Improving Businesses All of us practice project management in our lives, whether we know it or not. We are all involved in planning and organizing our everyday tasks, career, and work responsibilities. In the business world, project management is a high level skill, and a demanding career choice. Project managers are key employees in every industry and all types of companies, all over the world. Project Management itself is rapidly becoming one of the most important processes within a company. The number of PMs has risen considerably as companies have begun to realize the valuable benefits the... view article details

Weigh 'Need vs Greed' When Negotiating Salary at a Nonprofit Nonprofits are a Different Animal When you’re an employee at MegaCorp and the CEO travels to the shareholder meeting in his private jet to announce that they’ve exceeded Q4 revenue predictions by $200 million, it’s not too difficult to look at the company’s success, negotiate hard for a raise, and say “How about a little something for me?” But what happens when you work for a nonprofit and you’re not dealing with mergers and acquisitions, but rather microfinance loans to empower women or access to clean drinking water in developin... view article details

Types of Bonuses There are several types of bonuses. Some plans simply give employees a certain share of the company profits, or perhaps a bonus to the entire company. Other programs give incentives to individuals or teams to perform at or above certain thresholds. And a variety of cash and noncash awards are possible for certain types of achievements in some companies. You can even earn bonuses for being hired or getting your friend a job at your company. The following article details 10 types of bonuses that are typically seen in the workplace. What is Profit Sharing? One very basic type of ... view article details

How to answer the question "what are your strengths and weaknesses" in an interview No matter how perfectly you answer the other job interview questions from your interviewer, the question "tell me about your greatest strengths/weaknesses" can usually be a hot potato for a candidate in an interview. It's a common interview question but a puzzling one as well, which most candidates don't get right and may even panic and respond with something odd. Their answers may make them sound conceited, or not qualified for the role. This is a common mistake many job applicants make. You... view article details

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

Halloween, Job Search, and You Halloween is big business. According to an infographic by History.com last year, giant pumpkins have tipped the scales at 1,810 pounds, the average American will consume 24 pounds of candy, and 120 million people will dress up in a costume -- with 11.5% of them also dressing up their pet.It also seems that each year the costumes become more and more elaborate, with some people spending hours and hours on the perfect look. It’s enough to make you wonder what would happen if these people spent as much time thinking about their career as they did applying z... view article details

Are You Prepared to Take the Leap? Starting a company is not for the risk averse or financially challenged. It can be an incredible drain on personal, financial and emotional resources -- not just yours, but anyone you take along with you for the ride. Ask whether you (and they) have the stamina for the years of sleepless nights, occasionally contentious board meetings, demanding clients, and fickle employees.What’s your motivation to start a business? Want to make the world a better place, or are you suffering from an ego-driven need to compete with a college rival? Is launching a co... 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

Don't Forget the Basics For years I have taught innovative job search tactics. I figure as long as you do not lie or misrepresent, anything goes in job search. As a former sales guy I learned to be very crafty and successful with my get-past-the-gatekeeper/get-to-the-buyer techniques.There really are no rules when it comes to job search. I promote my one-page, short-form resume in order to 'game' resume filtering software. Other than that I propose being as creative as possible in order to break through to the other side. Seeking a graphic artist position? Blow 'em away with your grap... view article details

Did you know employers sometimes pay a premium for the right education and experience? Or that you might be able to earn more by doing the same job in a larger company? In fact, these could be some of your strongest negotiating points in your next performance review, job interview, or request for a promotion.Employers typically adjust their market data when determining how much to pay a specific employee to do the job. In other words, they price the 'space' - the position in the organization - before they price the 'face,' or the person doing that job. After they determine the value of the pos... view article details