How to be Successful at Work – 3 Questions Answered

The most frequently asked question I receive from readers is some version of how to be successful at work or in my career.   Below is the latest question I received in this category.   Ying, a Chinese immigrant working in the US used the Ask Me Anything tool inside the Soft Skills Gym to send me the following questions.   I want to share my response to also help others in similar situations. ...  read more

How to Prepare for a Graduate School Interview – 4 Tips

how to prepare for a graduate school interview

Learning tips early on how to prepare for a graduate school interview will give you an advantage.  Applying to graduate school is a stressful and busy process. From choosing the programs you’re interested in to polishing your resume, securing references, and writing essays, there’s just a great deal to keep track of. But in the whole process, one of the trickiest steps is going through interviews with admissions officers. ...  read more

Communicating Emotions at Work – 3 Tips

emotion communication

When my kids were in daycare, they were gently cared for. They were nurtured. They had great snacks and long naps. And they were taught about communicating emotions.

I’ll never forget the first time I heard my daughter say, “Mommy, I don’t like that you said that. When you say that it makes me feel sad.” Really? Yeesh. But you know what? I quickly grew to love and appreciate this communication skill. My daughter was able to clearly express her feelings and I was then able to respond to meet her need. Of course, sometimes it was just to say, “I understand that you feel sad. You can have a cookie AFTER dinner.” ...  read more

How to Better Communicate Work Status to Your Boss – 4 Tips

boss communication

Effective communication with your boss is essential to your career success.  One of the things your boss will always want is proactive communication of your work status & progress.  It will show that you are on top of your work and you respect him enough to keep him informed.

This not always easy.   Below is a situation a Soft Skills Gym member faced.  What would you do if you were him?  Share your comments below.  He agreed to let me share it in case his situation and my advice can  help you learn how to better communicate work status with your boss. ...  read more

Changing Careers – How to Interview Effectively

changing careers

 Changing careers is not easy for some. However, once you master effective interviewing when changing careers, the path to success becomes a lot clearer.

I had a chance to interview one of our Executive Authors, Helena Light, who is a master at changing careers. In eight years at one bank, she had four different careers: ...  read more

Soft Skills: Why Effective Upward Communication is Key to Advancement

podcast-small

We are giving public access to this recording on upward communication to showcase the type of content available in the Soft Skills Gym.  For more recordings like this one, sign up today.

Welcome to the first candid conversation with one of our Executive Authors, Louis Johnston.  Candid conversations are frank interviews I have with business executives regarding a personal story or some lesson they learned from their career. ...  read more