A 37-year-old mom and blogger was fired from her part-time job working at a nonprofit, when her boss became aware of her blog, The Beautiful Kind. TBK wrote about sex advice, porn reviews and discussed her own sex life. "They said they were concerned about bad press — but did they really just disapprove of her lifestyle?" While she writes anonymously, ...

Employee engagement continues to be an issue for organizations. There’s constant conversation about being over-worked and under-paid. We all realize times have been tough but now is the perfect time to examine some of your processes to ensure your business remains healthy. A couple days ago, I wrote about on-boarding – the beginning of a person’s career. Today, let’s talk about the end of ...

A reader writes: Is there a way to get around what seems to be some very ridiculous online application processes? Redundant questions (like what grade school you attended, and major declared!) make me want to put a shoe through my computer screen. I'm applying for positions that demand skilled labor and have whipped up some pretty attention-getting letter and resume material ...

Several i4cp network companies are among those that have been cursing the name Eyjafjallajokull … that is, if they can pronounce it. The Icelandic subglacial volcano is still making headlines as we write this, with most EU flights resuming but the travel chaos far from over. The gigantic ash cloud produced by an April 14th eruptions shut down the skies over ...

A reader writes: I've been looking for a position for a few months and I've found the advice on your site invaluable in my efforts. I am finding that often requirements for the submission of an application are written very vaguely and I want to make sure that I get them right. However, most of the online applications do not list ...

A reader writes: After a 45-minute phone interview with a small non-profit in another state, I was invited to interview in-person. The interviewer contacted me two days prior to the interview to request that I provide the following to her, in less than 24 hours: - Phone numbers for Find Out! [page] Wow. No, I don't think it was an intentional ...

A reader writes: I recently applied for a position in a company. A few months ago, I had interviewed for a different position in another division within the same company and received an offer. I reflected on where I wanted to go with my career and what I am presently working on and decided that this was not an opportunity that ...

There. I said it. No one wants to participate in role play exercises. In fact, I think the only people who actually like role plays are old school instructional designers (I try to avoid them when I design) and far too many HR pros. Sure, people suggest role plays all the time. But recommending a role play and raising your hand to ...

Workplace romances are hardly uncommon. After all, you're probably clocking in more hours at the office than at home. It's easy to develop close on-the-job relationships that can take a romantic turn. But what often starts as a titillating romp in the supply room can quickly turn into a train wreck, endangering your career and your future. Are you willing ...

From the downright crazy, to the just plain fun, hiring practices sure are getting interesting. Some companies turned to virtual reality to recruit new employees, while others weeded out weaklings by raising the stakes – literally. But do some of these new hiring methods cross the line? Are HR departments taking advantage of a sour economy and desperate job seekers? ...

Most of you have probably heard of the new reality show “UndercoverBoss”, where a CEO goes undercover within his own company and discovers what working conditions are like for the average employee. Most of the newfound insights are related to the employee experience, i.e.,: “Gee, I had no idea how hard my employees work”, and “Wow, we sure do serve a ...

Are you letting business get away because of your processes and people? I received a call this morning from a large tire retailer, who wanted to offer my husband an additional 10 percent off the purchase of the four tires he tried to buy there yesterday. My response was, "Why didn't you offer him your best deal while he was there? ...

A reader writes: My boss is intermittently non-communicative and micromanaging, neither of which I can tolerate. We will go weeks without meeting to discuss a project and then at the last minute she will “fling” across very unclear direction to me to execute (usually in the same day). She typically talks to me about a project as if we’ve been planning ...

This is the last of a five-part series about some of the little things you can start or stop doing that can make a BIG difference on how you are perceived as a leader. The previous posts were: Part 1: Show up on time Part 2: Listen up! Part 3: A little dose of humility Part 4: 4 magic words I ...

I’ve been involved with office pranks before (I know, surprising) and that includes the hardest day of the year to prank anyone (a.k.a. April 1st). Given that I worked in HR and also pulled pranks on people, I worked on some rules of guidance for April Fools jokes at the office. The golden rule: Don’t prank what you wouldn’t want to ...

A reader writes: I am legally blind, but it rarely hinders my ability to do most things (except for more dynamic things like driving and playing basketball). For most other things, I can use common tools like the "Zoom" options on most computer programs and simple hand-held reading magnifiers, and I'll be just fine. Ideally, I would like to just keep ...

Have you ever left an interview knowing something went awry? It can happen for a variety of reasons: Your gut tells you that this is not where you want to work, you had an uncomfortable exchange with the interviewer, or you forgot the interviewer's name altogether. Here are tips for following up after different awkward interview situations: NEXT: You Don’t ...

Businesses are obsessed with talking about value.  The conversation is focused on departments providing value, or people delivering value or processes creating value.  Don’t get me wrong…I’m not anti-value.  But in our fast-paced, real-time world, the definition of value is changing all the time.  And, if we don’t understand what it means, how can we work toward creating the value concept? ...

Work isn’t perfect, right? But if you are lucky enough to have a job right now it pays to remember that millions and millions of Americans don’t think you have a thing to complain about. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the nation’s unemployment rate is hovering around 10%. Even more troubling, The New York Times reports that ...

4 Magic Words This is the fourth of a five part series about some of the little things you can start or stop doing that can make a big difference on how you are perceived as a leader. When I first started training new managers, we used a DDI program called “Interaction Management”. One of the program’s three “Key Principles” of ...