Kendra’s job search was frustratingly slow until she received an offer that seemed impossible to refuse.  The company wanted to interview her the following week, was extremely encouraging based on her resume alone and assured her this was an incredible opportunity.  The catch:  the interview had to be in-person and in Boston (she was in MN) and she would have to appear at her own expense.  She came to me because she was having trouble finding information about the company.

Another candidate, Cyndi, approached me recently with similar concerns about a company in Michigan.  She said the company wanted to run a credit check on her prior to the job interview, that she was required to use their credit bureau to run the check and that if she refused, they would move on to another candidate.  Like Kendra, the position was for an administrative assistant and the company was hard to discover online.

“As an engineer, people always told me who I had to work with,” says high school teacher and successful engineer, Jon Hickman.  He was explaining that choosing your work partners can be a blessing… and a curse.  “Sometimes you find out your best friend isn’t your best partner on the job.”

Recently, I visited the recruiting offices of CH Robinson in Eden Prairie, MN.  This company is one of the world’s largest third party logistics providers, meaning they partner with companies to get products where they need to end up.  At its core, this is trucking.  Not exactly a sexy industry.  And yet, the people I met had been with the company through acquisitions, recessions and the rest for eight, 10, 14 years and more.  Collectively, that’s a lot of corporate brain power staying in one place for a long time.

The minute his fist went through the wall, Jeff was sorry. He knew it would cost him his job, but he just couldn’t stop himself. Or could he? Everyone gets irritated at work sometimes, but people who shout, slam doors, punch walls or threaten co-workers are out of control. Nobody wants to work with a madman (or madwoman, either).

If Jeff went online or picked up a couple of books to learn how to manage his temper, he would learn he is supposed to take a deep breath, count to ten, or just walk away. Yeah, right. The last time Jeff lost it at work, it felt to him like a balloon that suddenly popped. He didn’t plan ahead to punch a hole in the wall; it just happened. No way was he going to start deep breathing or counting to ten. Rage is more complicated than that. Trouble is if Jeff wants to keep picking up a paycheck, he has to figure out how to keep the balloon from bursting; he has to keep his anger under control.

After releasing their Career Motivation Test and collecting data from over 6,000 test-takers from every walk of life, Psychtests AIM Inc. uncovered just how unique people are when it comes to naming what motivates them at work.  Their analysis determined that the top three work motivators were Achievement, Learning, and Inspiration.  So employers, you no longer need to pay decent wages to your employees, right?  Wrong.  Money still talks, even when other incentives are in place.

Psychtests defines the Achievement motivator as, “a sense of satisfaction at reaching goals or rising up to meet challenges at work.”  My friend in accounting has an opportunity to travel to India for the month of October.  “We want you to run the project,” he was told.  I thought that sounded like an honor.  He scoffed and said, “They’re not giving me any extra money.”  He will travel around the world, away from family, friends and familiar food, succeed on the project and in exchange?  He will be satisfied when he completes the project, but without a financial piece, he feels slighted.