Manners Matter
Along with cursive penmanship and letter writing, formal etiquette seems to be a lost art. Do manners still matter in the age of texting and flip flops at the White House?
Curve Ball Interview Questions: What Your Answers Say About You
A few generations ago, interview scripts for professional jobs followed a straightforward format. According to the logic of the times, either the candidate had the skills necessary to accept the position, or she didn’t. So to find out, interviewers would simply ask. In a 30-minute session, most questions resembled the ones below: “Have you done … Continue reading Curve Ball Interview Questions: What Your Answers Say About You
Stranger in a Strange Land
In a typical day of running errands in Jacksonville, I’ll encounter workers who have come from all over the world: Vietnam, Africa, Europe, India, and South America. I have enormous admiration for someone who chooses to locate to another country and master language, culture and new job skills. I spoke recently to an American who chose to work outside the U.S. and master those same skills.
Financial Planning for Unexpected Career Turns
Every day, someone somewhere loses a job. If you were told that you’d be laid off tomorrow, what would happen? You may never be ready emotionally, but you can take steps to be more prepared financially if you experience a layoff or other change that affects income.
Becoming Anti-Fragile
Taleb likens people who don’t prepare for randomness to turkeys in mid-November; they’re happy, but not likely to survive.
Infographic: How to Find Jobs in this Economy
Courtesy: MidAmerica Nazarene University The statistics are sobering. 7.9% of recent college graduates are unemployed, and 36.7% of recent grads are working in positions that don’t require a degree. As the US economy continues to recover, the class of 2014 faces a grim outlook when it comes to finding jobs and paying off student debt … Continue reading Infographic: How to Find Jobs in this Economy
Insufficiently Exuberant Teams
Burkeman goes on to say that research shows that forced fun doesn’t work. “…researchers found that many experienced the party atmosphere as a burden, not a boon. Prêt a Manger, the British sandwich chain with branches in America, reportedly sends mystery shoppers to its cafes, withholding bonuses from insufficiently exuberant teams.”
Guest Post: Starting Over From Scratch: 5 Things to Keep In Mind during Your Career Transition
You can do this. What you’re doing may feel completely novel, and you may see only a handful of people around you (or none at all) who are starting over in mid-life the way you are. But this is an illusion—thousands of others have come this way before you, and you’re by new means the first to blaze this trail. Even more important: if this is the best path to your next step, then it’s the best path.
You Are What You Drive
I have this theory that your car reflects your approach to taking care of business: your job, your attention to detail, how well organized you are in general. I knew a recruiter once who used to send someone out to observe applicants’ cars. If they were well cared for and well organized, she would tend to believe them when they talked about being organized on the job. But if the cars were a mess: dirty, filled with trash, in general disrepair, it threw up a red flag for her.
Military Spouse Appreciation Day
The Friday before Mother’s Day (in 2014, May 9) is the day set aside to officially recognize the role of military spouses. President Ronald Reagan started the tradition of Military Spouse Appreciation Day in 1984, and the date was standardized by the Secretary of Defense. This post is my gift to my fellow military spouses. My husband served for over 20 years in the U.S. Navy, and I know how challenging it is to find and keep meaningful employment when you follow your spouse across the country – or the world – when he or she transfers to a new duty station.
