To Apply or Not to Apply... Have you ever been combing the online job boards and stopped dead in your tracks when you run across the perfect job? It’s in your field for a company you’d love to join doing the work you’ve been hoping to get into.But then you scroll down and your enthusiasm dampens.The 4-page job description starts listing some skills you don’t have. Or it asks for 10 years of experience and you’ve only got five. Soon you find yourself on that all-too-familiar fence of “should I apply or not,” and you’re not sure if you should even bother getting your hopes up. So, what’... 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

Office Holiday Parties Can be Minefields With its booze, year-long pent-up emotions towards co-workers, the specter of organizational politics, various inter-office rivalries and the 'secret' cubicle farm romance everyone knows about, the annual company holiday party has all the explosive potential of an open fire in a dynamite factory.That hasn’t slowed the party train yet. New data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a global outplacement consulting organization, indicates more companies are holding holiday celebrations this year. Despite economic uncertainty, 72.4% are planning to p... view article details

Job Interviews and Dating At first glance, dating and job interviews don't seem to have much in common. But as I was writing 'Date Like a Grownup: Anecdotes, Admissions of Guilt & Advice Between Friends,' I began noticing missteps common to both endeavors.Are you coming off as desperate? Bad-mouthing an ex? Turns out there's a lot job seekers can learn from going on first dates and online dating in general. So when you're headed to see the hiring manager, remember these hard-learned lessons from the front lines of dating.9. Don't Be Desperate The most common cause of poor dat... view article details

Are Young Workers "Lost?" A recent piece in the New York Times by Todd G. Buchholz and Victoria Buchholz calls 20-somethings the 'go-nowhere generation' based on their statistical reluctance to relocate for work. They note, 'The likelihood of 20-somethings moving to another state has dropped well over 40 percent since the 1980s, according to calculations based on Census Bureau data…According to the Pew Research Center, the proportion of young adults living at home nearly doubled between 1980 and 2008, before the Great Recession hit.'Whether or not you believe Millennials are sedentary... 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

For Tony Danza, having a thick regional accent keeps him working. But for the rest of us who are interviewing and looking for jobs, sounding like Snooki from Jersey Shore or Matt Damon when he played that 'wikkid smaht kid,' is not helpful. Research indicates human resource professionals hold biases against different accents, and it affects their decisions. But which accents are the worst offenders and what can you do to make sure you avoid being screened out simply for the way you talk? Read on, we've got you covered.Address the Accent All it takes is one higher-up ma... view article details

Athletes Can Show Us More Than Their Moves Americans love their professional sports. According to recent survey done by ESPN, 74% of Americans watch four or more hours of professional sports on television per week!As we root for our favorite teams and players, it’s hard to remember that professional athletes are just that: professional. Yes, as tough as it is to believe sometimes, and despite the envious lifestyle of guys like LeBron James, shooting hoops is a J.O.B. Just like the rest of us, professional athletes change jobs, get promoted, get fired, have bad days at work, and make m... view article details

Negotiating is not easy. And, for many people, not at all pleasant. Complicating matters even further is the difficulty involved with negotiating your own self-worth following a job offer. Most people know how much hinges on salary negotiations and performance reviews. Failure to argue your self-worth often means leaving thousands of dollars on the table, and can potentially cost you millions of dollars over the course of your life. Yet our research found nearly one-fifth of workers never negotiate after they're offered a job. The question is why? With so much on the line, why ar... view article details

Don't Be Short-Sighted Life in 2013 moves fast. Some would say too fast. Our tweets are only 140 characters, social videos on Vine max out at 6 seconds, and we’d all like to get six-pack abs in just a few minutes. What surprises some job-seekers when they learn about salary negotiation, is that sometimes the entire conversation around your future compensation is wrapped up in just a few short minutes, but can have a lasting impact for years to come.If you’re not prepared, it can fly by in an instant. If you don’t have the right approach, you leave money on the table.Here are two cruci... view article details