Stories by Kirstin Mills

Taking time to task

Not having time to get things done is a common complaint in workplaces nationwide, but time management champions believe it’s not how much you’ve got to do, but how you do it that is often the problem.

Saying no with style

Job seekers can spent a lot of time agonising about how to get that plum job, but sometimes the angst can be caused by a different problem altogether — when and how to turn down a job offer.

The startup slog

There comes a time in many people’s lives when the concept of working for someone else depresses them and they are inspired to start their own business.

Confidence – faking it can be key

"I know people will just hate me." "I make mistakes in everything that I do." "I can't believe that has happened."

Redefining the age of retirement

George Burns once said that retirement at 65 is ridiculous. “When I was 65,” the old comedian said, “I still had pimples."

Covering resumes without plagiarising

According to The New York Times, a Manhattan photography studio was recently surprised to receive four job applications with cover letters using identical language.

Exercising the fitness option

I recently finished a book by and about ultramarathon runner Dean Karnazes. He does huge training runs to prepare himself for races of more than 420km (that’s ten marathons) in one go. One of the things I found interesting — and something the book doesn’t unfortunately delve into much — is that he works full-time (or at least he did at the time of writing the book) and has a family, yet still finds time to train.

Confrontation: crucial to workplace success

“To avoid argument, I put off certain discussions." “When someone misses a commitment, I generally let him or her off the hook.” “I find myself bringing up the same issue over and over.”

Moving on from dumb and dumber

Why do seemingly smart, experienced people (not to mention us lesser mortals) make really dumb mistakes from time to time?

Leaving a job: when is it too soon?

According to Squarewheels.com, a magazine ran a Dilbert quotes contest and one of the quotes from a real manager was: “Turnover is good for the company, as it proves that we are doing a good job in training people.”

It pays not to be too perfect

When working on complex code or putting together an important project, many would think being a perfectionist would be a good trait to have.

Management on an even keel

Last week I looked at how to deal with negative staff. This week I look at what to do when the grump monster is a little closer to home — specifically, when it’s you.

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