Career Development

Big U.S. employers, worried about replacing retiring baby boomers, are wading deeper into education and growing bolder about telling educators how to run their business.

As vice president of a Los Angeles film-production company in the 1980s, Ronald Kaufman had nearly everything that he'd ever wanted in a job -- great pay, friendly co-workers and interesting work coordinating product placements in films. Unfortunately, he hated the job. "The owner of the company was a master at intimidation and would scream at everybody. An hour later, he would be a great guy. It made everybody unhappy to be there," says Mr. Kaufman, now an executive coach.

Can working hard at the office invigorate a marriage? A new study suggests that for working mothers at least, that may be the case. Working moms tend to be happier with their marriages when they are shouldering heavy workloads on the job, says a four-year study of 169 couples published recently in the Journal of Family Psychology. One reason may be that when working moms' workloads increase, their husbands tend to help out more at home, researchers suggest.

In discussing our unemployment problem today, WSJ's Real Time Economics points to an important issue: worker productivity. The piece explains that, with more productive workers supporting a growing population, the American employment rate and living standards are falling. Indeed, productivity has become a bad word in this economic downturn, but should it be? According to the WSJ: Read more: http://curiouscapitalist.blogs.time.com/2011/06/06/are-more-productive-workers-bad-for-u-s-jobs/#ixzz1OhC7VTrK

The U.S. Department of Education on Thursday will release the final version of its much-awaited "gainful employment" rule that punishes career-training programs for graduating students with heavy debt loads. The rule, one of the most controversial to come out of that office in years, is an effort to ensure the programs are preparing students for legitimate jobs. This final version is less severe than a draft released last summer, giving programs more opportunities to right themselves if they run afoul of the measure.

Mid-career derailment can happen any time, but in today's economy there is no room for complacency. With job opportunities harder than ever to find, it's a particularly rough time to be fired or demoted or to hit a career plateau. You can reduce your risk for derailment by paying attention to your value and effectiveness and by focusing on interpersonal skills, adaptability, team leadership and bottom-line results.

Forget mentors. If you want to reach top management you'll need sponsors-powerful senior players who will stake their reputation on your behalf. While mentors offer informal advice and coaching, a good sponsor opens the doors of the promotion elevator and pushes a protégé through.

"When college presidents and other higher education leaders talk about federal policy these days, the most common theme is dismay at proposed new regulations from the Department of Education. But a close second is the inadequacy of data from the Education Department's Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) for evaluating anything. "

"How far would you move for a job? Moving is complex and expensive, but sometimes job survival means workers don't have much of a choice, especially if you're unlucky enough to live in an area plagued by unemployment."

"On just about every reality TV show, from "The Bachelor" to "Jersey Shore" to "The Real Housewives" (pick a city -- any city), we hear the same thing: "I don't like drama." But disdain for drama isn't limited to our favorite reality stars. It's also apparent in the workplace. Bing: Don't get burned by office politics"

"We've written before about bosses who have gotten fed up with the demands of the juggle and have made changes to their workplaces to relieve some of the pressures. But is it possible to have a boss who takes work-life balance to such an extreme that "life" outweighs "work"?"

Information and advice for students and adults returning to school, as well as parents, counselors, faculty advisors, and education policymakers.

"In 2003, Career Development Alliance (CDA) was challenged to provide quality career services to the diverse, geographically dispersed workforce of the Transportation Security Agency (TSA)-and to do so on-demand and at a reasonable cost. We met this challenge by designing a dynamic system of telephone and Internet services provided by over 30 career counselors across the U.S., supported by a state-of-the-art website, streaming video, podcasts-tech tools. At the seven-year mark, we have provided career counseling, training, and executive and management coaching to thousands of clients and have worked within budget while garnering consistently strong feedback."

"Do you feel like your job choice out of college is the most important decision you will ever make, and that blowing it will tank your career? Relax and get used to it. It is just the first of many job choices you will be making throughout your career."

"The last three men nominated to the Supreme Court have all been married and, among them, have seven children. The last three women - Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Harriet Miers (who withdrew) - have all been single and without children. "

Focused jobseeking: A measured approach to looking for work.

"The biggest changes in family life sometimes happen gradually. New employment data suggest one such seismic change is upon us: Job-holding patterns between the generations have turned upside down."

"Recently, I said goodbye to a beloved coworker and former boss who left to pursue new career interests. She was here for less than three years-I've been here for 10-but during her short tenure, she made a very big impression on me. Her management and editing style was stronger and more inspiring than that of anyone I had reported to previously, and under her guidance, I saw my career ascend to a much greater level."

"Death on the job was a routine hazard for American workers a century ago. About 100 workers, on average, died every day as mines collapsed, ships sank, trains crashed and factories burned. Nearly all of them are long forgotten."

"Are slackers more adept at handling work-life stress than type-A go-getters? A new study finds that may be the case. Those who cope with work-family conflict by becoming busier and looking for more resources to solve problems - type-A multitaskers - actually experience more stress and strain, says the study in the Journal of Applied Psychology. The researchers studied 193 people who were all combining work and college studies with family duties."