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 ...

Can you imagine a workplace with no pointless meetings, no boss hovering over your shoulder, and no punishment for arriving at 9:05AM?  Two online friends of mine, Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson, have just released a new book based on their popular Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) concept, which they pioneered with electronics giant ...

I like to advise people on the topic of coping with difficult people at work because we’ve all been there and inevitably will be there again.  In most cases, I recommend that you confront the problem head on and talk about it with the person who is giving you agida.  In the event that you are experiencing true abuse, though, it might ...

I frequently get asked about whether or not I recommend companies participate in job fairs to find qualified candidates.  But open houses are often a more effective means of initiating face-to-face contact with a large number of potential recruits.  In an open house, you invite candidates to an event at your organization’s offices or a ...

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 ...

Employment Digest has posted a brilliant article on job offers that aren’t actually as good as they look at first.  Writer Carole Martin tells the story of Nicholas, who received an on-the-spot offer and was so thrilled he accepted right away. Nicholas was offered $55,000 per year, with a hiring bonus of $5,000 – a $10,000 raise from his last ...

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 ...

As you’ve heard me mention from time to time, my husband is a clinical psychologist.  He’s currently studying for the Illinois licensing exam, and in this study materials I found a great section on industrial/organizational psychology (I/O).     What is this, exactly?  Wikipedia defines it as the application of psychological ...

Last weekend, my friend from Michigan was visiting us in Chicago.  She works in finance, which is still an industry made up predominantly of men, and she asked me what I thought about the role of traditional chivalry in the modern workplace.  My friend has men holding doors open for her, and allowing her to sit down first, all the time, ...