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 ...

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 ...

There are a lot of books out there on how to achieve job satisfaction and get ahead in the business world, but few are from the viewpoint of someone with a front row seat in the always-elusive entertainment industry.  That’s what I found interesting about Danielle Weinstock’s Can This Elephant Curtsy on Cue?. A Hollywood producer, ...

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 ...

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 ...

Every year, I get asked by one media outlet or another how to handle the office holiday party.  This year, I decided to share the advice I and others provided to the Wall Street Journal last weekend:   “We spend so much time communicating on Blackberries and e-mail, the office party is a rare opportunity to really meet the people who ...

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, ...

I’ve been taking on some new management responsibilities recently.  And you know what I realized?  The number one quality I appreciate most in a direct report is reliability.  By reliable, I mean a person who says she is going to do something, and then actually does it in the agreed-upon manner.     You’d think this one ...