ArcaMax

What's the worst part of starting a new job?

Your new, puny salary? Your new, miserable boss?

Not even close!

What's worse are your new co-workers lining up to ask you personal questions -- questions you would rather not answer, like "What is your name?" or "Are you pregnant or just fat?" or "Didn't I see you on 'Dr. Pimple Popper'?"

If you'...Read more

I don't mean to be negative, but don't you hate working with people who are negative?

And negative people are everywhere.

It's true! No matter whether you deal with co-workers, spouses or cocker spaniels, at some point, you will come face-to-face with a negative Norbert. About that, I am positive.

Aja Frost can help.

Frost is the author of "...Read more

Call me cynical, but I have questions about the career advice I get from job-hunting websites.

The job sites do a really good job when it comes to alerting you about all the problems in your job, but, in the end, they invariably suggest that the answer is to get a new job. And guess the best way to find a new, absolutely perfect dream job.

...Read more

Boo hoo. You didn't get promoted.

You deserved the promotion. You asked for the promotion. But guess who got the promotion? Someone who isn't you.

Everyone knows what to do after you get a promotion -- basically, nothing. You need time to settle into your new job. You need space to learn who your most motivated team members are and how you ...Read more

Good news!

You are only 11 steps away from getting promoted.

So says Libby Kane, the author of "Bosses Tell Us: 11 Things That Will Get You Promoted," a recent post on The Muse website.

Kane is quick to put the kibosh on typical, woo-woo, wishy-washy advice. "And we don't mean 'be more confident' or 'be more passionate,'" she writes. "We ...Read more

You deserve a big fat raise! Care to argue the point? Didn't think so. But did you ever consider that the reason you are so dramatically underpaid may not be the fault of a stingy boss not giving you more? The problem could be your wimpy self not having the gumption to ask for more.

Or so suggests Robin Ryan in her recent post "What Salary ...Read more

Let's face it: You love your job so much that the idea of taking a vacation is totally ridiculous.

Why would you exchange all that invigorating stress for lazing around a talcum-powder white beach with a cold margarita? You'd have to be crazy!

Well, you are crazy, and that explains why you will be taking a vacation, like it or not.

If you ...Read more

Ever get the feeling that you don't belong?

You come to work and do your job, but you can't escape the suspicion that everyone else is different from you.

In a word, you're a misfit.

Now, it could be that everyone else in your office is a misfit, and you're the only normal person. Or it could be that everyone else is normal, and the misfit ...Read more

If you're wondering why this week's column is so lame, I have an explanation. I'm sick.

Or, to be medically precise, I'm telling everyone I'm sick. But really, I'm perfectly healthy. So, telling everyone I'm sick is kind of sick.

Would you ever do anything so sneaky?

Of course you would.

There are many advantages to telling your employer you...Read more

Paul Simon came up with "50 ways to leave your lover." I wish I could say the same when it comes to leaving your loser of a job. Unfortunately, there are only seven ways to leave a job. If you don't like it, don't blame Paul Simon. Blame Harvard.

The distinguished Harvard Business Review -- HBR to its friends -- came up with the seven-ways ...Read more

Who needs privacy? Who needs peace and quiet?

You do, that's who.

But I wouldn't count on getting these needs met any time soon. We live and work in the era of the open office. No walls. No barriers. Nothing between you and your closest co-worker but a steely stare of contempt and an occasional snarl.

If you don't work in an open office ...Read more

The famous business consultant Alexander, Lord Tennyson said it best: "In the spring a young manager's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of happy hours."

It's true! Seeing the weather warm up and the direct reports freeze up, even the dimmest bulb of a manager realizes that their loyal team wants to frolic like butterflies and, while they're ...Read more

Be honest, now: What's so bad about meetings?

There must be something, right?

Whether the meeting is a brainstorming session, status update or an executive spiel on the company's flimsy future, even the best employees do not look forward to being called into a conference room.

As for the worst employees -- and yes, I'm talking thee and me -...Read more