Meet Jeanne Rodriguez, author of Ready Set Work! and Ready Set Supervise!

Jeanne and I connected on LinkedIn a few years ago and I did a social media audit for her. We have stayed in touch and I’ve been pleased to see her apply some of the suggestions from that audit.

What are your books about?

Ready Set Work! and Ready Set Supervise! are books about how to navigate successfully in today’s work environment. Specifically, Ready Set Work! is a guide for new workers for conquering job jitters and becoming the employee everyone wants to keep. It provides guidance on how to handle hundreds of the most common and most sensitive work situations effectively and confidently.  It gives new workers a centralized source of information with a common sense approach that quickly deals with the issues and gets them back on track comfortably.  It helps take the fear out of working so people can just concentrate on doing a good job and keep that job in today’s economy.

Ready Set Supervise! lays out the most common problems that supervisors run into at work, explains them in a way that makes sense, and enables supervisors to work more confidently all while projecting an air of maturity and dependability. It helps readers become the supervisor everyone wants to work for. Ready, Set, Supervise! goes a long way towards taking the fear out of supervising.  Sane people are afraid of supervision.  It can be scary stuff given the number of legal and policy issues supervisors have to deal with.  And, once you throw in the need for gigantic heaps of common sense, enormous physical and mental stamina, and the fact that supervision means being responsible for the actions of other people, it’s a wonder anybody ever wants the job.

Quite honestly, I wrote the books because I was constantly hearing from employees and employers about a wide variety of issues that they were dealing with at work and there was nothing else out there that covered these same topics.  I spent over thirty years working as a line-worker, a supervisor, a manager, or an executive, and these were the topics where I most often saw people having difficulty.  My target populations include, but are not limited to, Millennials and Gen Ys and target markets include trade schools, tech schools, local work programs, government entities, immigrant service centers, and business colleges.

My overall goal was to produce books full of information that would help people be comfortable in their work environment and succeed in their careers.  I wanted them to be a fun, light-hearted approach to real-life topics, easy to read and understand.

How did you publish your book?

My books were published through Pennico Press.

How did things change for you as an author in 2020 and how did you manage to weather through the year during the pandemic?

Some things have changed and others have stayed the same.  I have been involved in various aspects of human resource management for many years and love the workplace dynamics.  People are incredibly complex and endlessly entertaining.  As a long-time mentor and career counselor, it became evident over the past several years that with the retirement of the Baby Boomer generation there is a significant gap in knowledge in younger workers regarding how to handle a wide variety or work situations without losing their sanity or going home and mopping the floor with their cat.

This year has been different because much of the workplace dynamic has changed.  Given the pandemic and the millions of people who have either lost their job or have switched to remote work, the issues have expanded to include the complexities of keeping a job during budget cuts or learning the skills necessary to work remotely while balancing family demands.

Effective writing means staying relevant in order to meet readers’ needs. This year, I’ve broadened my focus to include the challenges of expanding basic employment skills, protocols for supervising remote workers, and maintaining positive morale and work environment during the pandemic.

As for weathering 2020?  Choices are simple.  You hunker down and get through it or you don’t.  Getting through it for me meant focusing being grateful for the many bad things that could have happened this year but didn’t, rather than getting sucked into a black hole of despair over the ones that did.  I stay busy and stay productive.  Those are two different things.  At the worst of times, I stay busy to help me maintain my peace and sanity and avoid scream-tweeting my frustrations during the night or mismatching my husband’s socks while he sleeps.  Turning off the news occasionally also helps me maintain focus and stay productive.

What is your favorite book marketing tip?

Utilize a variety of social media sources to bring your book to a broader audience. I use multiple platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc. because each has its own demographic. And, I am always looking for new avenues.  Diversifying your efforts to gets information to a much wider audience pays off.

What are your goals for 2021? 

I intend to finish my next book “Ready, Set, Lead!”  There are so many great books on leadership, but I want to focus on my belief that leadership starts at home where the seeds of leadership are planted in our children.  In the book, I will be exploring a variety of ways to help the new generation develop the necessary leadership skills to excel. I also intend to continue publishing articles on current employment issues.  I have over twenty such articles band I enjoy writing them immensely.  Topics will reflect the questions I get from employees, supervisors, managers and employers all year round.

Where can readers connect with you and find your books?

Amazon

Twitter 

LinkedIn

Website

Email

Facebook Author page

Is there anything else you’d like to share?

It is clear that we will continue to be hunkered down well into 2021 so as non-fiction writers we will find ourselves with lots to write about.  2021 will be full of surprises so I intend to stay alert, stay healthy, and continue finding the joy that non-fiction writing brings.

Bio

Jeanne Miller Rodriguez is an internationally recognized executive, educator and trainer, whose work spans several continents and multiple diverse populations.

She is a former Deputy Director for the California Department of Social Services who served in executive level state government positions for 17 years, having had responsibility for program development/administration in such significant public policy areas as statewide strategic planning, succession planning, human resources, risk management, and civil rights.  She also served on a wide variety of State commissions, councils and task forces in areas such as Work and Family, Employment for Individuals with Disabilities, and the California Performance Review.

Jeanne has taught foreign languages in several states in the US and in South America, encompassing all levels of students from elementary grades through college.  As an adjunct professor with California State University, Sacramento, she taught international scholars in the College of Continuing Education in subjects that include Public Administration, Business Etiquette, Effective Business Communication, Leadership and Motivation.  Most recently she was a curriculum developer and head instructor for the English Language Learning Institute which was designed to bring English to elementary school children in China via satellite. 

Jeanne has a B.A. degree in Spanish, German, and French and a M. A. degree in Spanish with emphasis on Latin American literature. She began doctoral work in foreign language education before embarking on a 31-year career in public service. 

Jeanne is the author of the noted “Ready, Set” book series which has multiple 5-star reviews on Amazon.com.  Her books Ready, Set, Work!  and Ready, Set, Supervise! were written specifically to help rising young workers, executives and entrepreneurs achieve successful, high-impact careers in any field they choose. She has also had numerous articles on career development and leadership published both in print and digital media.

Jeanne has been a frequent consultant to both private and public sector organizations in areas such as public administration, human resource management, civil rights, employment counseling, and organizational development.  When time permits, she also provides job coaching and employment counseling to individuals and groups.

 

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