Author Archives: Kathy Murdock

About Kathy Murdock

Kathy Murdock owns Kinetic Solutions, a marketing company located in Orange County, California, that provides graphic and writing services to new and emerging companies. In addition, Kathy writes for Allbusiness.com, the Toledo Business Review, Body-Philosophy.net, and Buy Owner, as well as other freelance venues. She lives in Southern California with her gorgeous husband, two beautiful daughters, and her insatiable appetite for all things travel, artistic, and chocolate.

What to Do About Job Burnout

When I studied education in college, I chose special education as my major. The ladies in my family, from my aunt to my mother, were special educators, and I had watched them teach for years. I was always interested in having my own classroom and working with children who had disabilities. I grew up imagining what my classroom would look like and what I would do as a teacher. During my coursework, I can recall one teacher telling the class of fifty or so special education majors that the majority of us would not be in the field in a … Continue reading →

Scripted Interview Questions: While Sometimes a Pain, They Often Tell Employers Exactly What is Need

I recently read an article that discussed answering scripted interview questions during a job interview. I had to laugh. My worse interview experience took place when I was seated in front of six other people who were in administrative positions in the company in which I was interviewing and handed a sheet filled with scripted questions. I knew that these questions had been asked to every other applicant that had walked into the room, and I knew that my answers would be judged according to what the other people had answered. It left me feeling intimidated and very out of … Continue reading →

Tips for Writing a Strong Cover Letter

The cover letter is often the first thing that a prospective employer will see when you are applying for a job. Before meeting you, and oftentimes before even looking at your resume, the employer will read your cover letter. What you say and the way that you say it can make or break your chances for landing an interview and, down the road, the job. First of all, consider the cover letter as a sales letter. This isn’t the time to be egotistical by any means, but you do need to know your strengths and match those with the requirements … Continue reading →

Taking Classes While Working Can Be Tough But Doable

The thought of going back to school can be difficult for someone who has been out of school for a while, and almost painful for those of us with a child or two. Life is tough enough when you work, have a family and have to also clean the house, do the laundry and cook dinner each night. Just the idea of adding one more piece to our already overfilled life can be daunting at best. If you are really interested in going back to school but you just don’t know how you would fit it in your already hectic … Continue reading →

Going to College Later in Life

Now that I’m nearing my forties, and, of course, my friends are doing the same, I am watching some of my lifelong (or close to) friends contemplate the idea of going back to school to further their education. One of my best friends whom I’ve known for nearly 23 years decided, as a young girl fresh out of high school, to get married and start a family. She’d always wanted to do the motherhood thing, and it came naturally to her. She ended up divorcing her husband when her daughter was young and began waitressing in order to support her … Continue reading →

What are Your Goals? Figure These Out Before Taking that Job

As I took my long run this weekend I began to consider the idea of goals and objectives when it comes to both business ownership and the job world in general. For my website we are currently working on goals and objectives as mothers in business. So, we are thinking about what it is we want to see in our business lives in the next, say, six months, and then figuring out how we are going to get there. What are the tools that we need in order to accomplish these goals? For me, obtaining and keeping clients is extremely … Continue reading →

Changing Careers Mid-Life: Can You Afford that Cut in Pay

You may think that only the young have difficulty deciding what it is that they want to do with their lives. Truth is, I’ve met so many people my age and older who, after spending a lot of money and time on a college education and many years working in the field that they had studied, realize that they are unhappy with their career choice. Many of these people question returning to school or changing careers completely because, of course, they’ve invested so much into the career that they now have. I’ve known teachers who have gone on to law … Continue reading →

Flextime Just May Make Your Schedule Better

If you have a newborn or you are having difficulty juggling your children’s schedules with that of your job, perhaps it is time to discuss the possibility of flextime with your employee. Flextime allows an employee to work a set number of hours per week, such as 40, but to work them when it is best for the employee. So instead of the traditional 9 to 5 office hours, an employee may decide to go in early and get off early, or start her workday at 11 and work later into the evening. Flextime schedules work great for mothers who … Continue reading →

Tips for Meeting New Coworkers

Moving into a new position can be very daunting. First you have to learn the ropes around the office: Just figuring out how to turn on the microwave can be a pain, much less learning all of the new tasks related to the position itself. I recall one job in which I parked in the wrong spot-the boss’s spot, of all things-on the first day (and then got teased about it for quite some time to come). Settling in to a new routine, new hours, a new office and new rules is a challenge, but it is even more of … Continue reading →