Q: Hi,My name is 'Edie.' I am 51 years old. Last May I started working as a medical assistant for a local podiatrist. Unfortunately, although I learned a lot and loved every minute that I spent with the patients, my co-workers took the time and effort in every way possible to let me know they didn't like me nor accept me as part of the group.  I am very outgoing. They went as far as broadcasting every single mistake I made and some that I really didn't do and 'tell' on me to the doctor that I was working for, keeping to themselves important information about patients, coordinating wearing the ... view article details

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, about 5 percent of job seekers obtain jobs through the open job market which consists of help wanted ads, the internet and print publications. Another 24 percent obtain jobs by cold-calling companies directly. Twenty-three percent obtain jobs through employment agencies, college career-services offices and executive-search firms. The remaining 48 percent obtain their jobs through referrals or “word of mouth.” These individuals get the job referrals by networking. A job search that targets only advertised job openings will likely miss more than half of... view article details

Under Pressure Pressure. It can take many forms.Imagine you’re just 21 years old and a senior in college. You’ve got a massive final exam that accounts for the majority of your grade, and it’s the final class in your major. While you’ve invested considerable time and effort studying, you know it all comes down to this.Now imagine that you also play on your college’s basketball team, and you’re playing for the national championship. You’re down by 1 with a few seconds left, the crowd is going insane, and they swing the ball over to you. As you launch your jump shot in front of millions... view article details

Pace Yourself How can an introvert get into the zone more quickly when giving a talk? First, quick is a relative term. An introvert's quick could be an extrovert's slow. Not that we're sluggards and dullards---we just need to go at our own pace.Get Some Rest While an extrovert might blast out onstage after schmoozing all day, get a further charge from all the people in her audience, and then give a speech worthy of the Academy, that combination of activities could deplete an introvert, making him feel like ducking for cover. Remember: an extrovert's fuel can be an introvert's... view article details

This summer, Americans were paying, on average, $4.09 per gallon for regular unleaded gasoline to fuel the vehicles they rely on to get to and from work everyday. This represents an increase of $1.14 over the same time last year.Salary.com™ set out to calculate just how much the escalating cost of commuting to work is eating into the average worker's take home pay. To accomplish this, we established some reasonable criteria.The average worker travels, round-trip, 29 miles each day. Vehicle fuel economy varies, but we will assume an average fuel efficiency rate of 18.8 miles per gallon. We will... view article details

Social Media: Answering All of Life's Questions Never has one incident singularly highlighted the good, the bad, and the incredibly ugly components of living in the age of social media than a situation earlier this month regarding a young engineer, his two job offers, and his decision to ask the Internet to help him determine which one he should accept.The young man, who has not been identified, posted a question to Quora -- the Q&A social media platform -- to help him decide between a job offer from the ride-sharing powerhouse Uber and Zenefits, an HR software startup. The man came u... view article details

The rules of performance reviews are changing. Not too long ago, management guru Peter Block said, 'The performance review is the company's opportunity to prove to you, once again, that they own you.' But as employees gain better access to information and assume more responsibility for managing their careers, the performance review is becoming another opportunity for you to demonstrate value to your company.The Purpose of a Performance ReviewPerformance reviews give employees and employers a chance to evaluate regularly whether they are happy with each other. The review is a meeting between yo... view article details

Brace Yourselves...Career Advice is Coming Most people watch HBO's Game of Thrones for the rich characters, swordplay, and to see how the warring factions will end up determining who is the rightful King of Westeros. After all, George R.R. Martin’s fantasy world is a complex and intricate realm of love, deceit, backstabbing, and wonder that captures the imagination of millions.But if you look closely, there is some legitimate career lessons in the show that can be applied to the real world.From King Robert’s laziness to the perils of working for a bad boss (I’m looking at you Joffrey)... view article details

Politics in the Office is Inevitable In a perfect world, this article wouldn't have to be written. When it comes to politics, reasonable people would agree to disagree, cast their ballots in private without fanfare, and then go back to office small talk. But during this election season in the most politically divisive time in recent memory, that's just not in the cards. So the question isn't whether or not people should talk politics at work, but how to survive talk of the election during office hours.It's hard to escape politics these days. As Election Day nears, the political ads ar... view article details

Annoying Coworkers Make Office Life Miserable You know who they are.Maybe it was something as huge as taking all the credit for a game-changing business idea, or something as small as chewing gum too loudly at their desks. But whatever the reason, we all have coworkers we absolutely hate. And some of us are that coworker -- whether we realize it or not.It's inevitable really. After all, you can't spend 40 hours a week with the same people day in and day out, trapped together in a confined area and forced to share space and resources, without developing a little bit of acrimony from ti... view article details