Everyone has worked a summer job at some point. For some those jobs may be their true calling, but for many they are a place to gain some valuable skills and foster passion for their future careers.Read on to see the most popular summer jobs our readers held, and how the skills learned there can help in preparing for a future career. Babysitter Respondents who had this summer job 35.9% A babysitter must learn the fundamentals of relating to young children. Valuable skill for careers in: Child Care Young children get in a lot of scrapes. Successful babysitters learn to use basic fir... view article details

The Eye of the Beholder David's office looks like the interior of an English country house: oriental carpets, antiques, and walls covered in pale blue silk damask. "This environment is intended to resemble the types of interiors in which my clients live," said David, a dealer in Old Master paintings and drawings at a gallery in New York City. For window shoppers, the gallery maintains street-level showrooms. Collectors willing to drop from $250,000 to $12 million ring the unmarked doorbell and are shown upstairs to private viewing rooms to see objects selected just for them. "We find extraordi... view article details

How to Ensure Efficiency While Employees Work from Home Have a strong organization. In the midst of this global coronavirus pandemic, companies which are fortunate enough to remain open have shifted to a work from home model. While embracing this new, temporary normal, strong management is needed to organize staff and remain productive while in isolation. One method to achieve this is to set up standard daily meetings at a fixed time to check in on your team, define goals, and get a reading on how everyone is coping during this trying time. This allows for communica... view article details

Your company may have a number of reasons for assessing your performance. To go over your work during the period in question.To find out what kind of training you need.To help you develop as a professional.To set goals for your future performance.To determine whether and when to promote you.To compensate you based on how well you perform.To find out how your skills fit into the corporate picture.This last point is where it all starts. By measuring how effectively you and your coworkers carry out your responsibilities, your employer is also assessing how well it is meeting its overall goals. U... view article details

Medical and Health Services Managers are responsible for making sure that the day-to-day operations of the medical office run smoothly. Though Health Services managers do not provide health care directly, they are responsible for the planning and coordination of health care delivery, making their role just as essential to the medical field as nurses or doctors.A Health Services Manager may be either generalized or specialized, depending on the size and needs of the office. Bigger offices usually require a number of Health Administrators with varying specialties to implement procedures and poli... view article details

Q. I've accidentally come into possession of a confidential printout of my fellow employees' pay rates. After reviewing it, I've come to the opinion I am being well underpaid. In the near future I am up for review, which always is nothing more than a formality for a decision already made. What are the possible legal ramifications of possessing this information? How, if at all, may I ethically use this information to my advantage?A. Above all, be very careful.Since you found the information, I would not use it when discussing your salary with your manager nor your HR department. Unless your cow... view article details

 At the end of the performance review, you and your manager will sign a form documenting the results of the meeting and citing changes and plans for the future. Your manager will also collect your self-appraisal to submit to the human resources department with the other paperwork for your employee records.Employers keep records of performance reviews for their protection in case of contested terminations, failure to promote, and contested training opportunities that could arise in the future. Your employee file protects you as well since it can prevent unfair assessments and ratings in future ... view article details

Q: I am putting in my resume for a manager's position that has just opened up in the store where I am a sales associate. I have been in retail for about five years and with this company for about six months. I have a degree in textiles, apparel and merchandising and a minor in business administration. The manager who is leaving speaks very highly of me. The median salary for my area is about $36,000. Should I ask for less because I have no management experience? Or should I ask for a range of $32,000 to $36,000 and see what they offer?A: If the median salary is $36,000, that means the candidat... view article details

Q: I took some time off this year, and I think it affected my performance review. I got only a 2 percent raise. Does this mean I am a problem employee?A: The dreaded performance evaluation happens every year. You hope against hope that the project you completed is recognized. You also hope the extra work you put in is also recognized. But to your dismay, you are told that in spite of your hard work, you are eligible for a 2 percent increase, which after taxes isn't much.Without knowing the details of your situation, I could paint a typical scenario.During your review, your manager informed you... view article details

It's Showtime, Folks! Picture yourself in your office, feet up, remote in hand, watching a movie on your company-provided, state-of-the-art entertainment center. Are you goofing off? No, you're doing your job. For film studio executives, watching movies on the job is just the beginning. Studio executives live and breathe movies, day in and day out. They read scripts every night and take home as many as ten or more every Friday in a ritual known as Weekend Read. Their meals are paid for, because they dine out morning noon and night with agents, managers, other executives, writers, directors, a... view article details