“You poor stupid guy, you never can tell what some people will buy.” –The Lorax

Having read The Lorax twice a day for the last few weeks, I can recite it with my eyes closed. Now, no matter where I am, sections just pop out of my mouth. Luckily, the people on the receiving end are friends or family and not during a work presentation. Although it’s the story my two-year old falls asleep to, it actually DOES contain valuable life lessons. This one’s lesson?

Buyer beware. Keep Reading…

Money is a great driving force. Let’s say that you are really good at doing two completely different things: pottery and astrophysics. You simply adore throwing pots, choosing the perfect glaze, and seeing the final product of what you make—but the pay is less than what you would like to live on. You are a whiz at physics and have the opportunity to take a post at some lab studying the stars and the pay is phenomenal! But here’s the catch, astrophysics bores you to tears. Which job do you take? Did you choose money or fun? Be honest.

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My web presence has gotten out of control. I just spent the last few hours pruning it down to something manageable. I still have to go through the accounts I’m keeping to make sure that everything is appropriate for any potential boss to see. I’ve made sure that anyone who isn’t a Friend on Facebook can’t see my pole dancing photos. They also don’t need to see photos of me in the hospital during labor (thank you, husband, for taking them to begin with), so I’ll be going through Flickr this weekend to put restrictions on some photo sets.

This may sound a little over the top, but a CareerBuilder.com survey found that 45 percent of employers use social networking sites to research job candidates (more than double from the year before). Industries that specialize in technology and sensitive information are most likely to screen job candidates via social networking sites or online search engines. If you’re indiscreet on Facebook, who’s to say you can hold your tongue about Top-Secret government programs?

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Sometimes I get a case of the “gimmes.” I have a whole bunch of wish lists on Amazon.com for various different aspects of life: home, work, for the kid, Kitchen à la Alton Brown, and yes, I even have one called “for when I’m rich.” This is a list of what is currently on my work wish list. It’s a combination of fun things and useful things and one particular item that I want two of so I can have one at work AND home.

If you have any really great gadgets, tell us about it. I know I wouldn’t mind making my list a little longer.

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At some point in your life you will have to present a lot of data in a clear and concise manner. Once, I had to layout an entire book of tables full of stock information. It was boring, but there were a few steps that helped the work go really fast. If you haven’t done a lot of tables in Microsoft Word before, then this tutorial will take you through building one from scratch. I’ll throw in some of my tricks to make it go faster.

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There’s more to work than just work. If you’re lucky, you’ll make some of your closest friends from your place of employment. There are many people whom I no longer work with but am still close to. I have learned some very valuable things from them. Here are a few tidbits:

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I have been applying for jobs for the past eight months. I’ve redone my resume a couple of times and I’ve redone my cover letter more times than I can count. It has been a bit discouraging as no one has taken the bait. Well, let me rephrase that. I’ve gotten several calls from AFLAC recruiters and several banks asking me to come to their group interviews.

I just had a job interview last week. It was the first one in over two years and to be honest, I was a complete and utter wreck. I got a call on Saturday for an interview on Monday. There was very little time to pull myself together into a fully professional package. First, the easy items: conservative dress, printed directions, and reading up on the company.

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In this economy, job security is a bit shaky. It’s more important than ever to excel at your job. If you have a good job, or one you’re enduring until you find that dream job, make yourself irreplaceable. This is how I did it.

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Tailoring your workspace to meet your needs makes you more productive, relaxed, and even more confident. This doesn’t only apply to your desk drawers, or desktop icons. It also works with the programs you use on a regular basis. I always customize my workspaces no matter what program I’m working in. Some programs make it easier than others. Microsoft Word comes with many preset features, but don’t feel you have to leave them that way.

I’m working in Word 2007. Older versions are similar in instruction.

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