Sharing Corner

5 signs you’re settling in to your new job faster than you think In an ideal world, someone would send you an email after your first couple weeks of your new job that says, “Hey, congrats! You’re officially all settled in now. Let’s eat cake together.” But the reality is that it’s not likely cake will be waiting for you in the kitchen, plus everyone goes through this process at a different rate—so there’s not a due date on that. However, there are a few signs that indicate you’ve finally gotten comfortable in your new surroundings. Meaning, you’re probably already a beloved member of the team!

How to ask for a raise when you hate talking about money Talking about money can be difficult, even scary. It’s a topic that makes a lot of people feel uncomfortable. Whether you’re negotiating higher pay in a new job offer or vying for a promotion in your current role, discussing salary is downright stressful. You’re afraid of getting turned down, making things awkward, or even offending your manager. So, you make excuses as a way to sidestep the conversation. You tone down your requests-or worse, you don’t ask at all.

4 ways you're being way too hard on yourself (and How to stop) We all experience a little bit of self-doubt every now and then. But, there’s a big difference between feeling a sense of normal hesitation and apprehension, and being a full-blown defeatist. What exactly is a defeatist? Quite simply, it’s someone who expects or assumes failure—usually before he or she even really makes an attempt to succeed.

7 ways you can make kindness a part of your daily routine There’s every reason in the world to be kind to others-your co-workers, your friends, your neighbors, and everyone you meet. However, recent studies show that when you are kind to others, you will benefit, too. According to research conducted by Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky, psychology professor at University of California, Riverside, when students were assigned to do five random acts of kindness per week for a period of six weeks, their levels of happiness increased by 41.66%.

The simple change that'll make asking a stranger for help much more successful Last week, I got two emails. On the surface, they were very similar-both messages were from aspiring writers I didn’t know, both were polite and professional, and both were requesting advice and potentially an introduction to my editor. However, my reaction to the two messages was very different. I was eager to help the first person and annoyed at the thought of assisting the second.

The 2-Minute email trick that convinced 85% of recipients to actually respond to me We all know it’s important to keep in touch with networking contacts—and not just when you’re on the hunt for a new job or need a favor. However, doing that’s often more challenging than it sounds. Maybe you tag someone you just met at a conference in a tweet, and she just favorites it. Or, perhaps you send a former boss a congratulatory email on his latest promotion, and all you get back is a “Thanks.” How can you take that relationship further if the other person is friendly, but not giving you much to hang on to?

4 ways to figure out what you're good at (not just what you're passionate about) It’s a universal dream to do what we’re passionate about. The only problem with this aspiration is that sometimes the thing we most care about isn’t what we do best. As Gloria Steinem famously said, “We teach what we need to learn, and write what we need to know.”

What to do when someone asks you to work for free When close friends have career conundrums, I’m quick to ask more questions. Like a good friend should be, I’m eager to help. But other times, I’ll get messages from people who I barely know or haven’t spoken to in years. The most astonishing are the ones from people I’ve just met or, in fact, have never met. They usually start with some polite greeting, move into a “realization” that I’m a career counselor, and then make a direct request that I have a look at their resume or talk (read: counsel) them about their careers-for free.

3 cover letter mistakes that make you look like a total rookie When I was a Fellowship Program Manager, I saw my share of bad cover letters. There was the one where the student told me how much she wanted to work at Greenpeace (I had no connection to Greenpeace). There were the super generic letters, the ones that professed undying love and loyalty, and the ones that went on about how this role fit perfectly into someone’s five-year plan-with no mention of if that person could, you know, do the job.