Daily advice for young professionals - financial advice, social advice, career advice, etiquette advice - updated daily!
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July 15, 2005
| Career
FactID: 345
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Rated
4.67 stars
from 3 votes
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Civilization is the progress toward a society of privacy. The savage's whole existence is public, ruled by the laws of his tribe. Civilization is the process of setting man free from men.
Ayn Rand
The fact of the matter is you don't have a lot of privacy at work. In Smyth v. The Pillsbury Co courts upheld employers right to read your emails, without your knowledge. Employees montior emails, take screenshots of your computer, record keystrokes, and save your deleted email. They usually are well within the law and have good reason to do so. What can you do?
Only do business at work. If you must do personal business be prudent. Don't write anything you wouldn't want inadvertantly passed on to others at work. Mark personal files as private. Your employer may have a policy keeping your emails and calls private, but it would be smart to assume everything you do at work is fair game for your superiors to monitor.
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 Email Musing |  IM Musing
|  Source: privacy rights
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July 13, 2005
| Career
FactID: 344
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Rated
4.20 stars
from 5 votes
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I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.
Douglas Adams
According to CNN, workers waste more time than employers expect, costing companies $759 billion a year. In an online survey workers admitted to wasting, on average, 2.09 hours per day. However, studies have shown that this “slacking time” may actually be productive as it could spawn creativity or help workers form networks.
On the other hand your employer most likely knows what you are up to. According to a 2001 survey by the American Management Association, nearly 80 percent of employers engage in electronic monitoring of employees' work-related communications and activities -- including monitoring employees' e-mail or Internet usage, videotaping the worksite, or recording employee telephone calls.
Is this an invasion of your privacy? The short answer is no. Most cases have held up an employers right to monitor you. Read more about the law here. And check back with us later in the week to learn about how to protect yourself.
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Email Musing | IM Musing
| Source: gigalaw
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June 28, 2005
| Career
FactID: 339
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Rated
4.50 stars
from 4 votes
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Would those of you in the cheaper seats clap your hands? And the rest of you, if you'll just rattle your jewelry.
John Lennon
Sure we all want cheap airplane seats, but that doesn't mean we have to sacrifice comfort. Check out www.seatguru.com - your enlightened guide to airline seating. Armed with your flight information (airline & airplane model), you can get the inside scoop on which seats are good seats and which are "beware" seats. Seatguru's even got information on amenities like power ports, reclining, etc.!
SeatGuru's got you covered!
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Email Musing | IM Musing
| Source: SeatGuru.com via Phil Guinand
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June 21, 2005
| Career
FactID: 321
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Rated
4.00 stars
from 6 votes
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My soul is in the sky.
— William Shakespeare, 'A Midsummer Night's Dream,' Act V. Scene I.
We are a jet set generation. However, flying can be make you dig into daddy's trust fund. Here are some tips on keeping flight costs down.
Search for your flights with online consolidators like mobissimo and kayak. Also,Orbitz has a great fare alert feature which allows users to set a price on routes and receive email alerts when a fare is found. Be sure to check with the individual airlines and be sure to cash in your frequent flier miles . If your dates are flexible try to include a Saturday night stay. This will qualify you as a "leisure traveler" and may significantly reduce your fare.
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Email Musing | IM Musing
| Source: Frequent Flier
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June 16, 2005
| Career
FactID: 313
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Rated
3.20 stars
from 5 votes
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Is brownnosing or kissing up worth it?
On one hand you have the direct approach -- according to University of Minnesota psychologist Randall Gordon, Ph.D., if you're going to kiss up to your manager directly above you, then it's better to agree with his or her opinion and do favors. If your bold and want to kiss up to someone a few levels above you, compliments are your best bet.
Or, you can take the high road and be more genuine. According to USA Today, you can do the following as an alternative to overt ass-kissing:
- Make your boss look good
- Be a resource
- Ask intelligent questions
- Seek advice and feedback
- Be nice to everyone in the office
Good luck climbin' the ladder!
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Email Musing | IM Musing
| Source: USA Today and Yahoo!
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May 9, 2005
| Career
FactID: 332
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Rated
4.00 stars
from 5 votes
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After five of the six tried to sneak the tab onto their expense reports at Barclays, they were fired and mocked the world over.
Gordon T. Anderson, CNN
Don't let your ego expense a meal your company won't pay for.
Sometimes after putting in ridiculous hours, we actually believe we deserve those outrageous dinners. While expense accounts are a great corporate perk that we should all utilize, it would be wise to exercise more caution than these guys. $63,000 is quite a dinner, especially for six people!
As a general rule, only expense things you would feel comfortable explaining to your CEO or client. If you think your boss would be suspicious of a bottle of 1947 Château Pétrus for $17,500, pay for it out of your own pocket and keep your job.
However when the sky is the limit (i.e. your CEO is doing the expensing), allow me to recommend the following list of the world's 50 top restaurants.
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Email Musing | IM Musing
| Source: Altnet and CNN
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April 22, 2005
| Career
FactID: 318
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Rated
3.00 stars
from 1 vote
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"According to most studies, people's number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you're better off in the casket than doing the eulogy."
Jerry Seinfeld
Join toastmasters and learn to be a better public speaker.
Here are some tips to overcome your fear of public speaking. Knowing the room, your audience, and your material will put you on track. Also remember that humor and humility go a long way. If that doesn't work picture your audience undressed except for black socks.
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Email Musing | IM Musing
| Source: Toastmasters
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April 18, 2005
| Career
FactID: 315
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Rated
3.25 stars
from 4 votes
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“Sleep not when others
speak, sit not when others
stand, speak not when you
should hold your peace,
walk not on while others
stop.”
George
Washington.
Business dinners can be nervewracking. To avoid any major blunders study up on business dinner etiquette. Use your silverware from the outside in towards your plate. People don't want to share your germs, your glass is on the right and your bread plate is on the left. Remember not to skip dessert or coffee, as this is typically when the transaction(your big raise) is completed. When in doubt, follow the host. Mirror what he or she does for the entree price range, alcohol, and pace of eating.
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Email Musing | IM Musing
| Source: Florida Times Union
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April 4, 2005
| Career
FactID: 309
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Rated
3.33 stars
from 3 votes
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Happy Hour! Just make sure you remember that you haven't completely left work!
It starts with someone sending around an email about going to get drinks for happy hour... pretty soon everyone's out at a nearby bar drinking it up. But as a rule of thumb, you should limit yourself to one glass if any managers are coming along.
If it really is just a bunch of peers, then party it up, but watch what you say -- you don't want to have rumors flying around about you the next day at work....
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Email Musing | IM Musing
| Source: AskMen.com and University of Tampa
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March 15, 2005
| Career
FactID: 297
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Rated
2.80 stars
from 5 votes
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Some say you're the best... but others are a bit more honest.
Even though you've had vast classroom experience, there are still things you could improve on at work. Feedback is essential to learning those things that you don't know you don't know- that you suck at.
In order to act on feedback you must first receive feedback. It helps to seek out feedback. Ask coworkers and managers for it. Show them you mean it by asking for feedback on specific issues. "How am I doing?" will only get you a one word answer. Show that you are a good recipient of feedback by listening, taking criticism well, and working on your weaknesses.
Be persistent, either you will eliminate all of their concerns and be on the fast track for promotion, or they will tire of answering your requests and make things up, which would be amusing.
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Email Musing | IM Musing
| Source: FullCircleFeedback.com
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