Why the In-between isn’t Always So Bad

We have all been there. You’ve just finished up one section of your life, and are waiting to embark on the next. You’ve tidied up all the loose ends from your last endeavor, you’ve begun planning for your next opportunity, maybe you’ve even done a little physical cleaning around your house/apartment to make way for the future. However, it seems the future is still some way off, so now you are faced with the waiting game. You are in the In-between. We’ve all been there, some of us more often than others. It’s not a very fun place to be, especially when you feel pressure either internally or...

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Five Ways to Propel Your Career Forwards

Moving forward, regardless of situation, is hard. Moving forward from a failure can be difficult because of a fear of future failure. You’re probably also stressed at the thought of conflicts ahead. However, moving forward from a success can be difficult as well. You’ve finally succeeded, and realistically you want time to relax and recuperate. More than likely, you’re coming down from a stress high after working to achieve your goal for who knows how long. However, the key to moving forward from either situation is the same; use the emotional drive to propel yourself towards your next...

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How to Move Onward and Upward in Your Career

As professionals, we are all interested – for various reasons – in improving our work situation. These improvements can take a variety of forms: more responsibility, more money, an office with a door, an office with a window, flexibility to work from home, etc. I have some ideas on what you can do to improve your chances at achieving some or all of these changes. Be kind and respectful to EVERYONE. Most, maybe all, work cultures have a hierarchy. Sometimes it’s really clear who has power and who does not. Other times it may be more “flat” but power differentials are always there. However,...

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Post-Interview: The Follow-Up

If you’re like me, then after you’ve had an interview, you smile and shake the hand of the hiring manager before heading out to your car feeling alternately triumphant and nervous. And then you wait. And wait. And wait. Sometimes, you’ll hear right away. Only a day or two will go by before you’ll receive an email, proclaiming the news either way. But more often than not, a week or three or even four will go by without hearing anything. Occasionally, you won’t have any reply at all, and be left to draw your own conclusions. This seems to be the unavoidable nature of interviewing. However,...

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What is Company Culture?

In the library of my elementary school, there was a table that had large picture books on it. Many editions of Where’s Waldo were scattered there, along with a number of alphabet books. But the one book that was consistently bickered over and forcefully wrenched from the hands of one student by another, was a book of optical illusions. A vase became someone’s face, a young woman turned into an older woman, and no one was quite sure how many sides that triangle had. Every person saw the images in a slightly different way, and many arguments were had over what was the “correct” image. In a lot...

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Finding Your Focus

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” It is a simple question we ask of our children from the time they can talk and know what an astronaut is. “What do you want to be when you grow up?” We outline the possibility that they can be anything: a doctor, a space explorer, a dancer, a writer, a scientist, an artist. The possibilities seem absolutely boundless. “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Do you want to pursue a passion for discovery, charting unknown territories of the deep sea, the human body, outer space? Do you want to create art, visual, auditory, or otherwise, that...

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