August 2006 - Posts

• Warning: Wimpy Raises Ahead

  This in from USA Today : More than 90% of employees are expected to receive an increase in base pay this year, finds a survey by WorldatWork . That includes cost of living, merit and other types of increases. The good news is deceptive, though, as the Read More... Posted Wednesday, August 30, 2006 7:00 AM by AlexandraLevit | 0 Comments Filed under: Compensation, Reviews & Promotions

• The State of Laziness

  Michelle Medley over at Worthwhile had an interesting post this week about lifetime laziness. She cites the message of Stanton Ballard, geologist, geophysicist and inventor of "Mr. Ballard's Lazy Lecture:” if you want to be lazy over a lifetime, work Read More... Posted Monday, August 28, 2006 7:00 AM by AlexandraLevit | 2 Comments Filed under: Attitude & Motivation, Employment Trends, Life Balance Attachment(s): http://www.posters-artprints-pictureframes.com/images_articles/dem-laziness.jpg

• Interview with Holly Dippner: Continued

  Here’s more from Holly Dippner, a 22-year-old event planner at the University of Pennsylvania . Alex: Describe some of the day-to-day activities of your job. Holly: Some day-to-day activities include obtaining details from potential new clients, determining Read More... Posted Friday, August 25, 2006 12:29 PM by AlexandraLevit | 2 Comments Filed under: Cool Careers

• Risky Business

  Fortune has an article about Generation X-ers who feel stuck in middle management because the aging Baby Boomers above them won’t retire. According to the piece, if you simply wait around to move up, you’ll never break through that gray ceiling. " If Read More... Posted Wednesday, August 23, 2006 8:48 PM by AlexandraLevit | 0 Comments Filed under: Ownership & Initiative, Personal Marketing, Troubleshooting Attachment(s): http://allstarz.hollywood.com/tomcruise/risky.jpg

• Everyone's Your Customer

  It was an amazing contrast. In the period of a week, I experienced the best example of exceptional customer service – and the worst example of horrendous customer service – in my recent history. On Thursday, my iPod Mini’s battery died after I’d only Read More... Posted Monday, August 21, 2006 7:00 AM by AlexandraLevit | 0 Comments Filed under: Communication, People Skills, Personal Marketing, Professionalism

• Why We Hesitate...to Delegate

  Much as we may grumble about our colleagues, they’re there for a reason. Your company or department’s workload is too much for one person. Sometimes, you’ll even get a direct report or two (or even a whole group) to help manage the never-ending stream Read More... Posted Friday, August 18, 2006 7:00 AM by AlexandraLevit | 2 Comments Filed under: Communication, Management, Mentoring, People Skills, Productivity, Project Management, Daily Life Attachment(s): http://graphics.iparenting.com/clipart/familycandids/00009296.JPG

• Interview with Holly Dippner: Event Planner

  As I mentioned earlier in the summer, I'm going to be featuring interviews with people who are either doing their dream jobs, or who can help us on our quest to snag ours. This week's chat is with Holly Dippner, a 22-year-old event planner with the University Read More... Posted Wednesday, August 16, 2006 7:00 AM by AlexandraLevit | 0 Comments Filed under: Cool Careers

• The Resume Game

  Career Builder has a new article on how to make this era of resume-scanning computers work to your advantage: incorporating strong keywords. According to author Jared Flesher, computers are instructed to hunt for certain words phrases, so the right keyword Read More... Posted Monday, August 14, 2006 7:00 AM by AlexandraLevit | 0 Comments Filed under: Job Hunting, Technology Attachment(s): http://www.salessolutionsgroupllc.com/salesresume_r2_c3.gif

• Need Someone's Help? Heed This Lesson.

  I’m interviewing more than 100 twenty and thirty-somethings for my new book on dream careers, How’d You Score THAT Gig . In order to effectively manage the tidal wave of information, I thought it would be easiest to start by sending my subjects written Read More... Posted Friday, August 11, 2006 7:00 AM by AlexandraLevit | 1 Comments Filed under: Best Practices, Emotional Intelligence, People Skills

• Can A Job Buy You Happiness?

  On the Brazen Careerist blog, Penelope Trunk has a post on money’s relationship to happiness. She quotes Daniel Gilbert , professor of psychology at Harvard University, who says once you have enough money to meet basic needs – food, shelter, etc. — incremental Read More... Posted Wednesday, August 09, 2006 7:00 AM by AlexandraLevit | 2 Comments Filed under: Attitude & Motivation, Career Change, Cool Careers, Discovering Your Passion Attachment(s): http://vanderbiltowc.wellsource.com/dh_images/content1094_happyjob.gif

• Fantasy Football: The New Office Politics?

  Fantasy Football season is here already, you say? Great. I guess that means I can kiss my husband goodbye for the next several months, except when he wakes me up in the middle of the night to obsess about who he passed over in the draft. MSNBC just ran Read More... Posted Monday, August 07, 2006 7:00 AM by AlexandraLevit | 3 Comments Filed under: Networking, Office Politics, Daily Life Attachment(s): http://www.nflfantasyfootball.com/nfl_fantasy_football/1.jpg

• Handling Angry Phone Calls with Aplomb

  What do you do if you’re sitting at your desk, minding your own business, and an irate caller disturbs your peaceful day? Customer service representatives are experts at neutralizing angry people, and they suggest acknowledging the caller’s frustration Read More... Posted Friday, August 04, 2006 7:00 AM by AlexandraLevit | 2 Comments Filed under: Communication, Troubleshooting Attachment(s): http://www.aperfectworld.org/clipart/communications/irate_customer_small.png

• Who Knows What You Do?

  It’s one of the great questions we ponder. In order to be successful in the business world, your supervisors and colleagues must view you as a consistent contributor. But assuming your boss isn’t someone who recognizes your achievements every day, how Read More... Posted Wednesday, August 02, 2006 7:00 AM by AlexandraLevit | 4 Comments Filed under: Best Practices, Management, Office Politics