Articles & Blogs

From new thinking on creating career opportunities to expert insights on workplace culture or networking tactics, the articles and multi-media presentations below from Harvard Business School faculty and other thought leaders may help guide your career growth or enhance your job-search skills. Please check back often as we will update this library regularly.

Career Management

• To Get Paid What You're Worth, Know Your Disruptive Skills

  When we offer employers or clients a disruptive skill set, focusing on our distinctive innate talents rather than "me-too" skills, we are more likely to achieve success and increase what we earn. Read the article

• Five Questions to Ask Yourself Before Changing Careers

  Being out of work has forced highly capable men and women professionals to consider what they want to do with the rest of their lives. Some, due to financial pressures, need to get back to work immediately. But many others have an opportunity to ask themselves, "What do I want to be when I grow up?" To answer this question, you need to do some homework... on yourself. Read the article

• Jobs 2.0: Nice Work If You Can Get It

  Freelance work is on the rise, sometimes as a stop-gap between longer-term employment or a way to augment an inadequate paycheck. But turning Jobs 2.0 into nice work requires an underlying support system with at least 3 elements. Read the article

• Are You the Victim of an 'Invisible Promotion'?

  What to do if your title and job description stay the same but your responsibilities significantly expand. Read the article

• Avoid These Career-Planning Fallacies (audio)

  Is it true that switching employers offers a fast track to the top jobs? According to the author, the answer is no. In fact, understanding the reality behind job moves gives executives a leg up when planning for the future. Listen to the podcast

  Related Article: Job-Hopping to the Top and Other Career Fallacies

• The 3-D Approach to Creating Opportunity

  If you're trying to find a job right now, your success may depend on whether you look for where the opportunities are now (the linear dimension) or where they're going to be (the non-linear and random dimensions). Learning to manage your professional life along all three dimensions could put you way ahead of the game. Read the article

• Are You a High-Potential Employee?

  Some employees are more talented than others. That's a fact of organizational life that few executives and HR managers would dispute. The more debatable point is how to treat the people who appear to have the highest potential. Read what HR executives at dozens of top companies said about the experiences they provide for high potentials and about their criteria for getting and staying on the list. Read the article

• Why Not Having a Plan Can Be the Best Plan of All

  Whether it's the rise of second or third careers or the new realities of today's job market, not everyone stays locked into a single career plan these days. Yet, many people go on to successful and rewarding careers. Why? Some of it is opportunity. Some if it is persistence. And some is sheer luck. But there's another set of ingredients that encourages opportunity, persistence, and luck. Read the article

Managing Yourself

• Help! I'm an Underperformer

  No one likes to be an underperformer. Yet, many of us have at times failed to meet expectations. The good news is that poor performance isn't incurable. It's possible to turn it around and save your reputation with awareness, a sincere approach, and the right support. Here's what the experts say. Read the article

• Six Ways to Supercharge Your Productivity

  What does it take to be productive and efficient in a world of infinitely rising demand and endless potential distractions? Here are six behaviors you should adopt.Read the article

• Bouncing Back from a Negative 360-Degree Review

  The truth is not always pretty, and receiving a negative 360-degree review can be upsetting, especially when the opinions are echoed at many levels. But with the right attitude, you can still create a positive experience. How you handle a bad 360-degree review is far more important than the content of the review itself. Read the article

• How to Avoid (and Quickly Recover From) Misunderstandings

  When someone expresses a request, demand, assertion, or thought that doesn't seem to make sense, resist the temptation to react. Instead, pause. Ask yourself what's going on. Read the article

• The Toot-Your-Own-Horn Gender Bias

  Point to your accomplishments - you're self-promoting. Don't point - get fired. How to handle the acknowledgement conundrum. Read the article

• The Early Bird Really Does Get the Worm

  Does physiology play a role in job performance? New research finds that people whose performance peaks in the morning are better positioned for career success, because they're more proactive than people who are at their best in the evening. Read the article

• 7 Tips for Difficult Conversations

  There are certain conversations all leaders dread: the ones in which we have to deliver bad news, discuss a sensitive or "political" subject, or talk about a project or meeting that's gone wrong. The mere thought of having these difficult conversations fills you with anxiety, and distracts you from other work. As much as it's tempting, you don't want to just avoid the whole mess, either. You want to take charge and talk about it effectively. But how? Read the article

• The Long-Term Effects of Short-Term Emotions

  The heat of the moment is a powerful, dangerous thing. If we're happy, we may be overly generous. If we're irritated, we may snap. And for that fleeting second, we feel great. But the consequences of that decision may last years. At least the regret will serve us well, right? Maybe not. Read the article

Global Business

• Learning the Fine Art of Global Collaboration

  Unlike the many companies that treat collaboration as a form of outsourcing, leading firms make significant investments to develop their collaborative capabilities. Learn about the new skills and organizational arrangements they develop to make collaboration work. Read the article

• Bringing the Global Mindset to Leadership

  In a recent survey of senior executives in 100 global corporations, 95% of the respondents reported that national cultures of the places they do business play an important role in the success of their business mission. In any part of the world, leadership is about influence. But there are many ways to influence others. In a multicultural world, what does the leader of the future need to be successful? Read the article

• Making It Overseas

  Moving and working around the world is vital to developing global leadership capabilities. But it is seldom enough. Plenty of smart, talented executives fail spectacularly in expatriate assignments, even when they try their best to understand local cultures and fit in. Learn what it takes to succeed in a new and different environment. Read the article

  Related Audio: The Skills You Need to Lead Overseas

Innovation

• On the Differences Between Innovation and Cooking Chili

  Anyone can run an experiment—like changing a chili recipe—just try something and see what happens. But you should demand much more from the innovators in your company. You want a systematic and rigorous approach, disciplined experiments, not a casual free-for-all. Read the article

• Executing on Innovation (video)

  Vijay Govindarajan, coauthor of The Other Side of Innovation: Solving the Execution Challenge, on why innovation is so hard to implement and what you can do about it. View the video

• Create Three Distinct Career Paths for Innovators

  Expecting innovators to grow along with their projects—from discovery to incubation to acceleration—sets them up to fail. Most people excel at one of the phases, not all three. By allowing innovation employees to develop career paths suited to their strengths, companies will create a sustainable innovation function. Read the article

• Find the 15-Minute Competitive Advantage

  Just because this is a time of transformation doesn't mean that it's easy to sell transformational ideas, says HBS professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter. To innovate with reduced risk, think long-term trends but short-term steps. Read the article

• Increase Your Engagement by Volunteering

  Volunteering has always been viewed as good for your soul. Now it turns out that it's also good for your health and your career. Read the article

• Different (video)

  HBS professor Youngme Moon created this video to introduce her book DIFFERENT, an intimately drawn meditation on the meaning of business differentiation. View the video

  Related Video: The Anti-Creativity Checklist

Job-Seeking Skills

• How to Write a Résumé That Doesn't Annoy People

  We all know that there are more jobs being lost than created, and that an opening will get dozens, if not hundreds, of applicants. But in our fear to avoid saying anything that might get our résumé tossed out of the pile, we end up saying nothing at all. Here's a list of nine things to make your résumé stand a better chance of survival. Read the article

• Effective Communication Begins with a First Impression

  All too often, business leaders forget the classic adage "you never get a second chance to make a first impression." In both written and oral communication, it's just too easy to begin with the ordinary. As we're designing presentations or crafting emails or letters, step back and consider the total package you are delivering to your reader or audience and decide carefully how you real ought to begin. Read the article

• The HBR Guide to Getting a Job

  Need a new job? Whether you've been laid off or are considering a job change on your own, you need to search efficiently and effectively. Don't lurch from one job to the next. Use this Harvard Business Review Guide to ensure that your next move is a carefully considered one. Read the article

• Three Steps to Make Your Next Speech Your Best

  Here are three quick steps you can take right now to improve your next presentation. Read the article

• How to Make Your Network Work for You

  The best time to build your network is before you need something. To reap the benefits of networking when you need them, you must know how to make your network work for you, and how you can work for your network. Read the article

  Related Article: Creating a Reference Letter Template

• How to Ask for a Reference Letter

  Getting an outstanding reference letter is entirely within your control and easier than you think, even if you don't have a benevolent benefactor at your back. Read the article

  Related Article: Creating a Reference Letter Template

• 3 Ways to Pitch Yourself in 30 Seconds

  Whether you're interviewing for a job or introducing yourself to new colleagues or investors, craft your personal spiel to win over allies and make an impression on potential advocates. Read the article

• Start Networking Right Away (Even If You Hate It)

  Most people don't take to networking naturally. But networking is the best way to acquire crucial information about the job and succeed early. Otherwise, you might lack the facts needed for an important proposal, for example, or might bring up a smart "new" idea that has failed in the past. This "courageous networking," as I call it, requires recruiting networking targets both inside and outside the firm—even at competitors. Read the article

Leadership

• Be Brave: Have a Bad Meeting

  It may be contrarian, but to say "we had a great meeting" too often means just the opposite. In fact, disagreement, discord, or just plain saying "no" may be what it takes to move the ball forward. Read the article

• How to Sell an Idea to Your Boss

  One of the hardest challenges for creative people—especially those working in units such as R&D, design, or marketing—is how to win top management's support for their ideas. The solution to this problem is to have your boss onboard long before the idea comes up. Here's how.Read the article

• Talking Across Cultures (With or Without Profanity)

  Understanding the cultural values, objectives, and motives of your team members can make the difference between ineffective action and effective communication. Read the article

• Sharpen Your Skills: Successful Negotiation

  Can you out-negotiate Wal-Mart? Can women overcome gender stereotypes to win equitable pay? Recent research from Harvard Business School looks at important factors to consider before sitting down at the bargaining table. Read the article

• Mentoring Millennials

  In four years, people born between 1977 and 1997 will account for nearly half the employees in the world. That shift may sound daunting to the managers charged with coaching these young workers, who have a reputation for being attention sponges. However, new research gives a more nuanced view of Millennials and uncovered several resource efficient ways to mentor them. Read the article

• Are You an In or an Out Leader?

  How much time and energy are you spending in (or with) your team and how much time out in the wider organization? It might seem like a simple question, but executives rarely take the time to think about it. It's important to do though, because this single question could answer many other questions that you—or your boss—have about your style and effectiveness. Read the article

• How to Use Language That Employees Get

  In our research on executives who have instilled a great sense of purpose in others, introduced powerful brands, or managed successfully in turbulent times, we've found that they often use terms and metaphors that resonate with their employees. Read the article

• Developing Your Leadership Presence

  No matter your looks or body type, you can have presence if you work on your ability to connect with others. Read the article

Organizational Behavior

• Power Posing: Fake It Until You Make It

  We can't be the alpha dog all of the time. Whatever our personality, most of us experience varying degrees of feeling in charge. Some situations take us down a notch while others build us up. New research shows that it's possible to control those feelings a bit more, to be able to summon an extra surge of power and sense of well-being when it's needed: for example, during a job interview or for a key presentation to a group of skeptical customers. Read the article

• Build Your Power Base from Small Beginnings

  People who wish they had more power in their organizations—power to bring their ideas to fruition, power to change policies that make no sense—often try to find the one "big move" that will land them in a position of authority. That's a long shot, and it misses the reality that most power bases start out small. Which means it's possible for almost anyone to begin acquiring growing influence through unspectacular moves. Read the article

• The Five Traps of Performance Measurement

  In an episode of Frasier, the television sitcom that follows the fortunes of a Seattle-based psychoanalyst, the eponymous hero's brother gloomily summarizes a task ahead: "Difficult and boring—my favorite combination." If this is your reaction to the challenge of improving the measurement of your organization's performance, you are not alone. Read the article

• How John Chambers Learned to Collaborate at Cisco

  To rebuild Cisco after the dot.com bust, the company's CEO aimed for three goals: focus on business value, tear down barriers, and create a new organization architecture. Read the article

  Related Audio: The Right Way to Collaborate (If You Must)

• The Martial Art of Difficult Conversations

  When you come face-to-face with angry questions, it's best to listen first and understand, then explain yourself. Read the article

• The Truth About Mentoring Minorities: Race Matters

  Senior executives often face the challenge of helping promising employees of color break through the glass ceiling. An in-depth study reveals that minority protégés should be mentored very differently than their white counterparts. Read the article

Recruiter Insights

• How to Conduct an Internal Interview

  When you need to fill a position, the most cost-effective and practical thing you can do is hire someone from within. Still, the internal interview is often thought of as something to check off on a hiring to-do list rather than a source of real information. If you already know the person, what else is there to learn, right? Wrong. When conducted well, internal interviews can provide valuable new insight into a known candidate. Read the article

• Restore Trust with Employees? Forget About It

  As companies look ahead to a recovering economy and expanding job opportunities, many leaders have asked me how they can "restore trust." How can they dissipate the cloud of fear and resentment that hangs over many employees still tender from years of layoffs, salary freezes, pay cuts, and furloughs? How can leaders recreate an atmosphere of trust in the organization? Read the article

• Are 'High Potential' Programs an Anachronism?

  There's a growing debate among human resources professionals on the usefulness of "hi-po" programs. As the nature of our work and the workforce evolves, author Tammy Erickson raises questions about talent and competition. Read the article

• Hire Smarter with Social Media

  Social media can help you focus your recruitment efforts to get great results in any economic climate. Here's how you can use social media tools to make the most of your next hire. Read the article

• Three Ways to Capitalize on Creative Tension

  Clashing management styles do not always lead to management clashes. The key is managing yourself and your expectations and constantly pushing for innovation and benefit. Read the article

• It's Time to Focus Executive Development on Real Business Issues

  What must an organization do in order to win in its marketplace, and how can the executive group be best utilized as a lever to achieve these ends? Read the article

• Get Immediate Value from Your New Hire

  Whether new employees are transitioning from another part of the organization or are brand new to the firm, you can get them up to speed more quickly by going beyond the basics and explaining how things actually get done. Read the article

• Be Strategic with Your Workforce (video)

  How can managers and recruiters identify a company's most important positions and then get the best people into those roles? Dick Beatty, professor of Human Resource Management at Rutgers University, provides insights from his ground-breaking book The Differentiated Workforce. View the video

Technology

• How Your Smartphone Will Transform Your Elevator Pitch

  Listening to good entrepreneurs make their pitch is great fun. How well, or poorly, they align their passion and persuasiveness to the product details reveals a lot. Read how one savvy entrepreneur uses his smartphone to extend and energize his message in an unexpected way. Read the article

• How 21st Century Technology Affects Creativity (video)

  Andrew Klavan, one of America's most widely read crime writers, is also a keen theorist of the impact of 21st century digital technology both on the creative process of the artist and on the traditional publishing business. In this video interview, he talks about his vision of the future of creativity. View the video

• Coping with Social Media (Audio)

  An interview with Alexandra Samuel, director of the Social + Interactive Media Centre at Emily Carr University and the cofounder of Social Signal, a company that offers training, resources, and advice on using social media in business settings. Listen to the podcast

• Tweet or Meet? How to Choose Your Medium Wisely

  How do you choose among the various media options available today for connecting with important people in all the different parts of your life? Read the article

• What Does Your Facebook Page Say About You?

  What does your profile on Facebook tell others about you? Research shows most of us have little idea. Read the article

Women in Business

• Women and the Uneasy Embrace of Power

  Although women now attend college at a higher rate than men, and have for the most part closed the gap in achieving advanced and professional degrees, women are not occupying the real power positions in corporations, academia, or the professions in anywhere near the same proportions as men. The fact of the underrepresentation of women at the top begs the question of why. One part of the answer is women's reluctance to embrace power. Read the article

• When Female Networks Aren't Enough

  There's absolutely no doubt that women's affinity groups—grass-roots, company-supported internal organizations—have proved a huge winner for employees and employers alike in this tough economy. These networks nourish career advancement, connecting women to colleagues in different departments, providing opportunities to learn and practice leadership skills, and boosting their confidence to take the next step. But then what? Read the article

• Can She Lead?

  Today, more women are graduating from college than men. There are twice the number of female entrepreneurs to men. Women control 60% of all wealth in America. Yet only 3% of fortune 500 CEOs are omen and just 6% are among the highest paid employees of Fortune 500 companies. Why are so few women at the top? Here's a look at the paradoxes that come into play. Read the article

• Off-Ramps and On-Ramps Revisited

  How much has the recession shaped women's choice to take more circuitous career paths than men? Not a lot, it turns out. Data from 2004 and 2009, which factors in the severity of the economic crisis and the surge in households with nonworking men, suggests the nonlinear path is not a luxury for boom times but the way many women want to structure their careers regardless of the economy. Read the article

• Women in Management: Delusions of Progress

  Among graduates of elite MBA programs around the world, women continue to lag men at every single career stage. Reports of progress in advancement, compensation, and career satisfaction are at best overstated, at worst just plain wrong. Read the results of a new study. Read the article

• Why Women Are the Biggest Emerging Market

  What's the biggest emerging market of them all? Hint: It isn't geographic, but demographic. The answer is...women. Here's how two smart companies are making the leap to capitalize on this emerging talent pool. Read the article

• When Women Ask for Raises (audio)

  When men ask for something, they are seen as being proactive; when women ask, they are being pushy, says Whitney Johnson, author of the blog post "Can 'Nice Girls' Negotiate?". It's a double standard to be sure, but it's also a double bind—if we don't ask, we don't get; if we do ask, we may be shunned. Listen to the podcast

  Related Reading: Can 'Nice Girls' Negotiate

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