Phil Gerbyshak tackles this timely issue on his blog, reminding us that navigating the friend/no friend waters can be tricky and loaded with unexpected hazards. His advice to not cross the personal/professional line is standard good business. Read the whole article here.

I wonder, though, if this isn’t a generational issue that some of us are on the “wrong” side of?

From what I hear, younger workers (and their often equally young bosses) don’t have the same views on keeping work and personal life separate as dinosaurs like me have. If you’re working in a hip, tech-oriented company and your whole department is all over social media, then connecting with everyone on Facebook is probably the modern equivelent of the water cooler—everyone who’s anyone drops by several times a day to keep up with the latest news. In that case, not joining in could brand you as an outsider, unfriendly, out of the loop, or just not a team player—any of which could mean death to your next promotion.

Regardless of your company culture, keep your Facebook (and Twitter) profiles clean, well-groomed and ready for public inspection at any time. Even if you do decide not to friend your boss, your info can easily get passed around by friends-of-friends and your boss could end up seeing something you’d rather she not know about.

I’m curious—what do you think about bosses and employees connecting on Facebook? Would you/do you do it, and why or why not?

Here are some top choices for things to do career-wise in the coming year:

1. Network. One of the things I hear most often from clients is, “But…I don’t have a network.” I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating—the time to start your network is not when you need it. You need to be connected to other people in good times, so if the bad times hit you have a place to turn for help. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter all are excellent places to reconnect with people from your past, or stay in touch with people you meet now.

2. Keep Current. Stay on top of the latest news in your industry and on what your competitors are doing. Read local, national and international news with an eye for events or trends that may impact your field, and then come up with strategies to prepare for changing market conditions.

3. Learning. Take advantage of training opportunities through your company as often as you can, but also consider broadening your expertise and skills into new areas. Tap into credit and non-credit classes at your local community college, or invest in some online webinars or podcasts to increase your knowledge base.

4. Attend Events. Get out and meet new people at local professional events. Social networking is great, but nothing beats personal, face-to-face interaction. It’s a chance to put your best self forward and lets you put faces to names.

5. Be Professional. Come to work early. Take on extra projects without whining. Don’t pass on gossip. Be polite and helpful in all your communications. Present a clean, sharp, well-put-together appearance. Mind your manners. Don’t tell off-color jokes or post drunken pictures on your Facebook page. If you don’t respect yourself and others, don’t expect the boss to view you as a company asset.

6. Mentoring. Find someone you can relate to and ask if you can pick his or her brain occasionally about career and work issues. At the same time, be on the lookout for someone just starting out who you might be able to help navigate through the things that trip a lot of people up. Always try to pass on what you’ve learned and pay it forward. Remember—no matter how new or inexperienced you are, there’s always someone who knows less than you and who would be grateful for your counsel.

What are your career “resolutions” for the new year?

Well, it finally happened. You were forced to lay off some of your staff. The news wasn’t unexpected, but it was still a difficult transition that left your staff demoralized and wondering when the next shoe was going to drop.

This is the time for leadership and vision and it has to come from you. It’s critical that you rally your remaining staff to move forward so the company can prosper. You need to invest time, energy and resources in the people who remain.

Here are five things to think about in motivating your employees through this difficult time.

1. Repair trust. No matter how sensitively layoffs are handled, such an action breaks the trust between employer and employee. Remaining employees often feel scared, depressed and (often) guilty about still having a job. Recognize the wide range of emotions your staff (and you) will experience. Be sensitive to the emotions swirling about and cut everyone some slack as you all process the change and look toward the future. If possible, give employees a chance to vent their feelings through confidential focus groups or interviews conducted by a trained coach or other expert.

2. Make it personal. Talk to each of your employees one-on-one. Let them know they’re valued, how their contribution to the company is needed, and that you support them. Encourage them to share their vision for the “new” company. Ask them for their input on redistributing the workload. This is a great time to ask what resources they need to do their job – specialized training, for example.

3. Address the workload increase head-on. There’s no way around it; if people got laid off, those who remain are going to have to shoulder a bigger workload. This isn’t the time to go it alone. Include your staff in every decision, and involve them in deciding how best to proceed. If you allow them to come up with their own solutions, you’ll end up with an engaged, highly-motivated and hard-working team.

4. Offer opportunities for professional development. Right now, you’re probably limited in terms of salary increases or bonuses, so encourage your people to expand their learning with seminars or workshops. If the company can pay for some of these classes, and/or allow employees to attend during normal work hours, you’re way ahead of the game. Tap your very best people for advance training to support their ongoing growth and ready them to move into positions of increased responsibility and authority.

5. Recognize that people respond differently. Some people have difficulty accepting and adjusting to change; others excitedly embrace change and view it as a wonderful opportunity. Some people need to “talk it out” while others withdraw and brood in silence. You’ll have some complainers and some who agree on the surface but try to quietly sabotage any new ideas. Be ready to deal with all of these (and more) as you bring your group back together.

Have you experiences a layoff—from either side? What are the best (or worst) strategies you’ve seen for getting through it?

In a football season already filled with debacles, the Redskins management has made some truly impressive errors. In the latest installment, they took away Coach Zorn’s ability to call the plays and handed that responsibility over to their new “offensive consultant”.

OK, so they’ve lost confidence in the coach. Got it. But is removing his duties piece-meal really the way to go? Does anyone actually believe that it’s Zorn’s play-calling that’s at fault?

And what does Zorn do, in response to this public spanking?

He swallows it and marches bravely onward.

Seriously, coach, is saying, “I’ll comply” the best you can do?

Here’s what I think. The Redskins have more problems than can be solved by an “offensive consultant”, or even a new coach. If I were Zorn, and my boss was openly shopping for a new coach as Dan Snyder is, and he called me into his office and said, “I’m taking away your ability to call the plays and giving that responsibility to someone else”, I wouldn’t meekly go along. That way lies total humiliation.

I’d say, “I’m the head coach. I make the decisions.  I call the plays. If you don’t want to let me coach, then fire me. But I won’t “pretend” to coach just to save face.”

If Zorn had done that, would he have been fired?

Almost certainly.

But he’d be leaving with his self-respect intact, and showing Dan Snyder what real leadership is. And the Redskins organization, from top to bottom, is badly in need of some true leadership.

Thanks to Steve for including me as a small part of his eGuide—I’m pleased to have contributed to a valuable resource that I think a lot of people need, and will actually use.

Get the answers to these – and other hot interview questions—so you can shine at your next interview.

Join me and my guest Mark Warren and learn how you can Ace the Interview! Mark has coached senior executives, middle management and staff level clients by the thousands. During his thirty years in Executive Search and staffing he has personally seen just about every positive and negative event that can occur during the job search and hiring process in virtually every specialty. Mark coined the term “Functional Fit” to describe what he accomplishes for clients and candidates. First, he finds the candidates who have the skills and abilities required by the client – and that’s where most recruiters stop. Mark uses a “Functional Fit”, which means that the candidate’s values and goals match those of the client, and the candidate’s personality, people and communication skills also match those of the team he/she will be joining.

Join us live on Career Momentum Radio Wed, 17 June, from 6:30 – 7 PM (ET), 3:30 PM (PT), or listen to the replay any time. For more information, go to Career Momentum Radio.

Karen has just been laid off. She’s pretty with-it, so she knows that scouring the want ads and shot-gunning her resume out to postings on job boards isn’t in her best interest. She knows that networking is the best way to get a job.

The trouble is, she doesn’t know anyone. Oh, sure, she “knows” people – what about all those business cards she collected at the convention last year? Some of those people are movers and shakers in her industry – she can contact them on LinkedIn, tweet them on Twitter, and friend them on Facebook. Then she’ll be all set. Right?

Um…not so fast.

If someone you met once at a conference over a year ago suddenly contacted you out of the blue, what would your first response be? (After, “who?”)

“What does she/he want from me?”

Probably not the best way to make a good impression.

Now, suppose after the convention Karen had followed up with a nice email to each of these people saying how much she enjoyed talking with them, and sending along an article about widgets or sailboats or marketing or Greek cruises, or whatever similar interests they shared – that would have been networking. She could have connected with them on LinkedIn, and kept in touch every other month or so by passing along interesting info, or introducing them to someone else in their field, or sending a new customer their way. That would have been very savvy networking, and Karen would now be in the perfect position to network her way to a new job.

The secret to being an effective networker is to do things for other people, not to expect them to do things for you. The time to build your network is before you need it. Remember—every time you reach out to others and provide a service or share useful information, you’re sending the message that you’re thinking about them and that they are important to you. Do this on a regular basis and when the time comes that you need your network, it will already be there for you.

The news every day is sobering. Companies are laying off workers at an increasing rate—even companies like GE, Home Depot and other mega-organizations aren’t immune.

If you’re not worried about your job, you’re in the minority. You might think this would be a good time to keep your head down, stay quiet and ride it out.

You’d be dead wrong.

When it comes time for management to decide who stays and who goes, it’s easiest to cut the guy or gal no one notices. To cement your worth to the company, you need to brand yourself as a go-getter who gives high value with low maintenance.

Here are some tips to improve your job security.

1. Get lots of face time. This isn’t the time to take advantage of your company’s tele-commuting program. Get yourself into the office every day. Come in a little early; stay a little later. Forget work/life balance. When the weather’s nasty, everyone on the ship needs to turn to.

2. Make your boss look good. Volunteer for extra work; finish projects early and under budget; find ways to save the company money. Make sure your boss is aware of your contributions, especially for things outside the normal scope of your duties. If upper management notices and comments, generously share the kudos with your boss and don’t hog all the credit.

3. Don’t whine or complain about an increased workload—not even to your coworkers. Keep a positive attitude and redouble your efforts. Bosses always seem to know who’s cheerfully shouldering extra responsibilities and who balks and complains about every little change.

4. Remember the bottom line. In any organization, the people who make money for the company are the ones who stay employed. Sales is everyone’s responsibility. Think of ways you can increase your company’s visibility, or bring in new business. If you work for a non-profit, come up with innovative ways to fundraise in a slow economy. Document your efforts and your rate of success.

5. Stay plugged in at work. Be visible at work functions and don’t skip the monthly after-work social event. Join the coffee mess at work instead of spending $4 with your local barista and meet your coworkers for lunch instead of going it alone at your desk. Keep tuned into the information (read: gossip) that gets passed around at work.

6. Keep a positive attitude. Start and end each day with a few moments of quiet time. Relax your mind and focus on only good things. Envision yourself as happy, successful and enjoying your work and your life. We attract what we focus on, so make sure your thoughts stay positive and upbeat. Just because a recession seems to be going on around you, doesn’t mean you have to participate in it.

What other suggestions do you have for staying positive and adding value to your career? Click on comment and share—I’d love to know what you’re thinking.

I am a total sucker for free books.

Send me one, Andy! I promise to read it.

Joan Schramm
2983 Poplar Trail
Annapolis MD 21401

Hugs…

Joan

This article from TheStreet.com discusses some of the issues involved and I honored to be included as an expert.

Have you ever had to fire someone? Drop me a line a tell me what you learned from the process, and what you’d do differently next time.

If you’ve ever been fired, I’d be very interested to hear your thoughts on what went well during the experience and what could have been done differently.