Read our posts about work

There are roughly 250 working days in a year, meaning a 40-year career looks like 10,000 days of doing work of some description. 10,000 seems a big number, until you realise 140+ of those days have already passed since you sat eating turkey at Christmas. Just pause for a moment. What have you done with the first 140 days of your working year and how would you assess the results they’ve created for you?  Which version of you showed up to work? It’s easy to focus on organisational structures, corporate cultures and operational protocols and convince ourselves...
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Writing is a craft which you can learn, get better at, and improve throughout your working life. No matter how well or badly you think you communicate in writing, you can improve your clarity and effectiveness by working on these areas: Empathise with your target audience I mean REALLY put yourself in their shoes. Think hard about what they want and need to know, not just what you want to tell them. Decide what style is most appropriate for what you want them to think or feel - but remember, even formal documents benefit from a sparse and simple style.  Consider...
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Does it matter what you wear at work? In an ideal world, perhaps it shouldn’t matter what you wear, as long as you’re good at your job. In the real world, in many jobs, it matters quite a bit. Lawrence needed a company to organise a corporate event. “I met this woman twice and both times she wore a low cut top. Great for a night out, but for a financial services conference? I don’t think so.” The business went to someone else. And here’s Alice talking about a new grad who hasn’t realised yet that his clothes are stopping him being taken seriously: “His outfits...
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Imagine buying an expensive item for which you have over 40 different choices. A phone, say, or a laptop. You might feel a little anxious about choosing the right one. Now imagine buying an item costing £33,000 which will affect your future, and having over forty thousand choices. Feeling anxious yet? Your teachers won’t tell you this, and your family probably doesn’t know it, but choosing a university course (combined with studying and worrying about your grades) can cause massive stress. But it doesn’t have to be that way if you follow some simple guidelines. 1....
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Empathy can work for you, at work.  By putting yourself in the shoes of a prospective employer, your colleague or your boss, you can find more positive ways of responding to challenges. Here are three scenarios where empathy made a real difference. The ‘difficult’ boss Clare, a senior manager, was tearing her hair out trying to please her line manager (a female, board level executive). Clare felt her boss undermined her constantly, by challenging every detail of her plans and reports, and wanting reasons (in writing) for every decision. Clare was on the brink of...
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The uncontested, number-one reason why people are unhappy and stressed at work is bad management. Nothing has more power to turn your work situation from happy to crappy than a bad boss. Sadly there are quite a few of them around. A British study accused one in four bosses of being bad, while a Norwegian study said one in five.The reason that having a bad manager is so bad for us is that managers have power over us. Managers can change our work situation, give us good or bad tasks, and, ultimately, fire us. This power imbalance is why a good relationship with your manager...
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Feel a bit lost after your degree? Wonder what happened to that glittering career? You’re not alone. Many graduates feel disillusioned in the brutal reality of today’s job market. The good news is that if you follow these five steps, you can get new inspiration in finding a job you enjoy....
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You could be working with a sociopath. Does your usually charming colleague ever surprise you with the ease with which they make ruthless decisions? Do you have a boss who loves to humiliate people in meetings? Have you been on the receiving end of a campaign of harassment at work because you challenged the work practices of your colleague? Have you had a colleague take credit for your idea and pass it off as his/her own?  Estimates suggest that one in every 25 people in the world is a sociopath. Many people think sociopaths are cold-blooded murderers, but in fact...
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"I feel proud to have made such a good impact on another’s life" Think volunteering is just for stay-at-home mums or retirees? If so, you’d be wrong. The 21st century volunteer looks very different. Recently, there has been a rise in the number of young professionals volunteering in schemes such as mentoring in schools, helping out with community enhancement, and virtual volunteering. I knew I had been influenced by the mentoring I had received in the past, and had greatly benefited from it. Inspired by what my mentor had done for me, I wanted to do the same...
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Your phone rings. The voice on the other end thanks you for your application for the sales manager vacancy and says he wants to interview you.  You can't believe it. You really want this job but know you're not the only one.  Your mind  races. Your heart pounds. All you can think about is your last interview - it was a disaster.  You need help!  You decide to ask your friend, Nanette for her interview tips and here they are: 1. Know your stuff - get off to a good start by impressing your interviewer. Talk knowledgeably and positively about his or her business....
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