Layoffs: A necessary evil in the world of business Unwanted necessity. A last resort. A necessary evil in the world of business. These are some of the labels that justify the choice to layoff dozens if not hundreds, or even, thousands of employees. These phrases do not do the justice of adequately expressing the amount of incompetence that goes into mismanaging a business. As blunt and ugly – and even polarizing – as this truth may be, it is up to leadership at all levels to

Whether we’ve landed a promotion at our current company or are starting a new job at a new company or relocated to a new job there is always an element of anxiety about how successful we’ll end up being. I help companies coach their employees during a time called onboarding. It’s a fancy, HR term for the process during which a new employee develops the behaviors and gathers the skills to become an insider. I help new recruits focus on the first three, critical months by setti

If there is anything the action sports industry is known for, it’s the culture. It’s a culture that builds a lifestyle around breaking boundaries and taking the unconventional route to the top. While all companies employ basic business principles, it’s a company’s culture that sets it apart and brings its brand spirit to life. Which, for Malakye, leads me to examine why employees make their career decisions based on company culture and how company culture affects the bottom l

Management Tip: How To Slow Down Your Thinking To Create New Opportunities When coaching executives there is a common theme that I observe about most of them: they’re fast. They’re fast thinkers, fast movers, and they’re fast at producing results; That’s the world of business, isn’t it? The issue I notice is that this special type of person can be frustrated when others can’t keep up with their train of thought; there’s a lot of interrupting that goes on. I understand how thi

How To Overcome Creative Plateaus “I’ve come this far and now people are depending me to lead and point them into the future. I’m not really sure where we’re going.” This is a common issue I face with business leaders, especially the creative innovators, who are responsible for directing and driving their companies into the right direction – the question, inevitably, is which direction? When a leader has done good for so long and is then faced with vicissitude or challenge, i

See Part 1 of this post. Grammar and Spelling Errors Galore Of course, this one is a standard in How To Write Resumes literature, but it’s an often ignored and underestimated aspect of writing a successful resume. In this student’s resume, it was riddled with grammar and spelling errors; too many in that it was unforgivable. Sure, this resume was in the student’s second language, but he is an MBA and should know better than to pass off shoddy work. The problem with poor gramm

Oh Lord. Seriously Lord, help me. This month, I saw one of the worst resumes in the past six years of professionally writing and consulting on resumes. I’d seen some bad ones over the years but we always managed to turn them around, but a student’s resume just took the cake for me and his attitude about it made it even worse. It was so shockingly bad, I couldn’t resist showing it to other professionals for their opinions. Here’s why: Bad Design When I saw this resume with gia

I am in the process of looking for an employee to help my family. I posted the advert on an employment website that links seekers with job providers. I posted a very clear and straightforward job posting with my desired personality traits, educational background, and job details. I made it extremely easy for applicants to read and respond to knowing how some job listings are vague and easy to misunderstand. After the job listing was approved, the applicants came pouring in. T

How To Tell If You’re In A Toxic Work Environment Angela is normally a happy go lucky and warm person to be around. She has lots of friends and feels generally content with her life and career. Then, changes started happening at her work involving structure, operations, and personnel. At first, Angela thought she could swim through the changing tides at work, but eventually felt the pressure to go along with changes that she did not believe in and the stress of putting with t

Have you noticed after a friend or colleague asks for help and you agree or have followed through with your part, they fall off the face of the map? Time goes on and still no follow-up. You or someone you have done this to is left hanging waiting to hear from you. As a consequence, relationships and trust fall apart. What Is Follow Up? Following up is a communication and leadership skill that often goes neglected and under exercised.  Follow up is done by simply returning cal

Written by: Franck Juvin-Acker Edited By: L.J. Acker This is part 2 of 10 tips that every successful entry level professional and intern can use at the start of their career. Read Part 1 here. These tips comes from my husband, Mr J, who has managed several interns in the past decade, even starting as an intern himself for a multinational corporation. He’s seen some good interns and those with potential who end up learning bad habits and get their career started on the wrong f

These 10 tips comes from my husband, Mr J, who has managed several interns in the past decade, even starting as an intern himself for a multinational corporation. He’s seen some good interns and those with potential who end up learning bad habits and get their career started on the wrong foot.  If you are an entry level professional or intern, don’t be like the latter and use these tips to start your career with success. 1. Be Professional If you’re an intern, chances are you

Does the idea of networking for a new job or business opportunity seem intimidating to you? This list of must-know professional networking tips will help you prepare and master the art of relationships. As a career coach, one of the primary skills I get my clients to build is their networking skills. Networking skills aren’t just about getting what you want, but they’re about connecting, helping, and building reliable relationships. Positive relationships are what open up opp

Does the idea of networking for a new job or business opportunity seem intimidating to you? This list of must-know professional networking tips will help you prepare and master the art of relationships As a career coach, one of the primary skills I get my clients to build is their networking skills. Networking skills aren’t just about getting what you want, but they’re about connecting, helping, and building reliable relationships. Positive relationships are what open up oppo

PART 3: THESE MONEY TIPS IN THIS THREE PART SERIES ARE DESIGNED TO HELP YOU CHANGE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH MONEY; THE WAY YOU SEE IT AND HOW YOU LIVE WITH IT. 8. Rich people are horrible people. When we say that rich people are horrible people, we’re associating wealth with negative beliefs. These negative perceptions perpetuate negative feelings about money and we trick ourselves into thinking that if we’re rich, then we must have done horrible things to get rich. Just as the

Part 2: These money tips in this three part series are designed to help you change your relationship with money; the way you see it and how you live with it. 4. I never have enough money. This is one of the most dangerous expressions one can say about money. Not only do we say we don’t have enough, we feel it, and we believe it. What a way to perpetuate this unwanted reality. When we feel we don’t have enough, we act as such. We correlate feelings of anxiety and regret to a f

If there is one relationship most of us have frequent trouble with, it’s with money. People seem to have a love-hate relationship with money; love it when you’ve got it, hate it when you don’t. These money tips in this three part series are designed to help you change your relationship with money; the way you see it and how you live with it. 1. My financial situation is beyond my control: While our financial life is totally our responsibility, financial situations can change

Thinking About Finding A New Job? Expert Career Coach Leslie Juvin-Acker Tells How To Stop Surviving And Start Strategizing A few weeks ago, I got an email from a friend who told me that he didn’t like his current job, but because of the shiny brand name of the company by which he was employed, he said he’d hang on for a few months longer until the time frame looked good on his resume. Does this sound familiar? I’m sure you’ve said this to yourself at one point or another, “I

Too Often Women Take The Backseat In Their Family’s Finances, You Don’t Have To Today, women have the same earning potential as men and in many professions, and in others, even more. For some odd reason, women still allow themselves to take the backseat in their family’s finances and that not only puts an incredible amount of unnecessary pressure on men as providers and family heads, but puts women in a dangerous place in the event that things go sour in the market place or i

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED HOW OTHERS DEVELOP AND SUSTAIN THRIVING CAREERS? DO YOU FEEL IT’S TIME FOR YOU TO DO THE SAME? MY TWO PART ADVICE COLUMN WILL HELP YOU DEVELOP WHAT IT TAKES TO BEGIN AND CREATE A WORTHY AND SUCCESSFUL CAREER. 4. Stick With It Some people get stuck or become unhappy with their jobs and careers because they are not evolving as fast as they should. Some quit when the going gets tough because they believe they don’t have to take crap from anybody. Challenge