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career advice
An Avoider’s Guide to Resolving Conflicts at Work: An Interview with Professional Mediator Jessica Notini
I cannot count the number of times, in the middle of a conflict, that I’ve wished I knew what to say to resolve the argument in the best possible way. Instead, I’ve said whatever came to mind, which often worsened the conflict or accommodated the other person in a way that felt untrue to myself. […]
Is Temp Work Worth It?
I didn’t want to take the computer-proficiency tests required by the staffing agency. I tried to convince the hiring coordinators — who were all a decade younger than me — that I didn’t need to be tested. I was well-versed in many computer programs. But the hiring coordinators wouldn’t budge from their stance that “to […]
How to Recognize Your Implicit Biases and Benefit Your Career
What’s the first thing you do when you wake up on a workday morning? Maybe you hit the snooze button, or check your phone. Maybe you’re a morning person and you jump out of bed. Your routine may vary depending on the day of the week but, overall, nothing could be more mundane… or so […]
How to Be an Expert (Not an Egotist) at Lending Your Expertise at Work
Listen, your heart’s in the right place. You want to be helpful, and not just because you read that being helpful will make you happy. You intend to be helpful because you want to do some good in the world, and you feel that there’s no better time than now. The idea that you would […]
How to Stop Taking Things Too Personally at Work
“Can we talk?” Judy didn’t wait for my reply. “Let’s go in here.” My hand, which was reaching for my bag in preparation to leave work for the day, froze in mid-air. I almost made it out, I thought to myself with a laugh. I followed Judy to a small meeting room and plopped down […]
How to Handle Public Criticism at Work
I crept downstairs to my TV-room, and left the lights off. I sat on my couch and folded my legs underneath me, and reached for the remote. Thank goodness Mom and Dad are too tired from their Thanksgiving travels to stay up with me and watch this, I thought. This is going to be harrowing […]
Why College Didn’t Prepare Me for My Career
Everyone knew that it was going to rain on our graduation ceremony, but not one of the graduates brought an umbrella. In our defense, we’d been rained on a lot since our freshman year, and we had long been immune to soggy jeans and cold fingers and toes. Plus, the rain made our rivers ripe […]
Should You Work to Impress or to Collaborate? — An Interview with Matt LeMay
Matt LeMay, business consultant, coach, and author, has an interesting way of gauging a company’s underlying culture. He asks a team leader if they would like some coffee. He finds their reaction telling. Do they offer to accompany Matt on his coffee-run? Do they offer to pay? Do they dub Matt as the coffee guy […]
How to Improve Your Work Ethic and Feel Fulfilled in Your Career
Tom Cruise and Don Johnson wanted a picture with me. They each motioned for me to step forward, and butterflies battered the inside of my stomach. Earlier in the evening, I assumed that the crowd around them would not disperse before the night’s end, barring my chance for a photo. That was okay — I […]