Once someone's been unemployed for a while, employment is a mixed blessing. Of course, the jobless are anxious about finances and worried about the growing hole in their resume. But the long, flexible hours of unemployment suck you in and make you think that maybe, just maybe, you do not have the time or the […]
You need to make sure your resume shows you in your best light; give shape to the truth so that it works for you. But be careful, because a well-written resume to one person is a pack of lies to another. Make sure yours falls somewhere in between, which is no small feat. We all […]
Tucked into the back of last week's sports pages was news that the Bush administration will refrain from killing Title IX. Other administrations have hailed Title IX as a boon to gender equality in the United States. But for the Bush administration, it was a close call, and this should scare everyone. Title IX mandates […]
Success in the workplace depends on being a good time manager, because it doesn't matter how good you are at your job if you never have time to do it. Here are the four most important steps you can take to end that feeling that you “can't get everything done”. Prioritize ruthlessly Most people who […]
The flair with which you grow and prune your reading pile directly affects your career trajectory. Sure, you can learn from enlisting mentors and taking on new projects, but you can learn with the most focus and speed by reading on your own. But don't be swayed by the business book bestseller list. Instead, devise […]
On my first date with my would-be-husband I said, “You didn't tell me we're getting dinner.” “I'm hungry,” he said. So we went to dinner. He ordered a hamburger, fries and a milkshake. I ordered water. Months later, when it looked like the relationship was serious, I told my would-be-husband, “You were a sociopath for […]
Most of us have personal problems we hide from our business associates. In fact, most of us have been hiding problems since we were kids. Often, though, these guarded secrets provide a hidden stash of strength at the workplace. My problems started at tap dance lessons. As an eight-year-old, I didn't know what to do […]
When someone asks “What do you do?” a one-word answer will put your career on ice. You need to have a story. When you want to establish a connection with someone, a story provides social glue. When you want to impress someone, a story is more memorable and than a list of achievements. Early in […]
In the early 1990s, when the job market was very bad, I had a college degree that was getting me nowhere. So my friend got me a job signing Esther Williams' autograph for fans. Esther who? That's what I said. Esther Williams was an Olympic swimmer in the 1940s when the Olympics were cancelled, and […]
Your success at work is dependent on your accomplishments, not your ideas. So can everyone please stop being so petty about whose ideas are whose? A very small number of you are strategists and inventors. For you, your ideas make or break your career. So don't bother reading the rest of this column. For the […]