How to Work Smart – Take Action, Self-Promote, and Network

by Lei Han

Success is about working smart instead of working hard. This is not a new concept. I wrote about it back in 2010 when I first started this blog. I talked about my learning at my first job at McKinsey – how I learned the hard way that hard work didn’t guarantee success.

What Does Work Smart Mean?

There seems to be a lot of definitions out there. ... read more

First 90 days of a New Job – Strive to Achieve These Five Goals

by Lei Han

8 years ago, I wrote this post – Starting a New Job – 6 tips for your first 90 Days. All of the tips still apply. I want to add to it with more details

What should be your goals for the first 90 days – focus of this post
How to ramp up quickly – I came up with a 4C framework to help you remember all the areas you should learn about in your first 90 days – I will write this post in a week

As long as you have a “white collar” job, I believe these goals would apply. I just started a new job at a new company a week ago, and they also apply to me. After working 4 jobs over 10 years at a major bank, I decided to move to smaller company where I have broader role in a more fast paced setting. I will tell you more about my move across a few posts in the coming month. ... read more

Going on Maternity-Leave – How to Build My Work Reputation

by Lei Han

Just because you are going on maternity leave, doesn’t mean you are okay to be forgotten related to your accomplishments for the year. It is still important for you to remind others what you have done prior to leaving. It is also possible for you to do this even when the important project you are leading won’t be finished yet. But how do you do it tactfully? ... read more

How to Ask Someone to be Your Mentor – Dos and Donts

by Lei Han

I am republishing this article with new content as my learning on how to ask someone to be your mentor has evolved. Hope you will find it useful.

We all need formal and informal mentors to help us grow and learn. Young professionals have more of a need for formal mentors. Seasoned professionals needs more a broader network, but not necessarily formal mentors. It’s more helpful to have “Board of Advisors,” a group of people you know and can go to for specific advice.

For younger professionals, asking someone to be your mentor can be daunting. Half of the battle is actually making sure you don’t chicken out and decide not to do it because of xyz. Even though it can be scary to ask someone to take on this role, remember that people are usually flattered if they are asked to help you guide your career. There are many ways for young professionals to ask someone to be your mentor. Here are some dos and don’ts that may help:

Do…

Communicate what you respect about him/her – It shows that you know why you would like them to be your mentor. Genuine praise also goes a long way. Try to find “deep” reasons that demonstrate that you’ve really thought about this, instead of shallow ones. A deep reason could be something like this: “I really respect how you handle work life balance while holding such a senior position.” A shallow reason sounds like this: “I want you to be my mentor because you are successful.”

Communicate your situation and how their mentorship can help – People become mentors because they are inspired by the passion and potential of those they mentor. Share where you are headed with your life and career, and why their experience/advice can help.

Actually ask the question – “Would you consider being my mentor?” – Some people shy away from the question and can leave the other person confused. If the person is a stranger, perhaps start with coffee instead of asking the question outright. People only become mentors when there is personal rapport and mutual respect. First ask to see if you can meet or call them once, and then see if you can build rapport with them. You also don’t want someone to be your mentor just because they have cool experience. You want to inspire them to care about where you are headed.

Communicate what type of mentor relationship you are looking for – This includes both the type of advice/feedback you are hoping to receive, and how often you hope to interact (once a quarter, every month, ad-hoc, etc…). Many people are happy to be mentors, but are also very busy people. Clearly articulating what kind of relationship you want to build with them will help them decide if they want to take this on.

Listen and adapt to their response – Very likely this person will be happy to be your mentor, but may counter about the frequency of communication. Just go with it. If they say no, don’t be offended, People are very busy. You can then see if they would just be open to you reaching out for advice again. Sometimes people feel pressured to agree to a “formal mentor” role. This doesn’t mean they do not ever want to meet with you again. They just cannot commit. Respect their decision. As long as they agree to meet again, they are actually still informal “mentors” to you. Be thankful.

Follow up – It’s up to you to make it easy for others to help you. If this person agrees to be your mentor, he or she would still expect you to take the lead, figure out how best to communicate, and proactively build the relationship over time. If this person didn’t agree to be your “formal” mentor, but agreed to you contacting them in the future for specific advice, then it’s up to you to be proactive and arrange that next coffee or call and be specific. Share what advice you need and why you think they can help you.

How to Write a Good Self Evaluation – Follow 5 Tips

by Lei Han

It’s self-evaluation time. Are you ready to put your best foot forward? This is your chance to put the best representation of your work on permanent record and build your brand.

Many people are too humble or too general in their self evaluation. Don’t fall in that trap. Being too humble will work against you. It’s important to take full advantage of the annual performance review and invest time in writing a good self-evaluation.

This does not mean you should lie about your performance. What it means instead is you should:

Invest significant time to write a good self-evaluation. Consider doing 3 drafts over a 2 week period, so you can really push yourself to be succinct and powerful in your final draft.

Be the best marketer of your work brand in this self appraisal.

Address any hiccups in performance and share your perspective on what happened.

Show that you are self-aware, and are striving to improve every day.

How to Get Promoted as a Generalist in a Company Full of Specialists

by Lei Han

Are you a “Generalist” or “Specialist” at your company? Both exists in most companies and serve distinct purposes. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary

Generalist is defined as “a person who knows something about a lot of subjects.” – a Partner in a consulting firm is a generalist as he or she would sell work, build relationships, and lead execution teams.

Specialist is defined as “a person who has special knowledge and skill relating to a particular job, area of study” – a Director in a consulting firm is a specialist who usually go deep on a topic but focus on a specific set of tasks (e.g., Lead execution or serve as SME for all Salesforce implementation for financial service industries)

Farewell Letter to Coworkers – A Great Example

by Lei Han

It’s never easy to say farewell to a company and a team. However, this will happen many times in your career, as most of us have at least 7 different jobs until we retire. While many farewell letters to coworkers are fairly standard and boring, it may serve you to take some time to craft a memorable one instead. ... read more