Archive: December 2009
Top 5 work/life balance stories of 2009
I could say a lot of bad things about the many ways in which 2009 did a serious number on the workforce. Instead, I'll list what I think were some of the most significant work/life balance stories of the year....
Five songs to help get you through your job search
During this "no man's land" week between the Christmas and New Year's holidays, I chatted on Facebook with my esteemed NWJobs colleague Michelle Goodman about work-themed songs that have helped keep us sane through the Awful Aughts. There are a...
Is turning your hobby into a business a recipe for misery?
One of the things I love most about the December holidays is they they encourage us to channel our inner Martha Stewart, if for no other reason than to save a few bucks. Suddenly we find ourselves baking cookies, knitting scarves,...
A closer look at job numbers bodes well for 2010
Sometimes, after hearing nothing but rotten news all year about the state of the economy, it's easy to assume that every new development is an omen of more bad things to come. Even the relatively positive news -- such as...
How do you like your job now?
I've long been fascinated by the many polls telling Americans how unhappy we are with our jobs. Since I began checking these numbers several years ago, outfits like The Conference Board and CareerBuilder heave steadily been reporting that at least one in...
The company holiday party: Morale booster or budget buster?
Much has been written about whether employers should let the holiday party show go on this year. For starters, a rash of surveys showed that many companies had chosen to reign in their holiday traditions for 2009. (Here's one. Here's...
Networking event advice for social wallflowers
'Tis the season to be social. Even if you're unemployed and not attending a corporate sponsored holiday party, chances are you've been to many holiday gatherings in the last two weeks where the conversation has shifted to the subject of...
Last chance to get in some pre-holiday networking
It's the time of year when shopping, party planning and tolerating relatives takes up about 80 percent of our brain capacity - a time when many job seekers take a break from their career planning activities to dip into the...
Your company holiday party as a networking tool
In a national poll conducted by staffing firm The Creative Group, 44 percent of employers said an employee's behavior at the company holiday party can greatly affect their prospects for career advancement. So much advice on how to put your...
Hourly vs. salaried workers: Who's happier?
Back in my contract worker days, I was a hardcore clock watcher. Even if I didn't like a project I'd been tasked with, I'd remind myself that by the end of the day I'd have made another couple hundred beans. Usually...
How organization can make job searches more productive
As employment searches stretch from weeks to many months in this difficult economy, an extra hassle that job seekers are facing is the constant juggling of schedules. Especially during the holidays, when shopping lists get longer, kids are out of...
More ways to avoid work-from-home scams
Come January, many of us will try to tackle that new year's resolution of earning a little extra cash on the side. Snagging some home-based work may seem like the most logical solution. But the Web's so riddled with work-from-home...
Should you disclose your salary requirements?
One of the most frequent questions I get here at Hire Ground is how write the perfect cover letter. This is, of course, impossible to achieve as every hiring manager is looking for different skills and character traits depending on...
Encouraging jobless data provides hope for 2010
Call it an early holiday present. Or look at it as another empty statistic. No matter how you interpret the numbers, it was hard not to feel a little yuletide cheer yesterday after reading the latest national unemployment report and...
Holiday deals for teleworkers seeking office space
For many home-based workers, there comes a point where you start looking forward to your periodic jaunts to the grocery store and the sporadic visits from your friendly neighborhood UPS deliveryperson a bit too much. You know you need you...
Holidays are no time to slack off on networking
OK, the leftover turkey's gone, the Seahawks are toast, the Christmas lights are hung - you're officially out of excuses for avoiding the resumption of your job search activities. "But it's December!" I hear you cry. "Everyone's too busy holding...
Karen Burns is the author of The Amazing Adventures of Working Girl, a career guide based on her 59 jobs over 40 years in 22 cities.
Lisa Quast is a certified career coach, mentor, business consultant, former corporate executive and author based in the Seattle area.
Randy Woods writes about job-search tools, networking techniques and other tips to help you land your dream job.
Former contributors
Matt Youngquist is the president of Career Horizons, a career counseling firm.
Natalie Singer is a Seattle writer, editor and small-business owner.
Michelle Goodman is the author of "My So-Called Freelance Life" and "The Anti 9-to-5 Guide."
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