MANDATORY TEA TIME.

This blog was born from the idea that mandatory tea time might bring about world peace - or maybe a better working environment - or at the very least it would be fun!My name is Jocelyn Aucoin. I'm the Director of Social Media Marketing @ WorkSimple and the Owner of indie record label, Lujo Records. This is where I talk shop: marketing, social media, bidnass and anything else that I see fit. I'm more or less interested in everything so get ready for a ride.All opinions expressed here are my own.Well, who else's would they be?

[mandatoryteatime]

Please enjoy my first vlog!

[mandatoryteatime]

Can we REALLY shoot the sh*t?

It's self help hour here at Mandatory Tea Time and we're talking about shooting the sh*t.  I know it's just a figure of speech. And in it's figurative meaning, I do love to do it. Another, lesser-used term for this is "bro-ing down."  This is a term I gleaned from my experience in the music industry.  The music industry is very, shall we say, sausage heavy.  Lots of bros. As a little lady navigating this industry I learned fast how to bro down.  

In the world of marketing, I shoot the sh*t.  

I prefer to call this "making new friends."  I am still 10-years-old-on-the-elementary-school-playground like that. And I love it. I love meeting new people, hearing about what they do, finding out what makes them tick, what gets them going, what's shaped them. Love that crap!

But sometimes I don't want to figuartively shoot the shit. Because sometimes I get bogged down and bummed out. This is normal. I don't love life all the time. And sometimes, I want to ACTUALLY SHOOT THE SH*T IN LIFE.  Don't you?

Okay, okay, I'm not talking guns and stuff. I'm not a violent person. I actually am really not a fan of shooting anything in the literal sense. And I probably shouldn't even write a post like this in light of what has just happened to Trayvon Martin. Sickened. But I think that when people work as hard as we do in this modern age that we need more outlets for when frustration sets in.  And it does set in, does it not?  

The other day I asked a buddy of mine how her day was going and she said something to the affect of "The excedrine bottle has been close at hand."  Rather than excedrine, I think what my friend needed was to actually take a little Karate CHOP! to her crap.

Listen. Excedrine only does so much.  Peanut Butter Jelly Time is only funny so many times - although it was so funny to me once upon a time I literally had tears streaming from my eyes.

Here are some things I do (and you should do, too) to get the crazy out and get back to being a productive member of Planet Earth: 

Take a walk. (Empty your mind).

Take a shower. (Just stand there and let the water run over you).

Take a drive. (But not in traffic).

Breathe. (Breathe, breathe some more).

Remember the bigger picture. (Because there is a huge one).

Do something nice for someone else. (Get outside your own head for once). 

Tea time! (Well you knew I was gonna say that!)

Those are just some of the things I do to combat the crap, to refocus, and to really release the tension when the tension sets in. What do you do?

[mandatoryteatime]

Social Media Will Always Keep You Guessing

I try to follow one main rule of thumb whilst navigating my social media world: what I do in real life, I do in social media. Makes sense, right?  That means I'm always having conversations like this with myself: Would I share this photo with 400 of my closest friends? No? Okay, don't post. Would I really let that slang word come across my lips or is this just the coffee and space between us talking? Okay. Retract! Delete! Do. not. push. send!

It also means that if I see someone post about a flight getting delayed and being bummed about, a brother who is sick in the hospital, or even just a vague allusion to a bad day, I'm going to take a few seconds to ask about it.  I'm not going to just let that crap slide, or God forbid, "like" it.  Because - in real life - there's no way I'd ignore something like that.  What you had for breakfast? Yeah, I'd likely block that out. (Unless we're talking oatmeal and blueberries because that's my jam.) Your bro in the hospital? Nope. All ears.

Which brings me to today when my rule of thumb kind of failed me.  I think. I was on Twitter and I jumped into a conversation with someone I didn't know who had written an article. That might have been my first mistake - the jumping in part. But as a writer/content creator,  I personally covet that: input from everyone and anyone! I covet conversation. I want to learn from my world. Maybe this isn't true for everyone?

The man I was interacting with had discussed a certain company in his article. I mentioned to him a competitor of this company - not because I was trying to sell him on anything, but because I was truly curious if he had heard of this other company and his thoughts! I know, I know, I'm crazy! I'm curious. It's a RARE trait. But some people ACTUALLY DO HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THEIR WORLD. Imagine!

Anyway, he accused me of pulling a "bait and switch." I actually had to look that one up because, although I'd heard the term I did not understand how he meant it in context. I am still confused about the accusation. 

And I guess that brings me back to my original point. I know I can be misunderstood in "real life," and this is a case of it happening in social media as well.  In this case, I handled it just as I would have in "real life", explaining my intent and that I only coveted his conversation. Again, I really wish this wasn't such a foreign concept to so many - especially on Twitter.  You Tweeps get so used to pushing your crap on everyone that when someone actually wants to interact, the knee-jerk reaction ain't always pretty.

The important thing to remember here is my rule of thumb number two about social media - and really one of my biggest mantras in life in general: NO FEAR. You gotta do you. Know what you believe, know who are, know you're coming from a good place. MOVE FORWARD. Leave those dust bunnies in the dust. I hate cleaning and Social Media isn't a perfect science. 

Have you had similar Social Media blunders? How did you handle them? 

[mandatoryteatime]

To inculcate the new way to drive performance by individuals, small teams and large global organizations, WorkSimple, a company that makes goals social and performance results-driven, is making performance communication part of the...

[mandatoryteatime]

Performance Reviews: The Proverbial Crapshoot

It's not that I was afraid.  I'm a meticulous worker--a cross every "T" and dot every "I" kind of girl.  I don't make many mistakes.  But I'm my worst critic.  I more or less stopped studying Literature in college because of the one-on-ones with professors who scoured over every word I wrote while I sat there trying to look unaffected. Raise your hand if you cringe at that kind of critique? I have a word for you, Dearest Lit Professor--"pressure"!  Who needs it?

This may explain why the palms of my hands were sweating like mad on performance review day at work. And not only was it performance review day, this was my first ever review at my first ever real job. (Starbucks barista doesn't count--although they do reviews, too.) To add to my anxiety, I had spoken but a handful of words to my so-called manager over the short three months I had been on the job.  Hired in September.  Annual reviews in December.  #terribletiming

Those reading this who fit The Perfectionist personality profile like I do will relate to the fact this review ended up being way less of a big deal than I had built it up to be.  In fact, it was hardly a deal at all.  I seem to remember a piece of paper with things like "communication" and "works well with others", then boxes in columns next to these things in which to check "effective" "good" or "needs improving". I flashed back to grade school progress reports.

I was given all good marks, with the exception of one "needs improving", which I was highly offended and very distracted by.  In fact, during our meeting I could think of nothing else. If I did receive positive recognition of any kind, it was lost on perfectionist me. I was focused on the one thing I was apparently no good at. You can imagine my state of surprise.

At the end of my review, So-called Manager gave me my lovely parting gift, the paper, which I quickly then filed under "Waste of Time".  And although I've had "better" performance reviews since then, some things remain the same--that is if my manager even got around to the performance review at all.  So many times they were put off and put off and put off again. The feeling of obligation is always there. The anxiety is definitely always there.  The sort of antiquated rigamarole? Yep. There. 

They say if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right?  But something is definitely broken here.  I can't be the only one who thinks so. They also say misery loves company and I know you've got your "Performance Review Horror Story"  too.  Please share, my dears.

And please share your ideas for cleaning up this godforsaken crapshoot.  The times are a-callin' for something better, don't you think? 

[mandatoryteatime]

This topic seems to ruffle some feathers--needlessly.  I think I can offer a helpful vantage point. Currently dreaming up my contribution to the conversation.  Stay tuned. 

[mandatoryteatime]

I know a lot of people (myself included) who can identify with this article. Well worth your read -- or if you're not in the mood to read you have to at least click the link to check out the dude in the photo. Hilarious. RAWR!! 

[mandatoryteatime]

[mandatoryteatime]

A succinct and explanatory article from Drew Olanoff/ The Next Web giving an overview of WorkSimple and our new Praise app! The article also features an interview with WorkSimple CEO, Morgan Norman!  

GREAT read.  

Follow Drew on Twitter @thatdrew and WorkSimple @getworksimple! 

[mandatoryteatime]

Can you take me higher? Thoughts on Performance Recognition.

Oh how I love quoting bad lyrics. For those who don't know what I'm talking about, peep this. I wonder what Scott Stapp from Creed is doing at this very minute. Watching Family Guy? Picking up a 3-pack of wife beaters? Snapping into a Slim Jim? Maybe his song was inspired after a long day on the job with no recongition. Hey, it could have happened. Do you know that 52 percent of workers today feel that they are not being recongnized for their efforts? Instead of getting all bummed about it, maybe Scotty Stappy put it in a song? Maybe. But it's sad. It's sad that so many of us feel we are not receiving adequate recognition on the job--especially since it's really pretty painless (and FUN) to give accolades to our fellow workers and employees. And there are so many different ways we can do this. WorkSimple has a poll happening here on their Facebook page where you can answer the question:  How do you thank your employees for exceeding expectations in the workplace? Send a short email? Present a plaque? A payment of ten thousand dollars? (I wish.) At my husband's place of work, they give out bobbleheads for people who go above and beyond in their jobs. As you might imagine, that makes the place pretty colorful. I like it.

WorkSimple also has an awesome new praise app where, amongst other positive engagement, you can "Congratulate" a co-worker on a job being done well.  I like that, too. 

What do you do to thank your employees or how are you thanked at your job? Let's get some ideas going on how we can take each other higher! He he. Laaaame. 

Cheers m' dears! 

[mandatoryteatime]

Taking the "thank you" out of saying thank you on Twitter. I like it.

[mandatoryteatime]

Social Goals | Goal Management | Try Social Goals From WorkSimple - getworksimple.com by GetWorkSimple on Flickr.

:chuckle:

[mandatoryteatime]

Let's talk about being effective.

This weekend was beautiful out.

Here in the Bay Area, we get an Indian Summer. I'm not sure where the term comes from, but I know that it means the summer sticks around for a while and it's awesome. I literally watched the sun set from my window last night with my 20 month old daughter who must have said "pink sky" at least a dozen times, the warm wind dancing across our faces.

California rules. But that's not what this post is about.

This post is about what I was doing prior to that sunset -- about all those godforsaken hours I spent cleaning space off the hard drive of my computer just so I could update my software. UGH! And why was there no space on my computer? I had clogged it up with videos and photos of said daughter.

"Hi my name is Jocelyn and I'm a first time Mom and a first time clogger."

I let this one catch up to me. I knew the day would come when I'd be stuck with the consequences of pulling out that camera every time my kid did something I thought was cute. (keyword "I.") Bad habits die hard.

And since I'm done with confession time, let's talk about some good habits I have...like, in the work place. Okay, here are a few:

Create!  I hate my right brain most of the time. It generally makes living in the world difficult. But in terms of being an effective member at work, being right brained kicks ass. Effective people are the content creators. (Steve Jobs, holler atcher girl!) Ineffective people are gluttons. They are lurkers. They just want to consume. Consumers aren't the ones making a difference.

Turn off distractions!  I haven't found anyone or anything that says it better than Miranda July in this clip from her new movie, The Future. If your phone or books or -gasp- your computer is going to distract you, do away with them. Just do it. My best ideas come when I'm lying in bed at night. Or on the toilet. TMI, I know. For work, I have to grab a pen and paper and go to a quite place to brainstorm, like a bench outside. Do what works for you. 

Excuse me, please!   I stole this one from the WorkSimple blog. As Community Manager there, I have to say the tips we give are right on. And this one came from Mr. Co-founder, Morgan Norman, himself and I love it. We are busy people, are we not? But if we can learn to identify meetings where we will not contribute or learn from, why not speak up and tell our supervisors we are trying to get a project done and would rather work through the meeting? Surely that would be music to our supervisors ears! Yay work!

What about YOU? What habits do you have that make you an effective lil' worker bee or all-around winner at life?  Share your secrets, m' dears! 

[mandatoryteatime]

Halloween, Double Rainbow and Real-time Resumes.

Halloween is around the corner.  Want to know how to be TRULY scary?  Why not be a resume?  Ha!  Okay, I know that in reality being a piece of paper with some writing on it is not all that scary but honestly, as far as the job search goes on both the side of the person looking for the job and the person hiring for one, resumes are NIGHTMARES.  Can I get an "AMEN"?  

If you're the one looking for the job, to add to your nightmare in many cases is this thing called an ATS.  In plainer words, it's a tracking system that among other functions, helps screen and rank resumes based on keywords within your application or resume.  This system is used to help companies weed through the thousands of resumes--to reduce the size of their nightmare while in some cases, making yours bigger. If your resume ain't built to snuff, it's gonna get snuffed out. So, as was so eloquently asked in the Double Rainbow video.  WHAT DOES THIS MEEEAN???

Here's some tipperoos I snagged over at WorkSimple:  

Submitting your application to databases means you must format your resume a certain way to stand out to the system. You can do this by including certain keywords in accordance with your job position (be sure to check out the position description for keywords to add to your resume) and leaving out abbreviations, as ATS programs are not always equipped to decipher “Mgr.” vs “Manager.” Other ATS tricks also include uploading your resume instead of copying-and-pasting it, as the software will save your application in a more favorable format.

Another way to get creative with resumes is to create one in the form of an infographic. Infographic resumes have unique formats and are graphic-heavy. They add some color and can be a breath of fresh air from a standard resume. While creating one on your own can be extremely time-consuming and may require additional Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop knowledge, websites such as Vizualize.me, Re.vu, and Kinzaa will generate your own infographic resume based on your LinkedIn profile. All you have to do is sign into your LinkedIn account, hit “generate,” and you will have your own infographic resume within second.

An online work portfolio is also a great way to show off your accomplishments. For creatives, sites like Carbonmade provide a great platform to upload work samples and share the link to your work with employers.

Ask for recommendations from your coworkers. Don’t wait until you’ve left the company to ask for recommendations — instead, get them as they happen. After you’ve done a rock star job on a project, ask a coworker to recommend your work. Set a realistic goal for getting recommendations in real-time, such as aiming for two per quarter.

Good tips, yeah?  So if you didn't watch the Double Rainbow video, go do that, wipe the tears from your eyes, and then let me know what you do to build the best resume in real-time.  

Cheers m'dears!

[mandatoryteatime]

New websites are popping up everyday, aiming to help you find a job, land an opportunity, or build your brand online.

What are these websites, and how can they help you?...

[mandatoryteatime]

5 Tips for Twitter!

So I am kind of a Twitter newbie.  Well, I am and I'm not. I tweeted, I stopped, I started again.  I'll admit it's been a love/hate relationship. Lately however, it's been more love/love and I think it's because I've taken to some tips that have really helped.  Maybe they'll help you, too!

1. Keep your voice.  Talking to people through social media should be like talking to them through any other means.  Don't loose yourself and say something you wouldn't say in real life.  You do you and let your products speak for themselves.  If they're good products, they will.  Always keep your brand in mind. 

2. Keep it simple.  Your goal should be to draw people in, right?  There is no better way to turn people off than to clutter it up either with being all over the place with your subject matter or by getting carried away with retweeting and hashtagging. There is a saying you've probably heard - "less is more."  Go with it.

3. Creativity is key. We're all guilty of using words like "crazy", "awesome", and even "check this out".  Try, try, try to avoid the same ol' verbage.  These words are easy to digest and easily get lost in the twittersea.  I would encourage you to go with the first thing that comes to your mind and don't look back!  You know, unless it's not terribly tasteful.  Although, I support good low brow humor.  Ha!

4. Tweet and repeat. Don't be afraid to put your content out there.. and then put it out there again!  There is a lot of information constantly floating across Twitter, no? Posting often keeps your message in the mind of your readers and including links to media takes the work out if it for them! They will love you for this. Well, they will definitely not hate you for it.  

5. Be consistent. Consistency really is the name of the game.  Stay the course, m' dears!  Don't sell out on your readers.  They are smart and can smell a rat. They know when they are being sold something that you don't believe in.  Know what you believe in and then go for it!  

Now raise your tea cups, Tweeties, and don't forget - enthusiasm breeds enthusiasm!

Cheers!

Jocelyn

[mandatoryteatime]