Career Advice Blog

Almost everywhere we turn, trust is on the decline. Trust in our culture at large, in our institutions, and in our companies is significantly lower than a generation ago. Research shows that only 49% of employees trust senior management, and only 28% believe CEOs are a credible source of information. Consider the loss of trust and confidence in the financial markets today. Indeed, "trust makes the world go ‘round," and right now we're experiencing a crisis of trust. This crisis compels us to ask three questions. First, is there a measurable cost to low trust? Second, is there a tangible benefit to high trust? Third, how can the best leaders build trust in and within their organizations to reap the benefits of high trust?Most people don't know how to think about the organizational and societal consequences of low trust because they don't know how to quantify or measure the costs of such a so-called "soft" factor as trust. For many, trust is intangible, ethereal, unquantifiable. If … [Read more...] about How the Best Leaders Build Trust

You're scrambling in a sweaty frenzy. You just got the pink slip at work, and you don't know where you can go or to whom you can turn. Your work buddies have already tapped your shared professional network, so that route is spent. What do you do? Jobacle readers would know to check out the Master List of Unemployment and Layoff Sites. However, Michael Butler went to church.   In June 2008, Butler lost his job as a consultant. His first response was to join a free career workshop at a nearby church. The group met weekly and discussed job search topics like interviews, resumes, and networking. After getting this refresher course on the aspects of the modern-day job search, he connected to some old contacts and eventually landed another job.   Gerry Crispin, a career consulting firm owner, encourages workers to keep up network contacts even after landing a job. He says, "Are you ever 100% out of the market? Yeah when you're dead."   I think this is a fantastic story of … [Read more...] about Need a Job? Have a Little Faith

Two job offers in one week, and I'm not even looking. I'm not bragging or gloating. My purpose in sharing this information is to illustrate two critical truths.1) The will of the universe is unpredictable, always delivering the unexpected at random times.2) You should not, under any circumstances, get caught up in Recessionitis.I sit here in awe when I think about the dozens (hundreds) of unanswered resumes I experienced when the economy was thriving. Now, amidst dire economic turmoil, and the fact that I am pleased at my current gig, cosmic forces want to have some fun with me. I can't help but laugh at the sheer irony.So what was the secret to getting two job offers in one week? Nothing! There is no secret! Unless you can read the stars or have a highly-effective Zoltar machine, there's no rhyme or reason to this stuff. Much of it is out of our control, regardless what career 'experts' like to tell us. Your job is to take care of the things you CAN control.Good athletes often talk … [Read more...] about 1 Week. 2 Job Offers. What Recession?