Should You Make Your Living as a Creative: A Debate

My PsychologyToday.com article today offers a mock debate between someone who wants to make a career as an artist and a person who thinks it wiser to limit it to a serious avocation.

Community: Potentials and Limitations

"Community" seems to be an increasingly commonly used term and concept. Indeed, it seems ever more lauded versus individualism. My PsychologyToday.com article today offers a few of its potentials and limitations.

“I Don’t Want My Child to Grow Up Unemployable!” A mock career counseling session

She’s just a high school junior but her parents want to do what they can to ensure she’ll be self-supporting. So they sent her for career counseling. My PsychologyToday.com article today presents the core of session 1.

Forced into Self-Employment: A mock career counseling session

Unsuccessful in the workplace, a person feels she must start her own business. My PsychologyToday.com article presents a mock career counseling session that amalgamates many elements from my real-world clients who have contemplated or actually started a small business.

My Radio Program, Work with Marty Nemko is Being Cancelled

I am sad to report that the station manager is removing my career-advice NPR-San Francisco program Work with Marty Nemko. It is being replaced by one-off shows by the station's trainees. I have two shows left, one next Thurs and one tonight, with my wife Barbara Nemko: a debate: Is work-life balance always worth striving for?  Plus you can call in for a Workover: 415-841-4134, 7 PM 91.7 in San Francisco or KALW.org.

Is Work-Life Balance Overrated?

So much has been written urging us to strive for work-life balance. An offshoot of that is the exhortation to meditate, do yoga, etc.

There is an under-discussed counter-position. So my PsychologyToday.com article today offers an ego/alter-ego debate on the issue.

A Nervous Middle Manager: A mock career counseling session

I've had many a middle manager nervous about keeping his job, let alone getting promoted. My PsychologyToday.com article today offers a composite career counseling session with such a person.

"Should I Go Back for Another Degree?" An internal debate

Even some well-employed people wonder if they should go back for another degree. 

My PsychologyToday.com article today offers an internal debate on the subject  Perhaps it might clarify your thinking.

"Should I Be Self-Employed?" A mock career counseling session

Many people struggle with this dilemma: Should I be self-employed or work for someone else? My PsychologyToday.com article today presents a mock career counseling session with a person facing this dilemma.

A Psychotherapist Needs More Clients: A mock career counseling session

My PsychologyToday.com article today offers a  mock career counseling session  applicable to anyone running a small business.

A New Graduate Searches for a Career: A mock career counseling session

In my PsychologyToday.com article today, I offer a mock career counseling session with a new graduate trying to figure out what career to pursue.

A Burned Out Physician: A mock career counseling session

My PsychologyToday.com article today offers a mock career counseling session that offers lessons not just for physicians and other health care providers but for others, for example, lawyers, social workers, teachers, as well as for counselors.

A Researcher Who'd Rather Work Than Be With Family or Have Fun: A mock career counseling session

My PsychologyToday.com article today is a mock career counseling session with a researcher who'd rather work long hours than have fun or be with family. Her husband objects.

A Psychotherapist Wants to Succeed in Private Practice: A mock career counseling session

My PsychologyToday.com article today offers a mock career counseling session in which a newly minted psychotherapist is contemplating starting a private practice.

This is the second in a series of mock career counseling sessions. The first involved a beleaguered psychology department chair.

A Mock Career Counseling Session

In my PsychologyToday.com article today, I offer a mock career counseling session. In it, the chair of a psychology department is trying to change its emphasis from applied psychology to basic research.

Should You Retire?

In an attempt to facilitate the decision of whether to retire, my PsychologyToday.com article today offers a debate between a fictitious person and his/her alter ego.

The Experimental Mindset: Key to effectiveness

It’s only natural to crave closure — If you’ve made the decision, it’s one less thing to worry about.

But, many decisions by counselors, indeed in all human interaction, are judgment calls, which often can be wrong. So, having an experimental mindset is important.

I provide examples and other how-to in my PsychologyToday.com article today.

Foiling Job Seeker Ploys

My previous article described unethical ploys employers use on job seekers. 

The focus of my PsychologyToday.com article today is the flipside: unethical ploys that job seekers use to fool employers.

How Job Seekers Can Foil Employer Ploys

I sit on both sides of the table, so I too often see dubious and sometimes outright dishonest tactics from both the employer and the job seeker.

In the spirit of encouraging the best people to get hired by the most worthy employers, here are tactics I’ve often observed and how to preempt or counter them. Today’s Psychology Today article describes employer ploys and how to foil them. 

Tomorrow, I plan to post an article describing job-seeker ploys and how employers can foil them.

Becoming More Productive

The older I get, the more I believe that the current meme, "We're not human doings; we're human beings" is wrong. I believe the productivity is all. I make the case and describe how I try to live that in my PsychologyToday.com article today.

You're Rejected and Don't Know Why

You email a request. Silence.

You ask someone out. The response? An unhelpful, “I don’t think we’re a good fit.”

You’re fired or your job application is rejected. You ask why and all you get is a vague answer like, “We decided to go in a different direction.”

And some people go through life largely rejected and rarely get any useful feedback as to why.

What to do?

You have no choice but to self-assess, and that may be for the best.

My PsychologyToday.com article today asks you some questions to help with that self-assessment.

My Most Cited Tips; On long-windedness, immaturity, and resilience

As mentioned in my previous post, I'm a felonious contributor to readers' information overload. So, if only as penance, yesterday, I described my few favorite career tips. 

Today, my PsychologyToday.com article offers are what I believe are my three most cited tips.

My Favorite Career Tips

I’m guilty of contributing to information overload: 1,471 posts on PsychologyToday.com alone. So, if only as penance, I thought I’d take the time to describe, for each major career-related topic, what I believe is the single most potent but not obvious tip. That's my PsychologyToday.com article today.

Parents and Substance Abuse

Many teens feel impervious. For example, they may feel they can smoke, vape, and even drive under the influence, and feel like it’s unlikely to hurt them

Risk-taking seems hard-wired, perhaps especially among boys, but to the extent that undue risk-taking can be mitigated, my PsychologyToday.com article today offers some possible approaches.

The Case for Socialism and for Capitalism

Previous presidential elections have been subject to the criticism that both parties are pretty much the same.

That's unlikely to be true in the 2020 election. It appears that it will be an election between a heavily socialist person (I’m predicting Warren) and a heavily capitalist person (likely Trump.)

In my PsychologyToday.com article today, I lay out what I believe are best arguments for socialism and for capitalism.

Careers for People Who are Bad at Generating Good Ideas

Rather than have a career that mainly requires coming up with ideas, some people would rather implement others.’ My Psychology Today article today offers careers for such people.

Is Contribution All?

It’s popular to extol the “life” part of “work-life balance” and its various manifestations such as exhortations to meditate. The masses have glommed onto such simplisms as “You’re a human being, not a human doing”

Yet, across the 5,600 career and personal advising clients I’ve had over the past 30 years, many if not most of the people who are highly satisfied with their life have a life that's "out of balance.” They work long hours and value doing that.

I make the case for such a life in my PsychologyToday.com article today. 

Careers for Procrastinators

Sure, some people overcome their procrastinating ways but many others feel they must live with it.

My PsychologyToday.com article today offers some careers in which procrastination tends to take a smaller toll.

Careers for People Who Are Bad at Math

Careers are ever more STEM-centric, which means lots of math. So what’s a person to do who’s “not a math person?”

Fortunately, ample math-light careers remain. My PsychologyToday.com article today offers a sampling.

Careers for People Who Are Bad With People

I’ve had career-advising clients that turn off most people, often because they’re too intense, are on the autism spectrum, or whose appearance isn't conventionally attractive. Such people might want to consider one or more of the career directions I describe in my PsychologyToday.com article today.

Career Change Ideas for Boomers

You’re older but want a new career. Some types of work are particularly Boomer- friendly. In some, your age is a plus. I describe a good number in my PsychologyToday.com article today.