Have a friendly chat with a co-worker to solve a common problem. That’s the gist of a study out of the University of Michigan. “This study shows that simply talking to other people, the way you do when you’re making friends, can provide mental benefits,” said psychologist Oscar Ybarra, a researcher at the U-M Institute [...]

When you’re hiring, do you need an introvert or an extrovert? Do you need an organized person or a creative thinker? Certain jobs really do require certain personality types. You don’t want an introvert in a sales job dealing with people all day long. And a free-spirited creative type might not be the best pick [...]

With just two months left in 2010, it means two things: holiday gift shopping and planning for 2011. You might take some cues from this year’s crop of best-selling business books both for gifts and inspiration for your own business or career. Thoughtful and relevant business books are great employee gifts, particularly if you’re looking [...]

If you’ve never had to answer the question, “Tell me your strengths and weaknesses?” then you’ve never been in job interview. And everyone knows you make your weakness sound like a strength: “I have a tendency to work too hard.” Aside from the obligatory questions about experience and work ethic, it seems interviews use the [...]

We’ve previously written about making effective presentations, focusing on such tips as keeping it short, not overdoing the PowerPoint with 102 slides and important, yet complex, material in a handout instead. But we love this column from Dan and Chip Heath (authors of “Made to Stick”) about using your presentations to “show, don’t tell.” They [...]