Pinstripes or Pink Slips

1
The following is a presentation prepared for
NASFAAs 2007 Conference in Washington, DCJuly
8-11, 2007
2
Pinstripes or Pink Slips

• Professionalism, Networking, and Survival
• Ron Day, Director
• Coastal Carolina University
• Tolly Tollefson, Director
• University of North Carolina Greensboro

3
Your Posture as a Professional

• How do you view Professionalism?
• Attitude and Behavior at work.
• Define the Financial Aid Office

4
Improving Your Image

• Reviewing Yourself
• Benefits of a Professional Image
• Skills
• Marketability
• Appearance
• Communication

5
Increasing Your Skills

• How do you improve your role?
• How do you prioritize?
• How do you manage time?
• How do you deal with stress?
• What are your long-range plans?
• How do you make decisions?

6
Using Communication Effectively

• Skills
• Assurance in writing
• E-mails
• Bad News
• Listening
• Presentation Skills
• Planning

7
Building a Network

• Three Basic Rules
• Build volume (within network) indiscriminately
• Give Give Give
• Stay in Touch Control Shift K

8
The Ant and the Grasshopper

• In a field one summers day a Grasshopper was
  hopping about, chirping and singing to its
  hearts content. An Ant passed by, bearing along
  with great toil an ear of corn he was taking to
  the nest.   Why not come and chat with me, said
  the Grasshopper, instead of toiling and moiling
  in that way?   I am helping to lay up food for
  the winter, said the Ant, and recommend you to
  do the same.

9

•  Why bother about winter? said the Grasshopper
  we have got plenty of food at present. But the
  Ant went on its way and continued its toil. When
  the winter came the Grasshopper had no food, and
  found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the
  ants distributing every day corn and grain from
  the stores they had collected in the summer. Then
  the Grasshopper knew
•    IT IS BEST TO PREPARE FOR THE DAYS OF
  NECESSITY.
• Aesop

10
Rule 1 Build Volume

• Most important thing accept anyone into your
  network. Do not discriminate even if it is the
  janitor. Most people analyze those who they want
  (want a perfect network). People are always
  thinking upward dont worry about those who
  should be in the network start adding.

11

• What can that person do for me?
• What can I get from that person?
• These are failure questions. You might as well
  hold a big red sign It is all about me. In
  other words
• Schmooze me now and squeeze me later.

12

• These individuals will end up with only their
  spouse and those in the office as their network.
• Every person is potentially relevant to your
  network.
• It is not trophy hunting it is commercial
  fishing.

13
Rule 2 Give Give - Give

• What I am going to do give to other people.
• This should not be calculated natural. Dont
  bait the trap dont suck up. People can see
  you coming. Be genuine.
• Dont keep track of who pays for lunch.

14

• Reciprocity
• Reciprocal action should not come to the
  forefront it should be a byproduct of actions
  previously.
• Cross pollination is vital.
• Best reciprocal individual
• Bartender

15
Rule 3 Stay in Touch(Control, Shift, K)

• Build a network but keep them there! Stay with
  them.
• Ctrl, Shift, K in Outlook, opens a Task Box
  as a reminder. Then, Ctrl G helps you to keep
  it recurring.

16
How Bad Is It?

• Your job is boring?
• You wake up in the morning with dread about going
  to work?
• You believe someone is out to get you fired?
• You believe you are being made the scapegoat for
  a recent mess?
• You are ready for a change and your institution
  does not support you?

17
You are in a bad work situation

• What are your goals?
• Keep your job
• Revenge
• Get out with your reputation
• Get someone else fired
• Find a new job without telling your current
  company

18
The Law

• Always find out what your rights are under the
  law.
• Are you in a hostile workplace?
• Is there sexual harassment?
• There are laws that protect both the employee and
  the employer in workplace conflicts.
• Sometimes it takes longer, costs more money and
  ruins your reputation to invoke the law.

19
Keep Your Job

• Look to minimize conflict
• Document every move you make
• Ask for a mediator
• Be self-critical, is there anything you can do
  differently?
• What is the real issue?
• Dont let the small stuff cloud the real issue.
• Remember sometimes people lose on technicalities.

20
Revenge

• Not a good idea
• Think about the impact on your career
• Will you get your revenge and lose your job?
• Taking work personal is not professional
• Take a step back and evaluate your motives

21
Get out with your Reputation

• Dont bad mouth your current institution to
  anyone
• Rise above the fray
• Be honest about your reasons for leaving without
  being vindictive
• Get busy, dont wait for a new job to fall into
  your lap.

22
Be a Supportive Colleague

• Anyone can get into a bad work situation
• Dont judge, just listen and make positive
  suggestions
• Help network
• Remember that Financial Aid Professionals are
  often not hired by other Financial Aid
  Professionals.

23
Resume

• Always keep your resume current
• If you have not done anything professional to add
  to your resume in the last year, get out and
  volunteer
• Keep your resume short and concise, same for
  cover letters
• Be positive about your profession

24
Questions?

• Tolly Tollefson, tollefson_at_uncg.edu
• Ron Day, rday_at_coastal.edu

25
(No Transcript)