Monday mornings demand extra caffeine, a little lollygagging, catching up with co-workers on the happenings and news from the weekends, and of course humor. Today’s focus in the Monday morning funnies is a humorous policy from a real company on how they dealt with workers taking too many bathroom breaks. The moral of the story I guess is to make sure you don’t drink too much before going to work in the morning. . .or choose a career you can do from home where there is generally free access to the facilities. The Bathroom Bank I cannot imagine what types … Continue reading →

I recently read a wonderful private message from a regular reader who said that she had graduated in the finance field and was beginning to look for employment. However, over the past few years, she had gained some weight (happens to the best of us during college, doesn’t it?!) She was wondering if the weight gain would effect her chances for employment. This question seems to be popular lately. So popular, in fact, that it showed up in the form of an article in one of my favorite magazines, Pink. (If you haven’t read Pink and you are a woman … Continue reading →

I have not written my regular Monday-Friday posts this week. I have to say that the fires outside, and the tragedy that surrounds so many people living in Southern California, has taken the umf out of my words. I’ve sat down at the typewriter and tried to write, but nothing has really come. Times in Southern California were bad before. With the average housing price out here in the mid $600,000s, people have a difficult time getting into a home. Figure this: at that price, a mortgage would cost about $4000 per month. Someone making ten dollars an hour working … Continue reading →

Today I am sitting at my typewriter writing about jobs as most of the land surrounding my home in Southern California chars. The fires here are unbelievable, as is the strength of the wind. As we traveled home from an impromptu-but much needed (and I have to say well deserved!) weekend vacation this past weekend, we drove through waves of smoke that had traveled to the coast, carried along by winds that knocked our car around on the road as though it were literally made of tin. The post today isn’t about the fires or the wind, but about the … Continue reading →

I just finished reading a great article about things that you should consider if you are planning to switch careers, especially if you are not quite sure what it is you want to do when you make that change. Oftentimes we burn out of our jobs and want to do something different. Some people make huge leaps that require more education. Others prefer to step lightly during that change, and perhaps just move a department over, or change to a different company but continue doing something similar. This article was written for those who know they are interested in making … Continue reading →

I recently read an excellent article that discussed success and what it means to be successful in your career. The author made a point that I make a lot, particularly when I talk about writing out business goals and understanding your long term goals and where you want to be in a year or two from now. He said that if you do not know what you consider successful, you will never be successful. Makes sense, doesn’t it? But how often do you really sit down and think about what it means for you to be successful? I don’t. I … Continue reading →

This week I attended a home party thrown by one of my friends. About ten women showed up, smiling and laughing, enjoying the wine and cookies while browsing the items on display. The sales lady had apparently been with the company for quite some time, and she worked for not only that home party business but another one as well. Let me preface this by saying that I’ve never been a saleswoman, nor felt comfortable when I had to sell items. I can recall being hired by Service Merchandise years ago to work at the jewelry counter. I went out … Continue reading →

I read a really interesting post in a forum that I frequent. The poster asked the other mothers if they felt that having a multiple stream of income was better than just having one source of income. This board is for mothers who work from home, so the question boiled down to should you have one job or should you have more than one? People who work for others-either those who are involved in network marketing or those who sell items like jewelry or purses through home parties-might have an opportunity to work in more than one job at one … Continue reading →

Military families and those whose spouses work in careers that have offices around the country sometimes find themselves packing up and hitting the highway every three to five years or so, heading off to a new job in a new state. The spouse of the person who is moved then finds themselves in the position of locating a new job in a new city. While this is stressful in itself, that spouse will not only have to find the job but then learn the new job, new company, new names and a new routine every three to five years. This … Continue reading →

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 →