130Managing Yourself
Use your network to research job opportunities, schedule informational
interviews with leaders in the industry, and connect with decision makers.
Reach out to mentors who are outside your workplace. And when you fi nd
an opportunity you want to pursue, enlist someone to introduce you (via
email or a phone call) to the relevant hiring manager. In some fi elds, jobs
posted online garner hundreds of résumés. A personal introduction and
note of recommendation can distinguish you as someone an organization
should interview. If you don’t have a connection, put the request out to your
network. See if someone you know can make an introduction to a person
within the organization you are interested in.
When looking for a job outside your organization, keep these tips in mind:
First, don’t be disrespectful when talking about your current company.
Second, don’t use company time to pursue other opportunities. Use vaca-
tion or after-hours time for your research and interviews. Third, plan to
provide suffi cient notice to your current employer and leave as graciously
as possible to avoid burning bridges.
Feedback from your boss and your team
The people who work with you directly can also play a role in your growth.
They know more about how you work than anyone else, and they have
unique perspectives on both your strengths and your weaknesses.
Receiving feedback can be inherently stressful, setting off your insecu-
rity, fear, and anxiety. This information is important to hear, but its emo-
tional impact can be overpowering. As research shows, that’s because we
listen more closely to negative information than to positive information,
and remember it more vividly. So it’s easy to become fi xated on our defi -
ciencies, while neglecting our strengths.
To learn from your immediate coworkers, you’ll need to practice hear-
ing and using criticism in positive ways. And you must also learn to spend
as much time considering your strengths as your weaknesses.