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Stories by Michael Kinsman

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Overqualified? Is that Like Being Too Smart?

There are few more frustrating experiences than to go looking for a job and find that you are “overqualified.” That’s a strange phrase. It’s like being “too smart.” Can you really be “too smart?” But ...

San Diego Used to Be Nearly Recession-Proof. What Happened?

One of the most frustrating phases of unemployment these days is waiting for the economy to show signs of recovery from a recession. It’s annoying because no individual or business really can do much about ...

Worthless Benefits

If you don't understand them, you may as well not have them.

When jobs are tight &mdash as they have been around here for the past three years &mdash people typically concentrate on just finding a job that pays well. Yet, as the economy inches toward a ...

Retirement is Not What it Used to Be

Retirement used to be such a simple concept. It required that you work steadily for 40 or 45 years and then you retired at the age of 65. The U.S. economy would reward you for ...

Can California Learn Anything from Minnesota?

When it comes to creating jobs, you betcha

The simplest and most effective solution to California’s economic slump is to create more jobs. When people have jobs, they spend more money on goods and services and they pay more in taxes. Jobs are ...

San Diego Companies Make Fortune Magazine's List of Best Companies to Work For

Everyone who goes to work each day wants to believe that their employer is one of the best. But there are only so many companies that make the grade as the best companies to work ...

The Great Gender Divide

Is there a Two-Tiered System When in Comes to Women in the Workplace?

For all the credit we give our society for being sensitive to gender issues in our businesses, we can always count on some bad news when we get to the top of the corporate ladder. ...

Adopt a Post-Recession Attitude Before the Recession Ends

The Real Risk of Overload....

Everybody knows this is not a fun time to go looking for a job. But the truth is, it may be a lot better than most people think. After more than a year and half ...

Jobs Are the Missing Component

The job market was never expected to be as weak as it is today. At least, not by the federal government. The routine employment dips that have become part of the natural evolution of the ...

Social Media in the Workplace

Can you police yourself?

A major frustration with social media is also one of its best attributes: it follows you everywhere. And, that means EVERYWHERE. Technology has made us better connected than ever before, and offers us the opportunity ...

Stress in the Workplace Has Reached New Heights

Several weeks ago, CareerBuilder.com reported that an estimated 30 percent of American workers had played hooky from their jobs at least of American workers had played hooky from their jobs at least once in the ...

Too Much Information

The Real Risk of Overload

Bless all this technology we have in our workplaces today … and pass the aspirin. It seems the Great Information Age – which allows information to be transferred from one person to the next with ...

A Fit and Healthy Employee is a Productive Employee

Employers Eye Ways to Make Their Workers Healthier.

Remember all that employer-speak about making companies leaner and more efficient? Well, it’s about to happen. And not in the traditional way of eliminating layers of middle management and laying off unproductive workers. A new ...

Longer Hours. Lower Pay. More Responsibilities.

It all adds up to more stress.

Two years ago a friend confided that she was concerned after two of the four other workers in her department were laid off. She – the department manager – and the two remaining workers had ...

Be Absolutely Sure What Your References Will Say About You

What You Don’t know Can Hurt You

Maybe the trickiest part of the job-search process is finding appropriate references. You’ve probably heard the saying “you should never ask a question you don’t know the answer to.” When it comes to job references, ...

Employers and Employees Are Paying More for Benefits

Whose Responsibility Is Your Health?

Two years ago I was late on a credit card bill and my interest rate jumped immediately from 13.4 percent to 28.4 percent. I was upset, but I had made a mistake and clearly the ...

Are All Degrees Created Equal?

Employers View Online and On-Campus Degrees Differently

Many people with college degrees would willingly trade their diplomas for ones bearing the names Harvard, Stanford, or Columbia University. There is no question of the sex appeal of a big-name university when you go ...

When the Price to Work is Too High

Early this year, a Gallup poll revealed that 70 percent of workers think they currently hold their “ideal” job. That doesn’t feel right. From the simple observation of my own community of friends, I’ve found ...

The Free Coffee Principle

Happy Employees are Productive Employees

Bob Nelson knows that when it comes to motivating workers, you can never think too small. A handwritten thank you note from the boss, a hallway conversation followed up with a gift certificate for lunch, ...

A Boss Shouldnt Have to Go Undercover to Know How His Employees Are Doing

One of this year’s popular reality TV shows was Undercover Boss, which gave executives the chance to sneak into their own workplaces to see what was going on with the rank and file. Executives of ...

They Take Away Unemployment Benefits Now!

Prospects for San Diego job seekers looked bleak in May 2008. The economy was struggling, the county reported that 83,400 people couldn’t find jobs, with an unemployment rate of 5.4 percent. At the time, a ...

Hiring a Boss Can Be Tricky

Remember: You're Interviewing Them While They're Interviewing You

Hiring a boss can be one of the trickiest tasks you’ll ever have as an employee. Yes, you read that right. You may be the one looking for a job, but you can also be ...

College Is Not About Making More Money...But It Helps

As far back as I can remember, my parents expected me to go to college and get a degree before I thought about working. It was a given. To them – adults with only high ...