I have found that building your career is not just something that happens. It's not something that people bestow upon you because they notice that you're doing a good job (most of the time). There are occasionally those great bosses that notice you're a true go-getter and invest time and mentoring in you. Those bosses are worth their weight in gold, and you should take the opportunities they offer you with both hands open, then be sure to keep in touch when you move to your next great role. It goes without saying you should pay it forward, too. When you're not being supervised by a phenomenal boss, you have to take control of the situation, and quite often it can feel like a fight. You're in
I've talked previously about how women face the subtle sexism of people's unaddressed expectations in the workplace. There are traditional gender roles that our society has long ascribed to women and men that, no matter what changes we make, Americans have had a hard time leaving behind. For this reason, even in the most high-powered executive suite, women tend to be given the more administrative tasks, because it fits our expectations. It's worse for women of color - they are more likely to be mistaken for members of the janitorial staff than others. These expectations, even when not reinforced by reality, have tended to contribute to an imbalance not only in wages, but in opportunities and
When I relaunched my blog all those months ago, it was predicted on answering the question, "How do you do it?" I pack a lot into one day. The answer isn't so much about what tips and tricks I do, although I have quite a few of those, but rather the things I choose not to do that help me accomplish more. The title of this post is a big hint. I'm not a Marxist, but I do think that there is a lot that our culture throws at us. Whether the distraction is intentional or just a nice bonus, many people have bogged themselves down with nonsense that truly does not matter in an effort to make themselves feel good. Whether it's binge-watching trashy reality shows, scrolling through other people's pic
I'm excited to let you all know that I've been quoted in a great article on FlexJobs. This time I'm talking about how to bounce back from common interview mistakes. Check it out and let me know what you think! One piece of advice I've given out frequently is that mistakes will happen. You can't avoid every bad thing that could possibly happen when you go for an interview. In fact, we recruiters know this! Flat tires happen, and so do coffee spills just before you go in to our meeting. We aren't expecting you to be a perfect automaton. We do, however, expect you to make a recovery, and that's what we're judging you on when a mistake happens. So, don't have a total meltdown and despairingly gi
I think that folks who read my writing regularly can tell I'm pretty much left-of-center when it comes to my political views. I don't think I'm shy about that. I don't try to bring that into my workplace, but I'm not putting Trump bumper stickers on my Mini Coopers. That said, there are always things that conservative administrations do that I agree with. For example, in the Bush administration, Daylight Savings Time was moved so that it began after Halloween. An extra week of daylight, and safer trick-or-treating. He also took a principled stand against Islamophobia in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 when we sorely needed that leadership voice. Good ones, George! Even in the nascent Trump a
On January 1st, 2018, New Yorkers woke up hungover, hungry for brunch, and the proud owners of the country's most generous and progressive Paid Family Leave policy. Mazel Tov! My cozy lil state is always competing against California and Massachusetts to be the Most Difficult State in Which to Do Business (But Also Kindest to Employees), and this is a big step in that direction. Let's leave aside whether this is a good thing or a bad thing, because in my recent work page I have a talk about gender wage gap and leave laws you can check out, I'd like to talk about unintended consequences. In the lawmaking process, there are (hopefully) a lot of experts involved in the process to help you unders
In many of my meetings with clients, I have been asked to help them get to a goal that seems a little odd. Once it was trying to implement a health benefits program at a ten-person shop. Another time it was setting up a 401k at a high-turnover retail environment. These are situations that, as a strategic partner, I’m a bit bemused by. They don’t stand to bring much ROI to the business, so I had to ask, why was it a priority? Most often, the reason for these weird requests is a noxious combination of an employee who wears many hats and the business owner’s realization that they can’t operate the business without them. It’s easy to understand how this happens - the owner takes on many roles as
