Get Your Career in Site

Creating Value on the Job

More and more people want to do work that they care about, in organizations that they believe in. But that doesn't mean that people have lost interest in being successful -- in terms of money, performance, or getting along with their coworkers. The Web can help with all three of these issues.

If you've ever asked yourself, "How much am I really worth?," then head for JobStar: California Job Search Guide (www.jobstar.org), a remarkable site that's the handiwork of Mary-Ellen Mort, a business librarian who became obsessed with salaries. Her site, which focuses mainly on the California job market, offers what might be the most comprehensive collection of links to salary surveys and reports on the Web. The site also has links to articles about understanding salary surveys and developing smarter negotiation strategies. Simply put, you can find a treasure trove of data on making money -- by industry, by region, and by profession.

In the long run, of course, the best way to make lots of money is to create lots of value -- that is, to do a great job. And the best way to do a great job is to solicit feedback from people who are in a position to help you improve. ReviewMe.com (www.reviewme.com) is a new Web site that lets people receive anonymous feedback from their colleagues at any time. The site is designed for companies that want better ways to generate feedback among employees, but it also works well for free agents who are looking for feedback from members of their extended network.

ReviewMe.com lets you choose from a number of feedback criteria, including teamwork, communication, leadership, projects, and events. You can ask for big-picture feedback or more targeted reviews. You can also decide how much time people can take to complete their evaluation (one, three, or five days; one to two weeks) and whether you'd like input from one or more reviewers. Just enter the appropriate email addresses, compose the feedback requests, and wait for the evaluations to arrive. You'll get an overall feedback score, as well as results for each skill that you've identified -- areas in which you need much improvement, a little, or none at all. The service also reports whether you've been able to maintain above-average, average, or below-average consistency in your skill areas.

In addition, the site has a "Feedback Vault" that helps you keep track of and store all of these evaluations. Of course, it's up to you to act on them.

So you're making a competitive salary, you're getting the feedback that you need to improve your performance, and you're well on your way to having a satisfying work experience. There's only one problem: Your boss is a jerk. (Or a colleague is taking credit for your ideas, or a member of your team is disrupting productivity.) The daily life of even the best job can present headaches and challenges that can test your patience -- and your ability to come up with solutions.

The Web has some cures for such headaches. Hard@Work (www.hardatwork.com) is a case in point. One area of the site, the "Rock Pile," lets people post war stories and advice about the hazards of life on the job. The career site of the Wall Street Journal (http://careers.wsj.com) offers more sober commentary (from expert columnists) on many of the same issues. The Riley Guide (www.rileyguide.com) offers such a comprehensive collection of links to articles and resources that you'll find it difficult to identify a problem that this site hasn't already attempted to address.

Learning Curve

When you're inventing your career, the best way to keep moving forward is to keep growing. And the best way to keep growing is to keep learning. People who are smart about their careers aren't just asking themselves, "What am I doing in my job?" They're also asking, "What should I be learning outside of my job?" And an increasing number of those people believe that the Web is the best place to design their personal curriculum.

But if truth be told, the Web gets only mediocre grades for its role as a teaching tool. Why has Web-based distance learning taken so long to come into its own? According to Vicky Phillips, 41, CEO of geteducated.com (www.geteducated.com), a distance-learning and product-development consulting firm located in Vermont, there are a few simple (but very real) obstacles to the success of distance learning on the Web.

"People need to be taught how to be online students and online teachers," says Phillips. For example, you have to be great at time management. "You need to know how to schedule classes and homework so that you don't fall behind," she says. You also have to be extremely motivated: "It helps if getting a raise or a promotion is contingent on your passing the course." You also have to be comfortable with the technology: "It's very likely that you'll have to download files and add new plug-ins. If you don't know how, you could easily get frustrated and give up."