24/7 - Around the clock (impressive). 24/7/365 - Around the clock every day of the year (even more impressive). Both expressions are used to mean "all the time."

30,000 Foot View - Synonym for overview or big picture. "Howard will give us a 30,000 foot view, then we'll drill down into details."

360° Review - A picture of you, usually made by compiling the results of a questionnaire completed by colleagues, creating an image of you as seen by people around you.
 
500-word Paragraph - Something no one, no matter how interested, will ever read. In business it's important to: 1) write like Ernest Hemingway (in short sentences using common words), 2) say your message in no more than 6-8 bullet points, and 3) confine your thoughts to one page. Adults today don't read, won't read, and can't read. See "KISS Principle."

Accomplishments/Achievements - The written record of your work "triples" and "home runs." Go to
www.careerlab.com/art_homeruns.htm /. Physicians go to www.physiciancareernetwork.com/pcn_homeruns.htm /.
 
Angry Unemployed - A dominating or overly-controlling person who has attacked others at work, made legions of enemies, and burned all his or her bridges for a career lifetime. Once unemployed, they find that no one returns their calls or offers assistance. Hence, their anger.
 
Archaeology - Going back into your past to discover clues to your future success, usually by being interviewed, through paper-and-pencil exercises, and standardized testing and assessment. Archaeology also involves uncovering your work "triples and home runs." See Accomplishments/Achievements.

At the End of the Day - When all is said and done. Not necessarily at the end of today. "Jack's performance is improving, but at the end of the day we may still lay him off."
 
At-will Employment - The notion that employees can be fired for good reason, bad reason, or no reason at all, so long as not for a discriminatory reason. In other words, on any given day, you could be asked to leave the company. See Wrongful Termination.
 
Attrition - Letting the size of the workforce shrink to an ideal size by resignations, moves to other employment, and retirements, rather than by terminations or layoffs.

B2B - In 1996 "business-to-business" meant one business serving another (as opposed to a consumer). In 2000 it became B-to-B. Today, B2B is way-cool and hip.

B2C: The consumer version of B2B.

Becoming an "Instant Expert" - Using the Internet and other research sources to quickly become an "expert" on a career topic, say within a day or two. Especially useful in preparing for networking meetings or interviews.
 
Benchmarking - A benchmark is a point of reference against which other things are compared or measured. Benchmarking is an activity organizations use to discover best practices so they can emulate them and establish a leadership position in their industry.

Best in Class - The highest-ranked in any category, like being an "A" student. "We're not content to be great; we plan to be best in class." See World Class.

Best Practices - Whatever successful market leaders do. "We're going to emulate the best practices of Fortune's "100 Best Companies to Work For." Or, "What 'Best Practices" does the Society for Human Resources Executives advocate for employee surveys?"

Bio Break - Meeting-speak for "bathroom break."

Blackberry - A small hand-held electronic device that lets you send and receive e-mails remotely, even during meetings. Often referred to as "Crackberry" because of its addictive nature. The iPhone is a similar product, and my personal favorite.

Bleeding Edge - Anything beyone the cutting edge: really out there.

Bluetooth -  Hey, if you see someone walking around talking to a tiny gadget on their ear, that's a Bluetooth. Bluetooth eliminates cables and replaces them with low-frequency radio signals. Bluetooth, which is a registered trademark, is named after the Danish king Harald Blåtand (Bluetooth), who unified Denmark and Norway.

Boiling the Ocean - Trying to do the impossible. Spinning your wheels. Spitting into the wind. See "Swimming up Niagara Falls."
 
Business Case - A small business plan to show that a project or activity will be profitable. A set of facts, figures, and concepts that determines whether a project should go forward or be funded. "If you can make a business case for the investment, then we'll consider it."
 
Career - [Fr. Carriere, road, racecourse. It., carriera at full speed.] The chronological sum of your worklife, including jobs and related activities.
 
Career Diagnosis - A written description of your likes and dislikes, needs, and behaviors when your needs are met and when they're not. A narrative of the environmental characteristics and demands you need to function well in your work, with an analysis of how well current and former jobs have met those needs. Usually done using one or more instruments, such as the Birkman Method® questionnaire.

Career Enrichment/ Enhancement - Refocusing or rebalancing your career by adding activities that align with your career direction, and or removing activities that frustrate you or add little value. Taking classes, reading books, accepting new work assignments are all forms of career enrichment. See Career 'Tune Up'.

Career Planning By Accident - One client described it this way: "I was like a ball at the top of a hill. I rolled down, taking the path of least resistance. And now, here I am. That's how I got here." An unreliable method of life planning. See Pinball Career.

Career Plateau - Reaching a point where one can go no farther, either in one organization, or in one's career. Letting one's skills become obsolete is a common cause of plateauing.
 
Career "Tune Up" - Fixing small problems in order to make a given job the best it can be. Not necessarily just "making the best of a bad situation," it often involves making a good situation better. See Career Enrichment/Enhancement.
 
The Center of the Universe - What and where everyone thinks they are--the most important person in the most important place in the cosmos. Accountants and executives think they're at the center of the universe. Physicians do too, some more than others.
 
CFIT (Pronounced "See-fit") - Controlled flight into terrain. An airplane crash caused by pilot error: the aircraft is mechanically sound, the weather is acceptable, the crew is unimpaired and the plane flies into the ground. We can run our careers or our companies into the ground in a similar manner. It happens all the time, because of ignoring or misperceiving important information.
 
C-Level - The highest level executives of a corporation. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) , Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Technology Officer (CTO),  Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), etc. "Would you like to be at the C-Level in five years, or where would you like to be?"

CLE - Career limiting event (or experience). "When Henry shook his fist at the chariman of the board, that was a definite CLE."

COB - 1) Chairman of the Board, 2) Acronym for "close of business," generally pronounced C-O-B, not "cob." "I need that report COB (by close of business today)." Also EOB -- "end of business."

Consultant - Often described with tongue in cheek as "someone who borrows your watch to tell you what time it is." I define a consultant as "someone who wakes up every morning unemployed." There are four types: lone ranger, boutique, small regional firm, and national firm.
 
Core Competencies - Things you're really good at. Usually describable in short words or phrases such as leadership, team-building, strategic planning, project management, innovation, finance, or quality control. There are hundreds of work competencies.
 
Corporate Culture - The "look and feel" of an organization: its norms, values and behavioral and relational style. Who they hire, what they value, how they dress, their organiza-tional structure and operating principles. Often defined as "how we do things around here." Examples of cultures: teamwork, top-down, collegial, sweatshop, confrontational, entrepreneurial, bureaucratic, collaboration, control, competence, entitlement, or paternalistic. You should work in a culture that mirrors your style and values.
 
Corporate Politics or Politics - The gamesmanship that takes place in organizations. On the negative side, it includes such behaviors as sucking up, ass kissing, and backstabbing. On the positive side, it includes being politically correct, and having the emotional intelligence and people skills to get things done.
 
Corporation - A big, sick, dysfunctional family. While we think of brand name organizations like Coca Cola, Hertz, or AT&T as well-oiled machines, the internal reality is often different. Business organizations are intensely human enterprises, and therefore beset by people problems.
 
Crackberry - See Blackberry

Crisis - "An upset in a steady state." (Milt Hanson, gerontologist)
 
CRM (Customer Relationship Management) - Typically, a software system that helps you manage the accounts of your most valuable customers. Examples are Oracle and salesforce.com/. "Once we capture that data in the CRM we know exactly what products to pitch next."

Curriculum Vitae (C.V.) - Means "course of life." A list of lists. A chronological list of your Career activities. Not a resume.

Dashboard - A summary web page that shows key indicators to track the progress of a business issue. "All our human resources costs are tracked right here on this dashboard."

Deck - A PowerPoint slide show. "There were only 12 slides in the deck, but the presentation lasted two hours."

Deep Dive - To explore an issue in-depth. "We did a deep dive on that IRS audit. There's just nothing to fear."

Degreeitis - The process of adding another advanced degree to avoid facing questions such as, "What do I really want to do?" "Where do I fit in the world?" and "Who would hire me?" Often the diagnosis of the perpetual student.
 
Demotion - Being asked to take a smaller or less prestigious job in your organization, usually with reduced compensation. Demotion often involves humiliating ego busters, such as training your own replacement.
 
Difficult Questions - Interview questions designed to get the truth about who/what you really are. See Open-Ended Question.
 
Dotted Line - Reporting to more than one manager. "I report to the CEO, but I have a dotted line to the CFO in Milan."

Downsizing/Rightsizing - Actively reducing headcount by laying off people. Making the organization "the right size." When people leave an organization voluntarily, it's called "attrition."
 
Drill Down - To dig deeper into something, as, "After the 30,000 foot view, we'll drill down into the details." A meeting where such activities occur: "We need to schedule a drill-down to get to the root of the issue."

Drink the Cool Aid - To agree fully and enthusiastically with the company position on any topic. "In her sales presetations you can tell Terry's not drinking the Cool Aid. She may be demoted or reassigned."

Driving, Driver(s) - A corporate buzzword implying forward momentum. Examples: 1) Who's driving the budget? 2) How can we drive operating costs down? 3) What are the drivers in the decision? 4) I need you to drive this forward, and 5) What's driving the loss of revenue? Executives who are action-oriented or pushy are often referred to as "drivers."
 
Eagles Don't Flock - It's hard to get high-level professionals, executives, or decision makers ("Eagles") in the same room, ever, except for short periods of time for a clearly-defined and beneficial purpose. (Scheduling on a golf course helps.) "Eagles Don't Flock" explains why it's hard to fill a seminar room, hold a board meeting, or make a sales pitch.
 
Eating the Elephant - Don't try to eat an elephant in one bite. Go slowly, one bite at a time.
 
E = R (Effort = Results) - In a career transition or job campaign, those who work hard do well, and those who don't work hard don't do well. Better effort equals better results. It's a direct correlation.
 
Emotional Intelligence (EQ) - In 1990, John Mayer and Peter Salovey coined the term. Emotional intelligence meant getting to know yourself well before striving to understand and manage others. EQ is made up of five competencies or skills: 1) Self-knowledge (knowing your own emotions), 2) Self-management (managing your own emotions), 3) Motivation, 4) Empathy (recognizing emotions in others), and 5) Handling relation-ships. In 1995, Daniel Goleman introduced the concept in his bestselling book, Emotional Intelligence.
 
Employment at Will - An employment arrangement in which an employer may terminate an employee at will, for good reason, for bad reason, or for no reason at all. Some states such as Colorado are "at will" states; other states, such as California, are not. See Wrongful Termination.
 
Employment Contract - A binding legal agreement spelling out the terms and conditions of your employment. A signed letter of agreement (LOA) may be just as binding legally. Don't sign an employment contract or LOA without the advice of an employment lawyer.
 
Employment Lawyer - A specialist in the issues of hiring and firing. Don't consult your general lawyer on employment issues; he's not a specialist. Two types: for employers (corporate), and for employees (plaintiffs). 

EOB/COB - Shorthand for End of Business/Close of Business. "I need your report no later than EOB." In case you're wondering, that means today.

Executive Coaches - An emerging field of professionals who advise individuals about ways to advance their careers. Coaching can be developmental (even the best can be better), or remedial to improve poor performance. Coaches may be retained by the company or by the individual on his or her own behalf.
 
Executive Recruiter - An independent agent paid to search for (hence, "executive search") and find new talent for an organization, usually at middle and upper levels. Despite what they say and how they behave, they are not necessarily your friends. They work for and are paid by hiring companies; they don't work for, nor are they paid by individuals. They coach candidates as they present them to companies--but then it's in their best interest to do so. If you need a career counselor, it's best to hire one. There are two types of recruiters, retained and contingency. Retained recruiters are paid in advance to fill a position. Much like Realtors, contingency recruiters are paid after a placement is made, and only if they actually provided the candidate. Executive Recruiters are also called Headhunters and Executive Search Consultants.
 
Ex-military Mentality - The attitude that "The world is just waiting for me." When high-level military officers retire, they're often a bit arrogant. It's not uncommon for them to believe that business people are just waiting for them to show up and save the company. Nothing could be further from the truth. Businesses are skeptical. They don't have armored tank divisions or missile silos, and they seldom have 250,000 employees. Ex-military with an entitlement attitude usually stay unemployed a long time.
 
Executive Search Consultant - See Recruiter.
 
Exit Strategy - A company or individual's plan for leaving the business. "My exit strategy is to develop some contacts and start my own consulting firm." "Our exit stategy is to seek acquisitions, grow to $250M, and go public."

F-Word - The F-word in career planning is focus. Lacking focus is the biggest source of lack of success in the job market. See Riding Your Horse in All Directions.

Face Time - One-on-one time with important people, either customers or higher-ups. "Your productivity here isn't as important as face-time. The boss favors those he sees often."
 
Fee-Only Financial Planning - Unbiased advice about how to build your net worth. If a planner wants to sell you something besides expertise and time, it's not FOFP.
 
Fit, Good Fit, Right Fit - When a company finds someone who fills the duties and responsibilities of a job perfectly, it's referred to as a "good fit." The person's skills and the job requirements match each other. A skilled blacksmith making horseshoes, for example. As jobs become more complex and demanding, "good fit" becomes harder to achieve, because the core competencies of the job are rarer, and the individual's demands and expectations may be higher. That's why it often takes up to a year to fill high-level corporate jobs.

Both companies and individuals insist on the right fit. Executives may reject a job applicant with the phrase, "The fit isn't there," or "I don't see a fit." Fit is one of 3 criteria companies use in hiring: Can do? Will do? How fit? Can they do the job (do they have sufficient technical and interpersonal competencies), will they do the job (are they motivated), and how do they fit into our organization?
 
Flat Organization - A company with few levels of management. Most small entrepreneurial firms have flat organizations, because everyone reports to the owner or principal.
 
Free Agents - Workers who jump from project to project, company to company. Free agents' loyalties are to their skill sets and their intellectual capital, not to an employer, just like professional athletes.
 
Friendship Checklist - A list of the categories of names you should include in an announcement of a career transition: classmates, professional advisors, family members, etc. The list is included in this article: http://cover-letters.com/Cover-Letters/About-Cover-Letters/How-To-Write-A-Great-Letter/The-Most-Important-Letter-You-Will-Ever-Write.aspx

FSE (Firing Your Sherpa on Everest) - Sherpas are Himalayan mountain natives and expert climbers who guide mountaineers on such hills as K2 and Everest. Getting rid of an expert consultant in the midst of a crisis. Usually an unthinking act of panic. Don't do it. 
 
Generation X, Gen-Xers, Baby Busters - The 44 million people born in the US between 1964 and 1982 Generation Y, Millenials - The 27 million people born in the US between 1982 and 2001.
 
Geographic Cure - Mistaken attempt to solve career problems and find happiness simply by moving to a new location, or by relocating to an earlier hometown. "The grass is always greener . . . .but just as difficult to mow."

Going Forward - Often used to put bad news in the past and good news in the future. "Downsizing was necessary. Going forward, we're ready to take advantage of changing market conditions." "OK, so you're downsizing. What's your going-forward strategy." In the business mind, everything important happens in the future.

Greyhound Therapy - Putting a troublemaker, often a family member, on a bus with a one-way ticket to get them out of your hair. Companies banish out-of-favor employees by giving them promotions or relocations to obscure divisions. 
 
Headhunter - Another word for Executive Recruiter or Executive Search Consultant.

Heavy Lifting - The hard work. "These MBAs are great, but we're just looking for someone with the experience to do some heavy lifting." 
 
HH/LL - "The highest highs and the lowest lows." The process of job-hunting as described by one in the process.

HiPo's - The employees thought to have High Potential (HiPo) and possessing the competencies to become future corporate leaders. One organization referred to their HiPo's as "rocket asses."
 
Hiring by Gut Feel - Hiring based on personality and chemistry, rather than on the experience and core competencies a position requires. Example: A clinical practice might hire a physician because the spouses like each other, the candidate hasn't been sued, and the children are the same ages.
 
Human Capital/Intellectual Capital - An organization's employees, and the prized knowledge in their minds. "If we lay off 300 salespeople, we're losing a lot of intellectual capital."

Human Resources - Formerly called Personnel. The department responsible for the human capital of the organization (the people) through recruiting, hiring, employee compensation and benefits, training and development, performance management, rewards and recognition, leadership development, legal compliance, retention, and succession planning.
 
"I need a better therapist!" - The feeling we get and sometimes act on, when an advisor tells us things we don't want to hear.

Independence - Often a good thing and commonly found in successful physicians and other entrepreneurs. May be a detrimental attribute in corporate life: For example, "She's too independent; she's not a team player."
 
Individual Contributor - Someone who does work themselves. Not a manager of others. "Which would you rather be, an individual contributor or a manager?" 

Intellectual Capital - The business-related knowledge held by a company's employees collectively. It is a business asset.

Job Market - Supposedly, a market with a defined number of jobs, the job market is an abstraction useful to economists, politicians, and newscasters. Actually, according to Tony Lee, editor of The Wall Street Journal online, there are 143,000,000 job markets--one for each worker in the economy. Job seekers and career changers should concentrate less on "the job market," and more on specific opportunities and demands for their particular skills. In other words, don't let job market statistics discourage you.

Just-in-time (JIT) - Keeping a company’s inventory to a minimum. Suppliers deliver parts and raw materials to manufacturers at the precise moment they’re needed. Then manufacturers produce and deliver products to customers just-in-time. Dell Computers is a textbook example of JIT. 
 
Just-in-time Employment - Taken from "Just in time manufacturing," where raw materials are brought onto the shop floor at the last minute ("just in time") to reduce parts inventory and keep costs down. Just-in-time employment means hiring only the skills you need right now, at the moment, and laying off people with unnecessary or obsolete skills. It involves staffing via consultants, contractors, temporary employees, and interim executives. One outcome of this is that there is no job security other than what you create for yourself. You are only as valuable and as marketable as your skillset.
 
KISS Principle - "Keep it simple, stupid." Originated as a sales precept, but serves well in most business applications. Less is more.
 
Knowledge Management - An organization's ability to store and share its history and intellectual property (ideas). It's done by typing company information into a database and developing a system to track it. The idea is that everyone in the organization should be able to access the collective knowledge and wisdom of the past. 

The L-Word - Any time you mention "lawyer" in business, all bets are off. Friendly negotiation ceases, and it's time to reach for your checkbook.
 
Leadership - The ability to imagine a new direction and then lead people there. One of the most rare and valued assets in the business world. I've read hundreds of books, but this is the best book I've found on leadership. Nearly every page is highlighted. If you were asked a question about leadership during an interview, it would be perfectly appropriate to say, "My beliefs are similar to John Wooden's . . . "

Leveraging - A badly-overused buzzword which means "making the most of." Therefore, we are leveraging our assets, leveraging our resources, leveraging our experience, leveraging our sleep time, leveraging our wake time, and leveraging everything else under the sun—ad nauseum.

Lick-and-Stick Job Campaign - Derogatory phrase for a job search confined mostly to answering want ads. Today, we would call it a "Point-and-Click Job Campaign," mostly answering online job postings. Such campaigns usually fail because they are too arms-length and don't involve enough direct people contact.
 
Life Mission - A sense of being called to something bigger than yourself, to accomplish certain tasks or a definite purpose during one's lifetime. For example, finding a cure for Alzheimer's disease. See "How to find your mission in life" in What Color Is Your Parachute? by Richard N. Bolles. Published by Ten Speed Press.

Logical Next Step - The career move that your friends and family agree is the perfect fit for you. Not always a bigger title and higher salary, the logical next step could be a step down in pay, a change of geography and industries, and a new lease on life.

Low Hanging Fruit -  In an apple orchard, it’s the apples on the low branches. In business it's the objectives that are easy to achieve: the simple stuff.

Market Ready - Having crystal clarity on your direction, goals and objectives, job targets. And having made a list of your contacts, completed your resume (or C.V.), letters to friends and professional acquaintances, and recruiters, you're ready to launch a job search campaign or take interviews.
 
Market Value - What companies typically pay someone with your skills and experience, established by national compensation studies. See www.salary.com.
 
Matrixed Environment - An organizational structure where workers answer to a functional department head, but most of their work is assigned and managed by a project manager from a different area. This means reporting to two or more bosses. If you like this idea, think two spouses or two partners.

MBA - "Masters in Business Administration," which is a sought-after degree. However, in researching this list, I found MBA can also mean, "Mediocre But Arrogant."

MBTI ® (Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator®) - A well-known temperament quiz that results in one of 16 "Psychological Types"-ENTP, ESTJ, INFP etc. Commonly used in business for teambuilding and conflict resolution.
 
MBWA - Management by walking around. Going around to see what's happening on the hospital floor, for example, as opposed to staying in one's office and depending on reports from others. Popularized by Tom Peters in "In Search of Excellence."

Mission-Critical - Uh, essential.

Networking - Meeting new people. Explaining what you do, hearing what they do, and then trying to find overlap--ways you can help them and they can help you. Networking is the primary way to develop consulting or job leads. A cliché in job-hunting circles is, "Network or Not Work." Networking trades on the notion that we are all connected. Computers are networked. The Internet is a network, a net. MCI and Sprint speak about their networks. ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, and MSNBC are networks. Your list of friends, professional acquaintances, and contacts is your network. Having it means you aren't an isolated individual in the world. You are a network--a community.
 
NFL Networking - Imposing on friends-of-friends to give you advice, job leads, or the names of their friends to contact. You may approach people this way once, but seldom twice. (You'll never get a second meeting.)
 
Offline - Not now, not during this meeting. At a later time, in private. "Give me a call and we'll talk offline."

On-Boarding - The process of getting started and settled in a new job. Getting started on the right foot can make or break you. Taking time to learn the organizational culture, learning the power (political) structure. Getting some early wins, sometimes with coaching and counseling, is essential. And this is the best book in the market about "critical success strategies for new leaders at all levels:

On the Bus / Off the Bus - These terms are adapted from Jim Collins' bestseller Good to Great. Speaking of corporate staffing, he said we should "get the right people on the bus." If you're on the bus, you're on board, you have your head in the game, and are performing at a high level. (See Drinking the Cool Aid.) If you're not on the bus, you'd best update your resume. "Based on her erratic performance, it's hard to tell if Kathy is on the bus."

Open-Ended Question - Questions interviewers ask to see if you'll hang yourself. Example: "Is there anything further you would like to tell me about yourself?" This opens the door for you to blow yourself out of the water by saying something like, "I collect handguns. Is it OK if I bring one to work?"
 
Operationalize - Put into action. "The plans are great, but they mean nothing unless we operationalize them."

Outplacement - Company-paid career counseling aimed at helping a departing employee find a new position, usually provided after a layoff or termination.
 
Outsourcing - Moving functions previously performed by employees in a company to another company or another country.

Overused Strength - Any strength, carried to an extreme, becomes a liability. Example: Being direct and to the point can be beneficial, but when overused directness becomes bluntness or pushiness, both negative. Working hard is a plus; working too hard is workaholism, a negative. Independence is good; being too independent means you're not a team player.

Performance Management - Measuring and improving an employee's individual contribution, through performance appraisals (see below), 360 reviews, coaching, and similar tools.
 
Performance Review / Performance Appraisal - Written and verbal system to evaluate your contributions to the organization and your development or training needs.
 
Personal Board of Directors - A selected subset of people from your network, whose expertise, insight and candor you can call on for career advice and support. The key is to identify them, to involve them, and to communicate with them on a regular basis, either individually or in a group.
 
Personal Coordinates -- Contact information such as name, address, phone number, and e-mail. "Please leave your personal coordinates at the tone." Also: "Could you get me Sally's coordinates?"

PFML - "Will you Pay For My Luggage?" After accepting a job overseas, a physician sent his travel expenses to his new employer, including the cost of a new set of luggage. The reimbursement was denied, and perhaps sent the wrong signal to the employer. PFML can mean making any unreasonable demand of a new employer.
 
Pinball Career - Bouncing around from job to job, from assignment to assignment so that you never gain momentum excellence, or mastery in your career. See "Career Planning By Accident.")
 
Planted in the Right Pot - The job you're in is exactly right for you. (See Fit.)
 
Positioning - Defining yourself differently to set yourself apart from your competitors in the job market. For a while, Avis positioned themselves as "Number Two. We try harder." A physician executive could position herself this way: "I'm a businessperson who happens to have an M.D.--I'm not an M.D. trying to fit into business." See Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind by Ries and Trout. A classic, this may be the best business book you ever buy.

Pretzel Yourself - You bend and fold yourself into a job that isn't a good fit. This has bad consequences to your health, attitude, behavior, and community. There isn't enough income from some jobs to repair the consequences of trying to do them. See Too much success can kill you at http://www.careerlab.com/art_toomuch.htm/.
 
Product Differentiation - A word portrait of how you are different (and better) than others competing for the same job. One might say, for example, "I have better finance and accounting skills than most physicians, and I'm a real whiz on Excel spreadsheets." See Positioning.
 
Pushback - Criticism or counter-arguments. "The business plan is tight, and I'm not expecting pushback from the lender." Also used as a verb: "If you don't like your performance review, you're going to have to push back."
 
Quid Pro Quo - An equal exchange or substitution, as in I think it should be quid pro quo: I brought you a patient, you should do the same for me. This Latin expression, meaning "something for something," has been used in English since the late 1500s. Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. (See What Goes Around Comes Around.)
 
The R-Word - Retirement. Avoid using the R-word, even if you are leaving your practice or business. In our youth-oriented society, retiring means "old" and perhaps "over the hill," or "unemployable." Different words say the same thing but leave doors open to you. For example, "I'm winding down my practice, selling to my partners, and making an exciting new beginning."
 
Ready. Fire. AIM. - A business buzzword that means "get it done now." In a career transition it can mean papering the world with an avalanche of poorly-prepared resumes or C.V.'s because you fear unemployment. Mass mailings of this type usually produce little or no response in the marketplace. See Market Readiness.
 
Recruiter - See Executive Recruiter.
 
Rejection - What you experience when you mail unsolicited letter and resumes to people and make cold calls to strangers. Also, what you experience when you lack clear focus or clear purpose.
 
Religious Networking Conversion - The point during a job search or career change when you realize the immense value of personal relationships and say, "I've learned my lesson. I'm ALWAYS going to talk to job hunters when they call. I'm NEVER going to neglect my network again . . . EVER." This resolve generally lasts two weeks into the new job, then vanishes.
 
Resume - A precisely-worded 2- or 3-page document detailing your core competencies, chronological employment history, major accomplishments, community service, and education--usually in that order. The power of the resume is in the work accomplishments. Better achievements = better resume. Resumes should be FAT: Factual, Accomplishment-oriented, and Tightly-written. A C.V. is not a resume. C.V.s are "lists of lists." Resumes focus on achievements and are usually constructed to meet defined needs.
 
Riding Your Horse in All Directions - Not having clear focus. Trying to be all things to all people. Attempting to keep all your options open so you don't lose out on anything. Usually produces indifference or rejection in the job market, because no one can understand your goals and the value you bring.
 
RIF - Reduction in force. That's right, layoff. Also used as a verb: "I was riffed unexpectedly and need to find another job.

Rightsizing as in "We're rightsizing the organization" - The term used when companies don't want to say they're firing people or laying them off.  Rightsizing sounds much better, no? OK, it doesn't. Especially if you're the person being "rightsized."

RIP - Retired In Place. A person who shows up every day and collects a paycheck even though they're no longer working or adding value. Poor performers, they are targeted for termination any time an organization goes through a layoff or downsizing.
 
Selling by Not Selling - Selling by listening, caring about others, and building friendships and relationships. Once you establish a trusting relationship, people will often buy from you simply because of who you are. The sale is a byproduct of the friendship. We know for a fact that people buy from their friends.
 
Serial Enterpreneur - Someone who has started severl different businesses. Usually applied to oneself in a boastful way: "I'm a serial entrepreneur looking for a new gig." May be code for a job hopper or someone who never really succeeds in one venture.

Severance - Money an employer pays when "severing" an employee to tide them over while they look for a new position elsewhere. Unless spelled out in a pre-employment agreement, severance is often not required, and is given at the discretion of the employer. Two weeks per year of service is a common severance formula; thus, 20 weeks of pay for 10 years of service. Top executives usually get longer severance, partly because higher-level jobs are rare and harder to find.

Slate of Candidates - The 6-10 finalists a recruiter presents to the hiring managers in a company or medical practice.
 
SME  "Subject Matter Expert" (pronounced "SMEE.") - A guru on any technical topic. "Before buying Oracle software, we better talk with the SME in accounting to get his buy-in."

Soft Copy - An electronic or non-paper copy of a document. The printed version is called "hard copy."

Soft Skills - Non-technical skills, such as the ability to communicate, problem-solve, empathize, and be courteous. "Emotional intelligence" is the best book to understand and develop soft skills.

SOHO - Small Office, Home Office.

Space - A business or industry. Over-used mostly by young adults in computer, technology, and Internet fields. "Anyone in this space should know that second-round funding is an issue." 

Spitting Into the Wind - Playing against impossible opposing forces. See Swimming up Niagara Falls.
 
Strategic - Driven by a well thought out plan or strategy, rather than by a knee-jerk reaction. Taking a long-term view. "You can get complex projects done, but are you strategic?"
 
Strengths/Weaknesses - See Overused Strength.
 
Sweet Spot - In sports, it’s the part of the bat, golf club, or tennis racquet that is most effective when hitting the ball. Result: A perfect shot. "Tiger hit the sweet spot and drove the ball 350 yards." In business, the meaning is similar. For example: "My sweet spot is investment strategies for anyone with a new worth of $100 million."

Swimming Upstream - If you swim upstream, you may go five feet in five hours. If you swim downstream with the current, you'll go five miles in five minutes. The career analogy is that going with your talents and skills is easier and more productive.
 
Swimming Up Niagara Falls - The worst case of swimming upstream--taking on an impossible challenge that can never be successfully completed. See Spitting into the Wind.
 
Takeaways - The main points to remember from a conversation, document, speech, or meeting. "I couldn't attend. What were your takeaways from the Las Vegas conference?"

Telephone Script - A pre-planned agenda for a phone call; a well-structured argument making your case. The purpose of a script is to control the discussion, remember key points, and achieve a desired outcome. Useful in networking calls and telephone interviews.
 
Testing and Assessment - A standardized tool to measure recognized career factors. For example, MBTI®, Campbell Interest & Skills Survey®, Birkman Method®. Testing Validity and Reliability - All assessment tools must be evaluated for validity and reliability, both indicators of the confidence that may be held in the results. They are customarily analyzed for any psychological instrument before release.

Validity is a numerical description of the ability of a test to measure what it is designed to measure. Reliability is a numerical measure of the repeatability of the test's results: for example, the MBTI® has been proven to show the same psychological type when readministered over time. As a careful consumer-client, you must ask about the validity and reliability measures of any psychological instrument a consultant recommends.
 
Theory X, Y, Z - Management theories. Theory X: people don't like to work and must be forced to do it. Theory Y: people want to be free to accomplish something and don't want to be strictly controlled. Theory Z: people will work better if the have an opportunity to participate in decision making in their organizations.

Thrown Under the Bus - To be abused, sacrificed, or stepped-on. "I was set for a promotion until Max threw me under the bus in the board meeting."

TTP - Time to Placement: The length of time from when you are laid off (or resign, or lose your job) to placement in a new, comparable position. Depending on the duration, it may seem as devastating as thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura.

Time Is Our Friend - Spoken when advance planning or starting early on a project. For example, creating a "Plan B" for your career, updating C.V.s and resumes, expanding your contact network before you are in the jaws of a crisis.
 
Transparent, Transparency - Open, visible, accessible, publicly accountable. Without privacy or secrets. "Our actions need to be totally transparent to our shareholders.

URL (Uniform Resource Locator) - The address you type into a browser to find a website. Looks something like this: http://www.cover-letters.com. And it’s pronounced U-R-L.

USB (Universal Serial Bus) - The way you connect flash drives and other peripherals like cameras, phones, and printers to your PC. "Does your computer have a USB or will you need to use a serial cable."

Value Proposition - The marketing argument that describes why a company should hire you. Low price, high profitability, repeat patents, documented accomplishments, historical successes, timesavings, and unique skillsets can all be part of a value proposition.

VC's, Venture Capitalists - Entrepreneurs who fund risky early-stage technology companies with a view to growing the companies rapidly, selling out, and getting a high return on their initial investments. Sometimes called "Vulture Capitalists" for their bottom-line, dollars-only orientation.

Visioning - Instead of "brainstorming," it's now visioning. Same circus, different clowns. "We need to have a visioning session to re-launch the product."

Wandering Generality - A job candidate with vague or conflicting goals and objectives. See riding your horse in all directions.
 
Want To - The deep desire to pursue a career direction. A person can be highly qualified or heavily experienced in an area, yet not want to pursue it. Others can accomplish the near impossible if they really want to. Example: a student who is turned down by eight medical schools, so goes to Guadalajara, learns Spanish, takes an equivalency test, then completes his clinical rotations at a medical school in the U.S.
 
Watchers Watching the Watchers - Having to gain the approval of many others or several layers of bureaucracy before making or implementing decisions.

Webinar - A meeting or seminar conducted on the Internet. Materials are online and the speakers use a chat room to talk with attendees. Some webinars employ Web cameras and video. "Once you come on board, we need to get you on a webinar to get you up to speed."

Wet Signature - An original signature. The old-fashioned kind, written in ink on a real piece of paper. 

What Goes Around, Comes Around - A business cliché saying that if you treat people well, that goodness will come back to you. Conversely, if you treat others poorly, it will eventually catch up to you, and you may be shunned, abandoned, or humiliated in a time of need. See quid pro quo.
 
Whiteboard - Brainstorming by listing ideas on a large write-on/wipe-off board. "Let's whiteboard your expectations and our expectations to see if we have a match."

Widow-Maker Position - A job that defeats two competent people in a row. It will almost certainly defeat a third one, no matter how competent. The solution is to abolish the "widow-maker" position and restructure the job. (Peter Drucker) 

World Class - Among the best in the world in any endeavor or category. "Lance Armstrong is a world class athlete." "Boeing in Seattle is a world class manufacturing facility." See Best in Class.

Wrongful Termination - Refers to a claim made by someone who is discharged from his or her employment for some reason other than a statutory violation, such as Title VII (race, color, creed), ADEA (age), or ADA (disability). Twenty years ago, employees were viewed as being "at-will," i.e., they could be fired for good reason, bad reason, or no reason at all, so long as not for a discriminatory reason. Now, many states have passed laws that you can only discharge employees for "cause" (illegal acts).

In other states there have been judicial inroads to provide employees protection against "public policy wrongful discharge." For example, you can't fire an employee for seeking workers compensation benefits. Employment attorneys still counsel employers to put in their handbook or policy manual that employees are "at-will" and can be terminated at any time for any reason. (Source: Bernie Siebert, Sherman & Howard, Denver, CO.)