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Why You Need To Go Ahead And Ditch The Mantra 'Do What You Love'

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graduate“Do what you love. Love what you do.”

The command is framed and perched in a living room that can only be described as “well-curated.” A picture of this room appeared first on a popular design blog and has been pinned, tumbl’d, and liked thousands of times. Though it introduces exhortations to labor into a space of leisure, the “do what you love” living room is the place all those pinners and likers long to be.

There’s little doubt that “do what you love” (DWYL) is now the unofficial work mantra for our time. The problem with DWYL, however, is that it leads not to salvation but to the devaluation of actual work—and more importantly, the dehumanization of the vast majority of laborers.

Superficially, DWYL is an uplifting piece of advice, urging us to ponder what it is we most enjoy doing and then turn that activity into a wage-generating enterprise. But why should our pleasure be for profit? And who is the audience for this dictum?

DWYL is a secret handshake of the privileged and a worldview that disguises its elitism as noble self-betterment. According to this way of thinking, labor is not something one does for compensation but is an act of love. If profit doesn’t happen to follow, presumably it is because the worker’s passion and determination were insufficient. Its real achievement is making workers believe their labor serves the self and not the marketplace.

Aphorisms usually have numerous origins and reincarnations, but the nature of DWYL confounds precise attribution. Oxford Reference links the phrase and variants of it to Martina Navratilova and François Rabelais, among others. The Internet frequently attributes it to Confucius, locating it in a misty, orientalized past. Oprah Winfrey and other peddlers of positivity have included the notion in their repertoires for decades. Even the world of finance has gotten in on DWYL: “If you love what you do, it’s not ‘work,’” as the co-CEO of the private equity firm Carlyle Group put it to CNBC this week.

The most important recent evangelist of DWYL, however, was the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs. In his graduation speech to the Stanford University Class of 2005, Jobs recounted the creation of Apple and inserted this reflection:

You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.

In these four sentences, the words “you” and “your” appear eight times. This focus on the individual isn’t surprising coming from Jobs, who cultivated a very specific image of himself as a worker: inspired, casual, passionate—all states agreeable with ideal romantic love. Jobs conflated his besotted worker-self with his company so effectively that his black turtleneck and jeans became metonyms for all of Apple and the labor that maintains it.

But by portraying Apple as a labor of his individual love, Jobs elided the labor of untold thousands in Apple’s factories, hidden from sight on the other side of the planet—the very labor that allowed Jobs to actualize his love.

This erasure needs to be exposed. While DWYL seems harmless and precious, it is self-focused to the point of narcissism. Jobs’ formulation of DWYL is the depressing antithesis to Henry David Thoreau’s utopian vision of labor for all. In “Life Without Principle,” Thoreau wrote:

… it would be good economy for a town to pay its laborers so well that they would not feel that they were working for low ends, as for a livelihood merely, but for scientific, even moral ends. Do not hire a man who does your work for money, but him who does it for the love of it. 

Admittedly, Thoreau had little feel for the proletariat. (It’s hard to imagine someone washing diapers for “scientific, even moral ends,” no matter how well paid.) But he nonetheless maintains that society has a stake in making work well compensated and meaningful. By contrast, the 21st-century Jobsian view asks us to turn inward. It absolves us of any obligation to, or acknowledgment of, the wider world.

One consequence of this isolation is the division that DWYL creates among workers, largely along class lines. Work becomes divided into two opposing classes: that which is lovable (creative, intellectual, socially prestigious) and that which is not (repetitive, unintellectual, undistinguished). Those in the lovable-work camp are vastly more privileged in terms of wealth, social status, education, society’s racial biases, and political clout, while comprising a small minority of the workforce.

For those forced into unlovable work, it’s a different story. Under the DWYL credo, labor that is done out of motives or needs other than love—which is, in fact, most labor—is erased. As in Jobs’ Stanford speech, unlovable but socially necessary work is banished from our consciousness.

Think of the great variety of work that allowed Jobs to spend even one day as CEO. His food harvested from fields, then transported across great distances. His company’s goods assembled, packaged, shipped. Apple advertisements scripted, cast, filmed. Lawsuits processed. Office wastebaskets emptied and ink cartridges filled. Job creation goes both ways. Yet with the vast majority of workers effectively invisible to elites busy in their lovable occupations, how can it be surprising that the heavy strains faced by today’s workers—abysmal wages, massive child care costs, etc.—barely register as political issues even among the liberal faction of the ruling class?

In ignoring most work and reclassifying the rest as love, DWYL may be the most elegant anti-worker ideology around. Why should workers assemble and assert their class interests if there’s no such thing as work?

“Do what you love” disguises the fact that being able to choose a career primarily for personal reward is a privilege, a sign of socioeconomic class. Even if a self-employed graphic designer had parents who could pay for art school and co-sign a lease for a slick Brooklyn apartment, she can bestow DWYL as career advice upon those covetous of her success.

If we believe that working as a Silicon Valley entrepreneur or a museum publicist or a think-tank acolyte is essential to being true to ourselves, what do we believe about the inner lives and hopes of those who clean hotel rooms and stock shelves at big-box stores? The answer is: nothing.

Yet arduous, low-wage work is what ever more Americans do and will be doing. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the two fastest-growing occupations projected until 2020 are “personal care aide” and “home care aide,” with average salaries in 2010 of $19,640 per year and $20,560 per year, respectively. Elevating certain types of professions to something worthy of love necessarily denigrates the labor of those who do unglamorous work that keeps society functioning, especially the crucial work of caregivers.

If DWYL denigrates or makes dangerously invisible vast swaths of labor that allow many of us to live in comfort and to do what we love, it has also caused great damage to the professions it portends to celebrate. Nowhere has the DWYL mantra been more devastating to its adherents than in academia. The average Ph.D. student of the mid-2000s forwent the easy money of finance and law (now slightly less easy) to live on a meager stipend in order to pursue his passion for Norse mythology or the history of Afro-Cuban music.

The reward for answering this higher calling is an academic employment marketplace in which about 41 percent of American faculty are adjunct professors—contract instructors who usually receive low pay, no benefits, no office, no job security, and no long-term stake in the schools where they work.

There are many factors that keep Ph.D.s providing such high-skilled labor for such low wages, including path dependency and the sunk costs of earning a Ph.D., but one of the strongest is how pervasively the DWYL doctrine is embedded in academia. Few other professions fuse the personal identity of their workers so intimately with the work output. Because academic research should be done out of pure love, the actual conditions of and compensation for this labor become afterthoughts, if they are considered at all.

In “Academic Labor, the Aesthetics of Management, and the Promise of Autonomous Work,” Sarah Brouillette writes of academic faculty, “[O]ur faith that our work offers non-material rewards, and is more integral to our identity than a ‘regular’ job would be, makes us ideal employees when the goal of management is to extract our labor’s maximum value at minimum cost.”

Many academics like to think they have avoided a corporate work environment and its attendant values, but Marc Bousquet notes in his essay “We Work” that academia may actually provide a model for corporate management:

How to emulate the academic workplace and get people to work at a high level of intellectual and emotional intensity for fifty or sixty hours a week for bartenders’ wages or less? Is there any way we can get our employees to swoon over their desks, murmuring “I love what I do” in response to greater workloads and smaller paychecks? How can we get our workers to be like faculty and deny that they work at all? How can we adjust our corporate culture to resemble campus culture, so that our workforce will fall in love with their work too?

No one is arguing that enjoyable work should be less so. But emotionally satisfying work is still work, and acknowledging it as such doesn’t undermine it in any way. Refusing to acknowledge it, on the other hand, opens the door to exploitation and harms all workers.

Ironically, DWYL reinforces exploitation even within the so-called lovable professions, where off-the-clock, underpaid, or unpaid labor is the new norm: reporters required to do the work of their laid-off photographers, publicists expected to pin and tweet on weekends, the 46 percent of the workforce expected to check their work email on sick days. Nothing makes exploitation go down easier than convincing workers that they are doing what they love.

Instead of crafting a nation of self-fulfilled, happy workers, our DWYL era has seen the rise of the adjunct professor and the unpaid intern: people persuaded to work for cheap or free, or even for a net loss of wealth. This has certainly been the case for all those interns working for college credit or those who actually purchase ultra-desirable fashion-house internships at auction. (Valentino and Balenciaga are among a handful of houses that auctioned off monthlong internships. For charity, of course.) As an ongoing ProPublicainvestigation reveals, the unpaid intern is an ever-larger presence in the American workforce.

It should be no surprise that unpaid interns abound in fields that are highly socially desirable, including fashion, media, and the arts. These industries have long been accustomed to masses of employees willing to work for social currency instead of actual wages, all in the name of love. Excluded from these opportunities, of course, is the overwhelming majority of the population: those who need to work for wages. This exclusion not only calcifies economic and professional immobility, but it also insulates these industries from the full diversity of voices society has to offer.

And it’s no coincidence that the industries that rely heavily on interns—fashion, media, and the arts—just happen to be the feminized ones, as Madeleine Schwartz wrote in Dissent. Yet another damaging consequence of DWYL is how ruthlessly it works to extract female labor for little or no compensation. Women comprise the majority of the low-wage or unpaid workforce; as care workers, adjunct faculty, and unpaid interns, they outnumber men. What unites all of this work, whether performed by GEDs or Ph.D.s, is the belief that wages shouldn’t be the primary motivation for doing it. Women are supposed to do work because they are natural nurturers and are eager to please; after all, they’ve been doing uncompensated child care, elder care, and housework since time immemorial. And talking money is unladylike anyway.

Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life! Before succumbing to the intoxicating warmth of that promise, it’s critical to ask, “Who, exactly, benefits from making work feel like nonwork?” “Why should workers feel as if they aren’t working when they are?” In masking the very exploitative mechanisms of labor that it fuels, DWYL is, in fact, the most perfect ideological tool of capitalism. If we acknowledged all of our work as work, we could set appropriate limits for it, demanding fair compensation and humane schedules that allow for family and leisure time.

And if we did that, more of us could get around to doing what it is we really love.

This piece is adapted from an essay that originally appeared in Jacobin magazine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The 20 Best Jobs Of The Future

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Software Engineer

Want a job that pays well and will have plenty of openings in the next decade? Consider one of these occupations.

Business Insider compiled a ranking of the best jobs of the future based on how well they pay and how much they are projected to grow in the coming years.

We took the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' projections for the number of new jobs created between 2012 and 2022 and the 2012 median annual wage for each occupation and ranked them based on a combination (the geometric mean) of the two figures.

To focus this list on higher-quality jobs, we ranked only occupations with median wages higher than the 2012 median wage for all workers, which is $34,750. We used the total number of new jobs projected by 2022 rather than the percent rate of growth for the occupations, since some specialized occupations are expected to see steep growth but will provide a relatively tiny amount of job openings.

20. Construction Managers

78,200 predicted job openings by 2022

$82,790 median annual wage in 2012

What they do: Organize, plan, and supervise construction projects.

Typical Educational Requirements: Bachelor's degree

Why they're thriving: Managers of all kinds tend to have higher wages than those they supervise, and the BLS notes that managers make the highest median salary of any of the large occupational groups it studies. The construction sector was hit especially hard in the Great Recession. However, the BLS projects that over the next decade, construction employment will finally begin to return to pre-recession levels, allowing for impressive growth in the coming years.



19. Medical and Health Services Managers

73,300 predicted job openings by 2022

$88,580 median annual wage in 2012

What They DoPlan, direct, or coordinate medical and health services in hospitals, clinics, managed care organizations, public health agencies, or similar organizations.

Typical Educational Requirements: Bachelor's degree

Why They're Thriving: As with construction managers, managerial positions tend to do well financially. The BLS projects that, as Baby Boomers get older, and as Obamacare's reforms dramatically change the health insurance market, employment in the health-care sector is primed to take off in the near future.



18. Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing

132,000 predicted job openings by 2022

$54,230 median annual wage in 2012

What They DoSell goods for wholesalers or manufacturers to businesses or groups of individuals.

Typical Educational Requirements: Bachelor's degree

Why They're Thriving: Salespeople are needed in almost every industry. Any company that makes or sells something will need sales representatives, meaning this already large occupation will continue to grow.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

How To Be An Independent Thinker

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tony hsieh crazy hat

To come up with truly creative products and unique ideas, great business leaders need to be independent thinkers. Our brains are wired to recycle ideas we’ve already heard from others, but you can learn to think independently, or to come up with novel ideas, with a few easy psychological tips and tools.

Let's start with an exercise: Take a blank piece of paper and draw an animal from an alien planet.

If you're like most people, then what you’ve drawn looks wacky, but vaguely familiar. It's probably somewhat symmetric, and it likely has some combination of arms, legs, ears, eyes, or noses. In other words, it looks like a distorted version of animals on Earth.

"Everything you think is influenced by years of experience and cultural upbringing," says Art Markman, a cognitive psychologist at University of Texas at Austin and author of Smart Thinking (Perigee Trade, 2012). "Your natural tendency is to pull a known solution from your memory."

Independent thinking requires you to break that mold. Try these three strategies to prompt your brain to think more independently:

1. Place a lot of constraints on the problem. 

Paradoxically, open-ended problems are the enemy of independent thinking. "If you don't have constraints, the first things you'll come up with are the most accessible memories," Markman says. "They'll be really similar to what others have done before."

Instead, give yourself limitations. Rule out elements of the solution that seem expected or natural. For example, can you make a bank that has no tellers? Can you write a book that has no beginning? The constraints should force you to consider an unfamiliar scenario, and you should try many of them as you work toward a viable solution.

2. Combine ideas that seem ill-matched. 

When you're trying to solve a problem, your memory will retrieve solutions or concepts that seem like logical matches, often because others have used that match already. To think differently, consider ideas that don't seem compatible at all.

For example, what if you made a dating website that worked like Wikipedia? Or what if you found a way to open a can using only airplane parts? "Try to jam things together that feel like misfits at first, and see how far that takes you," Markman says. Many of your ideas will fail, but any that succeed are likely to be unique.

3. Take the bird's eye view. 

When you're trying to solve a problem, zoom out to see variables that others might overlook. "Thinking about the bigger picture takes you out of the familiar way of thinking about the problem," Markman says. Ask yourself, what is the purpose of solving this problem? What would happen if I succeed? And how can I find a solution that makes that outcome work?

For example, Thomas Edison saw that houses would need to be wired for electricity if people were going to buy lightbulbs. To send power over long distances, you need a high voltage bulb. Edison was the only inventor who realized this, so he was the one who made history.

SEE ALSO: The 25 Most Creative Companies In The World

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This Is The Only Interview Question That Matters

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job interview resume career talking

Last week, LinkedIn announced to the world that I've been in the recruiting industry for 36 years. During that time, I've written a number of books about talent challenges and opportunities, but one thing continues to surprise me: More than 90% of hiring managers think they're good interviewers, yet rarely do they reach unanimous hiring decisions with other 90 percenters in the same room evaluating the same candidate.

This realization led me on a quest to find the one interview question that would yield universal agreement from hiring managers. It took 10 years of trial and error, but I eventually found it. Here it is:

What single project or task would you consider your most significant accomplishment in your career to date?

To see why this simple question is so powerful, imagine you're the candidate, and I've just asked you this question. What accomplishment would you select?

Then imagine that over the course of the next 15 to 20 minutes I asked you the following follow-up questions. How would you respond?

  • Can you give me a detailed overview of the accomplishment?

  • Tell me about the company, your title, your position, your role, and the team involved.

  • What were the actual results achieved?

  • When did it take place and how long did the project take?

  • Why were you chosen?

  • What were the three to four biggest challenges you faced, and how did you deal with them?

  • Where did you go the extra mile or take the initiative?

  • Walk me through the plan, how you managed it, and its measured success.

  • Describe the environment and resources.

  • Explain your manager's style and whether you liked it.

  • What were the technical skills needed to accomplish the objective and how were they used?

  • What were some of the biggest mistakes you made?

  • What aspects of the project did you truly enjoy?

  • What aspects did you not especially care about and how did you handle them?

  • Give examples of how you managed and influenced others.

  • How did you change and grow as a person?

  • What you would do differently if you could do it again?

  • What type of formal recognition did your receive?

With an accomplishment big enough, and answers detailed enough to fill 20 minutes, this one line of questioning can tell an interviewer everything he or she needs to know about a candidate. The insight gained is remarkable.

But the real secret ingredient is not the question; that's just a setup. The most important elements are the details underlying the accomplishment. This is what real interviewing is about — delving into the details.

Don't spend time asking clever interview questions; instead, spend time learning to get the answer to just this one question. Then ask it again and begin to connect the dots. After you hire a few people this way, you'll also call it the most important interview question of all time.

SEE ALSO: The 25 Most Bizarre Interview Questions

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The 10 Best Jobs For Veterans

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vet civilian job

A new list from the CareerCast Veterans Network highlights the 10 best jobs in the U.S. for military veterans.

Veterans return home with diverse skill sets that can easily be applied to the civilian workforce, whether that be in a managerial position at a corporation, an engineering role with a telecommunications company, or a role in a growing industry like trucking.

Still, it can be difficult for even highly qualified vets to find a career that fits. The unemployment rate for veterans who served during the second Gulf War era is 7.3%, which is above the national average of 6.7%.

The good news is that the unemployment rate for all veterans was 5.5% in January, an improvement from last year's 7% average unemployment rate for the veteran population, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Coalitions like HireAHero.org serve as resources for veterans to find jobs, and recent legislation will allow disabled vets more access to contracting positions.

CareerCast compiled its list of best jobs for veterans by looking at growing sectors that are also actively seeking those who served in the Armed Forces. It also looked at median pay, positions that don’t require a lot of additional training, and roles that match the skill sets veterans have acquired during their years of service.

If you're a vet looking for a job, CareerCast offers some positions to consider:

Administrative Services Manager
Median salary: $81,080
Why it's great for vets: The team-building and oversight skills required for the job should make for an easy transition. 
 
Construction Program Manager
Median salary: $82,790
Why it's great for vets: The construction industry has been recruiting from sources such as the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, and the Final Rules that go into effect on March 24 will provide disabled veterans more opportunities with federal contractors. 
 
Emergency Medical Technician 
Median salary: $31,020
Why it's great for vets: Many active duty servicemen and women gain experience as emergency medical technicians, and more than half of the 50 states offer Military Skills Waiver tests for certification. 
 
Heavy & Tractor-Trailer Truck Driver 
Median salary: $38,200
Why it's great for vets: The BLS estimates that the trucking industry will expand by more than 300,000 jobs from 2010 to 2020, and legislation passed by Congress in late 2012 eases restrictions on licensing for veterans who have frequently moved from state to state.
 
Industrial Engineering Technician 
Median salary: $50,890
Why it's great for vets: The nation's top energy companies have expressed great interest in hiring returning veterans, due to their efficiency, exposure to heavy equipment, and for some, training as engineers. 
 
Industrial Production Manager
Median salary: $89,910
Why it's great for vets: Some of the top American manufacturing companies created the Get Skills to Work coalition in late 2012 as a way to recruit veterans for jobs in industrial production.
 
Paralegal and Legal Assistants 
Median salary: $46,990
Why it's great for vets: Rob Barr of HireAHero.org recommends this career path for veterans due to their ability to learn on the job and continuing growth in the field.
 
Software Engineer
Median salary: $85,430
Why it's great for vets: Servicemen and women who worked in information technology acquired skills that can easily be transferred to the corporate environment. 
 
Telecommunications Equipment Installer and Repairer
Median salary: $54,530
Why it's great for vets: Military technicians who have worked with their branch's highly sophisticated telecommunications equipment rank among the most qualified for this civilian job.
 
Training and Development Manager 
Median salary: $95,400
Why it's great for vets: The Armed Forces emphasize problem solving techniques and crisis management that can make veterans invaluable developers of talent at a company. 
 

SEE ALSO: The 20 Happiest Jobs In America

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'Culture Hasn't Changed' And A Few More Things I Learned In A Year And A Half On Wall Street

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two bankers walk down a hall margin call

Why would you want to become an investment banker? A few years ago, you didn’t necessarily need a qualitative reason. The money was enough. Now, as salaries have downshifted from tremendous to very good, other factors need to be considered.

We talked to former investment banker Chris Thomas, who spent 18 months as a post-MBA associate at a major bank in the U.S. before leaving the industry, to get his take on what one needs to know before making the plunge. He was honest and critical but, unlike some other former investment bankers, he didn’t condemn the industry or his former employer, which he asked to remain nameless. There are just a few fallacies associated with the business that you need to know. Here are his main takeaways. (note: Chris Thomas is a pseudonym used to protect the identity of the source).

Exit opportunities are fleeting: A fair percentage of investment bankers use the job as a launching point for a different career path. But transitioning to buy-side isn’t nearly as easy as one might think, or at least it isn’t as easy as it once was, Thomas said.

“Go look at job postings on the buy-side. Most are looking for a pre-MBA or they want you to already have buy-side experience,” he said. “You end up in no man’s land. Most guys think there are great exits but it’s not true anymore.”

Once you have more than two years of experience and your price tag becomes more expensive, you tend to get pigeonholed and stuck in the industry, he added.

MD isn’t a finishing line: Another fallacy that he noticed surrounds the life of senior bankers, particularly those of managing directors, which are often glorified. Sure you make more money, but the carrot at the end of the tunnel isn’t what it used to be, Thomas said. “They say when you become more senior your lifestyle gets better,” he said. “I challenge that. They are still making weekend calls, just like everyone else.”

For the rest of this piece head to eFinancialCareers>

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19 Things You Should Do On Your First Day Of Work

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smile,professional,work

The first day at your new job may be among the most memorable — and perhaps stressful — of your career.

You've gone through the taxing job search process — spending hours perfecting your resume, days preparing for interviews, and weeks trying to impress your new employer — and now that you've landed the job, you'll need to live up to their high expectations.

"Most of us remember our first days at every job because of the heightened pressure to impress," says Lynn Taylor, a national workplace expert and author of "Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant; How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job.""But you can reduce your anxiety by being as meticulous in planning your first day as you were in securing your new position."

David Parnell, a legal consultant, communication coach, and author, says it's easy, even tempting, to passively ride along with the "human resources tour that usually sets off the first day of employment." There will be forms to fill out, videos to watch, people to meet, "and generally speaking, no real position-specific responsibilities," he says. "But taking a passive versus proactive response would be a mistake. The first day sets the tone for the rest of your career with those who you'll be interacting with."

Here are 19 things you should do on the first day of your new job:

1. Prepare and ask questions. Mark Strong, a life, career, and executive coach based in New York, says although the first day really is more about listening; you can and should ask questions when necessary. "Generally, you're trying to demonstrate your curiosity and desire to learn. Beware of asking too many questions on the first day, though. You have plenty of time to master the job."

Taylor says it's a good idea to prepare by writing down both practical and general questions about how you can be most successful in the role. "By now you have enough background on the company to integrate more in-depth questions at your orientation meetings," she says. "Have a list of questions handy for managers you think you might meet. Make sure you also have a contact in HR in case you have very basic inquiries before you start or on your first day."

2. Prepare an elevator pitch. Get ready to give a 30-second explainer of who you are and where you were before, as many new colleagues will likely ask about your previous place of employment, Taylor says. Be prepared to also describe what you'll be doing in this new position, since there may be people who have a vague understanding of your role or simply want to strike up a conversation.

3. Show up early. Get there at least 15 minutes early, suggests Teri Hockett, chief executive of What's For Work?, a career site for women. "If you haven't done the commute before, practice it a couple of times during rush hour a week before so that you're at least somewhat prepared for the unknown."

4. Figure out the social landscape. Two of the more important factors in succeeding at a job are to not only get along with your co-workers, but also to associate with the right ones, Parnell explains. "In any sizeable work environment you will find cliques, and some mesh better with management than others. If you want to eventually move up in the ranks with your new employer, you'll need to associate with the right crowd."

He says it's also essential that you begin to determine the office politics on day one. "Power is an interesting, quite important, and sometimes elusive thing in the work environment," he says. "Certainly it is vital to understand the articulated positional hierarchy in your organization — who answers to who. This should be as easy as reading your co-worker's titles. However, because power can manifest in so many different ways, it is imperative to understand who actually answers to who."

5. Relax. While you're being strategic, also remember to relax on your first day so that you can optimize your productivity. "Make sure you're well rested, prepared, and have every reason to be on time. This is a visible milestone, and you want to be at your best," Taylor says.

6. Smile. "It may have taken awhile to reach this point, after searching, interviewing, and landing the job, so don't forget to be happy and enjoy the moment," Hockett says.

Strong agrees, saying: "We all know that first impressions matter. Smile when you meet new people, and shake their hands. Introduce yourself to everyone, and make it clear how happy and eager you are to be there. Your co-workers will remember."

7. Look and play the part. "This is not a good time to show that you're so relaxed that you can walk around with your coffee mug, be a phenomenal joke-teller, or wax on about the day's major business headlines," Taylor says. When in doubt, take the conservative approach in how you dress and what you say and do. Be as professional as you were in the interview process.

Hockett suggests you determine the dress code in advance so that you don't look out of place on your first day. "This is important because sometimes the way we dress can turn people off to approaching us, or it sends the wrong message." Ideally, you want to blend in and make others and yourself comfortable. If you're not sure what the dress code is, call the HR department and ask.

8. Don't be shy. Make a point to reach out and introduce yourself to others.

9. Don't try too hard. The urge to impress can take you off-track, so remember that you're already hired — you don't have to wow your new colleagues, Taylor says. It's every new employee's dream to hear that people noted how brilliant and personable they are, or how they seem to "get" the company so quickly. But that can be a lot of wasted energy; you'll impress naturally — and more so once you understand the ropes.

10. Don't turn down lunch. "If you're offered to go have lunch with your new boss and co-workers, go," Hockett says. "It's important to show that you're ready to mingle with your new team — so save the packed lunch for another day."

11. Listen and observe. The best thing anyone can do in the first few days of a new job is "listen, listen, and listen," Strong says. "It's not time to have a strong opinion. Be friendly, meet people, smile, and listen."

This is a prime opportunity to hear about the goals your boss and others have for the company, the department, and top projects. It's your chance to grasp the big picture, as well as the priorities. "Be prepared to take lots of notes," Taylor suggests.

12. Pay attention to how decisions are made. In listening and observing, you should also be able to learn the decision-making process, Parnell says. "Regardless of size, in any corporate culture there will be a decision-making norm: ad hoc, which means that decisions are made after an event occurs, and ex ante, which means they are made before an event. This is imperative to getting along within the culture."

"If you are one who needs rigid structure and support, you will need to begin instituting your own fail-safes in an ad-hoc environment,"he says. "Likewise, if you need significant freedom and room to make your own decisions, you may need to shift your mindset in an ex-ante environment."

13. Talk to peers. One of the most invaluable insights you can get early on is how the department operates from the perspective of your peers. If you establish that you're friendly and approachable early on, you will start on the right foot in establishing trust.

14. Project high energy. You will be observed more in your early days from an external standpoint, Taylor says. Your attitude and work ethic are most visible now, as no one has had a chance to evaluate your work skills just yet. Everyone wants to work with enthusiastic, upbeat people — so let them know that this is exactly what they can expect.

15. Learn the professional rules. On your first day, your employer will have a description of your responsibilities — either written or verbal. This is what you should do to be successful at your job. "With that being said, there is usually a gap between what you should do, and what actually happens," Parnell says. "This is important because while you shouldn't neglect any articulated duties, there may be more that are implicitly expected of you. It is usually best to find this out sooner rather than later."

16. Put your cell phone on silent. You need to be 100% present at work, especially on the first day.

17. Show interest. You'll likely be introduced to many people, and while they may make the first attempt to learn a little about you, make an effort to find out about them. It's not just flattering, it will help you do your job better, Taylor says.

18. Pay attention to your body language. Your body language makes up the majority of your communication in the workplace. Assess what you're communicating to better understand how others may perceive you, and make any necessary adjustments.

19. Be yourself. "Think of ways to be relaxed and project yourself as who you are," Taylor says. "It's stressful to try to be someone else, so why bother? You want some consistency in who you are on day one and day 31. If you have the jitters, pretend you're meeting people at a business mixer or in the comfort of your own home, and that these are all friends getting to know each other. That's not far from the truth; you'll be working closely with them and enjoy building the relationship, so why not start now?"

The last thing to remember is that while the first day at a new job is very important, you shouldn't be too hard on yourself if it doesn't go flawlessly. "You might look back on your performance on day one and second-guess yourself,"Taylor says. "Yes, you should prepare and try to do your best, but remember that if you try to accomplish too much, you may get overwhelmed. Know that there's always tomorrow." 


NOW WATCH: Top Resume Mistakes To Avoid

 

SEE ALSO: 9 Things Successful People Do In The First Week Of A New Job

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The 25 Companies That Pay Interns The Most

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intern,palantir,internshipInternships are essential today. They’re the best way to gain experience, develop a professional network, and get your foot in the door — which is why so many interns are willing to work for free.

But some don’t have to. And the very lucky ones will watch their bank accounts grow enormously this summer.

Glassdoor.com, a jobs and career community where people share information and opinions about their workplaces, compiled a list of the 25 highest-paying internships, based on at least 20 intern salary reports for each company.

They found that paid internships typically offer between $15 and $19 an hour, or $2,400 to $3,100 a month, on average. But companies like Twitter, ExxonMobil, and BlackRock pay double that — and Palantir Technologies, a Palo Alto-based software firm, pays nearly triple the monthly average, making it the highest-paying company for interns in 2014.

Palantir Technologies landed the top spot with an average monthly base salary of $7,012, out-ranking tech giants like Facebook, Microsoft, Google, and Apple.

But it's not all about money. A support engineer intern at the company said: “[The] work is motivated by a real mission. Very few people are there just for money.”

Here are the 25 highest-paying companies for interns:

1. Palantir Technologies
Average monthly base pay: $7,012

2. VMware
Average monthly base pay: $6,966

3. Twitter
Average monthly base pay: $6,791

4. LinkedIn
Average monthly base pay: $6,230

5. Facebook
Average monthly base pay: $6,213

6. Microsoft
Average monthly base pay: $6,138

7. eBay
Average monthly base pay: $6,126

8. ExxonMobil
Average monthly base pay: $5,972

9. Google
Average monthly base pay: $5,969

10. Apple
Average monthly base pay: $5,723

11. Amazon.com
Average monthly base pay: $5,631

12. Nvidia
Average monthly base pay: $5,446

13. Chevron
Average monthly base pay: $5,424

14. Adobe
Average monthly base pay: $5,409

15. ConocoPhillips
Average monthly base pay: $5,357

16. Salesforce.com
Average monthly base pay: $5,158

17. BlackRock
Average monthly base pay: $5,049

18. Yahoo!
Average monthly base pay: $5,039

19. Capital One
Average monthly base pay: $4,850

20. Qualcomm
Average monthly base pay: $4,823

21. NetApp
Average monthly base pay: $4,691

22. Autodesk
Average monthly base pay: $4,684

23. Intel
Average monthly base pay: $4,648

24. Juniper Networks
Average monthly base pay: $4,648

25. Schlumberger
Average monthly base pay: $4,634

Landing one of these coveted high-paying positions is no easy feat, says Samantha Zupan, a Glassdoor spokesperson. “While these internships definitely offer attractive compensation, these companies are looking for the best and brightest.” She says employers begin hiring for summer interns as early as February, “so be on the lookout early and often for the latest internships as they get posted.”

She also suggests that internship-seekers carefully read what companies are looking for in interns. “The more you can customize your resume and cover letter to show what skills you can bring to the job, the more likely you are to get noticed by the employer.”

She adds: “Also take the time to attend college career fairs and get to know the companies you are interested in working when they come to you.”

SEE ALSO: The 15 Best Internships In America

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An Investment Management CEO Answers The Two Questions Every Young Wall Streeter Has Obsessed Over Since 2008

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If you're below the age of 30 on Wall Street then you've asked yourself one of the following two questions since the financial crisis turned banking on its head:

1. Where should I work?

2. Should I get my MBA or CFA?

Brian Walsh, CEO of alternatives-focused investment management firm Saguenay Strathmore Capital, addressed both in a recent interview with finance career site OneWire. So throw these answers in the pile for your consideration, and give them serious weight.

First up, where should you work?

"I still think a lot of the new things are in the alternative asset investment business," Walsh told OneWire CEO Skiddy von Stade. "I think different types of financing will be done by more innovative smaller companies. I think that means it's harder for people to find it."

As for getting your MBA, Walsh was very candid. He said he isn't completely convinced it's worth it anymore.

"It's terrible but I don't think it's worth as much as it used to be. It depends, I think, on what you want to do. If you're really keen on being in the investment business, I think you're better off getting a CFA. I think a CFA will give you more directly related to the investment business. If you're not sure ... then the MBA could really be valuable."

Got that? Now start planning.

Watch the full interview below and subscribe to the whole series.

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The 10 Best Jobs For Introverts

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introvert,astronomerIntroverts are typically quieter and more reserved than extroverts. They tend to be more focused on internal thoughts and feelings, and get energy from being alone. They're also better suited to some jobs than others, according to a new report from job search site CareerCast.com.

Susan Cain, author of “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking,” says introverts can be very social, but because they tend to reach equilibrium in quieter, lower-key environments, professions like astronomer and film editor are a better fit for them. 

“They typically prefer jobs that offer some autonomy, privacy, focus, and the ability to work in-depth on interesting projects," Cain says. "Many introverts are in seemingly extroverted professions (such as media and PR) because of their love for the subject, [but] the successful ones honor their own temperament and make sure to recharge their batteries frequently.”

All providing independence, strong projected growth, and decent pay, CareerCast.com has identified the following 10 jobs as the best suited to introverted job seekers:

Animal Care and Service Workers  
Annual median salary: $19,970 (caretakers)/$25,270 (trainers) 
Projected growth by 2020: 15% 

Archivist 
Annual median salary: $47,340 
Projected growth by 2020: 11% 

Astronomer 
Annual median salary: $96,460 
Projected growth by 2020: 10% 

Court Reporter 
Annual median salary: $48,160 
Projected growth by 2020: 10% 

Film/Video Editor 
Annual median salary: $51,300 
Projected growth by 2020: 3%   

Financial Clerk  
Annual median salary: $36,850  
Projected growth by 2020: 11%  

Geoscientist 
Annual median salary: $90,890 
Projected growth by 2020: 16% 

Industrial Machine Repairer 
Annual median salary: $46,920 
Projected growth by 2020: 17% 

Medical Records Technician 
Annual median salary: $34,160 
Projected growth by 2020: 22% 

Social Media Manager 
Annual median salary: $54,170  
Projected growth by 2020: 12% 

“You wouldn't think that a job with 'social' right in the name is suited to introverts, but it's a great fit,” said Tony Lee, publisher of CareerCast, in a release. “While in-person interaction may not be an introvert’s cup of tea, technological outlets allow an introvert to maintain person-to-person communication electronically without the stresses of actual conversation.”

SEE ALSO: The 25 Companies That Pay Interns The Most

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Here's How To Ask For A Pay Raise — And Actually Get It

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money, payday, raise, salary, girl, happy

There are plenty of times that you’ve thought about asking for a raise but something held you back. Maybe you’re an introvert, you can’t work up the nerve or you just don’t know what to say. Whatever the reason, Katie Donovan, a salary negotiation consultant, equal pay advocate and founder of Equal Pay Negotiations LLC shares tips on how to be confident and ask for the raise you deserve.

When should you ask? Timing is an important factor when asking for a raise. “Ask when you realize you are underpaid, regardless of where that lies in the fiscal year,” Donovan says. “Do not wait for the annual review. By then the budget has already been decided, and typically it allows for very small raises, 2 to 3 percent for individuals. You are best served by being off cycle so you can get a ‘salary adjustment’ now or be budgeted for a large raise in the new year — with retro pay included. ‘Salary adjustment’ is a great term that shows that your pay is so low the company really needs to address it and pull from a different line item in the budget.”

What should you have? More information is better when you’re requesting a raise. What does Donovan recommend researching? “I say, when you are talking about money, then you should have a business case that includes money, specifically how have you saved money or generated revenue for the company,” she says. “Most of us are so focused on our own work — the tree — that we miss how it affects the company — the forest. Take a step back and look at the big picture. Did the process improvement you initiated save time and thus money for the company? Did the industry award that the company won because you submitted the company get picked up by various media? If so, at the very least you saved the company advertising costs. More likely you also gave your sales reps a great tool to help close deals and generated some leads from the media coverage.”

Donovan recommends figuring out the dollar impact of your work, which will help illustrate why you should get the raise and show the budget that was freed up for you to get it. She also suggests researching the average pay for similar jobs in your region. You can get salary information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics or more industry-specific numbers from trade publications.

How should you ask? A salary negotiation is a time for both parties to share their needs, which calls for a certain conversation style.

“I am a fan of the in-person conversation because it minimizes confusion,” Donovan says. “When you do it in person, on the phone or via email, start by getting a read of how your manager perceives your work. Please note, you are having the discussion with your manager, not human resources. Good managers will list your accolades and include some areas of improvement because none of us are perfect. Once you get the manager to sing your praises, state something like ‘I’m so glad you agree that I am performing above par. I recently discovered that my pay is low according to industry research and would like to see how we can address it.’”

Donovan says to avoid starting with a number right off the bat. “See if you can get your manager to say a number first, because that will become the minimum. If you said the exact same number, it would have become the maximum.”

What should you ask for? Finally, it’s important to determine what range is acceptable to suggest and what other bargaining tools you have. So what should you ask for?

“All of this depends on how appropriately you are being paid currently,” Donovan says. “You may have accepted the job at a low salary. If you did not negotiate the starting salary, you accepted the job at a low salary. Your annual raises may not have kept up with inflation. Compare your starting salary with the rate of inflation adjustment for today. Have you kept pace? You may have been given so many new things to do that job creep has made your job title and description meaningless.”

Donovan recommends starting with your job description and editing it to show your growth. “It’s really about, given today’s market, what should you be paid for your experience, impact, education, etc., for the job you have? You do need to ask for more than you believe you deserve so there is room for negotiation. Don’t forget benefits. Extra vacation, education, conference attendance and more can help create an overall better employment package than a straight raise. They also give more room for negotiation.”

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The 5 Traits Of A Company's 'Top Talent'

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startup fisheyeIf you want to get hired and stay hired you need to know how hiring managers think. Since Google is setting the standard for attracting, hiring (and paying) top talent, examining and understanding their hiring standards and practices could help you even if you have no interest in working there.

Let’s start with GPA’s and test scores since most of us have always worried about how we “stack up”. Laszlo Bock, The SVP of People Operations at Google said in a recent interview with New York Times’ Adam Bryant that GPA’s and test scores don’t predict anything about who is going to be a successful employee. Bock said that a better predictor of success is seeing how a person can analyze and solve difficult problems. The number of awards you’ve won or the leadership roles you’ve assumed are only relevant to hiring managers if they showcase certain sought after attributes; Management is looking for your ability to solve difficult problems, work well under pressure, inspire others to take action and think on the fly.

“There are five hiring attributes we have across the company,” explained Bock. “If it’s a technical role, we assess your coding ability, and half the roles in the company are technical roles. For every job, though, the No. 1 thing we look for is general cognitive ability, and it’s not I.Q. It’s learning ability. It’s the ability to process on the fly. It’s the ability to pull together disparate bits of information. We assess that using structured behavioral interviews that we validate to make sure they’re predictive.”

The savvy candidate will recognize that all businesses are challenged by rapid changes both industry specific and in the general economy.  The ideal employee can help their firm in adapting to market disruption. About 2500 years ago, the Greek philosopher Heraclitus observed, “the only constant in life is change.”

“Top talent” tends to embrace change and enjoys the challenge of working in a dynamic environment where everything isn’t predictable. They tend to be more innovative and flexible in their approach to solving problems and have an entrepreneurial spirit.

Management across industries has a difficult task discerning whether a candidate has these traits. Why not make management’s job easy by finding examples of how you possess these traits.  If these qualities are expected from the leaders of the company, it’s logical they would also be favorable for the firm’s employees. Once you know what hiring managers’ are looking for in perspective new hires, you can tailor your responses in an interview accordingly. Your answers should  focus on sharing experiences and accomplishments that best demonstrate how you possess those particular attributes. I’ve summarized Bock’s insights and added some of my own to give more breadth and depth to answer what it takes to become “top talent.”  

Adaptable

“Top talent” can adjust to new rules, new demands, new people and new environments. They cope well with the unexpected and have a positive attitude. They’re willing to try and learn new ways to achieve targets and they keep an open mind.

Employers are looking for top talent who are:

  • Rapid Learners
  • Resilient
  • Quickly change priorities to respond to changing goals
  • Try to improve process by rapidly acquiring and integrating new information
  • Foster an environment of process improvement rather than blame
  • Remain calm and composed under stress
  • Can manage completing assignments with competing deadlines

Collaborative

“Top talent” recognizes when he is the best person for the task and when it’s critical to join others and work as a part of a team.

  • Follow through on commitments
  • Strong communication skills
  • Don’t take negative feedback personally
  • Don’t take credit for good results
  • Get along well with others
  • Not fearful of incorporating team members with superior expertise for a superior outcome

Adept problem solver

“Top talent” doesn’t hesitate to fix a problem.

  • First to offer to help
  • Come through fast and over deliver
  • Offer creative, innovative solutions
  • Inspire others to take action
  • Consistent
  • Provide a new approach to solving problems

Humility

“Top talent” knows her talents and doesn’t need to broadcast them to fellow employees or to their superior. This personality exudes confidence but not in a way that intimidates others. Their calm tone and mild manner draws people to them and makes it easy for others to come to them for help and to open up to them about challenges they face.

  • Embrace others’ better ideas
  • Learn from failure
  • Step back to see if someone has a better point

Leadership

When faced with a problem as a team member, “top talent” intuitively knows the appropriate time to step in or step back; s/he focuses on the project’s success, not on a rigid leadership structure.

Great leaders tend to be inclusive, humble, self-directed and mission focused and inspire others to action. An employee who exhibits leadership ability is generally well respected by co-workers. They have demonstrated competence and are often known to seek feedback (both positive and negative). Top talent shows genuine concern for the well being of the group.

“Top talent” NEVER Says:

“It’s not my job”!

Companies are ALWAYS ready to hire and retain top talent. Though the hard skills may vary from one firm to the next, the soft skills, which define traits for top talent, are universal.

The primary goal for all new hires should be to learn everything necessary to excel at your new job and to exceed your supervisors’ expectations. In order to do this well, you need to understand what’s expected of you AND your boss. Becoming top talent requires more than using your expertise to do an adequate job at work. It necessitates using your talents, creativity and expertise to advance the success of your team and of your company.

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4 Tricks Tech Companies Use To Poach Software Programmers

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programmer computer night

It's no secret that there's a talent war going on for software programmers, with tech companies paying outrageous salaries to hire them, even for interns.

"Software is eating the world," as venture capitalist Marc Andreessen famously said.

He means everything from your automobile to your thermostat is now being run by software. And that means the people that write software are in high demand. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts there will be nearly 140,000 new software development jobs created before 2022, reports US News, which named "software developer" as the best job in 2014.

Consequently, companies looking to hire software developers often have to think outside the box to lure them away from their existing jobs, find a new survey of 1,400 full-time employed software engineers conducted by job hunting site Glassdoor.

Here's what developers say it takes to hire them away:

1. They don't want to be contacted through LinkedIn.

Programmers are getting bombarded by recruiters on LinkedIn. The smartest companies are searching for programmers via sites where programmers share their work and work histories like GitHub and StackOverflow.

One told Glassdoor:

"I canceled my LinkedIn account because I was getting bombarded by recruiters. Now they have to find me through my blog, GitHub or StackOverflow accounts. Those recruiters that reach me now are more worth my time.”

2. They want a lot of money.

Obviously, this is a job. So a great salary, bonus and benefits are still major carrots. 78% of respondents said they would leave their current employer if they were offered more compensation or better benefits.

In 2013, salaries for software programmers reached record levels. The average salary nationwide for a software engineer is $90,000, according to recruiting site Indeed.

But in the hottest fields, especially in Silicon Valley, it is way higher, base salaries of $140,000 - $160,000 with bonuses and stock options are common.

3. They want to have fun.

When enough money is being offered, programmers say they will take a new job based on a company's culture. Is it a fun place to work with great perks?

Some 52% of software engineers would even accept less money to work at a company with great culture.

4. They want to work on cool and interesting products and services.

Almost as many programmers, 51%, said they would accept less money to work at a company if it was building a particularly interesting product or service.

One told Glassdoor:

“If your company isn't attractive on its own because of its technology and engineering culture, I probably won't be interested in working there. Hearing about you from a recruiter -- rather than because of something amazing you've built -- simply cements that disinterest.”

This infographic offers more details:

Glassdoor how to hire a programmer

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The 10 Worst Cities For Job Seekers This Spring

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job seekers californiaHonolulu, Hawaii, is the worst place for job seekers to conduct their search this spring, according to a new survey by employment services firm Manpower Group.

The survey asked more than 18,000 employers in the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan statistical areas about their hiring plans for the three-month period ending in June. It found that employers in all 50 states plan to increase their payrolls during the second quarter of 2014 — but they’re far less optimistic in places like Buffalo, N.Y., Spokane, Wash., and Little Rock, Ark., than they are in Charleston, Houston, and Salt Lake City, which are some of the best cities for job seekers this spring.

Of all surveyed employers, 19% expect to increase their payrolls next quarter, and 4% say they’ll decrease their staffing levels. This yields a net projected increase of 15%. 

In Honolulu, only 14% of employers plan to add to their payrolls and 8% plan to decrease them, yielding a net employment outlook of just 6%.

“Honolulu is very dependent on tourism,” says Jorge Perez, senior vice president of Manpower, North America. “In the U.S., people are still in recovery mode and replenishing their nest eggs. They don’t have an overwhelming sense of confidence, the kind of security that makes you take that ‘bucket list’ trip. As a result, the pace of hiring among leisure and hospitality employers has slowed and likely had an impact on the overall labor market.”

Here are the 10 worst cities for job seekers this spring, ranked by the net percentage of employers in each city that plan to hire:

Honolulu, Hawaii
Net Increase: 6%

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md.
Net Increase: 7%

Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Fla.
Net Increase: 7%

Buffalo-Niagara Falls, N.Y.
Net Increase: 7%

Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pa.
Net Increase: 8%

Winston-Salem, N.C.
Net Increase: 8%

Springfield, Mass.
Net Increase: 8%

Spokane, Wash.
Net Increase: 8%

New Haven-Milford, Conn.
Net Increase: 8%

Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, Ark.
Net Increase: 8%

“My expectation for the next quarter is that we will see a continued steady, upward trajectory,” Perez says. “The chart for jobs growth will look like a treadmill on a slight incline — just enough growth to keep the economy relatively fit and healthy.” 

SEE ALSO: The 15 Best Cities For Job Seekers This Spring

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The Stress Of Being A Computer Programmer Is Literally Driving Many Of Them Crazy

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programmer computer night

Being a software programmer is one of the best jobs these days for your pocketbook and your job security, but it can be incredibly bad for your mental health.

Two things are going on that are literally driving programmers crazy.

One is something known as the "imposter syndrome." That's when you're pretty sure that all the other coders you work with are smarter, more talented and more skilled than you are. You live in fear that people will discover that you are really faking your smarts or skills or accomplishments. 

Women programmers frequently confess to suffering from imposter syndrome, and that's not surprising. The syndrome was actually first documented by psychologists Dr. Pauline Rose Clance and Dr. Suzanne Imes as a particular issue for successful women. It's also the subject of a number of self-help books geared toward women.

But a lot of male programmers increasingly say that that they feel it, too. 

These people tend to apply extremely high standards to themselves and not to others. Imposter syndrome is  common in professions where the work is peer reviewed. Writing software is just such a field, particularly open-source software where anyone can look at the code and change it.

From the 'imposter' to the 'Real Programmer'

tired at workThe trap of imposter's syndrome is that programmers think they need to work harder to become good enough. That means spending more time coding — every waking minute — and taking on an increasing number of projects.

That feeling is called the "Real Programmer" syndrome as named by a post that went crazy on Reddit last week.  The Real Programmer lives only to code. Redditor big_al11 explains:

A Real Programmer is someone who loves programming! They love it so much that it's what they spend all their time doing. ...

the Real Programmer doesn't really consider it "work". ...

a programmer isn't a Real Programmer when they don't volunteer to work 60 to 80 hour weeks (for no extra monetary compensation, remember) because it's "fun". ...

 It permeates the industry's culture.

... If you want to succeed as a programmer you have to at least look like a Real Programmer .... So you get people working evenings and weekends just for appearances and they start to burnout.

That programmers are expected to work insanely long hours isn't new. But this idea that they are doing it of their own accord, for the sheer joy of it, is new.

Death March bookFor instance, a decade ago, during the Internet bubble, a book called "Death March" became a best seller. It documented how insane hours for programmers led to health issues. It concluded that poor project management was to blame.

In 2004, coders actually sued Electronic Arts regarding overtime and won a $15 million settlement.

Years later, in 2010, a story went viral from a woman married to a programmer who worked for Rockstar Games. It told how the company expected programmers to work 12-hour days/six days a week for months or years on end, damaging some programmers' health as a result of the strain.

By 2011, the Real Programmer shift was taking hold. That year a discussion on the programming social network StackExchange went nuts, by a guy who asked, "I don't program in my spare time. Does that make me a bad developer?"

The general consensus was that you can be a good developer if you only work during normal working hours, but that the "greatest programmers code during their off-hours as well."

More isn't always better

New Relic Nick FloydThat idea is of questionable validity. Stanford students studied how much time a person can really spend programming productively. In what shouldn't be a surprise, they found that working too much reduces productivity. Overworked coders tended to produce less high-quality code when working 60 hour/weeks than refreshed people did when working 40-hour weeks.

That hasn't stopped the imposter/Real Programmer syndrome from taking hold. And there's been some really sad stories along the way.

For instance, about a year ago, corporate programmer Kenneth Parker wrote a post on his Ken's Programming blog called "I Knew a Programmer that Went Completely Insane."

It discussed his co-worker who worked so hard, he had "a complete mental breakdown."

He was one of the hardest workers I had seen in the industry. He would frequently stay after hours to work on projects; He was always available when management needed someone to rush a job out over the weekend.... His willingness to push himself to get a job done is what they liked about him. However, his productivity was not so great when he landed in a mental institution.

Recently, New Relic software engineer Nick Floyd has begun writing and speaking about something he calls Nerd Life Balance. After confessing that he once suffered from imposter syndrome, he now believes that nerd happiness occurs by finding a job to love. He writes:

Being at New Relic is challenging, hard and awesome all at the same time, but it has never been work for me. Before joining on, I had accepted some beliefs that work always had to be work, which was often frustrating, and that life was the escape from being frustrated at work. But I had it backwards – Life is awesome when this thing called 'work' becomes another way of expressing the passions in your life.

On the other hand, Redditor big_al11 offers what is surely the most sane solution:

I just really wish we lived in a society where we didn't define ourselves so strongly by our day jobs and where working ourselves to death wasn't seen as a virtue.


NOW WATCH: 11 Video Games From The 1980s That Are Better Than Games Today

 

SEE ALSO: The fabulous life of tech billionaire Marc Benioff

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How One Of The Most Powerful PR Firms In NYC Came Out Of A Conversation In An Elevator

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It sounds like the plot of a movie: A recent college grad from the south buys a round-trip ticket to New York City. She gives herself 30 days to find a job, an apartment, a life. If she doesn't find it, she's going home.

In 1991 Alison Brod, founder and CEO of one of New York City's foremost boutique public relations firms, lived that script. After finding the courage to introduce herself to a woman at a major fashion PR agency, she nailed the dream job that put her on a path to a dream career.

Now her firm represents brands like L’Oreal, Mercedes, New York Fashion Week, Piperlime, and Godiva.

In a recent Open Door interview with finance career site, OneWire, Brod insisted, “If you find something that you like to do and you work really, really hard, and you take every opportunity, you go to every event and you don’t leave without meeting somebody new, things will just come to you, and your path will be guided.”

To Brod, all careers (not just PR) are a game. They're a combination of skill, taking advantage of opportunity and chance. She started her firm when she overheard a man talking about a product launch in an elevator. Instead of taking the work to the company she was working for at the time, she took on the client — Burberry's perfume line — herself. That client then helped her start her own firm.

To get those chances, though, you have to go out, you have to be aware, and you have to let people know that you can give them what they want.

If they know you can deliver, they'll deliver for you.

"It's about accumulating people that can connect you to the other people," said Brod.

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Nobody Knows What Will Happen To One Of The Most Powerful Women On Wall Street

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JP Morgan will sell its commodities unit to commodities trading firm Mercuria. As yet we don't know for how much, and we don't know exactly when the deal will be finished (though it's said to be sometime in the third quarter).

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How One Of The Most Powerful PR Firms In NYC Came Out Of A Conversation In An Elevator

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It sounds like the plot of a movie: A recent college grad from the south buys a round-trip ticket to New York City. She gives herself 30 days to find a job, an apartment, a life. If she doesn't find it, she's going home.

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