Dear Annette,I am having some issues with a coworker who thinks I am there to do her job. How do I tactfully tell her I have a job of my own to complete, and don't have time for hers?Thanks,Nice GuyDear Nice Guy,This is an issue about People. And I don’t mean just people, I mean People.As I go about my daily routines - salons, color consulting, wardrobe, appointments for my dog Dickie - I travel with several hand-picked People. I have People to handle my schedule, People to introduce me to men, even People to write my columns for me. I trust my People and I pay them well. So I expect them to g... view article details

Two of the country's premier academic institutions -- the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University -- have joined forces to launch an online education initiative that might just 'reinvent education,' according to Anant Agarwal, president of the new program.Dubbed edX, the program is based on MITx, a similar initiative launched by the science and technology school earlier this year. EdX will act as a sort of umbrella organization, allowing participating institutions to offer free, online courses from their curricula. Harvard and MIT are the initial partners in the program, b... view article details

Volunteering Has Many Benefits Millennials love to volunteer. Why? In short, it makes them happy. But surprisingly, college students and young professionals also lead the pack in volunteerism as a means of developing themselves professionally.In fact, an employer’s involvement in causes was cited in the 2014 Millennial Impact Report as the third most important factor when determining whether to apply for a job. And a Deloitte study found that Millennials who frequently participated in workplace volunteer activities were more likely to be proud, loyal, and satisfied employees.Millennia... view article details

Q. I've been in this job for five months. I started out as a data entry clerk and was promoted to project manager in the first six weeks. At the time, I was promised a salary increase after a trial period of two months. But it hasn't happened yet. I was also supposed to get a three-month review, should I ask for that also? I love my job and love to come to work every day.A. First of all, a project manager is a very general job title, so ask your manager to come up with a more definitive title.I would strongly urge you to send an email to your manager reminding him or her about the agreement to... view article details

Q. I've been in this job for five months. I started out as a data entry clerk and was promoted to project manager in the first six weeks. At the time, I was promised a salary increase after a trial period of two months. But it hasn't happened yet. I was also supposed to get a three-month review, should I ask for that also? I love my job and love to come to work every day.A. First of all, a project manager is a very general job title, so ask your manager to come up with a more definitive title.I would strongly urge you to send an email to your manager reminding him or her about the agreement to... view article details

Q: Are verbal agreements legally binding? I was recruited by my current employer through a management recruiting firm for a lateral position. The recruitment came with a verbal agreement that I would move into my supervisor's position in two to three years, after he moved back to the division headquarters. Now that he's moving back, the new plant manager has decided not to honor that agreement and the HR manager tells me no one is guaranteed a promotion.A: I'm not a lawyer - and I don't play one on TV - but I never take verbal agreements seriously. If your supervisor planned to move you into a... view article details

Compensation SurveysPaying people fairly is good for business. Underpay, and employees will eventually look for a better offer. Overpay, and the payroll budget and profitability will suffer. That's why companies use market data to research the value of their jobs. But what is 'market data' anyway?To determine the prevailing rate for a job, companies can 'benchmark' jobs against compensation surveys that are detailed and specific to the companies' industries and regions. A good compensation survey uses standard, proven methods of data gathering and statistical analysis to determine how much com... view article details

As the new White House administration focuses on revamping the nation's healthcare system, now may be the best time to get prepared for the new career opportunities on the horizon by obtaining an online health degree. With the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics stating that there is a critical shortage of healthcare workers in what is considered to be the country’s largest industry, it makes sense to invest in a new career by taking an online medical billing course or even going that extra step to achieve an online healthcare degree.There are all types of jobs in this field, including health insu... view article details

A federal program designed to help jobless veterans find work is proving very popular with its target audience, according to numbers released this week by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.The VOW to Hire Heroes Act, signed into law in November 2011, calls for the creation of a program that pays for unemployed veterans to receive training in fields where skilled workers are in high demand, as determined by the U.S. Department of Labor. The resulting Veteran Retraining Assistance Program, or VRAP, began accepting applications on May 15.In the six weeks since VRAP launched, the program has... view article details

The national unemployment rate dipped down to 8.1 percent last month, slightly below July's 8.3 percent and a full point lower than the August 2011 rate of 9.1 percent, according to numbers released last week by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Good news, right? Well…To count as 'unemployed,' a person must be looking for work. So when the unemployment number drops, that could mean people have found work or it could mean they have simply stopped trying, discouraged by the challenging job market. And it seems that last month those who gave up had at least as much impact on the overall rate as tho... view article details