For a better experience, click the Compatibility Mode icon above to turn off Compatibility Mode, which is only for viewing older websites.

Professional Buzz

Professional Buzz

Professional Buzz is a blog warehousing relevant information, tips and tools for students and professionals looking for career development and advice. Topics range from leadership and management skills to interpersonal communication and innovation in the workplace. The blog is written and curated by Associate Dean of the Graduate College, Anne Converse Willkomm – drawing on her academic and professional experience to provide insight into the latest professional trends, challenges and skills needed to thrive in today’s everchanging workplace.

Categories

Professional Development & Career TipsLeadership & Management SkillsInterpersonal CommunicationInnovation in the Workplace
Image of a rocky coast with a close up of four rounded stone stacked one upon another

Work life balance

How do you define your work-life balance? And by the way – where did that phrase come from?

Read Full Post
Image of a auditorium with people sitting in the seats

Attending Conferences

Conferences are like a week of summer camp sans the archery or rock climbing for adults. The only hitch – there is work to be done when you return, but there are three great benefits!

Read Full Post
Image of raised hands with the word volunteering above

Trending: Volunteer Sabbaticals

Today, there is an increasing trend to offer employees paid time off to volunteer. In a March 16, 2015 Forbes article, “These 21 Companies Will Pay You to Take Time Off” Colleen Kane highlights the options available at companies such as Pricewaterhouse Coopers, REI, St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, The Cheesecake Factory, The Container Store, and Adobe Systems. While each company’s program is different, they all offer this type of paid time off to volunteer, and the employee can choose a charitable organization that aligns with their interests.

Read Full Post
Image of 11 fiction books on a shelf

Fiction or Nonfiction?

In July, McKinsey & Company published an article about summer reading. They listed 17 CEOs and what they were reading this summer. Of the 57 titles listed, 84% were nonfiction. Only 9 works of fiction were listed, including a Mandarin Chinese version of Mulan (that was interesting).

Read Full Post
BLOCK letters M A R with the words Management Through Appreciation and Recognition written below.

Management Through Appreciation and Recognition

When leaders manage those under them only through expectations and demands, discussing performance on an annual basis, workers at all levels are left feeling undervalued. This leads to dissatisfaction and resentment, which ultimately prevents the person from effectively doing his/her job. And it doesn’t stop there – resentment and negativity can breed like rabbits.

Read Full Post
Image of a pile of $1 bills witht he word $37 billion catty corner across it in red.

Poor Communication Has a Huge Financial Impact

Confusing emails, poor directions, incomplete responses - have you ever thought about the actual cost of poor communication?

Read Full Post
Image of a an old chalk board with the words: Writing Tips for Business, the word for has been corrected

5 Writing Tips For Business

Business writing, like all forms of writing, can’t be sloppy, unfocused, or lack structure. As a writer, I get numerous questions about writing techniques. It doesn’t matter whether you are writing creative nonfiction, a business proposal, or content for a website, there are numerous tips.

Read Full Post
Image of a LinkedIn Profile

Updating LinkedIn When You're In-Between Jobs

LinkedIn is a professional networking site, therefore if your place of employment it not up-to-date, you might lose out on a potential job or confuse people who are looking to learn more about your company or your profession.

Read Full Post
Image of a scroll-looking resume

Master Resume

For years I have advised students to use what I call a master resume. What do you include on the master resume? Everything! It does not need to be formatted in a certain way or look pretty, but every job and every responsibility should be included.

Read Full Post
Red and Black image of the words From Me 2 We

Moving From Me to We

I was having a conversation with a colleague the other day about organizational collaboration and how people often get caught up in their own positions, their own collective group of employees, their own departments, etc.

Read Full Post
Dreucker's Five Most Important Questions - Book Review

Drucker’s Five Most Important Questions – Book Review

Not too long ago, I picked up Five Most Important Questions: Enduring Wisdom for Today ’s Leaders by Peter F. Drucker, Frances Hesselbein, and Joan Snyder Kuhl, published by John Wiley & Sons in 2015.

Read Full Post
Game Theory & Interpersonal Communication

Applying Game Theory in Communication & Business

According to Investopedia.com, “Game theory is the process of modeling the strategic interaction between two or more players in a situation containing set rules and outcomes.” Interpersonal communication, like a game, is – or at least should be strategic.

Read Full Post