6 Steps for an Easy Return From Vacation

<a href="http://emj.icbdr.com/artieimages/1r/ar5c4g76mwrdlgnkc11r.gif"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://emj.icbdr.com/artieimages/1r/ar5c4g76mwrdlgnkc11r.gif" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" /></a><br /><div>With summer here, workers across the country hope to take time off to enjoy some fun in the sun. But as some professionals often realize, coming back to work can be painful. In fact, one in three executives polled by Robert Half said that although they enjoy vacations, they dread the work awaiting their return. An additional 10 percent said they prevent this scenario by rarely taking time off from work.<br /><br />While you may experience a backlog of projects upon returning to the office, you shouldn't let that deter you from taking vacations altogether. Taking periodic breaks from work -- no matter how important your role or how heavy your workload -- is essential for keeping stress levels in check and burnout at bay.<br /><br />Here are steps you can take to ensure you're productive instead of panic-stricken when you get back:<br /><br />1. Plan ahead. You'll avoid scrambling before and after your trip if you start planning in advance. Make a list of items that must be done before you leave, and estimate what your project load will be when you return. By working with your boss, you may be able to delegate some of your assignments to others on your team. Also, do your best to get a jump on projects that are due soon after you get back; nothing can ruin the relaxing effect of a getaway faster than an imminent deadline.<br /><br />2. Spread the word. You'll alleviate some of your anxiety by letting your business contacts know well in advance that you'll be away. This will enable you to take care of any pressing issues prior to your departure. In addition, make sure you have out-of-office messages for your voice mail and e-mail that include the name and contact information of a colleague who can answer queries in your absence.<br /><br />3. Prevent technical snafus. More than a few employees have returned to work after a lengthy vacation only to discover that they are unable to log in to their computers. Prevent this from happening to you by changing any soon-to-expire computer passwords before you leave. Also, examine the storage capacity on your e-mail inbox; make sure you have plenty of space in case you receive large attachments while you're away.<br /><br />4. Take an extra day. If possible, avoid returning from vacation the night before you're due back at work. It's better to come back a day or two early so you have time to unpack, run personal errands and catch up on sleep -- especially if you've traveled to a different time zone. You can even use the extra time to check your voice mail and e-mail messages from home so you're not so overwhelmed when you arrive in the office.<br /><br />5. Re-orient yourself slowly. Unless there is an urgent phone call or meeting, spend the first few hours at work refreshing your memory about assignments, deadlines and deliverables. Meet with team members to catch up on matters you might have missed while you were away. Once you know where your projects stand, prioritize your tasks and focus on the most critical ones first. Getting back up to speed systematically will prevent you from feeling overwhelmed.<br /><br />6. Plan a group vacation update. Your colleagues will likely want to know all about your trip, but even small interruptions from well-meaning work friends can be stressful when you're trying to catch up. Instead of giving each person a full review of your trip, plan a lunch where you can update everyone at once.<br /><br />Catching a small case of the post-vacation blues is inevitable after a great trip. After all, your work space is never going to compare with the beaches of Hawaii -- or even the serenity of your backyard. Planning a smart "re-entry" strategy before you leave will help ensure you return to the office not only rested and relaxed but also ready to hit the ground running.<br /><br />By Robert Half International, the world's first and largest specialized staffing firm with a global network of more than 360 offices worldwide. For more information about our professional services, please visit http://www.rhi.com/.<br /></div><br /><div><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">Search more than 100,000 Jobs by </span></strong><a href="http://jobs.careerbuilder.com/JobSeeker/Jobs/JobResults.aspx?SB%3Asbkw=&SB%3As_freeloc=&SB%3Asbfr=30&sbsbmt=Find+Jobs+%C2%BB&lr=cbrockl&cid=US&excrit=QID%3DA3852768340946%3Bst%3DA%3Buse%3DALL%3BCID%3DUS%3BSID%3D%3F%3BTID%3D0%3BENR%3DNO%3BDTP%3DDRNS%3BYDI%3DYES%3BIND%3DALL%3BPDQ%3DAll%3BPDQ%3DAll%3BPAYL%3D0%3BPAYH%3DGT120%3BPOY%3DNO%3BETD%3DALL%3BRE%3DALL%3BMGT%3DDC%3BSUP%3DDC%3BFRE%3D1%3BCHL%3DAL%3BQS%3DSID_UNKNOWN%3BSS%3DNO%3BTITL%3D0%3BOB%3D-modifiedint%3BJQT%3DRAD%3BJDV%3DFalse&IPath=ILM"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">CLICKING HERE!</span></strong></a> </div>

6 Steps for an Easy Return From Vacation

With summer here, workers across the country hope to take time off to enjoy some fun in the sun. But as some professionals often realize, co...

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Social Media Pitfalls

As social media becomes the latest branding strategy, networking technique, job seeking tool and recruitment vehicle, it's also becoming the latest way for people to get job offers rescinded, reprimanded at work and even fired.<br /><br />It's happened so many times -- publicized and not -- that one would think we could learn from others' mistakes. (But, if that were the case, I wouldn't have anything to write about, now would I?)<br /><br />A recent Tweet by a potential Cisco employee, for example, turned ugly when he decided to tout a recent job offer:<br /><br />"Cisco just offered me a job! Now I have to weigh the utility of a fatty paycheck against the daily commute to San Jose and hating the work."<br /><br />Unfortunately for "theconnor" (the handle for the would-be employee), Tim Levad, a "channel partner advocate" for Cisco, saw the tweet and responded with this:<br /><br />"Who is the hiring manger, I'm sure they would love to know that you will hate the work. We here at Cisco are versed in the Web."<br /><br />Terrible tweets<br />Everyone has their "My-job-sucks," "I-hate-my-co-workers," or "Give-me-more-money" moments. But, they seem to forget that as employers increase their online presence using social networking sites as recruitment and branding strategies, it might be best for their career not to have these moments on the Internet.<br /><br />Paul Wilson, a freelance/corporate Web marketer and blogger, found several of such moments on Twitter, a social networking and micro-blogging site, and posted these "Top 10 Tweets to Get You Fired" [sic'd]:<br /><br />1. "hate my job!! i want to tell my bosses how dumb they are and how meaningless this job is, then quit, and be happy!"<br /><br />2. "So my job was to test all the food at the new resturant, can I just say, ughew. I'm going to taco bell then twistee treat."<br /><br />3. "Workin... This job sucks worse then the economy!"<br /><br />4. "I'm going to work! Walmart! Must find better job! I hate it when chicks there have a deeper voice than me and refer to me as foo!"<br /><br />5. "Also I'm really bummed that I'm working today, i asked off so i could study but my boss is a ******* **** ***** ***** who can't read."<br /><br />6. "Coworker smuggled out a chair for me. Currently being paid to SIT around and listen to John Barrowman on my iPod. I don't hate my job today!"<br /><br />7. "having sex dreams of people you work with makes for an awkward day."<br /><br />8. "smoking weed at work is so [EDITED] great :)"<br /><br />9. "It's bad when you overhear the n00b programmer say "I used to work at McDonalds with him" and you wonder if he is talking about the CEO..."<br /><br />10. "Huh, with my boss on twitter, maaaybe I should take down that sexy picture of her... but her reaction will be priceless!"<br /><br />Facebook fired<br />Twitter is not the only culprit in career self-destruction. Facebook, a popular social networking site, has housed its fair share of user firings:<br /><br />Kimberly Swann, a former employee for Ivell Marketing and Logistics of Clacton, U.K., thought her job was boring -- and she said so on her Facebook page, according to an article in The Daily Telegraph. Swann was called into her manager's office and handed a letter that cited her Facebook comments as the reason for dismissal:<br /><br />"Following your comments made on Facebook about your job and the company we feel it is better that, as you are not happy and do not enjoy your work we end your employment with Ivell Marketing & Logistics with immediate effect."<br /><br />An MSNBC article remembers Kevin Colvin, the legendary young intern who e-mailed his boss, claiming a "family emergency" would keep him out of the office around Halloween. His co-workers (and Facebook friends), however, saw a photo of Colvin dressed as a fairy at a Halloween party time-stamped on the same day of the "emergency." Colvin's boss responded to him with an e-mail CC'd to the entire company, firing him and including the incriminating fairy picture.<br /><br />In March 2009, the same MSNBC article cites Dan Leone, a Philadelphia Eagles stadium employee, who was fired after slamming the football organization for trading a player in this status update:<br /><br />"Dan is [expletive] devastated about Dawkins signing with Denver. . .Dam Eagles R Retarted!![Sic]"<br /><br />Two days later, the head of event operations said they needed to talk about his Facebook status; instead, he got the boot.<br /><br />Social networking don'ts<br />If you want to use your profile to get hired or -- or at least not get fired -- here are three basic rules to keep in mind:<br /><br />1. Don't announce interviews, raises or new jobs<br />As exemplified by "theconnor," how you talk about any of these sensitive topics on your social networking site is key. If you're unemployed, writing "Interview today -- wish me luck!" would be OK, or if you got a job, something along the lines of "So excited about my new job!" is totally acceptable. If you're currently employed, however, I don't think your boss would be too happy to see something like, "Trying to con my boss into giving me a $5K raise. SUCKA!"<br /><br />2. Don't badmouth your current or previous employer<br />Just like in an interview, keep your rants about your boss or company to yourself. If hiring managers see that you're willing to trash a colleague online they assume you'll do it to them, too. Plus, there's always the possibility of getting fired if someone sees your negative comments.<br /><br />3. Don't mention your job search if you're still employed<br />If your boss knows you're on the lookout for a new job, feel free to advertise it in your status. If you're keeping your search below the radar, however, don't publish anything, anywhere. Even if you aren't connected to your boss online, somebody can get the information back to him or her.<br /><br />by Rachel Zupek writer and blogger for CareerBuilder.com and its job blog, The Work Buzz. She researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues. Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CBwriterRZ.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">Search more than 100,000 Jobs by </span></strong><a href="http://jobs.careerbuilder.com/JobSeeker/Jobs/JobResults.aspx?SB%3Asbkw=&SB%3As_freeloc=&SB%3Asbfr=30&sbsbmt=Find+Jobs+%C2%BB&lr=cbrockl&cid=US&excrit=QID%3DA3852768340946%3Bst%3DA%3Buse%3DALL%3BCID%3DUS%3BSID%3D%3F%3BTID%3D0%3BENR%3DNO%3BDTP%3DDRNS%3BYDI%3DYES%3BIND%3DALL%3BPDQ%3DAll%3BPDQ%3DAll%3BPAYL%3D0%3BPAYH%3DGT120%3BPOY%3DNO%3BETD%3DALL%3BRE%3DALL%3BMGT%3DDC%3BSUP%3DDC%3BFRE%3D1%3BCHL%3DAL%3BQS%3DSID_UNKNOWN%3BSS%3DNO%3BTITL%3D0%3BOB%3D-modifiedint%3BJQT%3DRAD%3BJDV%3DFalse&IPath=ILM"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">CLICKING HERE!</span></strong></a>

Social Media Pitfalls

As social media becomes the latest branding strategy, networking technique, job seeking tool and recruitment vehicle, it's also becoming...

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10 Worst Work Habits

<a href="http://emj.icbdr.com/artieimages/0s/ar5f76j6xf36gz1h330s.gif"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://emj.icbdr.com/artieimages/0s/ar5f76j6xf36gz1h330s.gif" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" /></a><br /><div>When two people fall in love, they only see sunshine and rainbows when they look into each other's eyes. If you asked, "What's the worst trait of your boyfriend or girlfriend?" they would answer, "Absolutely, positively nothing!"<br /><br />Ask that same question a few years later when they're living together and have seen each other at their respective worst. You'll get a pretty good list:<br /><br />"She cuts her toenails on the coffee table."<br /><br />"He speaks in a cutesy voice on behalf of the dog."<br /><br />"She kicks me in her sleep."<br /><br />Hopefully none of these nuisances finds its way into your work life, but other ones probably do. Everyone has some weaknesses in their work behavior that they need to work on, and they often extend beyond annoyances (such as eating a smelly lunch at your desk) and become problems for your career.<br /><br />Here are 10 work habits that you should try to break:<br /><br />1. Procrastination<br /><br />A lot of people work best under pressure, or at least they say so. With everyone having a different personality, you can't say a strict schedule works best for all employees. Putting tasks off until the last minute, however, invites plenty of problems, even if you think the final result will be glorious.<br /><br />When you leave yourself no wiggle room to complete a task, you run the risk of encountering an unexpected obstacle that makes you miss the deadline. Even if the situation is out of your hands, everyone will be left wondering why you didn't plan better and account for last-minute emergencies.<br /><br />2. Being a sloppy e-mailer<br /><br />E-mails are second nature to most people these days, and in informal communications they've become a digital Post-it note. We type out a message and send it without proofreading or double-checking the recipients. That's a recipe for disaster.<br /><br />If you haven't learned your lesson by now, the day will soon come when you accidentally "Reply All" to an e-mail and a slew of unintended readers receive a silly note you intended only your co-worker to read.<br /><br />3. Confusing informal with disrespectful<br /><br />In many workplaces, the boss might be the decision maker, but he or she isn't the stern, humorless caricature you saw on TV. Using your supervisor's first name and going for some drinks after work are common in many industries. Still, you are the employee and the boss is the boss -- the one who can fire you and tell you what to do. Don't cross the line by talking to her as if you're talking to one of your direct reports or even your best friend. You need to show some respect for her authority.<br /><br />4. Taking advantage of leeway<br /><br />Some companies are strict about the time you clock in and out. Others have guidelines but no hard rules, so you can arrive at 8:35 a.m. and no one cares. If over time you're arriving at 9:10 a.m. and leaving at 4 p.m. (with plenty of breaks in between), your reputation will suffer.<br /><br />This also goes for dress codes. Business casual is up to interpretation, but ripped jeans and concert tees probably don't fall under your company's accepted definition.<br /><br />5. Refusing to mingle<br /><br />Plenty of wisdom lies in the advice not to mix personal and professional lives. However, refusing to take part in any social activity -- such as the office potluck or a happy hour -- will not help your career. You don't need to be the resident party animal, but being personable with your colleagues helps build camaraderie. You get to know other people better and they get to know you as more than the person they pass in the halls.<br /><br />6. Always running late<br /><br />This isn't the same as abusing leeway; this is a matter of trust. If you're late to work, to meetings and with projects, your boss and colleagues will associate that trait with you. When it's time for a promotion or to deal with an important client, everyone will think twice before giving you the opportunity. Who wants to trust the person who can't manage his or her time?<br /><br />7. Being rigid<br /><br />One of the unfair aspects of the working world is that sometimes it seems you can't win. If you're hired to do a job, most bosses don't want you passing the day by reading your favorite book. The reason: You were hired to do a job, so do it. But if the boss comes to you with a new project that's outside the parameters of your usual duties, it's still yours to do. "You don't pay me to do that" isn't something you want to tell your supervisor.<br /><br />8. Acting as the resident contrarian<br /><br />We all love your spirited personality, but try not to be the person in the meeting who always has a better idea and can tell you why everyone else's idea is dumb. Voices of opposition are often missing in many workplaces because too many eager employees want to be "yes" men and women. But too much negativity grates on nerves and makes people dread hearing your voice. Continue to be a critical thinker, but make sure you're doing what's best for the company and not just trying to be the loudest voice in the room.<br /><br />9. Badmouthing the company<br /><br />With blogs, Facebook, Twitter and a host of other sites, you have plenty of opportunity to vent your frustration with life. If you're going to complain about how dumb your boss is and how much you hate your job, keep those rants private. The Internet is public domain and comments have a way of finding their way back to all the wrong people. If you wouldn't stand outside your boss's office and tell a co-worker how ready you are to quit, don't express the same thoughts in an open forum.<br /><br />10. Politicking<br /><br />Office politics are often unavoidable, and sometimes having a grasp on what's going on can benefit you, but you shouldn't spend more time masterminding office warfare than you do working. Getting caught in the crosshairs of a workplace controversy can be out of your control, but if you're the one instigating the drama, you're earning a bad reputation. You're the person who starts trouble and whom no one trusts. That's the kind of notoriety that follows you from one workplace to another.<br /><br />By Anthony Balderrama writer and blogger for CareerBuilder.com and its job blog, The Work Buzz. He researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">Search more than 100,000 Jobs by </span></strong><a href="http://jobs.careerbuilder.com/JobSeeker/Jobs/JobResults.aspx?SB%3Asbkw=&SB%3As_freeloc=&SB%3Asbfr=30&sbsbmt=Find+Jobs+%C2%BB&lr=cbrockl&cid=US&excrit=QID%3DA3852768340946%3Bst%3DA%3Buse%3DALL%3BCID%3DUS%3BSID%3D%3F%3BTID%3D0%3BENR%3DNO%3BDTP%3DDRNS%3BYDI%3DYES%3BIND%3DALL%3BPDQ%3DAll%3BPDQ%3DAll%3BPAYL%3D0%3BPAYH%3DGT120%3BPOY%3DNO%3BETD%3DALL%3BRE%3DALL%3BMGT%3DDC%3BSUP%3DDC%3BFRE%3D1%3BCHL%3DAL%3BQS%3DSID_UNKNOWN%3BSS%3DNO%3BTITL%3D0%3BOB%3D-modifiedint%3BJQT%3DRAD%3BJDV%3DFalse&IPath=ILM"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">CLICKING HERE!</span></strong></a> </div>

10 Worst Work Habits

When two people fall in love, they only see sunshine and rainbows when they look into each other's eyes. If you asked, "What's ...

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5 Workplace Whoppers We All Tell

<a href="http://emj.icbdr.com/artieimages/td/ar5f6gv74h4fyc8498td.gif"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://emj.icbdr.com/artieimages/td/ar5f6gv74h4fyc8498td.gif" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" /></a><br /><div>Lying is wrong.<br /><br />As a child you learned this from your parents and teachers. It's even a commandment. Honesty is the best policy, most people seem to agree.<br /><br />But that doesn't mean you follow this advice all the time.<br /><br />I'm not saying you're a bad person, but if you're anything like me, the occasional half-truth or little white lie makes an occasional appearance. And if you're like many workers, these creative ways of describing the facts often pop up at work.<br /><br />Here are workplace fibs we all tell:<br /><br />"Everything is under control."<br />Bosses like to see employees who are in charge of a situation. "Come to me with solutions, not problems" is cliché, but it's true for most employers. So you're understandably loath to admit you've lost control of a situation and your life is crumbling down. Yet, you don't want to look incompetent (and overly dramatic), either. Just be honest with someone, whether it's your boss, a co-worker or another resource who can help you. Explain that you're working on a task that isn't going as you had envisioned and you'd like to bounce some ideas around to find a resolution while you still have time to get back on track.<br /><br />Think about the alternative: You act as if everything is running smoothly and then the deadline approaches and you've got nothing. How will you look then?<br /><br />"It would be my pleasure."<br />Work isn't all fun. That's a lesson we learn early in life, so we're used to smiling while we take on tasks we don't want. Still, you want to be certain you balance your enthusiasm and willingness to be unhappy with honesty. If your boss hands you a project that's going to be torture, you probably can't get out of it. But given the opportunity to discuss what you like and dislike about your job, tactfully stress which tasks make the best use of your skills and which ones don't. That's not to say you can get out of doing unpleasant tasks, but you don't want to give the illusion that you love doing these projects -- otherwise the boss will think you want them and make them your primary job. Then it's too late to remedy the situation.<br /><br />"I got stuck in traffic."<br />If you're late, just own up to it. You might think it's professional suicide to admit you were too lazy not to hit the snooze button seven times, but it's not. Unless you have a draconian boss, occasional tardiness isn't going to hurt your chances of a promotion and your co-workers will understand. Everyone's been in the situation.<br /><br />If you have to lie because you're always late, then no one's buying your excuses anyway. Traffic, a faulty alarm clock, a pregnant woman went into labor on the train -- you get only so many passes before everyone knows you're lying. Here, the lies are secondary to your reputation as the incessant latecomer.<br /><br />"I was thinking the exact same thing."<br />Everyone hates a suck-up. Even the boss. So don't try to win favors by agreeing with everything he or she says. You probably didn't have the same idea because if you did, you'd have said it.<br /><br />The same goes for colleagues. Agreeing with them and supporting their ideas are admirable actions, but pretending as if you both created a joint vision and you want partial credit is not acceptable. When you do put your own ideas out there, you don't want someone else piggybacking on your hard work.<br /><br />"Let's get together soon."<br />Ever since you graduated from high school and started running into former classmates, you've been using the "Let's get lunch" lie on a regular basis. The truth is that you have no intention of getting together with these people (and they probably feel the same way).<br /><br />In business, you're bound to bump into people you're not eager to break bread with, either at a meeting or a conference, or in a social setting. Now, telling someone, "I just don't find you interesting enough to sit at the same table for an hour!" isn't good business. So this lie might not be so bad.<br /><br />But you should also consider actually delivering on this promise. You never know when someone has valuable ideas or contacts that could benefit you. At worst, you listen to boring stories while you poke at your salad. At best, you have a new relationship that can help your business and you might actually like the person.<br /><br />By Anthony Balderrama writer and blogger for CareerBuilder.com and its job blog, The Work Buzz. He researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">Search more than 100,000 Jobs by </span></strong><a href="http://jobs.careerbuilder.com/JobSeeker/Jobs/JobResults.aspx?SB%3Asbkw=&SB%3As_freeloc=&SB%3Asbfr=30&sbsbmt=Find+Jobs+%C2%BB&lr=cbrockl&cid=US&excrit=QID%3DA3852768340946%3Bst%3DA%3Buse%3DALL%3BCID%3DUS%3BSID%3D%3F%3BTID%3D0%3BENR%3DNO%3BDTP%3DDRNS%3BYDI%3DYES%3BIND%3DALL%3BPDQ%3DAll%3BPDQ%3DAll%3BPAYL%3D0%3BPAYH%3DGT120%3BPOY%3DNO%3BETD%3DALL%3BRE%3DALL%3BMGT%3DDC%3BSUP%3DDC%3BFRE%3D1%3BCHL%3DAL%3BQS%3DSID_UNKNOWN%3BSS%3DNO%3BTITL%3D0%3BOB%3D-modifiedint%3BJQT%3DRAD%3BJDV%3DFalse&IPath=ILM"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">CLICKING HERE!</span></strong></a> </div>

5 Workplace Whoppers We All Tell

Lying is wrong. As a child you learned this from your parents and teachers. It's even a commandment. Honesty is the best policy, most pe...

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The Importance of Good Writing

<a href="http://emj.icbdr.com/artieimages/8k/ar5f0v670pbfcx1jrx8k.gif"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://emj.icbdr.com/artieimages/8k/ar5f0v670pbfcx1jrx8k.gif" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" /></a><br /><div>If your grade-school education was anything like mine, lessons on parallelograms, subject-verb agreement and neutrons were met with a chorus of whiny students asking, "When will we ever need to know this?"<br /><br />I admit, many years later I still haven't tapped into my algebraic knowledge of a parabola, but other subjects have played important roles. Writing lessons, for example, have played a large role in my life, and not just because of my line of work.<br /><br />Between e-mails, texts and Tweets, our society spends a lot of time communicating via the written word. We spend more time writing in our professional and personal lives than we probably imagined we would back in school. What you may not realize is that these written exchanges can boost your career or hinder it, depending on how you treat them.<br /><br />Write your way to a job<br />Todd Henning recently began an internship with a public relations firm, and he's quickly discovering that his writing abilities are helping his fledgling career. In the few months he's been interning, he's seen his list of responsibilities grow.<br /><br />"Right after I was hired, they told me it was largely due to the writing samples that I had given them during the interview process, and they had stopped considering others because of their writing samples," Henning says.<br /><br />Of course, if you're applying for a position where writing samples are part of the application process, you're probably not surprised that composition skills pay off. But Rebecca West, interior designer for Rivalee Design, recently landed a position because of her writing skills. Not what you'd expect for someone whose job relies on a creative eye rather than a way with a pen.<br /><br />West met with a potential client to discuss a bathroom remodel, and she didn't think the meeting was a success. She didn't think she connected to one homeowner and the other homeowner was unable to attend.<br /><br />"I always send a follow-up thank you after my first consultation, but this time I took it a step further and composed a full letter describing to the client how I thought I could best help in their project, and offering to meet with them once more," West says. "I didn't really expect anything to come of it, but several days later they called and asked to set up another time to meet. During my second visit the second homeowner mentioned my letter, thanked me for it, and said it brought 'tears to his eyes' -- and no, he wasn't being facetious."<br /><br />After the second meeting, all three parties decided the homeowners didn't need a designer to execute their remodeling plans, but that didn't bother West.<br /><br />"From them I had two business referrals, and I was able to refer them to a contractor of mine who in turn got the remodeling work," West says.<br /><br />Employers care<br />Lilia Fallgatter, an author and e-learning consultant, has enough experience as a hiring manager in higher education to know that writing skills affect every career.<br /><br />"How you write speaks volumes about you," Fallgatter stresses. "Incorrect grammar, spelling and usage make a bad impression and can affect your credibility on the job. With the advent of text messaging, instant messaging and social networking sites such as Twitter, more people are abandoning the rules of writing. The use of abbreviations, failing to use capitalization and punctuation is extremely informal and does not translate well to the professional setting."<br /><br />Fallgatter is quick to point out that, all things being equal, in a showdown between two job applicants, she'll choose the better writer.<br /><br />A reputation as a good writer has paid off for Mel White, vice president of marketing and business development at Classic Exhibits, a firm that specializes in providing equipment to trade show vendors and exhibitors. He says effective communication skills have enhanced his professional image in ways he didn't expect.<br /><br />"I'm no genius, no superstar -- but strong writing skills have always made me a valuable asset," he says. In business school, he frequently earned higher marks than his classmates because of his writing abilities, a trend that carried over to his business life. "Regardless of my position, I've become the default writer and editor everywhere I've worked. Writing skills matter. For some odd reason, people think you are smarter and more competent."<br /><br />This phenomenon has held true for other professionals, including Dustin Weeks, author of "Lessons From a Recovering Worker Bee."<br /><br />"While working abroad I was responsible for making sure that all written communications for our American English-speaking clients were grammatically correct," Weeks explains. As a result, he became the resident expert on English and North American business strategies. "I was often asked strategic questions about how something should be presented to our North American clients because I had command of the English language and was from North America."<br /><br />How to make writing work for you<br />All this said, strong writing skills can lose you a job if you're not careful. If your command of English makes you the go-to editor for the office, you still need to temper your criticisms a bit. If your eagerness to mark up a paper with red ink outweighs your desire to help you colleagues and boss, you'll appear arrogant.<br /><br />With that in mind, here are some tips to help make the most of your written communications at work:<br /><br />· Proofread, proofread, proofread<br />Typos, slang and bad grammar send a negative signal whether you're a job seeker, new employee or a supervisor. Look over your own writing and if it's an important document, ask someone else to review it, too.<br /><br />·Even e-mails deserve attention<br />All business communications should be treated with some level of professionalism. Although not every e-mail is a letter to the CEO, don't forget that these messages can be forwarded to anyone. Plus, in a culture where e-mails are more prevalent than face-to-face conversations, your writing is the face of your professional image.<br /><br />· Pick your battles<br />If you're a great writer, don't become the office grammarian who constantly corrects the usage of "who/whom." Congratulations on your knowledge of "The Elements of Style," but being known as a know-it-all can overshadow your knowledge.<br /><br />· Context matters<br />Part of being a good writer is knowing how to communicate effectively to your audience. A white paper should be more formal than a personal message to a colleague you know well. If you treat every correspondence with too much formality, that will be more noticeable than the content. So sometimes "Hi" is a better way to open a message than "Salutations."<br /><br />By Anthony Balderrama writer and blogger for CareerBuilder.com and its job blog, The Work Buzz. He researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">Search more than 100,000 Jobs by </span></strong><a href="http://jobs.careerbuilder.com/JobSeeker/Jobs/JobResults.aspx?SB%3Asbkw=&SB%3As_freeloc=&SB%3Asbfr=30&sbsbmt=Find+Jobs+%C2%BB&lr=cbrockl&cid=US&excrit=QID%3DA3852768340946%3Bst%3DA%3Buse%3DALL%3BCID%3DUS%3BSID%3D%3F%3BTID%3D0%3BENR%3DNO%3BDTP%3DDRNS%3BYDI%3DYES%3BIND%3DALL%3BPDQ%3DAll%3BPDQ%3DAll%3BPAYL%3D0%3BPAYH%3DGT120%3BPOY%3DNO%3BETD%3DALL%3BRE%3DALL%3BMGT%3DDC%3BSUP%3DDC%3BFRE%3D1%3BCHL%3DAL%3BQS%3DSID_UNKNOWN%3BSS%3DNO%3BTITL%3D0%3BOB%3D-modifiedint%3BJQT%3DRAD%3BJDV%3DFalse&IPath=ILM"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">CLICKING HERE!</span></strong></a> </div>

The Importance of Good Writing

If your grade-school education was anything like mine, lessons on parallelograms, subject-verb agreement and neutrons were met with a chorus...

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What (Not) to Wear

<a href="http://emj.icbdr.com/artieimages/xm/ar5f2jf79g5brccbcqxm.gif"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://emj.icbdr.com/artieimages/xm/ar5f2jf79g5brccbcqxm.gif" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" /></a><br /><div>If television sitcoms of the 1980s and 1990s are to be believed, every parent in America argued with a teenager who wanted to wear ripped jeans and ill-fitting shirts to school. These shows also implied that the youth of America ran around speaking like Valley Girls and using slang no one over 17 understood.<br /><br />I thought these fashion battles were dramatized TV nonsense and never happened in real households.<br /><br />I was wrong.<br /><br />Judging by the amount of inappropriate attire job seekers wear to interviews and employees wear to work, many adults are taking advantage of the freedom to wear whatever they choose. And some of them seem to be wearing the exact clothes their parents disapproved of more than a decade (or two) ago.<br /><br />Interview attire<br />The first opportunity you and your wardrobe have to impress an employer is during the interview stage. Unfortunately, this initial meeting is the one where you have the least amount of information with which to prepare. At this stage, you probably haven't been to the company before and don't know the specifics of the dress code and office culture.<br /><br />How should you prepare? Better to overdress a little than underdress, says Marianne Hancock, account supervisor for public relations firm Golin Harris.<br /><br />"Our office is pretty casual and is a creative setting, but an interviewee wouldn't know that coming in," Hancock says. "I expect business attire, preferably a suit. I want the interviewee to look like they mean business and are mature enough to handle a fast-paced workplace."<br /><br />Hancock's skepticism comes from seeing her share of inappropriate fashions walk into interview rooms.<br /><br />"If they don't wear their best business attire to an interview, it makes me wonder if they really want the job," she says. "It is hard to take someone seriously wearing flip-flops, a butterfly sweater set and a white puffy skirt."<br /><br />Workplace wardrobe<br />Tanya Roth, a wardrobe stylist for wardrobe styling agency Urban Darling, knows that many industries embrace business casual attire, yet she cautions against employees mistaking casual for careless.<br /><br />"I think it would be ideal for work to appear to have made an effort, just as you would with your work product," Roth advises. "Even if [women] wear jeans to work, I would suggest pairing them with a jacket, classic tee or top and a heel. I believe in people showing a little personality at work, so a great color in a shoe, bag or necklace with a classic suit or pants outfit would be not only appropriate but should be encouraged."<br /><br />For whatever reason, many new employees still arrive at the first day of work wondering what to wear. Research is your best friend, says Louise Lamorte, the director of career services at La Salle University in Philadelphia.<br /><br />"[Candidates] should be observant of employees' dress during on-site interviews," Lamorte recommends. "It is also good practice and appropriate for new employees to ask the HR department or immediate supervisor about the company dress code before the first day of work, especially in these days of business professional, business casual and dress down styles."<br /><br />Dos and don'ts<br />So what are you supposed to wear? You've got some employers wanting you to dress a little better than the code for interviews, but if you overdress you appear ignorant of the culture.<br /><br />While no strict universal rules exist for dress code, there are some guidelines you can think about when dressing for interviews and work:<br /><br />· Know your audience<br />Whether you're dressing for an interview or just a Tuesday on the job, you want to show that you fit in. Jeans and a T-shirt won't work for a lot of industries, but a suit and tie might not work for others. Look at the industry and the workplace and take cues from other people.<br /><br />· Don't get lazy<br />Once you've been on a job long enough, you can be tempted to throw on whatever's clean (or clean enough) and stumble to work. Employers don't stop assessing your work ethic once you pass your first-year anniversary. Your appearance is a constant factor in how others perceive you and your professionalism.<br /><br />· Use common sense<br />In most circumstances, you can be certain that the kind of clothes you'd wear to a club or the beach don't translate to the workplace. Torn or extremely faded jeans, shirts that show a lot of skin, flip-flops, t-shirts with skulls on them, ragged tennis shoes and purple hair don't belong in workplaces. Of course, if you work on the beach or in a club, you probably can wear some of these things.<br /><br />· Read the dress code<br />If your company has an official dress code in its employee handbook, read it. Maybe everyone in the company bends the rules, and that's fine, but you should be aware of what the official guidelines are in case you ever have to deal with a complaint.<br /><br />· Dress for the position you want<br />Yes, it's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a reason. Dressing for the position you want and not the one you have is a good way to make a strong impression on your boss and clients or customers. If you want to be the manager and notice that everyone at that level has a more sophisticated look than yours, emulate them.<br /><br />By Anthony Balderrama writer and blogger for CareerBuilder.com and its job blog, The Work Buzz. He researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues.<br /></div><br /><div><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">Search more than 100,000 Jobs by </span></strong><a href="http://jobs.careerbuilder.com/JobSeeker/Jobs/JobResults.aspx?SB%3Asbkw=&SB%3As_freeloc=&SB%3Asbfr=30&sbsbmt=Find+Jobs+%C2%BB&lr=cbrockl&cid=US&excrit=QID%3DA3852768340946%3Bst%3DA%3Buse%3DALL%3BCID%3DUS%3BSID%3D%3F%3BTID%3D0%3BENR%3DNO%3BDTP%3DDRNS%3BYDI%3DYES%3BIND%3DALL%3BPDQ%3DAll%3BPDQ%3DAll%3BPAYL%3D0%3BPAYH%3DGT120%3BPOY%3DNO%3BETD%3DALL%3BRE%3DALL%3BMGT%3DDC%3BSUP%3DDC%3BFRE%3D1%3BCHL%3DAL%3BQS%3DSID_UNKNOWN%3BSS%3DNO%3BTITL%3D0%3BOB%3D-modifiedint%3BJQT%3DRAD%3BJDV%3DFalse&IPath=ILM"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">CLICKING HERE!</span></strong></a> </div>

What (Not) to Wear

If television sitcoms of the 1980s and 1990s are to be believed, every parent in America argued with a teenager who wanted to wear ripped je...

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Chiffres clés - Année 2009, n 3

<BR><br />Voici le 3ème numéro de l’année 2009 des « chiffres Clés » produit par l’Observatoire de la Maison de l’Emploi du bassin d’Orléans.<br /><br />Dans ce numéro, une éclairage particulier est accordée aux effectifs des industries agroalimentaires dans le bassin d'Orléans.<br /><br /><a title="View Bulletin 3 3 on Scribd" href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/19295898/Bulletin-3-3" style="margin: 12px auto 6px auto; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; display: block; text-decoration: underline;">Bulletin 3 3</a> <object align="middle" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,0,0" height="500" id="doc_154145692837315" name="doc_154145692837315" width="450"> <param name="movie" value="http://d.scribd.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=19295898&access_key=key-1zmirrkldny69fzw9ah7&page=1&version=1&viewMode=list"> <param name="quality" value="high"> <param name="play" value="true"> <param name="loop" value="true"> <param name="scale" value="showall"> <param name="wmode" value="opaque"> <param name="devicefont" value="false"> <param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff"> <param name="menu" value="true"> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"> <param name="salign" value=""> <param name="mode" value="list"> <embed src="http://d.scribd.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=19295898&access_key=key-1zmirrkldny69fzw9ah7&page=1&version=1&viewMode=list" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" play="true" loop="true" scale="showall" wmode="opaque" devicefont="false" bgcolor="#ffffff" name="doc_154145692837315_object" menu="true" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" salign="" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" align="middle" mode="list" height="500" width="450"></embed> </object> <br /><BR>

Chiffres clés - Année 2009, n 3

Voici le 3ème numéro de l’année 2009 des « chiffres Clés » produit par l’Observatoire de la Maison de l’Emploi du bassin d’Orléans. Dans ce ...

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