Career Advice Blog

NBC v. Leno v. O’BrienI won’t equivocate about who should get what time slot from NBC and the fate of “The Tonight Show” - I’m with Conan on this one. The network courted the guy five years ago with the promise of hosting "The Tonight Show" and gave it to him. Now they want to take it away. Instead of admitting that they made some poor choices, i.e., to put Jay on at 10 instead of the usual programming, they are blaming the hosts. Besides probably being contractually uncool, it’s just bad management.David Carr points out in The New York Time’s Media Decoder article, "NBC Broadcasts Itself As a Punchline," that the network who incessantly promotes itself is taking some hits, "…management can come in for a lot of wear and tear when your talent gets pushed around and gets into feelings. Talk-show hosts usually push back, because, after all, they’re the ones with the microphone and they have a new chance to maim you ever single … [Read more...] about FAIL for NBC as an Employer, Ask Conan

There’s More Than Office BingoMost folks have played or at least heard of Office Bingo - here’s Jobacle’s fun version from a couple years ago, "Bored at Work? Play Office BINGO!" It’s a great way to entertain your self in long, boring meetings. Recently reading about a company that uses water pistols in their meetings made me think of other ways we can make it through those interminable time-wasters.When I worked in a drug and alcohol treatment program, most of the staff were either in recovery from addiction or had experienced it in their families. So we used to play “How Many of Your Parents are Alcoholic?” This was a snarky upgrade of “I wonder if he has an alcoholic parent?” The game would be kick-started in response to someone trying way too hard to control the meeting (a typical issue for children of alcoholics is the need to control) or just really irritating behavior in general. Keep in mind no one ever said the words aloud, … [Read more...] about Long Meeting Survival 101

What Happened to Social Skills at Work?As Andrew eloquently put it in his post, “Violated at Work, The Death of Personal Space,”our personal space at work is shrinking and often encroached upon by co-workers. I’m lucky - I share an office with a cat (if he’s in the mood) and my spouse only works from home one day a week. I have a luxurious amount of space. But a related issue has come to my attention lately - lax or non-existent social skills in the workplace. Just as some people who aren’t very adept at respecting your personal space at work, they also are not be picking up on your facial expressions of “Can’t you see I’m busy?” annoyance, etc.Since I work as a therapist, I should mention categories of folks who have a legitimate diagnosis that inhibits or prevents healthy social interaction. People who have a social anxiety disorder, for instance, can have such a high level of anxiety when they are around co-workers, that … [Read more...] about The Lost Art of Reading People and Situations

Our friends at Wellspring Camps, a weight loss organization for young adults and families across the U.S, reminds us of several ways to incorporate calorie-burning exercises into our daily work routine.      * Record steps per day on a calendar posted at your desk    * Seek parking spots and further away from destinations    * Walk to lunch destinations whenever possible    * Make a game out of guessing the number of steps it takes to go from one place to anotherIf you're lucky enough to work for a company that has an office gym, be sure to follow the proper gym etiquette.The Mayo Clinic has some additional ideas on how to burn calories at work.Related links:Overweight Discrimination @ WorkExercising With Scissors … [Read more...] about How to Burn Additional Calories at Work

Office jobs are filled with stretches of monotony, I don't care how exciting you try to tell me your job is.  One thing that helps me pass the time and stay motivated is music. I listen all day long.  Every second that I'm at my desk is another second colored in by music.   And my employer should thank me.Research from the University of Illinois found that when (256) office workers listened to music of their choosing, they were more relaxed, in a better overall mood, enhanced their job performance and even had a reduced interest in switching jobs.Whoa.  And I thought I was just drowning out all that annoying thermostat chatter!So let's crank those speakers (to a reasonable volume) and take a look at the best services to listen to music with at work. RHAPSODYFor several years, I have scraped up $14 a month to subscribe to Rhapsody.  The service allows me to stream as much music as I want and has an impressively large catalog -  8 million and counting.  … [Read more...] about Music at Work. Why It's Important and Where to Get It