Maureen Alley's Blog

When I started this blog a year ago, it was intended for a specific group of readers: Gen Y. I am technically not Gen Y – I’m right on cusp of Gen Y and Gen X. And I often feel pulled into both groups – sometimes I’m more Gen Y and sometimes I’m more Gen X. And yet, I do feel annoyed by the things Gen Y typically does as well as with Gen Xers.

Co-workers and colleagues lumped me into the Gen Y stereotypes. They assumed I had no work ethic – that I had the “owed” personality that so many Gen Yers have. And that couldn’t be more from the truth. And it pissed me off. So, this blog developed to help other Gen Yers battle the stereotype, and prove to Gen Xers that they also don’t fall into that typical Gen Y personality.

I wanted to share on this blog my tips for other Gen Yers. How I moved up the ladder. How I proved everyone wrong. And how I gained respect by all (or most) of my colleagues.

On top of it, I have worked in male-dominated fields since I entered the workforce (at 14). Proving that I’m not a dumb woman who thinks I’m owed everything, can be a struggle when so many think that’s what I’m all about. But I refused to be what they think I am.

So what are the keys to standing out from the Gen Y crowd?

• Don’t complain that “that’s not in my job description.” This drives me more crazy than anything. And I guarantee you it drives your colleagues and supervisors just as crazy. You may hate the project that’s given to you, but get it done. And get it done in a realistic time – maybe even earlier than expected. Show them you are reliable; show them your work ethic.
• Work more than your scheduled hours. If you are scheduled to work 8 to 4:30, don’t close up shop at 4:31. Stick around for a while. Show them that you want a career – not a job.
• Ask questions!! If you don’t understand, or if you want to learn something – ASK! This shows you have interest and that you don’t think you know everything. Take advantage of colleagues with years experience and learn from them. Be a sponge.
• Go to meetings, and take paper/pen. If there was a training session, I was there. I wanted to learn everything I could. I was able to do more for my boss, which helped streamline our production process. Be proactive. Show you want to learn and help the company do its job better.
• Be professional. No matter where you are, you’re on the clock. This goes for client dinners, banquets, Facebook or Twitter. There was a woman I once worked with who thought she was friends with a group of advertisers, so she acted like they were her college buddies. Huge mistake. They are still clients. There is always a line. Respect that you are an employee of a company with a reputation to maintain.

Being part of a generation with such a strong stereotype against it, is difficult for those of us who have the work ethic and want to succeed. But you can stand out from the crowd – you just have to show them with your actions.

I’ve been working as a freelancer from home for the last few months. Prior, I worked in the traditional cubical office space that many of you work in. I was used to the scheduled 8-to-5 work hours – with a few long days in there. But switching to working from home – on my schedule – has made for an interesting learning experience.

The number one thing I’ve learned: Take advantage of feeling productive when you have it. When I feel the urge to organize, I go with it. I organize like crazy. I don’t think, “I feel like organizing. But I’ll make coffee instead.” Nope. If I feel that urge to organize, you’ll find me organizing in the office or at my desk.

By taking advantage of these urges of productivity, I am much more productive than if I forced myself to be productive. Because I’m in the mode to do it.

I’ve also learned that I am much more productive in the mornings than I am in the afternoons. So I write articles, schedule interviews and do follow-ups in the mornings. Because I know it will be much harder to focus on these in the afternoons. Plus, because I am doing these in the morning rather than afternoons, I will get more accomplished than if I forced myself to do it when I didn’t have the productivity bug.

I’ve also noticed that I am much more productive on Mondays, and less so on Fridays. But my husband is the opposite. He’s much more productive on Fridays. He plans his schedule for big projects to happen on Fridays because he knows he’ll get more done. I, however, plan my projects for Mondays because I know that’s when I’ll get more accomplished.

All of this can translate to the office atmosphere. Pay attention to your moods. Pay attention to when you are most productive and take advantage of it. Like with writing, you can’t force it.

So, take a look at when you feel most productive – times of days, days of the week – and utilize them. You should feel you get more done by taking advantage of those times.

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Originally published on ASBPE’s national blog.

How do you operate your online news feed? Do you repurpose what you find in your Lexis-Nexis file? Please say no.

If you don’t write your own news for your site, tell me, why would someone click on that news piece? It falls under the same thought of newspapers only publishing wire pieces. Unique content makes your brand stronger – makes readers turn to you when they want the news. If the news found on your site can be found in a million other places, readers won’t have a reason to come to you for it.

By writing your own news, you become the expert – not the wire. Use the wire, online sources (Google Reader, Twitter, etc.) to find the news. Write about the news stories using online resources, talk to a few people if you need to enhance the story. And get them published – today! Remember this is news. Writing about a news story that is even a day old online will make it irrelevant.

I know some of you are going to read this and say, “Rewrite the news? I don’t have time for that. I have to do this, that, this and that.” And I say, so what? The publishing process is now daily – if not hourly. And the publishers that can adjust to this and manage these faster deadlines will provide the content readers want when they want it.

I went from being a managing editor for nine issue/year publication to managing editor for a monthly publication with daily online deadlines. I had to adjust from deadlines every four to six weeks, to deadlines every day. It’s not easy, but once you adjust, you’ll look back at your previous deadlines and think about all the stuff you could have accomplished in all that time you had before.

I’m sure there will be many B2B editors who disagree with me in this post, but this is the Web today. This is the future of online publishing success. People expect to read something new every day. Provide your readers with quality news from you – and do it every day.

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Originally published on ASBPE’s national blog.