Ask Diana

5 Tips for Taking Advantage of This Time of Transition
So you’ve found yourself downsized and let go from your company. You are treating your job search as your full time job and now have some free time when you are not focused on the job search. After all, now you do not have the commute [...]

We continue sharing career advice today with information on how to deal with a request to reduce your work hours.
Based on the current business environment, your company may be asking you (and other employees) to cut your hours to avoid layoffs. Or perhaps you expect this may be what is coming next.
What questions should you [...]

So you plan to retire when? Here is some concerning news about current business realities, taken from a recent article from the Motley Fool.
You probably won’t be retiring when you expect to retire.
Your first thought when reading this may be:  “So what? I’ll just end up working longer than I now plan. I had already [...]

Are you feeling the pinch as you consider retirement, based on the current economic conditions? Or are you already retired and concerned about your current situation and not sure what to do next?
The truth is, for many of us, retirement is more elusive than it was even just a year ago. Our retirement plans have [...]

Ever wonder who is reading up on your online? If you are in the job search mode right now (or think there is a chance you may be in the near future), you should.
If you’re a blogger, forum user or social networker, have you given any thought to the kinds of personal info you’re putting [...]

According to studies done by outplacement firms, more than 44,000 jobs have been lost this year due to corporate merger and acquisition activities.   Are you one of the staff affected by this?
I have hands-on, personal experience with mergers and acquisitions,  having managed several of them as the bank where I worked acquired smaller banks.
Then we [...]

Are you considering going back to school to prepare for a career change?
Tonight I attended an acoustical music event with friends here in Charleston. One works for a government agency and is concerned that, with the current agency financial situation (in the red), job eliminations are looming, likely earlier than later.
The question came up of [...]

Are you frustrated and discouraged in your job search? Then ask yourself this: “To what extent have I been looking for needs rather than searching for a position”?
Let me explain..
Recently I have been more aware of how true sales professionals approach their prospective clients and what works for them.  As I considered how this relates [...]

Finding your retirement nest egg short?  Looking for some ideas for skills to learn to move forward?
Many are doing whatever it takes to start a second career.
Check out the latest NY Times article on refining skills to restart earnings
Cheers to your success!

Remember all those business books we read, such as Tom Peter’s In Search of Excellence? Many of those books reflected a few key themes:

A bias for action, active decision making-”get on with it’
Be close to the customer-learn from the people served by the business
Entrepreneurship-foster innovation and nurturing ‘champions’
Productivity through people- treating rank and file employees [...]