career development

Attention all leaders: New criteria for raising issues in the workplace, no solution necessary!

Cy Wakeman — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 11:40:22 -0500

Each and every day I work with leaders to try to help them understand that much of what they have come to accept as “best practices” or “solid beliefs” in leadership philosophy are not only untrue, but keeping them from creating far greater results in their organizations.

Waiting for Green Energy

Laurence Shatkin — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:57:41 -0500

Recently I’ve been working on a book about green careers, which will be part of a four-volume set called Progressive Careers, to be published by JIST next fall. As I noted in a previous blog, much of the information about green careers is difficult to obtain or, at best, still in flux.

STEM Picks Up Steam

Laurence Shatkin — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:06:17 -0500

Recently, I’ve written several blog entries on fields that are likely to experience growth now that priorities for the U.S. economy are shifting. These are the fields that are covered in my book 200 Best Jobs for Renewing America.

Great Opportunities in a Shrinking Industry Sector

Laurence Shatkin — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:03:24 -0400

Yesterday it was announced that Fisker Automotive, a company based in Irvine, California, will buy and retool a former GM assembly plant in Wilmington, Delaware, with the goal of manufacturing plug-in hybrid cars. The purchase of the Delaware site will cost about $18 million, and retooling the facility will cost an additional $175 million.

Leaders, There Really Are Some Stupid Questions!

Cy Wakeman — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:12:51 -0400

Over this past year of presenting the concepts of Reality Based Leadership at conferences nationwide, I have often heard leaders unconsciously, routinely spouting off cliches that not only remain untested but that are absolutely false. Worse yet, they are encouraging a huge waste of scarce team resources.

A favorite cliché of mine to bust right in front of their eyes is, “There are no stupid questions.”

The Status of the Stimulus Plan (2)

Laurence Shatkin — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:24:17 -0400

In mid-June, I posted a blog entry about the status of the stimulus plan, which I have been following closely ever since writing a book about it (Great Jobs in the President’s Stimulus Plan). I rushed out this book before the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 had actually been passed by Congress and signed by the president.

The Infrastructure-Manufacturing Connection

Laurence Shatkin — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:59:04 -0400

In my recent book 200 Best Jobs for Renewing America, I describe six large fields whose growth will be essential for the United States to remain competitive in the world economy. These fields are education, infrastructure, health care, information and telecommunication technologies, green technologies, and advanced manufacturing.

Leadership Cliché Challenged and Busted – There is no “I” in TEAM replaced with There is definitely an “I” in WIN.

Cy Wakeman — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:36:46 -0400

Have you ever noticed that many of the leadership clichés we live by are not living up to their reputation? Leaders flippantly throw around sound bites of so-called “wisdom,” picked up at conferences or from leadership books and use them without truly questioning whether or not they are true or even useful. Bit by bit, these clichés have reached the status of “conventional wisdom” – widespread beliefs that are not only untested but untrue – also causing havoc in the workplace.

What's Wrong with GDP

Laurence Shatkin — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:31:34 -0400

One of the most remarkable speeches that Robert F. Kennedy made was about what’s wrong with using traditional economic measures as gauges of our success as a society:

What It Takes for a Career to Emerge

Laurence Shatkin — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 14:47:11 -0400

I have spent most of this month researching and writing about emerging green careers for a book about that subject, and the effort has made me aware of the many factors that must be in place before an emerging career can reach the point where it can be adequately described in a career information resource.

More Than Energy Conservation

Laurence Shatkin — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 09:48:22 -0400

As part of my research for a book about green careers, I have been investigating the occupation Weatherization Installers and Technicians. I came upon an interesting paper by two researchers at the National Consumer Law Center that quantifies the societal benefits of weatherization in low-income housing.

Leaders, beware: the hottest new excuse for lack of results – “trust issues”

Cy Wakeman — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 11:21:22 -0400

Recent research has cited that employees who trust their senior management bring back 108% value to their shareholders. On the other hand, employees who do not trust their senior executives only bring 66% back to their shareholders.

New Data on the Glass Ceiling

Laurence Shatkin — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 15:00:17 -0400

A researcher at the University of New Mexico’s Anderson School of Management has found evidence that suggests female managers construct their own glass ceiling by underestimating how they are perceived by their associates.

My advice to leaders: Play favorites and get results!

Cy Wakeman — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 14:31:50 -0400

In our quest as leaders to be respectful of legitimate differences our employees have, it appears that we have become a very careful, hesitant, and nearly comatose group. A great number of “leaders” have begun to pretend that all employees are created equal and are delivering equal results and value to the organization – when the reality is actually quite different.

Competing by Collaborating

Laurence Shatkin — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 11:37:53 -0400

Recently in this space I’ve written couple of articles about immigration, making reference to the experiences of my grandparents. But the global labor market is now very different than it was a century ago. Although the United States is still a magnet for immigrants, many immigrants later return to their home countries, and some workforce migration even goes in the opposite direction. This week I came across a couple of articles about these phenomena.

Job Loss and Long-Term Earnings

Laurence Shatkin — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 09:47:06 -0400

Perhaps you saw the article in the New York Times this week, “Income Loss Persists Long After Layoffs.” If you missed it, I recommend that you read it, but I warn you that it is depressing news.

Does taking a sabbatical equal job sabotage?

Cy Wakeman — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:51:49 -0400

You probably heard of them in college – many of your favorite professors took a semester off to travel the world, do research or write a book. Now that you're in the real world, you could use a sabbatical, too – but is taking one a good move for your career? From an HR perspective, sabbaticals are a creative and kinder strategy to survey the workforce for those who are able and willing to volunteer for time off in order to avoid being forced to furlough unwilling workers.

Is a sabbatical right for you?

Work Experiences of Immigrants

Laurence Shatkin — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 13:48:51 -0400

This week I came upon a study of the importance of networks in the job-seeking efforts of immigrants, and it reminded me of my own grandparents’ experiences as immigrants. It also led me to some research about the entrepreneurial activities of recent immigrants.

Job Loss and Health

Laurence Shatkin — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 13:17:26 -0400

I’ve been interested in the effects of stressful jobs on workers’ health, which I discussed in 150 Best Low-Stress Jobs, and I’ve also been interested in job security, which I wrote about in 150 Best Recession-Proof Jobs and again in

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STEM and Science PhDs

Laurence Shatkin — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:23:13 -0400

Recently I was invited by Rich Feller of Colorado State University to give a presentation at a meeting about STEM careers--that is, careers that involve science, technology, engineering, or mathematics. Many observers of the American workforce are worried about how our country will stay competitive if our college students continue to move away from these disciplines and instead pursue degrees in business and the humanities.

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How Does GPA Stack Up in the Real World?

Cy Wakeman — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 09:54:07 -0400

You might ask yourself, how important is my grade point average when searching for a job?

In some aspects – it is not to be overlooked. If the applicant has recently graduated, is seeking entrance into a top corporation, is in a highly competitive job market or in a highly technical field, then GPA (grade point average) remains extremely important even though it is not always the best predictor of future performance. For other opportunities, GPAs are being valued less, with the candidate’s potential for valuable future contributions weighted far greater.
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Where Will They Pay You the Most? (continued)

Laurence Shatkin — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 10:46:53 -0400

Last week I wrote about some data analysis I had done. I tried to identify instances in which the earnings for a particular occupation in a particular metropolitan area were significantly higher than would be expected from the general level of wage inflation in that area. I devised a formula to measure this and applied it to data from the Occupational Employment Statistics survey of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Where Will They Pay You the Most?

Laurence Shatkin — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:50:13 -0400

If you’ve read some of these blogs, you know that I’m always on the lookout for interesting new ways to use data to create occupational information. This week I’m gearing up to write a second edition of 250 Best-Paying Jobs (JIST), and I’m experimenting with ways to use the earnings data collected by the Occupational Employment Statistics survey of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Fighting Back Against the Office Bully

Cy Wakeman — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:05:28 -0400
You remember in grade school when the bully left you in the dust on the playground without a lunch? You’d like to think that now that you’re an adult, all of that drama was left on the playground. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. Those bullies on the playground are now working with you in the corporate world.

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The Status of the Stimulus Plan

Laurence Shatkin — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 10:15:03 -0400

I was supposed to be a guest on the Today Show earlier this week to speak about job-hunting, specifically the effects on jobs of the stimulus package--the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. But I had to bow out because I came down with a wretched cold. My family followed me as I went through all the Kübler-Ross stages of denial, anger, and so forth, until I had to accept the fact that I was not well enough to appear.

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