The Brazen Careerist


THE BRAZEN CAREERIST- You can: There is time to read blogs Published on Jul 16th, 2009 0 comments When I tell people at a cocktail party that I'm a blogger, they say, "I don't have time to read blogs." Here's what I am going to start saying to next: Only losers say they don't have time to read...
THE BRAZEN CAREERIST- Beauty & brains: How to think like a tall person Published on Jul 9th, 2009 0 comments There is absolutely irrefutable data to support the idea that good-looking people do better in life. Gordon Patzer, in his book Looks, draws from a wide body of research to describe the advantaged...
THE BRAZEN CAREERIST- NYC to Madison: How to decide where to live Published on Jul 2nd, 2009 0 comments Three years ago, I made a decision to move from New York City to Madison, WI based purely on research. I put economic development research together with positive psychology research. I had never been...
THE BRAZEN CAREERIST- Not me: I've done well without the details Published on Jun 25th, 2009 0 comments A long time ago, I wrote a column about dealing with war anxiety. I interviewed my family (what else is new?) and then wrote about my brother Mike's worries about life insurance. Then a reader sent...
THE BRAZEN CAREERIST- Ah, Bach: Learn from J.S. for public speaking Published on Jun 18th, 2009 0 comments When I was married, my husband would take me to concerts– including some that required a specially tuned piano or a specially trained ear. So I was thrilled to hear we were going to a Bach...
THE BRAZEN CAREERIST- The gaps: What holds back working women Published on Jun 11th, 2009 4 comments I have often written that there is no more glass ceiling, there is no more salary gap between men and women, and there is no reason to keep bitching about sexual harassment because it's merely a...
THE BRAZEN CAREERIST- Susan Boyle: Career lessons from Susan Boyle's success Published on Jun 4th, 2009 0 comments I never watch American Idol, or other talent shows. (I think I got my fill in the 1970s, watching year after year of the mind-numbing Miss America pageant.) But there was too much hoopla with Susan...
THE BRAZEN CAREERIST- Breaking rules: When good grammar isn't so good Published on May 28th, 2009 3 comments In sixth grade, we spent weeks parsing sentences. There was a moment of self-awareness when I thought, "If I let anyone see how much I like this, I'll never get invited to good parties." So I know I...
THE BRAZEN CAREERIST- Office secrets: Three times you should lie at work Published on May 21st, 2009 0 comments Truth is beautiful, but there are three times when you should lie at work: 1. If you are a messy person People make a wide range of judgments based on your office, whether you like it or not. For...
THE BRAZEN CAREERIST- Tea party fouls: Why to say no to female clubs Published on May 14th, 2009 0 comments What is up with the constant photo ops of the wives of the men running the financial universe? What about the two women in the recent G-20 conference? Do we put their husbands in the midst of this...
THE BRAZEN CAREERIST- How to deal with reference checks Published on May 7th, 2009 0 comments Reference checks used to matter a lot. Fifty years ago. When people only changed jobs twice in their life, and they didn't know anyone outside of their company, it made sense that the second company...
THE BRAZEN CAREERIST- Killing cockroaches: They'll provide a bridge to success Published on Apr 23rd, 2009 1 comments Tony Morgan is a pastor and chief strategy officer at NewSpring Church, based in South Carolina. When I realized that he mixes careers and church like I mix careers and sex, I was hooked. Tony...
THE BRAZEN CAREERIST- Six things: My list of what I hate Published on Apr 16th, 2009 0 comments Here is my current list of people and things I hate. It's an ongoing project that simmers week after week until it reaches boiling point and I have to spend a column venting. 1. The uncoachable...
THE BRAZEN CAREERIST- New millennium: How to lead Gen Y in it Published on Apr 9th, 2009 0 comments Generation Y has a lot of great traits, but top-down leadership is not one of them. This is not a surprise because Gen Y is the great teamwork generation. They did book reports in teams, they went to...
THE BRAZEN CAREERIST- Why ask why: Starting a company in a big city is stupid Published on Apr 2nd, 2009 0 comments One of the reasons I moved from New York City to Madison, Wisconsin is that I knew I would start another company. People ask me how I picked Wisconsin. The bottom line is that I wanted to be able to...
THE BRAZEN CAREERIST- The recession: Spot these four emerging trends Published on Mar 26th, 2009 0 comments As the recession persists, we can watch social shifts and cultural trends. Some are good; some are bad. But in either case, one way to control how the recession affects you is to watch the larger...
THE BRAZEN CAREERIST- Fired up: How to explain your unemployment Published on Mar 19th, 2009 0 comments Let's say you get fired, or laid off, or you quit because after two weeks you know you're at the worst company on the planet. In all of those cases, you will face the interview question: What...
THE BRAZEN CAREERIST- Good interview: How to give it short and sweet Published on Mar 12th, 2009 0 comments I do a lot of interviews. At least two or three a week– ranging from CNN to local newspapers. And no matter where the interview is running, there are some things you need to know about doing a...
THE BRAZEN CAREERIST- Loyal downturning: How we would handle the layoffs Published on Mar 5th, 2009 0 comments I used to have a layoff routine. By 2003, my ex-husband and I had been laid off six times in four years. It went like this. First, we would start saving. Then, we get our credit card balances down to...
THE BRAZEN CAREERIST- Grad school: What's wrong with it now, or anytime Published on Feb 19th, 2009 3 comments A recession is typically a good time for graduate schools because people see them as safe shelter from the storm. But, in fact, grad school creates larger, and more insurmountable problems. And some...
THE BRAZEN CAREERIST- Out of the gait: What your walk says about your career Published on Feb 12th, 2009 0 comments We all know that people judge each other in the first five seconds. We talk about clothes, and weight, and tone of voice. But you can also judge someone by their walk. Don't tell me this is shallow....
THE BRAZEN CAREERIST- Go Flow: And forget about setting goals Published on Feb 5th, 2009 0 comments Most of us set goals for ourselves for accomplishing difficult things. Instead, how about setting goals to work hard at something that is actually a pleasure? Here are five steps to create goals that...
THE BRAZEN CAREERIST- Working woman: Let your workplace tears flow freely Published on Jan 29th, 2009 0 comments There's a huge market for telling women how to be happier. Maybe it's because women read more than men. Or maybe it's the discrepancy that women know when they are overweight and men don't. Or the...
THE BRAZEN CAREERIST- Get ahead: Act like you own the company Published on Jan 22nd, 2009 0 comments Starting a company used to be a result of a midlife crisis or an ageless streak of recklessness. Today, entrepreneurship is a way to establish some sense of stability and self-determination in a...
THE BRAZEN CAREERIST- The email: Fives rules to get a good answer Published on Jan 15th, 2009 0 comments Most people who are on top of their game respond to most emails within 48 hours. However, some emails are so terribly written that it's actually impossible to send an answer. Other emails are so...
THE BRAZEN CAREERIST- Cover letter: the secret to everything good Published on Jan 8th, 2009 1 comments Most cover letters are addressed to people you don't know, so let's just stop referring to them as cover letters since what they really are is sales letters. You are trying to sell yourself to a...
THE BRAZEN CAREERIST- Needing People: the glossy magazine, that is Published on Dec 25th, 2008 0 comments If you don't read about celebrities, you're missing a big learning moment. Flipping through People magazine and US Weekly have relatively high payoffs. Here are some reasons I stop by the checkout...
THE BRAZEN CAREERIST- The chum parade: Networking's a lifestyle, not an event Published on Dec 18th, 2008 0 comments The location: Menlo Park, California, home of high performers where every party is a networking event. So I go to a party, and the first person I see is, unbelievably, the most important person for...
THE BRAZEN CAREERIST- Grinning crones: Young women can plan for old-age happiness Published on Dec 12th, 2008 0 comments New evidence from famed happiness researcher Richard Easterlin shows that women are happier than men in early adulthood, but at age 41, this switches, and men are happier later in life. Easterlin...
THE BRAZEN CAREERIST- Job-hopping: Why it's smart, even in recession Published on Dec 4th, 2008 0 comments Maybe the recession is here, but do you know the top worry among chief financial officers? Recruiting. That's right. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu says the next 10 years will be an employee-driven market...