Displaying All Posts by Joseph Lewis

8 Stunning PowerPoint Templates: The Spring Line!

8 Stunning PowerPoint Templates: The Spring Line!

Every once in a while, we here at WorkAwesome like to provide you with some concrete tools that you can use in your work life. Today, we’re revisiting an old favorite: PowerPoint Templates. This past December we had 17 templates, and now we have a few more including several with customizable layouts. Read More



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The Sanity of Plain Language

The Sanity of Plain Language

Although we all begin life using small words and understanding each other perfectly, somewhere between childhood and middle management our ability to communicate goes mad. We turn healthy little nouns like “product” into overgrown verbs like “productize,” which then become bloated nouns like “productization.” Forms are impossible to complete, instructions are impossible to follow, and presentations are totally incomprehensible. How did this happen, and what can we do about it? Read More



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What Do You Do With an English Degree?

What Do You Do With an English Degree?

When I went to college, I knew exactly what I wanted to be: aerospace engineer. I had three scholarships with the engineering school and was looking forward to designing jet fighters and space shuttles, and possibly also flying my creations and becoming a Jedi. Unfortunately, I quickly found I didn’t enjoy the company of the students or professors in the engineering school and bounced over to *drum roll* criminology. However, I didn’t really think that through, so I soon after found myself moving to English literature, the only subject I really enjoyed and was very good at.

And then I had to figure out what to do with an English degree. Read More



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Bureaucratic Bellwethers & Barometers

Bureaucratic Bellwethers & Barometers

Most of us would agree that our jobs are made less pleasant by all sorts of things we can’t control, from the fluorescent lights and gray cubicle felt to the cranky copier and the underpowered microwave. There are human problems, including bullies, liars, and people who watch soap operas on tiny TVs at their desk while eating the loudest, crunchiest pretzels in the universe. But we also have too many meetings, too many reports, too many forms, and too many emails that we don’t really need to read.

These are signs that your big company is less concerned about running a tight ship and more concerned about staying a big company. The more sloppiness and waste your company tolerates, the less it cares about actual work. That’s a bad thing. But there are other ways to measure how much common sense your company has sacrificed on the altar of bureaucratic nonsense. Read More



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Where Do You See Yourself in Five Years?

Where Do You See Yourself in Five Years?

I hate this question. I hate when I hear it at an interview, and I hate thinking about it when I’m staring into space, pretending to think about work. It’s a ridiculous question. Anyone who has a clear sense of where their career will be in five years either has a government job or carries an assault rifle to work (soldier, pirate, gangster, etc.).

I feel we’ve strayed off topic. The point is, it is impossible to accurately predict how your career will play out, what choices will present themselves, and what random twists of fate will guide you to this promotion or that investment. So let’s not waste time seriously thinking about this question. Read More



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What is a 21st Century Career?

What is a 21st Century Career?

In the very olden days, a career was a job you were born into. You became a farmer, a fisher, a blacksmith, or whatever your parents had been, and your children would be the same (unless they wandered off to war or to start a new religion). In the more recent olden days, a career was forty years working in the same factory from high school graduation to retirement. But what is a career today? No one expects to do what their parents do, and no one expects to hold down the same job for more than 5 years (unless you’re in the government!).

So what is a career today? And do you even want one? Read More



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Raising the Bar in Rain or Shine

Raising the Bar in Rain or Shine

Modern office life ranges from very boring to oh-my-god-the-sky-is-falling-and-my-hair-is-always-on-fire. Both are imperfect. When you are bored, you can waste time on the internet while worrying about how secure your job really is. When you are over-worked, you’re exhausted and unhappy while worrying about whether others perceive your hectic days as a loss of control on your part.

Both are undesirable. And both demand that you raise the bar.

Read More



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Make the Right New Year’s Resolutions

Make the Right New Year’s Resolutions

Happy New Year! We drink, we stay up late, we kiss people, we watch fireworks, and revel as 2010 begins. I’m particularly excited about this New Year’s because I’m hoping that people will start saying the year as “twenty-ten” instead of “two thousand and ten.” Hey, I can dream.

But this also means it is time to make the dreaded New Year’s Resolution, a solemn promise to yourself to completely change who and what you are, to be a better human being, just because it’s time to buy a new calendar. Unfortunately, most people have trouble with the follow-through, and the whole fix-your-life-right-now program falls apart.

Here’s how to make it work. Read More



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Holidays: To Go or Not to Go on Vacation?

Holidays: To Go or Not to Go on Vacation?

The holiday season is upon us! Actually, I believe the holiday season officially began around October 1, when the Halloween horror movies started airing continuously and the Christmas commercials were already peppered in among them. But in addition to the compulsory shopping, binge eating, and general stress, there is a silver lining: Vacation time off.

But should you take it? Read More



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Office Campaigns and Crusades

Office Campaigns and Crusades

My recent article about dealing with unreasonable bosses and unreasonable requests generated a lot of debate. Some readers agreed with me that you often need to simply grin and bear it until you can get a better job, for various practical and financial reasons. Others argued that the best course of action is to always fight back, to demand fair treatment, and to put your ethics above your wallet. One person even suggested contacting a union representative, but that really only works in the 1950s or in France (which amounts to the same thing).

Because this is such an important issue for the people it affects, I think it deserves a little more discussion. Read More



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17 Awesome PowerPoint & Keynote Presentation Templates

17 Awesome PowerPoint & Keynote Presentation Templates

One of the keys to success in any endeavor is having the right tools and knowing how to use them to maximum effect. And one of the best ways to use any tool is to have an expert take care of the fine tuning. Graphic design – whether for Web sites, t-shirts, or presentations – is no exception.

In this article, we’ve assembled a gallery of PowerPoint and Keynote presentation templates available from GraphicRiver that range from classic to modern, and from simply cool to smoking hot. So if you’re not in the business of designing templates, you might want to consider using one of these. Read More



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This is Not in My Job Description

This is Not in My Job Description

For those of you who are young, idealistic, and just brimming with shiny hopes and dreams, I have some unfortunate news: Life isn’t fair. Nor is it reasonable, rational, sensible, logical, nice, or fluffy. Life is strange, ridiculous, cruel, fantastic, bizarre, whimsical, capricious, and just a little bit dirty.

I tell you this because one day, possibly one day quite soon, your boss (or someone who wields even more power over your fragile working existence) is going to ask you to do something that you don’t think you should be doing. And you are going to be very unhappy about it. Read More



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