Job briefs
Rip and read
Keeping up with advancements in your field is key to succeeding in your career. If you find you rarely have the time to sit and read magazine and newspaper articles, follow business speaker Joanne Sujansky's approach.
"I skim incoming business magazines and tear out articles I want to read, toss them in a folder marked 'articles' and put them in my briefcase," she says.
"I can read them when I'm on a plane, trolley, in the doctor's office waiting or wherever an unexpected break comes.
--Tribune Media Services
Keep it down
To help conceal your job search from your current employers, check out the following tips: Use a separate email account when discussing job search-related items. Plus, employers would rather receive correspondence from personal accounts than from competitor addresses.
If you have an interview, suit bottoms -- pants, skirts -- are always passable for business casual. If you can't return home before your interview to change, bring a shoulder bag/duffle with a jacket in it, and change while traveling to/from the interview.
Finally, the breakfast interview is an ideal forum. Meetings scheduled at 8 a.m. are often over in time to arrive at work by 9 a.m.
--Tribune Media Services
Secret agent
Is there any way to use your current boss as a reference, even though you're not crazy about her knowing that you're looking for a new job? According to Diane Burns, a career management coach based in Baltimore, says probably not. In fact, if you're looking for some recommendation from your supervisor, it's best to wait until you are almost certain the new job is yours.
"If a career search is confidential, the career seeker needs to inform the interviewer not to contact a current employer without permission and a serious offer on the table," Burns says.
--Tribune Media Services
