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player ready...Great expectations: What can a mature worker do about a bad performance review, especially if you’ve always gotten good ones?
“If the negative review was done by the same manager who gave you positive reviews in the past … then you could be in a situation where someone is trying to nudge you toward retirement,” said Marie G. McIntyre, owner of Executive Counselors, a training and consulting firm in Atlanta. “However, if the review was done by a new manager, you just might be having difficulty adjusting to the expectations of a new boss.”
And that could be what the bad review reflects. “Many employees don’t realize that the arrival of a new manager often means that expectations about performance will be redefined,” said the consultant, who has a doctorate in counseling and organizational development, master’s degrees in counseling and public administration and an undergraduate degree in psychology. “This is not unfair–just an inevitable part of organizational life.”
Great education, great salaries: Well-educated training and workplace performance workers are making decent salaries, according to a survey of 389 professionals by the American Society for Training & Development based in Alexandria, Va.
The survey, which appeared in T&D magazine, shows that “most respondents living in the northeastern United States and holding the position of training manager or supervisor, indicate their current salary is $80,000 to $90,000 a year.” All respondents with a doctorate earn more than $50,000 annually and 30 percent earn more than $100,000. And 61 percent of those with master’s degrees earn from $40,000 to $70,000 yearly.
A bachelor’s degree pays off, too: 60 percent of those surveyed with undergraduate degrees make $30,000 to $60,000 annually.
Great job opportunities: What are the high-paying occupations that are projected to have many openings until the year 2012? According to Occupational Outlook Quarterly, the list of good job openings for workers who are entering these occupations for the first time is headed by registered nurses. Next are post-secondary teachers, followed by general and operations managers; sales representatives; truck drivers; and elementary schoolteachers. Also, first line supervisors; secondary schoolteachers; general maintenance and repair workers; and executive secretaries and administrative assistants.
Where are all the high-tech jobs that used to head these lists? Perhaps they’ve disappeared into cyberspace–overseas.
Great advice: Many people, shocked at the loss of their jobs, often forget all they have to offer. Diane Grimard Wilson, a licensed clinical professional counselor and career coach based in Chicago, calls that self-doubt “career amnesia.”
“You may forget who you are, what you want and why you are in this situation,” writes Wilson in her new book, “Back in Control: How to stay sane, productive and inspired in your career transition” (Sentient Publications, $16.95).
That’s why she advises job seekers to “summarize their career assets and goals on a 3-by-5 card and carry it around with them.” In a concrete way, you will be constantly reminded, Wilson says, that “yes, you are smart, you do have skills, you will get through this.”
And you will cure your “career amnesia.”
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Carol Kleiman’s columns also appear in Monday’s and Tuesday’s Business sections. Hear her on WBBM-AM 780 at 6:21 p.m. and 10:22 p.m. Mondays and 11:20 a.m. Saturdays. Watch her “Career Coach” segments on CLTV. E-mail [email protected].