I've worked for enough large organizations to see first hand how office politics and bureaucracy can kill creativity in its tracks.Only a sick and demented person would want to suck the color out of a rainbow, yet employers are doing it every single day.Today's post is short and sweet; surefire ways that bosses kill employee creativity:- Add as many steps to the approval process as possible.- Have everyone and their mother, irrespective of skill and experience, critique a project.- Do not give praise and/or credit for a concept, idea, or completed project.- Make changes for the sake of making changes (see comic below)- Hold long meetings - Require incessant status reports - Reward longevity instead of ideas and measured success- Rush every project- Be inconsistent with your requirements … [Read more...] about 9 Ways Bosses Kill Creativity
Career Advice Blog
4 Sites Recent Graduates Can Use To Find A Job
Graduating from college is a great accomplishment, but what is the next step? How do you find that dream job? Unfortunately, unless you attend a career school you won’t have much help finding a job. You’ll have the knowledge and degree needed, but where do you start looking? Luckily, we have the Internet and advanced technology to help us accomplish the most important step of finding a job. Here are 4 sites that recent graduates can use to connect with companies and find a job in their field of expertise. Ecademy Ecademy is a social network for business professionals, entrepreneurs and business owners. It’s very similar to the business network LinkedIn and has a lot of the same features. Ecademy gives you a place to connect and network with people in your field of expertise. You can find jobs by connecting with top executives and managers from companies that you’d like to work for. Companies can also find you by searching through profiles; so it’s very important to add your CV to … [Read more...] about 4 Sites Recent Graduates Can Use To Find A Job
Work Service Rewards, What Would Get You Out of Bed in the Morning?
As I mentioned in Part 1 of this post’s topic, I had no idea that lame service rewards would hit such a nerve! So I decided to follow up by asking what you would LIKE to receive from your employer recognizing your work with the company. No one said they wanted a company-logo enhanced item.HR ConcursIt surprised me that many of the folks I heard from work in HR departments. Most of them agree with the staff that the usual fare is totally uncool.One HR director offered, “In lieu of the company-logo’d binoculars, I’d much rather receive a day off with a spa gift certificate or cash gift card.”Listen to the ShrinkDr. Janet Civitelli is a workplace psychologist, career coach and manager of a career counseling team at a large urban university. So her experience with employees covers a number of niche sectors and she works to “help clients achieve greater work and life satisfaction.” Here’s her take on service gifts...“After 20 years of … [Read more...] about Work Service Rewards, What Would Get You Out of Bed in the Morning?
Why Your Boss Secretly Hates Remote Work
Common sense and multiple surveys tell us that a majority of workers believe they can do their jobs from home. Even President Obama often extols the virtues of remote work. We know that at-home workers have greater flexibility, in theory, improving their work-life balance. Add in the money employees save on commuting costs and the money companies save on skyrocketing utilities, and it equals a big win for Mother Nature.But there’s a dirty little secret that corporate America doesn’t want you to know. The reality is, most employers are not supportive of remote working. In an attempt to appear progressive, they pretend that flexible schedules are more of an option than they really are.Here are the reasons your boss wants to make sure your butt is at the office on a daily basis:Control. When you work from home your boss can't call you into his office on a whim. And let’s be honest, many bosses, especially ones who have held positions of power for decades, love to do … [Read more...] about Why Your Boss Secretly Hates Remote Work
Working on a Cruise Ship: A Dream or Rough Seas?
Drones, worker bees, and beasts of burden are just a few of the names we give ourselves as we trudge through one dreary day after another at the office. Our world at work is so antiseptic and cold that our cubes might as well be cells. Too often, we ask ourselves, after all of the education, the training and the careerism, 'is this really what I signed up for'? Maybe that's why psychiatrists encourage us to have a vivid and healthy fantasy life. True, it may only be an ersatz escape, but hey-it's better than nothing.I don't know about your fantasies, but I do know that you should definitely have them. As for me, I day dream about living in an endless summer, of sailing into sunlit waters, having new adventures and seeing those parts of the world that most people just dream about. So, and unless you're very rich (but then you wouldn't be in a cube) how do you go about pursuing such a dream, to make it a reality while you're still young enough to enjoy it? If you've ever been … [Read more...] about Working on a Cruise Ship: A Dream or Rough Seas?
Thank You, Mr. Lowes Store Manager
At Jobacle, we always work hard to provide the very best we can when it comes to career advice with an edge. Because we are the folks in the cubes of the world, doing the real work and getting all the important stuff done, it can appear that we're, well, anti-management. We're not, but we do pride ourselves on saying, with humor and insight, what needs to be said.So, in the best possible spirit, we commend Michael Hollowell, the store manager of the Lowes in North Carolina, whose leadership during a recent tornado saved the lives of the over one hundred people in the store at the time. As the manager, Michael knew the stores' emergency plan, and once he saw the tornado roaring towards his store, he immediately took action. He mobilized his assistant managers and succeeded in almost instantly herding all staff and customers to the rear of the store, into a concrete-reinforced area. While Michael was doing this, the entire roof of the free standing store was peeled back, and … [Read more...] about Thank You, Mr. Lowes Store Manager
15 Tips for Cutting Expenses While Job Hunting
Losing a job can devastate your finances. To keep yourself on an even keel, commit yourself to a self-help program of cutting expenses while you're out hunting for a new job. Identify which of your expenses are "wants" and which are "needs." Prioritize, and decide which "wants" to reduce or eliminate. Here's some specific tips. Tip #1: Get Your Unemployment (and Other) Benefits Go to your local unemployment office right away and file for benefits. Apply for food stamps. Find out what food distribution programs there are in your community. If you have children in school, seek out the free or reduced-price programs for breakfast and lunch. Tip #2: Rectify Your Credit Card Balances If you cannot make the minimum monthly payment, transfer any balances to credit cards that charge lower interest rates. Find out the toll-free phone number to call for help from each of your credit card companies, and call and explain your current situation -- write down all the details of the conversation, … [Read more...] about 15 Tips for Cutting Expenses While Job Hunting
Things They Don’t Tell You About Going Freelance
When you first decide to make the change to working freelance, the world suddenly becomes that little bit more thrilling, and you genuinely feel as if a new and exciting career awaits you, with the promise of more freedom and better pay. After all, who wants to work for the man? If you go freelance you will be working in the areas of your industry that you enjoy, planning your own career path and choosing the clients that you want to work with. Right? This of course is the ideal and it is certainly achievable. But whilst most people daydream about that ideal freelancing gig, working from home or in a coffee shop on a project that they enjoy and which will bring them awards and acclaim from their peers whilst allowing them time off to spend with friends or family, the reality can sometimes be very different. This is especially true when you first start out. So, without putting a downer on your freelance plans, here are a few things to bear in mind before you quit your job and … [Read more...] about Things They Don’t Tell You About Going Freelance
Characteristics of a Successful Manager
What are the characteristics of a successful manager? It does not matter what type of business is being managed, there are certain attributes that are essential to the success of the business. A manager that is competent and can oversee operations and employees will govern the quality of the business. Becoming a leader requires certain skills that are not inherent; they must be learned. One of the most important characteristics of a successful manager is the enthusiasm they have for their job. A company or corporation's success is going to hinge on this enthusiasm. How many times have you been to a business and gotten the impression the employees would rather be anywhere else than at work? When a manager expresses enthusiasm, this motivates the employees to show enthusiasm as well. One of the basic characteristics of a successful manager is the ability to listen. This is one of the ways a manager earns the respect of employees. In addition, when a manager listens to the needs, concerns … [Read more...] about Characteristics of a Successful Manager
How to Find Out What Your Coworkers' Earn a Year
Knowing what the worker in the cubicle next to you earns on an annual basis is a blessing and a curse. It can be great to help you put your own career plan and negotiating strategy into persepctive; but it can also leave you feeling powerless and bitter, not a recipe for work happiness. SalaryShare, a new website inspired by HackerNews, allows you to pool coworker salaries anonymously by setting up a secret link that is only available to people you choose. You'll need at least four participants to get the list revealed. Well, it's not truly anonymous - your coworkers will know who set up the salary pool because you must circulate the link in order to get people to partake! But when the salaries are revealed, you will not know who is attached to each dollar amount. Each person who participates receives a private link to view the results. For example if you are a freelance blogger, let us know how much you earn a year (only from blogging) by joing our salary pool. … [Read more...] about How to Find Out What Your Coworkers' Earn a Year