There was a funny cartoon on my Facebook wall this morning. It read "Black Friday: Because only in America, people trample others for sales exactly one day after being thankful for what they already have." You have to laugh because it's so true and I'm sure tomorrow night there will be news stories of police being called because shoppers were fighting over the last TV some store was giving away for $99. 

Interviews can make even the most seasoned employee unconfident and uncertain.  You know that you are qualified for the position and have the experience that the company is looking for, however sometimes it can be difficult for candidates to put those things into words.  It is extremely important that you prepare for your interview so that your answers highlight your skills as well as set you apart from the other candidates.

Congratulations!  The day has come when all of your hard work and dedication has finally paid off and you have been promoted to manager.  Transitioning from individual contributor to manager can be a tricky step if you aren't prepared.  Over the next couple of weeks and months, you will face all the challenges of becoming a first time manager.  

The New Social Worker published an article last year by SaraKay Smullens What I Wish I had Known: Burnout and Self-Care in Our Social Work Profession. In the article, she describes visiting the wife of a colleague who had just died who told her "... sometimes he would return home too exhausted to even speak, and that a frequent statement she heard from a man who obviously treasured his clinical work, teaching, and writing was: They feel better, but I surely do not.” The article takes the issue of burnout head on and addresses what she describes as "the necessity of addressing this complicated exhaustion before the feeling of depletion leads to dysfunction and beyond."

My niece was recently laid off from her job. While it's never great to lose your job, she had been there for three years and was feeling it was time to move on. Over lunch last week, I was asking her what her next move might be. This was her first "real" job and not surprisingly she seemed uncertain as to what she wanted in her next job.

I advised her to spend some time thinking about what a perfect day would look like. How far was she wiling to travel? Did she want to work in a hectic, high energy environment or something calmer and slower paced? Was salary the most important part of her search or would she be willing to work for less money to do something she felt was worthwhile?

Finding a job you love is not easy. And, in a weak economy it may be tempting to take the first offer. However, if you have the opportunity to give it some time, a little research and a little internal soul searching may help you land the job that matches your skills and interests and one that will allow you to gain the experience you need to put you on a career path and not bouncing from one job to another.

Unless you were hiking a remote part of the Amazon, you probably heard about or read a piece on Miley Cyrus’s performance at the MTV Awards last month. She’s certainly has come a long way from Hana Montana. Back then, the child star’s brand was Disney. Today, it’s a little more Desperate Housewives to say the least.

Did you know that one of the top three reasons people leave their jobs is because they don't like their supervisors? When you think about it, most of us have experienced horrible bosses at some point. You think about going to work and your stomach churns and you're stressed before you enter the building. Think Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada and you get the idea.

Who are these horrible bosses and what do they look like? They're the people that expect you to read their minds because they are unable to communicate effectively, and when you can't, they take it out on you. In other words, they're setting you up for failure. Or they are the bosses whose communication skills are so abrasive that you take for granted you will be screamed at or berated at least once a day. Then there are the bosses with no planning skills, so everything is a crisis which means you have no life because you're always playing catch up. The list goes on and on.

If any of those descriptions feel familiar, you may be the reason your employees, good employees in particular, leave.

I love learning new languages. I travel frequently and want to experience different cultures in their native language. I believe it enriches my experiences.