How Can I Help You A Very Hard Question!

How Can I Help You A Very Hard Question! Friday I wrote a post about my biggest mistake when going to network meetings. Inevitebly, once I fixed my mistake, I got this question: How can I help you? My answer? I didnt know! I didnt know for months. And then I realized I was leaving opportunities on the table.  There were people who wanted to help me, but I didnt know what to tell them so they could help me! I started to come up with a better answer. Check out this awesome post from January 2008 titled The Other Hardest Question: How Can I Help You? In it youll see my response, in an email, to that question. How do you answer the question? If you answered like I did, I invite you to think of a better answer. How Can I Help You A Very Hard Question! Friday I wrote a post about my biggest mistake when going to network meetings. Inevitebly, once I fixed my mistake, I got this question: How can I help you? My answer? I didnt know! I didnt know for months. And then I realized I was leaving opportunities on the table.  There were people who wanted to help me, but I didnt know what to tell them so they could help me! I started to come up with a better answer. Check out this awesome post from January 2008 titled The Other Hardest Question: How Can I Help You? In it youll see my response, in an email, to that question. How do you answer the question? If you answered like I did, I invite you to think of a better answer. How Can I Help You A Very Hard Question! Friday I wrote a post about my biggest mistake when going to network meetings. Inevitebly, once I fixed my mistake, I got this question: How can I help you? My answer? I didnt know! I didnt know for months. And then I realized I was leaving opportunities on the table.  There were people who wanted to help me, but I didnt know what to tell them so they could help me! I started to come up with a better answer. Check out this awesome post from January 2008 titled The Other Hardest Question: How Can I Help You? In it youll see my response, in an email, to that question. How do you answer the question? If you answered like I did, I invite you to think of a better answer.

The end of the glass ceiling

The end of the glass ceiling Forget the glass ceiling because its about to become irrelevant. Not because women are finally going to get to the top of Fortune 500 companies in forces of more than two companies at a time. That may happen, but no ones holding their breath. The glass ceiling is going to become irrelevant because the women who are coming into the workforce now see whats above that glass and they are uninterested. Recently I got a peek into the world above the glass ceiling when I read a profile of Jeff Immelt, chief executive of GE. Immelt said that he has been working 100-hour weeks for the last twenty years. He also said that he married a co-worker and they have an eighteen year-old-daughter. It is unclear to me why anyone would aspire to this life. If I were his daughter I think Id feel neglected. And if I were his wife, I think Id feel like a single parent with great alimony. If this is life above the glass ceiling, I think its absurd. By definition the glass ceiling only exists if someone is below it, longingly looking up. And soon, there wont be anyone left looking up. There is a broad disenchantment with corporate life that is gaining force among young workers. A new definition of success, that includes taking part in the unglorified daily tasks of raising kids, does not accommodate dreams of crashing glass ceilings. So it is no surprise that five years after earning an MBA, 40% of women are working from home. Often the press writes about this statistic like its a travesty, but I think its great. Its an achievement that these women have decided they can find success on their own terms instead of having to fit themselves through paths that were established for men, decades ago. The disenchantment with corporate life is not limited to women: eighty percent of men aged 20 to 39 said that a flexible job to accommodate kids takes a higher priority than doing challenging work or earning a high salary. And this trend is growing: Study after study shows that one of the defining traits of generation Y is that they are determined to not give up their personal life in order to get ahead at work. Instead of aligning yourself with people who are giving up everything in their personal life to get to the top, be one of the people who is redefining success. You can decide what is success for you. Dont be sucked into the idea of success as defined by the men who constructed the glass ceiling. After all, their lives included little room for passionate interests outside of work, only ceremonious parenting, and a wife who managed everything about that mans personal life. That vision of success sounds quaint and outdated, but look, Jeff Immelt is still living that life. And so are the majority of his peers (although its hard to believe many others are living it to the extreme that he is). Maybe, in ten years, there will be no one left to march up the stairs to the glass ceiling. Maybe it will be like the tree falling in the forest: No one will see it, so it will be as good as non-existent. People used to think that the revolution would happen above the glass ceiling, as more women pushed their way to the top. In fact, though, the revolution is happening below the glass ceiling, where people are reestablishing their priorities. Kids and ambition can co-exist beneath the glass ceiling. Plenty of ambitious people have grand, remarkable achievements without giving up a vibrant personal life. Why would anyone aim for anything else?

Grad School Companies Tuition Reimbursement

College/Grad School Companies Tuition Reimbursement Now is a really hard time to head back to school because of our economy.   It is  tough to make the decision to quit your job and attend school full time  because who knows if a job will be waiting for you when you graduate.   Can you  and your family afford to go without a paycheck or to live off school loans for the next couple of years?    Are  you  wondering whether or not it is even worth it to take out loans in the first place?   These are all great questions to think about before making the big leap to  head back to school. Did you know these  facts about  tuition reimbursement?One option you may be considering is going to school at night or during the weekends at programs that are flexible and geared towards working adults.     Benefits  to doing this  are not only  that you may have the opportunity to get promoted at your current job while in school  but you will also not have to go without a paycheck for a couple years.   After further research, you will find that most of the flex programs arent even that much longer than going full time.   In addition, your current  company may actually help you pay for school! 4  in  5 companies say they offer a tuition benefit 1  in  3 small companies offers reimbursement 62% of respondents who had received training or mentoring said they were very likely to stay with their current employer. My company is assisting me with tuition which has helped  out a lot.    My management is also very supportive if I have to leave early to study for a final.     Here are  some of the companies I found that could be good companies to apply to if you are considering heading back to school.   (Note: Other companies offer  tuition reimbursement  but I could not find the actual amounts on their websites. Remember to ask  about how  much they will support you with education and career development during  your  interview!) Here are the companies shelling out the bucks to help us all become smarter and better employees: Circuit City: Up to $1,000 per semester. CSC: $15,000 for courses in pursuit of a graduate level degree or its equivalent, $7,500 for courses in pursuit of a bachelors level degree or its equivalent, $5,250 for a certification or professional designation. General Mills: Reimburses eligible employees for the cost of job-related courses from accredited institutions. Google: Tuition reimbursement is up to $12,000 per calendar year. LifeBridge Health: Tuition reimbursement of up to $5,000. Mitre: Employees can receive a one-time bonus of $2,500 to go toward a Masters degree or $4,000 for a PhD. Pfizer: Up to 100% tuition reimbursement for eligible degrees or courses with no maximum benefit amount to enhance the potential for growth at Pfizer. Quicken Loans: Up to $5,000 per calendar year in college tuition reimbursement for full-time team members. Qualcomm: Reimbursement of up to $5,250 per calendar year for cost of tuition, books, and parking for courses toward continuing education, certification program, associates degree or a bachelors degree. Reimbursement of up to $10,125 per calendar year for costs of tuition, books, and parking for courses toward a graduate or post-graduate degree. Sherwin-Williams: Covers the cost of tuition and lab fees for course work thats related to your position or any course required for a work-related degree. Starbucks: $500-$1,000 depending on level and length of service. Target: The program allows eligible team members to take approved, work-related courses and receive up to $3,000 reimbursement per year for undergraduate courses or certificates, up to $4,000 per year for graduate-level studies and $5,250 for MBA courses. Wells Fargo: Will reimburse you for eligible tuition expenses up to $5,000 annually. Yahoo!- Expand your mind with up to $5,000 a year for tuition, books and other fees. Dont forget to ask your manager or Human Resources Department these very  important questions  before you make  a decision to head back to school. Do you have to stay with the firm for a certain amount of time after graduating? Is there a certain amount you have to pay back the firm if you leave? Is there a restriction on the type of classes you can take? Will your employer be supportive of you and not give you extra work on nights and weekends when you will have to do homework? Will your employer allow you to study at work and be flexible if you have to leave early to finish a paper? Do you have to get a certain grade? Do you have to repay the firm if you dont get the required grade? How does your company support your  education?