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By Jason Akai, guest contributor Process improvement is everywhere.  People talk about the need to improve processes or procedures.  There are jobs that are devoted solely to reviewing processes and procedures.  I think most people I know learn the value of Visio through their first Swim Lane diagram.  Hours of meetings, training, review, new meetings, new training – all of this spent to trim t

Doing consulting/contract work is very common in IT consulting allows for a wide range of technical exposure, a change of pace and perspective. Finding themselves in between jobs, many would consider this route; however IT candidates are often puzzled about how much they should be making as a contractor. Those who are used to thinking about their pay as a part of an annual compensation package, wh

Perm doesn't exist I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but there is no such thing as a “permanent” job position, especially in Illinois, and contract to hire offers several important benefits over perm positions. Get real In the state of Illinois especially, an employer is under no obligation to keeping you employed, you can be laid off or terminated for any reason related to your performance or no

You’ll want to bookmark this article -- trust me. Last week I had a coffee meeting in Oakbrook with a person I respect very much, Janet Godbey. Janet has been a human resources manager with Newell-Rubbermaid for the last several years, and throughout her career she’s dealt with every kind of crazy employee issue imaginable. One of the things I love most about Janet is that she’s always willing

Why do we get so excited about a job offer that we agree to accept a role we barely know anything about? Candidates disappointed in their new gigs often report accepting a job without a thorough understanding of the role or the internal structure. Some can even pinpoint a few red flags they chose to ignore. How can we be so eager to say “I do” after such a short courtship? I came to the conclusio