I'd Like to Ask a Favor

This morning from 11 am to noon, Pacific time, on my KALW-FM (NPR-San Francisco) radio program, Work with Marty Nemko, on which I try to help people with their worklife,  I'll ask listeners to donate money to the radio station.

I get none of the money but the amount I collect during my hour is used as an indicator of how many people listen to my show, the strength of their support for the show and, in turn, whether my show should stay on the air.

As in most public radio donation drives, I offer thank-you gifts for giving during my hour:

• If you donate $75, you get an autographed copy of my book, How to Do Life: What they didn't teach you in school.   

• For $150 or $250 for a couple, you get to come to the studio on June 30 to watch the show and then have brunch with my wife and frequent co-conspirator on the show, Barbara Nemko, as well as with fellow donors. We've done these brunches before and they are a networking opportunity, a chance to offer input on my show, and oh yes, people find it quite fun. A number of people have come more than once. It's limited to just a dozen people.

It is a bit ironic for me to ask you to donate to KALW. After all, the station mainly presents leftist views and I so value diversity of ideology. And I wouldn't choose to listen to most of the music played on the station.. But I do care to stay on the air, soooh, there you go. At least I'm asking in a way that I believe is devoid of the hype that too often characterizes money-raising efforts.

Oh and, of course, most of the show today is not spent asking for money. I'm committed to keeping the requests brief. The hour will focus on Barbara and I talking about how to get cured of interrupting people---one of my many failings.

Whether during or after the show, it's easy to donate. Jjust call 1-800-525-9917 or go to www.kalw.org.  As I said, I get none of the money. It's just a way to help keep my show on the air. Whether you're donating during my show or afterwards, do mention that you're donating to support Work with Marty Nemko. 

Whether or not you donate, I hope you'll listen this morning from 11 am to noon. You can hear it on 91.7 FM in San Francisco, or anywhere on the world right here on your computer at www.kalw.org from 11 am to noon, Pacific time.

Me Talking Careers on AOL as the "Opening Act" for Sheryl Sandberg?!

AOL video-interviewed me today for a half-hour. HERE is the three-minute highlight reel.

The interviewer asked me about resumes, landing a government job, and who should and shouldn't go to college or graduate school.

The video continues with Marlo Thomas asking Sheryl Sandberg about  whether college is still a wise choice.I never thought I'd ever be the"opening act" for Sheryl Sandberg!

HERE is the full interview. In the first few minutes, two unemployed college graduates tell their tale. Then I try to help them, after which the interviewer asks me various career-related questions.

Making the Most of a Job Lead

You get a lead on a job but how do you make the most of it? That's the topic of my AOL article today. 

Much of the advice is applicable not only to job hunters but to anyone trying to maximize a lead's value: a sales lead, business development lead, even personal lead. 

Tomorrow, I Do Three-Minute Workovers on AOL Live

It's been a good few days. First, it was being on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Yesterday, it was that I was the sole source for a Business Insider article on work-life balance being overrated.

Now, AOL has selected me to be the career expert whom, on AOL's Lunchtime Live!, will, tomorrow on live video, try to help two B.A. holders who have McJobs to find better work. I'll have just a few minutes with each. We'll see what I can do.

It'll be tomorrow at 12:30 PM Eastern. HERE's the link to more info.

Your Goal Should be Contribution, not Happiness

This will appear on AOL.com a week from tomorrow but I thought you might like an advance look.

Work-life Balance is Overrated

Your goal should be contribution, not happiness

by Marty Nemko

Most people view life's goal as to be happy. I believe that's misguided.

If the goal is happiness, one could, for example, spend all their time gardening, watching comedies, having sex, etc. Yet if people did that, the planet would be far worse: patients would die, homes wouldn't get built, the Internet wouldn't have been invented, etc.

Mother Teresa didn't work in the stench of Calcutta streets, ankles bitten by scorpions, because it made her happy She did so because she realized that helping humankind was far more important than her being happy.* Cardiologists that choose to work nights and weekends to keep more patients alive realize their life is more meaningful than if they had opted for the vaunted work-life balance. Even the supposedly lowly payroll clerk who, after the standard work week, takes work home to ensure that everyone is paid accurately and on-time is living a far worthier life than is someone who diverted that time to recreation.

And as I said in my interview two days ago in Business Insider, contrary to what advocates of work-life balance claim, long work hours do not lead to burnout. Indeed, as long as you're doing work you're good at and believe in, you'll likely be more energized from long work weeks than if you spent the discretionary time playing sports, watching the boob tube, or even the current fad, yoga.

I'll be 63 years old next month and been working 60 to 80 hours a week my entire life, since I was a young teen. I cannot claim to be a happy person. Like my father, I believe I'm constitutionally inclined toward mild sadness. But I know that my life has been more worthwhile for having forgone work-life balance in favor of having helped 4,000 career counseling clients, written seven books,  over 2,000 how-to and public-policy articles and blog posts, plus myriad other contributions.

I will continue to work until I drop in the service of things I believe will make the world better. I do want to drop dead at this keyboard. A silly canard is, "No one ever died wishing they spent more time at the office." Indeed, most of the most contributory people I know and I want to spend as much time as possible working. That's the main reason why CEOs continue working long after they've made enough money to last three lifetimes.

As Isaac Asimov, who had written or edited more than 500 books(!) said when asked, "What would you do if you knew you had six months to live?" He said, "Type faster."

* Update: A reader just informed me that Mother Teresa's behavior was often far from saintly.  So take the words "Mother Teresa" not as her literally but as a noun: Popularly, we speak of a "Mother Teresa" as a person who is very generous even to her own detriment.

Is Work-Life Balance Overrated?

Business Insider interviewed me about what I thought about the deified "work-life balance"

The article came out today and I was surprised and, I must admit, flattered to see that my opinion was the only one cited. Perhaps because it is contrary to conventional wisdom.

Update: I'm amazed and delighted that it's gotten 33,000 hits and 1,400 Facebook Likes. 

How to Make a Useful Networking Connection Fast

If your networking efforts have yielded little benefit to you, it's tempting to forgo it. Especially if you're job hunting, you could reasonably fear that by the time networking pays off in a job offer, you'll be homeless

My USNews.com article today presents a way to make networking more likely to pay off fast, perhaps in just a few minutes.