Last week I got a phone call – not an email – from someone here in Seattle. She left a message: “I’m looking for help with a resume and interview tips.” She left a home and work number. I called back the next day. The soft-spoken voice belonged to a woman I’ll call Emily. Emily […]
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When Career Strategy Means Keeping Silent
Recently a friend “Kristin” called me, sounding distressed. She had just written a letter to her boss, expressing her concerns about her job. “There’s way too much work,” she wrote. “And our new department head has been extremely rude. I’ve talked to several other people in the department. They’re all upset. Some are thining of […]
Career Planning in A Troubled Economy: Working From Facts
Career planning can be especially scary during tough economic times. One of your greatest challenges will be separating fact from rumor. There’s always a small group of employees drinking coffee and complaining. Are they right? Or are they fear-mongers to be avoided? (1) Learn to recognize the difference between good gossip and malicious rumors. You […]
Academic Careers: What the Media Don’t Tell You In The Amy Bishop Case
One of the many observations we can make about the Amy Bishop case: It’s hard to understand the culture of a profession from the outside. Tenure is critical to academics. Originally the idea was to protect free speech. Nowadays I think many professors acknowledge they would not undertake a long and arduous education just to […]
Academic Careers: Reading Between The Lines on Amy Bishop’s Saga
One issue that keeps coming up in the infamous case of Amy Bishop is, “Why did she add her children as authors on her research papers?” I was an academic before 20+ years, in the marketing department of business schools, before retiring early. Here’s my interpretation of events. Whether the kids contributed or not isn’t […]
Career Change: Relocating for a new job? Have a Plan B.
(3) Create a Plan B before you move. You may decide you absolutely, positively cannot live in your new location. Your personality and lifestyle may be at odds with the local culture. You may lack access to something you didn’t realize you needed for your physical and mental well-being. Don’t assume that you are safe […]