3 Simple Ways to Get More Feedback
When I run training programs for companies on how to better manage their Generation Y talent, there is a certain complaint I hear over and over again: This generation wants too much feedback! According to many managers, Gen Y employees want feedback “on-demand” — they want to know how they’re doing after virtually every meeting, […]
5 Ways to Have More Fun at Work
It’s no secret that “all work and no play” is a bad idea. But what if you could actually play more at work? Wouldn’t that be the best of both worlds? According to guru Dale Carnegie, fun is not just pleasurable, it’s actually essential for career success: “People rarely succeed,” he once said, “unless they […]
How to Start Your Own Nonprofit: Interview with She’s the First Founder Tammy Tibbetts
Tammy Tibbetts is one of the most active, inspirational Gen Ys I know. I am a board member of her organization, She’s the First, which is a 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit that sponsors girls’ education in the developing world. Tammy generously agreed to answer some questions about how she started her organization and what advice she […]
One Simple Tip to Immediately Improve Your Professional Communication
Be more concise. Yep, that’s it. For many years I’ve taught professional writing seminars in addition to my career speeches and workshops. In these programs, “Be more concise” is the advice I find myself dispensing more than any other. Even in our world of 140-charater tweets, 160-character texts and txt msg spk, most people make […]
Baking for Good…and a Great Career: Interview with Social Entrepreneur Emily Dubner
Emily Dubner is a 2006 college graduate and founder of Baking for Good, an online bakery that gives 15 percent of every purchase to charity. I love this concept and use Baking for Good for most of my business’s holiday and thank you gifts. (Read about one instance of the excellent responses I’ve received to […]
The #1 Way to Be a Great Employee
In one of the first jobs of my career, I had a very hands-on, micromanaging boss. She frequently double- and triple-checked that I had completed even the smallest tasks. Not surprisingly, it kind of drove me crazy. Looking back, though, I consider that job to be one of my best learning experiences in professionalism, attention […]
How to Be Great on the Job: Interview with Communications Expert Jodi Glickman
Jodi Glickman is an amazingly good communicator. She is so good, in fact, that she has built an entire business, Great on the Job, around teaching young professionals how to communicate. She also has a new book on the topic, Great on the Job: What to Say, How to Say It. The Secrets of Getting […]
Yet Another Reason to Clean Up Your Facebook Profile
Over the years I’ve written multiple posts about the importance of cleaning up your online image and, specifically, your Facebook profile. When I first wrote about this topic in 2007, I found a study by the Ponemon Institute, a privacy think tank, reporting that 35 percent of hiring managers used Google to do online background […]
Why “Grunt Work” Matters
I’ve become increasingly distressed over the years by the number of students and recent grads who complain to me that their jobs or internships contain too much “grunt work.” (Interestingly, these complaints have not slowed at all in the bad economy, when one might think any job, including one that requires some gruntage, is better […]
8 Steps to Effective Informational Interviews
One of the most frequent pieces of advice I give to young professionals is to seek out successful people and ask to conduct an informational interview with them. Essentially, an informational interview is a networking meeting where the interviewee (the successful professional) agrees to share some career advice with the interviewer (you). I conducted tons […]