Finding “Hidden” Jobs

Unadvertised or “hidden” jobs may make up as much as 80-85% of unfilled openings, according to Fred Coon, a licensed employment agent. To uncover hidden jobs, Coon offers some tips.

• Join industry groups. Associations, chambers of commerce, or Toastmasters are great ways to make contacts before you need them.

• Talk to insiders. Insights from those already in the industry can help you learn how to best chart your career path.

• Search company websites. Many companies only post openings on their corporate websites.

Is it Share or Overshare?

Sharing personal stories at work is okay—as long as they are relevant to work and are not meant to draw attention to the sharer. Oversharers—those who inappropriately give information about sensitive or offensive topics—do so for several reasons. Some tell stories simply to attract notice. Others may say more than we ever wanted to know because they are anxious and blurt before thinking.

Experts suggest that certain topics remain out of the workplace entirely. These include salary, sex, drug and alcohol use, and negative sentiments about the boss, coworkers, or the company.

Early Retirement from Facebook?

Going dark on a Facebook account is a good way to clean up a messy social media presence.
All it takes is deactivating the account. (It’s much more difficult to delete a Facebook account.) To take yourself offline, click the deactivate button under the settings/security function. The profile disappears and the user is untagged from photos and other people’s posts. It’s just as easy to reactivate the account at a later time.