How Your Personality Affects Your JobYour personality is more than just the way you act. It affects the way you do your job and how you interact with other people. Understanding your personality will help you do your job better, and understanding the personalities of your coworkers and managers will help, too. So, what type of personality Read More |
How to Beat Holiday StressEveryone knows the holidays should be a time of joy and togetherness, of peace and love, but it’s hard to love the holidays when it just feels like one big to-do list. Here are six tips to make the holidays a happier, less stressful time: 1. Get organized. Think about the things you really need Read More |
Advice for Teleworking: Nine Tips for Workers and ManagersTeleworking, or working from home or a remote location, is growing by leaps and bounds. It’s the new normal. Currently, about half of the U.S. workforce has a job that is compatible with teleworking. Why is teleworking so popular? Several reasons. For business owners, teleworking can really save Read More |
How to Deal with Difficult Coworkers and BossesDifficult bosses and coworkers can make your work life miserable. I recently did a segment on News Channel 8’s News Talk with Bruce DePuyt on how to deal with them. (You can watch the segment here.) A difficult person is someone whose behavior negatively impacts the way you do your job. Difficult Read More |
Interview Tips: 10 Tips to Help You Hire the Right PersonStudies show that 40 percent of all hires fail. Indeed, hiring the wrong person is a huge waste of both time and money. Here are 10 tips to help you interview and hire the right person: Do your homework.Think the position through thoroughly. Make a list of the skills, talents, and abilities you Read More |
Seven Tips to Spring Clean Your Professional PersonaI hope it’s safe to say that spring is finally here (and I hope I didn’t just jinx it). For many people, that means spring cleaning—dusting off the cobwebs, airing out the house, tossing out old clothes. This is also a perfect time to spring clean your professional life, and it follows Read More |
Don't Get Drunk at the Office Party, and Other Dos and Don'ts of the Holiday SeasonTis’ the season for parties, Secret Santas, gift giving, and all manner of festivities. This goes for office life, too. But it’s also the season for professional pitfalls, business faux pas, and other mistakes caused by holiday exuberance, a misreading of the tea laves, or just plain not Read More |
How to Stop MultitaskingWe are all multitaskers. We talk while we drive, we answer text messages and emails during meetings, we return phone calls while surfing the Internet, we cook dinner while talking on the phone, etc. We are always doing more than one thing at a time. And if we are doing just one thing, like driving, we Read More |
Stressed at Work? Four Tips for Simplify for SuccessWe are busier than ever. We have more technology to contend with, which means many more forms of communication and interaction to master and address. We have more work to do, as many companies are making do with fewer employees, piling the work of many onto the shoulders of few. Do you need to simplify Read More |
In Defense and Praise of Gen YGen Y, also known as the Millennials, is a group with birth dates roughly from 1980 to 2000. Gen Y workers are often labeled with unflattering terms. As a consultant for organizational development, one of my specialties is generational diversity. I work with many different cohorts to help Read More |
Coworkers from Hell! How to Deal with Bad Apples, Gossips, Jerks, and Other Difficult ColleaguesThe Saboteur. The Demeanor. The Bad Apple. The Gossip. These aren’t costumed Halloween characters; they’re the people you work with. And they’re not alone. There’s also the Jerk, the Complainer, the Victim, the Micromanager, the Know-It-All, and the Competitor. These are the difficult Read More |
What to Wear When the Weather is WeirdDressing appropriately for the office is a simple but powerful tool for career success, but it’s difficult to dress for success when the weather is so weird. Here are a few quick and simple rules to follow for what to wear when the weather can’t quite make up its mind: Dress to fit Read More |
New Office Etiquette: How to Be Polite and Well Liked at the OfficeAnyone who works in an office knows that those close quarters can spell trouble. You spend a lot of time with your coworkers, and, even if you have your own office, you interact in meetings, breakrooms, bathrooms, hallways, and other common areas. You work together on teams and on projects. You sit in Read More |
How to Simplify Your Work LifeToday’s workplace can feel like a constant assault on the senses. Think of all the tasks confronting you during a typical workday: emails, texts, phone calls, messages, answering questions from team members barging into your workspace, and so on. And that’s before you even begin to tackle Read More |
Successful RetreatsThe offsite retreat. Some people love them. Some people hate them. And it’s easy to see why. If done well, retreats can be a powerful way to help organizations bring about positive change. If done poorly, retreats can be a waste of time and can actually make things worse.Holding an effective retreat Read More |
Difficult ConversationsAvoiding difficult conversations is a common practice both in our professional lives and our personal lives. Telling an employee that their performance is not up to snuff is an unpleasant task for most of us. Confronting a friend about an unpleasant situation promises to be about as fun as a root canal. Read More |
Managing Teams in the Virtual Workplace: Six Steps for SuccessManagement is always challenging, but the virtual workplace can add an additional layer of difficulty. Remote or virtual employees often feel disconnected from their supervisor and team members and may become disengaged or less effective in their role. Managers can also struggle with tracking performance Read More |
Six Common Mistakes Leaders Make During Change and How to Avoid ThemChange is very hard for all involved. During times of organizational change, morale tends to drop and top performers may look for better options. Change is also commonly met with resistance (even good change!) at first and productivity can take a hit. The other truth about change? It is unavoidable. Read More |
No Turkey Needed! Embracing Gratitude in the WorkplaceLet’s face it – we’re terrible at showing appreciation for one another, especially at work. Yes, we buy lunch for our staff at the quarterly meeting, give out certificates for years of service, and even say “thank you” to our team for job well done, but do we really show Read More |
Suck Ups Need Not Apply“Let’s be clear: Managing up is NOT about brown nosing, sucking up, or becoming a sycophant. Managing up is about consciously and intentionally developing effective relationships with supervisors, bosses, and other people above you in the food chain. It is a deliberate and strategic effort Read More |
Time to Celebrate...You!When was the last time you took some time to acknowledge—even celebrate—yourself and your accomplishments? It seems like we are constantly celebrating momentous occasions—birthdays, graduations, anniversaries—but what about all the small, yet important wins? We are conditioned Read More |
Time Blocking: To-Do Lists 2.0The world of work can be all-encompassing. Professional culture has transformed to such a degree that most professionals can work from anywhere, at any time. Technology has advanced to the point where many teams have members who’ve never worked in the same physical space. Read More |
Careerstone's Summer 2019 Playlist!There’s no time quite like Summertime! It’s that pretty delicious time of year when the daylight is long and the days seem to stretch into one another. For some, summer is about nostalgia – about remembering a time that “seemed” less stressful, more joyful, and Read More |
Write for Success At Any Stage In Your Career!“Easy reading is damn hard writing.” - Nathaniel Hawthorne Do you dread writing at work? Do you write, re-write, and then procrastinate some more before hitting the “send” button? Formal proposals, memos, and even internal emails can be stressful and hamper productivity for Read More |
Be a Change Victor, not a Change Victim!We all know that in business and in life, one of the only things that remains constant is change. Organizations are constantly undergoing transformations in technology, in management, in internal policies and procedures, and in how they conduct business. Some of these transformations are planned, and Read More |
5 Tips for Building ResilienceIf you missed the memo – we’ve been hosting free weekly webinars for over a month now (so check them out!). Recently, we had the pleasure of interviewing Jen Arnold, host of the Redesigning Wellness podcast, about building resilience and how we can learn to be more resilient – especially Read More |
Just Say Thanks! The Art of the Thank You NoteWith Thanksgiving around the corner, we at Careerstone are reflecting on what we’re grateful for this year! It’s no secret that 2020 has been difficult and challenging for many of us. Take time to appreciate the special people around you who have made these times more bearable or who have Read More |
A Year of Living RemotelyWe’ve rounded the corner to a strange anniversary: one year of living, working, and hopefully surviving the restrictions, stresses, and uncertainties of a global pandemic. In short, a year of living remotely. After this year, many of us have enough experience and have logged enough hours Read More |
Fostering Innovation at Work Through CreativityAs we continue to navigate our ever-changing and challenging work environments, it’s more important than ever to tap into our innovation and problem-solving skills. Essentially, it’s time to boost your creativity. Even for those who don’t specifically work in a creative field, creativity Read More |
Navigating the Next NormalYou made the transition from working from the office to working at home over a year ago. Now it’s time to make another shift – navigating a combination of remote, hybrid, and in-person work – or the “Next Normal.” No matter where you sit on the organizational chart, it’s important to learn Read More |
Top Five Things to Look for in an InternshipBy Genevieve Martin Genevieve Martin is Careerstone Group’s 2021 Summer Intern. She attends George Mason University as a Marketing Major. Finding an internship that’s right for you can be difficult. What an employer envisions as an internship opportunity may vary vastly from what a student may Read More |
Top Five Skills for Every Career ProfessionalAs the professional world evolves at a rapid rate, it’s important to stay ahead of the game by developing essential skills through the process of upskilling. A recent survey by Gartner found that 58% of the workforce needs new skill sets to perform well in their jobs. Experts report that rapidly changing Read More |
Making the Hybrid Workplace Work for YouThe future of work is here, and it is hybrid. Now that we’ve all passed the great remote work experiment, companies are reimagining the world of work. In a recent Accenture Future of Work Study, researchers discovered that 83% of workers prefer a hybrid work model. The appeal of this model is that Read More |
Healthy (Work) Habits for the HolidaysHoliday season is here – bringing lots of bright lights, presents, and social commitments. This means juggling spending extra time with friends and family on top of the day-to-day responsibilities. Taking care of your personal health and well-being during this busy time is essential. Usually Read More |
How to Be a Good Meeting ParticipantBy Samantha Weissgold Samantha Weissgold is Careerstone Group’s 2022 Summer Intern. She attends Bentley University as a Marketing Major. Most jobs come with plenty of meetings. No matter your career phase, you’ll find yourself attending meetings on a regular basis. Meetings provide an opportunity Read More |
Polish Up Your EtiquetteOur lives are governed by unspoken rules that guide how we conduct ourselves in social situations, like how you should listen to your music or podcast with headphones rather than playing it out loud on the Metro. The workplace also functions based on behaviors that are deemed appropriate and considerate. Read More |
Show Your Gratitude by Creating a Psychologically Safe WorkplaceIf you’ve heard the term “psychological safety” a lot lately, you’re in good company. As the world spins in a state of uncertainty, stress, and pressure (think hybrid work, political polarization, multiple Covid variants), we’ve seen a major shift to humanizing the workplace. A psychologically Read More |
Make Kindness ContagiousEvery February, we show our loved ones we care about them with special days dedicated to our Valentines and Galentines. Why not extend that attitude to our workplaces and share our appreciation for our wonderful bosses and colleagues? As conversations around mental health and overall wellbeing become Read More |
Ways for Women to Get Ahead: Interview with Randi BraunWe had the pleasure of catching up with Randi Braun, CEO of Something Major, in honor of Women’s History Month to get her insight into how women can overcome workplace challenges to achieve success. Read the interview below for her career management advice! 1. Tell us a little bit about yourself Read More |
Cultivating Culture in the Hybrid WorkplaceFor most of our clients, the hybrid workplace is here to stay. Many organizations have incorporated workplace flexibilities in ways we could not have imagined prior to the pandemic. Now there are myriad ways to “show up” at work — in the office, from one’s home office, or even a plane ride away Read More |
Leveraging Generational Diversity as a DEIA StrategyTell me your generation without telling me your generation. Do you miss the office, keep your camera on in Zoom meetings, and use your printer liberally? Are you in love with the flexibility of remote work and roll your eyes at authority? Do you like a lot of feedback from your boss and bring your Read More |