I Love My Job and You Should, Too

I know there are probably some people who will read this blog and think I'm crazy. I love my job. I'm proud to write that. Yes, I truly love it. And I think you should, too. 

Find a Job You Love.

I remember in college a professor told me that it's typical to have three careers after college. The first job you get is to have a job. The second job is to get out of your first job. And your third job is a job you love. 


Well, for me it took a few more jobs (I'm on job #5 now). Along the way I learned what I like to do, what I'm good at doing, and what others thought I could do. I also started gaining an understanding of the value of what I do, and how important that is in a career. 


I'm the Director of Marketing at Walsh College, where I was recently promoted from Marketing Manager. Now that may not sound like a big deal to you, but if you work in marketing, you probably understand that it IS a big deal! I remember reading a fictional career book many years ago in which the main character became the Director of Marketing for a hotel chain, and thinking at the time how cool it would be to be a Director of Marketing. 


I started as an Assistant Media Planner at an Ad Agency, then was promoted to Media Planner. Left after 2 1/2 years, and became Area Marketing Coordinator. Left at just under 2 years to become Marketing Coordinator. Laid off from there and became Marketing Specialist at another place, and shortly thereafter promoted to Marketing Manager. I then held the title of Marketing Manager for the past 7 years (wow... just realized that). Now I'll admit that when I first was promoted to Marketing Manager, I didn't feel like my job had changed at all, nor that I was really qualified for a "manager" title. But my manager saw a lot of potential in me (thank you, Keith Woodman!) and supported me in my career. 


I digress.


I love my job. I've been at Walsh for the past three years, and remember when I was interviewing how excited I was to finally find a position that gave me the opportunity to blend my expertise in marketing with my love of professional development. It really is a perfect match for me, and I can now see how all my previous experience has been perfect in preparing me for my current role. 


I love my job, and I think you should, too. Life is too short, and it's not going to get any better if you stay in a job you don't love. You should look forward to getting up in the morning and diving into your day. You should leave the office feeling like you've accomplished something, and the stress of your job should leave you feeling invigorated. Mine does that for me.


You should work for a manager who supports your personal and professional goals. You should work at a company that you believe in. Your company's mission should be your mission as well. You will be far more productive and happy in life if you are passionate about your career.


Now I know there are circumstances that are beyond our control, especially in today's economy. But that doesn't mean that you shouldn't keep an eye on your goal, and focus on finding work that is in some small way related to that goal. If you want to work in sports marketing, blog about sports. If you want to be on FoodTV someday, find a culinary arts program and enroll. But if you are miserable in your current position and don't like the work that you do, please don't go find the same position with a different company. You'll find the same results.


I love my job. Do you?

Powerful Women -- quick... who comes to mind?

Without thinking about it too much, who comes to mind when you think of Powerful Women?

I'll give you a minute.

Okay, done?

So, who came to mind for you?

At the top of my list were Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Oprah, Suze Orman, Ellen Degeneres, and maybe a musician or two (Lady Gaga, Madonna, Britney Spears). I'll admit Sarah Palin was an afterthought for me. And she always reminds me of Tina Fey.

Thinking that I might be biased because I'm a woman, I asked my husband the same question. Surprisingly, his answers were similar. He also debated whether the Queen of England was powerful or not, and I prodded him to skip her if he wasn't sure and to name off as many women as he could.

What if I were to ask you to name Powerful Women who were local to your city/state? For me, Jennifer Granholm (Michigan's governor) comes to mind. As does Michelle Hodges (President of Troy Chamber of Commerce), Stephanie Bergeron (president of Walsh College), Terry Barclay (President of Inforum Michigan), Rhonda Walker (WDIV reporter, whom I heard speaking at an event last week), and Beth Chappell (President and CEO of the Detroit Economic Club). I'm sure there are dozens of others but those come to mind for me.

Now what if I were to ask to name Powerful Men? Or, Powerful People? Chances are, your list would be filled with politicians, businessmen, entrepreneurs, etc. etc. You'd probably mention a few CEOs who are men, too. If you had to name any CEOs who are women, you'd probably be hard-pressed to name a few.

Maybe this exercise was really easy for you because you follow Powerful People on a regular basis. And if you're not interested in Powerful People at all, you're not reading this post (yes, I'm talking to you... oh wait, you ARE reading this...).

There's been a shift over the past few years with more women moving into leadership positions. This was definitely highlighted by the last presidential campaign. As women, we know that we're still under-represented in many industries and within leadership positions. I was at an Inforum Michigan event today where one of the speakers was (is) a powerful woman: Charlene Begley (president and CEO of GE Home & Business Solutions and a senior vice president for GE). She mentioned that in her current role, she typically travels Monday through Friday. She further explained that up until a few years ago, her job did not require her to travel this much.

A question was asked during the event about work/life balance, and about women moving into leadership positions. Often women will not ask for promotions or more challenging roles. Some women don't think they are competent enough - nor do they want the added responsibility - that may come with those roles. Still many others who may be the breadwinner for the family are still the primary caregiver. We will make choices about having a successful career, but when it comes to deciding whether to accelerate into senior leadership positions, the family wins out.

I'll admit in some ways, it is our responsibility as women to find a careful balance between career success and personal/family happiness. Too often you see women who have successful careers who end up divorced, or without children by choice because the timing is never right. Having a supportive spouse and an extended network of family members and friends to help with family care-giving helps. And from there, it's up to us to decide how far we want to go in our career.

In other ways, our careers may be limited by the culture of the company. I've seen the good ole boys network alive and well at past employers and know I'm not alone in this observation. Even though we want to move ahead and move into leadership, the opportunities never come to fruition. Certain women acknowledge this and move on to find success elsewhere. Others accept the culture and come to terms with the environment.

Ultimately, it's up to each person to decide for herself -- or himself -- how far they want to go in their career and the choices or changes that will need to be made to achieve those goals.

As for me, I find it inspirational but also necessary to look around and identify Powerful Women. They can share their learnings. They pave the road for so many women behind them. They serve as mentors -- some directly, and others indirectly.

So who else is a Powerful Woman to me? In addition to the above, I think the list should include those who are just starting out in their careers and already demonstrating a quest for knowledge, and pursuit for excellent in any task - large or small. Amber Kaipio @akaipio, is a marketing intern at Walsh College who exemplifies this.

It should also include women in the Detroit Social Media community who are experts at building relationships and networking. Shelli Gutholm @shelligutholm, Carrie Roeder @ideationista, and Jennifer Marsik Friess @JenMarsikFriess to name a few.

Plus it should include those who have great presence in any group - positive energy, and a genuine, likeable woman. The kind of women who immediately bring a smile to your face and make you feel special, whether you're meeting with them one-on-one or see them in passing at a huge networking event. Susan Gibson at Corp! Magazine, Lori Williams @loritwilliams, Patty Buccellato of Refined Images, Tember Shea of Inforum Michigan, are a few that come to mind for me.

What do you think? Who comes to mind for you as a "Powerful Woman"?

Why I Love Toastmasters

Several years ago during an annual performance review, I asked my manager how I could improve on public speaking. I knew that working in marketing, I would someday need to be comfortable speaking in front of groups in order to move up in the organization. He suggested Toastmasters and told me a bit about the group.

At the time, the thought of speaking up in front of a room freaked me out. And speaking in front of a group of people who were GOOD speakers freaked me out even more. But this manager, Keith, was one of the best managers I have ever had. And he is a confident, engaging speaker. (Visit him here: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/4/294/868) So for Keith to tell me to join Toastmasters, it made me think that maybe it wasn't such a crazy idea...

A few years went by, and I finally started looking into professional organizations and found Toastmasters again. After several visits, I joined the Warren Toastmasters Club. It took me a few meetings to make the commitment, and I'm so glad I did.

Toastmasters is known as the "public speaking" organization, but what it's really about is improving your communication and leadership skills. Thank you to Vera for reminding us of this. When people join Toastmasters, they join for their personal goals. It might be improving their public speaking skills. It might be overcoming their fear of speaking in front of groups. It might be working on improving their English. Or, it might be because someone told them about Toastmasters and they really liked the members of the club. But regardless, I've found that when Toastmasters has started giving back to me is when I started giving back to my club and to our members and guests.

Toastmasters has taught me how to turn nervousness into positive energy. Toastmasters has given me the ability to practice speaking on a regular basis, so it's not as nerve-wracking to speak. Toastmasters has helped me to think on me feet - really helpful for those tough job interview questions. Toastmasters has taught me that it's not about me and my message, but it's about the audience and making a connection. And Toastmasters has taught me that I actually ENJOY speaking in front of people. This is coming from a person who was painfully shy.... plus it has given me confidence in myself and it has helped me to find my speaking voice.

And Toastmasters has introduced me to some really great speakers, friends, and mentors. People like Mary Comfort who has the gift of being an incredibly engaging and down-to-earth presenter and motivational speaker. People like Jim McVicar who has the ability to make you smile and laugh when he gets up to speak - and this is before he has said a word! And people like Joe Meirow, who started a new club in Shelby Township, Michigan - and he wasn't even a Toastmaster when he started the club! And people like Vera Johnson and Nancy Zychowicz - both which I consider to be true role models and mentors. Vera: for her enthusiasm and passion, while balancing an amazing career and young child. Nancy: for her willingness to support members of every club, and for her spirit and warm demeanor.

I aspire to be a strong speaker like Keith, Mary, Jim, Vera, and Nancy, and I know that Toastmasters will help me get there. Yes, I'm still nervous when I'm asked to speak, but I find speaking to be such a great experience that I push that nervousness aside. And now instead of dreading speaking, I actually enjoy it. In fact, I competed in a contest tonight and came in 2nd place!! :)

There are so many reasons why I love Toastmasters. If you're intrigued, check out a club sometime. http://www.toastmasters.org/ and click the orange FIND button to enter your zip code.

ps -- here's a sample speech I gave at the Park Street Presenters group at Walsh College about my son Joshua, entitled, "He's Only Four."

http://tinyurl.com/joshua4