Dear Annette,Call me old-fashioned, but I can't get used to conference calls. I miss in-person meetings, especially with clients or vendors. Now that I'm self-employed, the lack of in-person time is even worse. Do you have any suggestions for making conference calls seem more true-to-life? TelephobicDear Telephobic,Preparing for meetings outside the office has got to be one of the most fabulous parts of the business regime. In the morning, you get to choose your clothes and preen as if you're going on a date. Often you get to take your own car and get reimbursed for an impressively large parki... view article details

Dear Annette,Our company subsidizes memberships to a gym in our building. Everybody goes here, and I often find myself working out next to senior people in the company. How do I handle this? Out of BreathDear Out of Breath,I'm sure you realize you can glisten with perspiration and good manners at the same time. I myself do not exercise - I have People to do that for me - but nobody knows better than I do that sweat can be fabulous. It can also make the most casual situations more complicated than they appear. When working out with colleagues, you want to show you're a team player who appreciat... view article details

Q: Dear Heather,I read your recent article on Social Media Mistakes and wonder what you would think of a co-worker of mine that broadcasts EVERYTHING on Facebook and Twitter! She violates at least four of your 'mistakes' regularly! Lately she’s posted some really negative and really sad barbs at her boyfriend. I also gather that a couple of friends (or coworkers?) have upset her. I wouldn’t know this but for Facebook as we work in different departments. We aren’t close friends, but we have lunch as a group once or twice a week. Do I pretend I haven’t noticed that her personal life is in a bad ... view article details

If you're short on cash but keen to build an investment portfolio, you may want to consider a DRIP. Shorthand for Dividend Reinvestment Plans, DRIPs allow individual shareholders to bypass brokers and make stock transactions directly with certain publicly traded corporations. The beauty of DRIPs is that they offer us all a way to get into the market - even on $50 a month. More than 1,000 corporations offer Dividend Reinvestment Plans, from blue-chip companies like IBM, Chevron, and McDonald's, to overseas firms such as British Telecom, Elf Aquitaine, and Sony. To get yourself started on one, c... view article details

Iron Chef, Jamie Oliver, Mario Batali.Thanks to the Food Network and a plethora of cooking shows, when people think about becoming a chef nowadays, their next thought is about getting their own TV show. But Ed Glebus, an executive chef for CulinArt in San Diego, says it's a lot of hard work, repetition and it's all done off-camera.After working on a farm trying his hand in retail, Glebus was 16 when he took a job at D'Angelo sub shop in Plymouth, Massachusetts. And he's been working in the food industry ever since. Although he gave college a try, Glebus said it wasn't for him and so he set out... view article details

To negotiate your pay package, you first need to identify the right opportunity. It is true that any time will work, but there are some natural 'money moments' that are perhaps more logical for negotiating a pay package. One obvious opportunity is when you are interviewing for a new job. In fact, for an executive not to negotiate at that moment would be considered foolish. If you're not interviewing for a new job, the obvious moments are fewer but they still exist. Performance review time is a good time, as are the end of a significant project, and promotion or change-of-role events.Start earl... view article details

Any real estate professional will give you a litany of reasons why it makes sense to buy a house. But as with everything else, it depends on who and where you are, in your life as well as your career. Despite the prevailing assumption that everybody, everywhere sooner or later should settle down and buy their own home, research shows there are actually times and circumstances when renting might be a better idea.Will you put in the time?In any investment, there's no such thing as a sure thing. What usually makes real estate a better risk than most is time. The longer you commit to a property, t... view article details

Dear Heather,Over the past three years I’ve developed a friendship with a co-worker. We’ve weathered a lot, both at work and in our personal lives. I respect him tremendously and appreciate how easily we’ve been able to relate to one another through administrative upheavals, divorces and the like. There has always been an underlying spark in our relationship, but we’ve been careful not to ignite it, as I am technically his superior (he’s an adjunct teacher in a separate department and could probably teach elsewhere). I’m also recently separated and still in the process of sorting through the e... view article details

According to recent statistics put out by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 9.5% of all Americans are unemployed and looking for jobs. Add those who are looking for promotions or are simply exploring change, and it's probable that the jobs you apply for will be highly sought after.How do you gain a competitive edge and stand out among other applicants? Follow these 14 tips:1. Customize your resume for every job Your resume must clearly outline how your skills, experience, and accomplishments will fit the needs of that particular employer. When faced with hundreds -- s... view article details

There is plenty of advice out there about writing a good resume. From grammarians parading the benefits of a bullet proof resume -- at least from a spelling and grammar perspective -- to hiring managers threatening to toss out your resume for failing to 'suit their tastes,' almost everyone has an opinion. Nothing is necessarily wrong. Resume writing is inherently subjective.But despite the diverse viewpoints, there are some clear differentiators that go into the making of a great resume. I am not talking about writing just a good resume. Today’s job market demands greatness. For better or wors... view article details