MSN Careers - Think You've Got a Lousy Boss? - Career Advice Article

MSN Careers - Think You've Got a Lousy Boss? - Career Advice Article: "Think You've Got a Lousy Boss?

True Horror Stories From Work
By Laura Morsch, CareerBuilder.com writer

Bad bosses have become something of a pop culture phenomenon. 'The Devil Wears Prada,' Lauren Weisberger's tale of a new grad's struggle to maintain her dignity while working for an unreasonable magazine editor, spent six months on the New York Times bestseller list and will hit theaters this year. Mr. Burns, Homer's villainous boss on 'The Simpsons,' has become the manager we love to hate.

Even so, real life can sometimes be stranger than fiction. Here are some stories of truly horrendous bosses, straight from the mouths of actual workers:

Earplugs optional

At a previous position, my boss was notoriously unprofessional, making him infamous throughout the organization. In addition to partaking in the community pretzel bin while suffering from a finger fungus and perspiring so profusely that he would be sporting two-foot-long sweat stains before 9 a.m., he believed his office was a personal recording studio.

You name it -- from Van Halen to Avril Lavigne -- he was bolting it out at a high decibel level all day. But the day I heard Jessica Simpson was the day I knew it was leave my job or lose my sanity. Nothing beats a middle-aged overweight white man with a slicked-back Afro singing: 'Nothin' but a T-shirt on... never felt so beautiful, baby as I do now... now that I'm with you.'

-- Ashley, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.


Sticky situation

I worked for a small PR firm a few years ago. ... One day I was"

Heuristic - Wikipedia

Heuristic - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "Psychology
In psychology, heuristics are simple, efficient rules of thumb which have been proposed to explain how people make decisions, come to judgments and solve problems, typically when facing complex problems or incomplete information. These rules work well under most circumstances, but in certain cases lead to systematic cognitive biases.
For instance, people may tend to perceive more expensive beers as tasting better than inexpensive ones. This finding holds true even when prices and brands are switched; putting the high price on the normally relatively inexpensive brand is enough to lead experimental participants to perceive that beer as tasting better than the beer that is normally relatively expensive. One might call this 'price implies quality' bias.
Much of the work of discovering heuristics in human decision makers was ignited by Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman, who shared an important influence on behavioral finance. Critics led by Gerd Gigerenzer focus on how heuristics can be used to make principally accurate judgments rather than producing cognitive biases � heuristics that are 'fast and frugal'."

10 Attitudes of Successful Workers - Career Advice Article

MSN Careers - 10 Attitudes of Successful Workers - Career Advice Article: "10 Attitudes of Successful Workers

By Kate Lorenz, CareerBuilder.com Editor

Why do some people seem to reach the top of the corporate ladder easily, while others remain stuck on the middle-management rung? You might think that it is just because those people have more of what it takes to succeed, like brains, talent and powerful people in their corner. But there is something else that is just as important: attitude.

Dr. Martin Seligman, an authority on optimism, discovered that attitude was a better predictor of success than I.Q., education and most other factors. He found that positive people stay healthier, have better relationships and go further in their careers. And he even found that positive people make more money.

Anyone can adopt the right attitude. No matter where you are from or how much innate talent you have, the right attitude can make a difference in your career. Try adopting these 10 attitudes of successful workers: "

Women and Leadership - Newsweek - MSNBC.com

Women and Leadership - Newsweek - MSNBC.com: "12 Women Leaders on Life
They come from diverse backgrounds and work in vastly different fields, but their tales of growth and triumph show they have a lot in common."

Wal-Mart deals with pair of snafus to start 2006 - Jan. 6, 2006

Wal-Mart deals with pair of snafus to start 2006 - Jan. 6, 2006: "Wal-Mart 'heartsick' over DVD grouping
No. 1 retailer apologizes for bizarre racial combinations on Web site, spoofs poor sales in song.
January 6, 2006: 11:35 AM EST


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Wal-Mart is ringing in the new year with a pair of snafus.
The retail giant apologized Thursday after its Web site directed buyers of 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' and 'Planet of the Apes' DVDs to consider DVDs with African American themes."

Conduct Better Interviews

How Can We Conduct Better Interviews?

Interviews are the most widely used technique in the hiring process. The need
for direct interaction with job candidates means that it is almost unheard of
for a company to make a hiring decision without first conducting an interview.
Upgrading your interviews is one of the easiest and best things you can do to
improve the quality of your hiring. The payoffs for this exercise (systematic
and accurate selection decisions) greatly outweigh the pitfalls (such as the
investment of time and the need for change management) associated with it.

Unfortunately, the typical interview is unstructured and highly
subjective, a fact that reduces its ability to accurately predict job
performance. In fact, the traditional interview offers very little to help
companies make effective hiring decisions. This is a problem, because effective
prediction requires the use of reliable tools that provide
accurate and systematic measurement of human elements that are directly related
to job requirements. In more specific terms, problems with the traditional
interview can be traced to two major types of errors that are inherent in the
process. They are:

Errors of content. There are two main sources for this type of error. First,
traditional interviews often fail to ask questions that are directly linked to
job requirements. While questions such as "Where do you see yourself in
five years?" and "Why do you want to work for our organization?"
may elicit interesting information, the answers are hard to map directly to
critical competencies that define job performance.

Secondly, lack
of structure in an interview's content often results in different
interviewers asking different questions of different applicants. This means that
applicants are essentially being evaluated using different information, making
it very hard to compare apples to apples.

 

Errors in process. Failure to use a standardized process--in which all
applicants are evaluated using the exact same criteria, and in which there is
some way of using information elicited from the interview to make final
ratings--greatly reduces the effectiveness of the interview as a predictive
tool. Failure to provide structure to your interviewing process opens the door
to bias, stereotypes, and other various kinds of errors associated with the
inherent subjectivity of interviews. Effective interviews hinge on the exclusive
use of job-related information to make decisions. (Furthermore, the more
subjective your evaluations are, the less legally defensible your interview
process will be.)

You should take some important steps to remove these errors, of both content
and process, to ensure you have an optimum technique for interviewing job
candidates. You should:

• Use formal techniques, such as job analysis, to define job performance and
  create questions that have direct links to critical aspects of job
  performance.
  
• 
  

  Ask the same (or very similar) questions to
  each interviewee to ensure that the same basic information is collected from
  each candidate.

  
  
• Use questions
  that require interviewees to discuss their past behaviors in situations
  that are similar to those they will face in jobs with your company.

Errors of process can be addressed by creating a procedure that requires you
to:

• 
  

  Rate each interview question individually and
  combine information from multiple questions when you make final ratings.

  
  
• 
  

  Use rating scales that provide clear,
  job-related anchors.

  
  
• 
  

  Require interviewers take detailed notes for
  each question.

  
  
• 
  

  Use multiple interviews to assess each
  candidate.

  
  
• 
  

  Provide extensive interviewer training.

  
  

SOURCE: Charles A. Handler, Ph.D., PHR, Rocket-Hire,
New Orleans, November 14, 2005.

LEARN MORE: Ten
Interview No-No's points up common mistakes made when assessing job
candidates. Also, information on using job
competencies.

The McKinsey Quarterly: The McKinsey Global Survey of Business Executives , October 2005

The McKinsey Quarterly: The McKinsey Global Survey of Business Executives , October 2005: "SurveyThe McKinsey Global Survey of Business Executives , October 2005" The confidence of US executives in their economy plummeted over the past three months, according to the latest McKinsey Global Survey of Business Executives. The confidence of executives overall in the global economy was unchanged: more of our respondents are upbeat than not, by a small margin (Exhibit 1). But significant shifts occurred at the regional level; executives in China and in other developing markets (with the exception of India) also reported declining confidence in their country's economy.


enlarge exhibit

Dilbert Comic Strip Archive - Dilbert.com - The Mission Statement-

Dilbert Comic Strip Archive - Dilbert.com - The Official Dilbert Website by Scott Adams - Dilbert, Dogbert and Coworkers!: "We strive to efficiently coordinate high standards in paradigms in order to completely build market-driven information to exceed customer expectations "

BW Online |Principles of Good Governance

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/02_40/b3802005.htm
Here's what we look for in evaluating boards:

INDEPENDENCE
No more than two directors should be current or former company executives, and none should do business with the company or accept consulting or legal fees from it. The audit, compensation, and nominating committees should be made up solely of independent directors.

STOCK OWNERSHIP
Each director should own an equity stake in the company worth at least $150,000, excluding stock options. The only exception: new board members who haven't had time to build a large stake.

DIRECTOR QUALITY
Boards should include at least one independent director with experience in the company's core business and one who is the CEO of an equivalent-size company. Fully employed directors should sit on no more than four boards, retirees no more than seven. Each director should attend at least 75% of all meetings.

BOARD ACTIVISM
Boards should meet regularly without management present and should evaluate their own performance every year. Audit committees should meet at least four times a year. Board should be frugal on executive pay, decisive when planning a CEO succession, diligent in oversight responsibilities, and quick to act when trouble strikes.">BW Online | October 7, 2002 | Table: Principles of Good Governance: "Principles of Good Governance




STORY TOOLS
Printer-Friendly Version
E-Mail This Story


Cover Image: The Best and Worst Boards

Table: Best Boards

Table: Worst Boards

Table: Most Improved Boards

Table: Boards That Need Work

Table: Hall of Shame

Great Numbers, Weak Governance: Is AIG a Special Case?

Table: In the Shadow of AIG

� Find More Stories Like This


Here's what we look for in evaluating boards:

INDEPENDENCE
No more than two directors should be current or former company executives, and none should do business with the company or accept consulting or legal fees from it. The audit, compensation, and nominating committees should be made up solely of independent directors.

STOCK OWNERSHIP
Each director should own an equity stake in the company worth at least $150,000, excluding stock options. The only exception: new board members who haven't had time to build a large stake.

DIRECTOR QUALITY
Boards should include at least one independent director with experience in the company's core business and one who is the CEO of an equivalent-size company. Fully employed directors should sit on no more than four boards, retirees no more than seven. Each director should attend at least 75% of all meetings.

BOARD ACTIVISM
Boards should meet regularly without management present and should evaluate their own performance every year. Audit committees should meet at least four times a year. Board should be frugal on executive pay, decisive when planning a CEO succession, diligent in oversight responsibilities, and quick to act when trouble strikes."

Free Management Library for For-Profit and Nonprofit Organizations

Free Management Library for For-Profit and Nonprofit Organizations Great resource for management information.

Many Women at Elite Colleges Set Career Path to Motherhood

Many Women at Elite Colleges Set Career Path to Motherhood - New York Times: "Cynthia Liu is precisely the kind of high achiever Yale wants: smart (1510 SAT), disciplined (4.0 grade point average), competitive (finalist in Texas oratory competition), musical (pianist), athletic (runner) and altruistic (hospital volunteer). And at the start of her sophomore year at Yale, Ms. Liu is full of ambition, planning to go to law school.
So will she join the long tradition of famous Ivy League graduates? Not likely. By the time she is 30, this accomplished 19-year-old expects to be a stay-at-home mom.
'My mother's always told me you can't be the best career woman and the best mother at the same time,' Ms. Liu said matter-of-factly. 'You always have to choose one over the other.'
At Yale and other top colleges, women are being groomed to take their place in an ever more diverse professional elite. It is almost taken for granted that, just as they make up half the students at these institutions, they will move into leadership roles on an equal basis with their male classmates.
There is just one problem with this scenario: many of these women say that is not what they want.
Many women at the nation's most elite colleges say they have already decided that they will put aside their careers in favor of raising children. Though some of these students are not planning to have children and some hope to have a family and work full time, many others, like Ms. Liu, say they will happily play a traditional female role, with motherhood their main commitment.
Much attention has been focused on career women who leave the work force to rear children. What seems to be changing is that while many women in college two or three decades ago expected to have full-time careers, "

Mission Statements Work!

Mission Statements Work!Successful organizations know that it takes more than a good plan to succeed in business. It takes an empowered organization, focused on realistic goals, with impassioned leadership. It takes vision. It takes consensus. It takes a sense of purpose!

Mission Expert Helps You
Create Impassioned
Mission Statements
For Successful Organizations

Mission Expert is the first multimedia software solution for creating effective organizational mission statements.

The Pitch Coach

The Pitch Coach: "You may have done it dozens of times: stood in front of a room full of investors and pitched your company. Maybe you raised some money. But most presentations don't persuade investors to open their wallets. Worse, entrepreneurs don't know why. 'You rarely get to hear exactly what your audience thinks,' says David Rose, 48, founding chairman of New York Angels, a group of about 60 wealthy individuals that makes early-stage investments."

'Trust in Global Virtual Teams', Ariadne Issue 43

Main Articles: 'Trust in Global Virtual Teams', Ariadne Issue 43: "During the last few years there has been an increasing acknowledgement of the importance of trust in business interactions within the management and organisational literatures [1][2]. Trust enables cooperation and becomes the means for complexity reduction even in situations where individuals must act with uncertainty because they are in possession of ambiguous and incomplete information. It is not therefore surprising that in the current age of global and digital economy and virtuality [3] there has been an enormous interest in trust. Handy for example, has put the point quite succinctly: 'Virtuality requires trust to make it work: Technology on its own is not enough' [4]. As Lipnack and Stamps also put it, 'in the networks and virtual teams of the Information Age, trust is a 'need to have' quality in productive relationships' [5], while according to Platt [6], trust is essential to any virtual team as these teams do not have everyday interaction, and the possibility of losing trust is much higher."

Eight Great Lessons From Working Dads

MSN Careers - Eight Great Lessons From Working Dads - Career Advice Article

Women aren't the only ones who find juggling work and family a challenge. Men, too,
are striving to find a balance between bringing home the bacon and spending
quality time with their families. Here are some lessons from working dads who
are successfully managing their work and home lives:



Lesson 1: Flexibility may be the key to happiness.

If it's possible in your occupation, adopt a flexible schedule. Today, flex
schedules are very common and range from compressed work weeks to telecommuting.
Propose a flex schedule that starts and ends early so you can attend school
functions or sporting events. Investigate opportunities to put in a four-day
work week, four 10-hour days, to free up a whole day for field trips or to be
home with the kids for an occasional in-service day or school holiday.



In his book "Working Fathers: New Strategies for Balancing Work and
Family," Jim Levine suggests coming up with "win-win" solutions
to present to your boss and asking for your boss' ideas to help you reach a
workable balance once your discussion is under way.



Lesson 2: Develop a strong relationship with your boss.

There's no question that having a solid and trusting relationship with your boss
has its benefits. A boss who recognizes your loyalty to the company, your
dedication to doing your best on the job, and your level of commitment to your
family is likely to become your greatest advocate when it comes to allowing you
time for family. Building a strong relationship takes time and is best
accomplished through openness, honesty and loyalty.



Lesson 3: Know when to say no.

There will be times in your work life when it may be necessary to turn down or
delay special projects or out-of-town trips in order to be present at an
important family event.



Alan Weber, a marketing manager for a medium-sized manufacturing firm, was asked
to attend a grand opening celebration for a new company warehouse on the same
weekend as his daughter's volleyball championship game. He told his boss about
the conflict and was excused from the grand opening. Had he not spoken up, he
would have likely missed this important event in his daughter's life.



Lesson 4: Do your homework at home.

Many men find themselves staying late at the office to catch up on paperwork or
e-mails. Instead, pack up your briefcase and laptop and plug in at home. Terry,
who works at an office in the city, shares his home office with his kids a few
nights a week -- they work on their school projects; he works on his sales
projections. Not only does this give them more time together, it reinforces that
everyone has to do their "homework."



Lesson 5: Take paternity leave.

While a fairly new option, a handful of progressive companies offer fathers paid
time off, ranging from a few days to a few weeks, following the birth of a
child. In July 2004, California lawmakers adopted a statewide family leave act
that allows workers to receive up to six weeks of partially paid leave per year
to care for a new child or seriously ill family member. There are some
restrictions, but the benefit will replace up to 55 percent of wages, up to a
capped amount per week.





style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 11px; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica">

You may also consider taking advantage of the national Family and Medical Leave
Act (FMLA). Though unpaid, it does allow you to take up to 12 weeks off. Check
with your human resource or benefits representative to understand how the FMLA
applies to your situation.



Lesson 6: Take all of your vacation.

Many American workers fail to take all of the vacation time they earn, and some
who do often feel guilty about being away from work. But savvy working dads
recognize the value of time off from the office and time well-spent with their
families.



Jeff, who works at a metal fabrication shop, uses part of his vacation time to
attend summer Boy Scout camp with his 12-year-old. "It's a great way for me
to share a special time with my son, and I have a chance to relax in the
outdoors. I come back to work rejuvenated and feel a closer bond with my
boy."



Lesson 7: Fast forward 30 years.

Are you happy with the decisions you made? Take a moment and ask yourself,
"Is my work consuming me?" If the answer is yes, you may need to take
a closer look at your life to get things in better balance. Upon reflection,
rarely will a retired executive say he wished he had spent more time at the
office. Most often, you'll hear him say he would give anything to have spent
more time with his kids as they grew up. The lesson here is to take the time now
to figure out what's important and act on it to avoid regrets later on.



Lesson 8: Seize the day.

It's unlikely that whatever led to your out-of-balance life will change without
some personal intervention. After more than 15 years in sales, Jim Cozzi got
tired of the travel, long hours alone in his car, and missing all of his sons'
ball games. He recently decided to go back to school to get his teaching degree.
Not only will teaching provide him with a better quality of life, when he
graduates his kids will still be young enough to appreciate his involvement in
their activities. If your current job demands aren't likely to change, perhaps
it's time to change jobs.





Kate Lorenz is the article and advice editor for CareerBuilder.com. She
researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring
trends and workplace issues.

An HR Pro Learns to Handle Potentially Violent Employees

What does protection against violence mean in the real world, for a real, live
HR person? This case study of Jewell Ayella may hit home.

By Lynne McClure

---

Jewell
Ayella* works for a large manufacturing firm in Phoenix, Arizona. Like many HR
professionals, she didn't think about how to protect herself from potentially
violent employees until she found herself in the middle of an extremely
threatening situation. Perhaps her experience and the lessons she learned will
help other HR professionals take preventive measures before a situation gets out
of hand. Here is how the situation unfolded:

Ayella had been working in HR for seven years when employees in a department
that was unfamiliar to her started complaining about a co-worker named Don
Thompson. She asked them to tell their manager, Paul Lorenzo, about the
situation and said she would talk to Thompson as well.

In meeting with Lorenzo, Ayella explained: "The employees tell me that
some days Don is okay, but most of the time, he looks wild-eyed and acts angry.
His moods seem to go up and down and his co-workers are afraid of him."

Shaking his head, Lorenzo responded: "Look, I didn't want him here in
the first place, but his former manager and your predecessor put a lot of
pressure on me to keep him. He should have been fired a long time ago. No one
feels safe around him."

"Why wasn't he fired?" Ayella asked. "No documentation about
the behavioral problems?"

"You got it," Lorenzo said. "And now you're going to ask me to
start documenting, right? Well, forget it. He does his work and he meets his
deadlines. The problem is that no one, including me, wants to be around him. I'm
not documenting any of that—it wouldn't do any good anyway. Because behavioral
problems aren't included in the corporate policy, there's nothing to back me
up."

Frustrated, Ayella asked the threatening employee to come see her.

"Your co-workers are having a problem with you," she told him.
"It seems that your moods are, well, they vary widely."

"That's THEIR problem," Thompson yelled, hitting the top of her
desk. "You think I'm supposed to entertain my co-workers? Look, I have my
rights. Check my personnel file—you won't see a single complaint. In fact,
this new job came with a raise. I must be doing something right! The problem is
YOU folks in HR, always trying to get in good with management."

After her meeting with Thompson, Ayella starting getting voicemail messages
at home, threatening: "Don't mess with me."

When she started talking with Thompson's previous managers about his
behavior, the voicemail messages continued: "Keep digging, and you'll be
digging your grave." Scared, Ayella erased them all. Furthermore, one night
in the middle of this situation Ayella thought she heard someone moving around
outside her house.

The next morning, Bridget DeMaio, Ayella's manager, showed up in her office.
Noticing how upset Ayella was, DeMaio asked her to sit down and explain what was
happening. Through this conversation, it became clear to Ayella that she should
start looking out for herself. Giving DeMaio all her notes on the case, Ayella
made an appointment with the company EAP for some personal counseling, she
arranged for some vacation time, and she signed up for a self- development
workshop.

While Ayella was gone, Thompson hit a co-worker. DeMaio required him to take
a number of fitness-for-work tests, including a drug test indicating he used
cocaine. Although the company's policy didn’t address behavioral problems, it
did specify that failing a drug test would be grounds for termination. Thompson
was gone before Ayella returned.

Ayella came back to work with a new perspective. "I've spent a lot of
time thinking about the situation with Don and here's what I've learned,"
she told DeMaio. "First, when employees complain about a co-worker I should
go directly to the manager. Instead of alerting Paul to the problem with Don, I
let his employees catch him by surprise. By the time I did talk with Paul, he
refused to cooperate with me.

"Second, Paul's refusal to document was a symptom of a deeper HR
problem. There's nothing in our policies that states disruptive or inappropriate
behavior is a performance issue. No wonder managers won't
document—they don't have any backing.

"Third," Ayella went on, "I was pretty naive about Don. I
assumed he'd be reasonable, even though Paul and his co-workers said otherwise.
I need to pay more attention to what's really happening, instead of how I think
it should be.

"And the fourth lesson is embarrassing," Ayella said. "I
ignored the obvious clues that I was in danger. I kept showing up at work as if
nothing was wrong without admitting how scared I felt or how much at risk I was.
Then, when direct threats were made on my voicemail, I erased the
evidence!"

DeMaio smiled supportively. "How would you handle a situation like this
next time?" she asked.

"Well," Ayella said, "First, I need to build a support team
than includes my peers in HR, people in security, the managers I'm working with
and others. If we share information on a regular basis, I won't feel as if I
have to solve all behavioral problems by myself. Also, I need to document
everything problem-employees say and do. I have to save threatening messages and
ask the police to investigate them. And I need to call the police whenever I
hear someone lurking about my property."

DeMaio nodded her head. "Sounds good," she said. "Anything
else?"

"Yes," Ayella said, "First, the team I put together has to get
top management to support early identification of high-risk employees so problem
behaviors can be dealt with early before these employees do anything violent.
Working with top management, we must establish a policy that allows us to
address behavioral problems while they’re still manageable.

"Second," Ayella said, "I have to make it easier for everyone
to see the distinction between me and as an agent of the company in the HR role
by showing more concern about what employees tell me. For example, I could have
been more interested in hearing Don's perception of the situation with his
co-workers. I could have shown understanding about the problems he was
experiencing, and explained how the EAP could be used as a resource. Assuming
behavioral guidelines are in place, I could also have made it clear that even
though Don has to follow the same guidelines as everyone else, it was a
business—not a personal—issue."

DeMaio smiled. "Sounds like you're got a good handle on this issue.
Let’s move forward and implement what you’ve learned," she said.

* All names have been changed to maintain confidentiality.

*The information contained in this article is intended to provide useful
information on the topic covered, but shouldn’t be construed as legal advice
or a legal opinion.

---

Lynne McClure is a management consultant and an expert on workplace violence
with McClure Associates Management
Consultants Inc. in Mesa, Arizona.

Measure Your Soft Skills Smarts

Measure Your Soft Skills Smarts: "What are employers looking for?
It depends -- every employer seeks a different mix of skills and experience from a prospective employee. But one thing they look for consistently: Soft skills.
Remember the phrase from your report card -- 'works and plays well with others'? That's a critical soft skill, and there are many more, all of them important for any job in any industry.
Are you soft skills savvy? Take this short quiz and find out. "

DailyOM - Changing Careers

DailyOM - Changing Careers

August 19,
2005

Embarking On A New Path

Changing Careers

What we do for a living can be intimately intertwined with who
we are. Often, people expect to grow and thrive in one career over a period of
decades. For others, however, that expectation is unrealistic. As they
themselves change, they become dissatisfied with the profession that once
brought them joy. This is not unusual in modern times, where more and more
people are changing careers not just once, but many times over the course of
their lives. Because your career is a part of who you are, switching to another
can be a long and involved process that requires courage and determination. The
challenges, which can include stepping into unfamiliar territory, going back to
school, or learning to live on less income, are very real, but the rewards can
trump them. Changing careers, if done thoughtfully, can be one of the most
richly satisfying and exciting experiences of your life.



If for years your soul has been telling you that you would make a skilled
lawyer, a talented sculptor, or a brilliant electrical engineer, it's worth
investigating the possibilities. Or, you may be desirous of a more soulful and
fulfilling career but haven't figured out what it is yet. In either case,
explore. If you have identified a passion, research it. Talk to people in that
field and find out how they got there. Ask about the ups and the downs. If
you're unsure of a career path you might like to pursue, look toward your
passions, abilities, hobbies, and values. Determine what your ideal work hours,
income, commute time, and working situation would be. If you love the idea of
flexible hours or working from home, decide whether you would be willing to earn
less as a trade off. Look for careers that offer the type of work environment
and benefits you are looking for. Creating a new future takes time and effort,
and a willingness to delve deep into the positives and nega! tives of a variety
of careers.



Focus on your strengths, rather than skills you may be lacking. Seeking skill
training or the help of a career counselor can be helpful. It's normal to be
nervous when seeking out a new career, particularly if you are established in
your current profession. But the payoff can be true satisfaction in finding work
that you can love, and, it's never too late for change.

WorldCom's Ebbers Gets 25 Years, Weeps

WorldCom's Ebbers Gets 25 Years, Weeps: "Weeping in court as he learned his fate, former WorldCom boss Bernard Ebbers was sentenced to 25 years in prison Wednesday for leading the largest corporate fraud in U.S. history.
It was the toughest sentence imposed on an executive since the fall of Enron in 2001 touched off a record-breaking wave of business scandals."

The Lincoln Tribune - News

The Lincoln Tribune - News: "National News : Homeland Security Operations Net Over 400 Criminal Aliens
Posted by JimKouri on 2005/7/2 13:05:41
by Jim Kouri, CPP

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested eight known gang members in four cities and removed nine others in recent days. These arrests are the latest under Operation Community Shield, a national initiative aimed at disrupting and dismantling violent gangs of illegal immigrants. These arrests bring the total to more than 400 since March 2005.

Arrests occurred in San Francisco, Seattle, Atlanta and Detroit. The removals occurred from the Buffalo, NY Federal Detention Facility. All eight of the individuals arrested have been charged with being illegally present in the United States and are being detained pending their immigration court hearings.

The eight gang members deported from Buffalo were arrested around the country and staged at the facility as ICE completed the repatriation process. Suspected criminal activity includes manslaughter, criminal weapons possession, robbery, assault and attempted robbery.

William Cleary, Buffalo Detention and Deportation Field Office Director, said that the nine individuals removed were gang members from Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras and the Dominican Republic. They belonged to organized crime organizations such as MS-13, the 'Mexican Boys' of the La Gran Familia, the 'Big Kings'of SUR-13, 'Esquadron,' La Gran Raza,' and 'Trinitarios.'

In Oakland, California, feds nabbed Antonio Garcia-Becerra, a Mexican national and Southside Locos 13 gang member. Garcia was previously deported from the United States and reentered in violation of federal law. He has a criminal history that includes a weapons violation.