When it comes to networking, going out there and meeting other professionals may play a big part, but it’s actually maintaining and keeping track of those contacts that will be most important thing you can do. Whether you are already employed or looking for a job, you never really know when someone in your network may actually prove to be the next MVP on your career path. That’s why it is so important to keep track of your contacts, even when you don’t need anything and aren’t looking for a new job. How can you keep track of these valuable network connections?

A good way to manage your network and keep in contact is to send periodic messages to each individual on a regular basis. To make this easier, you may want to set a goal of sending a few messages to a small number of individuals each week. These messages can be rather simple – maybe just a “hello, how are you?” or a link to an article that reminds you of them. These small notes can go a long way and will make world of a difference in the long run.

Social and business networking sites such as LinkedIn are good ways to find old connections and make new ones, as well. In recent months, LinkedIn has seen a huge increase in membership as more and more professionals jump on the site in hopes of building up their networks. Using LinkedIn can help make the challenge of creating and managing your network much easier, so consider getting a LinkedIn account if you don’t have one already (we have a great introductory post on LinkedIn and all of its features here).

More often than not, individuals lose touch of their networks because they don’t feel a “need” to keep in touch or don’t think they have the time. Later down the line, however, these same individuals may find that they need a network for a number of reasons, but haven’t maintained one. Once you’ve lost communication with your network, it can be a challenge to reconnect. This is one reason it is so important to build it up while you are still employed and keep track of it. But what happens if you’ve already lost touch with your network? Is there any way to regain your relationships? How can you rekindle the connections you established before?

In the workplace, you’re bound to make a few mistakes throughout the course of your career. Unfortunately, these mistakes happen, whether we like it or not. Many individuals may feel nervous about owning up to a mistake or beat themselves up over it, but it’s actually what you DO about your error that is the most important. What’s the best way to handle your next mishap at work? Try these four steps:

1. Admit to the mistake. One of the worst things you can do after you’ve made a mistake is to try and hide it. It may seem like the easiest way out of the situation at the time, but it will only make matters worse. Instead, it’s best to simply own up to your mistake and it will show that you can take some responsibility. When admitting to your mistake, however, avoid making excuses or getting defensive, as both of these will lead to less than favorable responses from your boss. Just own up to your mistake and your employer will be much more understanding and will appreciate your honesty.
2. Have a plan ready to fix the mistake. This may be the most important thing you can do to rectify the problem and it will make a world of a difference on how your boss reacts. Having a potential solution ready to present will show your boss that you understand the severity of the error and are willing to fix it immediately. This is important for your boss because he/she want to know that you understand what went wrong and that it will never happen again. Regardless if your boss chooses to implement your solution or comes up with an entirely new one, he/she will respect that you’ve given it some thought and taken initiative in the first place.
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In honor of Father’s Day and Men’s Health Month during June, this post is dedicated to all of the working dads out there. The modern day father has a vast amount of responsibilities and commitments all vying for his attention. The responsibilities of working and building a career, sharing a household and raising children can all be overwhelming. As these men continue to burn the candle at both ends, this may lead to large amounts of stress. If you’re juggling overtime at work while meeting the changing needs of your family, you’re probably one of these men facing stress on a daily basis.

According to a Stress in America Survey conducted by the American Psychological Association, it was found that 50 percent of men were concerned about their stress level. Men, more often than women, said stress negatively affected various aspects of their lives such as job satisfaction (50 percent of men vs. 40 percent of women) and their overall satisfaction with life (45 percent of men vs. 38 percent of women).

With Father’s Day just around the corner and Men’s Health Month recognized during June, this marks a perfect time of the year to make an effort towards changing how you handle your stress.

Special note: To our male readers, we haven’t forgotten about you! Stay tuned for our special Father’s Day blog post in June.

Charlotte, Miranda, Samantha, and of course… Carrie. It seems that talk about Sex and the City is EVERYWHERE lately… TV commercials, radio interviews, Facebook pages, magazine ads… you name it! With the release of the new Sex and the City movie, I thought this would be a great time to talk about just why we love these characters so much. Each of these women embodies four distinct roles of which every woman in the country can relate to. Behind those roles, they are strong, motivated and ambitious – qualities women across the world have come to admire.

When it comes to their careers, the SATC women have got it all. Whether working as a famous columnist and book author, a manager of an art gallery (formerly), a career-minded lawyer or an independent businesswoman with a career in public relations, three of the four main SATC characters has never failed to show prowess when it comes to workplace aspirations (for the sake of focusing on the careers in the workplace, we’re excluding Charlotte on this one because she chose motherhood as a full-time job!). I mean, after all, how do you expect any of these women to buy a pair of extravagant Christian Louboutin shoes without some success on the job?!

Today, more women are graduating from college than men. Women have come a long way as successful professionals and an increasing number continue to make a greater impact on various industries and professions. According to the Department of Labor, women are expected to comprise 46.5 percent of the estimated 164.2 million persons of the labor force in 2016.

So, as the number of women in the workplace continues to grow, it’s more important now than ever to make sure you’re comfortable being a strong woman if you want to succeed and move up in ranks. If your favorite Sex and the City characters could give you advice on how to feel empowered in the workplace, what do you think they’d say?