Work, success, and meaning at every stage of your career
Building skills on the job
Jeff DeGraff Ph.D., writing for Psychology Today, says that somewhere along the way, ambition turned from a virtue to a vice. “Once a cornerstone of the American ethos—synonymous with self-reliance, upward mobility, and personal agency—ambition is now more often associated with selfishness, power-hunger, or hollow striving. We’re suspicious of those who want too much, push … Continue reading The Case for Ambition
One mistake many jobseekers make is assuming that every open job is posted somewhere. It’s easy to assume that if a company has advertised eight open jobs, they have eight open jobs, right? In fact, some of the best, highest level jobs never hit any job board. Here’s why. First, a definition. The “hidden job … Continue reading Why The Hidden Job Market is Hidden
In a previous post, I wrote about Value-in-Action stories, inspired by Annette Simmons, author of Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins: How to Use Your Own Stories to Communicate with Power and Impact. She says that when you tell a story about how you chose to do the right thing, even when that choice was … Continue reading Loyalty and Respect
As with many relationships, yours with your job may be complicated. But I believe that a healthy relationship with work (and hopefully, your job), can make your life richer and more fulfilling. It’s about the contribution you’re making, of course, which I hope also challenges and engages you. If it doesn’t, you have my permission … Continue reading A Love Letter to Your Job
As a writer, I have a bias toward written material. Writing helps you organize and refine your thoughts; it provides a record of what actually happened in real time, rather than the misremembered or edited version of events that people recall much later. We use written documentation in many ways in business, including proposals, which … Continue reading 2025 Resolution: Keep a Work Journal
The New Year brings on all kinds of resolutions for change, and the changes often include career moves. Is this the year you should make a move? Economists are predicting a growing economy, you’re feeling ready to go – how do you decide when it’s time? Here are some questions to ask about your job … Continue reading 2025 Checkup for your Career
Scott Mautz is a popular speaker, trainer, and LinkedIn Learning instructor. He’s a former senior executive of Procter & Gamble, where he ran several of the company’s largest multi-billion-dollar businesses. He is the author of ”The Mentally Strong Leader: Build the Habits to Productively Regulate Your Emotions, Thoughts, and Behaviors.” Writing for CNBC online, he says that … Continue reading Get the Respect You Deserve
When you’re in a job search, it’s easy to believe that it’s a game of numbers. The more resumes you send out, the more applications you submit, the better your chances, right? Nope, for two reasons. The first is that sending out dozens of applications feels desperate and looks desperate. If your goal is quantity … Continue reading What Your Resume Can’t Do
Writing for Inc. Magazine online, workforce performance expert Henna Pryor made up a term that is not only poetic, but useful for any leader. She says “birdsong leadership” is a way to make your employees feel safer and become more productive. She writes, “I was listening to the birds on my back porch last week … Continue reading Lead Like a Bird
In a previous post, I wrote about Katherine Morgan Schafler, who has written a book that’s changing my life. In The Perfectionist’s Guide to Losing Control: A Path to Peace and Power, she frees up perfectionists to lean into their perfectionism as long as it’s doing no harm (more on that in future posts.) Schafler … Continue reading The Parisian Perfectionist
