For each and every thing you want to achieve in life -- whether it's landing a job, earning a raise or promotion or finding lifelong romance -- there will be at least one person on the other end deciding whether you will achieve it and probably more than one person contributing to your cause. Everything we do can only be accomplished ...

As usual, contingent hiring is expected to be a bellwether for the broader labor economy. “We expect to see improvement for temporary workers before we see it anywhere else,” says Heidi Shierholz, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute. “But that’s not happening yet. We’re still seeing declines in temp help services, though they’re much smaller declines.” As the economy sputters ...

Friendship grows from the quality of time two people spend together, not the quantity. There is a common misconception that to build a bond, two people need to meet often and for long stretches. This is not the case. Outside your family and work, you probably can count the people you see frequently in the course of a month on two ...

Condoleezza Rice’s selection as US Secretary of State in 2005 was remarkable for how unmentioned her gender was. Nearly a decade earlier, Madeleine Albright had broken that barrier. As the highest-ranking women in American government, Rice and Albright symbolize one unalienable fact: Government - one of the largest sectors of the American economy - is a great place for women to ...

If I refer to the Jersey Shore, does your first thought go to a vacation spot or to someone named "Snooki?" Your answer may say a lot about your generation. Traditionalists or Baby Boomers are thinking of summertime memories, while Millennials are thinking about Snooki and her friends on the MTV reality show. Right? Maybe. The truth is your answer probably ...

Inaction by the Senate to pass a short-term highway funding bill may cause the Department of Transportation to furlough nearly 4,000 employees nationwide starting Tuesday. With no extension, the Department of Transportation will cutoff payments to state highway programs as well as the Federal Transit Administration, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. These programs are paid ...

Federal agencies are catching on to the social media craze and leveraging that technology to attract job seekers, especially young recruits. For example, the Labor Department advertises open positions on Twitter and plans to upload its recruitment videos to YouTube. The State Department regularly updates its Facebook page and maintains the @DOSCareers Twitter account. But conventional wisdom, which holds that recent ...

The weakened economy and tight job market can be frightening to servicemembers ready to enter the civilian workforce. However, in spite of the economic turmoil, one career field stands to endure and thrive — the Green Jobs Sector. Prior to the economic meltdown, green-collar jobs were already on track to become one of the nation's fastest growing careers. In fact, the ...

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES IN THE PACIFIC & ATLANTIC FLEET Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO), offers excellent career opportunities for civilians in the Pacific and Atlantic Fleet. Vessels operated by NOAA's Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO) are based in Seattle, WA; Norfolk, VA; Woodshole, MA; Charleston, SC; Pascagoula, MS; ...

I didn’t think it would happen to me. As a news producer for a television network, I reported on unemployment numbers daily. I was detached. Analytical. Objective. Then one day, without any prior warning, I was out of a job, and the subject of someone else’s news story. It’s not that I thought I was immune, or somehow above it ...

There were no lines when I got to the Veterans Health Administration office. There also was no one sitting at a desk -- merely a sign reading "Click here for Contact Details.” And there was no one moving about anywhere in the building, so far as I could see. But there was a video screen on the wall with actor Gary ...

Predictions have been made about a coming wave of retirements as baby boomers reach their 60's. Census Bureau estimates show that 78 million baby boomers were born between 1946 and 1964 and they are now beginning to hit early retirement eligibility. But a funny thing has happened on the way to retirement. Inside the Federal Government and in workplaces all across ...

An announcement from the Office of Personnel Management yesterday about their reorganization: OPM Reorganizes to Better Meet the Needs of Its Customers Washington, DC - In order to help fulfill President Obama's promise to make the Federal government more transparent and customer friendly, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has undergone a major reorganization. It became effective with the signing ...

Deep inside the current swine flu scare, there may be a silver lining for federal employees -- greater acceptance of telework in musty bureaucracies. Although increased telecommuting has been a federal workplace goal for many years, statistics show a difference between theory and practice. Part of the problem has been managers who are reluctant to approve at-home working arrangements because they ...

HELP WANTED ... FINDING A JOB I saw an ad in the newspaper for jobs in corporate finance. I faxed my resume to the 800-number listed and got a call from a woman who said her company works with businesses to find employees to fill their positions. She said the service would cost me $495, but the fee was fully ...

Who makes your favorite shoes or outfits? What beverage calls your name when you need a pick-me-up? Whose movies won't you miss? Whose help do you seek when you want a project done right, at home or at work? All of these questions involve your reactions to a particular brand -- a collection of assumptions about quality, appeal and reliability that ...

Here's a question I see quite often on the Government Careers message board: I'm in my mid-career and am finding that my career is coming to an end because of downturns in my industry. The jobs are drying up, and my pay isn't keeping up with inflation, so I need to make a change soon. I'm thinking about working for the ...

WASHINGTON - Chris McConnell, 27, of Washington, D.C. has joined GovCentral as Editor and General Manager. McConnell comes most recently from MIQCIE Strategy & Development LLC, a boutique consulting company focused on political, logistical, and communications strategy and development. As founder, McConnell worked with clients to create innovating outreach strategies targeting Congress and Federal Agencies to obtain measurable results. As Editor ...

When I give talks to students in college and grad school, they always ask me: What are the secrets to success? What are the unspoken rules for making it big? "So you want the inside scoop," I respond. "Fair enough. I'll sum up the key to success in one word: Generosity." They are shocked, because they thought I'd help them learn ...

Several years ago my husband and I decided to move from the DC area because we had family obligations in Texas. It was difficult to tell my boss that I was leaving. Thank goodness I brought along a box of tissue because, as expected, he cried a lot at the news. Not really, I just like messing with him. If I ...