The Big Game Is Just Like Your Career It’s no secret Americans love NFL football, especially considering more than 100 million people will tune in for Super Bowl Sunday. But even if you hate football or just watch the big game for the commercials and the nachos, there’s something you can learn from the quarterbacks involved. Things that can be directly applied to your career.4. You Need to Take Charge One of the defining characteristics of a quarterback is leadership skills. Against all odds, at the end of the game, great quarterbacks take charge of a situation and make thing... view article details

Network = Net Worth Author Porter Gale may have spelled it out most clearly: Your Network is Your Net Worth. If you could isolate only one single factor to determine career success, from landing your very first position to advancing up the corporate ladder and even helping when things aren’t going well, it’s having a solid network in place.Networking is about making connections and building enduring, mutually beneficial relationships. It’s a vitally important skill, yet one that still mystifies many people.Let’s take a look at 5 networking tips from industry experts.5. Change From a "... view article details

Back to School, Back to Basics Most kids are either already back at school or starting up again in the next week. My oldest is starting the first grade, and as we say goodbye to summer and hello to a new school year, I’ve been realizing the lessons he learned last year in kindergarten apply directly to the world of salary negotiation.Sounds crazy, right? But if you really stop and think about it, it’s a lot of basic lessons and common sense. The old saying “all I really need to know I learned in kindergarten” applies to the world of work in many ways, and if you’re looking to get a ra... view article details

The Importance of Buckling Down You know the feeling when you look at the clock and suddenly it’s 5 p.m. and your to-do list is barely touched. Thanks to multiple meetings, an email inbox with an endless supply of new requests and information, and shifting project deadlines that demand juggling, it’s no wonder that many of us reach the end of the day the way an exhausted runner approaches the finish line: spent.Even when you think you’re buckling down, chances are you’re not as productive as you could be. Taking a quick break for coffee or fresh air is one thing. However, a mental shi... view article details

Don't Fall Into the Trap Sometimes we get very specific about problems and pitfalls on this site. Resume mistakes, potential errors on cover letters, individual ways you can network more effectively.But sometimes it’s good to step back and look at the bigger picture.Many people say they’re unhappy at work, but fewer really take a deep and introspective look to figure out why. Look past your annoying boss and other issues on the surface, and figure out what you’re doing that might be negatively impacting you. That’s what we did, and we came up with a list of traps most people are falli... view article details

Don't Hate, Appreciate! The first Friday of March is Employee Appreciation Day. But do you feel appreciated?This 'holiday,' established in 1995, serves as a day to honor workers across the country. After all, National Bosses Day is celebrated in October, so it’s only fair the rank and file employees have their moment in the sun as well. That’s why it doesn’t matter whether you scrub toilets or if you’re a budding advertising executive on Madison Avenue – Employee Appreciation Day is about recognizing people for a job well done. Every job and every worker.The question is how should you... view article details

You've Graduated! (So Now What?) Congratulations. After four years of classes, midterms, finals, projects, reports, stress, growth, and everything else higher learning brings with it, the time is here. You’ve graduated.So now what?All of you have degrees in hand, and the lucky among you have already secured your first jobs. But while the degree may have helped you get the job, success within the position is totally up to you from here on out. This is no longer a classroom, it’s a real-live business that is now depending on you to thrive and help it do the same. And if you don’t, there... view article details

Pay Differences Between Telecommute & In-Office One persistent belief about work-at-home, or telecommute, jobs is that they almost always pay far less than in-office jobs. But is this really true?While it may have been the case many years ago when telecommuting was just starting to take shape as a movement, today’s at-home jobs pay salaries comparable to in-office jobs. Additionally, there are substantial cost savings that come with working from home, such as a reduction in commute costs, wardrobe and dry cleaning bills, eating out, and childcare costs to cover time spent commuting. I... view article details

How’d you like a $5,000 raise? My guess is that 100% of the people reading this would say sure, I’d love to get a nice pay increase.Now let me ask you this. Does it matter to you HOW you get that raise? Let me present two options:Option A: One day your boss comes in and says, 'I’ve got some good news. You’ve been here about a year now, and management all agrees that you're doing great work. We view you as one of our top performing employees and we want to recognize that, so we're going to give you a $5,000 raise.'Option B: You’ve been at your company a year and it’s time for your annual perfor... view article details

In the first part of this interview, Barbara Rubin, a theater director as well as a dialect and vocal coach, offers insights and tips for introverts about finding their true voice and using it with power and presence. In this second part, she shares more about physical techniques you can use to enhance your speaking voice and manage performance jitters.NA: Many introverts need to quietly collect their thoughts before sharing them, which can be stressful in work environments that value more talk sooner, rather than more thoughtful talk a little later. What vocal and even theatrical techniques d... view article details