Engagement is King Whether your audience is a roomful of caffeinated convention-goers or a lone gatekeeper to potential employment, your first task is engagement. Those initial seconds will either open a pathway or lay the first bricks of a wall — and unfortunately, it's easy to unwittingly build barriers.So how can you better forge connection with your audience instead?As a reformed speech class dropout who grew into public speaking and radio/TV interviews, I'm prime proof that engagement skills can be learned and improved upon. Presentations and interviews represent high-pressure co... view article details

Can You Learn from Your Cell? Back in the dark ages when cells were molecular and phones were for spoken communication, it may not have been simple but it was predictably segmented. Tasks were sequential, not simultaneous. People could disappear for minutes at a time and emails could languish undetected for whole afternoons when a recipient was off grid. Smartphone technology created expectations for increased and untethered productivity, because they allow us to engage in extreme multi-tasking. But, how well do you do it? Is your smartphone-ish office efficiency truly effective?Find ... view article details

Distractions are Everywhere, So Know Your Enemy Is this a good time? We can come back later if you’re in the middle of something. We know dealing with potential distractions can really slice into your workday In a recent Salary.com survey, 64% admitted to wasting time at the office on a daily basis -- and we weren’t counting any staff meetings. It happens. The typical work setting is ripe with potential distractions. Can’t help that.But we do have a few ideas on how to manage them. Whether it’s a constantly ringing phone or incessantly chatty co-worker, there are work-arounds that act... view article details

What a Waste Are you interrupting your job duties to read this? Or, more likely than not, are you taking a break between filling out last-minute March Madness brackets? We understand the considerable amount of irony involved in taking time out of your workday to read an article about wasting time at work, but our annual Wasting Time at Work survey results are out and they're pretty interesting. Ever wonder exactly how much time the average American worker spends on non work-related items while on the clock? Are they checking Facebook? Tweeting? Doing some online shopping? And more imp... view article details

Is Your Boss Actually Terrible? Everyone thinks they have a terrible boss, but how do you know if it's actually true.Do you like your job and company but dread your boss? Are you constantly taking the fall for your boss because of decisions you didn't even make? Do all of your coworkers agree with you regarding your assessment of your supervisor? Or could it be YOU who is the problem, not your boss?It's important to determine because most people don't quit jobs, they quit bosses. So if you can pinpoint your boss as the cause of the majority of your distress -- especially during the jo... view article details

Stop & Think Oh, you want a raise? Congratulations, you’re now in an elite group of American workers known informally as EVERYBODY!Seriously though, let’s get into a little tough love for a minute. We know you want a raise, but have you really stopped to think about whether or not you deserve one? What’s more, have you gone over what you’re going to tell your boss when he/she asks why you deserve more money? Too many employees haven’t, and as a result are disappointed when they’re denied.Believe me, we want you to negotiate and get more money. We’re Salary.com so that’s pretty much wh... view article details

Think Like a Journalist Think of how many news articles you read daily. Now think about recruiters who review hundreds of resumes day in and day out. What makes the difference between an article -- or a resume -- that may be eagerly devoured in its entirety, and another that merely receives a passing glance? What has to happen in that 3- to 10-second span to garner attention and keep the reader engaged?While the newspaper industry has fallen on hard times during the last few years, it behooves you to think like a journalist when crafting your resume. This mindset may enhance your chan... view article details

Is This Scenario Familiar? Don stood by, riveted by the wreckage. 'It’s a burning platform, Jim.''We’ve gotta make hay, Don! Why weren’t we leveraged for this?'Grimly, the two office warriors surveyed the damage laid out in grids on a six-page spreadsheet. 'No warning, Jim. Last week we were talking foursomes and fourth quarter. At this juncture, he’s out-of-pocket for the long haul.'Excel-shocked, the two men stared down a bleak future in utter silence, until inspiration struck. 'Better bring Diane in for this. She can handle it.' Don shrugged, 'Sounds like a plan.'Jim smiled. 'Wanna... view article details

Separate Myth from Good Advice Fishermen have nothing on the world of jobseekers when it comes to tall tales and nebulous information passed on from person to person over the years.Everyone has a job-hunting strategy they swear by, along with a list of things people should never do while searching for a job. Some of it is good advice, other parts are well-intentioned but slightly misguided tidbits passed down from friends and relatives, and the rest is just downright wrong. Very, very wrong.But which well known myths should you avoid? We lay them out in this article, and then replace ... view article details

Going to work can be stressful enough on its own. But throw in the stock market's rollercoaster ride of late and you have a host of people ripping their hair out and getting closer and closer to the proverbial ledge. Whether you work on Wall Street or you're agonizingly watching the value of your investments ebb and flow with each shift in the market, there is no escaping the fact that this is a period of tremendous stress and uncertainty.Even if you're not on Wall Street and you don't have a portfolio to worry about, work stress affects nearly all of us. So how do we deal with it... view article details