Career Center Blog | 7 nonverbal mistakes to avoid in a job interview

Last week, I discussed how reading the nonverbal cues of hiring managers can improve your chances of interview success. This week, I'll focus on nonverbal mistakes that job seekers should avoid during interviews. These include: Unusual handshake. A "limp fish"

Career Center Blog | Interviewers' nonverbal cues offer important clues

A friend of mine recently had a job interview. When I asked what the interviewer thought of him, he didn't know. He'd been so nervous that he had forgotten to pay attention to the hiring manager's nonverbal communication. That happens

Career Center Blog | To excel in your career, focus on the 4 C's

It used to be that the "three R's" (reading, writing and arithmetic) were sufficient for workers to succeed in their careers. But according to a recently released American Management Association (AMA) survey, that no longer holds true. The rapid pace

Career Center Blog | The importance of building a culture of respect

Earning respect isn't always easy. Nor should respect be something only subordinates are forced to give managers. To better compete in this global economy, a key strategic objective of executive teams and human resources managers should be creating a culture

Career Center Blog | Female flirting: how it can hurt AND help your career

To flirt or not to flirt at work? There aren't many studies on this topic, and the few that exist show conflicting information. What the results do show is the need for women to tread carefully when it comes to

Career Center Blog | A worker bee's letter to the boss

Your boss tells you to be a "self-starter," to follow through, to be flexible and patient and dependable and loyal. You're told there is no "I" in "team." You're told, "You should just be grateful you have a job." For

Career Center Blog | Better listening skills could mean more promotions

I recently evaluated the difference in listening skills between my 7-year-old niece and a grown adult. My niece won. She told me exactly what I said in a previous conversation, while the other adult could barely remember the topic we

Career Center Blog | Confronting the passive-aggressive boss

A friend of mine took on a part-time job not long ago at a small nonprofit organization. The pay was decent, the hours fit with her freelance schedule and she liked the causes being supported. Still, each time I saw

Career Center Blog | Flex time is great, but if we're lucky enough to get it, we have to 'bring it'

Everyone talks about flex time as if it's the Holy Grail for office workers, the golden ticket. Flex time allows for better "work-life balance." Flex time is good for morale, saves employees cash, can reduce workers' stress and improve their

Career Center Blog | A positive response to rejection can reap later rewards

Like the quest for true love, the course of a job search usually takes people down a series of dead ends and disappointments before a desired destination is found. According to career coach and author Orville Pierson, the average job

Career Center Blog | Avoiding the pitfalls of merging freelance and full-time work

During your search for a new job, have you ever had the urge to drop it all and just start your own business? After filling out endless applications, micromanaging your ever-changing resume and practicing your elevator speech into the wee

Career Center Blog | Letter imperfect: The necessity of clear communication

Conducting a job search today requires not only great communication skills but the ability to impress prospective employers with your knowledge and experience. Unfortunately, these two qualities don't always appear at the same time in some resumes and cover letters.

Career Center Blog | Take control of interviews by telling your story

We've had some good news on the job opportunity front over the last few weeks. The state's latest figures on jobless claims showed that employers added more than 10,000 new seasonally adjusted jobs last month. An earlier job outlook study

Career Center Blog | Reaching for that phone at 3 a.m.? There's help for you

We often think of habits as good things, signposts or guidelines in our lives that, if developed and groomed over time, can help keep us on track, doing the things we need to do. Sometimes, of course, habits are bad

Career Center Blog | For every job interview rule, there are exceptions

Has someone spiked the water cooler? Perhaps it's this summer's unseasonably hot weather. Or maybe the Mayans were really correct about 2012 being the end of time. Whatever the reason, a few recent stories in the news appear to be

Career Center Blog | Finding work is a family affair

"Matt, I hate to admit it, but I'm having a problem on the home front. I've been searching for a job for a number of months now, and my wife won't get off my back. She constantly tells me I'm

Career Center Blog | How to say no without burning bridges

In improvisational comedy, there is one overriding tenet that is the basis for all successful performances: the concept of "yes, and ..." Basically, this means that for whatever situation arises, the first response is to accept the premise, no matter

Career Center Blog | Do you really know what your references are saying?

It's one of the basics of job search: You have your killer resume, a multitude of networking contacts and a rock-solid list of three to five references to help back up your past performance. But do you really know what

Career Center Blog | Fight through the flakiness

Flakiness is a wonderful quality in a pie crust -- but as we all know, it's an incredibly annoying trait when it comes to human beings. If you're a job hunter, it's inevitable that you'll encounter flaky behavior as

Career Center Blog | How to use hand-drawn pictures to ace an interview

Want to stand out in your job interviews? Use pictures. That's the advice of Dan Roam, international best-selling author of The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures. Roam's latest book, BLAH BLAH BLAH: What to

Career Center Blog | Don't let brain freezes seize up your interview

If the current candidates for the presidency of the United States can teach us anything about landing a new job, it's the value of preparation. Earlier this month, at least two of the nine Republican candidates have made spectacular mental

Career Center Blog | Job skills gap is sometimes a matter of perception

When looking for a new position, it's important for job seekers and hiring managers to be on the same page. Managers must clearly state what responsibilities they are looking for in the position they are offering and candidates must demonstrate

Career Center Blog | What to do when your company gets a new leader

Now that Apple CEO Steve Jobs has stepped down, it's natural that employees might feel anxious about the company's future and their place in it, despite the fact that replacement Tim Cook has a long history with Apple. [Flickr photo

Career Center Blog | Why we need horrible bosses

We've all worked for them. The tyrant who enjoys belittling others in public. The snake who pawns off her work on you and takes credit for it. The workaholic who expects everyone else to give up their personal life just

Career Center Blog | Interviewing tips for the socially awkward

Like many techies, I know what it means to be painfully shy and socially awkward. (As a writer, it's pretty much part of the job description.) Unfortunately, face-to-face communication skills can make or break an interview, even if the job