Skills on Shine

Is "old" a dirty word?

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Shortly after writing the post, "Are your work habits making you look old?," with Pamela Redmond Satran, author of the book, "How Not to Act Old," I got an email from Barbara Raab, a friend who works in television.

"What's wrong with acting "old" (a.k.a. one's actual age) at work?" she wrote. "I don't think you meant it to be ageist, but I really think this post IS ageist. You haven't told me WHY I should not look over 40 at work; you seem to take it as a given that seeming one's age, if that age is over 40, is something no one would actually want."

She continued: "How about wearing tight jeans and a thong that shows? Or coming to work hung over? These are also things that young people do? Why did you buy into the whole notion of acting younger at work?"

Barbara makes some excellent points. Being perceived as "old" in the workplace shouldn't be considered a bad thing. In fact, experienced (older, mature, choose your word) workers have tremendous value in the workplace and I didn't mean to suggest otherwise in that post. She's also correct that younger people make huge missteps at work that can often be traced to their youth or inexperience.

I wrote that post with full knowledge that ageism exists and that it is insidious. And those are the same reasons that Pamela Redmond Satran says motivated her to write her book, "How Not to Act Old."

Adult internships: Are they legal?

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After writing about adult internships as a way to explore career change or freshen up your skills, I heard from several people asking why I didn’t cover the legal issues around these arrangements. The main reason is that these issues are mostly of concern to employers, not to the people seeking internships. But since the question has been asked a few times -- and since it lets me flex some muscles I haven’t used for a while -- I decided it was worth answering.

Regardless of which side of the deal you’re on, it is is a good idea for everyone to be aware of potential legal concerns.

Why i hate school.

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I hate school because it dominates our life. Seriously. They say "children are our future." and "High school shapes the rest of your life." but I am seriously concerned if the future, if my life, is nothing but texbooks and endless, stressful…

User post: 10 things women can learn from men in business

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by Karin Manske

While coaching male and female entrepreneurs over the past 15 years, one question has kept bugging me. How come women entrepreneurs, while having a higher rate at succeeding in business, earn 50%…

Top 12 Warning Signs of Controlling Husbands

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What are the warning signs of controlling husbands? Here’s my list of the top dozen. Do you have any to add? Read the rest at:

Performance Anxiety - Oral Skills?

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So not to get too graphic or anything but does anyone else ever have performance anxiety when it comes to their oral skills?

I am EXTREMELY reluctant to go down on my guy. I always have been. In fact I've only really done it for one partner. And while he never...

Why We Fail and How To Win

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Why is it that some of the most talented actors around can do amazing work in class, they can do brilliant work at some point on a set, but when it comes down to walking in a casting directorâ€™s office and reading for an acting job, they fall to pieces? As far as acting training...

Five things you thought you'd never do to your kids

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Pre-child, I was righteous. I believed that while parenting was hard, I was going to manage to conduct myself well at least the majority of the time. Ha. Ha. Ha. Now I know that I'm more likely to high-five myself on very rare occasions of almost accidental successful parenting, than to...

The World is Flat!?

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I am currently reading the book "The World is Flat" and it is extremely interesting but, perhaps, even more scary. According to the book we are just hitting the tip of the technological revolution that is "flattening" the world and allowing more people than ever to take part in...

How Shopping is now a sport.

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Shopping is an interesting activity for females,but it is also a sport. Shopping is divided into 3 kinds of skills needed in order to be a smart shopper. SPEED - A shopper must a have a lot of speed in order to get to certain places so the shopper can purchase the needed item before out of stock....