Can Bosses and Employees Be Friends? How to Navigate the Work Friend Zone

Are you one of the lucky people who loves your boss? Maybe she’s everything you aspire to be one day. Hanging with the team for happy hour. Turning the hallway into a putting green. Giving you solid client insight from her years in the trenches. Or maybe you’re a boss overseeing the employee of your dreams. […]

Mentoring Alternatives: A New Approach to Professional Advice

I’ve always been a huge fan of mentors. My own mentors have helped me shape my career. They’ve smoothed my path and taught me countless valuable lessons, large (how to structure my business) and small (the best shoes to wear as a professional speaker). But as I reflect on the mentors who’ve made a difference, […]

Mind Your Mobile Manners: Smartphone Etiquette Is Always in Style

Pot, meet kettle. A new survey out from Bank of America found that less than 20 percent of adults think they are on their mobile phone too much, yet more than half believe others are. And, only 10 percent of respondents believe they are “tuned out to the world” when they are on their smartphone, […]

Business Casual Dress: It’s Complicated

When even the bankers and accountants are dressing down, you know that casual dress is here to stay as a workplace norm. JP Morgan and PricewaterhouseCoopers are the latest to hang up their suits. While business casual is hardly news in most circles, having such traditional, buttoned-up industries jump on the casual train represents a […]

Starting a Summer Internship? Here’s Advice You Haven’t Heard Before

Show up on time. Ask smart questions. Have a can-do attitude. All good internship advice that you’ve likely heard before. There’s no question that summer internships can be the gateway to future employment: a new survey from Looksharp confirms that internships increase your chances of early career success. And, since demand for internships is greater than […]

More than Fetching Coffee: How to Build Great Internships

With summer intern season about to begin, I wanted to share helpful advice I’ve been reading about making internships truly beneficial for both interns and organizations. What you do to help interns succeed will impact them far beyond this summer. And their contributions can make a real difference to your operations. Start Off On the […]

Let’s Talk Politics! (Office Politics, That Is)

The phrase “office politics” makes some people queasy. Maybe that’s because we tend to associate “politics” with people who are looking out for No. 1. Those who will say anything to get ahead. The backstabbers. The gossipers. Very House of Cards. But office politics is a different game – and one that savvy professionals know […]

References 101: The Secret to Winning the Job

Are your ears burning? I know why: An HR person or recruiter is calling your references. Maybe you applied for a new job, or maybe someone’s got an eye on you and he or she is calling around doing intel. References are a very important step in the job-search process. Most companies do a deep […]

Salary Negotiation Tips for the New Grad

For 2016 grads who are starting to see job offers roll in, congratulations! You have your first chance to learn an important lesson that even my four-year-old daughter has mastered: “Don’t ask, don’t get.” A Salary.com survey found that a staggering 55 percent of respondents didn’t negotiate their salary at all in the past year, whether […]