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Year: 2013

Rein in office out-of-policy travel

If planning and managing travel are part of your job, you probably also deal with people who try to go rogue and plan travel outside the bounds of company policy. Travel Market Report’s Fred Geb­­hart has four tips to help avoid out-of-policy travel.

Don’t assume cruel intentions when asked to start at the bottom

Q: “I would like to transition from my current secretarial position to a job in our information technology department. I discussed this with my supervisor and today he sent me an email asking if I would like to begin by working on our computer help desk. I’m not sure what my supervisor’s real motives are for making this suggestion. Most technicians view the help desk as an undesirable position. If I’m trained for the help desk, I may be stuck there forever. Am I being too suspicious?” Concerned

Office gossip can be a good thing

Integrating into your workgroup is just as important as being good at your job. Part of that is getting in on conversations and knowing about office gossip. Certified life and career coach Dorothy Tannahill-Moran explains three things you need to know.

One is the most efficient number

Take a tip from Procter & Gamble, where leaders once announced that paper or electronic documents—even multi-million dollar proposals—could not exceed a single page. This rule will make you more focused and creative with your presentation and make it more of a grabber. You can always explain that support material is available upon request.

How to protect online passwords

The safety of your online resources and your privacy comes down to one thing: your passwords. Make sure your passwords are protected with these tips from tech writer Denise Lu.

When mirroring goes way too far

Q: “‘Megan’ has started dressing exactly like me and even went to my eye doctor to get the same glasses. She always duplicates my order at lunch and has items similar to mine on her desk. Last week, I happened to meet someone who is friends with Megan. This complete stranger knew a lot about me because Megan apparently talks about me all the time. Should I be worried?” Uneasy

Find out if a due date is just wishful thinking

The next time someone asks you “When can you have this done?” resist the understandable temptation to blurt out the earliest, and possibly unrealistic date, just to please someone and show your efficiency. Instead, ask “Is time a factor for you?” The answer will give you much more of a sense of the real schedule […]