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Managing Your Career

Business Etiquette and Corporate Style Tips

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Q: I perspire a lot, even in winter. What can I do to manage this and avoid stains?

A: These stains are caused not by perspiration alone but rather by the interaction of sweat and the aluminum compounds found in most antiperspirants. With that in mind, look for a brand with lower aluminum content and use only a thin application. Allow it to dry completely before you dress. Wear layers so that you can self-regulate your temperature more easily. Opt for loose-fitting clothing made from natural fibers (such as cotton and linen). Remember that sweat stains are most conspicuous on light colors.—Carol Davidson, Carol Davidson, president, StyleWorks of Union Square

 

Interactive Case Study

An Employee Assistance Program Ups Productivity

Issue: Cigna's In-House Compassion

The Employee Assistance Program reduces worries and increases productivity for Cigna workers stricken by survivor guilt and other troubles

Analysis: Cigna Is Getting It Right

Organizations are wise to engage their workers and help them tackle survivor guilt and other woes

Comment: What Would You Do?

"I strongly support anything a business does to address the human side of business effectiveness. If the culture of the organization is to be supportive and head off personal and interpersonal problems before they have a business impact, EAPs are excellent resources."

—Sheryl Spanier, leadership consultant and executive coach, New York

Reader Poll

Has survivor guilt (the despair one feels when co-workers lose their jobs) affected your work performance?

IN YOUR FACE: APPLE VS. MICROSOFT

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Reader Paul Whelan Writes:

"Apple's design is like fresh fruit or fish. It is wonderful at the time, but goes off very quickly."


Sponsored by Tres Generaciones Tequila
 

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Top Stories

How's the Profanity Quotient in Your Office?

Cursing at work occurs for different reasons. Among a diverse group of co-workers, it can be hard to know what's appropriate

Ten Management Practices to Throw Overboard in 2012

Discover some new ways companies botch their relationship with employees in Liz Ryan's annual roundup of horrendous management practices

Quiz: How Dysfunctional Is Your Workplace?

Discover for yourself whether you're playing for a winner or being held down by a loser

That's Why They Call It Work?

Sorry, guys, but jobs should be fun

The Job-Interview Vortex

Do you really want this job—or are you just excited that someone wants you?

Watch Out, Your Mojo Is Showing

Don't expect a small-minded boss to tolerate your happiness

Five Signs Your Boss Is in Trouble

No matter how kind a soul you are, you need to look out for No. 1 when your boss falls out of favor with management

Real Leaders Don't Fire People

It may seem logical to terminate employees you see as troublemakers, but Liz Ryan says: au contraire, teddy bear

Why Training Employees Is Always a High-Wire Act

Designing the right employee-training programs is as complex as it is crucial

Collaboration's Hidden Tax on Women's Careers

The art of consensus can sometimes slow women down and diminish leadership credibility

Delivering an Effective Performance Review

Executed skillfully, performance appraisals reinforce solid performers and redirect poor ones

Not Working? Sorry, Not Interested

Companies that chuck the résumés of unemployed job applicants cheat themselves. Oh, and they're also going to burn in hell

Six (More) Cringe-Worthy Networking Blunders

The wannabe freeloader, the luncheon with no escape hatch, and other tales of desperate and misbegotten efforts

Hiring Managers Who Suck

Some people lack the clarity to make good hiring decisions. Meet four of them

The Employee's Bill of Rights

Think of it as an amendment to the constitution of corporate common sense

Nine Ways Employers Screw Up Hiring

Honesty tests, "Must know Excel," "Where do you see yourself in five years?" and all the other nonsense that bedevils the hiring process

Ten Things Only Bad Managers Say

Nope, it's not just you. These jerks are out there

The Terrified Bully

The day the author learned the truth about that pompous, overpaid, oft-promoted jerk we've all worked for

Six Networking Coups to Win Jobs

Careers columnist and former HR executive Liz Ryan shares tales of clever job hunters who scored big-time by making networking mutually gratifying

How Not to Say 'I Was Fired'

So your last employer terminated you, and you're interviewing for a new job? Forget full disclosure. Think spin

Five Subtle Ways to Find a New Job

How to look for another position while staying invested in your current one

Managing the Office Pest

He means well and maybe is even a little lovable, but a needy co-worker sure can suck the life out of you

What Neuroscience Can Teach Leaders

From brain science comes optimism. Ignore its power, and you'll deprive yourself and your workers of greater skills

Crack the Hidden Job Market

Employers fill at least one third of jobs via word of mouth. How can you network your way into the loop?

Eight Cringe-Worthy Networking Blunders

Unflappable on the surface, columnist Liz Ryan recalls a few networkers who made her scream "what in God's name are you thinking?" on the inside

Five Tips for Managing Digital Nomads

Learn how to facilitate communication and efficiency with teleworkers

Self-Defeating Job-Search Moves to Avoid

The desperate post-interview phone call, the proclamation of self-doubt, and more blundering ways to negate your chances of winning the job

10 Ways to Fix Broken Corporate Recruiting Systems

Can your company do a better job of getting talent in the door—and keeping it there?

Eight Job-Interview Wins for the Record Book

A former human resources director recalls some applicants who impressed their way into getting instant job offers

Headhunters' 25 Top Tips for Job-Hunters

Executive recruiters offer nuggets of wisdom about networking, résumé-writing, job-hunting, interviewing, and doing a good job once you get one

New Business Books

A list of books about job-hunting, careers, management, leadership, entrepreneurship, and success (updated every week)

Headhunters' Job Interview Tips, Resume Hints, and Professional Conduct Advice

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Don't Think Words Equal Work

Talking is easy, action is hard. Say a little and do a lot.
—Mark Jaffe, Wyatt & Jaffe

 

New Careers, Business, Job-Hunting, Leadership, and Entrepreneurship Books

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New Business Books

A list of books about jobs, careers, management, and leadership—updated weekly

 

Debate Room

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E-Hoarding Is Unhealthy

Psychologists are right: Workers must organize and delete their e-mails—or risk cluttering their mental space. Pro or con?

 

The Drucker Difference: Rick Wartzman

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How Olympus Should Refocus

Ousted Olympus Chief Executive Michael Woodford deserves another shot, as long as he eases up on the micromanaging

 

Harvard Business Review

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Five Things You Should Stop Doing in 2012

Dorie Clarke pinpoints make-work activities that merely provide the illusion of progress

 

Headhunter Confidential: Joe McCool

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Talent Management Gains Momentum

A new study reveals that companies, concerned about competition for leaders, expect to spend more on talent management this year

 

Marshall & Friends: Marshall Goldsmith

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Self-Help Can't Get You Mojo

If you want to acquire a sense of meaning and happiness, enlist a friend to assist you on a regular basis. All it takes is one phone call a day

 

Coaches Corner: The Handel Group

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Job Hunting Advice: Follow Through

Coach Lauren Zander tells Paul Nawrocki to keep reaching out to potential contacts and employers and to start visualizing himself in a new job

 

Featured Blog

If pay and career trajectories for women really are not all they're cracked up to be, then maybe forking over $300 grand for a top-tier MBA just isn't worth it.

Louis Lavelle, Getting In

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