Last Sunday, Elon Musk – one of the world’s most innovative and successful entrepreneurs – celebrated his 44th birthday. The man’s fortune is legendary, as is his business acumen; it’s fair to say that he’s got it made. Why, then, did he tweet that this was „not the best birthday”? Apparently, not every business of his is booming the way he wants it to…
Much has been made of the improving situation of women globally, especially in the workplace, but the sad truth is, we’re still far from equality in business. Luckily, women manage to break through the glass ceiling, though at the cost of blood, sweat and tears the likes of which their male counterparts rarely (if ever) have to endure. Those that survive the brutal hours and climb steadily through the ranks get to the top where they face stiff competition. Still, this is a win for ladies at the top of the pile. So who are the luckiest of these lucky gals, exactly? Let’s find out…
As anyone who has been looking for work in the last decade can attest, the job interview is the most important part of recruitment process. CVs, cover letters, great portfolio and test scores are no longer as significant as they used to be. The form of the interview has also changed. Instead of the usual „where do you see yourself in 5 years?”, an interviewer may pose some really odd questions, like „why is the Earth round?” and gauge your response in terms of creativity, analytical thinking and cultural fit. But is it an actual question, or simply a new type of competence test, better fitting the era of Tweets and five-second Vine sales pitches? Read on if you want to prepare yourself for the inevitable „weird” question your next recruiter will throw your way.
Recently, two Japanese businessmen made the headlines after they tried to smuggle no less than 144 live animals from Thailand to Japan, claiming they wanted them for raising at home and as gifts to their friends. There were a total of over a hundred turtles, many snakes, geckos and other wildlife, all either endangered species or simply rare animals. Thailand is one of the global hubs for illicit transport of wildlife, but this Noah’s-arc-sized haul highlights the fact that this industry is booming, even while the animals that are being smuggled or killed for parts are on the verge of extinction.
Recently, Brian Williams, NBC News’ anchor, has been forced to admit to a lie he’d been telling since 2003. The tall story was that during the Iraqi War he had a harrowing near-death experience aboard a military helicopter that was supposedly hit by an RPG. Unfortunately, he wasn’t quite the brave journalist ducking missiles he made himself out to be, but merely a spectator sat safely in a helicopter flying behind the one that had been attacked. Publicly shamed, Williams has been suspended without pay and his journalistic integrity has been called into question. And hot on the heels of that story, another broke out about yet another famous TV personality, FOX’s Bill O’Reilly. It’s quite similar in some aspects, though it had an unanticipated side effect of actually helping O’Reilly get more screen time. Notwithstanding, the two stories echo that of many of the bigwigs in the media and the corporate world, as it seems that it’s nigh on impossible to simply climb the career ladder without some embellishment of one’s past. So is lying about one’s achievements such a bad thing? Or are there, perhaps, some innocuous white lies and much less acceptable, boldfaced untruths? Read on to find out all about the dos and don’ts of résumé padding…
