February 25, 2008

Job hunting in an unsteady economy
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 12:52 PM

The "R" word has been hanging around out there for awhile now, making everyone from economists to consumers just a little nervous.

So what what does it mean for job seekers? While it may not be time to panic just yet, in a potentially recessionary economy and slow job market you might want to think about modifying your approach a bit. Here are two of seven tips I like from an article on Yahoo on the topic:

* Tailor your presentations; don't be generic. "In developing a resume and other promotions materials, think about how your current skills and talents apply directly to the responsibilities you'll hold in the new job," says [author of "They Don't Teach Corporate in College" Alexandra] Levit.
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* "Create an advisory board of smart and empathetic people and confer with them regularly about your job search," says [career coach and author of "You Want Me to Work with Who?" Julie] Jansen.

Forewarned is forearmed. Read the whole piece.

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February 22, 2008

Best companies to work for in Mass.
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 10:29 AM

Want to work for one of the best companies in Massachusetts? Then you may want to take a look at the latest list just out from FORTUNE magazine, which includes several Bay State firms on its list of highly-rated employers.

Take, for instance, the firm that employs the yoga-minded attorney pictured above:

Bingham McCutchen

US employees: 1,652
Last year's worldwide job growth: 0 percent
Most common job/Avg. salary for job: Associate/$211,017

Recent grads at law firm Bingham McCutchen, ranked 41st by Fortune, start at a salary of $160,000 a year. The company boasts a work force that includes many graduates of Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, according to Fortune.

The company, which has tripled in size in recent years because of mergers, has a unique atmosphere. For instance, lawyer Justin Morreale (pictured) teaches yoga at the firm's Boston office.

Check out our photo gallery of Massachusetts companies that made the list. If you want to go whole hog, visit the full list on Fortune.com.

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February 17, 2008

Why this economy may be good for women
Posted by Diane Danielson at 6:27 PM

Chrystia Freeland of the Financial Times writes about how women find it easier to adapt to new situations than men.  She focuses on a study about analysts recently published in the Harvard Business Review.

I am also a strong believer in the idea that the best way to effect real change is for sisters to do it for themselves. That's why I am taking such comfort from research published in this month's Harvard Business Review suggesting that female analysts are more likely than male ones to flourish when they move to new firms.

One of the things that I like about Professor Boris Groysberg's finding is that it was accidental - his analysis builds on previous research warning managers that hiring star performers from the competition usually doesn't work. But when Groysberg combed through his data, he found one surprising exception: women. Appealingly, Groysberg attributes this gender divide to the strategies and skills the star female analysts had to develop to thrive in a sexist environment: call it the uses of adversity, or finding lemons and making lemonade.

Facing "less-than-wholehearted acceptance" on Wall Street, successful women analysts "built their franchises on portable, external relationships with clients" rather than the internal schmoozing the guys focused on. That made it easier for them to move smoothly from one firm to another.

Click here to read the complete article.

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February 14, 2008

I LOVE my job
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 1:10 PM

In honor of Valentine's Day, the Job Blog pondered the notion of loving your job as much as you love another person - say, your valentine.

And lo and behold, that old needle in the haystack plucker (ie, Google) turned up this gem, a faux Dr. Seuss poem titled "I Love My Job!":

I love my job, I love the pay!
I love it more and more each day.
I love my boss, she is the best!
I love her boss and all the rest.

I love my office and its location,
I hate to have to go on vacation.
I love my furniture, drab and gray,
And piles of paper that grow each day!

Want more? Read the final four stanzas, including surprise ending.

And Happy Valentine's Day.

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February 11, 2008

Do what you are
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 2:46 PM

Personality and career guru Paul Tieger, author of Do What You Are and other career books, paid a virtual visit to Boston.com today, serving as guest expert in our 1 pm Jobs chat.

Here's a sample of Tieger's advice from the chat transcript:

Chicky__Guest_: Hi Paul, How important do you think it is to understand your personality type when searching for a job? And do you think it is unusual for personality types to change every few years?

Paul_Tieger: I think it is VERY important to understand your type! Having written five books on type, I better!...but seriously, I DO think, that while certainly not the ONLY factor, it is one of the most important! No, I don't believe people change their types, though there are many good reasons why they may LOOK different on type indicators every few years...

Read the full transcript here.

Want more? For the extra eager, check out "Paul Tieger's formula for career success" photo gallery right here on Boston.com.

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Job quiz
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 2:25 PM

Question: What do these ten jobs have in common?

1. Firefighter
2. Personal trainer
3. CEO
4. Bartender
5. Nurse
6. Photographer
7. Pilot
8. Surgeon
9. Cowboy
10. Soldier/Military

For the answer, click here.

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February 10, 2008

Yet another reason women are damned if they do, and damned if they don't
Posted by Diane Danielson at 8:18 PM

Today's NY Times looks at how women leaders are subject to double standards.  One would hope we'd eventually get beyond all this ...

In particular, one lesson from this research is that promoting their own successes is a helpful strategy for ambitious men. But experiments have demonstrated that when women highlight their accomplishments, that’s a turn-off. And women seem even more offended by self-promoting females than men are.

This creates a huge challenge for ambitious women in politics or business: If they’re self-effacing, people find them unimpressive, but if they talk up their accomplishments, they come across as pushy braggarts.

The broader conundrum is that for women, but not for men, there is a tradeoff in qualities associated with top leadership. A woman can be perceived as competent or as likable, but not both.

Click here to read the full story.

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February 4, 2008

Hard work, positive attitude pay off
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 11:04 AM

Always be on your best behavior. Put your best foot forward. Smile. Be polite. Work hard and you'll get ahead.

All homilies from the wood shed and the family dinner table. And one that children tire of hearing. But in this particular case, they were all true:

BEVERLY - A full scholarship to a $34,000-a-year private college for a waiter? Now that's a tip.

Two years ago, Marvin Burchall was working the lunch shift at a luxury beachside hotel in his native Bermuda when he waited on an administrator from Endicott College, just north of Boston. To him, Lynn Bak was just another customer, another tourist visiting the island getaway. But Burchall's service was impeccable, and his attentiveness and amiable manner caught Bak's eye.

Bak, who coordinates Endicott's School of International Education in Bermuda and stays at the Elbow Beach Bermuda resort every three weeks or so, gradually got to know Burchall, a 23-year-old who had dropped out of college during his sophomore year to work at the hotel.

The better she knew him, the more she was struck by his poise and potential, and she eventually recommended him to Endicott president Richard Wylie as an excellent candidate for Endicott. In October, Wylie wound up sitting in Burchall's section while in Bermuda for a graduation ceremony and was similarly impressed. In short order, Endicott offered Burchall a full, four-year scholarship, room and board included, which he eagerly accepted on the spot.

Read the inspirational story from today's Globe.

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The party's over
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 9:26 AM

Was Yogi Berra in Glendale last night?

The spirit of the Hall of Fame baseball catcher and manager certainly was, most notably in his oft-quoted pronouncement: "It ain't over till it's over."

In a game that was marked by defensive domination most of the night, with less than five minutes left in the Super Bowl the two offensive units finally took over. First Tom Brady marched the Patriots down the field and fired to wide-open Randy Moss in the end zone to take a four point lead, 14-10, with less than three minutes on the clock. Tom Terrific had done it again. An apparent Super Bowl victory in their grasp, and the crowning achievement to what would be the Patriots unprecedented and historic 19-0 run.

But wait, says Yogi. One thing left to do: stop the Giants one more time. And they couldn't. And they didn't. And, following in big brother Peyton's Super Bowl MVP award-winning footsteps, Eli Manning, with the assistance of some miracle how-the-heck-did-he-do-that catches from his receiving corps, out-Bradied Brady and took it to the Pats with their own wide-open end zone toss to 6' 5" go-to target Plaxico Burress. Now, game over?

No, not yet. With less than half a minute on the clock, one last attempt to make history by 3-time Super Bowl winner Brady, including two Hail Mary's to record-breaking receiver Moss. And then, finally, it was over (for Pats coach Bill Belichick, it was over even before the clock expired - poor form, in my view). Game over, party over.

So, here in the Job Blog we celebrate a job well done by the Pats organization. Though the taste this morning is bitter and history will record the defeat of the Pats and the outstanding never-say-die performance of the confident and determined Giants, the Patriots had a helluva year. No parade, maybe. (OK, we're still recovering from the Red Sox romp through the streets last fall.) But hats off to the Giants, who in the end outplayed the Pats, and hats off to the Pats on an outstanding year. And, maybe after a break, back to the drawing board for the front office, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Something broke down last night when all the marbles were at stake.

Thanks, Pats. Go KG and Celts.

PS Does it matter that Yogi Berra was from New York?. . .

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February 1, 2008

Will you suffer from. . .Super Bowl Fever?
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 2:05 PM

OK, so you're going to watch T-H-E G-A-M-E this Sunday. And you may just get together with a few buddies and hoist a few at some point, before during or after the game - maybe.

And you might just get into the actual game a bit, especially if Tom Terrific and Co. start looking like they might actually run the table at 19-0. Pretty exciting stuff. Historic, in fact.

But what does that mean for you, personally? Maybe feeling a little ache-y and feverish the next morning? Maybe so much so that you wind up calling in to the office?

Watch out - they're on to you:

CHELMSFORD, Mass., Jan. 30, 2008 — New survey findings suggest that an estimated 1.5 million employed U.S. adults may call in sick to work the day after the Super Bowl. The "Super Bowl Fever Sidelines Employees on Monday Morning" survey of 1,430 adults employed full-time was sponsored by The Workforce Institute™ at Kronos ®Incorporated and conducted online via Harris Interactive.
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Super Bowl-related absences could be particularly striking for organizations with a high population of Gen X and Gen Y employees, as the majority of the employed adults who say they may call in sick the day after the Super Bowl are males and females between the ages of 18-34 years (4 percent and 3 percent, respectively).

Before you make that call (or e-mail or text message or IM or whatever), you might want to read this. Forewarned is forearmed.

Now enjoy the game, and GO PATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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