BY Expert Blogger Josh Linkner This blog is written by a member of our expert blogging community and expresses that expert’s views alone.
Angry Birds, the incredibly popular game, was software maker Rovio’s 52nd attempt. They spent eight years and nearly went bankrupt before finally creating their massive hit.
Office desks and the employees that use them come in all shapes and sizes.
Some employees have a spotless desk; others have a typical desk with some stuff here and there, while still others are lucky to be able to find their keyboards and the top of their desks in general on a daily basis.
So, does a sparkling, average or really cluttered
desk mean anything in today’s workplace?
Having been employed now for 23 years, I’ve seen all kinds of desks, from the type that would pass the white glove test to others that were harboring biology projects with day’s old food. That being said, I like to think of the desks that I’ve had at the half-dozen or so places I’ve worked either full or part-time at as orderly.
During this time, I’ve come to gather that the majority of places I’ve been employed at had a casual approach to the desk and how you used other office furniture. While things such as offensive imagery or sayings have been prohibited on desks, the places I have worked at have generally been okay with letting employees ‘police’ their own workspaces.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Unemployment fell in 29 states 
in February and rose in only eight, the government reported Friday, in another sign of broad improvement in the U.S. labor market.
The improvement means there are only three states with unemployment above the 10% mark — Nevada with a 12.3% unemployment rate, Rhode Island, which has 11% unemployment, and California, where unemployment stood at 10.9%.
North Carolina and Mississippi dropped out of the states with double-digit unemployment.
As many as 19 states suffered 10% or more unemployment as a result of the recent recession. As recently as last September there had been 10 states with a jobless rate of 10% or more.
unemployed in 2011, of which 41 percent had been unemployed long term, meaning at least six months. That was down from 2010, but still disturbingly high compared with 2007 when 98,200 were unemployed and just 12 percent were long-term.
Back in 2007, 40 percent of the unemployed had been looking for a job for less than five weeks. This very short-term unemployment exists even when jobs are plentiful, as people enter the labor market, quit jobs, or are laid off. The share unemployed five weeks or less dropped to just 21 percent of the total by 2011, but the number of short-term unemployed was about where it was in 2007 at more than 39,000. That means the level of short-term unemployment is near normal again.
An average of 188,400 Oregonians were unemployed 
in 2011, of which 41 percent had been unemployed long term, meaning at least six months. That was down from 2010, but still disturbingly high compared with 2007 when 98,200 were unemployed and just 12 percent were long-term.
Back in 2007, 40 percent of the unemployed had been looking for a job for less than five weeks. This very short-term unemployment exists even when jobs are plentiful, as people enter the labor market, quit jobs, or are laid off. The share unemployed five weeks or less dropped to just 21 percent of the total by 2011, but the number of short-term unemployed was about where it was in 2007 at more than 39,000. That means the level of short-term unemployment is near normal again.
Young workers are known for their energy, enthusiasm,
and willingness to learn, but many times their lack of experience and professionalism comes back to bite them when they want a raise, promotion, or just to be taken seriously. If you’re a young worker and you want to stand out from the other baby-faced rookies in the office, check out these etiquette tips
There’s a time and a place to get on Facebook and tweet about your day, but it’s not at your work desk. Sure, everyone needs a mental break here and there, but signing on to social networks may not be the best way to clear your mind and stay on track at work. Even if your company does not restrict use of these sites, you shouldn’t abuse this privilege by signing on every hour or Facebook-ing when you should be working.
A positive workplace attitude generally tends to boost
staff morale and can lead to business advantages, such as higher productivity, an increased sense of loyalty to the organization, and lower staff turnover. There are various ways to improve workplace attitude. By assessing current issues and working together to correct problems, managers and their staff can create a positive working environment for all. Some additional things that managers can do to facilitate changes are to model positive behavior, foster open communication between all staff members, and provide incentives and rewards to deserving employees.
In a lot of my executive coaching we discuss performance, effectiveness and success. Some executives perceive they are wildly successful using only a narrow way of defining their life–with work being the most important factor despite having poor health, broken family relationships and a sense of not really knowing if they are making a real contribution to anything meaningful.
Merriam-Webster defiines “success” as one that succeeds,
the attainment of wealth, favor or eminence or outcome/result.
How successful are you? How do you define success in your own life?
Personal Success Scorecard
In working with so many senior executives that might be described as “successful” in their chosen careers, it became pretty obvious that they were a success but in a very narrow way. It would appear to be much more valuable to have a “scorecard” that could describe domains outside of work and career as a way to define, measure and strive for personal definitions of success. I conceptualize “success” as having at least four overlapping pillars or domains that include:
The infamous Networking Event. An hour and a half 
of your life meeting crucial business associates — Not always the highlight of your week and often times fairly stressful. What’s funny is that these events are almost trickier to dress for than a normal day at the office, because what you wear has a big impact on how people perceive you. As always, it’s really important to make the right impression!
Don’t worry though, I know all about this stuff and once you get it down, getting dressed for networking events will be no trouble at all! Here are some tips on what to wear and what not to wear.
In general, you can expect to wear business casual to most networking events, unless your boss specifically tells you to wear a different dress code.
You can also expect to see people dressed slightly more fashion-forwardly than you would in the office. This is a time when you can have a little more fun with your clothes & put some more personality into your outfit!
Every job interview is different — but some general principles can guide you in just about any interview, for any job. When you’re talking about yourself and your experience, keep the following six points in mind.
1. Be the Solution
Companies fill or create positions because they have
problems they want to solve — for instance, ineffective advertising or long customer-service lines. So prepare for an interview by identifying the problems hinted at in the job ad. (If there’s no job ad, research the company and industry.) Then, prepare examples detailing how you’ll solve those problems — and how you’ve solved similar problems in the past. Practice telling stories about specific results you’ve achieved.
And if you’re interviewing for a career change, keep in mind that many problems — such as a lack of effective project management or a breakdown of teamwork — are not industry-specific. Offering solutions to these problems is a great way to overcome a lack of directly applicable experience.
