March 2007 - Posts

• That Kid all the Parents Loved

  In high school, you probably had a friend that all the parents loved. You remember the type. Good student, athletic team star, community volunteer, kind to children and animals, etc, etc. This kid never got in trouble and always did everything that was Read More... Posted Friday, March 30, 2007 7:00 AM by AlexandraLevit | 0 Comments Filed under: Attitude & Motivation, Discovering Your Passion, Life Balance, Ownership & Initiative, Work, Plans, Hopes, Goals

• Get Customers to Stop Yelling at You

  The customer’s always right. This is the mantra that customer service representatives have to repeat to themselves every day – if they want to keep their jobs. But what happens when you come into contact with a particularly angry customer, who is determined Read More... Posted Wednesday, March 28, 2007 7:00 AM by AlexandraLevit | 0 Comments Filed under: Best Practices, Communication, Management, Project Management, Work

• The Best Mentor is an Honest Mentor

  Lately, I’ve been speaking at a lot of colleges regarding the challenges new graduates can expect to face in the workplace, and how they can conduct themselves professionally and diplomatically in order to ensure their success. A lot of my tips are things Read More... Posted Monday, March 26, 2007 12:00 PM by AlexandraLevit | 0 Comments Filed under: Management, Mentoring, Personal Development, Work

• The Little Generation That Could

  In April, I’m doing a tour of corporations, in the U.S. and abroad, during which I’ll speak to C-level executives and managers about the current generation of twenty-somethings, also known as the Millennials , and the effect they’re having on the workplace. Read More... Posted Friday, March 23, 2007 7:00 AM by AlexandraLevit | 2 Comments Filed under: Creativity & Innovation, News and Politics, Work, Plans, Hopes, Goals

• Check Your Effectiveness Every Day (a la Seth Godin)

  A few weeks ago, my husband and I were in a car accident in which our 1997 Saturn SL2 sedan unfortunately met a bad end. As a result, our plans to purchase a hybrid had to be moved up a year. We visited several dealerships in the Chicagoland area, and Read More... Posted Wednesday, March 21, 2007 7:00 AM by AlexandraLevit | 0 Comments Filed under: Attitude & Motivation, Best Practices, People Skills

• Get Thee To A Doctor - Or Face the Consequences

  Fortune 500 companies across America are kicking off major wellness initiatives that aim to improve employee health and cut medical costs. These programs, which are being implemented by organizations such as Scotts Miracle-Gro , IBM , and Microsoft were Read More... Posted Monday, March 19, 2007 7:00 AM by AlexandraLevit | 0 Comments Filed under: Current Affairs, Employment Trends, HR Issues, Life Balance, Daily Life

• 4 Tips for Making a Smooth Exit

  It’s your lucky day. You just got a sweet job offer at a company you’ve been dying to work for. Congratulations! Now, though, you want to make sure you leave with your great reputation intact. In business, you should never burn any bridges, because you Read More... Posted Friday, March 16, 2007 7:00 AM by AlexandraLevit | 1 Comments Filed under: Best Practices, Career Change, HR Issues, Professionalism, Troubleshooting, Work

• Get Them to Take a Chance on You

  When you interview for a job, your prospective boss wants to know that you have the skills and experience to make a contribution to the organization. But she also wants to know that you’re not a clock-watcher. Clock-watchers are people that expend just Read More... Posted Wednesday, March 14, 2007 7:00 AM by AlexandraLevit | 0 Comments Filed under: Attitude & Motivation, Communication, Job Hunting, Work

• The Grass Is Always Greener?

  One unfortunate aspect of human nature is that we tend to look at other people and say: “he’s more successful, luckier, smarter, better looking, more popular, and has more money than me.” Ambitious, driven people are particularly prone to this mindset. Read More... Posted Monday, March 12, 2007 7:00 AM by AlexandraLevit | 5 Comments Filed under: Attitude & Motivation, Emotional Intelligence, Work, Plans, Hopes, Goals

• Job Videos Bring Candidates the Insider View

  Employer videos, or video job advertisements, are popping up all over the Web from YouTube and Facebook to the company Web sites themselves. And depending on the type of firm and its willingness to be cutting-edge, these videos are often really entertaining Read More... Posted Friday, March 09, 2007 7:00 AM by AlexandraLevit | 0 Comments Filed under: Employment Trends, Job Hunting, Technology

• Don't Let Your Ego Get the Best of You

  When you’ve reached a certain level in your career, or have been in the same field for a long time, it’s easy to become overconfident and think that you know exactly the way things should be done. This, however, is a dangerous place to be. Not only will Read More... Posted Wednesday, March 07, 2007 7:00 AM by AlexandraLevit | 0 Comments Filed under: Communication, Emotional Intelligence, Business, Work

• Your Boss Has Needs Too

  Thanks to Seth Godin and ExecPundit for sharing this insightful piece titled “Note from Boss to Employees.” Some of the highlights: I am sometimes under enormous pressure from upper management; pressure that you seldom see. Anything that you can do to Read More... Posted Monday, March 05, 2007 12:49 PM by AlexandraLevit | 0 Comments Filed under: Business, Office Politics, Ownership & Initiative, People Skills, Daily Life, Work

• How Well Do You Really Interview?

  I see it happen all the time. Smart, ambitious and personable twenty-somethings put together powerful resumes, and get invited on half a dozen interviews. But then, at the in-person meetings themselves, something goes wrong. Either they’re unprepared Read More... Posted Friday, March 02, 2007 7:00 AM by AlexandraLevit | 1 Comments Filed under: Business, Handy Resources, Job Hunting, Personal Development, Work