During the first year of my career, Sunday evening often left me with a feeling of dread, knowing that Monday was just around the corner. In theory, I liked my job—I was working for the digital department of a global PR agency, gaining valuable experience, working for a respected company and I had plenty of opportunities for advancement—but in reality, I was miserable, largely because I didn’t have the leadership I needed from my boss.

One week into my new job, he stopped by my desk in the middle of the afternoon to let me know that he was heading home, offering no explanation. I asked if he might give me some direction on the project I was working on before taking off, since I was just getting started with things. He agreed, and then proceeded to walk away and ignore my request, leaving me to fend for myself. This was the first of many occasions that left me wondering whether the position I was in was right for me.

More incidents soon followed. He went on to require that I run all of my work and ideas through him before moving forward, and then disappeared for days or weeks at a time, letting our projects slip behind schedule.

As a new grad, this terrified me. Had I make the wrong decision? Did anyone else feel this way? Should I look for another job, even though all of the career advice I could find find told me to stick it out for at least a year?

I certainly wasn’t the first to experience feelings of doubt, nor will I be the last (there are currently 463,000 results for "hate my job" in Google)—but there’s no reason to let poor leadership lead you into hopelessness.

Here are a few lessons I’ve learned that may help you deal with an unsatisfactory job as a result of poor leadership.

1. Talk to Others in Your Field

It’s hard to evaluate your current situation if it’s your first "real" job and you have nothing to compare it to. My gut told me that what I was experiencing wasn’t right, but it wasn’t until I talked to friends who worked for other agencies, or even other roles within my own agency, that I realized something might actually be off—that I had been left to fend for myself a few too many times.

2. See if You Can Redefine Your Current Role

In today’s economy, it’s not always easy to find another job. In most cases, it’s worth talking to another manager or someone in human resources about how to improve your current situation before jumping ship. When I put in my two weeks notice, everyone in HR expressed regret that they didn’t have the chance to make things better for me. The trouble was, I never thought to go to them, and I kept these issues to myself until it was too late.

3. If It’s Still Not Right, Don’t Be Afraid to Leave

If things aren’t improving after talking with a manager or HR, it may be time to move on. I don’t care if the general rule says that you have to stay on your first job for at least a year—your sanity and personal growth are more important. Disliking your job can be downright depressing and unhealthy. It’s ok to admit that things just aren’t getting better and move on to something new.

Your career is a huge part of your life, so feeling doubt about your job or manager can be difficult to go through. If you have gone through a similar experiences, I’d love to hear your thoughts on how you handled it.

When I was a student at Michigan State University, I took an interactive design class that opened my eyes to the fact that once you post a message online, it has nowhere to hide. As a part of a class assignment, we were told to post a short critique to the class blog on one website design per week. One of the assigned sites was that of web designer Jason Santa Maria (who will, no doubt, have alerts in place to find this mention as well).

Some students in the class proceeded to rip the site design apart—unaware that these comments were out in the open for anyone to find, including Jason Santa Maria himself. We were all quite surprised to find that he had, in fact, found our posts—and gone on to leave his own remarks on the matter.

I mention this because I recently found a post on the UConn Journalism 3098 blog based on a recent post I wrote about five gadgets for the new communicator. I thought I would pay forward the favor from Jason Santa Maria and leave a comment to let the class know that I had found the post, that I was listening—but the comments were only open to those in the class, and I was unable to find any contact information.

So to the unknown author of the post, I just want you to know that I am listening, that your comments are, indeed, out in the open for all to read and remark on—and I agree with your point that it would be wonderful if all five of these gadgets could be rolled into one. I think we’ll get there soon enough.

 

 An Interview With Young Entrepreneur Jun Loayza [9:15m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (99)

Jun Loayza graduated from UCLA in 2007 with a degree in Economics. After working for an international consulting firm out of college, he decided he needed a greater challenge—which led him to team up with some college friends to start the company Future Delivery. The company builds fun and productive technology for students and young professionals and recently launching their first project, FD Career.

This wasn’t Jun’s first taste of entrepreneurship. He and his friends also started a consulting company back in college. Jun recommends that the best time to start a company is as an undergraduate, not only because there are helpful resources at your university to get started, but also because it’s a great time to experiment and get to know yourself.

Recommended Book

The eMyth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Fail and What to Do About it
by Michael Gerber

Mitch Joel recently interviewed Michael Gerber on Foreward Thinking, the Business and Motivational Book Podcast.

I was recently interviewed by Luke Walker for his blog/podcast Media Ramblings on the future of media and Public Relations.

 

 An Interview With Digital Creative Director Chris Gee [19:31m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (98)

Chris Gee, Burson-Marsteller’s Digital Creative Director, discusses the evolving role of the digital creative team.

Recommended Books

• Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, by Malcolm Gladwell
• The World is Flat, by Thomas L. Friedman

Brazen Careerist , the twenty-something blogger network that I’m a part of, has been featuring articles on various cities from the perspective of young people who live there. I recently wrote an article on what it’s like to live and work in Chicago—and why Chicago is more manageable than many other large cities.

Read the article: My City, Chicago

How many of your current bills go toward technology that didn’t exist ten or 15 years ago? Taking a look at my personal budget, 7.5% of my total monthly spending goes toward basic cable, internet and cell phone bills—all of which have only recently become staples in our lives.

If that doesn’t mean much to you, consider this fact—if I were to take the money that I spend each month on these "new" technology bills and start putting it into my savings account at just 3% interest, I would total over $41,000 in additional savings after 30 years. And this doesn’t even include all of the latest techno-gadgets that I spend my money on.

To calculate your own spending, check out the Compound Interest Calculator.

Just something to think about.

Photo Source: DavidDMuir

Contributed by Kevin Saghy

My boss recently responded to a reporter’s request for “signs that young professionals are or aren’t fitting into their organization.” He asked for my quick opinions (which I took to be a positive sign, phew) and I figured it’d make a good first post on The Creative Career. Without further ado –

1. Are colleagues granting you more autonomy?
As a new professional, colleagues will request frequent updates until they can trust that a young staffer is able to meet deadlines with quality work. Over time, coworkers will trust more and hover less. If you have been in a position for a year and your team still panics when you’re given a project—it’s time to evaluate your workload and reliability.

2. Do you fit in better with the “other side?”
Perhaps you’re part of the agency’s consumer practice but all of your office friends work on the corporate side. Maybe you relate better to the water cooler conversation down the hall compared to your own team’s daily grind. If you don’t fit in with your colleagues personally, there’s a chance you don’t professionally either. See if your agency will work with you to make an appropriate switch.

3. Do you have a champion within the organization?
Agencies appoint supervisors to young staff so they may help that staff member succeed. If a supervisor doesn’t fill that role, another colleague will often take a junior staffer under his or her wing. If you’re wandering through your career without much guidance, it may be time to look at another agency with a focus on mentorship.

4. How are you perceived compared to your peers?
Does your team usually give assignments to other junior staffers before you, or are you option No. 1? Do you have a surplus of open billable time? Take a step back and view your position on the team objectively.

5. How would you feel if you had to “break up” with your employer?
Relationships usually boast reciprocal feelings. When you love coming to work each day, chances are your employer loves having you walk through the door. On the flip side, coworkers can usually sense when team member is unsatisfied. Judge your position and try to keep the spark alive.

Any others you’d like to add?

Since podcasting started to catch on in 2004, more than a few people have concluded that the technology’s failure to gain mass appeal by now shows that it is failing. This view undervalues the influence podcasting has had on communities and personal networking. Podcasts are not meant to compete with radio—in fact, by maintaining smaller audiences, they are able to add more value to individual listeners.

Podcasts Draw Listeners With Niche Interests

While radio producers aim to create content that will appeal to the largest audience possible, podcasts are created for communities with niche interests. Shows may not appeal to mass audiences, but to those who listen, the content is truly relevant, which means listeners are more likely to have similar interests and personalities.

Podcasts Are Two-Way Conversations

Many podcasts are far from one-way radio-wannabes. The community drives the conversations—hosts encourage listeners to use free call-in lines or send comments to express their opinions and suggest show topics. By communicating with voices rather than written words, connections become more intimate and genuine friendships are formed.

The Network Has Already Been Built For You

While Twitter users take pride in their ability blast questions to their followers and gain nearly instant feedback, it takes time to build up enough of a Twitter following to take advantage of this. With podcasts, the network has already been built—the hard part is done for you. Now all you need to do is ask your question to the podcast community. You might be surprised by how many responses you will get.

Podcasters Love to Help People

It takes a certain type of personality to produce a podcast. The process is labor intensive and usually results in little to no monetary return. The reward from all of this hard work is the satisfaction that comes with connecting like-minded individuals. By reaching out to podcasters, you are likely to be introduced to a network of like-minded individuals.

Podcasting isn’t failing. Podcasts have successfully connected thousands of people with similar interests, resulting in an untold number of valuable relationships, both professional and personal. As long as podcasts continue to deliver this value to participants, the medium is not going anywhere.

Let me tell you a story about how, with a change in attitude and a bit of luck, I managed to turn a negative situation into a positive one.

When I was a freshman at Michigan State University, I earned a spot on the MSU co-ed cheerleading team. It was an incredible experience. As a part of the team, I became an instant "local celebrity"—signing autographs and taking photos with fans, filming television commercials, traveling the country and meeting all sorts of incredible people. I couldn’t imagine a better way to experience college.

At the end of the year, we were required to try out again for the next year. I assumed I had nothing to worry about. You might even say I was a bit cocky about the whole thing.

Big mistake. The day after spring tryouts, the new team list was posted. My name wasn’t on it. I found out later that I had been cut because of my attitude.

I felt cheated, resentful, heartbroken. For years, I had put so much of myself into this one activity, and now that I didn’t have it, I felt empty.

At the beginning of my sophomore year I was still upset, but I knew I had to stay active—a person can only sulk for so long. So I put things into perspective, changed my attitude and went out to turn a negative experience into a positive one.

During an "Intro to Digital Media Arts & Technology" (DMAT) class, I learned about an open supervisor position in the DMAT Studio. I had never had any time for a job while I was on the cheerleading team, so I jumped on the opportunity to meet new people and make some extra cash.

The job was perfect. Working in the studio opened me up to a wealth of opportunities—I got to know a number of creative students and professors as they worked on projects in the studio, and I had full access to an entire studio filled with the latest technology and gadgets. As I experimented with the recording studio and portable audio recorders, I became interested in podcasting (which would later play key a role in landing my first job). Best of all, I could choose my own hours, which made it easy to balance work, class and life.

But I hadn’t given up on cheerleading. I kept working to keep my skills up throughout the year and visited open workouts when I could. More importantly, my outlook had changed—I was no longer cocky. My year away had humbled me and taught me not to take anything for granted.

When tryouts came around again, I summoned up the courage to go and face the possibility of getting cut again. But this time around, things were different. My new outlook and year of hard work paid off, and I made the team.

So, as it turns out, getting cut from the team was actually the best thing that could have happened to me. It led me on a bit of a detour from what I had expected, but it also forced me to look at opportunities that I had never considered before—opportunities that had a tremendously positive impact on my life and career.

And in the end, my flexible work hours allowed me to balance work, class, life and cheerleading.

So if you ever find yourself in what feels like a crushing situation, take a step back and look at your options. It’s not that when one door closes another one opens. That other door has always been open. It’s just that, until now, you’ve been too distracted to see it.

I’ve always been a gadget person—I think a person should be prepared to easily capture any event or happening worth sharing. Today, this crosses over to professional communicators, as gadgets for capturing and sharing are starting to become more common, or even standard-issue, for the evolving communications professional.

1. Flip Video Camera

Many of us at Edelman keep a Flip Video Camera on hand. You never know when you may want to capture a moment or record thoughts from others around the office or on the street to create a simple video for a presentation or to share with others who couldn’t be there.

I’m happy to hear that Robert French at Auburn University requires his PR students to buy a flip video camera in lieu of books, and I’m hoping others will follow his lead.

2. Digital Camera

I always like to have a digital camera on hand for quality still shots. Again, you never know who you may run into or what photo opportunities may arise. Always be prepared by keeping a camera that’s small enough to carry with you.

3. Phone With Mobile Internet Access

Who can live without 24/7 access to email, RSS feeds and Twitter? Having access to the Internet, regardless of location, is incredibly empowering—and it is becoming an expected must-have in the professional world. Besides, if mobile is the future of communications, we’d better get on board and start exploring now.

4. Handheld Recorder

The Zoom H2 Handheld Recorder is my number one educational tool to keep colleagues up to speed on what’s new in the world of communications and what their peers are up to. I use it all the time to capture quality audio—whether it’s for a podcast I’m recording or a recording of a colleague to spread the word and educate everyone else in the company on a great case study or project they’ve worked on. It can be so much more impactful to record a successful experience as a story in a persons’ own words and share it as audio than to write it up.

5. MP3 Player

The MP3 player has a duel-purpose. First, it’s great for loading up podcasts to keep up on industry news or for consuming audio from internal communications (like those audio case studies I talked about). It also doubles as extra file storage, which can be handy for the on-the-go professional.

What about you? Any gadgets you can’t live without?