Perhaps you could put together a regular meeting of some like-mined folks to help you think some new thoughts, too, or help you better understand a topic you are all learning for the first time.

Do you have a “study” group or just an informal gathering of folks on a regular basis? Tell us about it in the comments.

Continue Your Education the Easy Way by Finding a Discussion Buddy

Sometimes the act of learning something new can be a bit difficult on your own. You can read all the books or articles you want, but it doesn’t always sink in completely. Productivity blog Pick the Brain has a really simple solution borrowed directly from the education system: find a study buddy to talk it out with.

Read the entire article

Elsewhere: Continue Your Education the Easy Way by Finding a Discussion Buddy from Lifehacker.com is a post from Career Opportunities

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My first and most important rule is…pay them something, anything! It really makes a difference.

Only slightly less important, second, the intern MUST learn something immediately useful to them once they return to school or to the job market.

Treat your interns as you would like your children treated if they were interns somewhere. Think of yourself as a teacher who is getting some assistance from a student, not simply someone to answer the phone.

How to Legally Work With an Intern

School is coming to an end for another year, and many students will be participating in internships for the summer. An internship can be a real win-win situation—the hirer (you) gets low cost or even free help while the intern gains valuable work experience.

I did a number of internships in my college days. I’ve also managed interns in my professional days. When I worked for a small, post production company in Boston, we had an intern in our office every day of the week. They helped us with tasks such as blacking out tapes, burning DVDs and videotapes for our clients, assisted in shooting projects, and brought a great, young energy into the office.

What did they get out of it? They got to use state-of-the-art professional shooting and editing equipment for free. Many of these students couldn’t even get their hands on stuff this awesome at their colleges. Plus, they were encouraged to create their own projects when the equipment was free, which happened often since we were such a small shop.

Read the entire article at FreelanceSwitch.com

** Looking for a job? Visit Jobs.WelchWrite.com for a host of job listings in your area of expertise. Search by keyword and geographic region.

Elsewhere Online: How to Legally Work With an Intern at Freelance Switch is a post from Career Opportunities

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• Seth’s Blog: The coalition of No
• Become a better person by keeping a journal
• Skip the Counteroffer When Resigning a Job to Make a Graceful Exit
• Huntsy Keeps Track of Jobs You Want and Simplifies the Application Process
• Seth’s Blog: The end of the diva paradox
• How 3 Mashable Readers Landed Jobs Via Social Media
• How Can I Recharge My Depleted Motivation?

My favorite shared career items for April 2012 is a post from Career Opportunities

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After listening to this episode — Fighting The Corporate Anitbodies — I had to pass it on to you. This podcast comes from McKinney’s  new book, Beyond the Obvious, which includes many of the ideas he has discussed in his podcast over the years.

When we are trying to innovate, there are many different types of corporate “antibodies” that use their tried and true methods to prevent that innovation from happening. McKinney gives us some methods for counteracting these antibodies and, hopefully, move our innovations forward.

I hope you enjoy this podcast. Please share your comments and questions in the comments area. I think this is a great topic of conversation for career builders of all types.

Fighting the Corporate Antibodies by Phil McKinney

The antagonist of the innovator is the corporate antibody.

Download audio file (KI_2012_02_Fighting_The_Corporate_Antibodies.mp3)

Much like antibodies in our immune system attack and destroy foreign objects that might harm the body, “antibodies” in your organization identify and neutralize forces that threaten to destabilize a company. And in much the same way as antibodies can damage the very thing they seek to protect — for instance when they cause the body to reject a transplanted organ — corporate antibodies can stunt a company’s growth (and not address the innovators dilemma) when the shut down the fresh ideas and unconventional thinkers it so badly needs.

Some of the types of corporate antibodies are:

• The Ego Antibody

• The Fatigued Antibody

• The No-Risk Antibody

• The Comfort Antibody

Antibodies are the roadblock to innovation.

So how do you fight the corporate antibodies? Listen to the podcast …

Note: This podcast presents the highlights from Chapter 3 from the book, Beyond The Obvious.

Killer Innovations: Fighting the Corporate Antibodies by Phil McKinney is a post from Career Opportunities

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Here is the original blog post that started the conversation.

ROBBIE ABED’S PERSONAL BLOG: Fire Me Now, I beg you!

In every situation I ask myself two questions:

• What do I want the outcome of this situation to be
• What do I secretly want the outcome of this situation to be

For example, at one of my previous jobs, my boss setup an emergency meeting in her office. The title of the calendar invite was “catch up”. It was one of those vague meeting titles that meant one of two things: 1) She wanted to catch up or 2) She was going to lay me off.

Read the entire article here

More importantly, here is a great discussion thread on Hacker News that that blog post generated.

YCombinator: Hacker News Discussion Board

There are some great thoughtful and insightful comments there, including…

This is actually a great mental exercise for determining if you’re fundamentally unhappy at your current job. Just try and imagine your boss calling into a meeting like the one the OP describes and giving you some sort of, “your work has been good, but unfortunately we have to make some changes, and this will be your last day” speech, and imagine how you would feel.If your reaction is something along the lines of relief, then you are fundamentally unhappy at your job. You have not only concluded that it is not a good situation, but that the situation is incapable of improving. It’s likely only artificial mental restraints keep you from doing anything about it (“oh man I may have to move, moving is annoying… and I guess I get paid pretty well, most of my friends are making half what I do… and my boss said some things would change, although he said that months ago…”) and those restraints aren’t even that strong, otherwise you wouldn’t be relieved if you got laid off.

It is very worthwhile to look through this thread no matter where you are in your current job.

Fire Me Now, I beg you! – great blog post and discussion is a post from Career Opportunities

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I stopped by the weekly #beonfire Twitter chat this evening for the first time and stepped into a discussion about tenacity and persistence. Here are some highlights from my comments during the chat.

• As with all things, you have to balance tenacity and persistence with thinking or you can try harder at the wrong thing.
• @Pistachio Yes, we all have cycles in our energy level. You have to know where you are a the moment and how to proceed
• @ShellyKramer Anything you learn from is NOT a failure, even if you close/abandon that particular project.
• @BSchuler I think true failure is rare, but re-aligning is very, very common. We adjust with each step we take.
• @Pistachio Important to understand that certain projects go “fallow” for periods of time, then come back. Not really dead.
• I think more people are stopped by fear of failure then failure itself, so important to get people moving in any way.
• Really tenacity is using inertia in our favor. Letting small movements carry us along — Object in motion staying in motion
• @npersona Tenacity and persistence is about Intelligent thinking about WHY you are being tenacious and persistent. Stubbornness is ego driven.
• For me, the difference is am I doing for what I want to accomplish or because my ego is over-involved in some way. Ego = big problem
• For me, this is why I work with/collaborate with others. Doing something with/for others helps with the ego.
• @Pistachio Sometimes, you just have to kick yourself on the butt and realize you are being destructive in  your stubbornness. i.e.
• @Pistachio when we “take our ball and go home” unless people do it exactly our way. THAT is EGO with a Capital E
• What drives me? Others. I have often said that I do my best work when I am working for something that helps others as well as myself
• @ShellyKramer Yes. Everbody wins or no go. Winning at the expense of others, knowingly and actively is BAD JUJU.
• What will I be more tenacious about? Working hard to spread word about my career unconferences and finding more backing. Fund raising is NOT my strong suit.

A complete transcript of this #beonfire Twitter can can be found on their web page.

Some notes from the BeOnFire Twitter chat this evening – Tenacity and Persistance is a post from Career Opportunities

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The only way to remove it, though, is to stand up to it, but in an environment where everyone is already scared for their job, it is almost impossible.

While leaving a job may resolve the problem for the individual, those they leave behind and those that follow them into the company are bound to suffer the same treatment

Via Jason ON on his Google+ Profile

When bullies go to work: The hidden epidemic of workplace mistreatment affects over a third of workers — and is hurting us all

BY MARY ELIZABETH WILLIAMS 

My friend Dennis* remembers the exact moment he knew he’d had enough. Enough of the “nonstop nagging and ostracizing and accusing” that had become his weekday routine. He was standing on the platform of the subway station at Union Square, leaning out toward the tracks to see if the train was approaching. “And I thought, if I don’t pull back, if I stay here like this, so many problems will be solved.”

Dennis’ tormenter? Not a schoolyard thug shaking him down for lunch money, but a high-ranking executive in one of the largest financial institutions in the country. When the mean kids of your childhood grow up, they don’t all evolve into self-aware, contrite adults. Sometimes, they just move from the playground to the corner office.

Read the entire article

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Sadly, most of the methods listed in this article are fraught with career danger. That is NOT how it should be. You should not have to risk your job to try and make your work — and your company — better.

Each time we let something like this pass, we only make it worse for the next person. The average worker has so little power to effect change without risking their career though. It shouldn’t be that way, but most companies aren’t interested in solving the problem — only in making it go away and firing the worker that complains is often the easiest way.

Situations like this make me wonder how some companies stay in business at all. Imagine how productive they might be if they could resolve some of these issues.

Your Boss Is Bad For You: Why Bad Bosses Infect Your Life and What You Can Do to Stop Them

Those of us who have had to deal with annoying or aggravating bosses know how it’s tough to shake it off at the end of the day, but a new study explains why it’s so hard, and why so many of us suck at it and wind up bringing our stress home—where it doesn’t just hurt you: It hurts your family, your friends, and your other relationships. Let’s look at the study and talk about some ways you can learn to check your bad boss at the office door when you leave work.

Read the entire article from Lifehacker.com

Elsewhere: Your Boss Is Bad For You from Lifehacker.com is a post from Career Opportunities

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Yes, there might be other specific issue involved in a particular job, but if you can’t get beyond these 3 rules then I don’t think you’ll get the job.

Forbes: Top Executive Recruiters Agree There Are Only Three True Job Interview Questions

[…]

The only three true job interview questions are:

1.  Can you do the job?

2.  Will you love the job?

3.  Can we tolerate working with you?

[…]

Cornerstone International Group CEO, Bill Guy emphasizes the changing nature of motivation,

…younger employees do not wish to get paid merely for working hard—just the reverse: they will work hard because they enjoy their environment and the challenges associated with their work…. Executives who embrace this new management style are attracting and retaining better employees.

Read the entire article for more great information

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I believe that entrepreneurship is one of the driving factors of careers today, regardless of whether you are working for yourself or within a traditional corporate environment. You have to DO for yourself as much as you DO for your company or you risk being left out in the cold when the company no longer needs you or your skills. Don’t be caught off-guard. Start thinking like and entrepreneur today!

The new entrepreneurs by The Open University

Course Description

Whether you’re thinking of starting your own business, looking to improve one you already own, or are simply interested in understanding more about how the business world works, this learning pathway is a storehouse of ideas, techniques and real-life stories to inspire and inform.

It includes resources to help you assess and evaluate an idea using comprehensive, practical techniques, and explore a range of business types – from home-workers and ‘mompreneurs’, to family businesses, social enterprises and ‘lifestyle’ entrepreneurs. It also looks at entrepreneurial psychology. What are the qualities you need to succeed? What are the downsides to being your own boss, and how can you prepare for them?

Education: The new entrepreneurs by The Open University and iTunesU is a post from Career Opportunities

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Writing creatively: plays
by The Open University

Course Description

For those interested in English language or literature, or with ambitions to write plays, the creative activities throughout this learning pathway provide an overview of the process of playwriting – from capturing ideas through to character, structure, dialogue, stage directions and editing.

Leading contemporary British playwrights, including Alan Ayckbourn (the most performed living English language playwright), Bryony Lavery (also author of ‘The Woman Writer’s Handbook’), and Willy Russell (‘Educating Rita’) give tips and practical advice on how to write plays. Their tips include how to read, watch and understand plays – using examples from Shakespeare, Ibsen’s ‘A Doll’s House’ and Caryl Churchill’s ‘Top Girls’.

This pathway encourages experimentation as well as learning by reading and questioning. You will also be able to listen to linguistics professor David Crystal at the London Globe Theatre re-evaluating Shakespeare by exploring the original pronunciation.

Education: Writing creatively: plays is a post from Career Opportunities

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CareerCampLA 2012 is in the planning stages.

For more information, visit the CareerCamp blogs CareerCampLA or CareerCamp International.

Are you interested in helping us organize CareerCampLA, speaking or attending? Watch these blogs for further information.

Join us for our next career unconference and Build the Career the You Deserve!

CareerCampLA 2012 planning begins! is a post from Career Opportunities

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• @bizMebizgal: TODAY Topic: What are the top mistakes that people make when job searching? Join us from 12-1 CST. See you soon! #careerchat
• Build the the Career You Deserve! It’s time for  #careerchat
• @bizMebizgal It has been the tagline for my podcast for years now. I truly believe it, too. Everyone deserves a great career! #careerchat
• Be open to opportunities outside your usual realm of work that present themselves. Don’t just ignore them. Could be new career!
• Also, don’t just take the first job offered. Make sure it takes your career in the direction you want to go.
• In job search, just like relationships, seeming too desperate can kill your chances.
• @Tiffany_Rainbow Yes, mis-addressed letters can easily happen when you are creating multiples. Must carefully proof.
• Re: misaddressed letter – Have a “process” to step through each letter individually so this doesn’t occur.
• @YouTern Networking also isn’t just about “what can you do for me?” Help other and you will get help.
• Don’t think that you have to/should have the exact same job at another company. Job search is the time to experiment and grow.
• @DaveYouTern Well, actually, I think job search is all about YOU. It is finding a job that fits your wants, needs and desires.
• @DaveYouTern Yes, you are trying to fit company’s needs, but also trying to find a great fit for you. Should be balance between
• For many years we have labored under the concept that “company over all”, but we need to break away from that.
• @bizMebizgal Important to internalize what you know so that it becomes a part of who you are. You should be able to share your..
• …knowledge and skills automatically. I can talk about new media extemporaneously because I have done it so often.
• Re: wide range of skills - @BethAnneEretto I think it makes you more employable as you simply have more options of possible jobs
• @bizMebizgal Yes, repetition sticks your career story in your mind and also make you think and discover what you truly want.
• As an exercise I sometimes list out everything I want out of a dream job, then try to find something that fits.
• Good exercise to do with my career consulting clients, too. You never know unless you think about it.
• Yep, it makes them think. Then, at least, you can aim in that general direction. I call it the Career Compass!
• I have a Kindle booklet coming out on the Career Compass as a tool to guide your career. I use the idea a lot.
• I don’t think you can convince someone who is biased against older workers. Need to find more willing people.
• I think a LinkedIn profile is just one more tool in the toolbox and costs you nothing to create. Could be useful so do it
• You may need to do some of that work for freelance clients to gain experience you can then show to others.

This weeks #careerchat – Most common mistakes in your job search is a post from Career Opportunities

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I Like This – October 10, 2011 is a post from Career Opportunities

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Watch “From corporate slave to solopreneur” – iPod Ready Video

Video: From corporate slave to solopreneur with Susan M. Baker from CareerCampSFV is a post from Career Opportunities

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I Like This – October 3, 2011 is a post from Career Opportunities

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4 Ways Current Labor Trends Will Impact Your Career

Seen on Alexandra Levit’s Water Cooler Wisdom by Alexandra Levit

Here are the main points.

• Education Pays
• Tech Knowledge is Increasingly Important
• Ongoing Training is Essential
• Career Planning is the Name of the Game

Read the entire article

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I Like This – September 26, 2011 is a post from Career Opportunities

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I Like This – September 12, 2011 is a post from Career Opportunities

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