As year-end rolls around, no matter when your fiscal year occurs, you know it equates to one thing: Feedback!

Well, if the review is not so sunny and bright, there are a few pointers to keep in mind as per The New York Post.

For starters, keep your cool. Jodi Glickman, author of Great on the Job explains, “If you can’t keep your composure, say that it’s not what you expected, that you’re disappointed and excuse yourself.” You can always continue the conversation later on when you’re less emotional.

Once reality sinks in, Dan Schawbel recommends taking stock if it isn’t your first negative review with this company. The author of the forthcoming book, Promote Yourself: The New Rules for Career Success, tells the newspaper, “But don’t quit until the new job is in hand.”  Read more

If you’re accustomed to a traditional performance review, it may be time to adjust your thinking.

Eric Mosley, author of The Crowdsourced Performance Review, tells The New York Post the traditional annual review as we know it “remains frozen in time.”‘

He explains:

“There have been revolutions in knowledge and information management over the past 50 years, but areas within human resources, like performance reviews, have changed surprisingly little. Crowdsourcing has fundamentally changed the perception of value in the business world today. Incorporating this technology and approach to performance reviews via social recognition gives HR leaders the data they need to more accurately measure employee performance.” Read more

Ever wonder what your privacy rights are as an employee? Can your boss read your emails on your work computer but not your personal computer?

Our friends at AOL Jobs set the record straight. For starters, if you’re sending messages to and from your email address at work, then it’s not your property. That email address belongs to your employer. Read more

Ever wonder what really goes on inside the hallowed halls of human resources? According to a piece by Alison Green on U.S. News & World Report, there are a few things employees and job seekers alike should keep in mind.

1. HR isn’t there to be your advocate. Their goal? Serve the business needs. The former chief of staff at a nonprofit writes, “Now, in some cases, that means advocate for employees against bad managers, because it’s in the best interests of employers to retain great employees, identify and address bad management and stop legal problems before they explode. But plenty of other times, what’s best for the employer will not be what’s best for the employee, and the best interests of the employer will always win out. That’s not cynicism; that’s simply what HR’s mission is.”

2. HR isn’t obligated to keep what you tell them confidential, even if you request their discretion. If you think what you’re disclosing is confidential such as mentioning your boss is harassing your team, that confidential information needs to be shared in order to address an issue. Actually, if human resources representatives had relevant information and ignored it, they would be negligent. Can you still talk to HR in confidence? Yes but keep in mind they may need to report certain findings and escalate it depending on the nature of the conversation. Read more

If you’ve ever been bullied by a boss, you know the dreaded pit in the stomach feeling. After all, they’re an authority figure and it may not seem so easy to stand your ground. You should feel empowered though knowing you don’t have to put up with it!

According to a piece in today’s New York Post, there are a few ways to handle the situation.

For starters, columnist and human resources executive Gregory Giangrande explains, “First, you want to make sure your new boss really is a bully. Some people confuse bullying with hard-driving, high-performing execs who have little tolerance or patience for poor performance.” Read more

In 1968 Andy Warhol famously stated, “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” Acknowledging oh-so-true this really is, when you claim your own 15 minutes, will your shining moment cost you your job? A Long Island teacher found out the hard way.

Meet Stefan Sherie. Newsday reports the 30 year-old teacher appeared shirtless at a pool party in a scene in Bravo’s show, Princesses: Long Island.

The episode aired in early June and as per the piece, a little more than two weeks later Bellmore-Merrick Central School District administrators and union representatives informed him he would get fired if he didn’t resign. Read more

Even though Yahoo! ranked 16 out of 25 on Glassdoor’s annual report, the fact that Marissa Mayer eliminated the work from home option last year says a lot.

The report is based on employee feedback from the past 12 months and companies must pre-qualify. That is, they must have at least 50 work-life balance ratings on its site within the past 12 months as well and at least 10 ratings the year prior to that.

The average work-life balance on a scale of one to five (five topping the scale at “very satisfied”) was 3.2. Tech company SAS Institute snagged the top spot with a rating of 4.5 and National Instruments followed close behind them with 4.3.

Without further ado, here’s the top 25 list… Read more

When we read this piece on The Wall Street Journal, we gasped.

That is, if you’re an employee and you get one from your boss saying you’re fired, we feel your pain. 

Per the piece, Juan Michael Porter II was dismissed from a dance company where he had worked on and off for about 10 years. He told the Journal, “We hear about people breaking up in text messages, and we think that’s tacky, but to be fired, I just couldn’t believe it.” Read more

By now we all know the importance of cleaning up our social media profiles since it’s not uncommon for recruiters and hiring managers to search but a new survey seconds that notion. In fact, CareerBuilder’s new study shows that a questionable profile can cost job seekers the potential job.

Reflecting an increase from last year’s survey, more than two out of five hiring managers who actively research candidates online indicated they discovered information that caused them not to move forward.

As for the content itself, hiring managers and recruiters found a variety of questionable content such as proof of inappropriate behavior as well as information which contradicted the job seekers’ qualifications for the job. Furthermore, some candidates bad mouthed previous employers and others demonstrated poor communication skills. Read more

If you’ve ever been late to work in the morning, raise your hand!

Okay, now that we know that pretty much applies to all of us, have you been late repeatedly? As in chronic tardiness? If so, it could be cause for dismissal and according to a piece in The New York Post, tardiness coupled with eavesdropping may be a lethal one-two punch to getting kicked to the curb.

Media HR executive Greg Giangrande writes in his column,

“You can fire her for being chronically late. You can fire her because you don’t like her attitude. You can fire her because you are in a bad mood and decide you just don’t want her working for you anymore. So yes, you can certainly fire her for eavesdropping on a telephone conversation — and if it were my office, I would.” Read more