From the ArcaMax Publishing, At Work Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/atwork/s-642799-145213
Q: I work for a brokerage house that seems to be doing well. I am not
yet a broker. I work under someone who is a broker but not in
management. He is afraid of everything we do when the compliance
officer comes into the room. We are supposed to scan the newspapers
for business news as part of our jobs. If I hold the newspaper too
high in front of me, he warns me not to hold it so high because "if
the compliance officer comes in the room, she will think (I am)
lounging." When I ask him why he is so afraid of the compliance
officer, he answers, "She is in charge of compliance." Compliance
officers are to make sure the laws are being obeyed. They are not
managing the employees. He is worried about looking lazy. I am worried
that there is something going on here that is not right.
A: It sounds as if you work under an overly nervous employee who has a
guilt complex, no matter whether he is doing the right or the wrong
thing. Don't take on his insecurity. If he has engaged in some
behavior that he feels he needs to hide from the compliance officer,
that's another issue, and he certainly won't be telling you about it.
If you want to behave professionally as a broker, ask the compliance
officer about all of the issues you should be aware of so you can act
ethically and show professional responsibility. Explain that you are
working your way up to broker. You also might ask, without naming the
employee, whether it is also your duty to report someone who behaves
oddly or unusually guilty for no apparent reason. The purpose is to
cover yourself so that you are always in compliance. Never take on
someone else's worries, justified or unjustified; that would be like
taking gossip as fact. Go to the source for the information, and know
that everything else is hearsay.
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Freelance Employee Wants Full-Time Job Plus Independent Work
Q: I work in the volatile field of publishing and journalism. The two
most recent full-time positions I took, however, ended abruptly, and
not because of my performance. One ended because the CEO had
unrealistic expectations of the new venture's success -- a new
magazine that he hired me to start. The second position ended after
eight weeks, when that CEO said he wanted to move the resources to
other departments and commented that I had done a great job but that
there was no other job for me in the other departments.
I want to work full time, but giving up my freelance clients seems too
risky for another unsure position. How do I find out whether the
company's goals are reasonable or too high before I accept another
job?
A: Don't give up your freelance clients. Many full-time employees also
have freelance business clients in publishing. Just make sure the
independent work doesn't conflict with the new company's clients. New
ventures are always risks, and there is no way to confirm the
financials or the business plan in a private startup company.
To protect yourself, you will have to develop your interviewing skills
to weed out "high fliers" and dream weavers. Pay attention to the
facts, not the hyped-up sales pitch the person is delivering to you
during the job interview. Positive excitement is wonderful to listen
to, but it does not mean there is a solid foundation. Ask yourself
whether you think there's a need for the product and a likely chance
for success. If you research the industry before the interview, you
should be able to sift through the public relations-speak and ask
serious financial and forecasting questions.
You could avoid all of this, though, if you focused on networking with
employees at established companies and applied to the ones trying one
last alternative to pump up business. A large company can be checked,
and the interviewers likely will tell you what the company is hoping
to achieve.
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Please send your questions to: Lindsey Novak, c/o Creators
Syndicate, 5777 W. Century Blvd., Suite 700, Los Angeles, CA 90045.
E-mail her at LindseyNovak@yahoo.com, or visit her Web site at
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Lindsey Novak and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers
and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at
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