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How Not to Behave: Career Questions From Mad Men
When it comes to workplace drama, Mad Men has it all: high-stakes accounts, employees fighting for promotions and power, interoffice affairs, drinking on the job, and professional talent clouded by shenanigans, secrecy, and even sexual harassment. Whenever I watch the show I am both captivated by the saucy situations and characters and thankful for how far we have come as professionals since the 1960s. Obviously, the characters' antics spark all kinds of career questions for us modern women.
How Not to Behave: Career Lessons Learned From Mad Men
When it comes to workplace drama, Mad Men has it all: high-stakes accounts, employees fighting for promotions and power, interoffice affairs, drinking on the job, and professional talent clouded by shenanigans, secrecy, and even sexual harassment. Whenever I watch the show I am both captivated by the saucy situations and characters and thankful for how far we have come as professionals since the 1960s.
The plotlines that evolve within the powerful Sterling Cooper agency and its smart but unruly ad men and women are dramatized for our viewing pleasure, but it is true that office culture has changed substantially in the last 40 years.
January Jones Wanted to Be a Storm Chaser — What About You?
I'm never one to wish away the Summer, but the new season of Mad Men in a few weeks has me a bit anxious. Luckily, we get to see January Jones on the cover of next month's Interview magazine, and she gives interviewer Jack Nicholson plenty of little tidbits about what makes her tick.
One of the topics she touched upon was her career path, and the South Dakota native said, "I thought I would be a storm chaser at one point.
Your Two Cents: Have You Felt Discriminated Against at Work?
Discrimination can have many ugly faces; whether it's deliberate or unintentional it never feels good when you've been unfairly treated. On Sunday's episode of Mad Men, Peggy Olsen finally got the office she deserves — one that doesn't double as the copy room. She made the change happen by standing up for herself and believing that her contributions were enough to warrant her own office, even if she was (gasp!) a woman.
Do You Attend Conventions For Work?
Conventions and trade shows are a great way to network, learn about new products and services, and study trends and opportunities you, or your company, should know about. They can appear dry to outsiders, but there's something pretty powerful about getting a large number of professionals from the same field together in one place and bouncing ideas around.
Photo courtesy of AMC
Do You Attend Conventions For Work?
Do You Participate in Office-Sponsored Drives?
At the beginning of last night's episode of Mad Men, the team plots how they can beat out other agencies by winning the yearly blood drive. Their tactic is more competitive than charity-driven (Don suggests they hire mail boys and elevator operators and pay them to donate blood and pretend to be part of the ad team), but it got me thinking about how certain charity efforts or drives can become competitive in the workplace. Do you donate funds to (or participate in) office-sponsored runs or donation drives?
I'm Asking: Did Your Parents Discuss Money in Your Presence?
Between the incredible wardrobe and makeup, throwback office scenes, and complex drama, Mad Men is one show that has me hooked and I can't wait for tonight's episode. Last week's episode included a Draper family picnic scene where young Sally asks her mommy if they are rich. Betty tells her daughter that it's impolite to talk about money, period.
I'm Asking: Did You Intentionally Choose Your Career Path?
In last night's episode of Mad Men, Bobbie Barrett made turning possibilities into opportunities seem easy when she told Don, "Pick a job and become the person who does it." Have you been able to tackle the working world in this way, or did you fall into your job without intention?
Photo courtesy of AMC
I'm Asking: Do You Know Which Co-Workers Smoke?
Seventy percent of you think smoking isn't a work-related issue and that employees' private habits shouldn't be the business of their employers. The discussion about company policies trying to intervene in the smoking habits of workers is a far cry from the smoke-filled office on Mad Men. Cigarettes are permanent fixtures in the hands of employees on the show: They smoke in personal offices, during hallway conversations, and in meetings no matter how long or short.
I'm Asking: Have You Ever Had a Drink While on the Clock?
It's been said that drinkers earn more on average than those who say no and if that's true, the characters on AMC's Mad Men must be making a fortune. The show captures the wild business of advertising in the 1960s and is filled with martini lunches, post meeting whiskeys and brainstorming with a bottle. Clearly the amount of drinking in the show is greatly exaggerated (I'm not sure anyone would perform in a meeting after downing five cocktails), but it got me thinking about guzzling on work time.
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