How to Turn Down a Job Offer – 5 Tips and An Example

“How to turn down a job offer” may seem like a strange topic to discuss given our current job market.  However, to succeed like an executive means there will be times when you will get more than one job offer at the same time, even in today’s economy.  In that case, it’s important to know how to turn down a job offer gracefully. ...  read more

How To Stop Worrying – 5 Tips

How to stop worrying is an important soft skill to learn if you want to reduce stress and if you want to be the most effective at work and in life.  Everyone worries including me

  • “Does my client respect my work?
  • “How secure is my job? Will they extend my contract when it ends in October?”
  • “Will my 4 year old get a good enough education if she attended public school in San Francisco? Will she get into a good school?”

These are just a few of my worries today.  Worrying is a natural human emotion and everyone experience it.  So it is ok to worry.  What matters is how long you spend worrying in a day?  A few minutes is normal.  Prolonged worrying (for hours and days) is counterproductive and detrimental to your well being.  Nothing really gets solved or prevented from pro-longed worrying.  All you are doing when you are worried all the time is wasting time and freaking yourself out in the process. ...  read more

Reduce Stress Now – 7 Practical Tips

I want to share 7 tips that will help you reduce stress at work now.  Job-related stress is common for many people, but it can be quite counter-productive, can lead to unhappiness at work, and can be detrimental to your health.

The fact that you are reading this post means you want to reduce stress and are aware of the consequences of stress for your work and well-being.  This is good news, as managing stress has to start with awareness. ...  read more

Consequences of Stress – A Different Perspective

Did you know that April 16 is National Stress Awareness Day?  Ironically, you and I are probably too stressed to notice.  Well, in honor of April 16, I am dedicating all of the blog posts this month to the consequences of stress, and how to reduce stress.

We are so used to having stress in our work that I think we often forget the price we actually pay in the long run. This is because the consequences of stress (illness, early death) do not show until many years later. By contrast, the rewards of putting ourselves in stressful situations are more apparent and immediate – praise for a successfully completed project, a raise as a result of our stellar work, or a quicker path to promotion. ...  read more

How to Convert Salary to Hourly Rate

In today’s tough job market, many companies are reducing their full time employment job openings which are paid by annual salary in order to save headcount cost and be able to adapt more quickly to changing market conditions.    Instead companies are hiring more contractors who are paid by hourly rate and has a defined contract period (e.g. 6 – 18 months).   As a result, many job seekers are also seeking contractor positions in addition to full time employment in order to increase their chances. ...  read more

How to Sell Your Skills Into a New Industry or Role

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 Say No at Work

It may be hard to think about saying no at work, but sometimes it’s necessary to do so to protect your reputation as well as manage your stress level.  This 20 minutes podcast is a live coaching discussion with me regarding why, when, and how to say no at work.   There are definitely legitimate reasons and appropriate times to say no.  As you will learn, it is beneficial to you and the company to practice how to say no at work. ...  read more