According to a new survey published by Beyond.com, The Career Network, there’s a significant disconnect between Millennial job seekers and how veteran human resources professionals view them.

The good news? Over 84 percent of job seekers in this generation (ages 19 to 26) are optimistic about landing employment. The not-so-good news?  There are significant discrepancies in points of view with loyalty, leadership, tech-savviness and more.

In particular, when it comes to loyalty, 82 percent of Millennials identified themselves as loyal. Guess what percentage reflected how HR felt about this generation’s loyalty? Give up? One percent felt Millennials would become faithful to their employer on a long-term basis. Read more

Ah, the coveted job interview. You leave the interview room thinking you aced it and alas, you hear crickets.

Cue the radio silence.

If you’re one of the job seekers to reach out for feedback for self-improvement, well you probably won’t hear back with an honest reason as to why you didn’t get the job.

According to a piece in The Wall Street Journal, about 10 percent of job seekers ask for feedback and rarely any of them actually receive it. Part of the reason could be due to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Last year the commission identified discrimination in hiring practices as its main priority.  Read more

Are you shy? Timid to speak up at work? New on the job? You’re not alone. Although a recent piece in Fortune focused on a reader being self-conscious, the reasons for not speaking up are endless.

That said, it’s clear one major way to get ahead at work is to speak up. Here are a few ways to overcome obstacles to effectively speak up and get noticed. Read more

By now you’ve probably heard the unfortunate news that the entire photography staff was laid off by the Chicago Sun-Times last week. Well, one of the photojournalists has decided to share his life through his iPhone, as mentioned on JimRomenesko.

Rob Hart writes in his Tumblr account, “Rob Hart was replaced with a reporter with an iPhone, so he is documenting his new life with an iPhone, but with the eye of a photojournalist trained in storytelling.”

The freelance photojournalist and adjunct faculty member of photojournalism at the Medill School of Journalism posted his first photo of a zig zag carpet design. The caption read: “Zero hour. Carpet on the 14th floor of the Holiday Inn where 28 Sun-Times photographers lost their jobs.”

Throughout the past several days, in true storytelling form, he was able to witness his daughter taking some of her first steps, return to class at Medill, and reminisce good times at the Billy Goat Tavern during “hour 1″ of this new chapter.

If you want to boost your productivity and improve your well-being, listen up. There are a few things you can do that don’t even require a lot of work, just a lot of tweaking, that’s all.

According to a post by Jeff Haden on Inc., there are a few things to cross off your to do list.

1. Check your phone while you’re talking to someone. If you want someone to feel special when you’re speaking with them, refrain from checking your phone. Seriously.

Haden writes, “Stop checking your phone. It doesn’t notice when you aren’t paying attention. Other people? They notice. And they care.” Read more

It’s not atypical to call out sick. After all, we’re all under the weather from time to time. The question though is what happens when your employer asks for medical certification during this time to document it.

Well, today’s New York Post tackles the topic in reference to a reader asking if this violate’s his or her privacy.

Here’s the scoop: The information your health care provider may share falls within the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. This includes the specific type of information it may disclose, to whom and when.

In the piece, human resources executive Gregory Giangrande writes:

“It generally doesn’t govern what questions your employer asks. In fact, your employer is permitted to ask you for a doctor’s note or other information about your health if the information is needed to administer sick leave, workers’ compensation, wellness programs or health insurance. However, your doctor may not disclose such information to your employer without your written consent. It is unlikely your employer is asking why you can’t work and more likely they just want medical certification that you are unable to work.”

It’s not that we’re getting older, it’s just that bosses are getting younger. Really.

Forbes pointed out a few ways to deal with a younger boss and as such, they also mentioned human resources and career consultants indicated this is not atypical. A 2012 survey by CareerBuilder indicated that 34 percent of employees currently work for a younger boss.

Although one or two years isn’t really a big deal, what happens when you’re a decade apart or more? Generationally, this has implications for a disconnect. There are a few strategies to implement so you can effectively deal with your younger boss. Read more

Want to stay svelte on the job? Then stay in media and don’t become a scientist, engineer or teacher. Half kidding.

Okay, we’re taking this a bit to the extreme but as per a survey published by CareerBuilder, professions that involved a high stress level (not saying that we aren’t stressed out from time to time here in media) resulted in packing on some pounds.  People who worked in a job where they sat at a desk all day also gained weight. Read more

It’s a sad day for photographers at the Chicago Sun-Times and journalism in general as a sign of the times.

As per The Huffington Post, sources told Chicago Tribune media reporter Robert Channick about 20 full-time staffers received their pink slips. He tweeted, “Chicago Sun-Times lays off its full photography staff; plans to use freelancers going forward.”

The actual number of employees impacted could be closer to 30, as per Crain’s Chicago Business. The Sun-Times includes publications such as The Chicago Reader.

As for the reason? An increased demand for video and “other multimedia.” Jim Romenesko posted a statement on his site which was issued by the newspaper:

“The Sun-Times business is changing rapidly and our audiences are consistently seeking more video content with their news. We have made great progress in meeting this demand and are focused on bolstering our reporting capabilities with video and other multimedia elements. The Chicago Sun-Times continues to evolve with our digitally savvy customers, and as a result, we have had to restructure the way we manage multimedia, including photography, across the network.”

Apparently the 10th largest circulating newspaper in the country plans to rely on freelancers and reporters using their smart phones.

As pointed out by Forbes, the Sun-Times won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for local reporting. The story entailed a package about the continuous level of violence.  John J. Kim, staff photographer, was among the winners.

We all know the importance of a hearty handshake and making eye contact during a job interview but what happens when you’re at a meeting? You’re giving a presentation and then, bam! You’re trying to connect with your eyes to the audience but your boss looks away, your colleagues check their smart phones and just like that, you’ve lost eye contact.

As highlighted in a Wall Street Journal piece, Quantified Impressions indicated adults make eye contact between 30 and 60 percent of the time during a typical conversation.

The communications-analytical company added a footnote: People should actually make eye contact between 60 to 70 percent of the time. The numbers aren’t just declining at the office; they’re falling in social situations as well and negatively impacting emotional connections with others. Read more