I received an email from a young woman who started a new job several months ago. Everything is going very well ... well at least it was. Then her boss hired someone new for this woman's team and he's a slacker. According to the email writer, this colleague of hers is older than is typical for an entry-level position and seems not to want to be there. He does nothing all day, other than delegate work and chit-chat about trivial things. He comes to work late and leaves early. Although their boss is aware of this, he wants her to build a great team with this man. She wrote to me seeking advice about what to do. Here's what I told her:

"The key here is that your boss expects you to build a relationship with this colleague. You have no other choice, except of course to quit, but why would you do that? You might want to look at this as an opportunity to gain favor with your boss. If you make this relationship work, your boss will be thankful. I'm sure he doesn't want to have to interview more candidates and then train someone else to take this person's job. This doesn't mean you should cover up for your co-worker if he slacks off. Why not, instead, encourage him to do more? Flattery often works. Let's consider the fact that he is of "non-traditional age" for an entry level position. Can you use that to get him to contribute more to team projects. What do I mean? Well, can you get him to use his experience when he works on projects? Ask him to tell you about his background and where his experience and expertise lie and then suggest things he can do to contribute, i.e., "You seem to be so well-versed in this area, I think it would be very helpful if you can handle this part of the project." Who knows — maybe he'll be flattered by this and it will motivate him."

Do you have any advice to share? Please post your comments below.

More About Getting Along With Co-Workers:

• The Five Difficult People You Meet at Work
• How to Get Along With Your Colleagues

One day you're walking proudly across the stage receiving your diploma. The next day you're walking meekly into a new office wondering when you suddenly became a grownup. The transition from college to work is startling. No longer can you make your schedule fit your social life — if you liked to stay up late, you didn't take an 8 o'clock class. Generally you can't tell your boss you like to party into the wee hours of the morning so you're going to need to start work at 11 a.m. everyday. The time you start work will be dictated by someone else. You will also have deadlines to meet and your work will be judged regularly. Along with these new responsibilities will come a regular income, paid vacation time and sick days and other fringe benefits.

Here's how to survive your first days at your first "real" job:

• From College Campus to Corporate Climate
• Your First Job: Making a Good Impression
• Starting a New Job

Quitting a job is a big decision. Many people equate quitting with failure. You wonder if you could have done something to make the job work out. Sometimes there are things you can do to make the situation better and sometimes there aren't. Take this quiz, to help you answer the question, Should I Quit My Job?

More:

• Five Things Not to Do When You Leave Your Job
• Take This Job and ... Never Mind

K is a teacher but would much rather be working in fashion. As a matter of fact she has her degree in fashion and textile merchandising. She has been teaching high school for several years but now wants to follow what she feels is her true calling. One problem is that she doesn't know how to break into this new field. Another problem is that she lives far from New York, one of the world's fashion meccas. She's willing to relocate. Here's my reply to her. If you have any additional advice for K please comment below.

"Have you tried contacting the career office of the school from which you got your degree? They should be able to give you advice about getting a job in fashion. Perhaps they can set you up with a fellow alumnus who works in the field. He or she may have some good tips for you. You may also want to look into doing an internship, which could be a good way for a career changer to get experience."

With college graduation season upon us, there's a good chance you know someone who is about to enter the workforce for the first time. Most of these new graduates will have the job-related skills, also called hard skills, they need for their new careers and those they haven't learned in the classroom, they will learn on the job. Unfortunately, there's more to succeeding at work than having those hard skills. One needs soft skills too. Soft skills aren't specific to any particular occupation. They are important for any job, and in fact, they will help one compete in the workplace. Examples of soft skills are the ability to problem solve, good listening skills, and good organization and time management skills.

More:

• Compete in Today's Workplace
• Make a Good Impression
• Succeeding at a New or First Job
• What to Do If You Make a Mistake

When you've spent a long time looking for a job, you might be tempted to accept the first offer you get. That's not a good idea. Once you've got some momentum going on your job search, it is easier to continue it than go back to it after you quit a job that wasn't right for you to begin with. While it's true that the perfect job probably doesn't exist, you should try to find one that is a good fit for you. Find out what criteria you should look at when you are evaluating a job offer.

Manpower Inc. released its 2008 list of the hardest jobs to fill, as reported by employers around the world. Here is the list of the hardest jobs to fill in the U.S. Two thousand employers in the U.S. responded to this survey, according to Manpower. Only 22 percent reported difficulty filling positions, while 78 percent reported no difficulty. For lists of hard to fill positions in other countries please see Manpower, Inc.'s Talent Shortage Survey results.

Hardest Jobs to Fill in the U.S.

1. Engineers
2. Machinists/Machine Operators
3. Skilled Manual Trades
4. Technicians
5. Sales Representatives
6. Accounting and Finance Staff
7. Mechanics
8. Laborers
9. IT Staff
10. Production Operators

Information on Other Occupations
How to Choose an Occupation

If you're younger than 25, there's a good chance computers were always a part of your life. I'm a bit older than that (okay more than a bit) and I didn't use a computer until I was in high school. I began to use a computer regularly when I was in graduate school. My 12 year old daughter has used a computer since she was able to sit up. She is adept at it, using a computer to do research, write papers and design various school projects. As I was updating my Desktop Publishing Career Brief I was thinking of how this might be a great career choice for her, combining her artistic ability with her computer skills. It's something for her to consider among all the other interesting career choices out there.

While there isn't expected to be much change in employment of desktop publishers over the next several years, there will still be job opportunities available, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Those currently working in the field will advance to managerial positions, move to different occupations or leave the labor force altogether creating vacancies. If you want to learn more about this occupation read Desktop Publishing: Career Brief.

It's hard to believe, that in 2008, there is still a large gap between men's and women's wages. According to the National Committee on Pay Equity (NCPE), Equal Pay Day, observed each year on a Tuesday in April, "symbolizes how far into the year a woman must work to earn as much as a man earned the previous year." So, a woman must work about 15 months and three weeks to earn what a man earns in 12 months. Equal Pay Day is always observed on a Tuesday, which is also symbolic. In order to earn what a man earns in a week, a woman must work until Tuesday of the following week. The pay gap is even greater for women of color, according to NCPE.

The Equal Pay Act of 1963 makes it unlawful to pay unequal wages to a man and a woman doing the same work. While an employer can use a worker's experience, education and job responsibilities to determine salary, he or she cannot take into account one's gender. With that law in place, why, then, is there still such a large gender-based wage gap? Do more woman than men opt to attain lower levels of education or do they decide to go into lower paying fields? Why do fields in which more woman than men work pay less than others? Are woman passed over for higher paying jobs or are fewer women than men allowed to rise through the ranks of corporations, i.e., the glass ceiling, thereby keeping women's salaries down? Is it that a huge number of employers are not abiding by the Equal Pay Act? These are some things to think about tomorrow as we wear red to raise awareness about the pay gap. Red symbolizes how far women and those in minority groups are "in the red" with their pay.

I just answered an email from a man who wants to work for a specific company. Let's call the man Rob and let's call the company XYZ (not very original I know). As Rob explained, he is "someone [who] is interested in more than just a job but a career" with XYZ. Well who wouldn't want a career with this company? It is well respected all around the world by other companies as well as by the bizillions of people who are customers. XYZ posts its job listings on its Web Site and that is where Ken has been looking for a suitable position. He tells me, in his email, that he's been very proactive. He has submitted his resume online and has called everywhere looking for more information about careers with XYZ, but has received the same answer over and over: ""All of our positions are listed online." Rob wanted to know if I had an advice for him since, as he put it, I "have more knowledge [than he does] on" XYZ. That's very flattering but I really don't know much more about this company than Rob, though based on the amount of email I get about this company, I could probably make a fortune if I had insider tips on getting a job there. I gave Rob the advice I would give to anyone who wants to work at a specific company. Here's what I said:

"Do you know anyone who knows anyone who knows anyone who works for XYZ? This could include family, friends, former colleagues, professors, etc. In other words, you need to use your network (see, Making Connections). That is often the best way to get the information you need. Try to set up a meeting with someone, not to ask for a job (did I say not to ask for a job?), but to find out how you can eventually get started on a career with the company. If you don't have anyone on your network who works for XYZ, try sending an email to someone in the company, perhaps in a department you might be interested in. Explain that you want to set up an informational interview just to learn what working at XYZ is like (remember, don't ask for a job). Don't mass email a whole bunch of people. Address your email specifically to that person. See my article Informational Interviews." Finally, I advised Rob, that while XYZ is a wonderful company, he shouldn't limit his options. There are other great companies to work for and he might have to build up his resume by working for one of them.

I sent a follow up email when I realized I hadn't told Rob how to find out to whom to send his email. I advised him to look at the company's corporate Web Site. He would probably find there a section about its management team. While a higher up probably wouldn't want to meet with him, he or she could, perhaps, refer Rob to someone on his or her team.