The Monster Blog

Is There a Blockbuster in Your Office?

Last weekend, the first of the summer blockbusters opened. And what a movie it was. Spider-Man 3 obliterated box-office records, making a staggering $150 million-plus its opening weekend -- a total that included mine and my husband’s tickets. It was a fun movie, and the phenomenon was definitely thrilling to be a part of.

But superstars aren’t just found in movie theaters. They’re in an office near you. I’m talking about truly great workers, those who go above and beyond the call of duty and make the world of work around them a much better place. These people may be superbly talented or incredibly hardworking or both. Your coworker may have a personality that can light up a room. Whatever their positive traits, these people are assets to the organization in which you work.

So if you work with such a person (or people), consider yourself lucky. And if you want to become such a worker, these articles can surely help you reach your star potential:

• “Average Is a Dead End”
  
• “Create Your Own Opportunities”
  
• “Make the Most of Key Career Moments”
  
• “Four Ways to Get on Your Boss's Radar Screen”
  
• “Prep for Your Performance Appraisal”

This Mother’s Day, 5 Lessons from Mom

I know you don’t need me to tell you this, but mothers rock. In fact, it’s no exaggeration to say that most of us have our moms to thank for raising us to be the upstanding citizens we are.

Dads, if you’re reading this, please don’t be offended -- we’ll be heaping plenty of praise on you in a few weeks. But this Sunday is Mother’s Day after all, and we sons and daughters have a whole bunch of reasons to be thankful for our moms. Hare are five that come to mind:

1. Our Mothers Taught Us to Work Hard: If we have a good work ethic -- and we think that we do -- it’s grounded in plenty of encouragement and positive reinforcement from Mom in our early years.
2. Our Mothers Reminded Us to Keep Our Elbows Off the Table: What better lesson to teach a youngster than to have good manners. We sure keep those teachings in mind today during dining interviews and networking events.


3. Our Mothers Told Us to Be Patient: We’ll admit to struggling with this dictum from time to time, especially when dealing with that toxic coworker in the adjacent cubicle. But for the most part, we’re able to keep our tempers in check.
4. Our Mothers Showed Us the Power of Love: We know that falling in love in the workplace can be a risky proposition, but it isn’t easy walking away from true romance.


5. Our Mothers Trained Us to Battle Through Tough Times: Getting fired -- or losing our job for any reason -- is no fun, but we’ve learned not to mope around for too long. After all, we have our next job search to worry about.

Have your own lesson from Mom to add to this list?  Drop it in the comments section below.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Graduating from College to the World of Work -- Don’t Panic

I graduated from college more than 10 years ago. Some time around then was the last time I saw the band Too Much Joy (one of my favorite bands ever!) before last Friday. You see, last Friday, the band had a reunion to celebrate the drummer’s retirement from the NYPD. And because of the band’s reunion, a few friends from college and I had a reunion, too, when we went to see the show.

I’m not sure if it’s because of springtime and the city of Boston empties out as the school year comes to an end. Or it could be because I was sharing memories from college or maybe it was revisiting the song lyrics that defined so much for me. But I’ve been thinking a lot about the transition from college to the real world. I remember anticipating graduation with middle-of-the-night panic attacks. I had so much trouble sleeping, instead staying up and wondering what it would be like to just not go to school. After 16 years of education, what would life be like as a working adult?

For all you new graduates out there, I can tell you this: It’s wonderful. Now don’t get me wrong; I loved college and learning and all that jazz. But it was so nice to not have to do anything except go to work, which I recall right after college likening to school without the homework. Sure, you will work hard. You may work crazy hours (and you thought all-nighters were just for students). But you will be working so you can start your life the way you want it. You’ll likely need to pay some dues, and you may make some wrong decisions, but it will work out.

Need some help mapping your way? Check out these articles:

• “Three Steps to Choosing a Career”
• “After Graduation, What's Next?”
• “A Winning Job Search Strategy”
• “Seven First-Time Resume Concerns”
• “Interview Prep for New Grads”
• “Make the Most of Your First Job”

It's National Nurses Week: Thank a Nurse Today

You really can't say enough good things about nurses. Like Mom and apple pie (is it coincidence Mother's Day and National Nurses Week are always close on the calendar?), celebrating nurses and nursing professionals for their service to others doesn't come close to the emotional truth of their value to us, as Bryan's post from last year suggests.

Nursing as a profession is relatively recent. Florence Nightingale first made headlines just 150 years ago for her work tending wounded soldiers during the Crimean War. Check out her resume.

Since then, nursing has become a respected and increasingly complex and demanding career choice, predominantly but not exclusively for women, with more than 2.4 million nurses on the job in the US now, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Job growth is forecast to grow to nearly 3 million in five years.

But despite the demand, various sources estimate the shortage of trained nursing professionals to be as much as 1 million by 2012, thanks to retirements and limited training capacity for new nurses, in part due to a shortage of nursing school faculty.

There's no shortage of need for thanks. So, if you haven't thanked a nurse lately, you can send one an e-card, courtesy of the American Nurses Association. And if a career in nursing is a possibility for you or someone you know, check out these resources:

• "Jump-Start Your Nursing Career" (special section)
• "Refresher Programs Help Nurses Return to Work"
• "Prepare for Your Career"
• Poll: Should the BSN be the minimum level of education required to be a nurse?
• Monster's Nursing message board in Healthcare Careers 

Car Trouble

I consider myself a feminist, and I can’t change a tire on my own. This weekend, I tried.

My tire had gone flat, I'd called Triple A, and the tow truck driver had put on a donut. But later, having located a spare, I was determined to replace the donut myself. I couldn't drive all week on a donut. Once more, my car was no longer broken down, so I didn't feel justified in calling Triple A. How hard could changing a tire be?

I blame the jack. It had rusted shut and would not open. My husband was away, and despite my determination, I couldn’t get past it. I drove down to the gas station, but the attendant couldn't open the jack either. I was at a loss, that is until a beat-up gray van pulled into the station and six 20-somethings rolled out, whose ragged attire and nonchalant air screamed struggling band. They were on their way to Saratoga to perform, and the lead percussionist, a friendly redhead named Buddy, managed to pry the jack open. I got the car raised and the tire off, but then the jack fell with a clink and the ground shook. I was parked in reverse, emergency brake engaged, but still the car rolled, the front axle grinding the tar as it did. Fortunately, Paul, the gas attendant, stepped in, his own jack in hand, and changed the tire. But the damage had been done. As I pulled away, the car screeched. The car -- the brake disc now chipped -- had to be repaired.

Today, we’re struggling. Without one car, we’re trying to cope with work commutes, school runs and team sports. My life runs fine as long as no one throws in a monkey wrench. I’m a capable, relatively tech-savvy woman. But give me a flat, and my life becomes derailed.

Which has got me to thinking: I put a lot of energy toward professional development, work/life issues and nurturing and educating my children so that one day they can successfully transition into the adult world. And yet, so much can hinge on changing a flat, a skill that after 39 years I still lack.

Women aren’t the only transgressors here; one of my colleagues is one of the most tech-savvy people I know, and he confessed this morning that he too can’t change a tire. But one thing is for certain: Once I’ve learned and my children are old enough, all of them -- my daughter included -- are going to learn how to properly work a jack.

Read these related commuting stories:

· Crazy Commute Stories: Monster Members Share Unusual Moments from the Daily Ride

· What We Do on the Commute

· Get Help for Your Commute

· Monster’s Commuting Center

 

Working Mothers: Stop Feeling Guilty

If one thing is certain, it’s that working mothers get the short end of the stick. Are we doing enough for our children? Are we sacrificing our children’s well-being by working? Are we worse parents as a result?

These questions are consistently posed by the media and by society as a whole. And while no one states it directly, we mothers usually hear an unqualified “yes” in response. Just one month ago, yet another study was released in which the findings were presented as suggesting that day care kids were worse off. Evidently, a small percentage of these children were more disruptive in class than at-home kids. Never mind that the day care kids had better vocabularies. Never mind that the debate moved immediately to the question of whether moms should be staying home rather than whether dads should instead. We working moms were failing our kids. Oh, to go back to the days when Mom stayed home and Dad earned the cash.

The truth is, though, that we mothers are harshest on ourselves. A Pew Research Center study released Wednesday supports that view. More than half of Americans (56 percent) say that mothers are doing a worse job today than 20 or 30 years ago. By comparison, 47 percent of Americans say fathers are doing a worse job than fathers did 20 or 30 years ago. More telling yet, most women say that today's fathers are now doing a better, or at least as good a job, as fathers did 20 or 30 years ago. But a full 54 percent of women say today's mothers are doing a worse job when compared with mothers 20 or 30 years ago. And while no distinction is made between employed and nonemployed mothers, the overall message is that moms are not performing well.

I’d like to suggest that this blog post be the last discussion of this matter. The fact is that women and mothers now work outside the home -- in fact more than three-quarters of mothers with children under 18 do. Even more to the point, moms and dads are managing to spend more time with their kids.

A recent study by The Council on Contemporary Families supports that view. The study actually found today’s youth are doing better than their parents and grandparents and that married mothers increased their time doing childcare by 21 percent (and fathers have more than doubled their time (from 2.6 to 6.5 hours per week).

What’s been sacrificed as a result? Time Mom and Dad spend on themselves.

Check out our articles for working mothers.

Need Help Paying for College? Consider One of These 10 Scholarships

While college can be an exciting time, it can also be stressful. There are exams. There’s choosing a major (and figuring out what to do with it). And then there is the fun of paying for it all.

May is National Scholarship Month, and in celebration, FastWeb has released its list of top 10 most unusual scholarships. Here they are, with my thoughts on each:

• Duck Brand Duct Tape Stuck at Prom Contest: This prom season, create a dress out of duct tape to be eligible for this scholarship. I wonder what the sticking point is?
• Chick and Sophie Major Memorial Duck Calling Contest: According to the press release: “Students can quack their hearts out for 90 seconds using four calls: hail, feed, comeback and mating and win big ducks, oops, we mean, bucks for higher education.” It reminds me of the old Klondike commercial: What would you do for a scholarship?
• Patrick Kerr Skateboard Scholarship: If you’re smart and can ride a board, this one can be yours. Moving right along...
• Scholar Athlete Milk Mustache of the Year (SAMMY) Award: Only good students with amazing milk mustaches need apply.
• Tall Clubs International (TCI) Scholarship: I’m ineligible for this one -- I’m only 5 feet tall. You get the idea.
• Vegetarian Resource Group Scholarship: Promote vegetarianism and get good grades, and this baby could be yours.
• Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contest: Calling all science fiction writers: There’s money in your craft.
• Excellence in Predicting the Future Award: No, not fortune-tellers -- this scholarship is for someone interested in economics and the prediction market.
• American Welding Society Scholarships: For those who can keep it together -- like student welders.
  
  And finally:

• Van Valkenburg Memorial Scholarship: Those with this unusual moniker or a variation can turn schoolyard taunts into cash.

If you’re looking for a scholarship of any kind, check out FastWeb. And these articles will guide you on how to prepare for your career while you’re still in school.

Top 10 Ways to Goof Off at Work, from the Twitterati

Some of us work hard. Some of us play hard. Some of us work hard and play hard. And some of us -- make that all of us, from time to time -- play hard when we should be working hard. I think you know what I'm talking about: Goofing off at work.

Yes, whether it's because you're easily distracted, unomotivated or just need to take a break, there comes a point in the day when the work you're being paid to do is put to the side in favor of a more entertaining or less-stressful activitiy.

But since you don't always want to outright announce your not-so-honorable actions to your coworkers and boss, you also need to create the appearance, at least, that you're actually engaged in company business. So how do you do it?

I once again sought the creative help of my Twitter cohorts, who came up with these top 10 clever suggestions on how to look busy at work -- even when you're not:

1. AndyCaster: Multiple computers with multiple monitors with Word, Excel sheets and email up...and [your] laptop under the desk doing "real" work!


2. IfNotNowWhen: Make lists and lists and lists.... Looks even better if you make them in Excel.


3. Mdy: Keep two docs open, and flip back and forth between them.


4. Mdy: Get up every few mins to pace around your desk, as if in deep thought. Sigh loudly every few minutesas if tackling a tough issue.


5. Mdy: Hang a "do not disturb; genius at work" sign outside your door, if you have an office, or at your cubicle's entrance.


6. DougH: Position yourself as the organization's "social media/Internet expert." Of course, that involves a lot of research and immersion.


7. LeeHopkins: Use Word 2007 as your blog editor, and have workmates convinced that you are working on a proposal while you are blogging about the downfall of your organization!


8. theLunatic: Hold a piece of paper in one hand while staring intently at a computer screen.


9. theLunatic: Have loads of paperwork on your desk.


10. ScottMonty: Try the George Costanza philosophy of work.

How would you add to this list?

Do You Have a Prayer at Work?

Religion can be a touchy issue, one of two subjects (the other being politics) you’re not supposed to discuss in polite company. And this banned zone can include the workplace. I think it’s because faith is a highly personal affair, and people feel deeply about it.

Still, as I’ve gotten more in touch with my own faith over the past few years, I’ve felt more comfortable expressing myself in (hopefully) unobtrusive ways, whether it be wearing religious jewelry or talking about singing in my church choir. People don’t check their religion at the door when they come to work; rather, it is part of the whole of who they are. Indeed, mixing religion and business is a growing trend, whether at the corporate level or individually.

This need to express religion in the workplace can take many forms. Since tomorrow is the National Day of Prayer (always held on the first Thursday in May), talking to a higher power, alone or with others, may be one of them. Or you may want to form or participate in a religious affinity group.

No matter how you bring your faith into the workplace, these articles will help you do it in a way that is tolerant of others and in balance with your job:

• “Mixing Work and Religion”
• “Religious Accommodation in the Workplace”
• “Understand Different Religions at Work”

May Day Mayday for a Minimum Wage Boost?

It's May Day today, the International Workers' Day. Wave that red banner and sing "Solidarity Forever" (MP3 audio). But don't expect that singing -- or holding your breath -- will lead to passage of the bill increasing the federal minimum wage today.

Remember that big Iraq war funding measure passed by both houses of Congress? The one the White House has been promising to veto? Amid all the hoopla about a troop withdrawal timetable, the senators and congresspersons snuck the long-promised minimum wage increase into that piece of legislation, which will almost certainly be vetoed by President Bush. That "Mayday!" call you hear is the minimum wage raise slipping below the surface again.

The minimum-wage bill maneuver is one of those "only in Washington" examples of political gamesmanship, where one side (Democrats favoring the minimum wage increase) ties one legislative measure to another piece of legislation desired by the other side -- in this case, the Republicans and the president. To be fair, most political observers believe the measure will be resubmitted shortly and get signed, possibly as part of the next Iraq war funding bill. But it's really a textbook example of the give-and-take of the political process -- and it applies just as much to workplace politics as it does to our national agenda.

So while you're waiting for that wage hike -- minimum or otherwise -- check out these resources on salary, office politics and a little labor history:

• "Exempt vs. Nonexempt Workers"
• "Hourly vs. Flat Rate for Auto Techs"
• "How Well Do You Play the Game?"
• "Master the Game by Making Connections"
• "Win at Office Politics Without Selling Your Soul "
• Monster's Office Politics message board
• The Politics of the Minimum Wage by Jerold Waltman