My new book, Success for Hire (ASTD Press) features employee recruitment and retention practices that a lot of people think they know but in reality, don’t put into practice.  One of those practices is effective in-person interviewing, which can ensure that you hire the right candidate the first time around.  The next time you speak ...

Out of sight, out of mind is one of my least favorite qualities of human nature.  I can’t tell you the number of relationships, which I thought were real and lasting, that went bust because I used to see the person every day at school or work and then circumstances changed.   Though I’ve had this happen over and over again, it still ...

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 ...

A reader e-mailed the following question:   I recently gave my company a month’s notice as I planned to move to a new city and pursue a new career.  A few weeks later, the company gave out the second installment of our bi-annual bonuses, and I did not receive mine.  The company did well this year and my accounts posted increased ...

Have you noticed that if you send an e-mail to a Web site address labeled “Info” (for example, info@company.com), you will never, ever hear back from a real person?  It seems that this “Info” address is akin to a black hole, and it’s particularly upsetting if the site lists no other person or entity you can contact with a question or ...

Thanks to Penelope Trunk for sharing a great post from Nina Smith over at Queercents.  In recent years, I have met many gay colleagues who felt more comfortable being out of the closet at work, then with, say, their parents.  Smith maintains that gays who are out at work have stronger careers.  She herself developed a closer and ...

According to a new national survey by Harris Interactive for The Marlin Company, 10% of U.S employees say their company has used e-mail to fire or lay off employees.  And 17% indicated their boss used e-mails to avoid other difficult face-to-face conversations.   “E-mail has become the new shield of today’s business. Companies hide ...

One of my favorite new blogs is Employee Evolution (check out my recent guest post over there!), and this week, contributor Chuck Westbrook (who has just started his own blog, I Hate Your Job) has a great post on ways to get respect quickly despite your youth.    Those of us who have spent time in the business world in our twenties ...

  Will Schwalbe, a guest blogger at Penelope Trunk’s Brazen Careerist, is senior vice president, editor in chief of Hyperion Books, and has just published a cool new book called Send: The Essential Guide to Email for Office and Home.  I’ve yet to receive my copy of the book from Amazon, but I have been following Will’s tips on the ...

I am always instructing people to be fastidious about written communications at work – including casual e-mails.  This means choosing your words carefully and proofreading any and all documents before you send them out into the world.  In this era of virtual teams and constant e-communication, how you come across in writing is a critical ...