How to Handle a Major Disagreement at Work

Sometimes, no matter the size of your company or your place in it, you disagree with the direction your company is headed, or you think a project is headed for disaster, or you don’t believe in a project you’ve been tasked with, and you must decide how to maneuver through the situation.

You can voice your disagreement or refuse to go with the flow, but you are risking your future with the company. There might be a better way to proceed.

Consider the following four steps when your confronted with a scenario or project that you don’t agree with in your job.

Do your research. It’s certainly possible you are wrong about the direction your business is taking or the project you’ve been asked to lead. Be sure to take your time and do the necessary research to understand how the decision was made to move forward and what it means. Talk to the decision-makers to gather more information. Then use all the data you’ve collected to reach your decision. If you still believe the decision is wrong move on the next step.

State your case. Meet with your supervisor or manager to present your case. Be clear and provide the reasoning behind your decision, including data that supports your opinion. Do not become angry or aggressive but calmly provide your reasoned opinion and move on.

Accept the outcome. Your appeal might be met with silence. Or you might receive some thanks, but your company or manager decides to move ahead with the previous decision. If that is the case, you need to accept the outcome and realize there might be factors influencing the decision that you are unaware of. You don’t need to like the decision or agree with it, but if you are planning to remain at your company you need to accept it without becoming bitter or angry that your opinion was not heeded.

Do your best work. This should go without saying but continue to strive to do your best work. Even if you believe a project is doomed to failure market conditions or customer needs could change and you could help turn a potential disaster into success by doing your best work and applying your skills and expertise to a situation or project that you initially disagreed with.

You Didn’t Get the Job. Now What?

Seeking out a job can be stressful and sometimes you make it to the interview stage, perhaps you’re even a finalist for a job, but you don’t get it. What do you do then?

This can be a discouraging time and you might be tempted to give in to despair but allow yourself to experience your emotions before taking the next steps. Here are some ways to deal with the disappointment of learning you did not get the job.

Take some time to process. You might be surprised to learn you didn’t get a job you felt well-qualified and prepared for, and subsequently feel sad or discouraged. There is no right way to experience the feelings around being turned down for a job that you wanted. Allow yourself some time to feel what you feel and experience what you experience without judgment.

It’s not personal. The sooner you understand that the decision is not personal, the better. There are many factors that companies and businesses take into account when they hire someone, and often a company has to turn down multiple highly qualified candidates for a job. You didn’t get the job but it’s not a reflection on who you are as a person and the value you bring. It wasn’t the right fit. Another position and employer might be a better fit.

Seek out feedback. Though you should not take it personally that you did not get the job offer, there still might be some issues for you to work out. Seek out feedback from the interviewer, if possible, to learn why they chose another candidate and to receive a critique of your interviewing skills. Use this as an opportunity to gain some insight as you move forward.

Reevaluate. This can be a great time to reconsider your strengths and interests, and to reevaluate your professional goals. It might also be the time to think about entrepreneurship and starting your own business.

Move forward. Once you’ve taken the time to process the disappointment about the job, and you’ve reevaluated your goals and career objectives, take even small steps to move you in the direction you want to go: revise your resume, apply for another job, take a class, apply for a business loan. Moving forward will help you remain optimistic and prevent you from getting discouraged.

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: When Does a Job Become a Career?

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share them so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

• When Does a Job Become a Career?: "Confidence is hard to come by. For many, harnessing the power of your own confidence is a skill that must be learned--it's not always innate."

• Adopt This Simple Habit to Help Avoid Burnout: "When it comes to staving off burnout, always keep top-of-mind the proverbial saying from English poet William Cowper 'Variety is the spice of life'."

• How to Stop Worrying About What Other People Think of You: "Our fear of other people’s opinions, or FOPO as I call it, has become an irrational and unproductive obsession in the modern world, and its negative effects reach far beyond performance."

• How Stress Can Guide Your Way to Success: "The bottom line, though, is that any protective factor you choose only counts if you actually do it. And if you don’t, it won’t work, no matter how great your need and how good your intentions."
• 4 Ways to Remain Professional Under Pressure:"Another way to reduce your stress while remaining positive and productive is by learning the difference between a controllable event and one that is uncontrollable."

What to Do When You Hate Making Business Phone Calls

Let's face it, not everyone likes making phone calls, particularly in this time when more and more of us resort to texts or emails.

However, there are times when business calls must be made and if you dislike making phone calls these experiences can provoke a lot of anxiety. Yet there are ways to make the process tolerable, and one can even learn to enjoy the experience of making business calls. Yes, we said enjoy!

Here are several ways to improve your skills on the phone.

Write down what you plan to say. Obviously, if possible, you want to create a script for the phone call. How detailed that script is depends upon your comfort level. Some people find it easier to write everything down word for word while for others it's enough to jot down some key points. Having a clear understanding and written guide for your business calls can reduce your anxiety and make the calls proceed more smoothly.

Practice with a partner. You might be fine practicing your phone script a few times on your own but it's always more helpful to practice with a partner and to ask for feedback. Working with another person can provide you with a better sense for how to handle the conversation as it veers off your script and prepared remarks.

Relax. Practice some deep breathing and other relaxation techniques, including visualizing a successful and pleasant phone conversation.

Make the phone call privately. If you work in a cubicle you might want to schedule a conference room to enable you to have more privacy for the call. Having the nearby ears of your co-workers listening in on your call can provoke anxiety so don't hesitate to find a more private place in the office for the conversation.

Practice makes progress. View each call positively and as an opportunity to get better. The more calls you make, the easier it will become and the less anxiety you will experience when you need to make important business calls in the future.

You don't have to be paralyzed by anxiety or discomfort when talking on the phone and it doesn't have to hold your career back it you take a few small steps to improve the experience of making business calls. 

5 Reasons to Be Thankful for Your Job

Some of us (many of us?) spend a good deal of time complaining about our jobs, our bosses, our companies, our salaries, and anything else we can muster a complaint about but, in reality, we have it quite well.

What better time of year to take a few moments and be thankful for our jobs? Need some reasons? Here are five:

1. Be thankful you HAVE a job. Yes, sometimes that old adage "you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone" applies to your job and while we might spend some serious time daydreaming about another place to work, our current gig is actually pretty good.

2. Be thankful for your co-workers. You likely work among friends or are at least on friendly terms with those you work with. That is a great, and undervalued, perk of the job. I still miss the people from the job I worked at longest (over 16 years). It was a great group.

3. Be thankful for opportunities to learn. Those opportunities can be very different depending on the job. You might be learning a specific skill such as how to code, or you might be learning a "soft skill": how to facilitate a good working relationship with a difficult co-worker or manager. But take some time to appreciate and be grateful for those new skills you are developing.

4. Be thankful for opportunities to apply your skills. Again, like the point above, you might apply some of your strengths and skills in limited ways but if you think carefully about your work you can creatively apply your skills to anything. The skills you have in handling a demanding boss are useful when dealing with an angry customer.

5. Be thankful for the chance to do something of value. Theodore Roosevelt noted that "far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing."

What are you thankful for? Do you have a flexible work schedule? A great boss or coworker? Opportunities to advance?

Make the Most of Your Lunch Hour

Your lunch hour is designed not only to refuel your body, but refuel your mind. Having a half an hour to an hour break from deadlines, work projects, and even co-workers is a great way to help you relax and recharge for the rest of the day. Here are some tips on making the most of your lunch break at work:

1. If the weather is nice, enjoy it! Bring some sneakers to work and go for a walk to clear your head or simply eat lunch outside. The Vitamin D from the sun will give you a boost to power through the afternoon, no matter what kind of day you're having.

2. Check your mood. If you're feeling overwhelmed and grouchy, step outside or go for a drive. Don't force yourself to eat cheerfully in the kitchen with your co-workers if you fear you might snap. If you're feeling social, by all means grab some co-workers to eat with you.

3. Also if you're feeling social or need a boost, meet with a friend! If you have a friend that works close by, make a date for lunch.

4. Take a drive and get to know the neighborhood. This is especially helpful for post grads who are just starting a job in a new area. Scope out the best places for after work drinks or places for a fun lunchtime break.

5. If you're feeling overwhelmed with work and just can't relax, dive back in! Eat lunch at your desk and catch up on your responsibilities. You just may feel better at the end of the day when your work is all done.

6. If you have the time and live close enough, go home to recharge. Being home for even a half an hour can relax you and give you the boost to finish the day. This also allows you to save money by eating at home if you didn't have time to pack a lunch.

What are your tips for making the most out of your lunch break?