Should You Share Your Salary History With a Prospective Employer?

Go after the salary you deserve with these tactics

By Celeste Mitchell

Celeste Mitchell is an editorial writer and editor with nearly 30 years of experience creating consumer lifestyle content for publications including Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, and SELF. She previously served as Deputy Editor at Cosmopolitan and taught journalism courses through Mediabistro.

5 min read • Originally published February 8, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

By Celeste Mitchell

Celeste Mitchell is an editorial writer and editor with nearly 30 years of experience creating consumer lifestyle content for publications including Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, and SELF. She previously served as Deputy Editor at Cosmopolitan and taught journalism courses through Mediabistro.

5 min read • Originally published February 8, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

Here’s one of those timeless career questions: What should you do when a prospective employer asks for your salary history?

It’s always an awkward topic, but it’s one an applicant should be prepared to answer. And regardless of how it’s brought up, negotiating about money is the toughest part of the interview process. It must be handled delicately: Aim too high and you could be out of the running, but lowball and you might find it hard to get your salary up later on.

To find out the smartest negotiating techniques, we called Karen Danziger, managing partner at the Howard-Sloan-Koller Group and one of New York’s top media recruiters. Here’s her best advice on how to handle sticky situations and still get what you’re worth.

What should you do when an employer asks for your salary requirements?

It’s very common to be asked this, and it’s really important not to start out too high because you can get knocked out for overreaching. It makes employers think of you as the person they’ll never get. But it’s easy to get tripped up here because most people have grandiose ideas of what they’re worth and no one wants to come in at the bottom.

What’s the best way to handle this without shooting yourself in the foot?

I don’t normally advise people to deflect a question, but in this case, deflect the question as much as possible. Say something like, “I’m accustomed to earning a range from X to Y, but I am very interested in this organization and I’m willing to entertain your best offer.” Or say, “Money isn’t really my focus, but I’d love something in the range of X and Y.” They may come back later and ask for your minimum.

Some job listings require that you include your salary requirements in a cover letter. What’s the best strategy here?

You do need to address it in some way. Ignoring it will only annoy the employer. Anyone who currently has a job could write, “I’m currently earning X, but my needs are entirely negotiable, and I would love the opportunity to talk about this position.” Someone without a job might give a range.

The bottom line is that if your background is exactly what they’re looking for, you’ll probably receive a call even if your salary is a bit off.

One of the more awkward moments is when an employer asks how much you make in your current job.

Word to the wise: Don’t lie. It will haunt you. Some companies will ask for pay stubs from your current or previous employer, or they’ll ask to see tax returns. If the salary you stated in the interview can’t be verified, the offer can be nixed. It’s totally legal, so protect yourself and tell the truth.

But what do you do if it’s low? Doesn’t that cut into your bargaining power?

If it’s low, then explain the unusual circumstances. Perhaps you took a cut in pay because it was a job you really wanted. Or it’s early in your career and you are still climbing the ladder. One strategy is to talk about other sources of income like freelance work. That will bring up your total income. It’s unfortunate that your next salary is based on the last salary, but that’s the way this works.

What should you do when an employer wants to talk salary right off the bat?

The only thing to do is to think on your feet and decide if you are willing to consider it. If the amount isn’t what you had in mind, then be gracious and gently end the meeting. If it sounds doable, then say yes, you are willing to consider it.

If the job is eventually offered, are you locked in at this salary?

No, you aren’t. The door is not closed for negotiation later on. Some people find that when they learn more about a job during the interview, the compensation no longer sounds reasonable. In that case, you can say something like “I’m thrilled about this opportunity and I know you mentioned the salary, but I was wondering if there’s any possibility of bringing it up again.” They’ll tell you if they can do it or not.

Once the compensation offer has been put on the table, how do you get the number up?

There are two schools of thought. Some employers expect you to bargain, so they intentionally come in with a low offer. They appreciate the psychology of someone who negotiates for themselves to get more. Others don’t feel that’s a game they want to play, so they come in with a firm offer and will not budge—unless, of course, you twist their arm.

Basically, it isn’t wise to negotiate just to negotiate. You run the risk of annoying the employer and having the offer taken away. Whatever you do, don’t overreach and be difficult. If you have an offer in hand and the situation becomes too much about money, they might renege the offer and go to another candidate.

If you really, really, really feel you need more in order to justify taking that job, try to be totally appreciative and gracious and say that you are thrilled with the offer but you were still hoping for a touch more. Ask if there is any way to sweeten the package a little with a six-month review.

Sounds tricky. Do you think it’s worth the risk?

If it’s really important to you, then you need to know. Just handle it very gently. If they tell you there’s no flexibility, then that’s the end of the conversation. You can take 24 hours to think about it, but call them the next day to either take the offer or walk away.

In order to make it to salary negotiations, you’ll need to nail the interview. The best way to prep is through a mock interview. Refine your interview skills in a one-on-one session with a Mediabistro career counselor and learn how to talk about your work history and answer tough questions, anxiety-free.

Topics:

Get Hired, Interview Tips

Skills & Expertise

How to Make Yourself Invaluable to Your Employer

"Always keep your boss' WIIFM in mind: the 'What's In It For Me'"

By Joel Schwartzberg

Joel Schwartzberg is a workplace communications coach, speechwriter, and bestselling author whose books include "Get to the Point!" and "The Language of Leadership," with articles published in Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, and Newsweek. He brings over two decades of senior communications and editorial leadership experience at organizations including the ASPCA, PBS, and Time Inc.

5 min read • Originally published February 8, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

By Joel Schwartzberg

Joel Schwartzberg is a workplace communications coach, speechwriter, and bestselling author whose books include "Get to the Point!" and "The Language of Leadership," with articles published in Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, and Newsweek. He brings over two decades of senior communications and editorial leadership experience at organizations including the ASPCA, PBS, and Time Inc.

5 min read • Originally published February 8, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

Media jobs are like fickle romantic partners. What seemed like a sure thing when you first started can suddenly go south, especially when budgets and staffs tighten. Like any relationship, you need to tend to your job and prove the value you bring to it in order to keep it.

But you can’t exactly buy your job flowers from time to time. And ensuring your job security is about more than simply “not screwing up.” It’s about raising your value in the eyes of those who control your professional future—proving to your boss you’re more than a headcount.

The good news: it’s not that hard. The bad news: you’d better start tomorrow. Here are seven tips that will make you more visible, more valuable and hopefully less likely to fall victim to a sudden breakup.

1. Ask for a Meeting

Paula Caligiuri, a professor of human resource management at Rutgers University and author of Get a Life, Not a Job, suggests volunteering to sit in on meetings to which you may not ordinarily be invited.

“Many times, receiving more visibility at work is as simple as asking for a high-profile opportunity. Once that opportunity is given to you, be sure you are ready to shine,” Caliguiri says. “The two things you can control when it comes to giving yourself greater job security are the critical skills you possess and the high-quality network you have at work. A high-visibility project will give you the chance to expand both.”

You can also ask to take a private informative meeting with your company’s executive leaders—it will give them a chance to wax on about the organization (which they’ll probably enjoy), and demonstrate your commitment to both the company and to self-improvement. After it’s over, your name and face will be remembered.

2. Pass it Forward

When you read an insightful article or catch wind of breaking industry news, share the link with your colleagues.

This is a trick new employees often use to get noticed, but it can also cement your standing. Don’t just hit ‘Send:’ “Forward the document along with your three bullet points summarizing what people really need to know from the article,” says Andrea Ballard, recruiter, hr consultant and corporate trainer at the Olympia-based firm Expecting Change LLC.

“You’ll save others in your group time and energy and help them feel better prepared.” Forwarding industry insight is also an easy way to show that you care about the corporate mission above and beyond your day-to-day responsibilities, and that you can think independently.

But don’t send around jokes or cartoons—that only indicates that you’re bored at work.

3. Take the Lead

Never turn down an opportunity to lead.

“When your company’s leaders say they are looking for a volunteer for something, speak up right then. Don’t wait to go back to your desk, mull it over, investigate all of the alternatives and then finally get back to your boss,” says Ballard.

“Leading a project and training others, and being perceived as the expert in an area will help boost your credibility,” she says. Of course, don’t set yourself up for failure either. If you feel uncomfortable presenting in front of a group, don’t take yourself out of contention—consider taking a public speaking class.

4. Become Known as the Expert

Being perceived as the expert in an area or having expertise in a particular skill—like writing, video editing or even Facebook and Twitter proficiency—will help boost your indispensability.

“Know how your organization competes and where your skills fit into their competitive core. If you expertise is needed for the competitive core, you are more critical to the organization,” says Caligiuri.

“If you can add skills to your repertoire to make you more unique within that critical role, even better.” You can also bring to the job something valuable, like a full Rolodex of contacts, or a social platform following.

5. Raise the Proof

Start collecting tangible evidence of your value to the company, including facts and figures like website traffic reports or met revenue goals.

Also keep testimonials from clients or coworkers. “Whenever you get an email that says ‘great job on project x’, keep that and forward it to your boss. Better yet, ask the person who wrote it to forward it to your boss directly,” says career coach and former Fortune 500 recruiter Caroline Ceniza-Levine.

“Use these testimonials during any review or salary meetings to tangibly demonstrate your worth.”

6. Dress the Part

That advice about dressing for the job you want, not the one you have? Very true. “Professional” versus “casual” not only describes how you dress, but how your commitment is assessed when you dress that way.

“Your manner of dress provides a visual cue others may subconsciously—or possibly consciously—use to decide where you belong in the organization,” says Caligiuri. “Professional attire will help others readily see you as someone who belongs at the next level in the organization.”

7. Check In

Face time is vital to your success at work.

Your boss may not have time for non-essential meetings, but will appreciate frequent (though not annoying) check-ins about a project’s status, even if everything is running smoothly.

“Taking 60-90 seconds of their time every day isn’t much off their time plate, but over time brings them tremendous information about you and your team that keeps them in your loop,” says Jim Hornickel, director of training for corporate consultants Bold New Directions.

“But make sure to get feedback to see if your strategy is working. Always keep your boss’ WIIFM in mind: the ‘What’s In It For Me.’ It’s the most critical factor in having your boss’ receptivity and buy-in to taking up more of their time.” Career expert Barry Maher, author of Filling the Glass, says written notes work well too.

“A great strategy is simply to write the boss a very short note at the end of each week, explaining just what you did during the week,” he says. “Many bosses will save these and, come review time, they might even write the review from them.”

Like #4 says, being perceived as an expert in a skill can boost your indispensability. With Mediabistro’s online courses, you can learn valuable media skills from successful industry experts with experience in marketing, advertising, copywriting, copy editing, social media and more.

Topics:

Climb the Ladder, Skills & Expertise

Morning Person or Night Owl? The Best Times for Creatives to Do Their Best Work

It’s never too late, or too early, to discover what time of day is best for you

By John Lombard

John Lombard is a content strategist and writer with over a decade of experience creating interactive and video content for brands like Apple, IBM, and Samsung. He previously worked at Mediabistro and now serves as a Client Strategist at Ceros.

3 min read • Originally published February 8, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

By John Lombard

John Lombard is a content strategist and writer with over a decade of experience creating interactive and video content for brands like Apple, IBM, and Samsung. He previously worked at Mediabistro and now serves as a Client Strategist at Ceros.

3 min read • Originally published February 8, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

While some creatives say the early bird gets the proverbial worm, others argue it’s the night owl that crushes creatively. Here, through recent research and insight from creatives, we’re examining the best times for productivity, helping you get an idea of when to unleash your creative mind…and actually get stuff done.

Morning

Many agree morning is the best time to create. And there’s a few reasons for this:

Fewer distractions in the morning means more time to let your inner creative voice be heard. The distractions that pop up as the day progresses make that inner voice harder to make out, says Leo Babauta, founder of ZenHabits, “The more noise that’s around us,” he says, “the more difficult it is to hear our voice.”

Your inner critic is still asleep. Research suggests that our minds are most creative during and just after sleep. This is partly because the editing part of our brain tends to sleep in, allowing us to be fully creative without our inner critic analyzing our ideas. Author Richard Goodman urges writers: “Get in there and write before it wakes up and starts sabotaging your work.”

Willpower, as it turns out, is a finite resource. Studies have shown that our ability to make good decisions is not an endless well. Think about it: Have you ever eaten healthy all day only to binge on chips that night?

How many times have you told yourself you’d write when you get home from work, only to have Netflix take over your life? Willpower can run out throughout the day. If you’re the type of person who needs a full tank of willpower to get writing, maybe the morning’s for you.

Night

And of course, others strongly believe in burning the midnight oil. Here are some of the reasons why:

Your tired brain is actually more creative. While this may seem entirely counterintuitive, recent studies have found a link between creativity—greater insight in problem solving performance—and a foggy brain. Ron Friedman, Ph.D., author of The Best Place to Work, suggests when your mind is fatigued, you’re less able to block out what may seem like unassociated ideas, therefore connecting more thoughts and increasing your creative capacity.

Creating at night can take the pressure off. When developing creative work in the morning, most likely there’s a quickly approaching deadline. Whether it’s class, work or other daily tasks that take you away from your creative projects, it can make the process seem truncated, leaving you with unfinished thoughts.

While some creatives favor the idea of a morning deadline, other writers love the ability to write into the night, uninterrupted. And Neil Patel—digital marketer and founder of companies such as KISSmetrics and Quick Sprout—cites evidence suggesting when you’re not in a hurry to finish other work, you’re more able to become emotionally involved in your creative endeavors.

It’s your time. With no kids to prepare for school and no work emails to return, the night allows you to finally focus on you. Many creatives find night to be almost a magical time to go inward and create. In a NY Mag article, author Kathryn Schulz discusses her love of night writing:

For the first time all day, I get interested in writing. As a corollary, I get a lot less interested in everything else. My normal indiscipline, the ADHD-ish inability to keep my head inside my work, finally drops away. For the next few hours, I write steadily, cleanly. If my body is producing a drug during that time, it is a natural methylphenidate—a dose of pure focus, side-effect-free and sweet.

Find Your Time

Still not sure what time of day boosts your creativity? Try a few experiments: Spend one night creating work and then try the same thing a few mornings later. Ask yourself which session felt most productive and creatively fulfilling.

Or, to get even more granular, follow the lead of Susan Snipes, founder of Q Digital Studio, who suggests pinpointing your optimal work hours with the help of a worksheet to track them.

Topics:

Be Inspired, Productivity

How to Answer the 5 Most Common Interview Questions Like a Pro

Hiring pros share what they're looking for in job candidate responses

By Brittany Taylor

Brittany Taylor is an enterprise marketing manager and content strategist with over a decade of experience in B2B content marketing, brand building, and ghostwriting, with bylines in SELF, Teen Vogue, and Mediabistro. She currently leads content and branding across multiple brands at HireQuest Inc.

5 min read • Originally published February 8, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

By Brittany Taylor

Brittany Taylor is an enterprise marketing manager and content strategist with over a decade of experience in B2B content marketing, brand building, and ghostwriting, with bylines in SELF, Teen Vogue, and Mediabistro. She currently leads content and branding across multiple brands at HireQuest Inc.

5 min read • Originally published February 8, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

The interviewer sitting across the table might seem perfectly chatty, but her questions are loaded with ulterior motives. While you might think you’re the answer to her hiring needs, it can be nigh on impossible to get that across—unless you’re thoroughly prepped to answer her queries. We asked three industry pros to tell us which questions job candidates tend to bungle the most, and how you can avoid every single pothole on your way to interview nirvana. Read on for their best advice.

1. “Tell me about yourself.”

This may sound like carte blanche to drag out your entire past, but it’s not. Whether your interviewer says it or not, she means, “Tell me about yourself—as it pertains to this role,” says Heidi Nicoll, Shutterstock’s marketing and creative recruiter. Aim for professional, not personal. If you’re recently out of college, it’s fine to talk about projects you helmed, extracurricular activities you spent a lot of time working on and any work experience—as long as it relates to the position you’re currently interviewing for.

Not quite sure how long to ramble on? First: Don’t ramble. Prepare some sort of chronological story that shows how your background and interests intersect with the company’s open position as well as its history and culture. “Your answer should be similar to a slightly lengthened elevator pitch, about a minute [long],” says Lisa K. McDonald, a brand strategist and career coach at Career Polish. And do be focused. “Your experience should be limited to the positions that lead you to this moment,” she adds.

2. “Where do you see yourself in five years?”

Cruise through this question by harmonizing your own interests—the ones that made you apply for this job in the first place—and relating them to the direction in which the company is heading. “They are looking for how you look to add value, grow and be a part of the organization,” McDonald advises. Whether or not you’re aiming for a traditional path of advancement (like managing others), Linda Pophal, a certified senior HR professional and founder of marketing firm Strategic Communications, urges you to emphasize your desire for personal growth. If you’re aiming to bring your interactive media skills to digital platforms, for example, or would like to have the opportunity to nurture young writers or editors, this a great place to say that.

Keep in mind that while some jobs do tend to have high turnover, particularly in lower levels and the industry as a whole sees a lot of lateral movement rather than vertical, no company wants to hire someone who knows she’s going to leave in two years. Nor does your hiring manager want you to look him in the eye and say, “Oh, I want to have your job!” Awkward. Instead, end your answer with a positive and reaffirming statement such as, “Most importantly, I want to work for an organization where I can build a career.”

3. “Tell me about a time you made a mistake.”

Don’t get nervous. “They are not trying to make you squirm,” McDonald tells us. “They are attempting to ascertain if you take risks, acknowledge failure and, most importantly, learn from mistakes.” Both Nicoll and Pophal agree: The mistake you made isn’t the important part of the question. Go through your thought process so your interviewer can see how you made each decision. Adds Nicoll, “How you describe your work is critical—the thought that went into it and who you give credit to. What did you do and what did your team do?”

To begin with, “Pick an example of something that is not a red flag, hints to inexperience or ineptitude,” McDonald cautions. “Get right to the point by starting with the mistake. Give the parameters: ‘This is what happened,’ in a non-accusatory manner. This is where, looking back, you realize where something should have been done differently. End with, ‘This is what I learned and how I incorporated it going forward.'”

4. “What’s your dream job?”

This question is all about fit, Pophal says. If the job you describe here doesn’t bear any resemblance to the gig you’re interviewing for—or to any potential career arcs available within the company —you’re not going to make a good impression. Not sure what your dream job is exactly? That’s normal, and even if you do know, it may change as your career evolves, McDonald says. To handle the flux, focus on your ideal environment rather than a list of responsibilities you might want to tackle. “The best way to address this question is to focus on the qualities of a position, company and skills,” adds McDonald. “Emphasize that it is not a job title, but rather being in an environment that allows you to continue to increase your skills, take on opportunities and provide value to both your organization and its clients.”

Bottom line: “Keep it focused on the prize you’re after that day,” Nicoll says. “If you’ve done your research and it makes sense to, maybe you can say the next job in line above that. But don’t say you want to run the department you’re interested in joining. Be realistic about it.”

5. “Why are you the best person for the job?”

Now is not the time to sidle away from the spotlight. “You have a moment to tell someone what sets you apart. Don’t shy away or be humble,” Nicoll urges. “Brag when the opportunity is presented to you.”

How do you do that, exactly? Pull out your biggest accomplishments. “Have three to five solid reasons ready that are in line with what is most important to them,” McDonald shares. “Go beyond simply stating your strengths by demonstrating your value. This means providing accomplishments tied to each strength (innovative thinking = new product line = more revenues). This is a great time to emphasize any unique combination of skills. For example: If you work in a highly technical role that normally does not allow for training or communication with stakeholders, but you have been recognized for developing and facilitating training.”

Remember, as Nicoll says, “Nobody else is going to sell this except you.”

Topics:

Get a Media Job, Get Hired, Interview Tips

Career Transition

What Is Corporate Writing — and Why Is It Such a Great Gig?

Learn what this corporate dream gig is all about

By Celeste Mitchell

Celeste Mitchell is an editorial writer and editor with nearly 30 years of experience creating consumer lifestyle content for publications including Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, and SELF. She previously served as Deputy Editor at Cosmopolitan and taught journalism courses through Mediabistro.

4 min read • Originally published February 8, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

By Celeste Mitchell

Celeste Mitchell is an editorial writer and editor with nearly 30 years of experience creating consumer lifestyle content for publications including Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, and SELF. She previously served as Deputy Editor at Cosmopolitan and taught journalism courses through Mediabistro.

4 min read • Originally published February 8, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

Corporate writing is writing for business purposes. It’s not journalism, so if that’s what you’re looking for you might as well stop reading now. “You are writing to convey the values and goals of a company,” says Kristin Espeland, former director of corporate communications for The MONY Group. Specifically, what does that mean? Here are the main types of corporate writing:

Public relations or media relations:

This is anything written for the press. A press release, for example, is corporate writing. So is the content written for a company’s informational web site, whether it’s used by journalists or the public.

Business communications:

Business communications are written for people who deal with the company, either internally or externally.

Business communications to the internal audience—that is, to employees—are things like newsletters, in-house magazines, company-wide memos, email updates and intranet sites. External business communications are geared toward shareholders, analysts or the public.

Examples of external business communications are annual reports and other financial statements, opinion pieces and policy statements. There are also speeches and presentations for both audiences that need to be written.

Marketing communications:

These are things written with the specific purpose of selling a product or service. They’re directed to the consumer or to a business customer. Brochures and other sales material (the stuff a salesperson leaves with a potential customer, for example) are examples of marketing material.

Still interested? We’ve got good news and bad news. Bad news first: Like anything good, corporate-writing gigs are tough to track down. “Each organization handles its writing projects differently,” says Ann Wylie, president of Wylie Communications, a writing, training and consulting firm for corporate communications.

“In order to see who is hiring for what, you have to go from company to company,” Wylie says. “And depending on the size of a business, a corporate-communications department might consist of anywhere from one person to a hundred people. There isn’t a designated job title to look for. Sometimes the writing is done in-house, sometimes it’s commissioned.”

Here are some suggestions from Wylie and Espeland on how to snag a corporate-writing gig:

1. Be a joiner

Become a member of a trade organization for business writers.

The biggest is the International Association of Business Communicators. Others include the Public Relations Society of America and the Association for Women in Communications.

Then attend seminars, luncheons and social events. “It’s a great way to get your name out there,” says Espeland. “A trade event is an appropriate environment for freelance writers to connect with people who hire.” Introduce yourself to everyone. Follow up with phone calls and letters describing your services. Try to set up face-to-face informational meetings or coffee dates. Sell. Sell! SELL!

2. Pick up the phone

Call businesses in your area and ask to speak with someone in corporate communications. If such a department does not exist, try another name, like public affairs, public relations, public information, marketing, marketing communications, public administration, human resources or community relations.

3. Try small companies

“One mistake people make is to go after the big guys,” says Wylie. “A small company has a small staff, and they simply cannot do everything themselves. My first gig was to write a book for a woman who was a public speaker. She was a one-person business. That one project was the jump start for my own business.”

4. But try big companies, too

All the big guys—names like Sprint, Procter & Gamble, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merrill Lynch—produce newsletters, magazines, press releases, financial reports and other documents. Someone has to write them—why not you?

5. Stick with topics you know

If your experience is at a business trade mag, say, go for financial and business-consulting firms. If you write about beauty, try skin-care, cosmetics and hair supply companies. If fitness is your thing, contact sports equipment and apparel manufacturers. “Sell yourself with writing samples on the related topic of the client,” advises Wylie. “Anything to show you are part of the club and you talk their language.”

6. Reach out to people in your circle

If you think about it, you probably already know someone who could hook you up. “Start your networking with professionals you have a history with,” says Wylie. “One person leads to the next in a series of concentric circles.” Don’t expect to land a project with everyone you speak with. You want to build relationships.

7. Sell your professional services professionally

“You want to demonstrate that you have business skills,” says Espeland. “We want to know that you can handle an interview with a top executive without wasting the person’s time.”

8. Present yourself as a quick study

“Someone who is smart and can pick things up fast is appealing,” says Espeland. “If I describe a balance sheet to a writer and she can turn around and write about it, that’s a good thing.”

Looking for a corporate writing job? Check Mediabistro’s job board, where employees regularly post openings in public relations, media relations, marketing communications and other related fields.

Topics:

Be Inspired, Career Transition

How 3 Job Seekers Crushed Their Interviews (and What You Can Learn)

Make a great impression where it matters the most—with hiring managers

By Amanda Layman Low

@AmandaLaymanLow

Amanda Layman is a B2B tech content writer and strategist with over 15 years of experience creating content for startups and enterprise brands. She founded Tigris, a content agency serving leading tech companies, and authored The New Freelance: A Book for Writers.

3 min read • Originally published February 10, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

By Amanda Layman Low

@AmandaLaymanLow

Amanda Layman is a B2B tech content writer and strategist with over 15 years of experience creating content for startups and enterprise brands. She founded Tigris, a content agency serving leading tech companies, and authored The New Freelance: A Book for Writers.

3 min read • Originally published February 10, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

Every hiring manager has a candidate they remember far after the interview itself. These unforgettable folks are often known as the ones who landed the job. Here are three media pros with experience in hiring and their real-world tales of interview success.

1. She Engaged the Interviewer

Erinn Farrell, SVP at space150, recalls a college student who emailed her agency, “seeking me out specifically and reacting to something I had written. I appreciated her confidence, so I met her for coffee.”

Farrell shares that they wound up talking for two hours, and the student asked some of the smartest questions she’d ever heard. “She wasn’t looking for anything but a connection,” she says. “I offered her a job on the spot.”

The Lesson: Truly earning and keeping the attention of the person you’re interviewing with can pay off. “The biggest mishap I see is wanting to get the whole sales pitch out there,” Farrell says. “Work on structuring your answers like you only have a paragraph of space to respond.”

2. She Read the Room

“One graphic designer candidate saw that we were in a room with a laptop and projector, and spontaneously asked if she could walk us through her portfolio online,” says Mishri Someshwar, AVP of marketing at The National Society of Collegiate Scholars.

“Most designer candidates bring in a physical portfolio, but this candidate used our equipment, joking about technical difficulties and walking us through her portfolio in a relaxed but informative and thoughtful way. It made a real impression.”

The Lesson: Rather than following a prepared speech, it’s best to keep it conversational, says Someshwar. “The more relaxed you seem, the better it goes,” she says. Good interviewees “can tell when they’re rambling too long, and rein it in. They can sense from the interviewer’s body language what matters and what doesn’t.”

3. She Showed Her Enthusiasm and Personality

Don Raskin, senior partner at MME and author of The Dirty Little Secrets of Getting Your Dream Job, recalls an undergrad who heard about a job opportunity at his advertising agency and reached out right away.

“She had a sense of urgency, which I value,” he says. “She was leaving to go back to school but told me she changed her flight so she would be in New York to see me.” The candidate came to the interview with a thorough knowledge of the company, and after a great meeting, “she sent me a follow-up within 48 hours and reiterated her interest. I sent her a formal written offer and she signed it and sent it back at the start of the next business day.”

The Lesson: On top of doing your homework, Raskin emphasizes the importance of letting your personality shine. “If you love shark fishing tournaments, tell them that. The interviewer will see many candidates and he or she needs something to remember you by.”

Still having trouble landing the interview itself? Maybe it’s your resume. Mediabistro’s Career Services can help you transform your resume, cover letter and social media profiles into a professional package employers can’t resist. We’ve also got you covered with mock interviews; one-on-one sessions led by career experts, tailored to the type of job you’re after.

Topics:

Get Hired, Interview Tips

Skills & Expertise

What Does a Community Manager Actually Do?

It's much more than just firing off tweets

By Jenell Talley

Jenell Talley is a journalist and program analyst with a background spanning media, government, and editorial work. She holds a journalism degree from Howard University and a master's in human resources management from the University of Maryland.

3 min read • Originally published February 10, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

By Jenell Talley

Jenell Talley is a journalist and program analyst with a background spanning media, government, and editorial work. She holds a journalism degree from Howard University and a master's in human resources management from the University of Maryland.

3 min read • Originally published February 10, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

Despite what you may have heard, a community manager doesn’t just troll the Internet all day. And it’s not all firing off promotional tweets. Nope, the job is a lot more involved—and way cooler—than that. Intrigued? Here’s the skinny:

What exactly does a community manager do?

A community manager helps build, grow and manage a company’s or brand’s online communities. Using analytics tools to monitor social media outlets, online forums and blogs, a community manager finds out what people are saying about a company or brand. A community manager also engages with customers and fans, and uses social media and live events to help increase brand loyalty.

By creating and implementing programs that connect customers and help them learn from one another, a community manager communicates value to an organization’s customers, says Melanie Olsen, community and events manager at Widen, a marketing technology company in Madison, Wisconsin. Olsen oversees Widen’s live events, which allows her to meet customers and create open-forum discussions, educational breakout sessions and networking opportunities for them.

What skills do you need?

As a community manager, you should be passionate about the company or brand youre representing—you’re talking to customers to get them to start or continue buying the company’s products. And constantly engaging with customers and fans means solid communication skills are essential.

Are you a master multitasker? The job requires juggling a lot of balls, so your organization and project-management skills should be on point.

Having a servant’s mindset helps too, adds Olsen. You have to love helping people, and connecting people to solutions should make your heart sing.

Who is a community manager’s boss?

Some, like Olsen, report to the director of marketing. But, as with lots of jobs, this depends on the company, its size and culture and individual job responsibilities.

Are there other titles with similar responsibilities?

Community management is often among the duties of other jobs, including digital marketers and social media managers. But, says Olsen, it’s less about a job title and more about the role you play at your company, and that role can vary wildly, depending on the industry and (size of) the organization.

What do I need to get ahead in this position?

Good communication skills are a must. You have to be able to talk to people in a way that makes them comfortable with you, and you have to listen to what they expect, what they want. Empathize with them. Trustworthiness is also important. Your customers have to believe what you’re saying and buy (in more ways than one) what you company is selling.

Being agile is also key. “This is a value-add job,” says Olsen. “It’s your job to provide additional value to your customers by way of community growth,” so a willingness to jump in whenever and wherever needed is essential.

How can I get my foot in the door?

A resume that showcases your writing, sales, marketing and event-planning experience will help. A degree in something like business, marketing, management or event planning is gravy.

If you’d like to hone your social media and community management skills even more, consider taking a class. Mediabistro’s Online Courses include Public Relations: Social Media and Community Management will teach you how to engage your audience, incentivize customer feedback, measure your success and more.

Topics:

Climb the Ladder, Skills & Expertise

The Best Office Perks That Employees Actually Love

For Valentine’s Day, let us count the ways: time off, freebies and maybe a company rock wall

By John Lombard

John Lombard is a content strategist and writer with over a decade of experience creating interactive and video content for brands like Apple, IBM, and Samsung. He previously worked at Mediabistro and now serves as a Client Strategist at Ceros.

3 min read • Originally published February 11, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

By John Lombard

John Lombard is a content strategist and writer with over a decade of experience creating interactive and video content for brands like Apple, IBM, and Samsung. He previously worked at Mediabistro and now serves as a Client Strategist at Ceros.

3 min read • Originally published February 11, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

This Valentine’s Day, we’re swiping right on something very close to our hearts: office perks. From dog-friendly spaces to happy hour Fridays, we’re aiming cupid’s arrow at the best perks from some of today’s top companies. So go on, read your heart out.

1. Unlimited Vacation Time

If anything should make your heart skip a beat, it’s this perk.

Unlimited vacation time means you’re free to travel the world…when you can actually get away from your deadlines. Truth is, companies are finding most employees are taking roughly the same amount of days off as with a traditional time off policy. Still, unlimited just sounds amazing.

A few companies currently offering this perk: Netflix, Hubspot and PaperG.

2. Free Stuff

If you’re anything like, well, everybody, chances are you love free stuff. Besides having a free on-site gym, free snacks, free health, dental and vision benefits, Birchbox also gives employees a 20% discount plus $200 a year towards the purchase of anything in their shop.

Another company with freebies is Airbnb, which offers employees an annual travel credit to see the world and Airbnb-it-up wherever they please.

And then there’s Pulsd, an online resource for events and promotions throughout NYC that lets employees take advantage of offers on their site, free of charge.

3. Pet Friendliness

Who doesn’t love having a dog—or multiple dogs—at the office? Not only do pets in the workplace help relieve stress, they also force you to take breaks. (“Sorry Jeff, I wish I could meet to talk about those TPS reports, but I’ve got to take Ruffy for a walk.”)

If you’re looking to bring your furry friend to work on the daily, check out SmartRecruiters, a company that’s teaching an old dog new tricks (heyo!) by disrupting the hiring industry.

Other companies offering this dog-friendly perk include Etsy, Zynga, Killer Visual Strategies and Mashable.

4. Drinks on the House

It’s 5 o’clock somewhere, right? After a long, tiring day of being creative and thought-provoking, sometimes the best cure is a happy hour drink. And if you enjoy the occasional whiskey or beer, then is this the perk for you.

Dropbox, the file sharing and storage giant, ends each week with Whiskey Friday. The Penny Hoarder, a blog about weird ways to earn and save money, has a beer fridge (is there any other kind of fridge?) and on-site shuffleboard.

And the digital consulting firm Omnigon caps off every Thursday with a happy hour at the company bar where employees can sing their hearts out to their favorite songs hosted by their company DJ. (Cue record scratch: Say what?!)

5. A Little Shuteye

Ever just want to curl up in a ball under your desk and take a nap? (No? Yeah, me neither.)

But for those who do get that all-too-common 3 p.m. slump, Hootsuite has the perk for you: nap rooms. Decked out with cots and dim lighting, their cabin-themed nap room gives employees the freedom to take a quick rest and recharge.

Hootsuite’s not the only nap-friendly office around; companies such as Uber and Ben and Jerry’s also offer snooze rooms.

6. A Workout

These days, we’re all trying to be more active at work. So it makes sense that Clif Bar, a company built on the principle of health and wellness, would have a full-service on-site gym complete with rock wall.

And it doesn’t stop there: Clif Bar employees receive access to group fitness classes, a personal trainer, massage therapist, acupuncturist and a chiropractor. (Hopefully not all at once.)

Also check out Stransberry Research: This Baltimore-based publisher offers employees 24-hour access to their on-site gym and weekly trainer-led workout sessions.

Other companies offering similar perks are General Electric, Twitter and Zappos.

Want to get in with a company like one of these? Check out Mediabistro’s job board, because top companies with top perks are hiring right now.

Topics:

Get Hired, Job Search

Freelancer’s Pitching Guide to Health & Wellness Publications

Here are 8 markets that want your stories

Jenny Rough is a writer and former attorney with over 20 years of experience crafting stories for magazines, newspapers, and podcasts, and currently serves as letters editor for AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin. She holds a J.D. summa cum laude from Pepperdine and a bachelor's in creative writing from Miami University.

5 min read • Originally published February 11, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

Jenny Rough is a writer and former attorney with over 20 years of experience crafting stories for magazines, newspapers, and podcasts, and currently serves as letters editor for AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin. She holds a J.D. summa cum laude from Pepperdine and a bachelor's in creative writing from Miami University.

5 min read • Originally published February 11, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

To be healthy in mind and body involves becoming aware of what causes illness and then taking action to change diet, exercise and daily habits in order to extend longevity. These eight markets seek stories about ways to cultivate a healthier, more holistic approach to living.

1. EatClean.com

This website is directed to those who want to improve their health through clean eating.
What to pitch: EatClean wants stories that strive to “cover the ongoing food revolution that exposes what’s really in our food, where it comes from and how it gets from farm or sea to store shelves,” says former senior editor Hollis Templeton. Categories include Products (e.g., “The 9 Cleanest Foods in the Freezer Aisle”), Scoop (e.g., “6 Ways You Can Learn to Crave Clean Foods”), Trends (e.g., “Should You Really Be Eating Pond Scum? “), Personalities (e.g., “15 Hilarious Celebrity Tweets About Food”) and Recipies+How-To (e.g., “10 Amazing Green Juice Recipes”).
Length: 400 to 800 words
Pay: typically $200
Assigning editor: Amy Beal, AMY dot BEAL at RODALE dot COM
Templeton’s advice: “We adopt a fun, edgy voice that makes us unique from other health/food websites. We publish content that we know will drive traffic across different demographics—think weight loss and weird eating habits.”

2. Family Circle

Health and wellness is one of a variety of topics this parenting-oriented magazine covers.
What to pitch: Family Circle runs personal essays in its “Health” section, like the recent story about a woman who suffered from strange digestive symptoms for years before receiving a diagnosis of ulcerative colitis.
Length: Varies, but typically around 1,200 words
Pay: Varies, but typically around $2 per word
Assigning editors: Lynya Lloyd and Mallory Creveling, FIRSTNAME dot LASTNAME at FAMILYCIRCLE dot COM.
Floyd’s advice: Read past examples and Mediabistro’s How to Pitch: Family Circle.

3. mindbodygreen.com

Founded by Jason Wachob, mindbodygreen wants to inspire readers to live their best lives and recognizes there is no one-size-fits-all-approach to health and wellness.
What to pitch: “We love hearing from new contributors,” says editor-in-chief Kerry Shaw. Think of pitching recipes, short yoga sequences, fitness workouts, guided meditation, personal essays about transformation, beauty tips and posts with tips for personal growth.
Length: 500 to 800 words
Pay: Varies
Assigning editor: Kerry Shaw, but send pitches to SUBMIT at MINDBODYGREEN dot COM.
Shaw’s advice: Read and follow the writing guidelines.

4. Mother Earth News

If you have a passion for the environment and living off the land, you may find a good fit with Mother Earth News.
What to pitch: The best place to break in is “Country Lore,” a section devoted to how-to articles, such as the recent piece on how to clean the chicken coop.
Length: 100 to 300 words
Pay: $25 to $100
Assigning editor: Hannah Kincaid, LETTERS at MOTHEREARTHNEWS dot COM.
Kincaid’s advice: Be sure to read the detailed writers’ guidelines. Along with your query, send a brief summary of your credentials, links to any published content (if available) and blogs you maintain.

5. Rodale’s Organic Life

Rodale’s Organic Life is “a handbook for people who want to live naturally in the modern world,” says deputy editor Karen Shimizu.
What to pitch: Rodale’s Organic Life accepts pitches for its “Gather” and “Wellbeing” sections, and its “Home,” “Garden” and “Food” departments. It also takes freelance pitches for feature stories. “We always look for an organic angle—remedies and self-care that are good for the planet as well as for the self, ” says Shimizu. “And in addition to good reader service, we’re interested in good stories—profiles, personal essays or reported pieces that surprise us and help us better understand some aspect of wellbeing.” Note that its Wellbeing content is more likely to lean toward what’s traditional than the latest health trend.
Length: “Gather” runs 150 to 800 words; “Wellbeing” runs short-but-deep service-oriented pieces around 150 words, as well as longer 1,200-word personal essays.
Pay: $1 per word plus expenses
Assigning editors: Karen Shimizu or Zoe Schaeffer, FIRSTNAME dot LASTNAME at RODALE dot COM
Shimizu’s advice: “Make it clear why your story is a good one for ROL and why you’re the best person to write it. (The best way to do the latter is to show us that you’ve done enough reporting to have a solid handle on the subject.)”

6. Shape

Fitness enthusiasts can pitch this women’s active lifestyle magazine that has a focus on sports and exercise.
What to pitch: “Live Healthy” covers the latest in health news and trends.
Length: 700 to 1,000 words.
Pay: $1.50 and up
Assigning editor: Mirel Ketchiff, MIREL dot KETCHIFF at SHAPE dot COM
Ketchiff’s advice: None other than the recent advice in How to Pitch: Shape.

7. WebMD

WebMD is dedicated to providing health news to consumers, physicians and healthcare providers.
What to pitch: WebMD doesn’t take unsolicited pitches, but it does work with a regular team of freelance writers. If want to be one of them there area few steps you can take. One option is to send your resume with electronic clips, says senior editor Sylvia Davis. “Or better yet, attend the magazine’s Pitchfest at the annual meeting of the Association of Healthcare Journalists.”
Davis’s advice: Before contacting the editors, read the magazine thoroughly so you understand the content and approach. Also, “research the right person to send things to, to show that you have investigative skills and are willing to actually pick up the phone. Sending out mass emails gives the opposite impression.”

8. Whole Life Times

Whole Life Times is a Los Angeles-based publication that seeks articles on holistic health, yoga, new spirituality or sustainable living.
What to pitch: In addition to “BackWords,” it personal essay column, it seeks stories for “City of Angels,” its front-of-the-book section, as well as longer, reported features.
Length: “BackWords” runs around 750 words; front-of-book stories range from 300 to 400 words; features are usually 800 to 1,000 words.
Pay: Current pay for new writers is $35 to $150 per article.
Assigning editor: Abigail Lewis, ABIGAIL at WHOLELIFEMAGAZINE dot COM
Lewis’s advice: “‘City of Angels’ is almost always local,” Lewis says. Features also try to include a local tie-in, even if only in the sidebar. Review guidelines.

Other Titles to Try:

Clean Eating
EatingWell
Essence
Glamour
Good Housekeeping
Latina
Men’s Health
Parents
Parents.com
Prevention
Real Simple
Self
Shape
Spirituality & Health
Women’s Health

Topics:

Go Freelance, How to Pitch

10 Toxic Mistakes You Might Be Making as a Boss

Heed this manager's guide to identifying bad boss behavior.

By Brittany Taylor

Brittany Taylor is an enterprise marketing manager and content strategist with over a decade of experience in B2B content marketing, brand building, and ghostwriting, with bylines in SELF, Teen Vogue, and Mediabistro. She currently leads content and branding across multiple brands at HireQuest Inc.

8 min read • Originally published February 16, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

By Brittany Taylor

Brittany Taylor is an enterprise marketing manager and content strategist with over a decade of experience in B2B content marketing, brand building, and ghostwriting, with bylines in SELF, Teen Vogue, and Mediabistro. She currently leads content and branding across multiple brands at HireQuest Inc.

8 min read • Originally published February 16, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

We’ve all had bad managers. You know the ones—they inspire the stories you tell at happy hour and are the ghosts that haunt your every career move.

And though you swear you’ll never be like them, how sure are you that their toxic ways aren’t tarnishing your own management skills? Sometimes we fall back on bad habits. What’s important is to put a stop to them immediately.

So are your management moves the right ones or do they need a makeover? We talked to three senior management experts in the industry: J.T. Hroncich, managing director of Capitol Media Solutions, a media buying and strategy company in Atlanta and Washington, D.C.; Amy Muntz, executive vice president of strategy at advertising agency Allen & Gerritsen; and Christine Stack, a partner at Liberty Blue, a communications industry placement agency.

Read on for ten employee-alienating actions and tips on how to turn your work style around.

1. You’re all business, all the time.

From 9 to 5 or 10 to 6 or 24/7, you are on the clock, and that means you’re the boss—not a friend, not a coworker, not a sympathetic ear. You’ve got things to do, projects to complete, websites to launch, books to publish. But when you do this, you risk your employees feeling isolated or under-appreciated.

“This is harder with 100-plus employee companies, but I have a small business and I think particularly in smaller companies, it’s important to take an interest in the people and their lives,” says Hroncich.

Muntz agrees. “Sometimes it’s hard to manage all the day to day and make time to connect with the human beings we work with,” she says. “The biggest disconnects happen when people feel like their managers aren’t connected to them and the things that matter to them inside and outside of work.”

It doesn’t take a lot of effort to ask how someone’s day is going, what plans they have for the weekend or how their family is doing. But this small gesture can make a huge difference in the eyes of your employees.

2. You’ve become buddies with your team.

The line between friend and manager is a narrow one.

While you’re busy focusing on the tightrope beneath your feet—and all the projects you’re juggling in the meantime—you might not notice that you’re a little too buddy-buddy with certain employees, or friendlier with some more than others.

“Hanging out outside the office or having a drink after work occasionally is fine,” Hroncich says. “But the casual relationship has to change into a professional once you get inside the office doors.”

It can create an environment where management isn’t respected inside the office or can create the perception—or reality—of favoritism.

If you were promoted from part of the team to the head of it, this becomes an even greater problem, as Stack can attest to. “I wish I wouldn’t have worried so much about getting everybody to like me, to be everyone’s friend,” she says.

“In the end, people may not like you or agree with you, but it’s important that they respect what you do.” Her solution: “A team meeting to set the tone is imperative.”

3. You keep company news to yourself.

While there are some secrets worth keeping, others tend to breed distrust.

Muntz says that much of the time, what seems like a lack of transparency can actually be due diligence when it comes to the decision-making process.

However, if you’re keeping mum on company happenings (that are public knowledge or soon will be), personnel changes that affect your daily responsibilities or client updates, your team may resent you for not looping them in.

Chances are, the info will leak out anyway, so give your employees the courtesy of hearing the news from you first.

“The challenge for managers is to be open and transparent even if you don’t have all the answers,” Muntz says. Even so, open up about what you do know. “Don’t let things linger or keep your employees waiting and guessing,” adds Muntz.

4. You blow off annual reviews.

From self-evaluations to biopic-length formal writeups, annual reviews are part of most company policies. For managers, review season may always seem to coincide with a particularly busy time of the year.

But just because your plate’s overflowing doesn’t mean you should drop this must-do to the bottom of your list.

“If you can’t get to a formal review in a timely manner, at least shoot for clear and consistent feedback in a general sense about [your employees’] performance or any issue,” Hroncich says. “Doing that eliminates or at least reduces surprises when the formal review does happen.”

Muntz stands firm on this point. “People that come to work for you every day deserve to have these conversations and they shouldn’t just happen once a year,” she says. “We should be doing formal check-ins quarterly and informal check-ins at least monthly.”

5. You ignore conflicts between your staff members.

Even if you love watching Bravo’s nightly smackdowns, chances are you’re not huge on inciting your own disturbances, domestic or otherwise.

Still, when employees are at each other’s throats—or, worse, passive aggressively throwing each other under the proverbial bus—it’s up to you to step in.

“I recall addressing a situation similar to this as a manager and I will admit it was the most difficult and nauseating day of my career,” Stack confesses. “Put simply, ask for help: Engage your HR director, outline the situation as well as what the ultimate outcome is desired and collectively shape a plan of action.”

Mediation is essential and most effective when the conflict is just beginning. Letting it fester will tank your team’s morale and productivity, Stack says.

6. You resist change and, in the process, stifle creativity.

You’ve gotten to the point that your work flow is fluid. You know how to work even the most finicky of databases. You’ve cracked the analytics software wide open. Your project management rhythm is down. You are, in a word, comfortable—and you like it that way. But that’s not necessarily a reason to push the status quo.

“With this perspective,” Stack warns, “you will make yourself obsolete—and smart, driven achievers won’t want to work with you.”

And if you are resistant to change, how can you possibly help promote the innovation of your employees and, thus, your company?

“I wish more managers would truly start fostering creativity,” Muntz says. “As an industry, we talk a good game when it comes to creativity, but I don’t think we put enough energy into rewarding our teams for developing solutions that are novel, innovative and unexpected.”

Stack encourages managers to give their team members frequent opportunities to present new ideas or offer solutions to a current challenge. And if those ideas don’t work, explain why. Just be sure to keep the creative juices flowing.

7. You have a no-mistakes policy.

You’re not one to bet twice on a losing horse, so when a team member flubs a project, you refuse to let her touch it again—ever. You won’t let her forget about that one mistake… or allow her to learn from it.

Instead of steamrolling the employee, guide her through the process, Stack urges. First, identify the mistake, so there’s no question in her mind what she did wrong. Then give her the opportunity to make up for the error.

Hroncich emphasizes the need to establish—and earn back—trust. Let the employee’s track record speak for itself.

“If it is a one-time thing and it’s still big deal, I probably wouldn’t take [my trust] away from them if they didn’t have a track record for screwing things up,” he says.

However, if the employee is a repeat offender, despite your frequent admonitions, says Stack, “then sadly she’s simply not getting it, and action needs to be taken.” That action might be transferring her to another, more appropriate, role—or, worst case, asking her to leave.

8. You don’t address problems when they happen.

Perhaps you’re too lax with your employees. Instead of working to solve problems with stumbling employees, you go ahead and fix them yourself—hey, you reason, it’s faster this way.

And then after the offenses have built up and you finally unleash a firestorm, it comes across as out of the blue from your employee’s perspective.

“The issue here is simple: lack of honest communication,” Stack says. “You haven’t been fair nor have you given this person the opportunity to improve.”

Trotting out a list of problems, major and minor, all at once “has powder keg potential,” she adds.

It’s a better strategy to outline a list of things that have worked this year (start with the positives), and then get into the things that have not worked.

The goal is for the employee to come away from the discussion with ways to improve his performance and have an action plan in place to reach his or her full potential.

Follow-up is essential here. Be sure to set up monthly conversation reminders so you can see how he’s faring, particularly against your expectations and concerns.

9. You don’t delegate.

When you spend the time to learn how to do something really well, it can be difficult to let someone else take a stab at it.

But when you become a manager, your job is to guide others as they do much of the work you did before. Your task is to oversee the project, not DIY.

“Delegation was probably the most difficult skill for me to develop; in some ways, it still is,” Stack says. “Getting beyond the concept of ‘Get it done now!’ to instead taking the time to educate others and oversee their execution was a difficult ask for a control-freak like myself.”

Nonetheless, it’s essential to give your employees the chance to expand their responsibilities and develop new skills. In the end, it will benefit you both to move a few things off your epic to-do list.

10. You’re a serial micromanager.

Ah, the catch-22 of delegating a task to a team member only to minutely oversee his every mouse click. The three senior managers we talked to each cited it as the No. 1 gripe employees have about their bosses.

And Muntz totally gets it. “I was a complete micromanager when I first started out,” she says. “Like many new managers, I tried to stay on top of every little thing my team did, which was unproductive and exhausting. It eventually led to me having to let go.”

The fact is being a great manager means you are comfortable setting the vision and empowering the talented folks you have on your team, adds Muntz.

“The best managers don’t tell others how to do their work; they help create and nurture an environment where their team can do their best work.”

Topics:

Climb the Ladder, Managing