20 Business Books They Expect You Have Read

crib notes for the current canon Instructor, Caroline Bender Business reading (or reading in whichever trade you practice) can be quite rewarding.  It helps articulate and codify your own workplace experiences, provides insight into the experiences of others, explains the development of a particular business practice, and earns points with management.  The Finishing School understands that keeping up with the business canon is very low on your list -- not because of its priority, but because it can be time-consuming, and requires both hands. As our faculty tend to sigh, when we ask for their weekly book reviews, "I wish I had time...

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Pell Grants for Unemployed Americans

Unemployment can feel like a maze with no exit as you try to choose which direction you should follow in your job search -- commiting to one path at the expense of others. Stay in your current field?  But isn't this the chance you have been waiting for - to start again? Get new skills and training?  With what money?  And if you sit out the job hunt in a classroom, aren't you spending more than you are earning?  And missing out on benefits? There are trade-offs, to be sure, but not the Catch-22 you are imagining -- especially now that the Federal Pell Grant program has opened up to unemployed workers.  Grant awards will not buy you an advanced degree, but they may make the difference in whether you up your game with new skills or pursue a new course of employment...

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Moving Your Family Cross-Country

The Eastward Expansion Instructor, Molly Beck Ferguson, singer/actress Who says you can never go home again? After 11 years of living in Los Angeles, my husband (who is also a native New Englander) and I decided to pack it up and head back home to Massachusetts. I can’t tell you how many locals have looked at us like we are crazy and said, “Move here! Why? To this weather?” (Or more accurately, “Ta this weatha?”) Aside from the fact that California is broke, hot, and LA was on fire all summer, we also have a 2 & 1/2 year old daughter.  We were afraid that she might grow up to be like Lindsay Lohan if we raised her there. We...

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The On-site Interview: Insider Tricks

Instructor, Caroline Bender Congratulations on achieving the on-site interview!   There are many resources that will outline the basics of interviewing for you: extra copies of your resume, thank you notes, etc.  The Finishing School digs a little deeper.  This is the Poise section of your war on talent.  Little things can help make you memorable (or prevent you from it), and give you some extra information about the organization that the interview itself may not reveal. Put these in your databank: 1.    Practice the drive if you don't know exactly where you are going Do not rely on GPS,...

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Weekly roundup 11-20-2009

Additional reading for extra credit: Professor/Grad Relationships: Maximizing the Mentoring Potential Grad Resources is a non-profit organization based in Dallas, Texas that serves the practical and emotional needs of graduate students on several university campuses across the United States.  Call National Grad Crisis-Line (800-GRAD-HLP) Sloan Work and Family Research Network The Alfred P. Sloan Work and Family Research Network is the premier online destination for information about work and family. The Network serves a global community interested in work and family research by providing resources and building knowledge.   Excellent primary source for individuals, employers, researchers, and policy-makers. Extra(hour)dinary Parenting Blogger Amanda Morrow Jensen (”ACMJ”)...

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Should I Get Another Degree?

BWFS sits down with business professional and student "Diane Chambers," a friend of the Finishing School, who is pursing an MBA -- 15 years after receiving her PhD. CB: Congratulations on your admission to the Simmons School of Management. DC: Why, thank you. It's #1 in opportunities for women, per Princeton Review, by the way. CB: I was so glad to hear how much you are enjoying it. DC: Indeed, it is such a pleasure. CB: I was surprised at first that you would seek another degree, after having achieved the PhD. What do you hope the MBA experience will provide that the PhD hasn't? DC: Well, the Ph.D. has gotten me to where I am now -...

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Your Career Center Orientation

Instructor, Caroline Bender One step in your employment transition will be registering at your local job center, and like much of our exploration of the contemporary Unemployment Experience, yours will vary by location.  We will be giving you a tour of a typical center in the 2nd largest city in New England.  To find out more about the centers in your state or region, consult your state unemployment office or enter "career center unemploment (name of your state)" in your favorite search engine.  Your weekly insurance check or extension application may be dependent on your registration.  End of disclaimers. Our sample career...

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Traveling with kids: Tips for flying with toddlers

The holidays are approaching and that means travel plans are under way. Last year the Minchin family took a 5 hour flight to visit family for Thansgiving, traveling with a two year old (and one on the way) so you better believe I was looking for tips for keeping the stress to a minimum. Here are the top tips for traveling with little ones: 1. Travel light Toddlers and babies have a high gear-to-body-size ratio, so you have to carry a lot of junk when you go anywhere. Juggling your carry-on, diaper gear, stroller, toys, sippy cups, snacks, tickets, ID, shoes (through security), your luggage, your kids, and the car seats can be way too much to...

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Ask a Manager: Getting Noticed by Management

Guest Lecturer, Dick Whitman, Manager in Residence Dear Manager, What are the best and worst things employees can do to get noticed by their manager or upper management? The worst way to get noticed is to show that you are trying really hard to get noticed. We manager-types don’t like that. It’s the same way the monkeys at the zoo feel when you tap on the glass. It annoys us. So lay off the red exclamation points on your emails, ok? The thing to realize is that a manager needs to balance the needs of the entire team along with the objectives of the job and his own ability to make things happen for you. It can never be all about one person....

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Weekly roundup 11-13-2009

Are you "Professional"? This week on Career Rocketeer, one of the fastest growing career search, career development and personal branding blogs on the web today.  Founded by Chris Perry.  Additional services still under construction - check back often. How do you lead when the news is all bad? More resources for leaders in turbulent times.  As our resident manager explained this week, staying "on message" can be difficult when the message is hard to swallow.  Forbes contributor Susan Adams reinforces that honesty is still good policy. Resume Red Flags Work Coach Ronnie Ann Himmel responds to concerns about resume "red flags." Work Coach Cafe specializes in the interview phase of your worklife, and includes several tip lists on interviewing, resume writing, and networks. ...

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Avoiding layoffs: Making yourself indispensible

Everyone is expendable, and in many cases there is nothing you can do about a layoff when your company is forced to reduce headcount. There are steps you can take however to make yourself harder to live without should the time come to make the hard choice of who to let go. 1. Do work no one else wants to do In every workplace there are jobs that no one wants to do. If you take those tasks and execute them with gusto you can quickly make yourself an indispensible part of the team. This works best when it is a mission-critical task that you actually enjoy and can excel at. Even if you don't enjoy it, if you do it well no one will want to lose you because then they'd have to find someone else to fill that role (or do it themselves). But don't go around offering to scrub toilets or complain...

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A Secretary's Story

Misses Minchin and Bender share the distinction of having begun their career at the same entrée step, though it had changed its name to Administrative Assistant by the time Minchin had taken her chair. The fact that we share this experience is not so astounding. Many women – perhaps most – get their start in this role. What we find more interesting is how differently we experienced it, and how it shaped us for future roles. Neither is right or wrong, neither is better or worse. But one of us was happy in that slot, and one of us was not.  And both of those stories are true. We thought we would reach out to the secretaries, admins, PAs,...

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Ask a Manager: Staying on Message

Guest Lecturer, Dick Whitman, Manager in Residence Dear Manager, How do you handle having to stay "on message" when you don't agree with upper management? This is often a challenge to me, particularly because my personal style is so rooted in building trust and loyalty with the team. Still, I need to maintain the balance of effective leadership along these lines while staying loyal to my own leaders. It would be hypocritical of me to expect a kind of loyalty from my employees that I am unwilling to give to the people to whom I report. I would like to tell you that I always agree with what my leaders tell me. But then, I would be insulting...

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