July 31, 2006

Ten misconceptions about having a job
Posted by Jason Butler at 12:36 PM

A little while ago, I pointed to an article saying it's much better to be an entrepreneur than to work for an employer.

BusinessPundit rebuts.

Working for a company has advantages. It lets you save money to use to start your venture some day. It gives you access to assets that you wouldn't have otherwise. It is an easy way to meet people in an industry and make contacts that will be invaluable when you are ready to start your business. It allows you to test some of your ideas while someone else bears the financial risk. The best thing though, is that if you work for a company you can usually go home at 5pm. As an entrepreneur, work is your life (which can be both good an bad).

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Job hopping, Dilbert-style
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 11:40 AM

Are you a job hopper? How do you handle those tough interview questions about frequent moves on your resume?

For a good yuk, see how today's Dilbert handles the issue.

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July 28, 2006

How to pitch a flexible work schedule
Posted by at 3:00 PM

Though nearly 80% of employees say they would like more flexibility in their work schedules, most don't fare very well when it comes time to sell the idea to the boss. If you think you're one of these folks, take a look at this article by Tory Johnson that outlines steps you can take toward achieving your work/life balance goals.

Before you knock on the boss' door, you have to do your homework. Look at policies and protocol within your company. Talk to people you work with who telecommute and find out what worked for them. Sometimes your boss will be more receptive if he knows that other departments or other companies — especially competitors — are doing the same thing.

Talk to peers and friends in your industry and even your neighborhood to learn about policies in their companies. Employers competing for talent want to know that their policies are comparable to their competitors or they risk losing good people.

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July 27, 2006

The long slow climb up the corporate ladder for women
Posted by Diane Danielson at 11:19 AM

Today's Boston Globe reports on the new Catalyst Study about women's slow progress in corporate America:

NEW YORK -- Women's progress in getting the top jobs in American business is so slow that at the current rate they are becoming corporate officers, it would take 40 years before women catch up with men, according to a survey released yesterday.

Women occupied only 16.4 percent of corporate officer positions in Fortune 500 companies in 2005, according to an annual survey by the nonprofit group Catalyst, which tracks women's progress in business leadership jobs.

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July 26, 2006

To work or not to work; that is the question
Posted by Diane Danielson at 3:24 PM

O.k., I said I wouldn't write on the Mommy Wars, but someone just added some fuel to the debate that is worth a bit of thought. The Boston Globe ran an article this morning about Linda R. Hirshman, a Brandeis professor, who has written a book that proclaims that all women should work.

Hirshman first became controversial when she wrote an article last year for the liberal American Prospect magazine website saying it's a mistake for women to quit their jobs to stay at home with children. Housekeeping and child rearing, she wrote, are not worthy of the full-time ``talents of intelligent and educated human beings." In a piece last month in the Washington Post, she didn't back down. Then came her book, just out, provocatively titled, ``Get to Work: A Manifesto for Women of the World" (Viking).

I confess, I think with the divorce rate what it is, women who don't work are taking a huge financial risk for both themselves and their kids. But I also believe that one parent needs to be flexible in an era where any corporate job demands more than 40 hours/week and travel. So I'm not ready to accept Hirshman's hardcore approach. However, I do like some of the points she makes!

At 62, Hirshman is articulate, feisty, and a self-proclaimed intellectual. She may be squeamish about the degree of angry attention she's generating, but she's fiercely proud of the firestorm she's created. While the feminist movement has mostly succeeded in removing the glass ceiling in the workplace, it's done squat about the glass ceiling in the home, she says.

``I'm pulling the discussion along. That's a good thing. The family is to 2006 what the workplace was to the movement in 1964 and the vote in 1920."

Her goal is for women and men to lead equal lives.

``If raising children and housekeeping are so important, why aren't men doing it, too?" she asks on the phone in an interview from a Manhattan hotel. She's not talking about stay-at-home fathers instead of mothers. She wants even-steven, what's-good-for-the-goose-is-good-for-the-gander partnerships: ``Why should we have equality in the public realm and a social caste system in the private [realm]? It's laid on women from the moment they are born," she says. ``They come out with a uterus instead of a pen*s and get assigned the dishes."

* * *

``Why is it," she wonders, ``that as a society, we care so much more about children than we do about the women female children grow up to be?"

Interesting to note that this article about women working was in the lifestyle section and not the business section.

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July 22, 2006

10 reasons you should never get a job
Posted by Jason Butler at 7:08 AM

Steve Pavlina feels strongly that you are better off working for yourself than working for the man.

Many employees believe that getting a job is the safest and most secure way to support themselves.

Morons.

Social conditioning is amazing. It’s so good it can even get people believing the exact opposite of the truth.

Does putting yourself in a position where someone else can turn off all your income just by saying two words (i.e. “you’re fired”) sound like a safe and secure situation to you? Does having only one income stream honestly sound more secure than having 10?

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July 20, 2006

State adds 4,400 jobs; more now working than when Romney took office
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 1:37 PM

From the Boston Globe's daily Business Ticker on Boston.com, this welcome news:

Massachusetts employers added 4,400 jobs last month, finally erasing the so-called "jobs deficit" of Governor Mitt Romney. The state unemployment rate held steady at 5 percent.

It took nearly four years, but Massachusetts now has more payroll jobs -- 700 -- than when Romney took office in January 2003, according to data reported by the Department of Workforce Development. The state, however, still has 150,000 fewer jobs than at the pre-recession peak of early 2001.

Read the full piece.

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July 18, 2006

More workers feeling underpaid, survey finds
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 2:03 PM

Today's Globe reports that salaries aren't keeping pace with the growing economy:

The average worker hasn't seen a meaningful pay increase in three years, despite the economy's rebound, according to US Labor Department data.

That may explain the findings of a national survey released yesterday reporting a sharp jump in the number of employees who feel underpaid.

Is this you? And if so, have you done anything about it? Here's some salary advice from BostonWorks. You can also share your thoughts with us in our salary poll.

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July 17, 2006

Commuting updates
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 4:38 PM

The tragedy of last week's connector tunnel ceiling collapse continues to reverberate. And now the day-to-day impact is really setting in as commuters adjust their movements and modes of transport to the new situation.

Now the Governor, who has taken over active management of the investigaton and ongoing decision-making, has stated that the connector and certain other tunnels may be closed for months. That's huge.

To stay up to date with the latest, check in at Boston.com for traffic updates, road closings, detours, the latest on the investigation, and more.

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An IT people person? Are you kidding?
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 2:14 PM

Nope, we're not.

We're pointing over to Maura Welch's "Business Filter" here on Boston.com, where the author/blogger picked up a story on how the successful IT employee of the future - and that's 2010, as in four years from now - will not be the one with the most tech skills but with the most interpersonal skills:

If there's one thing that corporate IT staff is traditionally not known for, it's people skills. But by 2010 the most sought-after corporate IT workers may be those with no deep-seated technical skills at all.

Check out the blog entry and the related piece from Computerworld magazine.

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July 13, 2006

How to be an effective junior designer
Posted by Jason Butler at 7:31 AM

It's hard being the new kid on the block in an office. You wish someone would lay out a simple set of guidelines to help you achieve success in your entry-level position. It's times like there where I find it handy that we have all the world's knowledge at our fingertips.

Here's an example I found this morning about how to be successful as a junior designer. Many of the ideas apply to all forms of junior professional work.

If you have any other stories along these lines, send me an email and I'll post them here.

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July 12, 2006

Good news for tech folks
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 2:51 PM

From CareerJournal.com comes this good news for tech folks:

Executives at fast-growing technology companies say their greatest operational challenge is finding, hiring and retaining qualified workers, according to a survey of 149 CEOs by consulting firm Deloitte & Touche.
- - - - -
The CEOs said they planned to attract and retain workers with stock options, flexible working hours and training and development programs.

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Commuting woes, part 2
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 11:49 AM

I like the commuter rail, I really do. And today it made more sense than ever to take the train into town as the Pike connector tunnel to the Ted Williams is still closed following Monday night's ceiling collapse, continuing to cause major traffic back-ups in the middle of downtown Boston.

Here's what happened today. The local train actually arrived a minute or two EARLY at my stop (Natick), which sounds great but is actually not for those scrambling to make it at the last minute. Once on, it was apparent that the AC was broken on several cars, so we rode with the doors open and a hot wind rushing through. Nonetheless, tolerable, though the crowds were definitely larger than usual - SRO.

Off at South Station, down to the T, where I stood in line for the new self-serve Charlie Card machines, only to have the machine reject my debit card (funny, it worked yesterday). After another fruitless attempt, I shifted to another line (four deep), where the machine decided it liked my card and gave me a ticket so I could go.

Onto the Red Line, no problems. Last leg: I've grown dependent on the Globe shuttle van from the T-stop to Globe HQ on Morrissey Boulevard, but alas, no sign of it today. So I walked.

Net result: 1 hour, 20 minute commute (typical day: 50 minutes) and a real feeling of the outdoors all the way. I'm not grousing, mind you, just observing. And I'm just one affected commuter.

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Raytheon gets $72.8M Navy contract
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 11:45 AM

More good news for local defense giant Raytheon, and potentially for job seekers:

Military contractor Raytheon Co. on Wednesday said it got a $72.8 million contract from the U.S. Navy to provide the Royal Australian Navy with radar equipment.

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July 11, 2006

Tragedy in the tunnel - and commuting snarls
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 9:57 AM

I come in from the west to Boston everyday and was affected by the Big Dig tunnel ceiling collapse, switching from car (Mass Pike) to commuter rail (Framingham-Worcester line). Otherwise I don't think I'd be here writing this blog post right now.

Learn more about the downtown Boston commuting outlook for the next 24 hours or so:

A fatal accident involving a falling ceiling panel in the I-90 connector tunnel eastbound to Logan Airport in South Boston is causing problems for commuters this morning.

Traffic is reportedly backed up in both directions on I-90, also called the Mass. Pike. And the tunnel is expected to remain closed at least until tomorrow.

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July 6, 2006

Comcast to add 400 jobs in region
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 9:59 AM

Today's Globe reports that Comcast will announce new local hiring plans today:

Comcast Corp. is expected to disclose today that it will add more than 400 jobs in New England, ramping up its presence in the region by 10 percent from last year.

The new jobs will include 180 technicians and support staff who will work in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Connecticut along with more than 100 other mostly managerial positions in areas like finance and engineering. The company will also expand its Malden call center with 130 customer care representatives, continuing a trend of "in-sourcing" despite cheaper labor costs outside the region.

Read the full article.

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July 5, 2006

Go ahead, take that vacation
Posted by at 4:42 PM

Following on Doug Eisenhart's post, "Learning to chill," here's an article by Tory Johnson, "Good Morning America's" workplace contributor. She points out that there are two main reasons many American employees forego some of their hard-earned vacation time: stress and job security. When they do manage to get away, about a quarter of employees say they check voicemail or e-mail. But for those of us who still believe that time away from the office is good for the soul, take heart:

Now even savvy employers are saying it's important to get away.

More and more corporations are tracking their employees' vacation time to make sure they take it. For example, companies like the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers employ a kind of "vacation police" to urge employees to take time off. They and other savvy corporations like them believe that a rested, rejuvenated employee is more productive. Almost 40 percent of workers who do take vacations say they feel better about their jobs and more productive at work upon returning from vacation. So getting out of the office is a good thing for you and the boss.

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Bad boss time
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 2:30 PM

Over the Fourth of July weekend I did a little bit of research as part of my job: I went to the movies. I saw "The Devil Wears Prada." It's all part of the demanding life of the editor of the BostonWorks Job Blog.

Why "Prada"? Because it's all about the workplace (that, and because my wife wanted to see it) and what some are calling the ultimate bad boss - high-powered fashion magazine Editor-in-Chief Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) - and how bright-eyed, midwestern college grad inegenue Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) handles this very Manhattan situation.

The film, which is fast-paced, funny, and delivers several stellar performances and endlessly chic shots of New York and Paris, took me back to my own publishing roots working for a Third Avenue powerhouse in the mid-70's. I dealt with some notoriously difficult individuals who somehow always wanted it their way. It all came roaring back as I watched Hathaway's starry-eyed, idealistic kid grasping to hang on to the lowest rung of the corporate ladder and trying to figure out how it all works.

Here's a set of links to allow you to explore the above and maybe even make you feel a little better about your own maybe-he-or-she's-not-so-bad-after-all boss:

>> Devil Wears Prada (DWP) trailer on IMDb
>> Main DWP page on IMDb
>> DWP microsite on Random House books (another Third Avenue publisher)

And on BostonWorks:
>> 'Prada' movie spotlights the nasty boss phenomenon
>> How to deal with a bad boss (employee view)
>> How to deal with a bad boss (employer view)
>> Famous bosses photo gallery

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July 4, 2006

Celebrating Independence Day
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 12:04 PM

Happy Independence Day! Think of it as independence not just from a dictatorial foreign power 230 years ago. How about independence from your work, too?

To celebrate, take a look at this photo gallery and make the most of these 25 free things to do in and around Boston. Here's a sample, particularly appropriate for this evening's July 4th concert with the Boston Pops:

3. Free events at the Hatch Shell - Boston
Check out WBZ’s Free Flicks Fridays and enjoy free movies at the Hatch Shell, June 23 through September 1. Bring a blanket and a picnic. Showings start at sunset. Also, watch for free concerts held weekly. . . .Hatch Memorial Shell events.

Why not bookmark the list and use it throughout the summer months?

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