Answering Reader Mail / Hello, All New Readers

Hello, new readers!  I see a lot more people are following my blog here, via Twitter, and my Jobstr.com column.  I love getting questions from readers and hearing your comments.

I got a new question from "ET" about EA responsibilities and wanting my input.  I will answer that question next week!  So look for it then!  It's a great question and I'm excited to answer it!  
 
Every time I get a question, I think about how I want to answer for a few days and then I respond directly on my blog, NOT to your email address.  I do keep your identity and other details anonymous, and especially so if you request it.  This year I wanted to post once a week and it takes me about 5-6 days to respond to your question.  

If you submitted the question, it's really helpful to me and the blog audience if you write an anonymous comment saying, "Thanks" or something.  This way, I know you read your answer and I can post the next question or entry.  Sometimes I worry the submitter didn't see their answer when in fact I answered it earlier.

So far, I have answered every single question submitted to me.  Below are the questions I answered and wasn't sure if folks saw their answer.  You can peruse what others have asked to see if you are in the same situation and comment if you asked the question!  Thought it might be a fun way for all the new folks to see an "archive" of a majority of the earlier submissions.

Answering Reader Mail: Creating a Good Relationship with Other Assistants

Today’s reader question comes from a young woman who does not live in the USA.  So just wanted to say hello to all my international readers too!  :)  This is her question:

“I am located internationally and I've been reading your articles.  They have helped me so much but I still have concerns.  I applied to be a EA to the CEO of a big company in my country.   

I passed the HR interview and I am waiting for the answer from the CEO interview.  I had 2 initial interviews or tests before I came down to meeting the CEO.

I am scared, VERY scared I've volunteered a lot.  Both English and Portuguese are my first language (I think that's why they are considering me in the first place). The CEO speaks only English but the official language is Portuguese, so they needed someone who speaks both languages well.

I am scared because I have no experience in the business world and he has another assistant.  I am scared of how our relationship will be because two girls in the same territory is not always good news. So my questions are:

1- What should I do to create a good relationship with the other assistant? Because we will both be his assistants and he already has a secretary.

2- What should I do in the first day (How should I set up my desk? What questions should I ask that will be important later on? Should I bring my boss some coffee? Should I ask his secretary for his schedule?)

I will be awaiting your reply and best regards.”

7 Tips on How to Complain Effectively

Every once in awhile, we all have to complain, offer a suggestion, or disagree.  To communicate your perspective effectively, here are some tips.  I hope you find them helpful.

The Redemption of Noble Failure

Hi, new readers!  If you’re late to my blog, earlier in the year, I made a New Year’s resolution to myself to post once a week.  This week is the 2nd time I have almost not made that deadline.  Should I miss a week, the following week I am to post 2 posts.  

It’s a constant struggle to write a post each week because coming up with new tips, a personal story, or something fun or interesting is hard.  I was reading a book and an ad exec went to a museum every Sunday without fail for inspiration.  It had paid off in many ways having a ritual.  Happiness studies will tell you learning, challenging, engagement, and growing are needed.

This week I mulled about what to write.  Between that I spent many hours reading about Kevin Smith, Steve Jobs, articles on LinkedIn, and watching MTV’s True Life.  Between the last 2 sources a theme began to emerge and a term I knew about, but never phrased as such - noble failure.  

17 Tips for Visiting Japan

I went to Japan after and long absence and wanted to share a lot of cultural tidbits I forgot about or that are new. I was in both the rural areas and Tokyo.  Hopefully you will find them useful or interesting!