Career Development

Apparently white executives have a hard time empathizing with colleagues who are a different race because they can't bring themselves to view them as they view white junior executives - who often remind them of themselves or their children.

Jane keeps being told by her boss to be "more senior" yet when questioned as to what this means receives simply a shrug. She asks what she can do to give the impression that she is more senior.

Despite the state of the economy, some employers are still hiring. In fact one organization is so keen to recruit that it recently sent out a mass e-mail asking people to consider a career with them.

Whether you're working toward a raise, a promotion, or your work ethic just won't let you do otherwise, you probably want to hear the words "good job" from your boss. If that's you, one of the quickest ways to impress your boss is by making his or her life easier.

Even with the economy as bad as it is you may be looking for a new job. But what jobs are "cooler" than the one you have now?

In tough times, many organisations slip into treating people badly. But with half of workers considering down-shifting to a more fulfilling job, poor employers could find their offices rapidly emptying when things pick up.

It's a sad truth that you're more likely to get promoted if you're assertive, forceful and self-assured than you are if you're just good at your job. So is this another reason why things have gone so wrong economically?

The lessons we learned in childhood shaped who we are and created the values that guide us through life. But they may limit our success if followed too closely. Real world experience has other lesson to offer, many of which fly in the face of traditional parental guidance.

Despite the economic mess, there are still good jobs out there for those of you seeking new careers. In fact, some areas might actually benefit from the downturn.

Advancement - to whatever level one wants - comes through personal effort. We can't rely on others to bring us success. Achieving your dream means determining what you want and then doing what it takes to achieve it.

Every year your office probably holds some kind of Christmas holiday event. You may not want to attend, but beware. Not going could actually hurt your career.

If you hate your boss, here's some tips you can master to learn to live with the situation at least long enough to find work elsewhere.

Walking away before your company crashes around you is the best way to prevent career meltdown - even if it means taking your chances in an uncertain jobs' market.

If you want to move up the career ladder but always see others getting ahead in front of you, there may be some good reasons for it.

You hear a lot of managers and companies talking about "building their brand." But of course, you can do much the same thing yourself and build your own "personal brand".

Don't think it can't happen to you. The collapse of Lehman Brothers provides a sharp reminder that nobody is immune from being laid off, downsized or restructured. So here are 10 smart ways you can get ahead of this corporate curve ball

Mary has been promoted to head up her company's career development function. The trouble is, her VP doesn't see the need for such a function in the first place and doesn't see her move as a promotion at all. What can she do to get him on side?

It's said you should never regret your choices. Yet that's exactly what half of British workers feel about their working lives, with a fifth convinced they chose completely the wrong career.

However you define success, everyone seems to want it. But most people struggle in the effort - and that begs the question, what is needed to get past the obstacles on the road to success?

Just about every company has some kind of dress code. But while many of these might seem pretty relaxed, it might just be that your boss notices how you dress and bases his or her decision on promoting you on that very thing.

Before you say "yes" to a new job offer, have a read of this piece by Rachel Zupek, on Careerbuildr.com. It could save you no end of problems down the road.

A job interview can be an intimidating experience from beginning to end. While most of the questions you're likely to be asked are relatively straightforward, one that seems deceptively simple can be the hardest to answer. That question is "Why should I hire you?".

What does it take to get ahead in the modern working world? Does it just take hard work or does it take kissing up to the right people?

Building a successful career requires continuous forward movement. When considering whether to accept a job, you should always ask yourself: Where will this job take me? Will it lead to a better job in a few years or is it a dead-end job?

You have finally found that new job and you are excited about making a good first impression. You don't want to get off on the wrong foot and head down the wrong path.

Managers are often told they need to be empathetic and people-focused to get ahead in the modern business environment. But if you really want to get to the top, you still need to be a numbers' person.

If things just aren't working out for you, it may just be time to admit that you need to choose a different career path. In which case, these tips could prove very useful.

In an unstable economy, taking risks can be seen as foolish. But success occurs only when people chances. And despite what critics you might encounter, now might be a great time to take a risk.

Diane's unit is plagued with poor morale and disorganization – a large part of which is due to her lazy boss. Dr Rob Yeung has some suggestions to help her deal with him without upsetting the applecart.

The first day of a new job can be stressful for anyone, so here's advice for getting through the first day and starting off on the right foot.

If you're planning on changing jobs at the moment, make very sure you want to do it for the right reasons. A better strategy may be to ride out the economic turbulence with your current employer.

Job-hopping may boost your salary in the short term, but too much career chopping and changing can eventually harm a worker's financial prospects.

The real reason you may hate your job may have nothing to do with your boss at all. Instead, hating your job may have more to do with picking the wrong career for the wrong reasons.

History is full of people who had to spend years working awful jobs before becoming great and changing the world.

So you are sitting in a cubicle, but you dream of having that nice corner office with a great view. How do you get there?

If you're serious about getting to the top of the corporate ladder, the chances are that somewhere along the way you're going to need the services of a head-hunter.

Managers like to think of themselves as decisive and assured, but when it comes to looking for a new job, many turn into quivering jellies of uncertainty and indecision.

Have we really become so gullible as to believe that the more complex our jobs sound, the higher our value and the greater our net worth? Or have a lot of us just forgotten what it is we supposed to be doing?

Managers may weep at office politics, despair at the latest initiative from on high and worry about poor performers. But half have also experienced moments of real clarity about their role and how they are meant to lead.

One unfortunate side effect of our busy working lives that it is easy to lose sight of workplace relationships. As a result, we forget that our personal and professional success depends as much on the quality of these relationships as it does on how effectively we perform our tasks.

Is your boss just difficult to deal with? If so, what do you do about it? How do you handle talking to the person who could, in theory, have you fired or destroy your career? This piece on Monster.com has some ideas and suggestions.

Germans, French and Greeks swear by it. The British and Irish think it is over-rated. And for Americans it is virtually unheard of. What are we talking about? Job loyalty, of course.

For many American servicemen and women, making the transition into civilian work is proving just as challenging as serving in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Why do so many women struggle with "being political"? They possess all the skills they need to succeed in the political arena – but all too often, no-one has taught them the rules of the game. So here's a crash course in how to play the game without becoming a man in a skirt.

Susan loves her job as a teacher, but the pay just isn't enough to ensure financial stability. But with a baby on the way, should she look for a job with better prospects or keep her peace of mind but continue to live paycheck to paycheck?

Senior executives are more loyal than you might expect, with half expecting to work for no more than seven organisations during their entire career.

Umesh is torn between staying in his current job – which has its good points despite the problems – and accepting a more senior role with a smaller rival. Recruiter Steve Huxham helps him consider all the options.

Are you about ready to quit? More importantly, do you want to quit, but you don't want to pour gasoline and then set fire to the bridge behind you? There is a way to resign and not ruin everything, as revealed in this piece on the eponymously-named I-resign.com.

The twists and turns of working life sometimes reflect life inside a casino. The cards you're dealt so often offer the promise of untold wealth and riches and yet the odds are always stacked in favour of the house.

For the ambitious manager it's no longer who you know that is important. It's not even what you know. It's "can you prove it?" that counts, new British research has suggested.

Thinking about a new job? What about trying temporary work instead? After all, temping isn't far off from the world of consulting, though you have less paperwork and lower overheads.

Six out of 10 U.S. hiring managers looking for college students to fill internship positions and if they play their cards right, many of these are likely to be offered a permanent job.

With every merger or acquisition, as many as 15 per cent of employees (that's more than one in six) in the combined organization can expect to face the axe. If you don't want to be a statistic, you need to know the smart way to survive being bought.

People who rise up organizations understand the unspoken rules of success – they know that what gets them paid every month is not going to get them ahead. They understand the secret of career helium.

They say that animal lovers end up looking like their pets. But now it seems that looking like – and being like – your boss can be pretty significant for your career, too.

Italian management consultants have come up with a unique recipe for boosting your management career. Forget business books, what you need to do is watch more movies.

The idea that workers who have lost or left their jobs are happy to travel anywhere to find new work is a myth – in fact the vast majority will do their utmost to ensure they don't have to uproot themselves or their family.

Fred has been on the graduate programme at an international bank for almost two years but feels that the programme is not meeting his expectations and that he has been treated like a temp wherever he's been posted. Patricia Soldati offers some advice.

High-flyers seem to intuitively understand how to gain access and how to enhance and sustain their leadership positions. They're aware of the hidden truths that fast-trackers have used for ages, rules which, if used correctly, can rock your professional world.

Kirsty is a graduate high-flyer whose first job in an international law firm isn't panning out the way she had planned. But is this down to misunderstanding and miscommunication or something far more serious?