Skip to content

Year: 2009

1-Minute Strategies: Dec. ’09

Skip straight to someone’s voice mail by using Slydial, a service that lets you leave a message for someone you know you can’t reach in person … Take your job search to Twitter. Some companies are using Twitter to fill positions that tend to attract tons of applicants on job boards, such as administrative roles, one HR vice president tells The Wall Street Journal Put a meandering meeting back on track by addressing those who veer off-topic.

Holiday parties on a shoestring budget

Lavish office parties are as distant a memory as mimeograph machines for most workers. This year, as companies cinch their belts a little tighter than usual, how are you handling the holiday office party? Administrative professionals weighed in with their suggestions on our Admin Pro Forum:

Smart ways to become indispensable

Just doing your job isn’t enough these days. “With the reality of a tight employment market, adding value beyond your job description is a must for everybody,” says Keith Ferrazzi, author of Never Eat Alone. He recently offered a few tips on his blog for being indispensable in your workplace:

In a recession, what’s a perfect job?

Do economic events have you redefining your idea of the “perfect” job? Not so fast. A new Randstad Work Watch survey reveals that 83% of U.S. adults would not change their personal definition of the perfect job once the economy improves. And what are the most important attributes listed by Americans?

Triumph in failure

Think like an inventor by looking for opportunity in failure. British inventor James Dyson says that in trying to develop a fine blade of high-speed air for another product, his team accidentally came up with new hand-dryer technology.  “We saw, in that moment of failure, an idea that had huge advantages in another field,” he says.

Struggling with ‘ghost work’? 3 tips

Halloween may be over, but “ghost work”—the work left behind after colleagues are laid off—still haunts the employees who remain. According to a recent survey by the International Association of Administrative Professionals, admins are hit particularly hard by the spectre. Here are three tips to help you gain control of "ghost work":