There are some unbelievable professional ninjas in the workplace. They are hard to find because they don’t let you know they are a ninja, which is why they are so effective.

Wikipedia defines a ninja as:

• A ninja (忍者^?) or shinobi (忍び^?) was a covert agent or mercenary of feudal Japan specializing in unorthodox arts of war. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, as well as open combat in certain situations.

While the reference to a ninja in the workplace may not hold the same definition as we read above, the workplace ninja gets things done without the fanfare. A “Work Ninja” (AKA… Human Resources Ninja, IT Ninja, Accounting/Financial Ninja, Engineering Ninja, Sales Ninja, etc.) is able to navigate politics and insert direction and results into the optimum location and time.

The Work Ninja has ability to work with a wide degree of individuals, in various locations and blend into the culture. You may notice them but never regard them as to how cunning and effective they are.

The biggest trait of a ninja you ask? They do not refer to themselves as a ninja. The term ninja is earned and not a self appointed title.

Maybe bringing fanfare and recognition to your work everyday isn’t always positive. Doing your work effectively and with meaning might also get you the results you and your organization need.

You want to become a ninja? Earn it.

Image credit to Angry Zen Master

Even though the calendar says mid-February, the days of spring graduations are not that far in the offing.

For those soon to graduate and complete their education for the time being, they will enter a job market that still brings with it a lot of question marks.

While the economy has been adding jobs in some sectors in recent months, the nation is still saddled with an unemployment rate of 8.3 percent, a factor that does not bode well for countless students about to grab their diplomas in the coming months.

In the event you’re a soon-to-be college grad, there are a number of things to keep in mind:

• Get your resumes out early – If you’re graduating in June, don’t wait until June 1 to begin the resume distribution process. While the majority of internships for the spring have already been scooped up, you could possibly latch onto something over the next few months while still in school. Also, countless other students have already polished up their resumes and sent them out, so don’t lag behind;
• Check your online history – As someone who spends a lot of time involved with social media, I’m always amazed at how many young people about to graduate haven’t given their Facebook or Twitter pages for example a thorough cleaning. Profanities, suggestive photos and a general lazy attitude are not the way to go about getting a job fresh out of college. While some items stay in the Internet pipeline for what seems like forever, you can remove a lot of negative content that you and/or your friends have posted about you. As more and more employers turn to social media in the recruiting process, soon-to-be graduates need to give their social networking history a spring cleaning;
• Highlight your strengths – College graduates should not be shy about highlighting the many good things they did at their two and/or four-year schools. Internships, studies abroad, working in a related position to what one is going after following graduation should all be pointed out. One may think that their internship or studies overseas were not that important, but the Internet brings the world closer and closer together each day, meaning a trait learned while interning or learning a foreign language can prove very valuable;
• Show off your web skills – Some of us are technologically gifted while others of us are technologically challenged. That being said, Internet skills are precious in today’s job market. Whether your experience is in SEO, graphic design, social media or online marketing, you can help someone out. If you have your own Web site, by all means promote it on your resume if it has some relevancy to the type of jobs you are seeking;
• Network live you’ve never networked before - One of the many important things those about to graduate need to do is network. Whether it is through their professors, the school’s alumni department, current part-time employers, etc., networking is very valuable. When I was preparing to come out of college many years ago, I made it a point to work with my school’s alumni office to help me with any job leads. Back then, we did not have the Internet, so word-of-mouth was even more important. Today’s grads have a wealth of electronic information at their fingertips, so they should use the active job hunting sites, along with guides and tutorials on how to make their resumes shine and much more.

College should be looked at as one of the best times in one’s life.

Using one’s collegiate years to their advantage when they enter out into the “real world” makes it even better.

Dave Thomas writes extensively for Business.com, an online resource destination for businesses of all sizes to research, find, and compare the products and services they need to run their businesses.

Image credit to Classes and Careers

Whether it was falling victim to an innocent gesture that spiraled terribly out of control or being aggressively pursued by a co-worker when the feelings were not mutual, countless employees have at one time or another fallen victim to sexual harassment.

For those not aware, sexual harassment is defined as any unwelcome sexual advance or conduct at the workplace that results in an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment.

According to data for the year 2010 from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), employers who were unable to protect their businesses from sexual harassment claims placed with the agency recovered damages with settlements totaling more than $48.4 million.

While the majority of employers remind a new worker when they are hired that such actions will not be tolerated, the subject still rears its ugly head more often than not.

In the event you’ve been a victim of such actions in the past or think you are currently being harassed at work, what have you done about it? More often than not, the unfortunate answer is not much.

Even though men can and have been the victims of sexual aggressions in the workplace, the majority of times it is women who are targeted, oftentimes by their male co-workers or a boss. While the right thing to do is to discourage the advances, many women will find themselves between a rock and a hard place. Do they speak up and risk losing their job or do they brush the matter under the rug in hopes it will go away?

If you have found yourself the victim of such unwanted aggressions in the workplace, what should you do?

Among the types of sexual harassment that abusers can try to get away with include:

• Offensive and belittling comments such as the way someone is dressed, their facial appearance, i.e. makeup, hair, jewelry etc.;

• Photos in the work environment showing women in offensive clothing or poses, i.e. swimsuit calendars, magazines, etc.;
• Direct hostility from another co-worker due to the fact one is female, i.e. jealous because a woman was promoted and/or received a raise over a male co-worker;
• An actual sexual assault on workplace property, i.e. inappropriate touching and feeling, invading someone’s space and comfort zone.

For those women and men who feel they have fallen victim to sexual harassment in the workplace, there are actions they can take to report and hopefully curtail such activities from happening again. They include:

• Confronting the abuser directly and inform them that their actions are offensive and need to stop. If they fail to stop, you will pursue the matter with the individual’s supervisor;
• Contacting a supervisor and report the situation, providing as much detail as possible to support the claim/s. When choosing this route, try and provide any evidence such as statements, written documents, photos etc.;
• In the event a supervisor proves not to be of assistance, go to his or her superior and broach the subject with them. Do not get discouraged if one person does not want to pursue the matter, keep fighting;
• Don’t fear for the loss of your employment by reporting the alleged perpetrator. There are protections in place tied to reporting such matters, although it is natural to think that you could be putting your job in jeopardy;
• In case those highest up in the company choose not to address the matter, look to outside help from an agency in place to deal with sexual harassment in the workplace.

While it can be intimidating at times to deal with sexual harassment in the workplace,  letting sexual harassment actions go unpunished is not only a crime, but a knock against the many hard-working women (and men in cases where they are harassed) that choose to take a stand.

Dave Thomas, who covers among other items advice on starting a small business, writes extensively for Business.com, an online resource destination for businesses of all sizes to research, find, and compare the products and services they need to run their businesses.

Image credit to Clker

I wasn’t truly interested in this years Super Bowl between the New York Football Giants and the New England Patriots. Being aPhiladelphiafan of everything, it was painful build up for me. So, like almost every year, I look forward to checking out the commercials… those truly expensive and hopefully innovative and entertaining pieces of media magic! Everyone has their favorite commercial from the Super Bowl, I wanted to share my top 5.

5 – The Avengers

Yes, I love my comic book flicks so this was kind of obvious… Avengers Assemble!

Click here to view the embedded video.

4 – Transactions

And Jerry Seinfeld making a play for his new Acura… no soup for you!

Click here to view the embedded video.

3 – The Dog Strikes Back

Working in Star Wars and Volkswagen back into the biggest American game of the year…. I am your father!

Click here to view the embedded video.

2 – Just My Shell

Milk chocolate that dances and shakes and doesn’t melt in your hands… Wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle yeah!

Click here to view the embedded video.

1 – It’s Halftime in America

Powerful and so well done and Clint Eastwood… that is all.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I’ve had countless conversations in my career with colleagues who never check on their 401k outside of the mailed (or emailed) quarterly reports and annual reports. And all of these conversations drive me a little crazy.

I’m not a financial genius nor to I pretend to play one in real-life, but something eats away at me when I see the stock market plunge and everyone appears to have a laisser faire approach.

I mean seriously, you work hard for every penny you make but just because it is stashed away in some long-term fund you are feeling OK with your approach. I call bull****!

In 2011, according to Fidelity Investments, the average 401k was $71,500 (via Financial Samurai). I realize that not everyone is a financial wizard; I most certainly am not either. But I do care about red and green numbers.

Really!

When you log into your 401k providers web site, any fund that has a minus sign before it I seriously review why I am in that fund. Looking at the history, if it has been a minus for 1 year or more then I am absolutely out.

If analysts are saying long term negative implications then bonds… here I come!!!

Bonds are my easy way out. They don’t have high-high’s or low-lows but they get you through negative swings with usually the least impact. As the market stabilizes and recovers, I look back into other funds.

Exactly, I’m not brilliant. I just wish more people took an active participation in their 401k rather than loosing tons of money in short periods of time.

Here are three tips from a concerned fella :

1. Login to your 401k at least four times per year – First of all, most people tend to forget what their 401k administrators web site is let alone their login name and password. But once you are in a routine of just looking, you begin to understand other funds and what is happening with your history. You may not make changes but you will probably become more interested and concerned.
2. Do research on new funds – Read various funds prospectus and see what options are out there. Yes, reading a prospectus is boring but you might learn a bit more about why you may be interested in a particular fund, if not now then possibly in the future after you watch its performance more closely.
3. Be active – make a change here and there and think ahead. Where you are today is certainly different from when you originally enrolled in your plan. Take time, think it through. Better yet, talk with someone whose job it is to know 401k plans and strategy.

Be smart, and don’t let idly stand by and watch your money evaporate. Work to make the drain smaller and rebound faster.

Your golden years will thank you for it.

Photo credit to Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog

Whether a small business or a larger one, a company’s human resources efforts are paramount to the success of the business.

Along with the obvious chores like hiring and meeting payroll, an HR department is an important facet of a business when it comes to dealing with everyday internal happenings.

The hiring of an HR manager is a decision that each company must make related to its size, type of business, and whether or not the responsibilities can be done in-house or can be outsourced.

In most instances, businesses with 50 or fewer workers oftentimes will not include a formal human resources department. In many cases, the responsibilities that normally would be given to the head of HR will be passed on down to different heads of departments, i.e. finance team would oversee payroll, department heads would handle an internal issues regarding their employees like complaints, questions regarding insurance coverage and so on.

As many companies discover over time, however, passing those duties along to various heads becomes a problem.

Among the issues can be:

• There is uncertainty at times among department managers if they are providing the right information and resources;
• Employees may end up questioning if they are receiving the right information;
• Departmental managers, who oftentimes are burdened with enough tasks, begin to tune out the HR issues, therefore leaving many unanswered questions or problems;
• Possible lawsuits could emanate in the event someone who is not properly trained and informed on HR matters provides bad information.

So, if your company is considering someone to head up an HR department, what are the qualifications it should seek?

First and foremost, put together a mission statement as it relates to your new HR person.

What do you want from them and the role? What are the assets and any liabilities that having an in-house HR manager will bring your company? Will it be cost-effective to have your HR on site or will it be better to outsource the role?

Once you have outlined what exactly you are looking for with this position then go about the individual requirements.

The key factor is locating someone who is comfortable with a full plate of responsibilities. This is critical because you have doers and followers. If someone is not in tune with overseeing an important department such as this, pass on them. You need someone who is not only educated in HR practices from a legal stand point, but is not afraid to pull the trigger on a hire or fire if necessary.

Lastly, make sure you clearly understand the pros and cons of the hiring in-house or going the outsource route.

It could very well save you money by outsourcing your HR needs, but having someone onsite for the position certainly brings with it advantages.

As you embark on possibly adding an HR person and department to your company, utilize the various resources at your disposal to see what best fits your company.

Dave Thomas writes extensively for B2b lead generation online resource Resource Nation that provides expert advice on purchasing and outsourcing decisions for small business owners and entrepreneurs. He is an expert writer on items like VoIP Phone Systems, based in San Diego.

Image credit to Life Coaching With Ruth 

I’m a conference fan. I hate that I miss far more than I should, but I love keeping up with the news through Twitter and learning as much as I am able. As a result, I truly value every conference that I am able to attend and try to maximize my time.

I think conferences are fantastic to hear case studies as to what companies do well and where they created a solution to fulfill a need. These company case studies are great because you get to hear about multiple tests and trials and the next “shiny technology” release or fad or trend or whatever.

It really is cool.

But my only knock on these case studies is that it isn’t real life… to me at least. I would love to have a budget where I can do anything and everything to test and trial and work to increase applicant traffic or employee engagement.

But the reality is I have to be extremely strategic and tactical with what I recommend to move forward with as a company. The conversations I have across business groups and functions within my organization are great, but I need to create a business case as to why we need to invest time, resources and money into each initiative.

I would love to be at a conference that focused on smaller companies that have a more limited budget and have to be extra strategic.

Don’t get me wrong, the big-brand case studies are extremely strategic in how they launch each initiative and often in a very impressive manner. But most companies have a more limited budget. I would love to hear how they took their huge wish-list and walked through the strategy and reasoning about going in the direction they chose.

I think I have a solid strategy in place, but know it is by far from perfect. Wouldn’t it be great to hear what similar obstacles are happening in your industry or other industries that might be similar pain-points to what you are encountering.

I would love to see SHRM or ERE or TRU or HRIQ or another conference leader look to put something like this together and package it with one or two larger brands. That could result in excellent creative thinking. Wouldn’t that be an interesting and insightful day.

Would you go to something like this?

Image credit to NickPhoenix.com

Cover letters, they are still a hot topic with recruiters and job applicants. Follow a Twitter chat like HireFriday (#hirefriday or #hfchat) or #JobHuntChat and you will surely hear any number of opinions.

Here is another opinion for you to consider.

If you are applying through an applicant tracking system (ATS), which is mostly likely the case if you apply on a company web site or if a link takes you to a company page, just stick with the resume upload.

I never read a cover letter, unless it comes via email. I see applicants who choose to upload cover letters and I jump right to the resume. I want to see what you have done and how your background is applicable to my need.

The cover letter in an email gets me to open your resume.

Are cover letters necessary. Yes (but not always).

What should you take from this? The importance of making sure you have a well written resume that sells your ability on a position.

Image credit to Adrian Clark via Flickr

I love to read. I definitely have certain television shows that I watch but I absolutely try to read on a very regular basis. Julien Smith has a much more aggressive approach than me on this topic, but I like what I’m putting together.

Creativity and personal development are important to me and something I believe in deeply. Creativity happens almost anywhere but I put something into motion to help me, or hopefully help me. Personal development happens more from external influences or influencers: mentors, coworkers, projects, education and reading.

I actually have a personal goal established for reading. I enjoy business related books but sometimes feel overwhelmed with how much I’m taking in. In my reflection on this I set parameters for me. I alternate a business book with a personal book.

The business books almost always have to do with HR or recruiting or social or mobile or learning or motivation or… you get the idea. The personal books tend to be fiction and let me keep up or catch up on great authors and books.

Plus this method is motivational for me. When I finish reading and learning ** enter subject here ** then I may start reading “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo”. This also helps me organize my reading into my priorities for both work and for a great story.

Some, like Julien, may progress from business book to business book and drink from a water hose so-to-speak. Me, I need variety and have found this works very well for me. Plus I am reading a lot of great material.

Ultimately my goal is at minimum one book per month. Plus, through a LinkedIn and Amazon application I am able to share my professional reading with my network. Yes, I said professional reading as I do not feel my network is too interested in fiction (my Facebook friends might be though).

Whatever works best for you, find an activity that will let you grow and have fun doing whatever you decide.

Image credit to Passion2Read

LinkedIn has decided to cut the Twitter cord. According to a message from Steve Levy yesterday:

I thought this day would have been here prior to 2012 but am not surprised at Twitter being removed. The more cross-platform integration, the less unique a message. I suppose LinkedIn is looking for unique messaging for its users. Either that or they want the spotlight on themselves and don’t want to play nicely in the sandbox with others.

In any case if you rely on the Twitter and LinkedIn integration, be ready to work independently on the two sites to convey your messages.

UPDATE: I received this email from LinkedIn on 1/20 at 4:09 PM which adds clarification to this matter (and changes this entry just a little).

We wanted to let you know about a change coming soon to the Tweets Application on LinkedIn.

1. First, we are not eliminating the ability to send updates between your Twitter and LinkedIn accounts. You can still go to your Settings page and choose to send either all tweets or only tweets with a #in hashtag to your LinkedIn status updates. It’s up to you. Again, tweets imported from Twitter into the LinkedIn network updates stream will not be affected.

2. At the end of January, however, we will not be supporting the standalone Tweets Application on LinkedIn, that displays tweets from everyone you follow on Twitter on your LinkedIn homepage. As of January 31st, this module will no longer be available.

If you have any additional questions, please visit our Help Center.

Thanks,
LinkedIn