Marketing Consultant Back in Someone Elses Boat

Marketing Consultant Back in Someone Elses BoatMarketing Consultant Back in Someone Elses BoatFreelance marketing consultant Scot French enjoyed being his own boss, but wanted to work for a large organization again.Scot French liked the perks of working as a freelance marketing consultant. He worked with nearly half-a-dozen startup technology companies in two years and enjoyed the flexibility and variety of working for multiple clients.I welches able to have a lot of different experiences, he said. Focusing on one job can make work redundant or repetitious. Freelancing made work interesting and exciting. And the autonomy and flexibility welches great. It allowed me to spend mora time with my kids and coach their teams.He also found monetary success, he said. But the honeymoon soon faded. French, who lives in Seattle and had previous in-house experience as a marketing manager at interactive companies, found that work was taking more of his time. While he was free to leave the office d uring the day, often hed be back at his desk that night. And, he said, one of the things I wrestled with as an independent contractor was whether the world needed one more marketing-services organization.He also yearned to be back in the boat, as he called it. Collaborating with other members of a single team, helping to guide that boat, being a part of that success, French said, was ultimately more important to him than being autonomous. What it came down to was that I have always wanted to be a part of a team that was building something. And thats the biggest thing that was missing, and thats what pulled me back to a full-time job.So last summer, French decided that if the right opportunity came along, he would go back to work with an employer.While French was mulling strategies that would help him transition back to a full-time job, opportunity knocked on his door. One of his clients told him about a new company, Mpire, an advertising optimization technology company that sells to agencies and advertisers and needed someone to do its marketing. He told me I should get to know this company, French recalled. He said they were doing some interesting stuff, and Id be perfect for them.Many of his previous clients were also Mpire clients. So he agreed and accepted a job at Mpire in November. It was an opportunity to get into a company that I like in a market that I am excited about, he said. I am using my ability to hone in and focus and see if I can build this company.French said that anyone looking to make the transition from independent contractor to full-time employee needs to keep an open mind when considering opportunities. You are never sure where great opportunities will come from. And then do your due diligence. Make sure this is the move you want to make.But even if youre ready to give up on being your own boss, do the best work you can for the clients you have. Your reputation is on the line, French said. Its so key, he said. Thats what will bring you o pportunities.

How a Google expert manages his Gmail email account

How a Google expert manages his Gmail email accountHow a Google expert manages his Gmail email accountThere isnt just one way to manage your inbox, and if youre anything like me, theres probably room for improvement on that front. Lots of room and yet leid a lot of space (hello, way too many unread emails).So I knew I could learn a thing or two from JR Raphael, the technology journalist who is frequently found covering all things Google and Android for Fast Company and Computerworld. He publishes the weekly Android Intelligence newsletter offering a goldmine of recommendations and practical tips.JR graciously provided a peep inside his systematized inbox for an interview with The Gmail Genius. Some highlights from the exchange follow.When you open an email, dont just let it sit thereWhile giving a rundown of his daily email routing, JR noted, My golden rule is to never open an email twice and never leave an item in my inbox beyond a single day.Im by no means perfect about that, but i ts what I strive to achieve.He says he tries to only have his inbox open for an hour or two in the morning, a quick block after lunch, and another one in the late afternoon. He also admitted to one final inbox session before the end of the night.My goal each time- whenever I look at my inbox, really- is to process everything thats there. That doesnt necessarily mean I answer every email right away, he said. Instead, he suggests taking one of three actions within a few seconds of looking at a messageArchive it - if the message doesnt require any response or action.Respond to it - especially if I can do so in a minute or less. (And then archive it.)Snooze it - if it demands a level of thought or response I cant get to right away. I might snooze it for later that day, later that week, or a month down the road, depending on when I think Ill be in a good position to deal with it.Super-specific alerts can helpJR acknowledges that email notifications are the enemy of productivity. But i n some cases, alerts can be useful - and even provide peace of mind.Most of us receive at least some messages that truly do demand our immediate attention, even if theyre a tiny fraction of the total, he wrote in his Computerworld column. But with a teensy bit of custom-tuning, you can set things up so that your most urgent incoming messages will alert you - and everything else will wait politely in your inbox without screaming for instant scrutiny. In the article, he describes how to set up a filter in Gmail and then configure it your Android device to only notify you about the messages sent to that label.Bet you didnt know you can alter the snooze timeNotification customizations are only the tip of the iceberg. Taking the time to modify Gmails features according to your own rhythms and preferences is key to exerting control over your inbox - and not letting it control you.Another helpful - and highly underutilized - setting to adjust is the default snooze time for a message. You wouldnt know it by looking anywhere in Gmail itself, but you can actually customize the specific time of day each option uses, JR said.He explainsOpen up Google Keep and click the Settings option in its left-hand menu. See the section labeled Customize your reminder defaults, with choices for morning, afternoon, and evening? Change those times to whatever times you prefer.If you want messages you snooze for Tomorrow to show up at 10 a.m., for instance, set that as your morning time. If you want emails snoozed for Later today to show up at 5 p.m., 6 p.m., or 1147 p.m., set your evening time accordingly.Once you hit save, youll see Gmail start to use those new times within its default snooze suggestions.Helpful, right?For additional next-level tips, definitely take a look at how you can customize these little-known Gmail settings. Tinker to your hearts content, but whatever you do, stop organizing your inbox into folders. Ill leave you with JRs wise words on that, As a wise virtua l princess once said, let it go. Stop worrying about organizing all of your incoming email and just power through it. Then, when you need to find something in the future, search.When shes not interviewing people about their email habits,Jaclyn Schiffis a strategist who loves getting her feet wet at the intersection of media, partnerships,and content. Her writing has covered topics ranging from healthcare innovation to travel budget tips to digital nomads. Shes had bylines at NPR, HuffPost, AllAfrica, Thought Catalog, The Muse, Modern Healthcare and others.

8 Words and Phrases to Never, Ever Use at Work

8 Words and Phrases to Never, Ever Use at Work8 Words and Phrases to Never, Ever Use at Work Every industry has its jargon. But some words and stichworts can be unclear , unnecessary or even offensive. Maybe some of these are phrases you like building into your business vocab, but use them with caution. If youre going to offend or annoy someone, or if theres a clearer way to say something, why notlage go the easy way and avoid them altogether?Our little caveat every office has different protocol. If youre buddies with your coworkers, its not so strange to talk to them about personal issues. And if youre in the thick of the consulting, tech or business world, you might feel inclined to use the lingo and play along. But the joy of language is that theres always another way to phrase something.Weve all heard it When you assume, you make an ass out of you and me. Cute. But even if the catchphrase earns your eye-roll, its a good point dont accept something to be the case without proof. For exampleI assume you finished the report? I assumed Bob would run that part of the presentation . I assume youll be working on Saturday?From a boss, assume is a passive-aggressive way to show authority. From an underling, it looks like ducking responsibility. In both cases, there are ways to make your point without making an ass out of you and me.I like these doughnuts is fair game. But avoid using like, um, sort of, basically, and other weasel words that fill dead air. They make you sound less confident and can even sort of give the impression that you basically dont know what youre, like, talking about.Or, I finally got that $10K raise, or even Ive never eaten there because its too expensive. Good rule of thumb avoid stating the amount of money you make or the pile of dough you spent on your trip to Iceland. If someone makes a lot mora or a lot less than you, it could lead to awkwardness.Not everyone who works is a man, and even seemingly innocent phrases li ke Hey, man or Whats up, dude, when used between people who identify as men, can create an environment of exclusion. Nicknames in general can help build a bond of casual camaraderie - but when that bond is based on being the same sex, that means anyone who doesnt fall under the category of man or dude is excluded from the camaraderie.Most people who use these phrases arent being exclusive on purpose. But by calling out a connection based on something that other people in the office dont share, these dudes might be making it harder for women to build the connections that will get them ahead.Talk about it? Discuss it? Have a meaningful and productive dialogue about the issue and its repercussions?Heres why Grammarly doesnt like this phrase talk is not traditionally a transitive verb because it doesnt take a direct object. You can talk about something, but thats an intransitive verb with a prepositional phrase a very different category.While phrases like we can talk it out or lets talk things through have shown the potential for talk to take on transitive qualities, lets talk that is a step too far.If youre pointing out someone elses mistake , you seem blaming and harsh if youre talking about your own, you risk undermining your coworkers sense of your abilities.Heres how to turn it around if you messed up, find a task too tough or arent sure how to address a problem, dont start in with I cant, its hard, or I failed. Find someone to ask for help and tell them what the problem is, what youve tried so far and what you need to know or do to fix it.On the flip side, some companies love talking about failures as opportunities for learning and growth. If you work in an environment brimming with that kind of positivity, kudos. But no matter whether your company embraces the word failure or avoids it like the plague, same idea goes focus on next steps and ways to learn moving forward, not on whos to blame.In business, throw it over the wall can be translated as send it to the client. This is one of the cases where jargon gets in the way of clarity - and that can, in turn, lead to things not getting done. If you want to be understood, this is a phrase you can throw over the wall - as in, get rid of it.If your goal in the office is to think outside the box , why not do the same with your well-worn clichs? Theres nothing really wrong with this phrase, but its been used so many times that we dare you to find new ways to express the idea. You can keep it simple, like innovate, find unusual solutions, or even come up with creative ideas, or you can invent something totally new like think one galaxy over. (Though if youre going for clarity, you might want to stick to brainstorm.)Either way, if youre trying to find creative solutions at work, you might as well think outside the box in how you use language, too.A version of this article originally appeared on Grammarly . It is reprinted with permission.