Career survival is often about balancing one force against another. For instance, when do you stay below the radar and when do you surface and show your stuff to the boss?
We already know about the people who never tout themselves. You quiet types can read this, too, but just remember to act on it more often. This column is for those who act on it too much or, worse, at the wrong times.
Orange circus truck: At the other extreme, there are those who always seem to be parading around the office in an orange circus truck with a loudspeaker on top, telling everybody everything, at maximum volume.
Among them are the people reading this because they are puzzled by the inconsistent results that come from self-advertisement: Sometimes it works, but other times it backfires horribly. That spells career danger.
The circus-truck people tend to be less-experienced workers because they have not yet found out the hard way that some of the stuff you brag about inevitably goes sour.
One reason is that self-publicizing sets up expectations, both in yourself and others. Whatever it is you’re publicizing, once you make it public you put public pressure on yourself. Problems set in because you don’t have the ability to control the pace of your accomplishments.
So you begin to get a reputation, all right: a reputation for inconsistency. Or a reputation for overselling your ideas. Or both. That’s almost worse than no reputation at all. Sooner or later most of us learn that and we quiet down.
I am insecure!: What the circus-truck people don’t realize is that they are also shouting this message: “I am insecure!” I wish I had a long-term cure for that. That requires life experience and, in some cases, professional help.
Short-term, however, the cure is to cut back on the self-promotion and run your ideas past a wiser co-worker. There are people in every office who can help you maneuver your own career through the jungle of self-promotion.
Panic attack: Short-term, it is true, you’re only as good as your last accomplishment. So if you see a recent accomplishment of yours drifting back toward the horizon as time passes, you may get panicky.
You may start grasping at mini-accomplishments and inflating them. That fools nobody, except maybe you. And I hope you have enough insight into your own character so that you won’t be fooled for long.
If you don’t have that insight, here’s a clue: The panic will be back, prompting you to try ever more desperate schemes to get recognition.
Needy and pathetic: Meanwhile, your fellow citizens in Cubicle Land can see right through the ruse, and write you off as needy and pathetic. Accomplishment level: minus one.
People higher up the ladder probably haven’t noticed any of this at all. They have many more people to worry about than just you. Some of them are only worrying about their careers, with little or no thought of yours, except as it affects theirs.
Happy bosses: This leads to another truth about office dynamics: If you want to keep your boss happy, describe how your next project will make him orher look good. A more delicate way to put it is something like this: “This will be good for the department.”
Then, of course, you must deliver — another reason to pick your announcements carefully, and plan them down to the nth degree.
Bottom line, you must constantly re-evaluate your career as a whole. Ask yourself: What have I accomplished, where have I failed, how do I improve?
Write Lona O’Connor at this newspaper or send e-mail to her Web page at or e-mail lo’ or . Please include name, address and phone number.
