jobs – Daniel Bortz

How to find a career mentor while you’re still in college

September 29, 2020Posted in Monster.comTagged career advice, career mentor, career planning, jobs

Pop quiz: What do Mr. Miyagi, Yoda, and Professor Dumbledore have in common? Aside from being pretty badass film icons, they’re each incredibly gifted mentors. True, the chances of meeting someone who can transform you into a karate master or Jedi Knight are slim. But you can find a career mentor in college to help show you the way forward.

“A mentor can help you establish your career direction and set long-term goals,” says Beth Zefo, senior human resources manager at MHI Shared Services Americas and co-author of Grad to Great: Discover the Secrets to Success in Your First Career.

And the great thing about being in a college environment is having access and exposure to so many people who are more than qualified to help guide you through the job search process, and later, the working world.

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Make the most of your first job

June 18, 2020Posted in Monster.comTagged careers, first job, jobs

Ready to start your first job? First, congratulations! The novel coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the job market in a wide range of industries, so the fact that you’ve landed a full-time job is a huge accomplishment, and it’s something worth celebrating.

Meaning, take full advantage of this opportunity to kick-start your professional development. Here are a number of steps you should take to make the most of your first job and set yourself up for a successful career.

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How to tell if job cuts are coming

October 10, 2019Posted in Monster.comTagged careers, job cuts, jobs, layoffs

Getting handed a pink slip and being told to pack up your desk and exit your office is a terrible experience, no doubt—but it happens. Companies have job cuts for a number of reasons, and oftentimes these layoffs aren’t a reflection of a worker’s performance, which means there’s little you can do to prevent the inevitable. The people who land on their feet, though, are the ones who can spot a layoff before it happens.

So, how can you tell if your job might be in jeopardy? Check out some clues that a pink slip may have your name on it in the near future—and what you can do to keep your career moving forward.

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How to handle five types of toxic co-workers

July 10, 2019July 10, 2019Posted in Monster.comTagged career management, careers, co-workers, jobs

Like toxic waste, toxic co-workers have to be handled with care. And it’s not healthy to have prolonged exposure to either.

“Whether it’s chronic backstabbing, extreme defensiveness, narcissism, cruelty, bias, discrimination or other forms of mistreatment or misbehavior that they demonstrate, [toxic co-workers] are intolerable to work with or be around for an extended period,” says Kathy Caprino, founder of Connecticut-based career-coaching firm Ellia Communications. “They’re toxic because they’re like a poison to your system and to the organization’s ecosystem, making it hard to maintain your own well-being, professionalism, and collaborative spirit when you’re around them.”

Worse yet, working with a toxic co-worker can negatively impact your job performance and even derail your career if they’re allowed to continue their behavior.

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5 job interview questions you should never ask

June 5, 2019Posted in Monster.comTagged careers, interview questions, job interview, jobs

You may be camera ready with a spiffy job-interview outfit and your resume (15 drafts later, phew) and cover letter in hand, but now it’s time for the hardest part: preparing what will come out of your mouth. The job interview questions you ask a hiring manager can make or break your chances of getting an offer.

The key is to ask the right questions and “always think about how you’re being perceived,” says Courtney Templin, president of JB Training Solutions, a Chicago-based career development firm.

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13 things you should never write in a work email

May 14, 2019Posted in Monster.comTagged career, email, jobs, work

Email etiquette is a delicate art, and one that’s important to master, considering the average worker spends 28% of their day checking email, a McKinsey & Company study found. But, when you use poor judgment in an email to your boss, co-worker, or client, you’ve created a digital record of your mistake that could come back to bite you.

As Jacqueline Whitmore, etiquette expert and founder of the Protocol School of Palm Beach, puts it: “An email is a permanent document that can be held against you.”

Another reason why the stakes are high: “Emails can be forwarded to anyone; they can even be posted on the Internet for the public to see,” warns executive coach Anne Marie Segal.

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5 times it pays to take a pay cut

March 26, 2019May 1, 2019Posted in ConsiderableTagged career, job change, jobs, salary

In an ideal world, your pay would keep going up and up until the day you retire. Don’t count on it: Raises can be harder to come by late in your career, especially when you’re already making a good living.

Among college-educated workers, pay growth tends to top out at age 40 for women, early 50s for men, according to the salary research site PayScale.

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Can you spot these signs that your boss is lying?

December 31, 2018May 1, 2019Posted in Monster.comTagged bad boss, jobs, manager

Reality check: People lie. That includes bosses. Maybe they lie because they don’t want to disappoint you (“No, you can’t take Monday off”) or don’t have an answer (“I have no idea if anyone is getting raises this year”), but it doesn’t make their lies any less annoying.

Now, here’s the good news: You can learn how to tell if someone is lying to you—and you don’t need to administer a polygraph test.

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Top five myths about finding a job

September 11, 2018May 1, 2019Posted in Monster.comTagged careers, job search, jobs

Trying to find a job can feel like an epic quest, full of smoke, mirrors, and plenty of perplexities—including some falsehoods that are meant to throw you off your game. These job search myths are tricky beasts. Even experienced job seekers believe—and spread—common misconceptions about the job search process. Yet these flawed ideas can derail your ability to nab a job offer.

There’s no magic involved in getting a job, but there are a number of myths. So, how do you separate fact from fiction?

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