You worked late on a project with another team, and the project manager didn’t even bother to thank you. We have all had the experience of going out of our way for someone only to have our efforts dismissed. Why does it bother us so much? This type of behavior is especially irritating because what everyone wants from other people is empathy. We all want to be recognized as unique individuals and to know that other peo...

The workplace is a place of social interaction, complete with power dynamics, cliques, popular kids, and of course, its own mythology. As with any myth, the reason workplace or career myths come to be is due in part to their believability and in part because of their pervasiveness. A concerted effort in critical thinking can help to validate or dispel some common myths. Here are my top ten work/career words of dubious wisd...

No one enjoys a daily commute to a job. If you’re in your car, you’re probably sitting in traffic, wasting time that could be otherwise spent on something productive. If you take public transportation, you are at the mercy of their timetables, the delays, and schedule changes, as well as having to share your space with hundreds of other people. So it’s not surprising that when people decide to make a caree...

I dread the end of the year. There are endless office parties and niceties that, although technically optional, feel mandatory. For example, I am invited to my department’s holiday party, the company-wide holiday party, and another product team’s holiday party. Both my team’s and my product team’s parties require that I bring a $25 grab bag gift. In addition, one coworker is collecting donations of...

The numbers are out. The job market is hot. Top candidates are in high demand. The current market is one in which Lazy Recruiting—a top peeve of mine—has no place. And yet, it continues to be SOP at many hiring companies. Lazy Recruiting has many facets. In its most common form, Lazy Recruiting is when a hiring company posts an open position and sits back and lets the applications roll in. After a few weeks, sai...

I came across an article recently that had a unique take on the kinds of career advice that is typically given to women. The main concept of the article is that women are being sold on the idea that it is up to them to change workplace culture and to make the workplace more encouraging and nurturing to the women who occupy it, and that this is a form of gaslighting. Gaslighting, in case you’re unaware, is a form of ma...

You’ve noticed. The job market has changed. A few short years ago, you were able to sit back and let the resumes of highly qualified candidates roll in. Between 2008-2014, you could require all sorts of criteria for candidates, and you could put them through a myriad of exercises, assessments, and interviews. But today, the candidates hold the cards. You can sit back and complain that you can’t find any qualifie...

Employees are critical to the success of most businesses. They are the profit makers of any company, without whom delivering products and services to customers would be impossible. Savvy managers understand that success is dependent upon teamwork. But are you sure that you’re making the most of the talents your team members have? Each individual is unique and has her own set of experiences and strengths formed thro...

This can be a sticky, tough question for a lot of job seekers. On the one hand, you don’t want to give away too many details as to why you’re looking for a new role. On the other, you don’t want to come off as wishy-washy with a non-answer. How do you best effectively answer this most common question? Let me start by saying that this question is one of those often used but irrelevant questions. Irreleva...

You want to be taken seriously by your managers, peers, and clients. But are you doing everything you can to ensure that you are? It’s possible that some things you do are undermining your credibility. Brands are collective. They’re built on the sum of experiences. While your big accomplishments are notable, it’s the little things that happen regularly that truly define you. If you do any of these, you may...