National Boss’s Day and Getting Along Better with Your Supervisor – October 2018

Brand Career Management Monthly Tip Sheet

Along the lines of keeping on good terms with your superiors, in August I was quoted for career advice regarding how much notice to give your boss and how to handle getting fired in your next interview. Having grown up in New York, I was especially honored to be mentioned in Rob Walker’s Workologist column in the New York Times.

Finally, I wanted to mention a post from September where Jenny Darmody, Careers Editor for SiliconRepublic.com, shared some of my advice on answering the interview question “Where do you see yourself in five years?”

I was very excited to be mentioned in two publications in two months! Thanks to both writers for asking for my input.

Warmest regards,
Paula

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Should You Connect with Your Boss on LinkedIn?

Let’s discuss the pros and cons associated with making your boss a 1^st degree connection on LinkedIn. Then, you can make an informed decision on what to do.

If you have a good, supportive and trusting relationship with your boss, it’s probably a no-brainer to become a 1^st degree connection with her / him on LinkedIn. As with any person, it expands your online network and potentially broadens your online visibility. As a bonus, your supervisor will be able to write you a recommendation and endorse you for skills (because you must be a 1^st degree connection to do that).

If you and your boss are avid users of LinkedIn, you will see each other’s posts. If you post things that promote your employer’s activities, your boss will appreciate your efforts to boost the company’s reputation. If you post things about your life outside of the company, she / he might learn something new about you (organizations you support, professional or volunteer activities outside of work, etc.). It’s possible this could help to deepen your relationship.

On the other hand, connecting with your boss may not be the best idea. Here are some factors that may legitimately deter you from connecting with your superior on LinkedIn:

• You don’t get along well, or you don’t want to be associated with that person.
• You are executing a job search and therefore suddenly stepping up your LinkedIn presence and / or activity might get noticed by your manager if you two are connected. It’s possible that this could trigger a worry from your supervisor that the reason you’re stepping up your activity is because you are looking for another job.
• You value your privacy and don’t like to mix work with your life outside of the office.
• You don’t want your boss seeing things you post that are outside the scope of your work (volunteering for a controversial cause, strong opinion pieces, etc.).

What if you already connected with your boss and wish you hadn’t? You can always disconnect. Here’s how to do it from the LinkedIn Help Center. In case you’re worried, the person won’t get a notice that you’re no longer connected. If they have many connections, it will be hard to notice unless they are looking you up. Also, note that any recommendations / endorsements between you two will go away forever and only the person who disconnected can initiate a new invitation to re-connect.

The posts below share advice and tips on how to make your boss look good, how to ask for what you need and how to spot a toxic boss.

It’s important to be able to ask your boss for what you need before you become too miserable and jump ship. Sarah Sheehan, cofounder of Bravely and a Forbes Contributor, shares tips on how to do this.

Jessica Kleinman of The Muse offers five very useful tips to help your career and make your supervisor look good.

Jacquelyn Smith of Forbes shares how to make your superior look good without compromising your principles.

Shana Lebowitz shares some tips on how to make your boss love working with you.

Finally, if you hear your manager say these phrases often, I suggest you start brushing up your resume.

I’m happy to share that my proposal for a workshop on salary negotiation was accepted for the Middle Atlantic Career Counseling Association Annual Conference in December. More details to follow as the event gets closer.

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