Do you think of climate-change management as a legitimate career possibility? Today, the money fueling climate-change management is found in scientific research and government sponsored grants. But corporations may consider hiring specialists to help them anticipate and mitigate the business impact of climate change. Not only is climate-change management a relatively new course of study…    Continue reading

We look for star quality in politicians and actors, but rarely do we find it among corporate leaders. And, no, we’re not just talking about good looks. The quality known as charisma is an intangible, but valuable career asset, too. Does it translate well from one culture to another? “The notion of charisma is extremely…    Continue reading

Is there a more compelling place to advance your career than China? Paradoxically, if you’re from China, the answer is yes, but for nearly everyone else China is one of the best places to cut your teeth. India, Brazil and Eastern Europe are among the destinations that would also impress a global-minded recruiter or hiring…    Continue reading

Corporate interviews have become endurance tests, a common way of simulating how candidates will respond if hired. Job candidates sitting on the hot seat can expect to hear the same questions posed four to seven times in a single afternoon. While job seekers are judged on every little detail, feeling pressure not to make mistakes, paradoxically, interviewers often…    Continue reading

This hasn’t been a good year for jerks in the workplace. Apart from the usual controversies about egomaniacal politicians, baseball managers and CEOs, a popular new book recommends zero tolerance for assholes and a research report by the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Management School underscores the toxic organizational impact of emotions in the workplace. Experts who…    Continue reading

Ray Sweger is a 25-year-old operations manager with a mid-market financial firm who landed the job he wanted 2,000 miles from home, not by flying out for an interview but by answering employment questions over a webcam. Although video résumés are controversial and have not been accepted by corporate America, video interviews conducted over the…    Continue reading

Beyond the razzle-dazzle of beer bashes and company play days, “every company needs a signature experience that sets it apart.” That’s the thrust of a Harvard Business Review article called “What It Means to Work Here” by Tamara J. Erickson of the Concours Institute and Prof. Lynda Gratton of London Business School. In other words,…    Continue reading

When the scientific study hit the wires establishing that obesity spreads virally across large “social networks,” I figured that science was simply appropriating a popular cyberspace term. After all, if obesity could spread across Facebook, or MySpace, science would have a larger problem on its hands than excessive girth. Are my contacts on Facebook really that susceptible…    Continue reading

When a couple gets into a rut, they sometimes enter counseling to get a fresh, outsider’s perspective and, hopefully, reinvigorate the romance. Similarly, a company seeking a surge of renovation can turn to the outside world by setting up a diverse team tasked with a particular focus. Not slowed down by corporate bureaucracy, this multi-disciplinary…    Continue reading

International human resource managers have long struggled to articulate the return on investment for expatriate costs. Smart HR managers will be sure to highlight the findings of a recent study by Dr. Michael Dickmann in their next presentation on expat ROI. (Companies spend an average of $311,000 a year on each expatriate.) An academic authority…    Continue reading

Firstborns feel family pressure to excel and science backs it up: birth order is an important driver of career choices. What is less well understood is the role of birth order and intelligence – at least in my family. Birth order might sound a bit farfetched for a science or careers topic, like astrology, biorhythms…    Continue reading

There’s something job boards aren’t telling you. Have you ever thought that if you figured out the search techniques, you would be able to find your dream job? You click on the advanced-search function, fill in the blanks and hit return. But the matches still aren’t what you’re looking for. Despite improved functionality on many…    Continue reading

If you’re not in your company’s mentoring program, you’re stagnating. Or, if you’re in a senior position, then you should establish a succession plan or talent retention program that involves mentoring someone worthy of your time. Take that bromide, plus two Advil, and let us know how it goes. Despite a slow and imperceptible payback,…    Continue reading

In this post-Enron era of mandated transparency, corporate annual reports offer greater insights to a broader range of stakeholders, not just investors. Though annual reports suffer from an excess of glossy prose and disclosures, savvy corporations realize that it’s not just financial analysts and investors reading between the lines. Increasingly, job candidates are mining annual…    Continue reading

When was the last time you learned something useful from someone a couple of decades younger than you? Overcoming age bias is all in a day’s work for Peter Sheahan, a consultant and author of a book about Generation Y. Sheahan, a 28-year-old expert on workforce trends and generational change, says that he has consulted…    Continue reading

The economy is destroying jobs and retirement plans, but if you stretch the concept of good news, employers are coming to the rescue with talk of small pay raises this year. On the whole, I wouldn’t spend that expected 3.5 percent pay hike in Bermuda or Hawaii. Suffice to say, that merit pay increase isn’t…    Continue reading

If you pulled a B or C average in college, good luck getting an interview with Google or other intellectually rigorous global employers. But according to Alan C. Guarino, an author and recruiter, companies that overemphasize academic performance systematically overlook valuable talent. “Success, defined as business achievement, comes to a wide range of people. For…    Continue reading

Do you ever get the feeling that you’re writing graffiti in cyberspace? I get this disconnected feeling when I post a status update on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. There’s certainly an art to writing a one sentence blurb that expresses something about your life, perspective or the world around you. But is there a point…    Continue reading

Employers know the problem with great job candidates is that they usually have jobs and aren’t actively seeking another one. And why should they? It’s a hassle to send out resumes, shake the trees on a social network or chat-up recruiters. Typically it’s unhappy employees that seek new opportunities. Apart from these active job seekers,…    Continue reading

Ask anyone who has sourced or managed a globally distributed project. Collaborating with a customer, supplier, or co-worker located in another country typically brings more than you bargained for – a multicultural learning experience. You can muddle through on your own or get help. Specialized trainers can heighten your cultural awareness and teach you about…    Continue reading