Careers

I was comparing notes on Twitter with some peers in the UK and Australia. The idea of benefits confused them. They asked what a typical benefits package for employees in the United States looked like, and if it explained the difference in pay between our countries. So let’s take a look.

A typical benefits package for employees in the United States includes health insurance coverage, paid vacation days, paid holidays, and some retirement. But the details can vary a bit.

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In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, I’ve heard some business consultants speak of something called an “infinite game” or “infinite mindset.” This, they say, is the key to surviving setbacks or even thriving in the midst of them. What is an infinite game, and what’s special about it?

The infinite mindset, or infinite game, simply means not caring about winning or losing in the short term. An opponent who is just playing to stay in the game is hard to defeat.

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I’ve found Python is a useful skill in the workplace. It took me a little while to learn it, but it turned out to be easier than I thought it would be. Here’s why I learned Python, and I think anyone who works in IT should at least consider learning it.

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Unlike most of the job market, cyber security is a growing field with no signs of slowing down, lots of upward mobility, and good prospects for getting a raise once in a while. At the time of this writing, there are 500,000 security vacancies in the United States alone. There’s little hope of filling most of them. One of them could be you, if only someone would discover you. Here’s how to get an entry level cyber security job.

There’s no proven formula for getting into the cyber security field. But through a combination of networking and saying the right things on your resume and in the interview process, you can get into this field. Someone dumber than you has a security job. With some perseverance, you can get in too.

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Being laid off isn’t something that happens to everyone. But it happens to more than you would think. It’s about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. That’s the key. Remember it’s not a failing on you. Here’s what to do if you’ve been laid off.

The keys to surviving a layoff is to burn as few bridges as possible, use the resources available to you, and try to land on your feet somewhere else. Here are some tips for doing that.

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Sometimes we can see the writing on the wall. Maybe it’s because times are tough. Maybe it’s political. Often it’s a combination of both. And whether you think there’s anything that can change it or not, the way ahead is much the same. Here’s what to do if you think you’ll be laid off.

The Boy Scout motto applies here: be prepared. The sooner you can get your affairs in order, the easier it will be to weather the layoff, or avoid it entirely.

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If you feel unappreciated or underappreciated at work, you’re certainly not alone. It’s happened to me, and it happens to a lot of other people. Here are some examples, what you can do about it, and why you should do something about it before it’s too late.

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You want to move onward and upward with your career? You see an opportunity you want to take, but you don’t have experience? Let’s talk about applying for a job with no experience.

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What is an information technology professional? What does an IT professional do? It seems like a lot of people don’t understand that. For that matter, I have close friends and relatives who have no idea what I do for a living. So let’s explore it a bit.

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Does retail count as sales experience? I think it depends, but there are certainly ways you can make it count. Here’s how.

It all begins with knowing the products the store sells, and knowing what makes one product different from another.

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