Surviving a Job You Detest

This is a practical article about survival.  It’s about what to do if you are in a job you actively dislike – perhaps hate – but for whatever reason, you can’t quit and walk away.  There are bills to pay and no new job beckoning.  So you’re stuck. Alina Tugend, writing for The New York [...]

Develop Leadership Skills by Volunteering

You might learn a great deal in school, but it’s doubtful you’ll actually develop as a leader by reading a book or taking a course. The military maintains that leadership development comes through experience, and Alice Korngold, writing for Fastcompany.com, tends to agree. “People grow and become leaders by making a commitment to a cause, [...]

Fail Your Way to Success

Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently. – Henry Ford The fear of failure is one of the biggest obstacles to success. Successful people effectively battle this fear. What separates them from the others? Why is it that some of us have the ability to look our fears straight in the eye and [...]

How to Handle Work Overload Gracefully

The situation:  You’re new at your job, and you are liking it. But your plate at work is very full and your boss wants you to take on an additional assignment. Eilene Zimmerman, writing the Career Couch column for The New York Times, answers questions about work overload. Q. What can you do instead of [...]

How to Avoid Saying: “I Was Fired”

Something about the words “I was fired” makes prospective managers’ blood run cold. If you left your last job on less-than-sensational terms, there’s got to be a way to address that issue positively, right? Longtime HR director Liz Ryan, writing for Bloomberg’s Businessweek.com, says there definitely is. “There is zero requirement ever to tell a [...]

Prepping for Your Annual Performance Review

Annual performance reviews are nerve wracking experiences. Eilene Zimmerman, writing for The New York Times, answers some common questions about how to handle the meeting: Q. How should I prepare for this meeting? A. Start by making a list of your responsibilities at work and writing your own performance review in each of those areas. [...]

Women: How we could be Accidentally Stunting our Career Growth

A fascinating study by Europe’s Institute of Leadership and Management examined the difference in confidence levels between working men and women. The study showed that men exhibit much higher levels of self-confidence across all age groups, with lower levels of self-doubt. These higher confidence levels could be contributing to more men being promoted, over women [...]