Career development

Giving Notice at Work – 5 Tips

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At first glance, you may say “what’s the big deal?  Isn’t giving notice at work as simple as telling your boss you quit?” Well, while it does accomplish the task, I recommend a lot more finesse when you give notice at work.  It is in your interest to quit your job gracefully and not burn any bridges.  You just never know who you will work for in the future and whether that person used to be your boss at a different company or knows any of your previous bosses or ex-colleagues.  It’s a small world and in the interest of your own career success, it’s always smarter to leave a job on good terms. ...  read more

How to Sell Your Skills Into a New Industry or Role

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In any job search, it is your job to sell your skills and convince prospective employers that you are the best fit for a job opening.   Being able to sell you skills in any job search situation is important.  It is even more critical to master this skills if you are trying to do a career change – move into a new industry or functional role. ...  read more

How to Get Promoted – 6 Tips

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Job promotion is one key way to demonstrate continuing career success.  How to get promoted therefore should be a question you ask at every new company you join.  Why?  Because the key steps needed to getting promoted may not be the same at each company depending on the culture, leadership team, and how they evaluate candidates for promotion.  You should never assume that as long as you do good work, you will get promoted because unfortunately hard work alone cannot guarantee success. ...  read more

How to Find Your Passion – Answer 3 Questions

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How to find your passion is a great question to ask throughout your career.  If you are anything like me and about 90% of the work force, then finding your passion is not an easy journey.

When I was a senior in college, I asked myself this question and couldn’t come up with an answer.  So I applied to 5 different type of jobs and chose the one that gave me the most skills to do whatever I want afterwards – a McKinsey Analyst.  I have since asked myself this question every 2 years and only now, 15 years later, do I have a clearer picture of one of my passion – helping people with work smart and live more through this website. ...  read more

How to Deal with HR – Friend or Foe?

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HR (Human Resources) is an interesting function of a company. To most employees, HR is just a support function – not friend or foe.  How to deal with HR in most cases is simple – submit a request and get their help.   We may even have very good feelings toward HR if all the interactions (getting benefits, hiring someone on your team) have been helpful and pleasant.   With that said, make no mistake though, to employees, HR is foe. You cannot count on HR to be on your side for all matters. ...  read more

Who Do You Model Yourself After?

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I model myself after many people.   This is because even the best role models will disappoint in one area or another and in fact I think it’s expecting too much when you model only after one person.

Instead, I think it’s important to have a board of advisors – chosing 5 to 8 people that can be your mentor or role model for different aspects of what your want to develop. For example , ...  read more

Career Change Advice – 5 Aspects to Consider

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A career change is a major step and can often involve a step-back in pay, willingness to take a lower position, investment in more schooling, and re-positioning your skills sets.   A career change also requires significant effort in job search, so make sure you are changing your career for the right reasons and have the correct expectations about what it takes to make it happen and what you may have to sacrifice.   Consider the following five aspects carefully before you decide to make a career change. ...  read more