Advice

Small talk at work is only awkward if you make it out to be. Look at it this way: Talking to coworkers about niceties can be a wonderful break from the stress and obligation that comes with the “big” conversations, like meetings, performance reviews and strategy sessions. It’s your...

The performance evaluation. It’s one of those mile markers of the work year – like open enrollment or Girl Scout cookie time. Anticipation of an upcoming evaluation can be stress-inducing. It can be difficult to sit there as your work record is picked apart. And, especially in this economy, any shortcoming...

You’ve spent countless months searching, attended several campus tours and had multiple conversations to decide on the college of your choice. Now, you have a new decision to make: What are you going to study? If you know exactly what you want to pursue for your four years, consider yourself...

The recession is affecting everyone – especially business owners, who are looking for any way to cut costs and save money. Unfortunately, that can result in some employers violating the Fair Labor Standards Act, which governs and standardizes hours and wages. Lower wage earners are more likely to be...

Much has been written about how to expand your professional network – attend events, make connections, build relationships, et cetera, ad nauseam. Building your network, of course, is a worthwhile pursuit, but while you’re busy looking for new connections don’t overlook the older ones -- namely your former coworkers. Ongoing...

Wondering how well you’ll integrate with your new coworkers? Before your anxiety sets in, take solace in the fact that they wouldn’t have hired you if they didn’t think you’d be a good fit for the company culture. So, don’t stress too much. It’s natural to be nervous. But realize...

If you’re feeling hopelessly bored at work — and confident that you’ve mastered your current position —it’s time to turn it up a notch and show your boss that you’re deserving of a promotion. Of course, it isn’t enough just to do your job or even do your job well....

If job seekers spent half as much quality time on the largest professional social network as they do recreationally on Facebook, the unemployment rate just might take a slight dive. A whopping 56 percent of organizations are using social networking websites when recruiting potential job candidates, according to one study...

There are plenty of obvious ways to screw up a job interview: show up late; take a call mid-interview; unload about your old boss; steal the interviewer’s pen (booze on the breath or dog poop on the shoes also can lead to a less-than-desirable outcome). But there is a more...

Sure, there’s a long-term payoff for practicing diplomacy in the workplace. Good career karma can come in the form of employee referrals, glowing LinkedIn recommendations, networking opportunities, leads on new jobs and more. But who needs any of those things? If you’re looking for some surefire ways to burn professional bridges...

It’s a pretty simple formula – you get out as much as you put in – 100 generic LinkedIn invitations will yield 100 generic connections.  But since you’re a smart and savvy LinkedIn user, you’ll capitalize on this opportunity. Leave the lethargic, generic suckers in the dust and stand...

Choosing a tech major is probably one of the smartest decisions you’ve made up until this point. Tech is not only one of the hottest fields for new grads, demand for tech professionals will only grow. Even in, like, a hundred years when robots will have taken over the rest...

Given that so much of what we communicate is nonverbal, the over-the-phone job interview creates additional challenges for job seekers – such as having to rely solely on the voice to convey emotion and the need to pick up on subtle verbal cues from the interviewer. “Phone interviews are problematic,” says...

Being fired from a job can happen to anyone and can occur for a variety of reasons. Perhaps you had a personality conflict with your immediate supervisor and your supervisor prevailed. Or, the job description was completely different from the one given to you during the interview and it...

Happiness at work is so often segmented into work and work-related ideals. It’s about “happy with the job” and as a result, it is a partial kind of happiness, if it is ever achieved at all. The better model, the model more consistent with how the world really works, requires...

Though service jobs will buy you neither Gucci nor Louis nor Fendi nor Prada, some might argue that a career dedicated to serving others pays way more than any high-powered investment job could. It pays off with buckets of intrinsic happiness. Some service workers describe warm feelings of “being part of...

Evaluating your own performance at work can be difficult: You don’t want to come off as arrogant (or as suffering from delusions of grandeur). At the same time, you want to avoid being overly critical of yourself. The self-evaluation portion of a performance review, however, can be a great opportunity...

Heather Huhman, Gen Y expert and founder of marketing firm Come Recommended, described the  young workforce best in an interview with TNGG, when she said, “They want to work hard and prove their worth -- fast.” But Millennials’ notorious need for speed is a double-edged sword. On the one hand,...

Submitting an out-of-date resume is the equivalent to wearing bell bottom trousers circa ’74 to your interview. If you’re looking for a new job, chances are your resume needs a total makeover. Job seekers make the mistake of simply updating their experience and calling it good. Not good enough! If...

Impress my boss?  you may exclaim upon reading the headline to this article. Go out of my way to impress that guy who dumps his work on me, leaves early, steals credit for what I do and makes sure I never get promoted? Impress that jerk? You have to be kidding me. Actually,...