workforce

How the Holiday Season Can Boost Your Career

Tom Musbach — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:35:01 -0500

It's the most wonderful time of the year, so the song says, but that's no guarantee for people who are looking for a new job or worried about the viability of their current one.

That's why it's critical to take advantage of the great opportunities this season offers to enhance your career.

Get Ahead by Giving Thanks

Tom Musbach — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 18:35:03 -0500

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Office Gossip: The Pros and Cons

Tom Musbach — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:26:08 -0500

Office gossip is irresistible. Most of us find it entertaining in a perverse way, especially when it involves somebody we don't like. And in a time of great uncertainty and anxiety -- like the time we're in now -- gossip is hard to avoid.

A recent survey by The Creative Group, a staffing firm for advertising and marketing professionals, confirms that office gossip is pretty routine. Of the accounting and marketing executives surveyed, 84% called the gossip habit common.

Unemployment Report: Some Positive News

Tom Musbach — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 18:51:50 -0500

The Bureau of Labor Statistics' unemployment report for October caused a big stir last week. The rate jumped to 6.5 percent from 6.1 percent in September. This is reportedly the highest national unemployment figure in 14 years.

While that's certainly not good news, the unemployment figure isn't cause for widespread gloom, either. After all, the U.S. still has at least 93 percent employment.

How's Your Emergency Fund?

Tom Musbach — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 15:14:56 -0500

Living in California, I have grown used to the idea of keeping an "emergency kit" in the event of an earthquake. It makes sense to have water, canned food, flashlights, spare clothes and cash on hand to carry you through a temporary disaster.

But what if the temporary disaster is the sudden loss of your job? That's an earthquake of an entirely different nature. Do you have an emergency kit -- or fund -- ready?

Wasting Time on the Job

Tom Musbach — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 18:01:11 -0400

A new Salary.com survey reveals that nearly 3 in 4 workers admit to wasting time at work. But don't we all?

Specifically, 73% of respondents spend part of their workday on activities that aren't work-related, like personal email, talking with coworkers, or surfing the Web.

Best-Paying Seasonal Job: Santa?

Tom Musbach — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:29:56 -0400

Many Americans were upset earlier this week that a mall Santa had been fired without cause, but outcry over the incident has reportedly forced Tysons Corner Center, one of the biggest malls in Washington, D.C. area, to reverse course.

Michael Graham, who had played Santa there for 18 years, reached an agreement with the mall to get his job back, according to the Associated Press. The surprise in the article, however, is that Graham makes $175 per hour as Santa!

Put Some Risk into Your Job

Tom Musbach — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:19:12 -0400

"What are you doing outside your comfort zone?"

It's a great question, one that Arianna Huffington posed to her friends at a swanky party a few years back, according to a profile in the New Yorker magazine.

The simple question has stuck with me in the past few days. Not many of us have friends as probing or challenging as Arianna, so we may have to ask it of ourselves. How you answer it could benefit your career.

Control Your Career Destiny

Tom Musbach — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 15:22:35 -0400

Tom Musbach, managing editor for Yahoo! HotJobs, writes a careers blog offering information and advice on everything from where to find hot jobs in our current economy to dealing with proper work environment etiquette. His blog also offers HR managers and recruiters valuable insights into the state of the job seeker market, helping them keep a close pulse on the talent in this rapidly evolving work environment.

Competence of the Human Resource Profession

Jim Bolt — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 14:34:49 -0400

I just read about the results of an interesting new study, “State of the Global Talent Nation”, conducted by Softscape. 94% of the 250 human resource professionals surveyed say they “don’t feel their personnel are adequately prepared to meet future company goals”. And that is 30 percent worse than three years ago. What’s even more disturbing? More than half of them say the big reason this is so is they are not confident that their business effectively manages human resource processes.

Bio and Interests: Steve Rosenbaum

Steve Rosenbaum — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:21:04 -0500

I have more that 25 years experience helping major corporations develop their workforces. I worked with more than 100 companies in 6 countries. I'm the author of the book Learning Paths: Increase profits by reducing the time it takes to get employees up to speed (Pfeiffer and ASTD 2004.)

I'm currently president of Learning Paths International.

You can see more about me at www.learningpathsinternational.com