The promise seems to be that you can become whatever you want to be. Really? I’d believe it except for one thing: my career in opera.

You didn’t know I had a career in opera? Well, I didn’t. The only thing stopping me was the lack of “natural talent” that Colvin says is a myth.

I’ve loved opera since I was young. I love to sing. I have a deep, rich speaking voice. But I can’t sing very well, though I’ve really tried.

In my forties I hired a voice coach. My coach, Roger, had been an opera singer. He didn’t like the lifestyle so he created another career singing locally and coaching voice while he studied for the ministry.

Roger was convinced that anyone could “learn to sing acceptably.” He believed that with all his heart. I believed it, too. For a while.

We did exercise after exercise. Sometimes Roger was puzzled when I didn’t hear the difference between two notes or when my voice went up when it should have gone down. But we pressed on.

Finally, one evening after a session, we sat at my kitchen table talking about singing and other things. Roger started to chuckle. Soon he was laughing.

When he finally stopped he looked at me. Tears of laughter were still in his eyes.

“You know,” he said, “You are really very, very, very, very bad.”

It was my turn to laugh. We called off the voice lessons. My hopes of a career in opera had gone up in laughter.

When I hear that “natural talent is a myth” I just don’t buy it. If it was, I’d be looking back on a grand career in opera.

Every week I check dozens of “career” blogs and other online publications, looking for things that will help you find a job, get promoted, develop your skills, and keep everything in perspective and balance. Here’s the pick of the lot for this week. I’m pointing you to items about going to a high-priced college, work/life balance, getting promoted, the importance of language, and getting the boss to listen.

From Fistful of Talent: The Most Expensive Colleges Have One Thing in Common – This Recruiter Has Never Heard of Most of Them…

“If you matriculated from an expensive private school, allow me to say this up front – I’m still your fan. If you’re good at what you do professionally, articulate and able to point to a body of work that distinguishes you from others like you, you rock. Seriously.”

Wally’s Comment: This is a very provocative post if you think an education at a high profile and prestigious private school is a necessity for success. People like Warren Buffett (University of Kansas), A. G. Lafley (Hamilton College), and Ken Lewis (Georgia State) seem to have done OK without that kind of education. And, for the record, CEOs of major corporations are three times as likely to come from small, liberal arts colleges, like Augustana, in Rock Island IL which is the college reputed to produce the most CEOs relative to the size of its student body.

From Career News: Viewers Share Advice for Work/Life Balance

“We asked our viewers: What advice would you give a friend who feels they are not balancing their work and life? Here are a few of their insightful responses.”

Wally’s Comment: This post isn’t about work/life balance in the usual sense. It is about living a rich and fulfilling life.

From Success Making Machine: 3 Steps to a Promotion

“So you want a promotion? There’s only one thing that you need to do to get your boss on you side- figure out what he wants. Give it to him. Make sure he knows it. Then ask.”

Wally’s Comment: Here you go. Want to get promoted? It’s as simple as 1-2-3.

From All Things Workplace: If You Work With Actual People, Then. . .

“Director of Sales. VP of HR. Research Associate. Customer Service Agent. Every time I receive a call to consult or coach, one of the first things I hear is the person’s title and location on the organization chart. Invariably, the client turns out to be an actual person. Laura. Greg. George. Dottie.”

Wally’s Comment: Steve Roesler lays bare the problems that can arise when titles are more important than the people who hold them.

From 45 Things: How to Get the Boss to Listen to You

“Do you sometimes think you’ve become the invisible employee? Do you think the only way your boss might pay attention to you is if you were holding a phone and saying: “I’ve got Oprah on the line for you!” You’re not alone. Many people have felt ignored by their managers, but they are really beginning to fret more about it these days because they fear that “out of mind” may mean “out of a job” if layoffs hit their workplace.”

Wally’s Comment: Great advice. Especially now.

There are shelves full of books about personal development. In the end the process is pretty simple. It’s not necessarily easy, but it’s simple. Here’s my idea of how it works.

Figure out your career strength. You can use this same process in other parts of your life, but this blog is about your career.

A career strength is something you’re good at and that you love to do. Most of us have many things we like and many things we’re good at. But there are usually only a couple of areas where love and talent come together.

Get yourself in a place where that strength is valued. Look for jobs, professions, industries and companies who need and value what you have to offer. Look for situations where you can learn and develop.

Figure out what you need to learn. This is not a one-time thing. You’ll have to do this several times during your career.

Identify excellent performers. You want to find out what the masters do. Then learn to do the same thing.

Plan how to learn it. I like written plans because they force you to crystallize your thinking.

Answer some basic questions. What do I want to learn? What would be fun to try? What kind of process will I use? Who’s important?

Find a mentor or two. Mentors are your spirit guides to the learning process. They help you learn and find learning opportunities.

Get lots of feedback. Feedback is the breakfast of champions. Without feedback, it’s hard to get better

Adjust. You almost never learn without mistakes. You almost never get it right the first time. So try-get feedback-repeat.