Do Your Homework For our entire childhood, homework seemed like a chore or even punishment. 'OK class, take out your homework!''Go upstairs and do your homework!''You’re not watching any TV until you’ve finished your homework!'Aw, mom. But there’s a reason your parents and teachers insisted on this extra activity. When taken seriously, the extra work and practice prepares you to excel in a given task, be it algebra or literature.'Do your homework' is also the first thing any expert will tell you when preparing for a job interview or salary negotiation. Unfortunately, like an antsy tee... view article details

Let Common Sense Dictate Your Sick Leave Policy Depending on the philosophy your company takes, the issue of sick leave can be pretty contentious. Do you keep your sick days separate from other time off? Do you hire someone specifically to track it? Or do you lump sick leave and vacation days into one big bucket labeled “paid time off?" Do you allow workers to bank sick time and get paid for it, or is it “use it or lose it?” And that’s not even considering short- and long-term disability for workers with chronic illness. Sounds complicated, doesn’t it? But the good news is there’s a solu... view article details

There is, it seems, a skills gap in this country.Even as the national unemployment rate lingers above 8 percent -- 12.5 million people -- tens of thousands of jobs are going unfilled as employers contend that they just can't find qualified candidates. Applicants need to get more education, more skills, more experience, according to hiring managers.But the problem may not lay with the job-seekers alone, according to Why Good People Can't Get Jobs, a recently released book by Peter Cappelli, a management professor at the Wharton School. Companies' own expectations and practices, Cappelli argues,... view article details

You've heard of those brain teaser questions that may well come between you and a job someday. No matter how much you may prepare yourself for a job interview, you may never be completely ready when that interviewer asks you why manhole covers are round. Even that question has been asked so often by now, it's considered one of the easy ones. Microsoft is partly to blame.Ever since the Seattle-based software giant made news a few years ago for asking applicants questions like 'How many golfballs does it take to fill a 747?', more and more companies have been adding their own mindbenders to the ... view article details

Job descriptionProject management is the process of planning, organizing, staffing, and guiding the process of creating a solution or system. Project managers are responsible for providing a plan and the means on which to base management decisions throughout the life of a project. There are many scheduling software tools available to help project managers perform their job, including PERT, Microsoft Project, Scitor Project Scheduler, and many others. While such applications are usually designed for certain industries or projects, they all use Critical Path Methodology, or CPM. CPM plays a larg... view article details

These Careers Are Worth the Price of College Admission Is College Still Worth the Money? Maybe. As the cost of education continues to skyrocket and job prospects remain less than robust in a tough economy, the answer to the question, "What are you majoring in?" seems more important than ever. There’s no getting around it. Education is expensive. A four-year degree at a public university costs, on average, $37,343, while an education at a private school will set you back $121,930. While statistics show that a college degree will undoubtedly open doors and increase your earning potential, you... view article details

How Older Workers Can Better Overcome Obstacles to Getting Hired Older Workers Have a Tougher Time Getting a Job While the U.S. job market continues to make slow but steady gains, finding a job in the current economy is still challenging. All job seekers today face significantly more obstacles than they did a decade ago, but those over the age of 50 have a few extra hurdles to clear. According to a recent survey done by ExecuNet, a member organization for senior-level executives, a Vice President over the age of 50 takes 20% longer to get hired than a 41- to 45-year-old at the same level. W... view article details

You are an entrepreneur and your company is you.  Your paycheck is the revenue generated from the services you provide your employer.  Like any successful business, you want to maximize your revenues and retain the customer – in this case, your employer.  This is achieved by providing high quality service and charging a fee that is competitive and worthy of the value provided.  Put simply, you want to get paid what you are worth. To accurately assess your fair market value, start with reliable employer-reported pay data like that found on Salary.com and follow these three steps: Match your... view article details

There was a great episode of Cheers long ago where the dim-witted Woody was duped into accepting the higher title of “Senior Bartender” over a pay raise. (For those under 30, Cheers was a sitcom in the 80s and Woody was played by Woody Harrelson … you know… that guy from True Detective and Hunger Games).Maybe it’s because I somehow saw my future-self helping others negotiate, but even at the young age of 19, that scene really struck with me. After all, who could possibly want something as insignificant as a higher title, when the bottom line of money is what they were clearly looking for?Well,... 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