Employment & Careers

By Eamon Murphy
Daily Finance

A $100,000 signing bonus, a $1 million salary, a brand new netbook or tablet, and additional rewards depending on performance: That's the compensation package, if media reports are correct, awaiting a Russian counterterrorism officer specializing in the Caucasus region who's willing to spy for Uncle Sam.

It's the largest book retailer in Canada and some even blame the demise of the independent bookstore in our country on the book retailing giant. It's core business is books and - to a degree - music, but the store also has become known for selling lifestyle products, including toys and decorative home accessories. It's become a haven for people who want to take their time browsing magazines and fiction and who might want a Starbucks latte while they're at it. But despite the obvious, there might be a few things you didn't know about Indigo's story and the top people behind it. Have a look at 10 things you didn't know about Indigo:

If you're looking to make a little extra money then your best bet may be the tried-and-true method of working a part-time job in the retail or food service sector. That's according to Abigail R. Gehring's book, Odd Jobs: How To Have Fun and Make Money In A Bad Economy, an offering of more than 100 odds jobs if you want to make a buck or two without a long term commitment.

Many of these jobs are available by signing up with an agency that provides temporary employment. Once you're sign up, you are sent to odd jobs in your neighbourhood. When I did it, I sold Tupperware in a mall kiosk, picked up cardboard boxes in a Costco and spent a week putting different sizes of screws into really small bags.

By Jean Chatzky
Daily Finance

Can I tell you a secret? I'm writing this article from the comfort of my own living room, with my feet propped up on an ottoman and pillows resting at my sides. I am -- for the record -- wearing actual clothes, not pajamas. But I'm not here because I'm working through a sick day. It's because ever since I had my first child nearly 18 years ago, I've been able to work from home at least some of the time.

I've always felt fortunate to be able to do this, as not every job can be done outside of the office and not every boss is quite as accommodating as mine were. However, recent research suggests that telecommuting's popularity is surging: According to statistics from Global Workplace Analytics, there are currently 2.9 million telecommuters in the U.S -- a 66% increase over just seven years.

By Pam Kruger
AOL Jobs

You may have heard that NBA center Jason Collins made history today. It wasn't for his ball-playing. He came out as gay, making him the first major professional athlete to come out during his career.

In a story for Sports Illustrated, on their site today, Collins wrote, "I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay." In the article, Collins, a 12-year NBA veteran, most recently for the Washington Wizards, explains that he decided to go public after the Boston bombings. "Things can change in an instant, so why not live truthfully?"

Supportive tweets from colleagues poured in.Wizards Baron Davis on the Knicks tweeted, "I am so proud of my bro @jasoncollins for being real." Even Kobe Bryant -- who a few years back was fined after a homophobic outburst -- tweeted out praise. "Don't suffocate who u r because of the ignorance of others," he wrote. Washington Wizards team president said the team was "extremely proud" of Collins' decision to "live his life proudly and openly." Whether Collins' decision to come out will affect his ability to get another NBA job isn't clear (he's currently a free agent). But in 29 states, it's still legal to be fired for being gay because there aren't laws that specifically prevent discrimination against gay workers. Still, there have been huge strides made in gay rights in the past few years. Recently, gay men and women won the right to serve openly in the military, and gay troops sipped champagne with their commander-in-chief at the Pentagon's first gay pride reception. And last year when Anderson Cooper announced he was gay, it barely made a stir in the broadcast world.

But almost half of college-educated professionals say they remain in the closet at work. Last year, AOL Jobs noted five industries that were still inhospitable to gay workers. Professional sports, especially football, was top on the list, but with Collins' announcement, do you think that will change soon?

See the slideshow below. You can read the rest of Collins' Sports Illustrated article here.

Interviews are probably the most challenging part of the job search process. You need to be ready for anything, including weird interview questions.You don't want to blurt out something inappropriate and send all of your hard work down the toilet. Avoid these inappropriate comments during your interview:

1. I'm really nervous. There's nothing wrong with feeling nervous. It's natural to be a little uneasy at an important interview. Don't tell the interviewer if you have butterflies in your stomach, though. Your job in the interview is to portray a confident and professional demeanor. You won't win any points by admitting your nerves or blaming them for any failures in your performance.

2. I don't really know much about the job; I thought you'd tell me all about it. This is a big job seeker mistake, and it can cost you the opportunity. Employers spend a lot of time interviewing, and they expect candidates to have researched the jobs enough to be able to explain why they want the positions. Otherwise, you could be wasting everyone's time by interviewing for a job you may not even really want. Asking questions is important, but don't ask anything you should know from the job description or from reading about the company online.

Daily Finance


Just because you've attained wealth doesn't mean you'll keep it. In 2011, the number of millionaire households in the U.S. dropped by nearly 2.5% (from 5,263,000 in 2010 to 5,134,000 in 2011), according to The Boston Consulting Group, a global management consulting firm.

Even the richest of the rich aren't immune from sudden -- and complete -- plunges in net worth. The big names we've rounded up here, from Elton John to Dorothy Hamill, all filed for bankruptcy at one point, falling into the same money-draining traps that can cost us all: poor budgeting, loose spending habits, failed business ventures, even extending too much financial support to friends and family. They've managed to rebuild their professional and financial lives.

In Driven: How to Succeed in Business and in Life, Shark Tank's Robert Herjavec recounted how he went from a Croatian immigrant at eight-years-old to the founder and CEO of The Herjavec Group -- now the country's largest IT security firm and consistently topping lists as Canada's fastest growing technology company.

"We started The Herjavec Group ten years ago with three guys and $400,000 in sales and we finished at $125 million last year and just today, we bought another one of our small competitors that does $30 million a year," he says.

With results like that, it's no wonder he was recently named Ernst & Young's 2012 Entrepreneur of the Year in the technology group and is always pushing the limits of his own success even further. He wants you to reach new heights of success this year too, which is why he wrote The Will to Win: Leading, Competing, Succeeding (HarperCollins Canada) a sequel of sorts to Driven.

While Driven urged readers to take risks, take control of their lives, and stay true to their own visions, The Will to Win pushes them to refuse to accept mediocrity, use their power at the right time and always be willing to adapt and change, with some special advice from Herjavec's celebrity friends like Oprah, Celine Dion and UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre thrown in for good measure.

We caught up to this Ferrari racing, marathon running, cyber security expert just long enough for him to tell us whether he's truly afraid of anything, why it seems like sometimes his investment offers get passed over in favour of the bigger fish in the tank and whether The Millennial Generation needs to invent their own job.

Careerbuilder

There are often more perks to a job than a paycheque, as employers make an effort to retain their top workers and entice new prospects. From offices to flexible schedules to company cars, employees are enjoying more job incentives than ever, though they still have workplace wish lists.

A new CareerBuilder survey asked more than 3,900 full-time workers nationwide which job factors are most important to them to find out what makes employees satisfied with their job and workplace. While the recovering economy may give the impression that workers can't be too choosy, employers don't necessarily share this view. Thirty-two percent of employers report that top performers left their organization in 2012 and 39 percent are concerned that they'll lose top employees in 2013. While most workers (66 percent) say they are generally satisfied with their job, 25 percent say they will change jobs in 2013 or 2014.

What can employers do to retain their best workers, and what can employees request to create a more enjoyable workplace? The top survey answers focus on salary, onsite privileges and creating more job-related opportunities.

Dream Job Benefits

Who hasn't wished for a little more comfort on-the-job? Onsite luxuries are just a dream for some, but these gratuities may be what keep workers happy at their current company. Twenty-six percent of workers say that providing special perks is an effective way to improve employee retention.

When asked to identify one perk that would make their workplace more satisfying, some of the highest-scoring answers include early dismissals, convenient gym access and casual dress. Click through our slideshow to find out which benefits ranked highest:

By Claire Gordon
AOL Jobs

As K-12 education in America has tumbled in global rankings, states have responded: more focus on math and science, more teacher accountability, more testing, and more standardized lesson plans. But one history teacher's resignation letter, posted two weeks ago on Facebook, reads like a last cry from the old guard. The new system, retiring teacher Gerald Conti writes, "seeks only conformity" and "zombie-like adherence." The profession of teaching, Conti says, "no longer exists."

In his letter, (the full text of which is at the bottom of this article) which has already been shared more than 1,000 times on Facebook, Conti describes the passion that kept him in teaching for 40 years, 27 of them at Westhill High School in Syracuse, N.Y. He describes his approach of "teaching heavy," based on immersion, intensive research and obsessive attention to detail. He mentions the two signs that hang in his classroom, reading "Words Matter" and "Ideas Matter." "I have truly attempted to live John Dewey's famous quotation," Conti writes, "... that 'Education is not preparation for life, education is life itself.'"