As unemployment continues to hover near 10%, the temptation to stretch the truth on a résumé is becoming harder for desperate job-seekers to resist.
That's why experts say job applicants are doing more "creative writing" on their résumés these days. And...
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Lawsuits by employees against their employers have grown tremendously in the past decade. Sometimes those lawsuits have merit, sometimes they don't. But, either way, those lawsuits cost time and money to fight-money that is better spent on product development, training and raises.
Even worse, some laws-including federal overtime law and the Family and Medical Leave Act-allow employees to sue their supervisors directly, meaning a manager's personal bank account could be at stake. Most lawsuits are not triggered by great injustices. Instead, simple management mistakes and perceived slights start the snowball of
discontent rolling downhill toward the courtroom. Here are 12 of the biggest manager mistakes that harm an organization's credibility in court. Use these points as a checklist to shore up your personal employment-law defense:...
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Swallow your pride and you may learn something.
In early 2009, when Forbes combined its online and magazine staffs, I found myself reporting to a younger boss for the first time in my 30-year career. It wasn't easy. I knew my boss was smart and digitally savvy, but I chafed in the deputy role. I admit it: I felt both superior and a touch disdainful, just because of the age difference.
I credit both of us for weathering those rocky first months together. My boss had to put up with not only my grumpy moods but also my cluelessness about...
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You're not alone. Here's what to do about it.
It always used to be that on the Friday before Memorial Day weekend, almost everyone left early--if they went in to work at all. But as Paul Newman looked around his office at Oppenheimer Funds in Manhattan on that day last year, he saw a lot more people at their desks than he had in the past. "Typically we'd have a fair amount of senior
associates and executives extending the holiday weekend. We're just not seeing that," he says. He's an assistant vice president for human resources, so he notices these things. "Employees want to impress their bosses by limiting their vacation time." Employees have watched their colleagues get laid off, and they've read the unceasing
reports of downsizing practically everywhere; as a result, many are too scared or feel too guilty to take their allotted vacation time. Instead of recharging in a hammock or at the beach, they're putting their heads down and concentrating on the heftier workload they've had since so many of their colleagues were let go--and they're hoping
their bosses notice... [There are ways to take vacation while keeping the guilt to a minimum. Many people say they don't start feeling completely relaxed until they've already been out for a full week. But if that's not an option, consider taking...]
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Pay to Perform vs. Pay to Fail It turns out that multiple measures of success are more important than years at the company, and the best rewards are more than just higher pay.
Pay for performance has been seen by many as a magic formula that will virtually guarantee the implementation of a successful compensation strategy for any organization.
It makes sense. When employees perform according to specific, well-defined measures, the business grows profitably and employees are appropriately compensated. If employees don't perform, the company doesn't pay. Unfortunately, it's not that easy. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management certainly thought it was. After decades of
building pay scales based primarily on federal workers' seniority, the government became a major proponent of pay for performance. Its example encouraged many large companies to take the plunge. Unfortunately, few government success stories have emerged. More often, pay-for-performance programs have foundered, including the U.S. Defense
Department's National Security Personnel System (NSPS) a pay-for-performance plan designed for 700,000 federal employees. In 2009, Congress repealed the program and plans to transition all NSPS employees to existing civilian personnel systems no later than Jan. 1, 2012. The reason the pay-for-performance concept has been so disappointing
is because the human aspect of motivating desired behaviors is not as cut and dried as the pay-for-performance approach generally implies. Most organizations simply don't know how to successfully define the performance they want, so organizations end up paying for failure rather than for performance...
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Are You Referral Worthy? Obtain referrals before you need them using these tried and true techniques.
At some point, you'll need a referral from a supervisor or a co-worker.
Referrals are an incredible way to grow your career or get offered opportunities before they become public. With a referral, you can leverage someone's credibility, friendship and trust. Sales people know the power of this technique, which is why most ask their customers for names of others who might also have a need for a similar
product or service. The customer has already bought "you" based on the word of another. Here are 5 tips you can borrow from seasoned sales professionals:...
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Over my 10 years as an executive coach, many of my clients have felt like they're between a rock and a hard place because they have someone on their team who produces great results but alienates almost everyone around them.
You know the type. It's what we've come to call the prima donna. The term comes from Italian opera where the prima donna is the "first lady," usually with a reputation for arrogance, ego and irritability. These days, the term has become gender neutral. Men can be prima donnas, too. (American Idol's Simon Cowell comes to mind.) The prima
donna is talented in his domain and selectively builds relationships with a few key people who can help him accomplish what he's trying to do. Meanwhile, he treats his teammates poorly and starts making demands that have the whiff of extortion. ("If I don't get the promotion, the raise, the big account, the glamorous assignment or whatever,
I'll take my services elsewhere.") Every time he gets what he wants, it becomes fuel for a cycle of escalating demands down the road. So, if you're a leader with a prima donna on your team who keeps playing this game, what do you do? It's simple. Bite the bullet and fire him. Here are three reasons:...
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Last year, an account executive dozed off during a training session at Strategis LLC, a small marketing-communications company in Stoughton, Mass. Co-owner George Irish says the employee explained the bizarre incident by claiming to suffer from narcolepsy.
"What he had was a case of partying too hard the night before," says Mr. Irish, noting that the salesman smelled of alcohol when offering up the excuse. He later fired the man, a poor performer who never provided proof of a medical problem despite having previously been caught napping on the job. "I just don't have time for games," says Mr.
Irish. When it comes to excuses for poor employee behavior, small-business owners have heard it all-from bad hair days for rationalizing absenteeism to faulty alarm clocks for explaining tardiness. Sometimes the excuses are part of a chronic problem, and business owners say it's best to dish out a stern warning, punishment or even walking
papers to the offending employee. Other times, the excuses come from top-notch staff, making it a more delicate situation to handle...
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I bumped into a colleague outside of a work context recently. He was just out with his family, on a Saturday doing chores-with-the-family-on-a-Saturday kind of stuff, and we bumped into each other in Starbucks. During the week, this person is suited and booted, always smart, smooth, and professional. When we met, he was unshaven, and dressed down. Really dressed down. And you know what? He looked like a different person.
When I said hi, he did a double take and had more than a hint of embarrassment in his eye, as if his cover had somehow been blown. Like I had stumbled across his secret world, where he was real, exposed. Well, himself. And this got me to thinking. What is he missing out on at work? What are his people missing out on? He looked so much more at
ease, comfortable, free, relaxed outside of work. He looked happy, relaxed. He was warmer. He looked authentic. These are not words I would use to describe this person during the week. How amazing would it be if he brought some of these qualities to work with him? And I wondered why he doesn't...
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When you make a mistake, it's best to own up to it sooner than later.
And that is exactly what umpire Jim Joyce did when he returned to the clubhouse and watched the replay of his disputed call at first base for what would have been, and should have been, the 27th and final out of the game between the Detroit Tigers and the Cleveland Indians. "It was the biggest call of my career, and I kicked the (stuff) out
of it," Joyce said. "I just cost that kid [Tiger pitcher Armando Galarraga] a perfect game." [Those who hold authority over others would do well to remember this story. When you screw up, admit it. Don't try and...]
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