Careers & Employment Articles

"Personal branding" is the latest buzzword. It's a topic that cuts across a number of career management areas. The concept can be extremely helpful, but the language leaves many people feeling that there's a big mystery out there about how to be succ...

There are many different career paths in the dental field today. Choices include a wide range of positions, such as: hygienist, assisting, and lab technician. Yet perhaps no other career in the dental profession is more accessible and exciting than ...

Many people are out there looking for a job. A local job search can often be difficult. But did you know you can do a local job search right from your own home? You can even do a local job search without even having to get up from your chair. How...

Do you want a rewarding career that will make some descent money? Are you good with numbers? Are you good with paperwork? Do you like anything that has to do with money? If you answered yes, you may be interested in a career in mortgage banking. ...

Corporate 'life' is a nasty oxymoron. Jam-packed days, endless demands to do more with less, impossible goals, rally the troops, jump on a plane. Miss your kid's birthday. You know these painful facts all too well. An existence? Yes. A path to a ...

As a high school senior, you are probably looking forward to graduating, but have you given much thought to what lies beyond that? Well, now is the time to take action in order to get ahead of the competition. Many experts are reporting that the com...

Career transitions are stressful, especially if you have little experience dealing with them and don't know how to leverage the stress they present to your future career advantage. Whether your employment loss was your choice or someone else's, unavo...

What is mystery shopping? Mystery shoppers go into businesses as customers. They interact with employees, make a purchase and possibly a return, then fill out an evaluation form describing what happened during the visit. Mystery shoppers get paid for...

Like it or not, if you're over 50 and changing careers, you're going to face some challenges that younger workers aren't accustomed to. There's an unspoken bias out there against older workers - at least in many companies - and unless you plan ahead ...

Don't know where to start when you need to change jobs or even your career? It's just a matter of following these 7 steps that will mean you know what to do and when. Stage 1 - What Have You Got to Offer? That piece of knowledge or bit of experience...

"I'm sorry, but I have to vent. It was a horrible day at work," began my friend on our monthly catch-up call. "We've all been there," I offered. "Yeah, but not like this." As a substitute instructional aid, she'd been asked to assist teachers on a fi...

The following article was originally included in a Career Tips booklet Steve published for service leavers back in 1998, and has been adapted as a 'Serious Wealth Warning' message on the Top Pro website. When you start 'doing the math', as our US Cou...

Why did you leave your last job? It's a question that, following redundancy, many job applicants stumble around hopelessly with as they attempt to convince the interviewer that they wanted to leave when in fact they know that redundancy is more com...

Are you thinking about a career change? Many people do this because of specific problems or difficulties. Others want to make such a change because of some growing, generalized dissatisfaction. A career change is becoming more common. A few decades a...

The success of a business endeavor involves a concerted efforts of financing, strategic planning, product design or service positioning, marketing, sales, and customer support. One of most important aspects of doing business is the people you deal w...

It is commonly believed myth that personality testing instruments can measure your personality and predict your future behaviors. The pre-employment testing mechanism has been following this creed without any solid evidence. The testing industry clai...

It's true. Things have changed. You need to know the 3 Keys to Taking Control in this wildly-changing job world. 2.6 million were laid off the past three years, 600,000 in 2003. The most mass layoffs in history occurred in January 2004. 2004 saw ...

Would you like to have more energy and synergy in your job and career? If you are not enjoying work the way you used to and if you would like to contribute in a manner that produces more results with less effort, then Energizing Synergy is what you ...

When you want something, the best way to get it is to make your request in a straightforward and positive way. You should not expect your boss or co-workers to read your mind and know what your expectations and desires are. Nor should you brood abo...

Ruts: the routines in our work and lives that have become uninteresting and bothersome. Everyone has a favorite rut or two. They are comfortable, familiar and undemanding. If you stay in them long enough you begin to equate them with who you are a...

A flair for the dramatic is a theatrical term used to describe an actress or actor who has a talent for melodrama, characterized by intensely enacted interpersonal conflict and exaggerated emotions. The central figure in a melodrama is the hero, who ...

Building and expanding a business is a difficult task, when the management of the business in its existing form takes up much of the time. The administrative, office-based and creative tasks behind running a business, although time-consuming and oft...

The dreaded job interview is the Number 1 source of email enquiries to Confidence Club. The following email is typical: "I have an interview coming up and I'm terrified! I have to do a presentation in front of a panel of judges, and I just know I'm g...

An epidemic of white-collar financial crime has resulted in the development of specialized education programs focused on economic crime investigation and fraud management. These college-level degree programs attract students who are interested in law...

When a client asks me if I think he or she is a good candidate for starting a new business, I ask several questions (see our free assessment, "Are You an Entrepreneur?"). But the truth of the matter is that these questions are similar to ones that I'...

Non-verbal interview behavior can drown out your verbal self-presentation. Practice interviewing in front of a full-length mirror or, better yet, videotape yourself if you have access to such equipment. Turn the sound down and watch yourself carefull...

You have obtained an interview -- congratulations! You feel prepared to discuss your strengths, your accomplishments, your willingness to work hard and learn quickly, and your ability to fit seamlessly into the employer's needs. But... you don't know...

In the process of musing about our perennially awake world for my Social Psych blog, I started to think about our present work world and how its operations have changed the lives of millions of workers. I manage a 24/7 emergency crew (mental health)...

A recent story in Career Journal begins: "The "midlife crisis" has long been thought of as something that afflicts men and often involves expensive toys and second wives. But the Wall Street Journal's Work & Family columnist, Sue Shellenbarger, says ...

Tent caterpillars create a cocoon for an entire colony. Within one colony there are two types of caterpillar. One type, pioneers, weave long threads forming the skeleton of the tent. The others, the workers, weave cross threads filling in the structu...