Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by guest bloggers are those of the writer and don’t reflect those of Beverly Weinstein, Markham Media, or its constituents.

Women don’t deserve to be treated equally in the workplace.  I know, I know.  I’m a terrible person.  How can I say such heresy.  But in reality I’m right for a number of reasons.

First of all, I’ve managed both men and women.  Never in my career have I sat down with a man and had him cry in front of me.  Women however, seem to break down in tears over everything from annual budgets to having to reboot their computers.  Why is that?  Does it make us feel sorry for them?  I know it benefits them when they get pulled over by a police officer and they face a ticket and points on their license but believe me, when it comes time for them to be placed in an important situation, how can I trust a woman to be able to handle it appropriately?  Fact is, I can’t.

And then there’s the issue of working from home.  Why do they get to be able to do that?  There are numerous examples of women I know who work from home a few days a week, or job share with another mom.  It never benefits the company btw.  It breeds contempt among the other workers and when they’re sales people, agencies end up waiting for the more liked sales rep to be working so they can get what they need from them.  What if I wanted to work from home two days a week?  How would my management feel about that?  I would be emasculated and no doubt be passed over in the future.

I’m not sure what the differential should be, but until they work the same hours that men do, and don’t cry over every difficult situation, men should be paid more.

Agree? Disagree? Leave us a comment and get the conversation flowing.

A few months ago, I posted a book review taken from the Wall Street Journal on Alain de Botton’s latest book, The Pleasures and Sorrow of Work. For the book, the author interviewed people from a variety of careers and closely examined the ideas behind one of the most crucial parts of our lives as human beings: our job, our vocation, or purpose. In this video below from TED, de Botton gives a very witty speech on these same ideas focusing in on failure and success and how we define these concepts. He’s an interesting speaker with a great sense of humor.

Whether you’re a seasoned veteran of your industry or returning to the game after many years away, the same job finding techniques ring true. Sue Shellenbarger wrote an interesting piece for the Wall Street Journal yesterday that focused on mother’s returning to the work force after a child-rearing hiatus. Take a look at the article here.

Among the strategies the women in the article use to get their feet wet in a new (or old) industry, are group sessions while their kids play for practicing interviewing skills and sharing resume tips, volunteering at non profit organizations to build new skills and keep old ones sharp, doing pro-bono work to re-create a name for oneself and get back into the swing of things, and settling for lower wages and titles than in previous positions.

These sacrifices and techniques have helped the women featured to get back to work, even in the down economy. But what’s interesting is that these savvy ladies are using the same types of tricks and strategies that those who never left the business world are employing due to lay offs. Volunteering and interning are more popular than ever for professionals who are used to a pay check, whether it be for networking purposes or acquiring new skills. Once out of a job, role-playing to prepare for interviews is an essential part of job search preparation. And of course, many, many executives have been forced to take on lower salaries and less prestigious positions.

Interestingly, though, is how one woman in the article was chosen for a position because she was knew to the field and brought a fresh perspective untainted by traditions or other companies’ methods. The article also notes that after a haitus, only 39% of employees return to their original career, suggesting looking into new options and new industries might be a wise route to take.

So, while you might have never left your field and have been a faithful employee for years and years, if you find yourself laid off during these hard times, it might be wise to take a note from these mom’s who are stepping back into the fray after years of time off and finding success through trying something new, through giving back, and through diligence of course.

In today’s Media Post column, I mentioned an incredibly useful tool for PC users who want to integrate their MS Outlook contacts with their LinkedIn and keep their digital Rolodex constantly growing.

Here are the features the tool provides:
* Build your network selecting from people you email often
* See suggestions of who to invite based on email frequency
* Invite with one click to build your network faster
* Update your Outlook contacts with LinkedIn profile information
* Receive notifications when your contacts change their LinkedIn profiles
* See when people you e-mail frequently are not in your network
* See LinkedIn mini-profiles for everyone that emails you
* Use the LinkedIn dashboard to stay up to date with your network
* Access LinkedIn with one quick and easy click

Source: Linkedin.com

Using the Tool bar, you can highlight and grab contact information straight from an email signature and create a contact for that person as well as automatically click to invite them to join your network on LinkedIn, all right in your Outlook window. It is a major time saver for the busy executive who wants to keep their connections current and growing, but doesn’t have time to constantly log in to LinkedIn and find them. Since installing it, I’ve saved tons of time and increased by LinkedIn connections dramatically.

Follow these simple instructions to set it up if you’re an Outlook and PC user:

1- Visit www.linkedin.com

2- Scroll to the bottom of the browser where you’ll see Company, Tools, and, Premium.

3- Click “Outlook Toolbar,” listed in the Tools row.

4- Click the yellow “Download it now” button.

5- Run the installation software to install the tool. Your Outlook should automatically restart to reflect the download.

6- You will see a toolbar within your Outlook window equipped with a LinkedIn button for quick access to the site as well as buttons for the many features the tool provides.

Now get connecting!

Need to know where the nearest subway is? Want to see what others are close by? What direction you have to walk in to get there? What other lines are at each station? How many miles away it is? Want to have all of these information displayed visually for you? Yep. I guess this is why people get iPhones. Take a look at this amazing new application that’s sure to become a NYC staple.

Note: Only available for the iPhone 3GS. Not sure if it has launched in the app store yet, but keep your eyes peeled! Visit across air’s site for more info.

By Beverly Weinstein

Start with securing your contacts before you’re in the job market. Part of your value as a potential candidate to any employer is your professional relationships. Those relationships are also an essential tool in looking for a job. Don’t take them for granted, don’t stop building them, and don’t underestimate new technology in helping you with the task.

I’ll be exploring the importance of using professional social networking in this column. Other job search basics will be covered in the coming weeks.

Where Are You Storing Business Contacts?

If you’re old enough, you probably had a Rolodex, the old office staple, perched somewhere on your desk. When you left your job, it was something you usually boxed up and took with you. Then enterprise messaging platforms (like MS Outlook) started and contacts went on your computer and your company’s corporate server which, in turn, allowed for seamless transfer to your company-issued PDA. Whether you should back up your Outlook is certainly a consideration, but I’ve found a surprising number of people that don’t.

So even if you have hundreds of names in your business contact files don’t assume they will always be available. Parting company with your job means parting company with your computer and your mobile device, along with all the information contained in both.

It’s time to take a close look at the importance of the professional social-networking sites, not as a substitute for Outlook but as another contact resource.

Secure Your Contacts

If you haven’t started using a professional social network like LinkedIn, what are you waiting for? If you have hundreds of Outlook contacts and 30 LinkedIn contacts, you’ve got it backwards. Linked In is a click away, and one of the great perks of social networking is that you never have to worry about it disappearing if your hard drive crashes, if you’re away from your computer, or if you leave a job. It’s always floating around the Internet waiting for you to hop on.

Some Easy Building Blocks

LinkedIn enables you to upload contacts from commonly used email services, including, Yahoo, Gmail and AOL or by uploading a spreadsheet of them. This only takes moments, no matter how large your network is.

You can keep adding to your network. If you’re a PC Outlook user, a tool is available to make connecting even easier. Every time you get a new email, it allows you to automatically invite the sender. You don’t even need to go to LinkedIn, because the site is”linked in” to your Outlook.  For step-by-step installment instructions, stay tuned on www.dearbev.com for a post with all you need to know.

Other Benefits

OK, you may be thinking: I’ve backed up my Outlook, why do you need to do any more?

• It’s easier to keep track of your contacts, and you don’t have to do the work. On Outlook and other address books, you make the changes, but on LinkedIn, the contacts do it for you and you receive notifications of changes your connections make, such as new jobs, new titles, new locations.
• It’s faster to send a blast email or message letting people know you’re in the job market. You can send individual notes, too, with the guarantee that the recipient will receive a notification from LinkedIn. If you’re contacting someone you haven’t spoken to in some time, you need not worry about falling into their spam box.
• Finally, more and more individuals, as well as recruiters,are using LinkedIn to communicate job openings and search for candidates. So what are you waiting for? Start connecting.

This is just the start of your job hunt. First, you need to gather and nurture your connections and contacts. Next, I’ll look at how to make them work for you.

By Beverly Weinstein

Start with securing your contacts before you’re in the job market. Part of your value as a potential candidate to any employer is your professional relationships. Those relationships are also an essential tool in looking for a job. Don’t take them for granted, don’t stop building them, and don’t underestimate new technology in helping you with the task.

I’ll be exploring the importance of using professional social networking in this column. Other job search basics will be covered in the coming weeks.

Where Are You Storing Business Contacts?

If you’re old enough, you probably had a Rolodex, the old office staple, perched somewhere on your desk. When you left your job, it was something you usually boxed up and took with you. Then enterprise messaging platforms (like MS Outlook) started and contacts went on your computer and your company’s corporate server which, in turn, allowed for seamless transfer to your company-issued PDA. Whether you should back up your Outlook is certainly a consideration, but I’ve found a surprising number of people that don’t.

So even if you have hundreds of names in your business contact files don’t assume they will always be available. Parting company with your job means parting company with your computer and your mobile device, along with all the information contained in both.

It’s time to take a close look at the importance of the professional social-networking sites, not as a substitute for Outlook but as another contact resource.

Secure Your Contacts

If you haven’t started using a professional social network like LinkedIn, what are you waiting for? If you have hundreds of Outlook contacts and 30 LinkedIn contacts, you’ve got it backwards. Linked In is a click away, and one of the great perks of social networking is that you never have to worry about it disappearing if your hard drive crashes, if you’re away from your computer, or if you leave a job. It’s always floating around the Internet waiting for you to hop on.

Some Easy Building Blocks

LinkedIn enables you to upload contacts from commonly used email services, including, Yahoo, Gmail and AOL or by uploading a spreadsheet of them. This only takes moments, no matter how large your network is.

You can keep adding to your network. If you’re a PC Outlook user, a tool is available to make connecting even easier. Every time you get a new email, it allows you to automatically invite the sender. You don’t even need to go to LinkedIn, because the site is”linked in” to your Outlook.  For step-by-step installment instructions, stay tuned on www.dearbev.com for a post with all you need to know.

Other Benefits

OK, you may be thinking: I’ve backed up my Outlook, why do you need to do any more?

• It’s easier to keep track of your contacts, and you don’t have to do the work. On Outlook and other address books, you make the changes, but on LinkedIn, the contacts do it for you and you receive notifications of changes your connections make, such as new jobs, new titles, new locations.
• It’s faster to send a blast email or message letting people know you’re in the job market. You can send individual notes, too, with the guarantee that the recipient will receive a notification from LinkedIn. If you’re contacting someone you haven’t spoken to in some time, you need not worry about falling into their spam box.
• Finally, more and more individuals, as well as recruiters,are using LinkedIn to communicate job openings and search for candidates. So what are you waiting for? Start connecting.

This is just the start of your job hunt. First, you need to gather and nurture your connections and contacts. Next, I’ll look at how to make them work for you.

By Beverly Weinstein

Everyone checks their personal email at work once or twice a day, makes a personal phone call here and there, maybe even checks their Facebook periodically. With so much at our fingertips, the internet has  made it more tempting to take a quick break to see if those shoes are still on sale or what’s going on on your favorite blog. But how much of this kind of behavior is too much and how much is perfectly acceptable?

The Wall Street Journal answered the question of a reader who was fired for inappropriate internet usage and wants to know how to explain this in an interview. While the article doesn’t state what the exact circumstances are (ie. was he/she simply on Twitter too much or was it something more serious), it is obviously an issue that can lead to termination.

More interesting than the article itself though, are the many comments readers have left behind. The article offers telling the truth in an interview as the best policy and trying to avoid going into too much detail, but readers seem to think that simply assuring the interviewer that you’ve seen the error of your ways and will never slip again isn’t honest and that promising the impossible is unwise. One commenter, Joseph Greene, wrote:

“At my employer, there isn’t a soul who hasn’t used the company internet access for some personal purpose. Likely, someday one or two will find the employer uses that to get rid of them. The rest, however, shall happily surf on. The part of the story that I disagree with is the idea that one would reassure an interviewer that it will “never happen again.” Of course it will! What kind of fool believes that employees never surf the internet at work?”

Lewis Adams agreed:

“It will never happen again? Really? Come on, everyone surfs the web at work – whether it be CNN, WSJ, or Sears.com, everyone does it! It’s not right, but if you go too far and say it will never happen again, it sounds a bit contrived. That being said, the article never said if the termination was due to simple web surfing or something more serious such as pornography (in which case you deserved termination). Sorry, but it’s true…If you’re productive and people rave about your output (your production), you can probably go so far as to come into the office in your pajamas and the company wouldn’t say anything.”

What the terminated employee should do in this scenario is really not the issue here, as it depends greatly on what he or she did to deserve getting the axe in the first place. What I find interesting is that so many readers promote or at least accept the idea of breaking or at least bending company policies as long as good work is still getting done. If everyone’s doing it, that makes it ok? Clearly not everyone can get their work done and surf all day.

So, my question is, should companies limit access to popular non-work related sites, such as social networks? Many already do.

One reader noted that there isn’t much difference between taking a little personal time on the computer and talking about last night’s game at the water cooler. So is limited access or surveillance  by companies being too strict? Or is the internet making us slackers? What do you think ?

This edition of  The Steam Room is the fourth of our new series in which media executives can “blow off some steam” in anonymous guest posts and hopefully start some conversation on the issues that are facing the industry. Feel free to comment and visit the Contact page if you’d like to contribute!

Who’s worse – the agency or the client?

By Michael Fairhaven (a pseudonym for a media sales executive)

As a salesperson, we often complain about the media agency.  They never call us back or reply to an email (ever).  They don’t communicate effectively to provide us with information on why we did, or did not make a plan.  They blanket the market with the same RFP whether you’re a network, portal, music site, sports site, kids site or technology site.  It doesn’t matter how big or small you are or what your core audience is, you’re going to get the same RFP.

Lately, however, I started thinking that the real criminal in the entire process might just be the client.  Recently, I’ve had some good conversations with senior level executives on the media side and I’ve begun to look in earnest at how the clients are set up to manage their digital business.  The truth is that I’m embarrassed for them.  Many of them have ZERO understanding of the Internet as a whole, let alone how the digital marketplace works.  In most cases, they don’t even have a digital specialist.  It’s often times the traditional folks who have been saddled with the additional responsibility of digital.  A rich media takeover?  An expandable banner with click to play functionality?  You might as well be speaking a language spoken in the deep jungle of South Africa.  They have no idea what you’re talking about.

I’ve recently spoken to my staff about the other revenue streams that we should try and tap into within an account.  But how likely are we to be able to call on PR agencies, creatives and client strategists for budgets?  The majority of clients would rather drop $35MM to become a rights holder of the NBA which allows them to basically throw the NBA logo on their ads and get center court 15^th row tickets at the All-Star game, than take 1/10 of that and work with their digital agency to test the multitude of opportunities that are being proven effective means of brand awareness and intent to purchase.

So to all of you agency folks out there, I feel for you.  I really do.  But I still think you can come in a little earlier in the day and return my email.