“Bob, can I talk to you in my office? ”  While terminating employees is one of the more unpleasant tasks that owners and managers have to carry out, it is a necessary part of doing business.   If you’re not careful, however, mistakes committed during the firing process can come back to haunt you by way of legal action. Learn the most common mistakes made when giving workers the boot.   1. View Details

A career in sales combines many of the qualities you might be looking for in your career: Challenge, variety, and activity, all of which lead to the ability to control your own earnings based on your performance. With the right mindset, a successful career in sales is achievable even if you do not have previous experience selling directly to others. View Details

Here are ten traits that any great employer should recognize and reward instantly.   As a longtime employer of dozens, I was always grateful to have good employees. It takes a lot to recruit and maintain top talent. Every once in a while special employees come along that just really seem to get it. They drive the entire company forward in ways that were unimaginable. View Details

Interviewing is an art-form for both the job seeker and the hiring manager. A simple mistake by either party can raise enough doubt to leave the other looking elsewhere. After much reflection on what’s turned me off to a job in the past, I’ve come up with seven interview red flags that will leave me saying, “Thanks, but no thanks” to your job offer.   1. View Details

“What are your salary expectations? ”  This is commonly one of the first questions you’re asked when interviewing for a new job. View Details

Ever since I started working in a recruiting office, I get questions such as, “What’s the best way to get a job? ” “How do I get into that industry? ” or “Who should I contact about a position at your company? ” The last thing anyone wants to hear is, “Apply online. ” Why? Because online you can easily become number 498. View Details

When I meet new hires at LinkedIn, they often ask for advice on getting off to a good start.   Whether you’re new to a company, or taking a new role at your employer, your first six months in any job are absolutely critical to building your brand.   If you crush it, it’s amazing how much leeway you’ll get when things go wrong, and credit when things go right. View Details

Even though things seem to be slowly improving, our job market is—to put it mildly—not good. Many job seekers have been scrounging and scraping and clawing around for work for far longer than normal, and that kind of desperation sometimes makes people engage in behaviors they likely wouldn’t consider in better times. View Details

Gone are the days where a college degree set you up for a steady middle class job. A new study by the Center for College Affordability and Productivity found that nearly one out of two Americans with college degrees are working at jobs for which they’re overqualified. Does this news hit a bit too close to home? View Details

I don’t know many people who actually enjoy looking for a job (me included), but at some point in our lives, we all have to. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average unemployed personspends more than eight months looking for work. The economy and job market can affect this time-frame, increasing or decreasing it, but so can another important factor—being unorganized.   The say looking for a job is a full-time job. View Details

We’ve got the technology to make flexible working a reality – but it’s taking time for our bosses’ mind-sets to catch up, according to the findings of Regus’ global survey on new ways of working.   Of the 24,000 responses, a staggering 89% said that their managers needed to accept flexible working more, while 85% said they wanted their bosses to show more trust in staff who are working flexibly. View Details

While emailing and texting are becoming common forms of business communication, for sales nothing beats picking up the phone to make the initial pitch.   So we have pulled together some tips to help you rally for that next customer call, even when you are not feeling your best! View Details

According to research from the Corporate Executive Board, 40% of internal job moves made by people identified by their companies as “high potentials” end in failure. Many organizations make the mistake of looking simply at ability when assessing an employee for a management job. Think of the hot-shot sales rep or the genius software engineer. It is incredible how often high producing individuals get promoted into management jobs that require a totally different mindset to be successful. View Details

We’ve all witnessed the havoc and felt the pain created by problem co-workers. Ironically, the biggest mistake managers make when managing problem employeesis avoiding the problem. They stay away from the employee and place added burdens on other employees whom they trust. This leads to a whole host of other bigger problems.   So don’t wait – act! Consider these 6 steps to relieving the pain.   1. Talk to the employee. View Details

When the time comes to promote strong, capable individual contributors into their first role as a manager, how do you prepare them? Although their performance has been good and you’ve assessed that they are a fit for the job, leading others will be an adjustment for most. Don’t assume that an effective worker will automatically become an effective manager – especially if he’s to manage a group of his peers. View Details