Career Bites by Lorraine K. Lee: Weekly Bite-Sized Career Tips In 3 Minutes

I used to dread walking into rooms full of strangers, Reader. Whenever someone asked, "So, what do you do?" I'd tell them I worked at LinkedIn, we'd exchange a few polite comments, then we'd quickly run out of things to talk about. I assumed I needed a more interesting answer. Turns out, the real fix was asking better questions. Here’s the walk-through I use now, in order: 1. Drop the goal of “making a good impression.” Replace it with one goal: leave the conversation knowing one genuine...

A manager I once had climbed fast, Reader. Somewhere in that climb, she stopped asking questions and started deciding from a distance. Her team didn’t leave all at once — they left one at a time, starting with the people who used to tell her the truth. An old manager once told me: “The fastest way to lose your team is to forget what their day actually feels like.” I’ve thought about that line for years, mostly because it works both ways. If you’re the one being managed, trust erodes just as...

For years, Reader, I thought staying silent was the thing holding me back at work. I did the work and stayed prepared, and I kept waiting for someone to notice, while louder people got pulled into the rooms I wasn’t in. Then one idea changed how I saw the whole thing. Quiet is how I’m wired, and it gives me real advantages. Being invisible is a different thing, and it’s one you can do something about. Most of the quiet high performers I work with are sitting on strengths they never get credit...

Lorraine's Latest ✨ I spent two weeks in the wild instead of my inbox. My parents just crossed 40 years of marriage, and our family celebrated the milestone with two weeks in South Africa. We spent our days on safari, a few feet from wild animals (can you spot the elephant? 🐘), and I properly unplugged for the first time in a long time. I'm back now, recharged, and ready for what's next! A reader named Cathy sent me a message that I haven't stopped thinking about, Reader, and she gave me...

Every now and then you come across something you can’t wait to share. Recently I connected with Steven Claes, the A+ Introvert. Steven’s spent more than 20 years in human resources, and is currently the Chief Human Resources Officer at a publicly traded company. He’s sat on both sides of the table, and he understands what it takes to get ahead with quiet confidence. Those are the lessons he shares with 167,000+ LinkedIn followers and 50,000+ readers of his weekly newsletter, The A+ Introvert....

Here's the uncomfortable truth, Reader. Most people get passed over for promotions for one reason: someone else made a stronger case. If you've ever watched someone less qualified get promoted ahead of you, this is why. I've sat in rooms where promotion decisions get made and the conversation is rarely about who works the hardest. It's usually about whose name comes up the most, whose impact can be described in a sentence, and who has someone in the room willing to advocate for them. Here are...

A few years ago, I had a conversation with a senior leader that I’ll never forget. I asked her directly: "When you're deciding who gets the stretch assignment, what are you actually looking for?" She didn't mention skills or track record. She said: "I'm watching how they handle the moments that aren't on anyone's agenda." She meant the small stuff, like how someone responds when a meeting goes sideways. How they talk about a colleague who just made a visible mistake. Whether they ask the...

After coaching professionals across industries and levels, I've seen the same thing play out over and over. There could be two people at the same level, but only one will get tapped for stretch projects while the other is left wondering why they were overlooked. Here's what I can tell you: the differentiator rarely comes down to who works the hardest. It almost always comes down to who people actually want to work with — and who they think of first for the next opportunity. That's the...

Every now and then you come across something you can’t wait to share. Recently I connected with Steven Claes, the A+ Introvert. Steven’s spent more than 20 years in human resources, and is currently the Chief Human Resources Officer at a publicly traded company. He’s sat on both sides of the table, and he understands what it takes to get ahead with quiet confidence. Those are the lessons he shares with 167,000+ LinkedIn followers and 50,000+ readers of his weekly newsletter, The A+ Introvert....