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Stop these bad work habits now
by CNN and CareerBuilder.com
...Try going on a diet and I guarantee that a freshly baked pizza will break your willpower whether you're on the second or the forty-fifth day...
Here are bad work habits you need to break now:
Confusing casual with disrespectful, Always doing the bare minimum, Not budging from your job title, Forgetting what your job is, Ignoring the chain of command, Operating on your own clock, Badmouthing your colleagues, Flaunting your connections.
read more...
Six Job Hunting Myths Debunked
by Robert Half International
Everyone wants to give job seekers advice, and while much of it is useful, some guidance may miss the mark. Because the employment market is constantly changing, ideas that once worked well may no longer be effective. This doesn't mean you have to second-guess everything you hear, but do be aware of common job-hunting myths, like the following:
read more...
83 Percent of Recruiters Look for Digital Dirt
4 Ways to Clean Up Digital Dirt
by Selena Dehne, JIST Publishing
Job seekers, beware! That MySpace photo of you doing a keg stand may get a few chuckles from friends, but it's no laughing matter in the job market.
Employers are increasingly scouring the Internet for "digital dirt" to help them weed through job candidates. In fact, 83.2 percent of recruiters acknowledged to using online search engines in 2007 to uncover information about candidates, according to ExecuNet, an online referral network for executives and recruiters. Of these recruiters, 43 percent acknowledged eliminating candidates based on the negative information they found.
read more...
Industries That Will GAIN The Most Jobs In Next Decade
Huffington Post
We've seen the deterioration of certain industries and massive disruption in employment. But, in the next decade there will certainly be a corresponding expansion in some unexpected areas. Earlier this month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics forecast the industries in which it expects the most job growth over the next decade.
read more...
Four Ways to Get Hired Faster
by Mark Krajnik, CEO, Next Level Solutions
The difference between being proactive and reactive is time. Reactive people wait for things to happen to them, while proactive people go out and make things happen. Timing is key in any career move, so it is up to you to make things happen.
read more...
How to Identify Your Transferable Skills
by Rachel Zupek, CareerBuilder.com writer
This "finding a career" thing is tricky business.
You go to college and major in one thing -- but find yourself in a job opposite from what you spent four years studying. Or, you land a job that's exactly in line with your college major -- but discover it's not what you had in mind.
read more...
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Single Moms - find here resources on financial aid, scholarships, help with basic needs, food, prescription drugs, health care, housing, legal info, and much more...
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Read articles on career, work place relationships, back to school, choosing college, finding financial aid. See other moms’ perspective, learn from their experience.
'Digital dirt' can haunt your job search
CNN.com in parthership with CareerBuilder.com
Just like Vegas, what happens on the Internet, stays on the Internet. How that affects your job search is up to you.
Gone are the days when all you were concerned with was whether or not your résumé and cover letter were error-free. Now, you've got bigger things to worry about -- like what kind of personal information is floating around online.
Job seekers should not only manage how they come across in person, but on the Web, too. We often forget that everything you post online, from your Facebook profile to your Amazon book reviews, is out there for others to see and judge.
"Most employers nowadays hop on Google to search a name as a preliminary step, either before or right after the interview," says Monique Tatum, author of "Jumping Off the Curb and Into SEO Traffic." "A positive and strong online presence can play a tremendous part in the employer's first impression."
In 2009, 45 percent of employers used social networking sites to research candidates, according to a CareerBuilder survey, a 23 percent increase from last year. Thirty-five percent of employers said that what they found caused them not to hire a candidate.
"Hiring someone is scary," says Zack Grossbart, a virtual team coach and author of "The One Minute Commute."
"You're paying them to represent your company, and your reputation affects theirs. No company wants a newspaper headline with their name in it because of an embarrassing employee."
read more...
Never Too Late: Entering College as a Non-Traditional Student
by Kelly Kennedy
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If you are single mom and found that you had to give up going back to school to care for your children, you aren’t the only one. Single women do it all the time in order to raise their children. However as children grow up and go to school themselves, single mothers want the chance as well to go back to school. Whether it is to finish where they left off or get continuing education. Sometimes its not as easy to make the transition back to school if you are older but they are plenty others doing the same thing.
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How to turn bad sales prospects into good ones
by Valerie Minard from
Spirituality.Com
A few years ago, just after 9/11, business had slowed down. Mary was anxious
because there weren’t enough loan requests coming in, and these are the meat and
potatoes of her work. So her boss assigned her to work with new customers who
hadn't done business with her bank before.
read more...
Difficult Boss? The employee pours on patience
by Beth Carey
You better think about whether you want this job!" the boss screamed at the top
of her lungs. My friend Darcy was in tears and trembling. Her boss, Katherine,
just kept yelling. (All names in this article have been changed.)
That's the way work went. The entire office would hear Katherine as she
threatened contractors, her husband and children—and now Darcy was getting it.
read more...
The Golden Rule of selling
by Christopher Michael
After dropping out of college in 1973, I took a job selling women's shoes in
the mall. In my brief career as a shoe salesman, I learned three important
lessons:
• 1. The best salespeople were artists who danced
with their customers-always anticipating their next move.
• 2. I was never going to be a great shoe salesman.
• 3. The Golden Rule works-even in a sales situation.
read more...
Bad economy is good for bartering
By U.S. News & World Report
How about some dental work in exchange for a brake job? As the sagging economy squeezes pocketbooks, many Americans are trying an alternative to piling up credit card charges.
Watches, baseball cards, cupcakes and cookies, artwork, a journal entry, a bike and even a dog have all found new homes at Main Street Family Dentistry in Tupelo, Miss.
Dentist Harry Rayburn and his staff accepted the tokens as a barter from patients on a single day in exchange for fillings, extractions and cleanings, mainly from uninsured patients.
As spare cash becomes harder to come by for many families, bartering is an increasingly attractive alternative to putting expenses on credit cards. Lots more people are swapping stuff and services: Listings on bartering Web site SwapThing are double what they were five months ago; posts for bartering on Craigslist are nearly double those of a year ago.
Thinking of trying it? Here's a guide to bartering online.
read more...
Why I Volunteer
by Chris Radel
As we gathered around the table to speak with yet another troubled teen, I asked
my fellow volunteers if they ever questioned the value of what we were doing. To
a person, the answer was "Yes." But then we shared with each other what it is
that keeps us coming back.
A couple of times a month, I volunteer for the Juvenile Probation Department in
Maricopa County, Arizona, in a "diversion" program. Several states have programs
with the same basic purpose-to divert young folks charged with minor offenses
from the juvenile court system back to their communities. There, volunteers hold
them accountable and help keep a first-time offender from becoming a repeat
offender.
read more...
It's all growl
by Chris Shoaf
"Well, Shoaf, what did you tear up this time?"
Everyone knew that Joe was the best mechanic in the plant, and we actually
preferred having him work on our equipment. We just didn't want to be there when
he showed up.
He'd always lay into us, with a snide comment about our skills and then a
detailed lecture about how to operate the machinery properly. Sure, he was
always right-and sarcastic and loud.
read more...
Soul search
by Jeroen van Olst
My journey to find my soul began when I stepped out of my office for the last
time and said goodbye to corporate life.
After years of ruthless ambition and neglect of my mental and physical health, I
was now a professional burnout. When I began my new life as a college professor,
a whole series of new and confusing problems appeared. I soon came face-to-face
with my past and made some shocking discoveries.
read more...
Spirituality at the United Nations
by Judith H. Ryan
A growing awareness of the effectiveness of a spiritual view on global issues
is being cultivated at the United Nations and is helping staff find
solutions to their work.
According to Nancy Roof, who helped convene an ongoing meeting on this new
dimension to the UN work, "The Spiritual Caucus is committed to supporting and
strengthening the spiritual principles and purposes of the United Nations and
raising awareness of spirituality at work within the United Nations system."
read more...
Finding security when leaving a job
by Peter Winterbottom
Our kids were two and three years old, and my wife and I were just barely paying
our rent and monthly expenses. But my marketing job didn't feel right. I
disagreed with decisions that were made by upper management that affected the
quality of our product and the way I was being asked to work with our clients.
"I really needed the job, but I didn't want it. I asked myself, 'What do I want
from a job?' " Was I trying to climb some ladder of success, or was I after
power or money? No. What I wanted was to do something I believed in and where I
felt I was making a unique contribution. The more I thought about what I
believed in, the more I knew I had to make a change.
read more...
The pause that in-stresses
by Kathy Ream
I was really stressed out at work -- so much so that I had to give myself a
pep-talk each morning just to leave my house.
I was in charge of several projects at the same time, none of which had ever
been done before. We were missing deadlines for the manufactured items, and
vendors were not coming through with what they'd promised. My assessment of the
situation: There was no way it was all going to happen, and I was responsible.
read more...
The supreme boss
by Maria Erb
Maybe you've played this game at work. The workload increases -- but your
capacity doesn't. The company supports you -- but can't get you any help. Your
co-workers know you're stretched to the limit -- but so are they.
So what do you do?
When this happens, my co-workers and I often just vent. Even though we laugh and
joke and try to help each other cope, still this isn't enough to get us what we
really need. What we need is to know that we can get the job done, that we are
in good hands, that our needs are being considered and will be met, and that we
are appreciated.
read more...
Feedback: Easier to Give Than to Receive
by Nancy Ahlrichs Raichart
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No one escapes receiving feedback today--not the teacher, hospital administrator, attorney, elected official, consultant, or you: the businesswoman. Your internal and external customers demand accountability from you and anyone else with whom they spend time or money. Everyone is a consumer who expects a degree of satisfaction whenever they interact with you. You expect no less when you are the service or product consumer.
Conversely, each of us needs feedback to feel appreciated--and to correct whatever subtleties stand in the way of receiving that appreciation. Honest feedback is a reward valued by even the highest paid individual.
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Teens Say 'NO' to Parents' Career Path
by Deirdre Wilson from Bay Area Magazine
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Thinking about turning your business to your son or daughter some day? Better think again.
A new Junior Achievement poll of about 1,000 teens between ages 13 and 18 has found that 78 percent are not interested in taking on the same careers as their parents. Of the teens surveyed, 82.5% of the girls and 76.1% of the boys had no plans to go onto the same career as their parents.
While just a few decades ago children were often expected to take over a family business or choose their parents' career as their own, this hasn't been the case in the late 20th and early 21st century.
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10 Worst Things to Say at Work
by Anthony Balderrama, CareerBuilder.com writer
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Over time, you’ve probably learned what not to say in a relationship. “Are you losing your hair?” “Yes, you do look fat in that dress.” “I should give my old boyfriend a call.” “You’re just like your mother.” Experience has taught you just how much trouble you can get into with a few words.
When it comes to the workplace, however, you might not realize there are plenty of things you can say to damage your work relationships or even your own career. An off-the-cuff remark that you think went unnoticed, for example, might be the first thing your boss remembers when he thinks about you.
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Living Dangerously: Even Workers With Desk Jobs Take Big Risks Without Disability Insurance
sources collected by Amanda Bach
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LIFE Foundation Offers Six Misconceptions about Disability Insurance and the Risk of Becoming Disabled - Sources collected by Amanda Bach - Washington, D.C. – It’s been said that life is what happens while you're busy making other plans. But while Americans have a knack for planning – whether it’s for a business, a wedding or a vacation – many do not have a plan in place to protect their greatest asset – their ability to earn a living. In an effort to turn a corner on this issue, the non-profit LIFE Foundation is addressing some commonly held misconceptions regarding disability insurance and offering tips to help consumers evaluate their coverage needs.
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Top Ten Characteristics of Successful Women Business Leaders
by Sharon Hadary,
Exe. Director Center for Women's Business Research
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Women are transforming the face of business and society, moving into leadership roles as business owners and in corporations. What are the characteristics that set successful women business leaders apart? Research and experience suggest that these top ten characteristics are key for women business leaders to maximize success the 21st century.
1. DEFINE SUCCESS IN YOUR OWN TERMS
It is so easy to let others -- usually very well intentioned friends, family, mentors and business associates -- define your goals. Take control of your destiny by deciding how you define success.
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Career Spotlight: Mommy track can derail career
by Nisha Ramachandran - National Association Of Women Business Owners
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The study examined the ease with which women re-entered the workforce after taking a hiatus to raise a family, care for a parent, or tend to other personal matters. Among the findings: An overwhelming majority (70 %) of women initially felt positive about leaving their full-time jobs.
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Number of Women-Owned Businesses Soars to 10.1 Million
by Amanda Bach
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It seems that if women own businesses equally with men, or are a minority stakeholders, they are largely unaccounted for in the annals of women’s business research. Thus, while previously released estimates of women entrepreneurship show it to be a dynamic and fast-growing segment of the economy, it is far larger than originally thought.
Here’s why: The U.S. Bureau of the Census excludes many businesses in which women play an equal or minority ownership and management role, including many of the largest women-owned and led firms. Approximately one in seven U.S. workers is employed by privately held majority women-owned firms or 50% women-owned firms. These statistics are not included in the more narrow definition (majority owned businesses) Census data collectors use to assess the economic impact of women-owned and operated businesses.
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Low-Level Jobs Increase Cardiac Risk
contributed by Amanda Bach
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HealthDay News -- If you're stuck in a low-level job where your boss pushes you around, you may be at increased risk of heart disease. The reason: Such a setting makes your heart beat faster and reduces its ability to respond to challenges, a new British study contends.
Previous studies have found a higher incidence of heart disease among low-level workers, said Eric Brunner, an assistant professor of epidemiology at University College, London, and a member of the research team.
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Florida has best employment outlook - Sunshine State has vibrant job markets, report says
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If you want to know where the jobs are, you probably need to ask where the retirees are going. Indeed, that's still the Sun Belt.
A new study finds that Florida is a potent job-creation engine. Five of the top 10 cities for job growth are located in the Sunshine State, and researchers say a lot of those jobs are in health care or service sectors that cater to an older population.
Two other places on the list that are cranking out new jobs are really special cases: Las Vegas, which continues to benefit from gambling tourism and an influx of retirees, and a three-town area in Arkansas that hosts a nice retail company called Wal-Mart.
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Wage Gap Increases Between Women and Men
by U.S. Census Reports
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Figures released by the US Census Bureau last week show that the pay gap between women and men widened in 2003. Women's pay slumped for the first time since 1999, with women earning only 75.5 cents to every dollar men earn. The Census Bureau stated that this marks the first "statistically significant" decline in women's pay since 1995, AccountingWEB.com reports, with real median earnings of women over the age of 15 fell 0.6 percent to $30,724. The Institute for Women's Policy Research has stated that the 1.4 percent decrease in the gender wage ratio is the largest backslide since 1991.
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Listen to Your Heart
by Susan Braun - President of The Sudan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
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In the early 1990s, when Susan found out that her roommate from college had died of breast cancer at 36, she couldn't sit by quietly. She was working for Bristol-Myers Squibb at the time, and the news caused her to urge the company to get further involved in more patient advocacy programs. She also schooled herself much more about breast cancer.
Susan was shocked to find out that the disease was a main cause of death among women in their middle years. "I figured that if I didn't know it-and I had a graduate degree in health and worked in an oncology department-chances are the public didn't know it either," she recalls. "I got pretty fired up about finding the best ways to help change the course of breast cancer and the public's understanding of the disease."
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Utility Prices are Significant Expenses
by Randi Lynn Millward
I don't know about you, but my electric bill is sky-high. I've been running around the house unplugging everything in sight so as not to incur charges from my appliances using "phantom energy".
read more...
Because you are somebody special!
by Annette Bridges
Since my trip to Italy, my husband and I have enjoyed a delicious breakfast routine that often includes French toast, fresh fruit and a yummy cup of cappuccino.
read more...
Our Friendships
by Laurie Cesario-Overton
We all have those days when we get overwhelmed and it seems like every
time we turn around there is another problem.
read more...
3 Money Rules for Stay-at-Home Moms
As we all know, life is unpredictable. We lose jobs, get divorced and even become widowed...
Here are three steps stay-at-home parents should take to better manage their own and the family’s finances.
read more...
You May Have Too Much Debt But You Also Have Options
How Life Works
If you feel like you're in over your head with personal debt, you're not alone. Millions of Americans have become overextended, many as a result of easy credit and the recessions. Credit cards, medical bills, personal loans and raising interest rates do not make a good financial mix.
read more...
Could fat babies mean fat toddlers?
A new study from Harvard Medical School found that babies who gained weight quickly had a sharply higher risk of obesity. The study followed close to 600 babies and found those in the top quarter of weight for their length at 6 months had a 40 percent higher risk of obesity by age 3 than smaller babies.
read more...
Offer to barter
Dr. Marie - Advice for Pet Owners
A vetʼs office is a business that requires a lot of
services. In many cases your vet may be willing to
barter in exchange for veterinary services.
read more...
How to Find the Best Car Loans for Single Moms
Financial Advice for Single Moms
The best car loans for single mothers might be just around the corner at your local car lot.
read more...
Crystal Bowersox - A Single Mom And A Real American Idol
Read how the amazing Crystal Bowersox. the runner-up of American Idol Season 9, handles fame and life as a single mom, raising her 17 month old son.
read more...
5 Ways for Single Moms to Save Money
Single moms are always looking for ways to save money, and for good reason... It’s important to find ways to cut corners on the little things that perhaps you don’t think about too often, because those are usually where your biggest money drains are.
read more
Suze Orman's Recession Rescue Plan - helps you survive in times of financial crisis
OPRAH.com
Do you know what your family would do if you lost your job - or worse, your home? Financial expert Suze Orman is ready to help you devise a recession rescue plan to survive - and possibly thrive - during this deepening financial crisis...
read more...
Your Just-in-Case Emergency Plan
by RealSimple
Who do you call if you can't make it home in time to meet the kids' bus? Who do
you trust to take in your mail when you're on vacation? Who do you trust with
the extra set of keys to your house?
read more...
How to save $10,000
By Liz Pulliam Weston
If you were hoping for a list of small tweaks you could make in your spending to save $10,000 a year, sorry.
The reality is that $10,000 is a lot of money. And saving big money usually means making big changes in the areas where we spend the most, such as: Housing, Transportation, Food.
read more...
The Super, Sexy, Single Mom on a Budget
by Renee Rayles
A quick reference guide designed for the busy, single mom who has
little time to read while running the mom taxi, cooking dinner, helping with homework, and trying to fit in a date night every now and then.
read more...
Single Mothers &
Male Role-Models / Mentors
Single mothers carry an enormous load of responsibility, especially those having sole and/or primary custody of minor children. They nourish, they nurture, they teach, they discipline, they shelter, they protect, and they provide… all without the assistance of another equally-invested adult.
read more...
Mom's Obesity Raises Newborn's Heart Risk
from the National Institute of Health
The more obese a woman is when she becomes pregnant, the greater the likelihood that her newborn baby will have a congenital heart defect, a new study suggests. The finding raises concerns because 1 in 5 women are obese at the start of pregnancy in the United States.
read more...
The 10-Ingredient Shopping Trip
By Tara Parker-Pope and Mark Bittman
... In his latest “How to Cook Everything” segment on the Today Show, New York Times food writer Mark Bittman makes it surprisingly easy to cook a week’s worth of dinners with just a 10-ingredient shopping trip.
read more...
Your 5-minute guide to protecting your identity
20 steps to protect yourself from identity theft, and seven ways to clean up things if you become a victim.
read more...
Single Moms in the News
6 Best Celebrity Single Moms
Read about Halle Berry, Sandra Bullock, Michelle Williams, Reese Witherspoon, Kimora Lee Simmons, Mary-Louise Parker... read more
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
by Jeff Kinney
For those wondering why tween boys don’t read very much, the answer is that more books aren’t like this...
read more...
34 Ways to Reduce College Costs
Cooperative education programs allow students to alternate between working full time and studying full time. This type of employment program is not based upon financial need, and students can earn as much as $7,000 per year.
Some colleges give credit for life experiences, thereby reducing the number of credits needed for graduation. Students should check with the college for further information.
read more...
Answer Key Interview Questions Like a Pro
by Robin Ryan, Author of "60 Seconds and You're Hired"
"We would like you to come in for an interview" are the wonderful words every job hunter longs to hear. All that stands in the way of your new job is acing the interview and handling the questions like a pro. Long, babbling answers or monosyllabic replies aren't effective.
read more...
8 Ways to Survive - and Thrive - in a New Job
by Robert Half International
... The initial months on a job can be exciting, but they also are critical to shaping your manager's and co-workers' opinions about your potential in the new role, as well as laying the groundwork for success within the organization...
read more...
Factors to Consider Before Accepting a Job Offer
by Robert Half International
Searching for a job is hard work. Scanning help-wanted listings, researching companies, sending out customized cover letters and résumés and attending interviews can be tiring and time-consuming. If you're like most job seekers, you're excited -- or at least relieved -- when your efforts result in an employment offer.
read more...
Happy Hour: Friend or Foe?
by Patrick Erwin
The term "happy hour" may have been created by the U.S. Navy to describe a
designated period of time for entertainment and refreshment. Of course, happy
hour has long since become a universal catchphrase. People around the world know
it as a time to unwind and imbibe after a long day of work.
But for some workers, their concept of "unwinding" can land them in hot water.
Cynthia,* the CEO for a gourmet gift business, recalls one employee who was full
of surprises.
read more...
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