14 Career Myths

For millennia, people have had careers. So there’s been plenty of time for myths to emerge and then entrench. Have you bought any of the 14 I mention in my PsychologyToday.com article today?

Ultra-Fast Ways to Land a Job

Unless you’re a hotshot, landing a job is usually a slog. Especially if you're impatient, you might want to try one or more of the ultra-fast approaches I describe in my PsychologyToday.com article today. After all, if it doesn’t work, you can always revert to the slog.

Preachy Pleas: 20 entreaties a parent might issue

Many people say, "I wish I knew then what I know now."  A possible antidote to such laments is to consider the 20 parent-like pleas I offer in my PsychologyToday.com article today.

Senior Self-Employment

Voluntarily or not, many people 50+ are thrust into retirement but feel they still have job juice and so turn to self-employment.

My PsychologyToday.com article today offers seven simple, low-risk businesses well-suited to older people.

The Corner Cutter

My PsychologyToday.com article today is a short-short story about the wisdom of dotting every i.

Keys to an Okay Marriage

This won’t be one of those articles offering “Secrets to Super Sexagenarian Sex.” Or “Keys to a Lifetime Storybook Marriage.” If you know those, please pass them my way.

But my wife, Dr. Barbara Nemko and I have been together for 43 years, three “in-sin” and 40 official, with no plans for divorce. While our marriage wasn't made in heaven, we’ve made it work here on earth. One of our long-time friends said, “Marty, I figured you and Barbara would be among the first to divorce.” Naaah-nah-nah-naah nah.

In my PsychologyToday.com article today, I share the secrets to our marriage’s long-term okayness.

Watch What You Say: There are more minefields than ever.

When I was growing up, my parents said, “Never discuss religion or politics.”

Today, the tread-lightly topics have expanded. Some observers praise that as due sensitivity to race, class, and gender. Others lament that as undue sensitivity and censorship. Either way, the need for caution is real.

My PsychologyToday.com article today offers examples of statements that in earlier years would have been less dangerous.

The Perfect Romantic Dinner

You’ve had the coffee date and the movie date. Now you think it’s time to invite sweetie to your place for dinner and perhaps dessert.

As my PsychologyToday.com article today, I offer thoughts on how to make it a wonderful evening.

Serious Messages in Jokes about Therapists

Sometimes, we say in jest truths we can’t say seriously. Jokes about therapists are no exception. They may be instructive both to counselors and clients. 

In my PsychologyToday.com article today, I describe the unspoken issues within ten therapist jokes that have stood the test of time. 

Privilege? Should We Redistribute More?

Should we redistribute more? In my PsychologyToday.com article today, I explore both sides in an internal debate.

20 Questions: Help in choosing your career

As my PsychologyToday.com article today, I offer the 20 questions I’ve asked my clients that have been most helpful in unearthing a wise choice of career.

Your Career Values

It’s easy to assume that your values are like most people’s: be ethical, want to make a contribution, have work-life balance, etc.

But people’s values vary more than one might think. As my PsychologyToday.com contribution today, I offer a self-assessment inventory to help you home in on the sort of career or job you want. It may also help you decide if you want to stay in your current position and current career.

Perfect Suicide?

As my PsychologyToday.com contribution today, I wrote a short-short story about hubris, suicide, the first female president, and nuclear war.

Tech Tools for Your Career

I’m surprised at how little most people use tech in choosing a career, landing a job, and in efforts to succeed on the job.
In my PsychologyToday.com article today, I offer my current favorite tech tools for your career.

Future Careers

There’s long been fascination with predicting jobs of the future. Leonardo DaVinci predicted airplane (“ornithopter”) pilots. Jules Verne predicted submarine pilots, astronauts, and the ubiquity of career women.
Of course, many predictions are wrong. No less than Isaac Asimov predicted we’d be living in underwater cities. But just as some people buy a speculative stock in hopes that the greater risk will yield far greater return, as my PsychologyToday.com article today, I offer 11 deep-under-the-radar careers. Who knows? Maybe some offer opportunity to get in below the ground floor.

First Principles of First Impressions

Many of my clients need to make a good first impression, in networking, interviews, etc.

My PsychologyToday.com article today summarizes what has worked best for them. I attempted to focus on ideas that go beyond the standard.

A Loner's Jottings

As a child, I played basketball for hours, mainly by myself. I would go to baseball doubleheaders alone. Now, at age 67, I still maximize my time alone.  

As I am happily married, I do spend time with my wife and participate in the social life she plans for us. We do live apart for much of the week, and when I have discretionary time, I almost always spend it alone.

I feel self-conscious about being a loner. I also feel the societal opprobrium. Why would I accept those in exchange for my solitude? I explain in my PsychologyToday.com article today.

Work MORE? The case for eschewing the pursuit of happiness and even work-life balance.

We don’t want to believe the key to success is to work more. That’s why we succumb to such easier prescriptions as believe in yourself, brand yourself, and dream it and you can do it. 

But fact is, unless you’re unusually intelligent and ideally also have a winsome personality, your chances of success—and I believe satisfaction with your life—are far greater if you embrace the less comfortable truth that success requires sustained, focused skill development: spending lots of time getting good.

I make the case in my PsychologyToday.com article today. 

Short Answers: Getting Unstuck

Brevity’s benefits often trump comprehensives. So I'm writing this series on PsychologyToday.com, Short Answers. Previous installments can be found HERE. 

Today’s installment is the first that addresses reader-submitted questions. It addresses these topics: getting expert fast, getting re-engaged, and preventing procrastination. 

Three Foolish Workplace Practices

A surprising number of businesses use silly practices. I describe them and offer alternatives in my PsychologyToday.com article today.

Short Answers: Marry?

Brevity's benefits often trump comprehensiveness's. So on PsychologyToday.com, I’ve been offering short-form answers to commonly asked questions.

The first installments addressed career issues. This installment addresses a core relationship question: Should you marry? Of course, that subsumes two questions: “Should you marry that person?” and ”Should you marry at all?” I’ll address both here.

Under-the-Radar Careers for Smart People

Everyone knows about popular careers such as doctor, lawyer, and engineer. But especially when good jobs aren’t easy to find, it can be wise to pick an under-the-radar profession. 

To that end, my PsychologyToday.com article today offers 14 careers requiring braininess.  Many people enjoy these careers and they're offshoring- and automation-resistant.

Even if none of these careers are right for you, perhaps you’ll find one or more you'll want to pass on to a relative or friend.

Short Answers: Landing a Job, Being Appropriately Ambitious

People may be more likely to change behavior from concise advice than from a tome, even though the short piece is, by definition, less comprehensive.

So in a PsychologyToday.com series, Short Answers, I answer common practical questions. To date, all have been on career issues. Today's installment addresses two questions: How should you decide what approach to focus on in landing a job? And how ambitious should you decide to be?

In tomorrow's installment, I'll move on to relationships.

Short Answers to Common Career Questions: Change Careers? Be Self-Employed?

As the second in my PsychologyToday.com series:  Short Answers, I offer short-form thoughts on figuring out if you should change careers and if you should be self-employed.

Short Answers to Common Career Questions: Should I Pursue an Artistic Career? Should I Retire?

Should you pursue an artistic career? Should you retire? Those are common career questions and a I take a crack at providing hyper-concise answers to them in my PsychologyToday.com article today.

Behaviorism at Work

Behaviorism is among psychology’s most robust principles. Per B.F. Skinner, the principle is that you get more of what you reward, less of what you ignore and especially punish.

Behaviorism is widely used with challenging behavior, for example, with children with developmental disabilities. In the workplace, it's often referred to as Organizational Behavior Management (OBM.)

Manuel “Manny” Rodriguez  is the Executive Director of the Organizational Behavior Management Network and its former President of the Board. My interview with him is my PsychologyToday.com article today.

My Approach to Writing: Tactics for your professional and personal writing.

After having written nine books and more than 3,000 nationally-published articles, including for TIME, The Atlantic, and more than 1,000 for Psychology Today, perhaps it might be helpful for me to describe my approach to writing. I offer them in my PsychologyToday.com article today.

You needn't be a how-to writer to use these tactics. They may be useful in a wide range of professional and personal writing.