A new boss is a new day, and a new opportunity
Here are six key questions you can ask yourself, along with strategies to help you keep your job when you get a new boss. Who is Evaluating Whom? One thing many people forget is that they will be tested. Of course you are evaluating and testing your new boss. But that person is also evaluating…
If the words don't match the body language, watch out
Your boss is giving advice about dealing with representatives of another company. 'I want to finesse them on this deal,' he says. But as he speaks, he pounds his fist on the desk. You hear what the manager says, but you also see his aggressive gesture. You leave the meeting confused about what the manager…
Oldest non-marine crab ever – and most complete crab fossil known – identified
A young crustacean locked in amber 100 million years ago is filling a crucial gap in the puzzle of crab evolution, according to a University of Alberta PhD graduate whose work adds to growing evidence that the crab form is an evolutionary darling. “This crab is telling us a very interesting story about the tree…
Placenta in a petri dish is just one innovation that attracts top students and research dollars
Jasmine Nguyen signed up for a tour of Meghan Riddell’s cell biology lab as a first-year undergrad in the Faculty of Science and was immediately hooked. “Meghan pulled a placenta out of what was basically a lasagna dish and it was love at first sight,” said Nguyen, who’s now working on her fourth-year honours thesis…
Find your zone, connect to the world, tune into your purpose and then get specific
I once had the fabulous opportunity to chat with a group of executive administrative assistants on their final day of a national conference. They had spent a few days exploring what it takes to create positive energy for themselves and their organizations. When I met with them, they were elated, excited and maybe even a…
Given our heightened consciousness about food systems, workers have more political capital than ever
Workers across the food supply chain are expressing concerns about their livelihood. Last weekend, workers at the online grocery retailer Instacart went on strike for better conditions and higher wages. Instacart is a symbol of the new gig economy in food – you use a phone app to have someone else pick up your groceries…
Best advice: Cope as best you can until you find another job
Every industry has its fair share of toxic bosses. Many are accomplished, and extremely successful. Some are working for or running well-known companies. Others are geniuses who created breakthrough technology. Typically, they make sterling impressions during the interview process. Unfortunately, their toxicity doesn't surface until you're working with them. Management consultant and author Robert Bacal…
The program is giving 38 students tools to pursue career goals while caring for themselves
In high school, Imani Murray fell in love with the brain. Next, she set her sights on pursuing her dream career: becoming a neurosurgeon. Now a physiology student in her third year at the University of Alberta, Murray is putting her passion and studies into practice for the first time – and growing in more…
Hoping for some new assignments from the military this fall
As an undergraduate, Kai Keewatin was torn between two passions: graphic design and his long-held dream to join the Canadian Armed Forces. In the second year of his design program at the University of Alberta, he finally enlisted with Lord Strathcona’s Horse in Edmonton, graduating in his military uniform in 2016. He is now a captain…
An organizational strategy for reducing lies and increasing candour at work
Lies in the workplace are expensive. According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, a typical organization loses five per cent of its revenue to fraud – a potential global loss of $3.5 trillion. But the cost of out-and-out fraud pales in comparison to the monumental cost of the erosion of trust that occurs when…