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Category: Career

Put more meaning into workplace awards

Imagine you’re up for an award at work … for Best New Mistake. That might not sound too appealing, but at SurePayroll, the award is coveted. Why do they do it? To encourage employees to try new things—even if it means sometimes failing or making a mistake.

1-Minute Strategies: Sept. ’11

Set aside a few minutes each week to answer questions in the Q&A section of LinkedIn … Tack on your own comment at the top of any forwarded email messages to help the recipient understand why it’s landing in her inbox … Keep things from falling through the cracks with Boomerang for Gmail …

Do what is right

“One of the dumbest excuses for screwing up is ‘everyone else does it, it is industry standard,'” says Robert Sutton in his book Good Boss, Bad Boss. “Don’t mindlessly compare yourself to others … the people you imitate might be complete dolts,” he says.

Craft a better résumé for 2011

Lose your job, and it will take about nine months to get another one, reports The New York Times. You might just shave some time from the process by updating your résumé now. A few tips: Embrace technology; avoid overused words that make you blend in; differentiate yourself by replacing the summary.

Think twice about quitting in a huff

In the world of baseball recently, the manager of the Washington Nationals suddenly resigned. The Nationals had just beaten the Seat­tle Mariners when Jim Riggleman quit. If you’re considering quitting your job, Riggleman’s case of­­fers at least three things to consider:

Take 5 minutes a day to work smarter

Peter Bregman consults and writes about achieving your priorities by finding your focus. “I believe that most of us get smarter as we get older,” Bregman says. “But somehow, despite that, we often make the same mistakes.” Here’s a five-minute strat­­egy for getting smarter every day:

Staying in the moment

You may be thinking about stepping into a supervisory role or onto a more exciting team, but the best way to grab that shiny prize is not to focus on it during day-to-day work and conversations:

When the work isn’t reward enough

Think carefully about taking on increased responsibilities if a raise isn’t in the offing, advises Robert Hosking, executive director of OfficeTeam. Consider requesting a compensation review in six months or discussing other perks. Hosking identifies five beyond-pay incentives:

Wednesday is dine-out day

Are you eating out of the office on Wednesday? Emily Pines and Inna Kurbatsky, of the Take Back Your Lunch campaign, are pushing for workers to schedule lunch outside the office at least one day a week during summer.