Why It's Great to Get a Bad Review

Maybe you need a little tough love

Jill Jacinto

You might be wondering how, in fact, a bad review could be a blessing. Well, hear me out. Let's face it: absolutely no one looks forward to performance reviews, which typically occur right before the new year. It's even more frightening to hear your boss mid-year say, "We need you to improve your performance," regardless of the industry. So why is this a good thing?

Invested in you. If your boss really didn't care about your value, they would say nothing and start looking for your replacement. Plenty of superiors will keep quiet and let your poor work slide, either saying they are too busy to train you or praying someone else will. An employer's constructive critique of your performance indicates that they are invested in you. If they didn't think you have a future at the firm or actually have the potential to improve, they would keep their mouths shut.

Fear silence. If you can hear a pin drop every time your boss is around you, that's when you should be scared. If your boss is silent towards you but complimentary (or course-correcting) toward the rest of the team, you have a big problem. If your boss is quiet towards everyone, though, then that's okay – if it's her personality. Perk up your ears to hear what she is telling everyone else and how often – daily, weekly, monthly. For the most part, you want to hear praise from your boss every few months. She'll do this to reinforce your behavior. If your performance is slipping, and she sees potential in you, she'll speak up. If your performance is taking a tumble and she's quiet – be worried.

Drowning in work. You might immediately think that you are in the dog house if your boss is dumping on the work all of sudden. It just depends on the type of work. Is it mainly clerical, last-minute and ultimately not desirable? These are all negative signs. If it's working on an important presentation (because someone else was underperforming) it can be a good sign. If you seem to always be getting the grunt work while the rest of the team is off to a happy hour around 4:00, you are no longer in your boss's good graces. It would be a good idea to reevaluate your position. Are you happy? Are you doing the best you can do? If you want to stay, seek your boss and ask for constructive criticism. If she's still quiet and your situation hasn't improved, it's time to look for work elsewhere.

Psychologist Says This Key Skill Can Make People Highly Effective Leaders

And the CEO of Airbnb definitely has it.

Business Insider

By Rachel Gillett

Airbnb employees seem to love CEO Brian Chesky.

One possible reason? The startup founder's ability to inspire awe in his people.

Take for example the company's headquarters, which allows people to transcend San Francisco and enter another world by simply picking a conference room; the company's core mission to entirely reimagine the way we travel today; or the endless Airbnb listings that show us homes we never would have known existed.

It's hard to imagine an employee that hasn't at one time or another experienced large-scale wonder at work there.

People who possess the ability to elicit these feelings of awe in others could be highly effective leaders says Paul Piff, an assistant professor of psychology and social behavior at University of California, Berkeley — that is if they use their powers for good.

During a series of studies recently published by the American Psychological Association in the "Journal of Personality and Social Psychology," Piff and his team of researchers found that inducing a sense of awe in people could promote generous, helpful, and positive social behavior.

"We find that awe makes people more ethical, less entitled, more cooperative — all of which often play key roles in organizational and workplace success," Piff explained to Business Insider.

During one study, for example, researchers had a group of volunteers stand in a grove of towering trees and look up at them for one minute while another group looked instead at a tall building. Then experimenters spilled a handful of pens, seemingly by accident, and volunteers in awe of the vast trees were deemed to be the most helpful in picking them up.

Piff says awe also has the potential to promote curiosity and openness to novelty, both of which are central to creativity. It could make people more cooperative and team-oriented, more attuned to collective interests, and identify more strongly with their organizations.

The researchers wrote that they believe awe induces a feeling of being diminished in the presence of something greater than oneself. This diminished sense of self shifts focus away from an individual's need and toward the greater good.

The studies used a variety of methods to test the effect of awe including showing video clips of nature and of colored water droplets colliding with a bowl of milk.

"The common thread across all of those manipulations is that each one, however different in content, exposed people to something vast that transcended their understanding of the world, or their default mode of seeing the world," Piff explained.

A leader could orchestrate this in a number of different ways, Piff says, including incorporating collective rituals at work, time outdoors, art, music, and dance.      

How One CEO Figures Out if a Job Candidate Has Done Their Homework

Don't try to sneak around Prudential Financial's Lori Dickerson Fouché

Business Insider

By Jacquelyn Smith

Do your homework!

You've been hearing this your whole life. And as it turns out, this instruction is just as relevant and imperative now — while you look for a job — as it was when you were trying to pass your seventh grade math class.

Being prepared will not only boost your confidence going into a job interview, but it will allow you to better answer the hiring manager's questions and show them how committed you are to the job and company. It also says a lot about the type of person you are.

In a recent interview with Adam Bryant of the New York Times, Lori Dickerson Fouché, CEO of Group Insurance at Prudential Financial, said she always wants to know whether a candidate has done their due diligence on the company, "and that they have a passion for wanting to work at our company."

"I want them to care enough to have done their research to make sure that there's also a good cultural fit," she told Bryant.

To determine whether they've done their homework, she asks: "What kind of cultures do you like to work in? Where do you excel? How do you excel? If you find yourself in situations where they're not going the way you want them to, what do you do?"

"How people conduct themselves when they face challenges is really important," she explained.

Fouché said that she looks for resilience and perseverance in the candidate's responses to these questions. "Most of my background has been working in big companies, and you have to find a way to navigate and negotiate to an end result. It could be a winding path. So I make sure that people feel like they know how to do that, and do it in a way that is respectful of the system."

"And then if they're in a leadership position," she added, "I want to know how they lead people."

To do that, she asks questions about difficult leadership situations and how the candidate managed people through them. "I'll also want to understand how they make their own hiring and firing decisions," she told Bryant.   

Read the full interview here.   

7 Tricks for Appearing Smarter Than You Are

Or at least vaguely sentient

Business Insider

By Samantha Lee and Drake Baer

You don't have to be intelligent to look smart.

Instead, social science research has found that it's really about sending the right signals to people.

Here are a few examples:

      

How to Stay Alert When You're Exhausted at Work

Napping at your desk would not be advised

Business Insider

By John Boitnott

It's 2 p.m. and you're starting to feel the effects of last night's insomnia.

As you feel your eyelids start to get heavier, you're thinking that nothing would be better than a quick nap.

Of course, whether you're at your desk or in the middle of a meeting, a nap would be very bad for your career.

But what can you do when your body simply won't cooperate?

Here are some things to try the next time you're feeling the lure of sleep during the workday:

Drink Something
Studies have found that one of the side effects of dehydration is fatigue. Grab a bottle of water before your next meeting and take a generous swig every time you feel sleepy.

If you need a quick boost, stop by the office coffee pot and pour yourself enough caffeine to get you over that afternoon slump. At the very least, your repeated trips to the restroom will keep you from falling asleep.

Take a Walk
A brisk walk will get your adrenaline pumping, releasing those endorphins that make you feel energized and alert. When you find yourself drifting off at your desk, a quick walk around the block can be just enough to get you back on track.

Your boss probably will be far more forgiving of you disappearing outside for a quick break than snoring at your desk. If the weather outside isn't ideal for walking, take a quick walk around the building or run up and down the stairs a couple of times.

Step Outside
Even if you can't take a walk, a few minutes outside can do wonders to wake up your brain. The sunlight reminds your body that it's daytime, kicking in natural process designed to keep you awake during the day and asleep during nighttime hours.

If weather permits, you can combine your outside activities with a little exercise for added benefits.

Just Breathe
If you're stuck in a meeting when drowsiness sets in, many of the above methods will be out of the question. Try taking slow, deep breaths as quietly as you can manage. Your co-workers will have no idea what you're doing and your breathing exercises will help your body's oxygen levels, giving your sleepiness the kick in the backside that it needs.

Listen to Music
We all have that song that wakes us up and gets us moving. Find that song and play it through earbuds when you're feeling sleepy. If midday slumps are a normal occurrence, consider making a playlist that you can fall back on whenever you need some wake-up music.

If your office is private, feel free to dance around a little. The movement will provide the molt of adrenaline you need.

Chew Ice
It's difficult to fall asleep while you're chewing on ice. The extreme cold will ignite your senses and you'll be too busy chewing to doze off. If your place of work has an ice machine or cafeteria, keep a cup on hand to fill up whenever you need a quick refresher.

Try a Snack
There are healthy snacks you can keep on hand that will battle the afternoon slump without relying on sugar or caffeine. Foods like roasted edamame, baked chips, and fruit are great for waking you up and they won't add to your waistline.

The best way to battle daytime sleepiness is to get a good night's sleep. For that occasion when that simply doesn't happen, these tips can give you that extra jolt you need to get through the rest of the day.      

How to Trick Your Brain Out of Getting Distracted at Work

Consider the marshmallow test

Business Insider

By Josh Davis

Despite being very accomplished in general, Mike feels like he wastes a ton of time catching up on Facebook, checking the baseball standings, and playing games on his phone.

It's as if he finds himself doing it again at every turn throughout the workday.

Toward the end of each day, he gets furious with himself about how much more he could have done if he had avoided those distractions.

But they are his solace moments of fun during a tough day.

When he's been working on a spreadsheet for 30 minutes, for example, and his mind starts to drift, those things are extremely tempting.

"Just for a few minutes," he tells himself, starting to wonder how many people 'liked' his funny photo of his kids from the night before.

There is something Mike can do, however, to avoid these temptations. More specifically, there is one thing he can stop doing, and one thing he can start doing.

First, what to stop doing. When Mike began to imagine how many 'likes' he had for his photo, he was focusing on the reward value of the temptation. He was thinking about what would feel good about checking his post.

Don't focus on how rewarding the temptation is
A study conducted at Dartmouth College showed what's happening in the brain when we fail to resist temptations. The researchers tracked people in their daily lives — succeeding or failing at resisting temptations — and also examined brain activity when the same people were presented with images of similar temptations in the lab. There were several findings, but I think one is particularly telling.

People who failed more at resisting temptation in real life also showed greater activity in an area of the brain called the nucleus accumbens, which is commonly thought of as being critical for reward processing. That is, those people whose brains were more focused on the rewarding aspects of the temptation were more likely to cave in to temptation.

This fits with lessons from children in the famous marshmallow tests. In that research, kids of about 3½ to 5½ years old were offered a marshmallow or a different treat, and selected which they would rather eat.

But then they were asked to wait an unspecified amount of time, until the experimenter came back into the room, before they could eat the one they had chosen. If they didn't want to wait, they could call the experimenter in, but then they'd only get the other treat that they hadn't chosen.

Those kids who focused their thoughts on the treats instead of on something else were much faster to cave in and more likely to cave in at all, rather than holding out for the one they preferred.

Mike can do his brain a favor, and not think about how rewarding it will be to check his facebook status. Rewards come in many flavors – something can be appealing, enjoyable, informative, interesting, exciting, or so on. That's what not to focus on. But what should he think of, instead, if not focusing on how rewarding his temptation is?

      

4 Psychological Tricks to Instantly Appear Competent

Tips from Heidi Grant Halvorson's "No One Understands You and What to Do About It"

Business Insider

By Rachel Gillett

Coming across as competent isn't just a matter of looking polished and dressing the part.

Turns out digging a little deeper and honing in on how you interact with others will yield far better results.

When done right, appearing competent is an essential way to get ahead at work, writes Columbia University professor Heidi Grant Halvorson in her book "No One Understands You And What To Do About It."

It can help you win the trust of bosses, colleagues, and employees alike, which is key to having valuable allies at work.

Here are Halvorson's four psychological strategies to conveying your effectiveness.

1. Demonstrate your strong willpower.
Would you trust a colleague that has a serious self-control problem with an important project? Probably not.

A study out of VU University Amsterdam found that when you publicly engage in behaviors indicative of low willpower, your trustworthiness diminishes.

While someone's personal behaviors would ideally remain personal, they suggest to outsiders whether or not the individual is able to adhere to the standards of any healthy relationship, which could include the ones you have at work.

Whether you smoke, overeat, are perpetually late, or spend impulsively, to better convey competence to your colleagues, you either need to quit or at the very least keep it to yourself.

2. Beware of seeming cocky.
Whatever you do, don't confuse confidence with competence. While you can never have too much competence, there is a healthy — and unhealthy— dose of confidence to be aware of.

The dangers of overconfidence include being underprepared, setting unrealistic goals, biting off more than you can chew, and generally making bad choices, Halvorson explains. And all this leads to being the least popular guy in the office.

Instead, convey a realistic sense of confidence that shows modesty. You'll be less likely to threaten your colleagues' self esteem, and your mistakes won't elicit nearly as many cheers from your cubemates.

3. Use body-language to your advantage.
Any easy way to appear more competent is by simply making eye contact while speaking. Studies have shown that those who do so are consistently judged as more intelligent.

Halvorson also suggests speaking faster, gesturing and nodding, and sitting up straight, which have all been found to lead to greater perceptions of competence.

Another interesting tactic is adopting power poses made famous by social psychologist Amy Cuddy. By standing or sitting in an expansive way (legs apart, arms spread wide, leaning forward) you're not only conveying confidence to others, but you're also triggering immediate changes in your body chemistry that make you more powerful, which Halvorson explains goes hand-in-hand with competence.

"Adopting a high-power pose is a great way to subtly signal your competence — especially if you aren't the type to sing your own praises — while simultaneously providing a power boost to help you tackle your next challenge," Halvorson writes.

4. Emphasize what you can do, not what you have done.
We have an unconscious bias to be more impressed with the "next big thing" than the "big thing" that's already happened.

During a recent study by Harvard and Stanford researchers, participants evaluated two job candidates and determined their fit for a leadership position. Both candidates had equally impressive backgrounds, but one had two years of relevant job experience and high scores on a test of leadership achievement and the other had zero years of relevant job experience and high scores on a test of leadership potential.

The study participants believed the second candidate — who had no experience, but great leadership potential — would be better suited for the job, which is not surprising considering how our human brains work.

Our brains pay more attention to uncertain information, Halvorson explains, because they want to figure it out. This leads to longer and more in-depth processing of this information, and as long as the information available is favorable, the extra processing leaves us with a more positive view of someone's competence.

So even if you have an impressive track record for success, Halvorson suggests focusing your pitch, whatever it may be, on your future, not your past. "It's what you could be that makes people sit up and take notice," she writes.      

The 10 Worst Cities to Start Your Career

High unemployment, low monthly incomes plague these locales

Business Insider

By Rachel Gillett

Job prospects are looking better this year for recent college grads, but that doesn't mean all US cities are experiencing the same hiring boom.

Employment opportunities vary significantly based on geography, and some cities still lag behind when it comes to things like job growth and unemployment rates.

To determine the worst places for recent college graduates to launch their burgeoning careers, personal finance site WalletHub analyzed and ranked the 150-most-populous US cities based on 19 metrics pertaining to professional opportunities and quality of life.

Metrics included the number of entry-level jobs per 10,000 residents, housing affordability, annual job growth rate, recreation ranking, unemployment rate, and number of leisure establishments in the area. (Read the full report and methodology here.)

10. Milwaukee, Wisconsin

1/10

Monthly median starting salary: $2,186
Number of entry-level jobs per 10,000 residents: 26
With stalling population growth and poor economic mobility, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, landed the No. 147 spot for overall professional opportunities and No. 122 for quality of life.

9. Mobile, Alabama

2/10

Monthly median starting salary: $2,388
Entry-level jobs per 10,000 residents: 12
Mobile, Alabama, has few single people to hang out with and even fewer entry-level jobs, earning the city an overall professional-opportunities rank of No. 133 and overall quality-of-life score of 149 out of 150.

8. Modesto, California

3/10

Monthly median starting salary: $1,908
Entry-level jobs per 10,000 residents: 13
With a high unemployment rate and very few things to do in your downtime, Modesto, California, might not be the best place to start out. The city comes in at No. 138 for overall professional opportunities and No. 141 for overall quality of life. Modesto does rank seventh for its great weather, though.

Read more        The 10 Worst Cities to Start Your Career

11 Successful People Share Their Best Advice for New College Grads

Leah Remini to aspiring actors: "You can't give up if it is something you truly love"

Business Insider

By Jacquelyn Smith

In honor of graduation season, personal finance website NerdWallet recently asked 27 successful business leaders, executives, musicians, actors, and athletes to share their best career advice for the Class of 2015.

Here are some highlights.

T.J. Miller
Comedian and actor; Star of HBO's "Silicon Valley"

Advice for recent grads: "Work harder than anyone else around you and be nice. That truly is the formula. It worked for me and I have mediocre talent and a horse jaw. And as a good friend of mine says: 'Know who you are and don't apologize for it.' -Erlich Bachman"

Amy Ockert
Competitive Strategy Director at Whole Foods Market

Advice for recent grads: "The best thing is to find a mentor that you admire. Not your manager or even someone in your department, but someone you respect professionally. Bounce ideas off your mentor, work with him/her on issues that arise at work, and glean information to help your development as a professional."

Leah Remini
Actress; star of CBS's "The King of Queens"

Advice for recent grads: "To aspiring actors: It is not an easy business for everyone, you have to love to entertain and you have to go in it for that reason, because if that is truly what is in your heart, those times you are told no will not allow you to give up. You can't give up if it is something you truly love."

Eric Bahn
Product Manager at Facebook; cofounder of Hustlecon

Advice for recent grads: "Your network will become increasingly important as you progress in your career. Once you build a reputation and build the right contacts, then you'll never have to apply for a job again - opportunities will come to you. When you encounter an interesting person, grab their e-mail and add their info into a master list of network contacts. Write an annual e-mail during the holidays to your master list to keep your contacts warm and updated; you'll be amazed how effective this tactic is."

Brian Lee
CEO and founder of The Honest Company; founder of ShoeDazzle

Advice for recent grads: "Find something that truly inspires you, and join a company that has the same passion, or start one yourself."

Sanya Richards-Ross
Professional athlete; four-time gold-medal Olympian

Advice for recent grads: "To be bold and fearless. The world needs new, fresh ideas! The world needs you! Don't conform or be afraid to try and fail. Failure is an important ingredient to success. You'll be happier and more proud of your results when you take the risk."

Sam Reich
Head of Original Video at CollegeHumor

Advice for recent grads: "My advice for people starting out in this industry is always this: (a) Do what you love to do, a lot, for free, until you get great at it. (b) Get any job you can somewhere you'd like to work - no matter how stupid it seems at the time. Many of our best writers are former interns. Murph, who is one of our writer-cast members, started as CollegeHumor's front desk guy!"

Katrina Lake
CEO of Stitch Fix

Advice for recent grads: "Focus on finding roles where you can learn, grow, and develop most. Make sure you work for someone you admire, and that your manager can be a mentor and champion for you in your career today but also for the years to come."

George Stephanopoulos
ABC News chief anchor; co-anchor of "Good Morning America"

Advice for recent grads: "Relax. Almost nothing you're worried about today will define your tomorrow. Down the road, don't be afraid to take a pay cut to follow your passion. But do stash a few bucks in a 401(k) now."

Hermione Way
Founder of WayMedia; Star of Bravo's "Start-Ups: Silicon Valley"

Advice for recent grads: "There has never been an easier time to start a business. There are so many free online tools. Just start, and if you fail you can always go and get a normal job, but you will learn so much along the way it will be a great experience."

Patrick Lee
Cofounder and former CEO of Rotten Tomatoes

Advice for recent grads: "If you want to do your own startup, you don't need a job to get experience first. You will learn faster doing your own thing than working at some entry-level job. You will make mistakes (lots of them), but that is all part of the learning process. If you want to learn to swim, don't be afraid of getting wet."      

Stop saying ‘I’m sorry’ at work

If you're uttering "I'm sorry" all the time in a professional setting, it can negatively impact how you're viewed by your peers and superiors, and have a lasting impact on your career.

Last year, Pantene debuted an advertisement showing women apologizing in various situations, including at the office, sparking a conversation about whether women say they're sorry too much, especially in circumstances where it's unwarranted.

A study a few years back from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, also examined this issue and found that women do say they're sorry more often than men. And while men do apologize, they have a higher threshold for what they think warrants a need for forgiveness.

Whether it's a man or a woman saying it, if you're uttering "I'm sorry" all the time in a professional setting, it can negatively impact how you're viewed by your peers and superiors, and have a lasting impact on your career.

"I believe women – and oftentimes emotionally tuned-in men – fall into this trap of saying 'I'm sorry,' because they want everyone to be happy," says Heather Neisen, HR manager at TechnologyAdvice. "Saying 'I'm sorry' to even a minor issue is what we are taught to do when we are very young. In the workplace, there's a sense that to be liked and respected you need to make sure everyone is happy. If an issue arises though, most likely the first thing someone will say is 'I'm sorry.' Wanting to make sure everyone is happy is a huge burden to bear and it's frankly impossible to control other people's emotions."

The pre-apologyIt's one thing to apologize for genuine wrongdoing, but it's another to do it when you're afraid you're inconveniencing someone by asking a question or challenging an idea. This is what Karin Hurt, CEO of Let's Grow Leaders, calls the "pre-apology." According to Hurt, examples of the "pre-apology" include:

• "I'm so sorry to take up so much of your time, but I have an idea."
• "I'm sorry, this is probably not what you're looking for, but here's the spreadsheet you asked for."
• "I'm sorry I couldn't have spent more time on it."

"The tragedy is that what often follows is a great idea or terrific work. However, it may not be viewed from this lens if you've already apologized for it being substandard," Hurt says.

The impact on your careerNeisen says that constantly apologizing can harm your career for several reasons. "Overall, this can negatively impact a career because it can cause either burnout (due to stress) or it could potentially cause an employee to make poor decisions based on emotions and what others prefer instead of what is best for him or her. Additionally, apologizing all the time will tend to make others think that you are not confident or not sure of your decisions. Ultimately, this can weaken someone's ability to lead well."
Jenn DeWall, career and life coach and motivational speaker, agrees. "Saying sorry too much can negatively impact your perception and reputation as a strong leader. Your boss or peers may make assumptions that you do not have a backbone and aren't willing to stand up for your work or ideas."

Stopping the cycle of "I'm sorry"Christopher G. Fox, founder of Kindness Communication, a new venture focusing on promoting kindness to achieve better results and greater focus in organizations, says that to stop the habit, you need to first be cognizant of it happening, and second, imagine yourself not saying it.
"If you know the topic of discussion in advance, rehearse stating your position without saying sorry a few times; say it out loud to yourself in the mirror at home the night before," he suggests. "Finally, if you have a good ally in the mix often, ask her or him to be your 'sorry buddy' and point out to you after the fact that you've said it. It's not just useful feedback afterwards. It also helps you feel accountable in the moment."
DeWall recommends becoming more of an active listener. "Listen to the concerns that are being addressed and think about how they tie to the big picture. Respond strategically without personalizing the feedback or outcome to you, which forces the need to apologize. By doing this, you are able to process tense or stressful situations with a more calm approach and provide a logical solution that contributes to the resolution without assuming personal responsibility for something that was unrelated to you."

The 8 Most Common Cover Letter Mistakes That Could Cost You the Job

You're proofreading, right?

Business Insider

By Kathleen Elkins

As easily as an impressive cover letter can land you an interview, a generic and rushed one can send your application straight to the "no" pile.

We turned to Amanda Augustine, career management expert and spokesperson at TheLadders, an online job-matching service for professionals, and asked about the most common cover letter pitfalls.

Here are eight costly errors to avoid:

1. Not having one at all
TheLadders found that 50% of recruiters believe a cover letter is essential, while the other half admitted to never reading them. "Since you don't know which type of recruiter will read your application, it's better to play it safe and include a cover letter," recommends Augustine.

However, if you're applying to a position online and are asked to upload your materials to an electronic system, make sure they provide a spot to include your cover letter, she advises. "There's no point of taking the time to carefully craft the document if the application won't accept it."

2. Using a generic template
"Sending a general cover letter with every job application is just as bad as not sending any cover letter at all," says Augustine. "If you are using the exact same cover letter for every job application and simply swapping out the company name, you're wasting your time. Your cover letter shouldn't be an after-thought."

Customize each cover letter you write, she says. Use it as opportunity to detail why you would be a great fit for the specific position, and don't be afraid to infuse some personality to stand out from the crowd.

3. Opening with "Dear sir" or "Dear madam"
Figure out exactly who you're sending your cover letter to and address them by name. "Do a little online snooping and check with your network to see if you can determine the name of the hiring manager or the recruiter in charge of the job opening," she suggests.

However, this is easier said than done in some instances. You may have to use to a generic "Dear Recruiter" opening, she admits, but only resort to this after you've put in all the research you possibly could.

4. Not carefully proofreading
According to a social recruiting survey, 66% of recruiters reconsidered a candidate whose social media profiles contained spelling and grammatical errors. If they don't take well to typos on Facebook or Twitter, they likely will toss your application if your cover letter is plagued with mistakes.

You should have multiple sets of eyes making edits. "Carefully proofread your cover letter. Then read it again. Then have a friend proofread it," Augustine says.

5. It's all about you
While it can be beneficial to show some personality in your cover letter, be wary of going overboard or delving into irrelevant information. "Recruiters don't care that you've always dreamed of working in fashion," explains Augustine. "They want to understand why you're interested in this position and more importantly, why you're qualified for the role."

Your cover letter is prime real estate. Use the bulk of it to focus on explaining how your experience and skillset will meet the employer's needs.

6. Worshiping the company
It can be tempting, but resist the urge to shower the hiring manager with compliments in your cover letter. "Don't tell them you love their company; instead, specifically mention something about their brand, company mission or strategic direction that you strongly support," Augustine says. "In other words, prove that you've done your homework and know something about the company or industry."

7. It's too long
Recruiters spend an average of six seconds scanning your résumé. They cherish brevity.

"A good cover letter should be no longer than one page," says Augustine. "Remember, the recruiter already has your résumé. There's no need to rehash your entire work history all over again. Instead, use this opportunity to highlight your qualifications that matter most for this role."

8. There's no 'call to action'
You want to end your cover letter with a bang by reiterating your enthusiasm and creating a "call to action." Rather than just thanking the employer for their consideration, take a more proactive approach; let them know that you will follow up within a week and encourage them to reach out with any questions that may arise.

"Don't leave the ball in the recruiter's court," says Augustine. "Create the next step in the process so you have the opportunity to follow up."      

The 40-Hour Workweek is On its Way Out

58% of US managers report working more than 40 hours a week

Business Insider

By Shana Lebowitz

If your ideal job involves clocking in at 9 and heading home at 5, good luck finding it.

According to new research from tax and consulting firm EY, people across the globe are working longer hours than ever before.

In a global survey of 9,700 adults between ages 18 and 67, nearly half (46%) of managers around the world reported logging more than 40 hours a week, and 40% said their hours have increased over the past five years.

Americans have it particularly bad: 58% of managers in the US reported working over 40 hours a week. The only country where people work longer hours is Mexico, where 61% said the same.

Compare that to China, where just 19% of managers said they work over 40 hours a week.

Ernst & Young

The survey found that parents have seen their hours increase more than nonparents. Among managers, 41% of full-time working parents said they've seen their hours increase in the last five years, as opposed to 37% of nonparents.

So it's of little surprise that one-third of full-time employees said it's gotten harder to balance work and family in the past five years.

In fact, while most people said they value flexibility at work, about 10% of US employees who have tried to implement a flexible schedule said they've suffered a negative consequence, like being denied a promotion, as a result.

Companies would be wise to rethink their flexible-schedule policies if they want to retain workers. More than two-thirds of respondents said they would consider quitting a job if their boss didn't allow them to work flexibly.       

Stop Apologizing Learn to Say 'No,' and 7 More Tips for Women's Success at Work

You can't do it all--and you shouldn't expect yourself to be able to

Business Insider

By Betsy Myers



It took me a long time to learn the magic word: NO.

The next step was learning to say "no" without offering an excuse and/or apology.

To become a habit, this new skill continues to take practice.

However, the benefits are many and have allowed me to rethink the way I spend my time and energy.

Practicing "no" has become quite liberating and has helped me balance what really matters in both my work and life.

As Jim Collins, the author of "Good to Great" puts it, "'Stop doing' lists are more important than 'to do' lists." This new muscle has become my North Star and taught me that by saying "no," opportunities for "yes" moments become possible.

More often than not, women struggle with guilt and not being able to do it all, apologizing and explaining along the way; why we can't accommodate a last-minute work project or why we need to leave a meeting to handle daycare pickup or attend our child's soccer game.

Life is busy. Work is busy. Our minds are busy. Saying no gives us permission to manage our time by eliminating the clutter of unnecessary obligations. We live in a culture that glorifies busy so it is no wonder that we can easily mistake activity for progress.

Learning to say "no" is just one of the many lessons I have learned over my career. We never stop learning and growing if we remain open to new ideas, perspectives and ways to lead our own lives.

Curiosity has fueled my interest in what brings us success and happiness in the workplace, not just from my own experiences of success and failure but of others who have so generously shared their stories. I have always believed that we should not reinvent the wheel, but rather discover and share best practices.

Here's a few lessons learned that could help you get where you want to be:

1. Be your authentic self.
Start with an understanding of who you are, what you are passionate about and where you should be: Am I in the right career? Am I in the right job? Do I fit into this culture? Don't try to be someone else because that person is already taken. You become the leader of your life when you step into your true self. Only you can do this critical work to deeply understand you.

2. Show up with a positive attitude.
Be the person others want to be around. Happy and positive people bring tremendous energy and goodwill to an organization. You'll be surprised at how your attitude will affect others, as well as yourself.

3. Be thoughtful and strategic about your success.
No matter where you land in your career, it is up to you to figure out how to succeed. Learn the culture of both your company and the people around you. Take time to understand the mission of the organization and your department.

Figure out how to bring value to your job, your department and your boss. It is irrelevant if you love your boss – what matters is how you help him or her succeed. If you keep this in mind, you will never lose.

4. Do what you say you'll do.
Build trust by following through on your commitments. Be wise and realistic about what resources and time are needed to deliver on a commitment. It is easy to overpromise with the best of intentions. However, it is those who under promise and over deliver that will win in the end. This is where saying "no" comes in handy!

5. Practice positive self-talk.
A negative internal dialogue can slowly chip away at your confidence. This takes practice, but life is so much sweeter when you choose to look at your career and life from a place of appreciation rather than complaint.

6. Network, not just online but in person.
Networking can make us uncomfortable but everything we accomplish in life is because of our network of relationships. Social media does not replace face-to-face human connection. No one can support or advocate for you if they don't know you or what you do.

Make time for, and be strategic, about relationship building and remember that connections can happen anywhere: at the office, in a coffee shop, in the elevator. Cultivating your network must be part of your schedule and routine. More importantly, don't be afraid to use your connections.

7. Be a mentor to others, especially women.
I wouldn't be where I am without people who were willing to teach me not just about my career, but about life. I have learned that sometimes the smallest insight, suggestion or positive feedback can make the difference for someone's career. Reach for mentors and be a mentor at every stage.

8. Stop living an inbox life.
There's a constant stream of requests coming in at work and at home. It is easy to spend most of our time reacting to others' needs. Living an outbox life is prioritizing what is most important. This habit is life changing and will enable you to feel more in charge of your time and your career.

9. Don't let fear hold you back.
Our fears can be crippling but also give us our most important lessons. An Eleanor Roosevelt quote that guides me is "Do the thing you fear most." I believe the things we fear most are actually the lessons we must learn.

Often women tell me that they are not leaders. My response is always the same: "Each of us is a leader because at the very least, we are leading our own life."

When we look at our life this way, it takes victim out and puts personal responsibility in. By taking the lead of our lives without apologizing and learning to say "no," we make room for what truly matters.

      

Why Successful People Leave Work Early

Study suggests it could pay to work in shorter bursts

Business Insider



So many professionals believe the more hours they put in and the later they stay at work, the more successful they'll be.

But a study published in the Psychological Review conducted by Dr. K. Anders Ericsson proves that when it comes to your time spent in the office, quality trumps quantity.

Ericsson and his team evaluated a group of musicians to find out what the "excellent" players were doing differently, and discovered that they were working harder in shorter bursts of time.  


For instance, violinists who practiced more deliberately, say for four hours, accomplished more than others who slaved away for seven hours. The best performers set goals for their practice sessions and required themselves to take breaks.

Looking at the chart, you can see that the best violin students practiced with greater intensity just before the lunch hour and then took a break before starting up again at 4 p.m. - whereas the other students practiced more steadily throughout the entire day.
The researchers found that successful people in other professions had similar habits:

"While completing a novel, famous authors tend to write only for four hours during the morning, leaving the rest of the day for rest and recuperation. Hence successful authors, who can control their work habits and are motivated to optimize their productivity, limit their most important intellectual activity to a fixed daily amount when working on projects requiring long periods of time to complete."

Tim Ferriss gives similar advice in his New York Times bestseller, "The 4-Hour Workweek." He stresses the Pareto principle, or the 80/20 law, which is that 80% of outputs come from 20% of inputs. So stay focused, and you'll do more in less time.

This is an updated article originally written by Aimee Groth.

Forget Fulfillment Young People Want Financial Stability

After the Great Recession, most 18 to 24 year olds say security beats passion.

Erik Sherman

If experience is a great teacher, then the Great Recession must be up for an educator of the year award. After living through a global financial crisis and the lingering aftermath, current or recent college students would rather opt for a regular paycheck than following their occupational dream, according to a recent survey from workforce recruitment firm Adecco Staffing.

The survey of 1,001 Millennial and Gen-Z (born after 1995) students and recent graduates found that the ability to find a job was the single biggest concern for 32 percent of all respondents, even though 79 percent thought that they would have a job within five months of graduation. Forty-two percent thought that they'd have a job in less than three months.

The top aspiration for students was, at 31 percent, to become financially stable in the next ten years. Financial stability was a top-three pick for 69 percent of the respondents. Following that was the desire to land a dream job, which was the top interest for 28 percent of respondents overall, with 32 percent of Gen-Z'ers and 24 percent of Millennials expressing that interest.

In getting a first job, 36 percent put career growth as their top priority, compared to fulfilling work and stability, at 19 percent each. Only 6 percent though getting the highest salary was most important, even though 73 percent expected to make up to $55,000 a year on a first job.

"A trend we're seeing emerge is that students --particularly the older ones-- who felt or witnessed the impact of the recession are more likely to prioritize career growth and stability in their job search," said Joyce Russell, president, Adecco Staffing, USA, in a press release.

Getting those jobs may be tough, however, as 42 percent will spend 5 hours or more on social media during spring break and 64 percent expect to spend the same amount of time streaming video. Only 16 percent plan to put 5 hours or more into a job search during that time. Thirty-one percent rely on online job boards while 29 percent depend on the school's career center.

The Millennial and Gen-Z respondents differed when it came to the cost of school. Twenty-one percent of Gen-Z students ranked the cost of college as their greatest worry. Only 13 percent of Millennials felt the same.

There were some interesting differences between the genders. Women, at 38 percent, had travel as a top-three aspiration, compared to 26 percent of men. And 28 percent of men said that starting a family was a top priority, while only 20 percent of women said the same. However, 36 percent of all respondents had getting married as a top-three aspiration.      

7 'Empire' Lessons on Family Business Succession

When handing over the keys, father Lucious Lyon doesn't know best

Next Avenue

By Andrea King Collier

If you caught the first season of Fox's hit drama, Empire, you know that passing the torch of a family business can be messy business.

In the show, after music mogul Lucious Lyon was diagnosed with ALS, he suddenly had to create a succession plan for his multimillion dollar company. In typical nighttime soap fashion, Lyon set about deciding which of his three sons would rule Empire Entertainment by pitting them against each other.

While the Lyon saga was over-the-top, it wasn't entirely off. Says Alfred Edmond, Jr., Senior Vice President and Editor in Chief of Black Enterprise: "Companies get caught up in tradition -boys over girls, oldest versus youngest. Often the traditional and artificial supersede who would be best at running the company."

If you own a family business, it could be wise to put a strategic succession plan in place before you need one. Don't follow Lucious Lyon's example. Instead, follow these experts' seven tips.

No. 1: Be Clear on What You Want

"One of the big questions an entreprenur has to ask is what is the goal of this company," Edmond says. "Is it designed to pass on to multiple generations or is it designed to create wealth for the family." Maybe your family members are not best suited to become the heads of the company, but would be better served as stakeholders.

No. 2: Don't Decide Alone

When determining who'll run the company after you, have some candid conversations with your company's lawyer and accountant as well as your family members. "When the head of the family makes the decision alone, it could destroy the person and the family," says Edmond.

In Empire, Lucious Lyon's solo strategy spun out into a competition triggering murder and mayhem, secrets from the past, mental illness and the scorn of his ex-wife, Cookie, who'd been bilked out of her share of millions.

No. 3: Understand the Realities of Succession

In a recent report from the Family Business Institute, 88 percent of family business owners said they believed their family would control their business in five years. Yet, according to the report only about 30 percent of family-owned businesses survive into the second generation.

One reason: like Lucious Lyon, they don't have a solid business succession plan in place. According to the 2014-2015 Family Business Survey from PWC, a global business consultancy, nearly two thirds of family-owned businesses have some kind of succession plan, but only 20 percent of them actually have a documented plan.

No. 4: Teach Them the Ropes

A key to a successful succession plan is making it gradual and organic, not sudden and haphazard. "When it comes to family members, give them a chance to work in the business, but don't let them start at the top," Edmond says. "Let them work as summer interns or work their way up."

That will help you see which ones, if any, have the potential to take over when you step down.

"I tell entrepreneurs not to hire a family member that they aren't prepared to fire and I tell family members: don't take a job in the family business that you are not prepared to quit," Edmond says.

No. 5: Train Your Successor to Lead

In Empire, the patriarch spends so much time fueling family dysfunction, he leaves no time for training a successor to run the business. This SCORE report on succession planning recommends developing a specific training program for your future successor.

It's important to train this person in the depth and breadth of all aspects of the business, even if he or she has worked in the company.

No. 6: Set a Timeline

Put a timeline on the decisions of succession and on turning over the leadership of your company, says Edmond. Otherwise, you could find yourself in a pickle.

Mitchell Kaneff, author of Taking Over: Insider Tips from a Third-Generation CEO, says that after he and his father (founder of Arkay Packaging) ran into business-transition problems in 1997 - especially around the timing of turning over the leadership - he ended up "firing" his dad, who'd stayed on longer than their agreement.

The father and son discussions about how to run the company had turned into shouting matches, Kaneff recalls. "It was a hard thing, but we worked through it and our relationship is stronger than ever," he says.

According to PWC's report on family businesses, 40 percent of business owners find it difficult to relinquish the decisionmaking and leadership, even after the handoff choice has been made. PWC experts call this the "Sticky Baton Syndrome."

No. 7: Always Have a Plan B

Even the best-laid succession plans can change quickly, says Edmond, so it's wise to have a backup scenario.

He sites the case of Universal Life Insurance's A. Maceo Walker who had been grooming his daughter, Patricia, to be his successor when he retired in 1983. But "when she died in 1985, Walker had no backup plan," says Edmond. At age 75, Walker came out of retirement. Ultimately, the company - without a Walker at the helm - merged with another insurer in 2000.

So how did Lucious Lyon's handoff work out? Will son Jamal inherit the crown? You'll have to tune into Season 2 later this year to find out.      

13 Ways Successful People Think Differently

Master the art of "productive thinking"

Business Insider

By Jenna Goudreau

The world's most successful people have one thing in common: They think differently from everyone else.

In his best-selling book, "How Successful People Think," leadership expert John C. Maxwell explains how to master the art of "productive thinking."

"If you can develop the discipline of good thinking and turn it into a lifetime habit," Maxwell writes, "then you will be successful and productive all of your life."

Here are some of the ways he says successful people think differently.

They understand that thinking is a discipline.
If you want to be better at it, you've got to work at it, says Maxwell. Consider scheduling time to think. For example, LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner schedules 30- to 90-minute blocks of "nothing" into his calendar for personal time, coaching, and reflection, and Panera Bread CEO Ron Shaich sits down at the end of every year to reflect on past progress and write down initiatives for the future.

They figure out where to focus their energy.
Maxwell recommends using the 80/20 rule. Devote 80% of your energy to the most important 20% of your activities. Remember that you can't be everywhere, know everyone, and do everything. And avoid multitasking, which can cost you 40% efficiency.

They expose themselves to different ideas and types of people.
They're also selective about spending most of their time with people who challenge them, he writes.

They don't just have an idea; they follow through with it.
"Ideas have a short shelf life," says Maxwell. "You must act on them before the expiration date."

They understand that thoughts need time to develop.
Remember the last time you had a brilliant idea at 2 a.m., but it sounded sort of ridiculous when you woke up the next morning?

Thoughts need to be "shaped until they have substance" and need to stand the test of "clarity and questioning," he says. Don't just settle on the first thing that comes to mind.

They collaborate with other smart people.
Thinking with others yields higher returns, Maxwell writes. It's like giving yourself a shortcut. That's why brainstorming sessions can be so effective.

They reject popular thinking (which often means not thinking at all).
Too many people act, hoping that others have thought things through first, he says.

To reject popular thinking you must be OK with feeling uncomfortable. As Malcolm Gladwell has argued, some of the most successful entrepreneurs, including IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad, have disagreeable personalities, meaning they aren't concerned whether other people think they're nuts.

They plan ahead, while leaving room for spontaneity.
When you're strategic, you reduce your margin of error. Simply having vague ideas of where you are and what you want to accomplish will get you nowhere.

Maxwell's keys to being strategic:

1. Break the issue down.
2. Ask why the problem needs to be solved.
3. Identify the key issues.
4. Review your resources.
5. Put the right people in place.

Henry Ford once said, "Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into smaller parts."

They don't just think differently; they do different things.
Try new routes to work. Meet new people. Read books you might even consider boring. The key is exposure to new ideas and ways of life, he says.

They value other people's ideas as much as their own.
You can't think you're always right. Successful people know to give other concepts a chance. Apple founder Steve Jobs, for instance, started his career with a stubborn insistence that his way was best, write Brent Schlender and Rick Tetzeli in "Becoming Steve Jobs." In later years, Jobs became "confident enough to listen to his team as well as his own thoughts and to acknowledge the nature of the world around him."

They have an agenda.
For example, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg brings a notebook to every meeting and crosses agenda items off one by one, ripping pages out as they are addressed.

Further, Maxwell notes that smart thinkers plan out more than just their days; they take time to plan out their weeks, months, and long-term goals - and then they follow through.

They don't just react; they reflect.
Reflective thinking gives you perspective and confidence in your decision-making skills.

If you're not reflecting, it's holding you back more than you think. As Socrates said, "An unexamined life is not worth living."

They don't indulge in negative self-talk.
Successful people don't see limitations; they see possibilities. They think in terms of "I will" and "I can."

Former baseball star Sam Ewing once said that "nothing is so embarrassing as watching someone do something that you said could not be done."

This is an update of an article originally written by Aimee Groth.      

Think before you post Your online presence can cost you a job

According to a new CareerBuilder survey, 43 percent of employers use social networking sites to research job candidates, up from 39 percent last year.

By Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder

A decade ago, job searching was still a fairly neat, straightforward process. A job seeker applied for a position and was asked in for an interview, references were checked, and an offer was extended. The proliferation of social media over the past several years has added a layer of complexity to the hiring process, creating more virtual hoops for job seekers to jump through before hearing, “you’re hired.”
Besides the websites specifically geared toward professional networking, most people use social networks for personal reasons – connecting with friends and family, sharing photos, and gathering and disseminating interesting information. However, while job seekers may view their postings as personal, any public profile is fair game for employers, who increasingly use these sites to gauge whether a candidate will be the right fit for their organization.

In fact, according to a new CareerBuilder survey, 43 percent of employers use social networking sites to research job candidates, up from 39 percent last year and 36 percent in 2012. Based on the survey, this trend shows no sign of slowing: 12 percent of employers don’t currently research candidates on social media but plan to start.

The employers who are already searching sites aren’t impressed with what they’re finding, which has potentially serious implications for job seekers. Fifty-one percent of employers who research job candidates on social media say they’ve found content that led them to not hire the candidate, up from 43 percent last year and 34 percent in 2012.

What employers don’t want to find
What makes these sites so appealing – the freedom to speak one’s mind in an open forum and instantaneously share photos and information – is also what can end up costing you a job. Photos from your friend’s bachelor party may appear innocent enough to share, or that off-color joke may seem too funny not to post, but those types of actions can come back to haunt you. Forty-six percent of employers say they’ll pass on candidates who posted provocative or inappropriate photographs or information, and 41 percent will reject job seekers who posted information about drinking or using drugs.
Other social media discoveries that have turned off employers include job seekers who bad-mouthed a previous company or fellow employee (36 percent); had poor communication skills (32 percent); made discriminatory comments related to race, gender and religion (28 percent); and lied about their qualifications (25 percent).

How to get your online presence in professional shape

While especially important for active job seekers, all working professionals should keep the following tips in mind for ensuring their social activity is employer-friendly:

• Pump up your privacy settings: Most social networking sites allow users to customize their privacy settings so they can control who sees what. For instance, you may be able to set up your profile so that only your “friends” or “followers” can see what you post. You may also be able to restrict others from posting information to your profile, as well as monitor posts you’ve been tagged in so nothing goes up without your approval. The good news is many job seekers are already taking such measures to avoid over-sharing with potential employers. Nearly half of workers surveyed only share posts with friends and family, 41 percent have their profile set to private and 18 percent keep separate professional and personal profiles.
• Think beyond social networking sites: While cleaning up your profiles is important, your online footprint may extend beyond those sites, and everything you do on the Web is searchable. Forty-five percent of employers use search engines such as Google to research potential job candidates. If you don’t know what’s floating in cyberspace that might get you into trouble with potential employers, do some digging to see what social media “dirt” comes up when you search your name.
• Use your social presence for good: Being active on social media can actually work in your favor if what employers find piques their interest. One third of employers who research candidates on social networking sites say they’ve found content that made them more likely to hire a candidate, while 23 percent say such content directly led to them hiring the candidate. In fact, employers say they’ve hired someone based on their social networking presence for reasons including: they got a good feel for the job candidate’s personality (46 percent), the job seeker’s site conveyed a professional image (43 percent), and the candidate received awards and accolades (31 percent).

So, use your social media presence as an opportunity to showcase what makes you unique, well-rounded and the type of worker an employer would want to hire.
Rosemary Haefner is the vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder. She is an expert in recruitment trends and tactics, job seeker behavior, workplace issues, employee attitudes and HR initiatives.

18 High-Paying Non-Desk Jobs

You don't have to sacrifice your paycheck along with your cubicle

CareerBuilder

By Debra Auerbach, CareerBuilder writer

When you think about the average job, you probably picture a worker at a desk typing away at a computer all day. But if the idea of spending 40-plus hours a week in a cubicle doesn't sound like your idea of a perfect work environment, don't fret. There are careers across a variety of industries that have you up on your feet, going from one location to the next, and meeting new people every day.

And we already know that these types of jobs may provide real mental and physical benefits-workers in non-desk jobs are two times less likely to complain about their work environment and significantly less likely to report being overweight.

A new CareerBuilder/Economic Modeling Specialists Intl. study shows that these jobs don't just offer great environments and a slimmer waistline-they can offer bigger paychecks.

Where the high-paying non-desk jobs are
While 90 percent of the 20 highest paying non-desk jobs are in health care and most require a doctoral or professional degree, many of the fast-growing non-desk jobs don't require a four-year degree and several provide a career path that leads to the middle class.

"The U.S. workforce has gradually shifted to office-based work due to the rise of the professional services economy and productivity gains associated with information technology," says Rosemary Haefner, chief human resources officer at CareerBuilder. "But some of the healthiest areas of job growth year-after-year are in middle-skill occupations that don't require workers to sit in front of computer monitors and phones for 40-hours a week."

Some of the best paying non-desk jobs, no four-year degree required
The analysis found that there are 170 non-desk jobs that pay $15 per hour or more on average, don't require a four-year degree for a typical entry-level position, and have grown 6 percent from 2010-2014.

Here are the top-paying non-desk occupations in various categories.

	Median hourly earnings	2010-2014 job growth
Health care occupations
1. Dental hygienist	$34.19	9%
2. Diagnostic medical sonographer	$31.93	15%
3. Occupational therapy assistant	$26.57	14%
Construction and extraction occupations
4. Elevator installer and repairer	$37.81	6%
5. Boilermaker	$27.74	6%
6. Rotary drill operator, oil and gas	$24.79	47%
Installation and maintenance occupations
7. Electrical power-line installer and repairer	$30.85	7%
8. Avionics technician*	$26.92	6%
9. Signal and track switch repairer	$26.75	11%
Architecture and engineering occupations
10. Mechanical engineering technician	$25.19	10%
11. Industrial engineering technician	$25.01	6%
12. Electro-mechanical technician	$24.68	8%
Green energy occupations
13. Wind turbine service technician	$23.79	21%
14. Solar photovoltaic installer	$19.04	22%
Miscellaneous non-desk occupations
15. Locksmith	$18.25	10%
16. Massage therapist	$17.27	17%
17. Travel guide	$16.26	7%
18. Fitness trainer and aerobics instructor	$15.88	8%

      

How To Know It's Time To Go: When To Leave A Job

Can you afford to quit?

Erik Sherman 

Shutterstock

People are increasingly leaving their jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In February, 2.7 million people quit. That was 1.9 percent of the workforce, up from 1.8 percent the year before. The BLS says that the "quits rate can serve as a measure of workers' willingness or ability to leave jobs." In other words, as the economy has progressively improved, more people are waving their employers goodbye.

Is it time that you did?

Whitney Johnson, co-founder of an investment firm with famed business professor and consultant Clayton Christensen, has shifted careers a number of times. In a Harvard Business Review blog she suggested thinking of a job as something your career hires to achieve both professional and personal satisfaction.

Functionally, your career puts food on the table, pays for your kids' college, and funds your retirement. Emotionally, consider the satisfaction of doing work you enjoy, or the prestige that comes from holding certain job titles. You need both. I've seen people let that emotional need eclipse reason and jump into a new career path without a safety net. I've also seen people get so worried about the money that they never make the leap, even when their safety net is strong.

Some people can afford to quit a job and support themselves as they transition to something else. Others can't. But with the improving job market, there are greater opportunities than in recent years to find another job, whether in your current field or doing something else. In other words, you don't have to be miserable if you hate your job.

The signs that it's time to look can be obvious, as Forbes notes. Any of the following should be a tip-off:

• You lack passion for the job.
• The company is sinking.
• Stress, negativity, and unhappiness have become part of the job description.
• You feel out of place.
• Your performance is on a decline.
• Duties and responsibilities keep climbing but pay doesn't.
• You experience or witness abusive or illegal behavior.

Sit down and consider what it is you want from a job. Look at your options -- for example, whether things are so bad that you need to get out now or if you can pursue a job search on the side. Create a plan, including the steps you need to take and a timeline for getting into something that is a better fit. The sooner you get started, the sooner you might enjoy actually being happy in what you do for a living.