Career Advice Blog

Communication skills are vital to our careers, yet we don’t often look for opportunities to improve them. While dealing with salespeople can be stressful—we often see them as a drain on our bank account—that interaction can also serve as a chance to sharpen our negotiation skills. And learning to negotiate is essential no matter what career we’re striving for.Here are a few ways to improve your communication skills the next time you deal with a salesperson:1. Ask a ridiculous question.Whoever said there are no stupid questions was a fool. If you’ve ever asked a silly question, you know what it feels like to have blood rush to your face. Yet we can’t avoid asking silly questions once in a while; we need the answers no matter how much it hurts. Asking whatever questions come to your mind, regardless of how silly they seem, will help you feel comfortable asking that important question at work.2. Negotiate the price.There are two types of people in this … [Read more...] about 7 Ways to Use Salespeople to Advance Your Career

In my job as a Deputy Sheriff, confidence can mean the difference between going home safely and being in a potentially deadly situation.  As a female officer who stands 5’4” and weighs 130 pounds, I am not a physically imposing person.  However, the people I work with are often as much as a foot taller than I am and many pounds heavier.  I work in a jail, and my typical work day finds me in a room alone with as many as 96 inmates who have charges ranging from traffic offenses to murder.  Yet as part of my job, I am required to keep these individual safe from themselves and others and to enforce rules that may seem petty, such as not allowing inmates to wear the legs of their uniforms rolled up to the knee.  The key to staying safe and keeping my community safe is confidence.  While your job may not include people who want to (literally) kill you, chances are you could benefit by being more confident at work. The first tip I would give is to … [Read more...] about How to Be Confident at Work

In the old days, the answer to the question, "how long should I stay at my company?" was basically "forever."  Today it is a much different question and answer.  And with the economy still shaky, it is important to really think this through.   Because today with so many people out of work your career history will get a lot more scrutiny.  And if your resume suggests “instability” or “poor judgment”, you become more of a risk to hiring managers -- especially when compared to someone with longer stints at fewer jobs. Of course that’s not the case with everyone, but “job hopping” is still a resume killer for many recruiters and hiring managers.  There will always be a crowd that will never forgive your career spontaneity. Interestingly though, in the next few years, this question of “how long should I stay” will become highly relevant for the working population.  At some point the focus will shift from the … [Read more...] about Quiz: How Long Should I Stay At My Company?

Okay, if you read that headline and thought, “Oooh, holiday tasties and pretties, I’m so there...,” that’s not the only office food I’m talking about. Imagine if you will that there might actually be room on the conference room table for something nutritious.  No, I’m really serious. I am not a member of the food police; we all have enough of those folks in our lives. Maybe it’s your mother, hubby or your carb-fearing pal’s voice in your ear, “Are you really going to eat THAT?” I work in a home office, but I’m just as guilty as cube folks when it comes to grabbing a non-nutritious substance to eat at the desk. I’m also light-years from being a nutrition expert, but if your office’s eating habits are composed solely of the sugar, fat and caffeine food groups, maybe it’s time to mix it up. 1.      Almonds – No, not those smoked salty things. Try the plain, roasted ones. Nuts are not the new rice cakes, but they are good for you. 2.      Low-fat string cheese – I don’t know where … [Read more...] about 10 Foods to Add to Your Office "Diet"