Do you love animals? Do you want to travel around America? Are you ready to quit your job? If the answer is a resounding ‘yes,’ then we have good news for you! You can be the very first Purina Cat Chow correspondent! You’ll be paid $50,000 for one year and have the opportunity to attend pet industry events and share your experiences on catchow.com and Purina Cat Chow’s other social media channels. No formal training or expertise is required to apply, but you should be a cat lover and pet owner. Apply today by filling out a brief application and uploading a photo. If you are chosen, you’ll need to put in your two weeks notice soon; the position runs from May15, 2011 to May 15, 2012. "We're searching for a passionate and enthusiastic cat owner as the Purina Cat Chow Correspondent to connect with other cat owners across the country," said Dr. Karen Sueda, Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Behaviorist and member of the Purina Cat … [Read more...] about Cat Chow Contest: This Dream Job Is the Cats Meow
What Do You REALLY Want to Do?
Do you remember the days after college graduation? The world was suddenly at your feet. You could be anything, go anywhere, do anything! And then, about a month later: reality hit. Not only did college loans not cover your living expenses, you actually had to start paying them off. You realize that, in fact, your dream job had not been just sitting there waiting for you to graduate for all these years. Yeah, so it was kinda heartbreaking. So often we end up taking whatever job comes our way first, because let’s face it: life has immediate demands, often in the form of dollars and cents signs. And then, we stick with the job because we want our resume to look good and a six months experience just doesn’t look like we’re stable. And then we stick with it because we’ve been there a year, and there’s a good raise if we stay for two. And well, at two years, kids come, mortgages hit. Definitely … [Read more...] about What Do You REALLY Want to Do?
Traits of the Perfect Employer
Perfection is an illusion. Once we give up on the notion of faultlessness, we learn that life is all about balance and compromise. Whether it's negotiating with a loved one or navigating a career filled with ups and downs, we owe it to ourselves to create a checklist and make sure that our life is filled with more pros than cons. Otherwise, it might be time to quit your job.If the dream job is out there, it would look something like this:Interview. Rather than wooing workers by explaining the job through rose-colored glasses, employers would put transparency first, detailing both the pros and cons of the job and organization, ensuring that the match suits both parties. If both sides express interest, potential employees would meet members of the staff and view their workspace before taking the job. These are important yet often overlooked factors in job happiness. The most important detail, the salary range, would be offered at the beginning of the interview or even before you show … [Read more...] about Traits of the Perfect Employer
12 Low-Stress Jobs, Really?
Who wants a low-stress job? I see lots of virtual hands raised out there. Browsing business websites produced a couple of those infamous lists – "10 Best Jobs," "15 Highest-Paying Jobs," etc. I don’t know about you, but those lists irritate me. Who collects the data and who supplies the data? Sometimes I think they must catch the “best jobs” respondents well into their post-work happy hour or after they just received a nice raise. So I just read Mainstreet’s "12 Jobs with Low Stress, Decent Pay" Honestly, most of the jobs listed I haven’t a clue about, but found it interesting to find my job and several of my friends’ jobs listed. Hmmm, not sure my friends and I realize how lucky we are to have this tranquil, high-paying work. Here’s the list: · Massage Therapist – The article mentions “soothing sounds” and “comfortable lighting.” Well, that’s more of a benefit for the client. My pal who’s a massage therapist used to like her job until the stress on her body took a … [Read more...] about 12 Low-Stress Jobs, Really?
The Perfect Fall Guy
This sad, very sad scenario is repeated all over the corporate world, and with alarming frequency. You know the drill: All of a sudden, a perfectly capable, highly motivated and well-regarded veteran middle manager finds him or herself on the company skids. A major mistake has happened, and the company is either embarrassed or lost money. Someone's got to take the blame, yet it's never, ever anyone in the higher echelons of management and/or the politically connected, who actually made the decisions that caused the screw-up. And, while the gross unfairness of it all makes you disgusted and sick to your stomach, there's usually not a damned thing you can do about it. Or is there? None of us want to be, yet we all do run the risk of becoming, the fall guy, the perfect victim. Someone who's easy to blame, whether or not they were responsible for the mistake, or error, in the first place. It's nasty, it sucks, and yet there's not a company or bureaucracy that doesn't employ this … [Read more...] about The Perfect Fall Guy
Five Tried and Tested Management Techniques
In today's fast-paced business world, managers cannot afford to rest on their laurels. Past achievements do not guarantee future success. Being an effective manager in these financially turbulent times means not only staying one step ahead of the competition, but also ensuring you have the full support of your staff. Take a look at these five top techniques for effective management that have helped those in the know stay at the top:1. Communication: It's good to talk. But it is also imperative to consider the full gamut of communication tools at the manager's disposal. Most businesses have an external communications policy in place, but some fall short of the mark when it comes to internal strategies. Online communications are an effective way for mangers to keep staff abreast of new developments and incentives. And social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook are now being recognized in the workplace as fun and accessible ways for managers to communicate with staff.2. … [Read more...] about Five Tried and Tested Management Techniques
8 Reasons Why You Should Hire Interns for Your Office
When it comes to internships, we often focus on how the work experience benefits the student. But in most situations, it works out in the employer’s favor, too. Sure, a college-age intern is likely cheaper to hire than a full-time employee. But working with interns is about more than saving money.Here are eight reasons why you should consider hiring interns in your office:1. They bring a fresh perspective. The processes we use to accomplish tasks at work are usually the methods that were utilized by our predecessors and passed on to us. That doesn’t mean it’s the best way to do something, it’s just the way we've always done it.Interns often come into jobs unafraid to question how things work or why jobs are performed a certain way, which can help bosses discover smarter ways to do those tasks. Their perspective as newbies is valuable, especially when it comes to identifying and even solving problems that go unnoticed by full-time employees.2. They’re at … [Read more...] about 8 Reasons Why You Should Hire Interns for Your Office
How Exercise Helps You – 5 Reasons to Commit for Career Success
Wondering how exercise helps you and how it can help make work better? Read on! What's your favorite way to work out? Yoga? Weightlifting? Walking? Shooting hoops? Whatever it is, odds are you know most of its benefits. It's fun, it feels good and it makes you healthy. But here's another benefit that may not have occurred to you. It'll increase your productivity and make it more likely that you will succeed in your chosen line of work. I'm not joking. Improving your mental health is bound to cause your productivity to soar. And research shows that taking the time to exercise improves your mental health, not only your physical health. In fact, studies show that exercising will increase your productivity the very same day (assuming that you exercise in the morning or at lunchtime, rather than after work). Here are a few reasons how exercise helps you: Exercise oxygenates your brain, which uses about 20 percent of the oxygen that you inhale in each breath. Exercising causes your … [Read more...] about How Exercise Helps You – 5 Reasons to Commit for Career Success
Office Romance Survey Results: Publishing Industry Is Easy; Graphic Designers Are Prudes
Vault.com, the source for career intelligence, has released the results from its annual Office Romance Survey, which showed that more workers are willing to ignore the risks involved with finding love in the workplace. According to the survey, 59% of respondents said that they have participated in some form of office romance, whether it was a one-night stand, a casual relationship, a long-term commitment, or all of the above. (Related: 8 Types of Office Crushes) Jobacle always recommends keeping your pants zipped at work - you'd be better served romancing your job. Here are some of the survey findings: 1. Have you ever participated in an office romance?No = 41%Yes = 59%If so, what type(s)?* *Note that respondents could pick more than one answer to this question.Random office hookup28%Ongoing but casual relationship29%Long-term, serious relationship24%I met my spouse/partner at work15%Other3%Tidbit: More men than women reported participating in a random office hook-up (23.3% of … [Read more...] about Office Romance Survey Results: Publishing Industry Is Easy; Graphic Designers Are Prudes
How to Stay Healthy When You Live on Your Computer
I live on my laptop. I wish I could say this is because I am a writer and so I work a lot on it, but this would only be half true. While I work via my computer, I also spend several hours more looking at funny websites, watching videos of cute things animals do, spamming forums and chatting with friends from around the world. I am the worse about doing things that are actually good for me, as I would rather do things that are fun for me. It was this that prompted me to start looking up the effects of too much computer time on my health, and the results of this search were frightening. Of course, not scary enough to actually get me to stop. Just enough to make me start figuring out ways to battle some of the more dangerous consequences of a life of too much Facebook and lolcats. Mini (Office) Workouts – So, you are at the office and you just finished filing the first set of budget reports. Your eyes are drooping and you are so bored you could cry. You need a burst of … [Read more...] about How to Stay Healthy When You Live on Your Computer