How to Negotiate a Raise
Over the last few years, I have had several clients ask this very question. Although the task of asking for a raise may seem very complex, it actually is quite simpler than one might think. 66
Leaders Grow, They Are Not Made
Leadership today has become a very multi meaning term. Professionals from various disciplines have defined ‘Leadership’ in different ways. Paradigm shifts in the cultures of organizations and the consistent parallel and horizontal development of companies have raised the need to look at leadership in a new angle. 38
Q & A: How to Find Work-School Balance
Everyone has just 168 hours in a week, but some folks can magically squeeze more into that block of time. If you’ve wanted to go back to school, but haven’t quite figured out how to do it and work at the same time, this Q&A can help. 44
5 Ways to Prepare for Your Annual Performance Review
While some people think of an employer’s annual performance review as a perfunctory chore to simply endure, others view it as an important event worthy of significant preparation. 40
Not All Seniors Are Equal: Interpreting Trait Scores of the College Graduate
Abstract Costa and McCrae, in their work with the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, have established a developmental trend for the Big Five traits. According to their findings, as individuals age from about 18 to about 30, their scores on the traits of Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Openness tend to decrease, while scores on Agreeableness and Conscientiousness tend to increase.
Adaptability in the Workplace: Development of a Taxonomy of Adaptive Performance
This research was funded by the U. S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences, Contract #DASW01-97-C-0041. All statements expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinions or policies of the U.S. Army Research Institute or the Department of the Army. The authors wish
Get Dates at Work and Don’t Get Sued
Antioch College is in the news because of its new “ask first” policy designed to prevent sexual harassment and date rape. Under the policy, a student must ask first before initiating any intimate contact. For example, a young man should ask a young woman, “Can I kiss you?” before kissing. If she says yes or
Job Mega-Sites May Complicate a Search
These are actual quotes from various employment sites and software products. They sound great, don’t they? No more lists of bookmarks for you to maintain, no more time-consuming visits to different employment and career sites online, and no more worries about whether or not you’ve found every job listing that appeals to you. One site
There’s a Light at the End Of the Jobless Tunnel
When you’ve been jobless for any length of time, the light at the end of the tunnel could be a freight train coming the other way. That’s often the mindset of someone who’s endured weeks of the gut-wrenching, paralyzing condition called unemployment. 32
Interview Small Talk Makes a Big Impression
“Oh, I notice you went to Whittier College. So did I.” “You were at Disney for two years? I worked for Disney, too.” “Toastmasters? I’m in Toastmasters, too.” All of the above are opening gambits that I’ve used while interviewing candidates. They often were greeted with an “uh huh” while the interviewee waited for a
How Free-Agent Tactics Boost Your Job Security
As an independent consultant, I’m astounded when people say, “I’d love to do what you do, but I’d miss the security of a paycheck every two weeks.” What’s astounding isn’t that some professionals want to enjoy the benefits of free agency without taking any risks. There’s always a segment of the population wanting to get
A Free-Agent Outlook Can Hurt Your Career
In his book “Free Agent Nation” (Warner Books, 2001), Daniel H. Pink focused on the more than 30 million Americans who, for a variety of reasons, have abandoned traditional employment and the idea of a job that lasts a lifetime. The free-agency movement promotes the notion that — because the loyalty contract between employers and
Age Bias Persists In Silicon Valley
In Silicon Valley these days, precious few jobs are available for high-tech workers. In the past two years, hundreds of companies have folded and tens of thousands of employees have been laid off. Many of the job hunters who came here in the late 1990s for the dot-com rush are gone. 41
How the Charisma Factor Affects Executive Pay
Can mere economics explain the meteoric rise of CEO pay since the 1980s? If we liberate our minds from that warped construct known as “perfectly competitive markets,” then the answer is yes. As we’ll soon see, economics can even explain the effect of such disparate influences as government intervention and charisma. Taking nothing for granted,
The Sting Sticks Around After Layoff Wounds Heal
On Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2001, the magazine where I worked as a marketing manager for more than two years laid off 69 employees. I was one of them. The layoffs weren’t a surprise. We’d heard about them internally and on CNN and in the New York Post. In fact, for at least a week prior,
Successful Execs Create Their Own Opportunities
Job satisfaction has been on the decline since 1995 and has hit an all-time low, according to a survey by the Conference Board. The increased pace of business, greater demands for results and less time for recreation are among the factors bothering employees, the Conference Board found. “As technology transforms the workplace — accelerating the
The Job-Hunter’s Guide To Selling Yourself Effectively
Americans value modesty. This is a fact. Whether you’re a Rockefeller, Rothschild or Kennedy, the expectation is that modesty will prevail, and you’ll present yourself as a humble person, never flaunting your fame and fortune. And whether or not it behooves us to be humble in any given situation, we nonetheless comply. In fact, in
New View of Parenting: It’s Good for Your Career
Jolene Tornabeni, 50, started out as a nurse 25 years ago. Two grown children later, she is the chief operating officer of Inova Health System, a health-care provider with facilities in Northern Virginia. She attributes her rise in the ranks to being a mother. “People always ask me if children didn’t stop me in my
The Language of Success, For Boom Times or Bust
Some people believe that the New York Stock Exchange’s Richard Grasso and the New York Times’s Howell Raines were forced out because they didn’t bother to update how they conduct themselves in these troubled times. Could it be that professional arrogance, denial and self-aggrandizement are bad for business? If you read the business news, you
Starting a New Career Without Leaving Home
As any stay-at-home mom can tell you, quitting work and staying home to raise a baby is a far cry from retirement. If you’re planning on it — or have already done it — you’ll find that this 24/7 on-call position provides many intangible benefits, but, unfortunately, no income. 46