There’s a different set of rules and behaviors at the top of corporations. I call it the golf culture. It’s an abrupt and invisible change from the meritocracy that dominates all lower corporate levels. Admission to the senior-executive ranks typically depends on a combination of power and politics. Membership is predominantly male and the conventions
I received an offer for free nylons in the mail today. I threw it on the edge of the dining-room table along with the daily assault of credit-card offers. I had to chuckle to myself a bit. It’s been five months since I lost my job. I was rolled over by a rudderless, Internet-bound rocket
The summer-long debate over the appropriate powers of the president of the United States to hire and fire employees of the new Department of Homeland Security has highlighted a more fundamental question about the nature of the federal civil service. Can federal workers be managed like civilians, or must they be ordered about like soldiers?
When you blast off your resume to thousands of search firms, where do you think it goes? Not to the partners it’s typically addressed to. Instead, your documents are routed to the firm’s research department where they may be coded and filed in an electronic database according to such attributes as industry, function, location and
Unemployment causes havoc in the family and tests its bonds more than almost any other crisis. When you’re jobless, other members of the family may unknowingly make you feel unwanted and on the outside looking in. They may give you silent stares, causing you to feel you’ve lost control and that the “pecking order” has
When did you last read such headlines as “340 People Newly Hired This Month!” “15,000 New Jobs Filled Last Quarter” or anything remotely resembling them in your local newspaper? Wouldn’t it be refreshing if you read an article mentioning how your state government was planning to hire 20,000 people next month?
“Diversity represents a company’s fundamental attitude that it not only respects and values the individuality of its employees but also understands how to tap the potentially significant contributions inherent in diversity.”1 Alexandra Groess Allianz Group’s International Diversity Project
How do you make diversity goals stick in your organization long after the diversity training is over and the certificates have been handed out? Many human resource managers are asking this question after having little to show for years of diversity programs. And employers are looking for ways to make diversity an integral part of
Changing careers can be like taking a train trip. You plan it, start at one location and go to your ultimate destination, with stops in between. (Sorry, there are no non-stop career trains.) The basics for getting started are scheduling your departure time and showing up at the station. Here’s how to get yourself moving.
Transitions are not comfortable. Wouldn’t it be nice if career changes were mapped out for us in neat little how-to packages with “start here and go to there” instructions (complete with arrows and signposts to keep us on track)? Sorry, it’s not that easy.
The turbulent winds of a stormy job market are here, and if the winds should blow in your direction, there is a way to handle things. Nobody likes drastic change when it comes to careers. Americans, on average, spend 70% of their waking hours, Monday through Friday, on work-related activities. That being said, to change
Sample Thank You Letter: Recent Graduate Recruiting
What’s your greatest weakness? This query has been an enduring weapon in the hiring manager’s arsenal, but most people still have trouble with the dilemma it poses: answer too frankly, and you’ll torpedo your prospects. Give a canned answer and you’ll seem phony, or worse, evasive (“My greatest weakness is that I’m a perfectionist and
Not all interviews are face to face. If you’re conducting a long-distance career search or need to talk to a manager who’s not in town, you may undergo a phone interview. By conducting preliminary phone interviews, employers save money and shorten the hiring cycle. An HR professional may call a candidate with a stellar resume
Just as important as what to do, what to say, and how to act in an interview is what not to do, what not to say, etc. Here are some tips to help you avoid that fumble.
When you leave an interview, you should leave the building as gracefully as you entered it. Make sure you’re as cordial to people on the way out as you were coming in. Then, as you decompress, take some time to review the interview while it’s still fresh in your mind. Because interviewing is a learnable
If the very word “interview” makes your palms sweat and your head itch, then take a deep breath, sit down and read this easy step-by-step guide to acing the interview. Dress appropriately. This one may seem basic, but it’s easier said than done. Before you start your rounds of interviews, be sure to have a