I certainly don’t consider myself old. I don’t feel old. Or look it, if the more short-sighted, misguided or inebriated observers are to be believed.

My knees, however, don’t agree with this flattery. Nor do my shoulders or lower back. They complain sharply in concert whenever I attempt physically-taxing endeavors, such as hauling myself from an overstuffed sofa or (God forbid) the grappling grip of a bean bag chair. Continue reading “Too Old to Work, Too Young to Retire” »

It may be tempting, when the search for a new job starts to get you down, to throw caution to the wind and apply to one of these get-rich-quick schemes that plague the internet like they used to haunt the newspaper classifieds back when reading was analog.

Not much has changed, it seems. From stuffing envelopes to pyramid schemes to dodgy property investing, the gullible still buy into the snake oil sales patter of the convincing conman or the long form sales letter. Continue reading “Online Get-Rich-Quick Schemes (Working From Home II)” »

As tempting as it may be to launch into a hatchet job on a previous employer, it’s often better to stay your hand and play the game when this question comes flying across the interview table.

The interviewer isn’t particularly interested in the facts of the case, rather your reaction to the inquiry. Continue reading ““Why did you leave?”” »

Taking a job that pays less than you’re worth can be a real blow to one’s self-esteem, but it’s often a necessity in this world of scarce jobs and swollen unemployment.

However, until recently, I considered tying one’s self-esteem to something as arbitrary as work a little indulgent. I’m sure this is a beneficial stance if you’re a pediatrician investigating leukemia or a crusading lawyer fighting injustice, but if circumstances dictate you wind up in a profession that requires you to don a cardboard hat and a name tag, for example, it may be wise to divorce your feelings of self-worth from the processed foods you’re peddling. Continue reading “Working For Less Than You’re Worth” »

Anxiety drives achievement. It’s often said the hungry work harder. But there is a tipping point where too much anxiety becomes counterproductive as the job seeker spirals into depression.

Unemployment’s double-barreled hit to wallet and sense of self can shake your very core, and leave you vulnerable to the ravages of low self-confidence and subsequently lessened performance, whether at work or in the hunt for it. Continue reading “Unemployment and Depression” »

Many years ago, I was heading to university to study naval architecture. This is not, as one might expect, a rigorously academic examination of belly button anatomy, as appealing as that may sound.

(Especially to me, as the seaside town I’m from is regionally renowned for hideously ruining the belly button at birth, Continue reading “The Interview Weekend” »

Oh, here we go. My least favorite interview question and one I always forget to prepare for. And that’s the problem; this is probably the most important question in the interview and the hardest to answer, at least for me, because I’m not much of a braggart. Continue reading ““So, tell me a little about yourself.”” »

The Nanny State achieved a new height for one brief period a few years ago, when it was an actual legal requirement (under pain of a hefty fine) in a certain American city to wear a helmet on a bicycle, but not on a motorcycle. Never in my life had I heard anything quite so ludicrous. Continue reading “Negotiating Your Salary” »

When I first heard the expression “personal branding” I must admit, I almost lost the will to live.

Another pathetically trendy internet business term, I groaned, coined by the hordes of business “gurus” that seem to propagate online at a rate at which  rabbits would swoon. Everyone seems to be an “independent consultant” nowadays, eagerly chasing legitimacy, dispensing reworded “inspirational” phrases and “life” lessons with the alacrity of an over-praised adolescent. Continue reading “Personal Branding” »