Career Center | Q&A: My co-worker can't stand me

By Marie G. McIntyre / McClatchy-Tribune News Service Q: What can I do about a co-worker who has decided he doesn’t like me? For the past two years, “Matt” has been disdainful and dismissive whenever I try to talk to

Career Center | Jerks at work: a field guide for spotting and defending against them

By Rex Huppke / Chicago Tribune Imagine the workplace as a forest. We walk through the forest each day surrounded by creatures (co-workers). Some are kind, like squirrels and deer and animated talking bears. Others, like snakes and snarling wolves

Career Center | Q&A: Maybe nit-picking boss isn't the problem

By Marie G. McIntyre / McClatchy-Tribune News Service Q: Seven years ago, we got a new manager who does not like careless errors. I usually do a great job, but sometimes I have a bad day and make mistakes, like

Career Center | How to handle a manipulative co-worker

By Joyce E.A. Russell / Special to The Washington Post You've felt their presence at work, even if you never heard them say anything in a public forum. You know they are there, behind the scenes, stirring the pot, getting

Career Center | NWjobs: Tell us about work lessons from your mom

What did your mother teach you about work? NWjobs is collecting vignettes about the career-related lessons readers learned from their mothers, whether it was verbally or by example. Email your contribution in 75 words or fewer to editor@nwjobs.com by April

Career Center | Problem solved: How to be a fixer, not a whiner

By Cindy Krischer Goodman / The Miami Herald Most days, real estate agents storm into Ron Shuffield’s office with problems. They might have a closing that’s about to blow apart or a commission in dispute. They lay out all the

Career Center | Q&A: Whose side is HR department on?

By Rex Huppke / Chicago Tribune Q: Do you believe HR departments are there for the benefit of the workers or the employers? A: I've had to deal with human resources only once in my life (apparently some people didn't

Career Center | Beware: Holiday treats lie in wait at the office

By Rex Huppke / Chicago Tribune The problem with the bags of treats and trays of cookies that appear around the office this time of year is that if you don’t eat them you get sent to prison. At least,

Career Center | Win fans at work: fun office gifts for your co-workers

By Bree Coven Brown / Special to NWjobs You spend as much time at the office as you do at home (sometimes more), so don’t forget your work buddies at holiday time. We’ve assembled a list of fun, funny and

Career Center | Q&A: Worker bee stung for not being social butterfly

By Marie G. McIntyre / McClatchy-Tribune News Service Q: During my last performance review, my manager told me that I need to improve my interpersonal relationships. Some of my co-workers apparently said that I don't talk to them enough. I

Career Center | It's a career ladder, not an escalator

By Rex Huppke / The Chicago Tribune While I'm watching television, the remote control occasionally gets knocked off the couch, presenting an epic quandary. Do I get up and retrieve the remote, disrupting my carefully crafted comfort zone? Or do

Career Center | Feel like a fake? Imposter Syndrome common at work

By Joyce E.A. Russell / The Washington Post Do you suffer from Imposter Syndrome? The term, created by psychologists Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes in 1978, refers to the idea that competent people find it hard to believe in their

Career Center | Career Q&A: New guy's tactics undercut manager

By Marie G. McIntyre / McClatchy-Tribune News Service Q: My boss recently hired a guy who seems determined to cut me out of the loop. “Mike” is a project manager whose job requires him to interact with members of my

Career Center | Q&A: Contractor wants ungrateful staffer's job

By Karla L. Miller / The Washington Post Q: I have been contracting for a company for more than a year. I am reliable and hardworking. I have a co-worker in a full-time position who takes personal calls, even chatting

Career Center | How to prevent rocky work past from haunting you

By Marie G. McIntyre / McClatchy-Tribune News Service Q: In my previous job, I basically committed career suicide. I gossiped, backstabbed and yelled at important people. I assumed my co-workers were out to get me, even though I had no

Career Center | Let it go: Office grudges can hurt you more than co-worker

By Andrea Kay / Gannett Rick was … well, to put it politely, ticked off. Someone he had worked with and trusted for years had betrayed him. And he wasn’t in the mood to forgive and forget for eight years.

Career Center | How to escape a chatterbox manager

By Marie G. McIntyre /McClatchy-Tribune News Service Q: My manager has an annoying habit of talking nonstop about her family. She goes into great detail about her daughter’s clothes, her son’s sports activities, or her mother’s latest trip. I obviously