Career Tips

Columbia's Human Capital Management lecturers share advice and insights for virtually any phase of your career.

Monica Dahiya

Associate

In India, when you buy vegetables from a farmer's market, the seller gives you a handful of green chilies or cilantro as "runga" - something that comes free with the vegetable that helps take your food preparation up a notch. When you are working on an initiative, think about what is it that you are offering as 'runga' - something extra that will help delight your stakeholder even if it is as small as following up with them to see if what you provided met their needs."

Jerry Cutler

Lecturer

Trust is a critical component of any successful relationship. This is no less true in the workplace, where trusting relationships between leaders and their teams enhance productivity and foster high performing work environments. Leaders in particular should recognize that trust is reciprocal -- in order to earn trust, they must be trusting of others. HR staff can demonstrate their strategic value by promoting these concepts within their organizations."

Angela Blum-Finlay

Lecturer; Chief Human Capital Strategist, Windward

Get comfortable being uncomfortable. The greatest successes in my career have been in times when I took on a challenge that no one else wanted or raised my hand for something that I wasn't fully qualified for but knew that I had the underlying skills to do. Learn to jump into those challenges and it will give you access to a career step that you would never have if you stayed in your comfort zone."