Career Advice

If I would have known that my first few jobs would house the coolest work spaces I'd ever have, I would have made more of an effort to enjoy them and not take myself so seriosuly.These days, I work in your classic late-60's Herman Miller cubicle farm.  The walls are blueish-gray and so is the mood.  As a kid out of college, I thought my first few employers were fools for "wasting" money on lively work spaces.  Looking back, I see who the real fool was.My first office job for a music trade magazine housed every 90's kids' dream: a room stacked floor-to-ceiling with CDs, all which were ripe for the taking.  If you could carry it, you could take it.After I hoarded more CDs than I could ever listen to, I decided it was time to move on.  The next stop on the career tour landed me at a local radio station producing the wanna-be "morning zoo" radio program and scheduling radio advertising.  The hallways were adorned with gold records and photos of rockstars old … [Read more...] about My Workspace Through the Years

In a five year period, I was laid off twice. The first layoff was from an alcohol and drug treatment program. One thing that has always stayed with me from that experience was the total clueless-ness of my managers. It’s a pain to lose you job AND be surrounded by fellow counselors who expect you to share your feelings. I remember walking down the hall beside my boss. She reached over, took my hand and said, “You must be having such a hard time, do you want to go home for the day?” I responded, “Uh, no, I just want a new job!”My colleague Mark Gorkin, LICSW, “The Stress Doc™", is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, acclaimed keynote and kickoff speaker and "Motivational Humorist" known for his interactive, inspiring and FUN speaking and workshop programs.  The "Doc" is a team building and organizational development consultant for a variety of govt. agencies, corporations and non-profits and is AOL's "Online Psychohumorist" ™.Gorkin … [Read more...] about Can We “Laugh in the Face of Layoffs?”

Finding Help for Major Career IssuesThere are so many job issues facing us these days - threats of layoffs, no merit increases, toxic work environments or a bad job fit. But who is the best resource to consult for help when it’s more than you can handle? In Part I, I discussed using your personal support system (friends, family, parents & co-worker/friends). Today, I’m looking at the pros and cons of using a professional network, including your boss.BossPros:·         A good supervisor knows (you hope!) your job specs. and has a more global view of the company than you do.·         Your boss knows your strengths/weaknesses and might offer specific strategies or solutions to tackle your issue.Cons:    * If your relationship with your boss is problematic, telling him you are having issues could put you at risk.    * Your boss could pass the buck to … [Read more...] about How to Choose an “Emotional” Pitstop – Part II

Finding Help for Major Career IssuesI can only recall one job that had no inherent stress: I worked in a small card shop while in grad school. I read funny cards, rang up a few sales and had plenty of time to study. The majority of people experience some level of stress or difficult issue at work and it helps to have a supportive, sympathetic ear when you need to talk it through. But sometimes it’s hard to know who would be the best fit when discussing major career issues. Do you talk to your co-workers, boss, a psychotherapist, friends, family or parents, etc.? When does it make more sense to consult a career coach?First, let’s look at the pros and cons of getting emotional support from the people in your personal life. (Co-workers fall in both personal and professional areas as they can also be good friends.)FriendsPros:    * They know you well and are mostly tuned into what you need.    * They also have some history with you and your work … [Read more...] about How to Choose an “Emotional” Pitstop – Part 1

Remember that cool car Michael J. Fox drove in the movie, ‘Back to the Future’, that ultra-suave time machine that allowed him to not only look cool on screen, but also impact events in past and future? On Sunday, March 14 at 2 a.m., we’ll be wishing we looked that dapper. Daylight Saving Time has more of a bewildering effect on our organism than anything else. It is mini jet-lag at its best. Every year it’s the same old story. We switch the clocks, blink bleary-eyed out the window, and wonder why it’s still dark outside. We battle with our own instincts to curl up into the fetal position for one more round of sleep. Let’s look at it positively. It is the one moment of the year in which we get to jump forward an hour with a simple twist of the clock. A minor inconvenience of modern life, Daylight Saving Time is meant to save energy. While most of our lives is spent on some level of clock combat as we try to beat more into our schedules, Daylight … [Read more...] about Don't Let Daylight Saving Time Impact Your Work: 5 Ways to Offset the Clock Change

You’d think the last thing that you’d want to do, after spending eight or more hours at the office, is read about working at an office. But, much like that TV show everyone loves, representations of lives similar to ours--even if they’re satirized or dramatized--give us comfort. Empathy is a powerful emotion. And it’s a coping mechanism. The following are a short list of good books--by turns dark, funny, and evocative--that share with us in the joys and agonies of the workplace.  1. Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris Joshua Ferris’ celebrated novel about working at an advertisement agency has been compared to The Office, but I think the book is much funnier. Winner of the PEN/Hemingway award for best first novel and Time magazine’s 2nd ranked book of 2007,  the novel is narrated in the  first person plural--that is, “we” instead of “I”-- and it’s the voice of the agency’s paranoid employees who … [Read more...] about Three Good Novels About Work

Sometimes it IS Who you KnowI stopped in a local art gallery (Hayley Gallery) yesterday to see the owner. I interviewed her for a magazine article last year and we hit it off. I hadn’t seen her or been in the gallery for quite awhile, but I had an ulterior motive - I wanted to tell her I was looking for a job. Prior to opening her gallery, Hayley worked in marketing and advertising and she knows people. And it’s not just because she is so personable, she’s amazing at networking.You always hear the majority of people get their jobs through a network of who they know. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal, “Internal Hires, Referrals Were Most Hired in 2009,” by Sara Needleman cites some stats to back that up. She reports that, “Internal transfers and promotions accounted for an average of 51% of all full-time positions filled in 2009, up from 39% in 2008 and 34% in 2007, reports CareerXroads, a staffing-strategy consulting firm in Kendall Park, … [Read more...] about Networking Pays Off

To anyone who's ever seen an old black and white prison movie, the term "Lifer" is well known. Usually played by a grizzled and gnarled character actor, this is a jailhouse veteran, someone who hasn't seen the outside world for years, and never will. Invariably played with some sympathy, this is the 'go-to' guy for cigarettes, candy and a host of other goodies deemed contraband by the big and bad authorities. He also serves as a sort of advisor to the new convicts; a camp counselor, if you will, to the rebellious, the delinquent, the losers with nothing going for them except their youth. And because he lives in such a time warp, it's almost comedic as to how pathetically out of date, how clueless he really is to the modern world.  Basically, lifers can also be defined, in the corporate or business world that we inhabit, as simple careerists; people who have decided, for better or worse, to remain with one organization for their entire work life. It's interesting that, as a … [Read more...] about Career Lifers Deserve Your Respect

I’m Not Talking about Lacing the DecafI’ll be honest. As a therapist, I’m not a huge fan of what some aspects of the “positive psychology” movement have become - more on that in a bit. Martin Seligman, a psychologist who teaches at the University of Pennsylvania, is considered to be positive psychology’s founder. A Web site, Authentic Happiness, describes it as “a new branch of psychology which focuses on the empirical study of such things as positive emotions, strengths-based character, and healthy institutions.”I love his ideas and have used them with patients long before it had a name. It always seemed healthier to focus on people’s strengths and positive qualities than get stuck in pathology mode. My concern is that the idea is often distorted and very far removed from its original focus and intent. (I also believe it can be dangerous for clinicians to ignore patients' serious, underlying issues while applying these … [Read more...] about Using Attitude Adjustment in the Workplace

We all suffer through bouts of work fatigue.  These periods vary in intensity and length.  It can range from "work sucks" to "how the hell did I get trapped in this suffocating job?!"  I have several "tools" in my "box" that I go to when I experience work frustration.  Here are a few actionable items that help me break out of a work rut.  I REMIND MYSELF TO BE THANKFULI look at the nice things I have and remind myself that they would not be possible without my job.  The house, the car, the phone, the food and the relative comfort would disappear if I told my boss to shove it.I think about the 10% of Americans who would kill for my job.I write a list of things I like about my job, because no matter how much you dislike a gig, every job has redeeming qualities.I TAKE EXRTA GOOD CARE OF MY HEALTHRegular exercise, a well-balanced diet and enough sleep should help ward off any of the medical fallout that work aggravation can bring about.  I incorporate … [Read more...] about Does Work Suck? 9 Tips to Break Out of the Funk