In 2000, Les Kollegian resigned from his chief creative officer post at an advertising agency to start his own shop in San Diego with a goal of increasing his earnings. The 36-year-old says the experience was challenging and stressful, but his take-home pay is now approximately $300,000 before taxes — triple his previous annual income.
What’s in a name? Plenty. Just ask people who have to compete against their own names. These entrepreneurs can face uncertain, confused customers, as well as harsh competition from businesses they no longer own that still bear their monikers. Consider what happened to executive recruiter Russell S. Reynolds Jr. at a recent cocktail party in
WITH DEMAND FOR SENIOR MANAGERS ON THE RISE as the job market and economy heat up , a flurry of counteroffers are expected to rain on executives who give notice this year. “Counteroffers always go up in a climate like we’re now seeing, and my clients are now talking about candidates they’re trying to recruit
Recently the Supreme Court issued two decisions that attracted a great deal of attention. These decisions will make it easier for employees to sue and will provide them with an incentive to do so. However, they also give employers insight into ways to avoid harassment or end it before it becomes an actionable offense.
The messages law enforcement personnel sent one another — more than 5,000 — were crude, referring to people as animals, using profane terms as labels — and, worst, containing some horrifying jokes implying violence. They were fired. That was in Camden County, N.J., where 11 white prison guards lost their jobs for racially insulting texts
Q: Two of my employees seem to have absolutely no interest in doing a good job. They arrive late, ignore deadlines, and drag out every task to avoid additional work. If I bring this up, they threaten to call in sick and stay out for several days. Because we work for a large retail chain,
This is mainly a guy thing, but it affects women too. They retire, perhaps earlier than expected, and haven’t a clue about how to go about living the rest of their lives. Mickie Schroeder and Jeff Jans took early retirements in April 2008, got married in May 2008 and by September 2008 were sitting
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Many American workers don’t really leave work. Emails, phone texts, pager alerts and phone calls pepper what once was personal time. And that’s not including on-call shifts or beeper time, which require workers to be ready and able to work at a moment’s notice. When is it time to call
The Winter Olympics are well under way and there’s one story line that just won’t go away: many people feel that Sochi hasn’t lived up to expectations. From high threats of terrorism to homeless canines running amuck, unfinished living accommodations to egregious human rights propaganda, the negativity surrounding this year’s Olympic host has been
Workers’ constitutionally protected right to free speech is generally checked at the doors of private enterprises. However, when it comes to social media discussions about inflexible schedules, ice-cold break rooms or obscenity-laden rants about mandatory overtime, employees have the right to post, share and like to their hearts content. “According to the National Labor Relations
Social psychologist Heidi Grant Halvorson wants you to find someone at work who has known you for a long time and ask them to complete the following sentence: “If I didn’t know you better, I’d think that you were … .” Most of us would hope to hear things like “a movie star” or “an
SEATTLE — Inside a former Northern Trust bank vault in downtown Seattle, there now stand several rows of posh, wooden lockers. Just outside the heavy vault door is a series of curtained booths, a sleek, fully stocked bar and rows of small desks set up to look like a cafe. A blend of restaurant, bar
WASHINGTON — Employers shrugged off worries about the U.S. economy downshifting, adding a whopping 271,000 non-farm jobs in October and raising worker pay in the process. The unemployment rate in October dipped slightly to 5 percent, and measures of stress in the job market continued improving, the Labor Department reported Friday in a solid monthly
It’s still a tough job market out there, and you’ll need to be on top of your game throughout the job search process to get hired. While your experience is important, it’s just one piece of the puzzle. Recruiters are evaluating everything to determine if you’re going to be a fit for their team, and
For many executives in high profile roles, taking a call from a headhunter is all part of a normal day at work. However for some individuals the experience may be new or completely unexpected particularly when it comes out of the blue. The timing of an approach may not be perfect to begin discussing new
Denim days are ahead for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. employees. The Bentonville, Ark., company told employees Wednesday that they will be allowed to wear khaki or black denim pants to work starting July 1. Workers with more labor-intensive jobs, such as in the gardening department, will be allowed to wear T-shirts and blue denim. The dress
LOS ANGELES — Moving to the forefront of a national campaign to boost the incomes of low-wage workers, Los Angeles lawmakers voted Wednesday to approve an ordinance hiking the citywide minimum wage to at least $15 an hour by 2020. With the Wednesday action, which requires one more procedural vote by the City Council and
CHICAGO — Every time the Veldman brothers attempted to grow their franchise, Ron Veldman said, a fight with corporate ensued. The franchiser said “no” to expanding the business into cleaning and repairing homes damaged by fire or flood. It said “no” to packing and storing customers’ clothes and furniture. And it said “no” to owning
Itching to move on from your job? Even if you’ve been dubbed a “job-hopper” by your parents, friends, or even HR departments, fear not – you don’t have deep-set commitment issues that require therapy (not yet, anyway). The truth is, you’re not alone. The average employee under the age of 30 changes jobs an
Do you tend to hover in the background at work, choosing to speak up when the time feels right? Are you just too nice to speak your mind – or maybe even too nervous? If so, you’ve likely felt at one point or another that your naturally passive personality is holding you back in your
