careers

People fear public speaking more than anything else. Anxiety over a simple presentation can be debilitating. Moreover, sufferers are typically embarrassed and reluctant to admit they have a problem. They hide a deep concern about the phobia's affect on their careers in an industry that values presentation skills so highly.

I know quite a bit about this subject. As a senior high-tech executive for many years, I've given hundreds, maybe thousands of presentations and speeches. I even have a reputation for being quite good at it. That's why it will surprise a lot of people to know that I have a fear of public speaking.

Sure, I've come a long way. At this point, the residual anxiety I feel is certainly manageable and may even help my performance. Since I've put so much into conquering this beast, I thought I'd share what I learned along the way.… Read more

A couple of years ago, I announced to my wife that I wanted to buy a robot dog. She thought I was nuts and threw a fit. "We already have a whole family of animals," she said, "and what about all those homeless dogs and cats out there?"

I should probably mention that my wife is a veterinary technician. What was I thinking?

I'll tell you what I was thinking. I was thinking about watching my real animals react to a robot dog. I was thinking of the entertainment value. I guess I'm still a kid at heart. Maybe I should consider growing up sometime, like before I become senile and incontinent. I'll have to work on that.… Read more

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 4 of the top 10 and 9 of the top 25 in-demand jobs over the next ten years are in technology fields. We're talking software engineers, engineering managers, IT managers, network and systems analysts and administrators, all kinds of technology jobs.

It's hard to argue with the fed's data. Bubble and burst cycles aside, technology fields have been good to us all, and that's not likely to change anytime soon. That means that a good chunk of CNET's audience probably won't be hurting for employment for … Read more

There's a great scene in Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy saga; I think it was in The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. The lead characters find themselves on a spaceship full of middle-managers from the planet Golgafrincham. (No, I don't know how to pronounce Golgafrincham.)

According to the hapless, half-witted middle-managers, their home planet was doomed and they'd been sent off on this spaceship to escape certain death. The plan was to rendezvous with two other ships - one of which contained the planet's leaders and scientists, and the other containing all its useful workers.

In fact, the planet wasn't doomed and the other two ships didn't exist. It was all a scheme to rid the planet of its useless populace. And the middle-managers were clueless.

Contrary to the book's satire, middle managers are useful, especially these days. There was a time - the 80s - when bloated companies had three or four more layers of management than they needed. That was ridiculous. The great management-layer purge of the 90s took care of that.

Still, there is a stigma attached to middle-management. But is it deserved? Let's see.… Read more

What's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word salesman? A pushy insurance or car salesman with no self respect? Those nice people who accost you the second you walk into a clothing store? Or maybe the folks you can never find at Home Depot.

Wait, I bet you think salespeople were put on this planet to babble endlessly and waste your time until you're ready to hang yourself just to make it stop. But you can't do that, so instead you give in and buy whatever it is they're selling.

Did I get that right?

Well, guess what? I don't care if you're an IT professional, a musician, a consultant, a CEO, a recruiter, an engineer, a doctor, an accountant, or a professional athlete. You're also a salesperson. That's right, we're all in sales. You, me, your boss, your lawyer, your spouse, your kids; everyone's in sales.

You see, from time to time, each of us is called upon to sell something. It could be a product, a service, a plan, an idea, a creation, a story to a judge or jury, or even oneself (presumably for a job, not into slavery). And more often than not, it's actually very important that we succeed. I don't know why; that's just the way it is.

It's hard for me to imagine anyone being successful in life without having the ability to sell when necessary. And yet, we think of it as something unsavory or even unethical. Not only does the idea fill some people with disgust, fear or self-loathing, but to make matters worse, most people aren't even good at it.… Read more

Think you can get a good job by blindly sending your resume into human resources and waiting for the phone to ring? Sure, and you're going to be Apple's next CEO, hook up with Scarlett Johansson or David Beckham and live happily ever after.

If you'd like to know how it works in the real world, read on.

I know what you're saying: your job function is in demand, you've never had trouble getting a job before, or you're a top executive who doesn't need advice. That may be true, but a lot can happen over the course of your working life. Your fortunes may change, the market may change, or you may even change career direction.

In any case, there will likely come a time when you will need some advice on how to efficiently land a great job.

For that occasion, here are five inside rules for improving your odds of finding a good, satisfying job as quickly as possible. And no, this isn't about resumes. Having a good resume is par for the course. All I'll say about that is keep it brief - one page if your career is less than ten years, two pages max.… Read more

At one time or another, most of us have found ourselves in a work situation that just isn't working out. We agonize and obsess over it and eventually come to the conclusion that it's time to move on.

At that point, if you think you can make an earnest go of a job hunt while employed, then fine, go for it. When you find a job that you think will make you happier, quit and get on with your life.

But for many of us, that's not the case. If you're considering quitting without a new job to jump to, this post may help you.

Quitting has the benefit of instantly ending the pain and providing satisfaction at being the one who pulled the plug. However, you'll be forgoing compensation while you search for a new position, which can be stressful and result in a premature and perhaps ill-advised job choice.

Another option is to get terminated or laid off. The downside is that age-old stigma of getting fired, not to mention feelings of rejection and a blow to your ego. But, if you can handle that, you'll find that this option has a lot going for it. If you play your cards right, you can end up with time to chill and search for a job at a relatively leisurely pace.… Read more

When I was a little kid I was scared of all kinds of things: my dad, the neighborhood bully, yellowjackets, monsters under the bed, ghosts in the closet, you name it. Now I'm a grown-up and I'm not scared of anything...except my wife.

But it wasn't that long ago that someone scared me even more than my wife did. My boss. Actually, I had a string of scary bosses. Managers definitely have a way of being intimidating, and there's a very good reason for that. It's because they can.

Bosses can bully you, scream at you, threaten you, and even terrorize you. Most importantly, they can fire you or even worse--make your life so miserable you wish they'd fire you. In fact, at-will employment gives bosses the power to do almost anything they want, as long as it's legal.

What can you do about it? Well, you can do anything you want; it's a free country. You can quit, yell at your wife, kick the dog, punch a hole in your kitchen wall, or become a monk and submit to a vow of poverty. But all that's likely to get you is divorced, bitten, a broken hand, and a shaved head.… Read more

Malicious attackers beware, a Monster may be coming after you.

After a malicious attackers pilfered job candidate information from its job seeker database, Monster located the attacker's rogue server and pulled the plug, the company announced Wednesday. But fallout from that episode remains.

The hooligans, who loaded a Trojan horse called Infostealer.Monstres on the company's resume database, got access to job candidates' names, addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses.

They weaseled their way in by gaining access to a legitimate log-in credential reserved for employers, via a computer that had been infected with the malicious software.

Now, … Read more