Your resume may often be the initial introduction to a prospective employer. In many cases, long before you have an actual in-person meeting, your resume has already said hello. And with such a competitive workforce, many job seekers have given in to the urge of tapping into their creative sides and doing whatever is necessary to make their resume standout. However, creating a professional masterpiece and a creative mishap are two totally different things.

“I need to interview candidates and hire someone as soon as possible. This position is urgent and I needed someone yesterday.” Does this phrase from a hiring manager sound familiar to you?

They say when you love someone; you have to let them go. Although it may be hard to believe, from my experience, the same can be said for our jobs. When you dedicate a significant amount of time and energy to a project or position within a company, you build relationships with co-workers and form an attachment to the projects and initiatives on which you have worked. These bonds and attachments can make it challenging to hand over the reins to another team member or leave a company altogether. So if change is indeed constant; how do we make the best out of a difficult situation?

With the recent tragic events at the Navy Yard in Washington DC, many organizational leadership teams have begun the unnerving conversations on ways to keep their most valuable assets safe in the workplace. Unfortunately, those talks are no longer about how to prevent slip and fall accidents, or even fire safety. In coming to terms with the world in which we live, a reality has to be faced, and those conversations are now strongly focused on saving lives in the event of a gun toting disgruntled employee or a complete stranger’s ambush.

There may be various reasons why organizations update or create a formalized severance plan. When referring to a severance plan, we mean a payment provided to an employee, or a group of employees, that are involuntarily terminated due to a reduction in force/downsizing, change in company direction, job elimination, or termination due to unsatisfactory performance. Typically, the top five reasons for creating or updating a severance policy are:

It’s that time of year again. No, I don’t mean playing catch up on your work while you were out on vacation or figuring out your upcoming Halloween costume. (Can I still get away with being Superman?!?!) It’s Fantasy Football time! Perhaps you participate in a Fantasy sports team in your private life, but have you thought about participating or creating a fantasy team at work? Your department, organization and community may be better off if you do.