This is the time of year career blogs talk about your resolutions for the new year.  Just try googling “career resolutions” and you will find no end of ideas on the stuff you should be doing in 2009 to find a job, get promoted at your job, or just hang on to your job.

But if you’re going to do only one thing in 2009, career-wise, you should do this:

Put Together a Plan B.

Read all about it in WG’s regular Wednesday post over at U.S. News & World Report.  But first, have a happy and safe New Year’s Eve.

See you next year.

One more day.

One more day and 2008 is ovah!

It’s been an exciting year, in good and not-so-good ways.  The big news of the moment, of course, is the economy.  Working Girl wonders: What could possibly go wrong next? 

No one knows, and that’s why the banks are sitting on that $700 billion we so kindly “lent” them, the car companies are threatening doom if they don’t get a handout too, and so many ordinary people like you and WG have simply stopped spending.

But one good thing may come out of all this.  And that is a change to our whole attitude toward money.  You know what?  Our relationship with money has gotten really out of whack. 

We’ve been living in a society that constantly harps on us to consume.  We’ve been conditioned to believe that people who have a lot of money should be respected and admired, simply for the fact that they have a lot of money.  We don’t think there’s anything wrong with racking up debt to buy things we don’t need.  We don’t think it’s bad to not have any savings.  We don’t think it’s odd when people talk about “retail therapy” or refer to shopping as their “hobby.”

This really should change.  Money needs to be put in its place.  It’s a cliché but oh so true:  The old virtues are still the best.  Buy only what you can afford.  Pay off your credit card balance every month.  Put some money aside every week. 

But more important: Stop equating money, and the things money can buy, with happiness.

This will, weirdly, make you happier.

Here’s a wintery question from Ronni:

Hi Working Girl!

I live in Chicago, a city in which using public transportation to get around is a lot more convenient and efficient than driving and parking.  However, it is winter in Chicago, which means unplowed sidewalks, messy streets, and very cold temperatures.  If one has an interview, what is the best way to dress to be warm and dry, and yet still look professional?  For example, to get to the train station, I have to cross a bridge that is never plowed, so of course I will wear boots.  Once I get to the interview place, how would I go about changing shoes and whatnot so as to appear professional?  Even if I had dressy boots, I would not want to drip melting snow all over the floor.  In many downtown places, the restrooms are locked, so that option is out.  What do you suggest one does in a situation like this?

Dear Ronni,

Ah yes, Chicago.  The last time Working Girl was there it was really cold.  And that was in the month of April.  So she can only imagine what it’s like now!

In WG’s HO, this is a case where it’s not so much what you do but how you do it.  Everyone, including prospective bosses, knows that in snowy unplowed Chicago people are going to need to wear boots and whatnot.  Meaning: Your doing so is not a shameful secret you need to hide.

In fact, the whole what-to-do-with-your-boots/whatnot dilemma is a great opportunity to show that you handle life’s little (and, by extension, big) foibles with grace and class. 

What you do will vary with the situation: If there’s a nearby Starbucks, you might change in the restroom.  If there’s a building concierge, maybe he/she will let you borrow a back room.  If there’s a receptionist, ask her (most likely it’ll be a her) for the key to the ladies’ room.  Or to lend you an empty office.  Or at least let you have a chair so you can sit down to change shoes!

How you do it, on the other hand, will always be the same.  You will always be low-key, pleasant, and dignified.  You’ll smile.  You’ll ask for what you need, say thank you when you get it, and then let the whole matter drop.  In fact, needing to ask prospective employers for a little favor like two minutes to change from boots to pumps offers you a nice opportunity to establish a sense of fellow-feeling.  You know, that whole ”we’re all in this together” bonding thing.

So all you need is a decent-looking totebag for carrying your shoes, and then stowing your boots, and you’re good to go!  (A thought: If there’s a receptionist, you might ask her if you could leave the tote in the reception area so you don’t have to enter the interview room with too much, um, baggage.  But if you do have to greet the interviewer carrying all your stuff, set it down neatly, straighten up, smile, shake his/her hand, and proceed with the interview.) 

When in doubt, keep in mind one of WG’s favorite expressions:

“Never apologize, never explain.”

And good luck with your job hunt.  All the instability in the economy right now means uncertainty, sure, but it also means opportunity.  May you find that opportunity.  Or may it find you.  Happy New Year!

It’s a hard and scary winter for a lot of people this year.  Even the weather is acting unfriendly, at least here in Seattle where we are wimpishly paralyzed by a half a foot of snow.

Take heart.  You can still enjoy the season, and even the new year.  Please see ”How to Cheer Up This Holiday,” WG’s stab at wrenching some joy from the holidays. 

Meanwhile, have the merriest of Christmases, the happiest of Hanukkahs, the coolest of Kwanzaas, and the brightest of solstices (a little late for that one), and see you on Monday! 

A two-fer from SFGirl this week:

Hi Working Girl,

In my work it’s hard to be visible.  No tangible/direct results–lots of inputting data and numbers.  I’m visible in demonstrating knowledge/awareness of what’s happening in the industry.  In the hallway if I run into my boss I’ll let him know I went to this forum about trade, and what I learned.  I’ll bring in reports research think tanks will send me from these events.  I come across as enthusiastic and knowledgeable–that’s clear.

Occasionally I’ll provide a sales lead to our sales rep from my networking efforts.  I’ll go to an event and someone will want to know more about my company services.  Recently I set up a meeting between this potential lead and sales rep.  He’s still pursuing the lead and copied me and his boss on the email follow up.  But my boss doesn’t know I facilitated this potential sale.  If anything materializes and he makes the sale, how should I let my boss know?  Would asking the salesperson to follow up, copy me on the email and my boss, be helpful?

Dear SFGirl,

Yes, you definitely should make sure your boss knows you are out promoting the company’s interests and–this is key–contributing to the bottom line.  And you are right to think through the best way to go about this.  As the Wicked Witch of the West said, “These things must be done delicately!”  (Sorry, The Wizard of Oz was on the tube the other night.)

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with asking the salesperson to copy your boss, as well as you and his boss, on his status reports.  If the salesperson doesn’t do this, for whatever reason, there’s also absolutely nothing wrong with you just forwarding his emails to your boss.  All you have to say is “FYI” and hit Forward.

Or, you could reply to the salesperson’s email (”Great news!  So glad it worked out!”) and cc your boss.

Your boss isn’t a mind reader.  The only way he/she is going to know what’s going on is if you tell him/her.  You don’t have to make a big deal of it.  You’re just providing information.

And while you’re at it, don’t forget to put this referral in your “accomplishments” file.  You do have an accomplishments file, don’t you?  This can be an actual paper file or one on your desktop.  Whenever you do anything worthy of note, be sure to write it up and put it in your file.  This way at review time (or when you’re updating your resume), you will have a good record of all the good stuff you’ve done.

SFGirl is still on the networking/job-hunting trail.  She’s resilient and persistent–a really great example for all the rest of us working girls!

Hi Working Girl,

On vacation recently, I met two people just randomly and they gave me their cards.  One works in my industry and another in a different area but possibly related.  The contact who’s not in my industry was super nice.  She gave me the name and number of a well-connected guy who knows all about hiring, recruiters, and working with major clients on projects.  I’ve followed up and hope to hear from him soon.  We had a nice chat–she was sitting next to me on the flight home–it’s amazing how these contacts occur!

So my question: How do I build a long-term relationship with someone who works in a completely separate industry and job?  She and her husband just moved to the area recently.  Her husband also grew up in the same city my father did in China.  I wanted to invite them over for lunch, dinner, or tea.  Would that be appropriate?  What should I say when I invite her over, as in my purpose?  My original idea was just to bring like-minded people together (her husband/my dad and me/her).  But I’m starting to wonder if I should approach this with a purpose or specific goal?  Suggestions would be great!

Dear SFGirl,

Way to go on the airplane networking!  Working Girl has never been good at that–she shuns speaking with seatmates because she’s always afraid they might be nuts and she’ll be trapped talking to them for the entire flight.    

Anyway, to your question.  Your first impulse, that of bringing together like-minded people, is ample reason for an invitation.  Their being new to the area makes your gesture an extra kindness.

But you’re thinking more deeply into the possibilities of the connection, which is always smart.  And which brings us to the big networking “secret.”  We network in the hopes something good will eventually come of it.  Something good for us!

But in the moment, while we are meeting/talking/lunching/dining/tea-ing, we should be focusing on the “networkee”  and not on ourselves. 

When you network with the thought “what’s in it for me?” uppermost in your mind, it shows.  The networkee gets a sense of being used.  Yuck.  So while in the act of reaching out, focus on the networkee’s feelings and needs.  You will earn that person’s regard.  Maybe even gratitude.

You seem to be interested in these people on their own merits (the China connection).  That’s a pretty good basis for a relationship, don’t you think?  Any more of an “agenda” could sour the whole thing. 

So have a great time with your lunch, dinner, or tea.  Tea would be lovely, by the way–less of a commitment than lunch or dinner.  You want to keep things light.  Don’t overwhelm them with your hospitality and make them feel they’re in your debt!

A sweet gracious get-together with you being your own sweet gracious self.  That’s the ticket.

Adverse/averse, afterwards, compliment/complement, criteria, farther/further, fewer/less, historic/historical, hopefully, imply/infer, insure/ensure, irregardless, literally, premier/premiere, principal/principle, towards, unique, who/whom. 

What are these? 

They’re the 27 most commonly misused words! 

Go on over to Copyblogger and be illuminated.  If not elucidated.

Snow days in Seattle are fun because (a) the Pacific Northwest is even more gorgeous than usual under six inches of pure white fluff, (b) everyone turns a bit giddy (a few of our normally stuffy neighbors are outside at this moment building a snowperson*), and (c) most people give up any pretense of keeping to a normal work schedule and decide to just stay home.

This is all well and good as long as there’s not a power outage.  And as long as you can afford to stay home. 

The last time we had a big snowfall was January 16th, when Working Girl was inspired to write a rant/tribute about the Great Divide.  The Great Divide is between people who can choose to take off a snow day and people who must get out there and do their work no matter what. 

The difference being, of course, that most of the people who “must” get out are people who get paid only when they work.  So, again, here’s to those people.  In Working Girl’s life, they are chiefly Juan, the newspaper guy, who got our papers to us this morning as per usual, and Dixie, the mail carrier, who shows up with a smile no matter what. 

Cheers to Juan and Dixie.  You are spectacular.

Whichever side of the Great Divide you fall on, WG bets you have folks like Juan and Dixie in your life, too.  Maybe today is a good day to thank them.  Even if it isn’t snowing wherever you are.

*Gender is as yet unclear. 

UPDATE #1: Also major thanks to the folks at Starbucks and the lovely yard guys who came to shovel the driveway.

UPDATE #2:  Went for walk in snow.  Lovely.  For record, Working Girl made a snow angel.

Lots of people have been and are being laid off.  Working Girl hopes you are not one of them! 

But if you are, here are a few quick tips on what to say and how to act when you’re job hunting—over at WG’s regular Wednesday post at U.S. News & World Report.

And, hang in there……

Here’s a new and different way to look at your job search.  It’s from Tim Tyrell-Smith @ Spin Strategy™ – Tools for Intelligent Job Search.  You can find Tim at http://blog.spinstrategy.com

Memories of the Big Top

When I was a kid I used to love the circus act of plate spinning – all those plates and only one person keeping them afloat! The beauty of it, of course, is the efficiency of only re-spinning the plate when it starts to slow down.

The Analogy for Job Search

As I was in the middle of a recent job transition, plate spinning struck me as a compelling analogy for job search. So I started to think about plate spinning as it related to my own efforts to find that perfect next position. In the analogy, each plate represents the different sources of information or resources used to network ( I call them micro networks). How many plates was I spinning and how often was I going back to each one?

How Was I Doing?

After a quick review, I found that I had too few plates spinning and was re-spinning the same ones way too often. Sound familiar? I was inefficient by definition! I also found that I had my favorite plates, many of which were really fun to spin but were either not very effective or didn’t respond to extra spinning. Here were my core plates: recruiters, job search engines, and on-line networking groups.

Compelled by Instant Gratification

If you are like me at all, you love sites like Linkedin®, The Ladders®, Monster® and RiteSite®. The visits are highly rewarding for those of us who need immediate gratification. They also play a clear and important role in maintaining a wide scope in your search effort. The reality is that there are many more plates out there to spin. And, as you might expect, each has its own value.

Tough Times Call for a New Strategy

Being out of work in an uncertain economy can be stressful and frustrating. Being out of work without a strategy is just downright silly yet most people I met who were in transition did not have a specific plan. There was outward confidence, activity, pride, but often not much else. So what does a job search strategy look like and how do I get one?

Introducing the New Strategy

So what makes sense is a new, efficiency-based job search strategy. It helps place the right efforts against the right resources to maximize the return in job search. Here’s how it works:

1. IDENTIFY your plates.  These are basically all of the micro networks that make up your overall network (e.g. a recruiter or an old college friend). By identifying each micro network you can then begin the process of comparing the relative value of each one and how often each should be resourced or “spun”.
2. VALUE your plates.  Each plate gets a value based on specific criteria. Once valued, your plates are ranked giving you a real sense of where you should be spending your time.
3. MEASURE your spinning stick.  How open is this micro network to helping you? You can do this by measuring your spinning stick. It shows the relative distance between you and your micro network. In plate spinning a shorter stick is less awkward to work with and in this strategy it suggests a closer relationship to your network – one you can tap into more deeply and more often.
4. CHOOSE a spin cycle for each plate.  Based on the value and closeness of each network, you can decide how often to spin each plate. Once the analysis is complete you can have confidence in a specific plan to make sure your networks know that you are looking and are reminded about your skills and targets.
5. KEEP a log.  Can you remember the last time you e-mailed that recruiter? Do you remember what feedback each of your networks provided last time you spoke? A log tracks every contact with your micro networks allowing you to measure the ongoing value and return as time goes on.

So, ask yourself, do you have a strategy or are you just spinning?

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs  and other career opportunities.