Quote: What is genius?

In honor of his birthday (2/11/1847), a quote from Thomas Alva Edison:
“Genius is one percent inspiration, and ninety-nine percent perspiration.”

Shifting Careers

I referred to a column written by Marci Alboher a couple of months ago, and that led me to start reading her columns periodically. I was pleased to discover recently that Marci is now writing a new blog for the New York Times called Shifting Careers.
If you haven’t discovered Marci’s writings, you should check out [...]

Study: Personality can predict performance

A recent study conducted by Dr. Nathan Bowling at Wright State University found that personality can be an effective predictor of job performance success. A couple of excerpts from the findings follow:
I’ve often debated with fellow graduate students and managers over the relationship between job performance and job satisfaction. Are employees satisfied [...]

7 principles to work by

My reading list has historically been second-hand, meaning that I tend to build my list based on recommendations from others. Rarely do I snoop around the shelves and tables of the bookstore looking for the hidden gems that others may have overlooked. I’ve always had a never-ending supply of recommended reading (college professors are good [...]

Advice for older job seekers

Thanks to YourHRGuy for drawing my attention to this article in Forbes Magazine. It offers three rules for older (40 plus) job seekers:

Rule #1: Job seekers over 40 need a resume that looks forward, not backward.

Rule #2: Don’t be defensive, and don’t omit dates.

Rule #3: Don’t be afraid to sell yourself.

The writer suggests that younger [...]

Note to butchers: don’t hire vegetarians

Thanks to the Be Excellent blog for pointing me to this article in Entrepreneur Magazine. In the article, Robert Kiyosaki stresses that businesses need to hire people with a passion for their mission.
Hiring the right people — the people with the right passion — is one of the toughest jobs for any business. But [...]

Work Quote

Occasionally I come across a quote about work that inspires and motivates me. Rather than just reading them and moving on, I thought I would start sharing them here. This one is from Woodrow Wilson:
“You are not here merely to make a living. You are here to enable the world to live more [...]

Career success

What defines a “successful” career?

Money?
Power?
Prestige?
Popularity?

Too often we define success by looking in the review mirror. We look at our accomplishments to see how our peers and employers value our contribution — measured by our salary, position, or influence. In other words, we let the market be our measure of success or greatness.
Seth Godin talks about [...]

Help wanted?

Good news for the job market: both workers and managers expect strong job growth in the coming months. The February Hudson Index indicates that 32 percent of workers (up 2 percent) and 33 percent of managers (up 3 percent) expect their organization to add jobs in the near future.
In addition, a [...]

The Value of Work #2

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a comment about the Value of Work. To my surprise, it has become the most popular post on my blog to date, despite the fact — or perhaps because of the fact — that it contains no original content on my part. (Thanks for keeping me humble!)
Considering [...]