TheJobBored

ShareIf you have career or job search question you would like answered on this blog, click here to Ask Brian.
D. asks:
How long should one expect to wait to get approval on a vacation request? I have three weeks vacation and have only used two.
Vacation request? This time of year? I think you’re reading your calender [...]

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Share
If you have career or job search question you would like answered on this blog, click here to Ask Brian.
Just Trying To Work asks:
I have a question about a touchy/socially taboo subject: nursing mothers in the workplace.  A woman that I work with who is still on maternity leave, comes into the office at least [...]

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ShareSaw this book in Borders this weekend.
My definition of a toxic boss has always been one who is so bad as to endanger/damage your career.
There are some bosses who can only hurt you, and you’re better off getting out from under them rather than “dealing” with them.
What are signs of a toxic boss? Off the [...]

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ShareMaybe I’m old fashioned.
(The further into my 30s I go, the more old fashioned I feel.)
But I really don’t feel there is a place in the workplace for three things: your religion, your sex life and your politics. I don’t want to hear about any of them. Keep it to yourself.
So, given the fact that [...]

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ShareWe’ve spoken in the past about strategies you can employ to anticipate and avoid layoffs.
But what happens if you survive a round of layoffs? What should you do if you look around and you’re one of the last men standing?
Here are some quick tips:
Figure Out The Company Game Plan, and Get On Board
If you’ve just [...]

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ShareIt’s well known that business tends to slow down during the summer months. Wall Street traditionally experiences slow trading days in the summer (though maybe not this year) for the simple reason that traders and brokers are all out in the Hamptons enjoying long weekends.
Perhaps you’re in an office where the bosses are starting to [...]

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ShareJust a quick note before I get the comments: there’s no Obama or Hillary bias intended here. I’ve not been a supporter of either candidate.
1) Experience is not always a trump card. There are times when all the experience in the world is not what people are looking for. Because…
2) Sometimes people are looking for [...]

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Share1) The Administrative Assistant-
On the one hand, the administrative assistants and secretaries keep the world turning. They route the communications, schedule the workday, make the meetings happen, facilitate the introductions and most importantly, manage your manager. You always want to be deferential to their power to keep you in the loop.
But it is their relationship [...]

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ShareI offer up this post, not as an endorsement of kissing butt, but as an informational essay.
Let’s face it… we all have negative feelings about ass kissers. And yet, we all know that, as a strategy for getting ahead in life, kissing butt can’t be beat. People wouldn’t do it if it didn’t work.
I’m in [...]

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ShareThis is another post prompted by an Ask Brian question I got via email that was too narrow to post here, but got me thinking along these lines.
A lot of people toil away in their jobs, doing good work, working hard… only to see lesser, stupider people jump ahead of them on the career ladder.
If [...]

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