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How to Accomplish More by Doing Less

By: Tony Schwartz

December 13, 2011

Two people of equal skill work in the same office. For the sake of comparison, let's say both arrive at work at 9 am each day, and leave at 7 pm.

Bill works essentially without stopping, juggling tasks at his desk and running between meetings all day long. He even eats lunch at his desk. Sound familiar?

Nick, by contrast, works intensely for approximately 90 minutes at a stretch, and then takes a 15 minute break before resuming work. At 12:15, he goes out for lunch for 45 minutes, or works out in a nearby gym. At 3 pm, he closes his eyes at his desk and takes a rest. Sometimes it turns into a 15 or 20 minute nap. Finally, between 4:30 and 5, Nick takes a 15 minute walk outside...

By: Alexandra Levit

December 12, 2011

Some people start out just wanting to share quality information, and so others listen to them in order to learn and reap of the benefit of the experience and knowledge.

Unfortunately, many of these same people become addicted to the attention paid to them, and they gradually become narcissistic. Their advice becomes less about situations that apply to the audience in general, and more about, well, them. Their conversations become a string of “I think X, I feel Y, and I do Z.”

I see this primarily in workplaces and online, but it’s rampant in social situations as well. Let’s say you’re at a party. If you’re a good listener, and you know how to ask relevant questions in order to show interest in other people, you will inevitably be stuck talking to someone who is more than happy to go on and on about herself. She may invite you to respond to a remark, only to instantly turn the conversation back to herself...

By: Harry Urschel

December 9, 2011

There’s old conventional wisdom that says it’s easier to get a new job while you’re in a job, than when you’re unemployed.

Why is that? Simply because employers are biased against the unemployed? Or is there something else going on?

While there are some employers that have biases against people that are unemployed, that’s generally not the a deciding factor in the vast majority of cases.

Some employers do believe that if someone was let go from a previous position, there must have been a reason for it. Companies generally don’t want to lose their best people, so some employers assume that if you were let go, you must not have been that good. Particularly in today’s job market, that view is very unfounded...

By: Alison Green

December 7, 2011

A reader writes: I work in a medical billing office. The attendance policy is very strict. You need to give 24 hours notice for anything that alters your schedule or points are assessed. Literally, 23.5 hours notice will not be acceptable.

There are no exceptions. Getting a call that a family member died and you have to go, gets you a point. Having a heart attack and getting carted off gets you a point. Bottom line, not working your exact hours gives you a point.

You are allowed 10 points and then you are fired. I know it seems like a lot, but when death, major illness, and even a minute late from lunch is factored in it can add up, as well as trying to get the point off.

You have 60 days to remove a point and if you get even a half point within that time, all “time served” to get rid of the first point is erased and you start fresh from that last point. You then have 4 months to erase 2 points. And it keeps accumulating as you get more points. One minute late on an ice storm day can mess it all up for you...

By: Erica Moss

December 6, 2011

We’ve all seen them: the online efforts of eager job hunters, clawing at their social media dream jobs like 12-year-olds at a Justin Bieber concert. They’re interesting. They’re flashy. They’re “outside the box.”

But do they actually work?

Most of these social media stunts gain attention for a hot minute, either in the job seeker’s local newspaper, or, if they’re lucky, on a career blog like this one, before fading into obscurity.

So is it worth developing a job-hunting campaign as part of your next search? Let’s take a look at your predecessors...

By: Don Goodman

December 5, 2011

Even when you have the education and professional background to qualify for the job, don’t count on it as a sure win that you will be asked to come in for an interview. In fact, your qualifications may hinder your chances.

It’s very common in today’s market for employers to dismiss a job applicant’s application and resume because they are “overqualified.” Yes, you read correctly. It’s not a matter of being under qualified, but overqualified. The fact is today’s market has an abundant supply of highly qualified candidates but not enough jobs to go around for everyone.

More candidates are resorting to applying for positions where the level of expertise required on the job is below their previous position’s requirements. Many candidates today are also choosing to change careers, starting at an entry level, where there may be more job opportunities...