Religious Discrimination on the Rise @ Work

Complaints of religious discrimination at work are on the rise, but civil rights advocates don't believe the reason is due to corporate intolerance. Instead, they think it has to do with more religious minorities becoming aware of their rights and being willing to stand up for them.

Read more at Beliefnet.

Get Your Boss to Buy a LaPazz D-Note for You.

A Just A Sec Exclusive!



Here's a fun and useful tool you just might be able to get your boss to pay for -- and you'll get all kinds of personal use from it, too.

The D-Note DNA500 Personal Note Recorder by LaPazz is perfect for the kind of secretary who's constantly being called into her boss's office to jot down instructions that fly from his or her mouth at the speed of light. With the DNA500, you'll never miss a detail.

And best of all, if you've got a boss who's always contradicting what he or she told you, you can E-MAIL them the very notes you took when they were spouting off!!! In other words, "See...I wrote it down right here, just like you told me. 'Tell Vince to order the BLUE tablecloths for the banquet...not PINK. BLUE. I wrote it RIGHT HERE..." And e-mailing it allows your boss to save (a little) face by reading it in an e-mail and not having to look at your and say they're sorry. (Because let's face it -- that's usually SO very difficult for them.) It saves you the trouble of doing the "ha ha you're wrong" dirty work face-to-face, too.

Here's how the D-Note works, in a nutshell. The D-Note is a super featherweight tablet with a pad of real lined paper attached. It comes with two real pens, one each in black and red ink.

Ready to jot down a note? Simply turn the D-Note's power on and start writing. Every word, illustration or scribble you write on a sheet of real paper is simultaneously being recorded inside the lightweight base.

Via a USB cord connection to you computer, notes are easily downloaded using the software that comes with your D-Note. Right there on your computer screen, saved as a .JPG file, is visible the page on which you hand-wrote your notes.

Once your notes have been loaded into the D-Note's special software, you can do all kinds of nifty things to them, including changing the color of the background, inserting artwork or photographs in the background, adding shapes, underlining, etc. Notes can be e-mailed to anyone in a simple step.

While working, the D-Note allows you to create notes in separate "workbooks", and letting the device know you're turning a page of your paper tablet is the easy work of pushing a button.

The manufacturer also sells separately software that recognizes your handwriting and converts it to editable text.

The D-Note is so light (and comes with a sleek carrying case), that you'll want to take it home with you every night for jotting down lists of chores, grocery lists, etc. -- and then distributing them to the spouse and kids via e-mail at work the next day. BRILLIANT!



You can own a D-Note DNA500 for as little as $49.99. For more information, Visit www.lapazz.com.

10 Most Blocked Web Sites at Work

Companies who block employee access to certain web sites may think they're forcing workers to be more productive, but in reality they're only creating resentment, which results in the employee having no particular loyalty to the employer.

Besides, these days most people have devices that allow them to check personal e-mail and web sites without using their desk computer, so how much "time-wasting" do employers really think they're preventing?

Employers aren't stopping to think that their most talented people might like or need the occasional access to these sites, and that their work product wouldn't necessarily suffer as a result. Do companies really want to risk losing their best people over the occasional Facebook update? Top talent is usually smart enough to realize when they're being treated like children, and smart enough to go where they'll be best rewarded, not just monetarily, but in overall treatment.

Curious about which web sites are most blocked by employers? Check out the top ten here.

Office Gossip: Debunking the Myths

Office gossip is a dangerous thing. It can cause people to lose their jobs and even result in a serious downgrade in a company's overall rep.

But what counts as gossip? Are certain types of "gossip-esque" communications OK depending on who's dishing them out? Are you a gossip and don't know it?

Find out more from the Examiner.

Surprising Recession Trend: Secretaries Hiring Secretaries

An unexpected trend has emerged from the ashes of thousands of lay-offs: overburdened secretaries hiring their own secretaries, with their own money.

With the trimming down of so many office staffs, secretaries and administrative assistants are finding themselves saddled with extra work as the duties of the departed are now being heaped on them.

To keep from losing their minds, certain clever secretaries are pooling their financial resources and paying out-of-work secretaries to help with both personal and work-related tasks, thereby relieving the pressure. And these hired "virtual assistants" are able to bring in some much-needed cash in an otherwise bleak job market.

A secretary we'll call Angela and two of her co-workers asked to remain anonymous, because they're concerned that their employer would not approve of them sharing work with an outsider.

"There's the confidentiality issue," Angela says. "I'm pretty sure my firm doesn't want anyone on the outside seeing our internal work product. I don't give anything sensitive to our secretary. And she doesn't care what she's looking at, she just needs to get paid like we all do. Of course, we don't want to get fired over this. But (our assistant) is a friend of mine, and I know I can trust her."

Despite the risks, Angela sees the "secret secretary-to-the-secretaries" solution as being resourceful. She's taking action where her employer can't or won't.

"My firm has a dumb rule about having no part-timers. If we had just one part-time secretary in our office it would make a huge difference to a lot of secretaries. I know (the firm) is trying to cut costs, but if the three of us (secretaries who are sharing a virtual assistant) can get enough money together from our salaries to pay for help, the firm should be able to do the same. But they won't."

"It doesn't make sense that they're willing to pay us extra for overtime, when that same money could probably pay for a part-time person," she added.

"We're not going to suffer just on principle," one of Angela's co-workers said. "It's true the firm should be able to get us a little extra help. But if they won't do it, why shouldn't we take matters into our own hands? I'd rather pay to keep from going out of my mind and be able to see my kids at night instead of being here 'til all hours of the night. If I said, 'I'm not paying out my own money for help on principle, because the firm should do it', I'd still be miserable and overworked. So let's just take control, pay up and be happier."

Another of Angela's co-workers added that "It's not just about the firm's money issues. Sometimes I think the reason we can't get what we need has more to do with being blocked by one stupid person in middle management who's either too stupid to take action or too afraid. If it was up to the managing partner, maybe we'd get a part-time helper. But we'll never get to him because we have to go through this terrible manager who's just not that smart."

So what kind of work do these secretaries-to-the-secretaries get? In the case of Angela's virtual assistant, it's a mix of the professional and the personal.

"Whatever we can farm out," Angela said. "I scan hand-written stuff and document mark-ups and e-mail them to her for typing. I know (one of my co-workers) gets her to make travel arrangements. She took care of a major pain-in-the-ass problem for me with the cable company the other day."

Similarly, across town, an entire office full of secretaries is handing work off to one recently laid-off co-worker at home in Queens. They, too, are on the down-low because of confidentiality issues.

"We know (our hired secretary) isn't going to do anything with the (company)information," Donna told us. "It makes sense for her to be doing the work anyway. She used to work here. She's seen all this stuff before."

Further uptown, two other secretaries, Nora and Rayna, are helping out a recently laid-off co-worker by paying her to run personal errands.

"We're buried in the work left behind when Leslie was fired," Nora said. "We don't leave the office for lunch anymore, and we're constantly staying late."

Until recently, this overworked lifestyle left them feeling like their lives were being lived on a treadmill.

"By the time the weekend comes, all you have time for is the shit you didn't get to do during the week," Rayna complained. "Laundry, go to the supermarket, all that crap. And if you have to make a phone call and be on hold or something, forget it. I don't have time for that at work, and a lot of people don't have hours on the weekend. It's just ridiculous. It's a stressful way to live."

But then Nora and Rayna got wise and started paying their unemployed friend Leslie to take care of personal errands for them, freeing up their evenings and weekends for just plain enjoying life.

"Oh my god, it's made a world of difference," Nora sighed. "It's absolutely worth the money. We have no regrets."

For Leslie, it means much-needed cash-in-hand, and a powerful weapon against inertia.

"If I didn't have things to take care of, I'd be completely depressed, sitting on my couch and stuffing my face," Leslie said. "(Helping Nora and Rayna) gives me a reason to get up every day and I feel good knowing I'm helping my own friends."

Nora and Rayna don't have the same concerns regarding confidentiality, because they chose to keep their noses clean and keep the work they give Leslie personal in nature. Leslie stays busy making phone calls, processing health insurance claims, sorting mail, doing laundry, grocery shopping, and even doing light cleaning.

They are, however, paying Leslie in cash under-the-table, $10 an hour.

The same seems to be true for everyone doing the secret secretary thing -- cash on the sly. But the arrangements differ from one situation to the next.

Donna and her fellow company secretaries -- all twelve of them -- pay their unemployed former co-worker per task, and each secretary takes individual responsibility for paying for the task he or she assigned. Their assistant gets $15 an hour. For any task that falls under an hour, she still gets the full $15.

Angela and company made an entirely different arrangement. They pay their assistant Valerie a flat hourly rate to remain on-call during certain hours -- $5 -- just for the security of knowing she's available. However, when work arises for Valerie, she gets an additional $10 per hour, or $10 per task if the task takes less than a full hour. The secretaries split the $5 on-call fee equally, but individually pony up the extra cash for any tasks they've personally assigned to Valerie.

If you're interested in getting help on the side, and you want an arrangement that's as risk-free as possible, consider keeping your hired hand's duties in the realm of the personal, and ask him or her to sign an Independent Contractor Agreement. When your assistant is an independent contractor, they are responsible for reporting their income to the IRS, and you need not withhold taxes from their pay. However, treating someone as an independent contractor comes with some rules. Get familiar with them on the IRS web site. They're fairly simple rules to comply with, so don't let them discourage you from putting a fellow secretary back to work.

-- Margaret Haney

Boost Your Morale in Uncertain Times

In the workplace, more than ever people are in a state of fear over things beyond their control.

How can you be expected to maintain a positive attitude and stay calm in the current economic climate?

Here's some advice on how to have your own personal morale-boosting party in the quiet of your own mind.

Your Next Employer May Find You Online

According to a 2008 survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), nearly 17% of employers surveyed reported plans to use online sources such as social networking sites and blogs as part of their recruiting efforts – up from 11% in fall of 2006.

Online resumes, social networks, and blogs have all become essential tools for employers in scoping out prospective hires, and online visibility is playing an increasingly important role in job search and career networking.

Whether you are happily employed or in the process of seeking employment, the value of your online presence should not be discounted.

Following are four tips from Abhay Parekh, founder and CEO of Flowgram, a new web-based communication tool, on how to use the Internet to build your visibility.

Four Ways to Build Your Online Visibility in 2009:

1. Create Your Online Brand.

The old adage applies here – you never have a second chance to make a good first impression. The information that appears about you online is the first chance you have to present yourself to a prospective employer. The internet is increasingly becoming a primary source for communication and information, especially with recruiters. You can create your own online brand by registering your domain name (firstnamelastname.com) and creating a website that highlights your work experience and your unique attributes. Make sure to include keywords relevant to your career, so that you can improve your ranking in search engine results, and become more visible to potential employers and recruiters within a matter of minutes. Register for a domain at sites such as Register.com.

2. Differentiate Your Work.

Whether you are an established professional or just starting out, effective career development means finding a way to differentiate yourself from the pack. There are a number of great tools available on the Internet that can help you present yourself in a captivating and innovative way. For example, Flowgram is a free web-based communication service that can be used to create an interactive multimedia portfolio of your work that incorporates web pages, slides, video clips, and more. Flowgrams are easy to distribute through e-mail, blog posts, intranets, and popular social media networks like Facebook, or through the Flowgram community online. They can also be viewed offline as downloadable videos. But rather than simply sending a static resume and hoping that someone will read it, Flowgram enables a dynamic experience that’s engaging and informative.

3. Establish yourself as an expert source.

Beyond showcasing your resume and your portfolio, the Internet can be used to create and communicate your own personal brand. A blog is a great vehicle for establishing your voice online, and can also be used to start a dialogue with a larger community of people by sharing opinions, asking for advice, or simply highlighting interesting ideas and information. By starting a blog, you position yourself as an expert source in your field, and also pave the way for making valuable new connections. MyBlogLog provides some tools for starting your own web log.

4. Explore your 6 degrees.

You’ve heard of the six degrees of separation theory -- now, put it to use by harnessing your own chain of connections. Professional networking sites such as LinkedIn provide a perfect platform for job seekers to utilize their professional network of friends and current and former co-workers. LinkedIn offers a fast and effective way to stay in touch with friends, co-workers, and recruiters, in order to keep the pulse of these relationships alive. By using business networking sites such as LinkedIn, you can increase the likelihood that people will see your name and profile first when businesses or professionals are searching for someone to hire or do business with.

It's YOUR Day!

So, it's Administrative Professionals Day, formerly known as Secretaries' Day.

Do you care?

Tell Just A Sec just how wonderful (or not-so-wonderful) this annual day in YOUR honor truly is. E-mail us.

Thanks!

Hate the Idea of Office "Cliques"?

Think you'd never see a clique again once you graduated from high school? For those of us who work in offices, the phenomenon continues. More than 85% of people say they see cliques in their workplace, and 66% say they feel left out of an office clique.

Arguments exist for and against cliques. Some actually say they can be a positive force in a work environment -- "team spirit", we suppose. But others argue that cliques only foster gossip and inevitably make the outsiders feel just that -- left out.

Does the thought of being considered part of an office clique make you sick? Would you much rather be seen as someone who's friendly with everyone?

Or, do you belong to an office clique and like it, but wish you could be seen in the most favorable light possible without departing from your circle of friends?

This article addresses how to avoid being cliquey, and how to be the nicest person in a clique if you insist on staying.

Are YOU a Pain on the Train?

Did you ever stop to think that you might be annoying your fellow bus or train riders? Sure, we're all quick to find fault with a fellow passenger when we're the ones being inconvenienced. But have you examined your own behavior?

Check yourself with the help of our neighbors at Baruch College.

Resume on Monster, Hot Jobs? BEWARE!

Have you posted your resume on job boards like Monster, HotJobs, or CareerBuilder?

BEWARE. There are unscrupulous headhunters out there who will pluck your resume right off the web and shop you to potential employers without your consent.

Before you say to youself, "Hey, the more places my resume goes, the better -- I don't care how it gets there," consider this: job recruiters may be crushing your reputation and destroying your hireability, and you might not even know it.

For starters, recruiters could be representing you in ways that would make you cringe.

Some recruiters are downright obnoxious -- loud, brash, overly aggressive. Some have the vocabulary of third graders and the grace of hungry warthogs. And their behavior does reflect upon you. A potential employer doesn't know you didn't personally select this person to represent you. If they suspect you did, what does that say about your judgment?

A recruiter's less-than-professional approach might turn off your potential employer and cause them to toss your resume or move it to the bottom of the pile. With possibly hundreds of resumes to consider, do you really want to give them any excuse to discount yours?

The HR director at your would-be workplace could be so irritated by a recruiter's approach, she might discard your resume just so she won't have to pay a commission to that buffoon headhunter who rubbed her the wrong way.

Unfortunately for the upstanding ones, recruiters are notorious for lying. They have no qualms about lying about your background, and many will shamelessly assign you "stories" to tell in your job interview. Play-by-play. Some of them are really quite creative.

I recently met with a recruiter who felt that some short-term gaps in my employment history were working against me. Even though the real reasons behind those gaps were nothing scandalous, the recruiter insisted on hiding them behind made-from-scratch scenarios. She wove a pair of fairy tales, which I was meant to memorize and repeat to my (maybe) future boss. In one, there was a failed attempt at buying the house of my dreams and a flurry of wedding plans with a non-existent ex. The other was an outrageous fib about a whirlwind trip around the world won in a sweepstakes, which, God forbid anyone should ask me "And how did you like Prague?", I'd never be able to fake my way through convincingly.

Silly me. I thought my boss dying of a brain tumor was a pretty good excuse for being jobless. I nodded, tight-lipped, through my "instructions", and then went into the interview and told the truth. If I was going to work with these people someday, what was I doing to do, spend the years covering up the lies I told in my interview? No thanks.

Recruiters won't think twice about tweaking your resume, either. They'll change job descriptions, dates of employment, etc. Anything to give you a perceived "edge", thereby increasing their chances of getting you hired and getting themselves paid.

And don't trust a recruiter to have good judgment, or to even be reasonably intelligent when making "adjustments" to your resume.

For instance, many headhunters don't understand the nuts and bolts of the jobs they're filling, and they're strangers to the terminology.

I work in an area of law called "patent prosecution", which falls under the heading of "intellectual property". One recruiter from Access Staffing called me and said, "I have the perfect job for you. It's patent and prosecution. And I think it has...wait, let me check...yes! It also includes just a little bit of intellectual property."

I admit it. I laughed right into the phone. Just a little intellectual property? That's like saying, "Doctor, I have an ideal opportunity for you. It's general, and it's medicine. With just a dash of healthcare."

This could mean that your unofficial reps-in-the-field are changing vocabulary on your resume incorrectly, making you look like you don't know your own field.

This happened to me, in front of my eyes, at a headhunter's desk at Gainor Staffing. She started marking up my resume, making inaccurate changes to patent-centric terminology. She even reversed some of my correct punctuation so it was incorrect!

These self-appointed agents could also be doing your reputation a giant injustice by flooding the job market with your resume. I became a victim of this recently. I didn't find out until a forthright recruiter (whom I willingly engaged) started calling his contacts at local law firms and told me, "Your resume is all over town!" He started naming firms I'd never even heard of who'd already received not one, but multiple copies of my resume.

I didn't give anyone permission to approach these firms on my behalf, to speak on my behalf, to pass on my name, address, phone number and employment history to other people. They just did it, casting around for a bite, exploiting my personal information with the hope of some future monetary gain.

I suddenly thought of a woman who called me one day -- an overbearing type, with a voice like an air raid siren. I'd never even heard of her before, but she informed me that Law Firm XY&Z loved my resume and wanted to see me for an interview as soon as possible.

"Who are you?" I asked. I wish I could remember her name so I could share it with you. This woman had actually led a big, respectable firm to believe she had a relationship with me -- familiar enough to coordinate an interview on my behalf.

I was livid and I told her so. She was desperate to make a sale, and was unbearably pushy about getting me to go through with the interview. I refused to make the appointment through her. Later that evening, her "supervisor" had the nerve to call me and, barking at me like a scolding parent, demanded to know why I didn't take the interview. Unbelievable.

I knew these were the kind of people who'd spread my resume indiscriminately "all over town", who were diluting my opportunities for decent employment at the city's more reputable patent firms.

As my favorite recruiter Robert Hadley explained, when a resume is received by an employer from multiple sources, it can, in a sense, curse the applicant. The employer doesn't know you didn't ask every recruiter in town to find you a job, and quick! But that's what it can look like when an employer is bombarded with your resume.

And what if different recruiters are altering your resume? How does it look to the employer to get several different versions of your career path, with suspicious changes in key information?

And what if these recruiters are lying about having met you? It makes it seem like you've made the rounds to every employment agency in town and boy, you must be desperate! Which naturally leads the employer to wonder -- what's wrong with this applicant that no one is hiring her? It's just too easy to drop a resume into the trash can. The smallest inkling of doubt can count you out.

So what can you do to protect yourself?

Web sites like Monster and Hot Jobs are still a great place for employers and recruiters with integrity to find you. Each individual has to weigh the pros and cons of uploading his or her resume on these sites. But here's something I did that I encourage you to try, because it may start a trend that unscrupulous recruiters will have to acknowledge and work around. Who knows, it may even lead to some much-needed legislation. At the top of my online resume, I have a statement which reads:

"NOTICE: Recruiters are welcome to respond to (Your Name), whose name appears at the top of this resume. However, by printing out this resume, downloading or saving this resume, or forwarding this resume via e-mail or other means, you agree that you will not present yourself as a representative of (Your Name) by any means, either verbally or otherwise, express or implied, to any employer or employer's representative, without the express advance written consent of (Your Name). Furthermore, by printing out this resume, downloading or saving this resume, or forwarding this resume via e-mail or other means, you agree that if you present yourself to any employer or employer's representative as a representative of (Your Name) or (Your Name's) resume, bearing or not bearing (Your Name's) name without the express advance written consent of (Your Name), you agree not to accept any monetary compensation for the successful placement of (Your Name) in any position of employment for which you submit the resume of (Your Name)."
OK, so maybe it wouldn't hold up in court, but it could serve as a deterrent.

You can also make it crystal clear to any recruiter who calls or e-mails you that they do not have your permission to represent you or your resume to employers. You can tell them you will consider giving them written permission in an e-mail to represent you for specific positions only. This is important. In this way, you can keep track of who's legitimately sending out your resume and where. Heads-up, though: most recruiters will do anything to avoid giving you the name of the company they want to sell you to. They're afraid if they tell you it's Law Firm ABC, you will apply to the Law Firm ABC directly, cutting them out of the deal. Be insistent. Refuse to give them carte blanche to send your resume anywhere they want. Dole out your permission on a job-by-job basis, and if they refuse to name companies, politely tell them you prefer to work with another recruiter. Headhunting is a highly competitive field. Recruiters know they have plenty of competition. They'll either cooperate with you or they won't – but if they don't, the loss is entirely theirs. Trust me – you will eventually hit on a recruiter who will name names. They're out there, I've worked with them.

When you do find one or two recruiters who name names and give you honest representation, reward their integrity by letting them earn their commission. Don't do what I described earlier: circumventing their efforts by applying to the firm yourself. That's almost as scummy as being a recruiter who steals resumes off the internet.

-- Kim Brittingham

Employers Underpaying Secretaries...Because They CAN?

A Just A Sec Exclusive!

By Teresa Illiano

This time last year, Julia was earning $68,000 a year as a legal secretary in midtown Manhattan.

After getting laid off earlier this year, she interviewed for three similar positions requiring the same or even more challenging skill sets. The highest salary offered among those three jobs was $48,000.

"I think employers are definitely taking advantage of the recession and the tough job market," said Julia. "I think they know how many applicants they have to choose from, and they're going to offer as little as possible, regardless of what you happen to be worth."

Julia didn't get the impression that any of the companies she interviewed with were suffering financially. At least not enough to underpay her so dramatically. "If they're doing so badly, maybe they should start by selling the overpriced designer furniture in the waiting area. Or the original Lichtenstein over the receptionist's desk, you know?"

Deanna, another legal secretary in a highly specialized area of law, was laid off before the end of 2008. Her employer cited economic issues when laying off a handful of support personnel. Deanna was earning $65,000 annually.

Now Deanna is learning that her former employer is hiring new secretaries. They haven't asked Deanna or any of her fired co-workers back. Instead, they're filling in the gaps with cheaper labor.

"One of them is supporting my guys, so she's essentially my replacement. I have it on good authority that this new chick is making $52,000," Deanna told us. That's more than $10,000 less than Deanna was earning for supporting the same people and performing the same work.

Are employers using the economy as an excuse to clean house of their higher-paid secretaries? Are employers taking advantage of the skyrocketing number of unemployed workers to underpay skilled secretaries and pocket the difference, simply because they can?

Employers may think they're striking a savvy deal now, but will their decisions come back to haunt them later?

It already happened for "Neil", an attorney in a very small firm in midtown, who agreed to talk to us if we didn't reveal his identity.

Neil had the same secretary for eight years before she resigned to move out of state. "She was terrific," he said. "She really knew her stuff."

When it came time to find his secretary's replacement, Neil saw an opportunity to put some money back in his pocket. "I did hire a gal for about $20,000 less (than what I paid my former secretary). I admit it, I was trying to save a buck. Well, 20,000 bucks, to be specific."

But within weeks, Neil ended up firing the secretary who'd work for $20,000 less, "...because she couldn't hold a candle to my old secretary."

Would Neil have been as quick to fire his new secretary if he didn't think he had a huge pool of unemployed secretaries to choose from?

"No question," Neil confessed. "I felt like I had better options, so I interviewed again, and hired another girl."

Neil hired the new new secretary for, again, $20,000 less than his stellar, eight-year secretary.

"I fired her too," said Neil. "She just didn't have the right instincts, the right sense of responsibility."

Neil now has a secretary he thinks he'll stick with -- as long as she'll have him. She has the experience and qualities to do the job well, and Neil bit the bullet and offered her a salary comparable to that of his original secretary.

Neil says, "I really think when you try to cut corners and take advantage of a situation like this (recession), you come up short in the end. I really do think you get what you pay for."

When a secretary is laid off and then, out of necessity, has to take a job for significantly less pay, will she resent it? Will she perform her job with the same enthusiasm and loyalty knowing that she's worth much more? And if she suspects for even a moment that her employer could have met her most recent salary but simply decided not to, how devoted an employee will she be?

Diane weighs in:

"If I had to take a job for $20,000 less than what I was making just a few months ago, and then the economy got better and I had more options, I would not hesitate to leave. They were looking out for their own asses when they tried to get a super secretary for cheap. Well, I have to look out for my ass, too, and do what's best for me."

Some unemployed secretaries are refusing to work for significantly less than they were making before their lay-off, because they feel it does irreparable damage to the work history they've built.

"It took me twelve years to get to $70,000," Lois told us. "If I take a job for, say, $50,000 now, how can I expect to build on that $70,000 ever again? Any job I get in the future will pay me based on the $50K. It's like all those years of work and loyalty never happened. I got pushed back to a level from when I was still in my twenties. It's smarter for me to stay on unemployment and wait and see."

Some secretaries will hold out for indicators of a stronger economy before seeking a job similar to what they had. Others will have to take what they can get. But when that brighter day comes (and it's bound to, eventually), those compromising secretaries just might leave their cunning employers in the lurch, without a second thought.

Like Neil said: you get what you pay for.

The Post-Interview Thank You Note.

Writing a thank you note after a job interview is not such a bad idea. It distinguishes you from the applicants who were too lazy to bother. It also serves to give your interviewer a nudge after you've gone that says, "Hey, remember me?" Staying in the forefront of his or her mind is a good thing. Don't let them forget you.

But if you are going to send a Thank You note, there are a few simple guidelines your should follow to get it right. Read about them at U.S. News.

Smart Phone Etiquette -- How Rude ARE You?

Most of us have enough common sense to realize that taking a call on your cell phone in the middle of a staff meeting is just not cool.

But what about e-mails, texts, and tweets?

Your professionalism might be taking a hit if you keep your crackberry out on the table during a meeting, or even lunch.

Learn more here.

Confrontation in the Workplace

No matter how great the environment, the benefits, the management at your workplace, it's hard to avoid the occasional clash with a co-worker. People are...well, human. There's friction between different personality types, moods flare and offense is taken.

But there are a few simple guidelines you can keep in mind that will contribute to a much more harmonious work environment. Check them out here.

Open Your Ears @ Work to Domestic Violence

Domestic violence will follow anyone into the workplace.

It could be affecting that seemingly happy-go-lucky secretary in the next boss. Or your strictly-business boss. Maybe even you.

It's important that you open your ears for these victims, or tell a trusted co-worker about your own situation.

Employers themselves have been hesitant to accommodate domestic violence issues. But Safe Horizon is working to change that. Read more.

No More Ferry Between Rockland & NYC

If you've been enjoying ferry service between Rockland and Lower Manhattan, or were considering trading in your traffic-congested commute for a pleasant boat ride, you're going to be disappointed. Ferry service will discontinue on May 1st.

Runs from Yonkers may continue with reduced service.

Get the details here.