Getting Ahead

Tactics for making your influence more potent
The best way to influence people above you is to use data to show how something can be improved, Joseph Grenny writes. When interacting with someone who seems apathetic, personal experiences are better than slide presentations or verbal appeals. "The bottom line is this: if you want to change your career, you should invest anything it takes to expand your influence repertoire," he writes. B2C Marketing Insider (5/1)

How writing every day can improve your life
It's a good idea to make writing part of your daily routine because this can help you to organize your thoughts, acknowledge your accomplishments and clear your head of distractions, Laura Pepper Wu writes. If you have no other opportunities to write, at least try sending an e-mail to a few of your friends, she suggests. "Having one or two friends that you can check in with each day to discuss challenges and achievements can go a long way in heightening your mood and efficiency throughout the entire day," she writes. Forbes (4/30)

Making the Connection

Networking when you've lost your expense account
If you switch jobs and lose your expense account, it might feel awkward telling old contacts that you can't pick up the check at business lunches, writes Alison Green, responding to a question from a reader. Before you do that, ask your new manager if they would consider letting you expense some things. If they won't, you should suggest getting coffee instead of lunch and acknowledge you don't have an expense account at your new job, she writes. Ask A Manager blog (5/2)

The Landscape

U.S. jobless rate decreases to 7.5%, job creation figures revised up
The U.S. unemployment rate edged down to 7.5% in April and more jobs were created in February and March than previously reported, the Labor Department said today. Aside from months that included Census Bureau hiring, the 165,000 jobs added in April is the most since November 2005. MarketWatch (5/3)

Your Next Challenge

People spend less time reading job ads than they think, study suggests
Job seekers spend an average of 49.7 seconds reading a job add before dismissing it and 76.7 seconds reading ads that interest them, according to an eye-tracking study conducted by TheLadders. Many of the people who participated in the study claimed they spend one to five minutes reading each job ad, and some said they spend up to 10 minutes. The Wall Street Journal/At Work blog (5/2)

Balancing Yourself

What you didn't know about sleep and the workplace
Working after 28 hours without sleep results in the same level of impairment as working with a blood alcohol level of 0.10%, research has shown. Taking a half-hour nap after lunch can significantly improve your alertness, but dozing for a few minutes on the subway will do little to make you less tired. In Japan, falling asleep in meetings is considered a sign of hard work. Quartz (5/2)

The Water Cooler

Scientists develop "vaccine" against honey traps
Men tend to negotiate poorly with attractive members of the opposite sex, scientists say. Now, though, it's been discovered that a drug hitherto used as an acne treatment has the side effect of reducing the cognitive impairments men suffer when confronted with beautiful women. "Let this be a lesson for all male businessmen: When engaged in negotiations with an attractive female, be sure to have a doctor's prescription handy," writes Alex Berezow. RealClearScience/Newton Blog (4/28)

SmartQuote

I am compelled to fear that science will be used to promote the power of dominant groups rather than to make men happy." -- Bertrand Russell, British philosopher, mathematician and historian Share: