As the economy has gotten worse, I’ve noticed an upswing in the number of people asking me to work for free.  I don’t think these organizations quite understand that I make my living writing and speaking, so when I do these things for no pay, I don’t eat.  They rationalize that they are paying me in exposure – meaning that more people ...

Laura Stack, a personal productivity expert over at Divine Caroline, has some great tips for looking like a workaholic without actually being one.  Let’s have a look at ways you can sustain a strong reputation while maintaining control over your time. Get noticed in eight hours.  Anybody can spend a day keeping busy. It takes ...

Following up on last week’s interview post based on my new book Success for Hire, here’s what not to do if you want your interviewing exercises to result in strong and lasting hires! DON’T let first impressions get the better of you.  Sometimes, you might meet a candidate whom you decide you want to hire immediately, and will ...

Did you know that the most accurate predictor of earning power is literacy?  Literacy does not just mean being able to read, but also refers to your command of written language. I recently read an article by Steve Kaufmann at LingQ, a company that provides web-based language tutoring, you can improve your skills by copying a sample ...

Here’s a disclaimer before you start reading this post.  I’m not writing it to brag or leave you thinking that I’m the greatest colleague or employee of all time.  I’m trying to make a point, so I hope you will look at it in that light.  Now that said, I’ve often been told that I am really great to work with.  Some people ...

The HR Capitalist has a great post about the distrust of those working from home.  Are they really working, asks writer Kris Dunn, or are they simply squeezing 3 hours of work into an 8-hour day? More importantly, can a remote worker/telecommuter even go to lunch without having that ''gotcha'' feeling?  A recent Business Week online ...

[ImageAttachment]   On Career Intensity, Dave Lorenzo talks about “a career-intense” workspace.  Dave advises that your working environment, with its spatial flow and visual elements, influences your mood and also sends out a message to coworkers, clients, and visitors about your vision, aesthetics, and personal brand.  He ...

[ImageAttachment] In my excitement to get this blog up and running, last week's posts were a tad on the verbose side - which brings up an important point. Most people in Corporate America have a very short attention span and are way too busy for their own good.  When writing business communications, don't underestimate the importance of ...

[ImageAttachment]   It doesn’t add up.  The workday has been roughly the same length of time – eight hours – since the early part of this century.  Today, though, we have access to a variety of technological advances designed to increase our productivity, from fancy schmancy office software to search engines that supply a ...