As the fall season is creeping in, we thought it would be an appropriate time to take a moment to look back over the past few months. For those of you who might have missed them, here are the 10 most popular Strange But True! stories from this summer.
You Are What You Wear—Not surprisingly, 80 percent of executives interviewed in a recent survey said clothing choices affect an employee’s chances of earning a promotion. The strange part of the survey was when respondents were asked to share examples of employee attire.
10 Most Outrageous Things Applicants Have Done that Did and Didn’t Work—Candidates want to stand out from the crowd and be memorable. However, sometimes their outside-the-box methods work, and sometimes they just bomb.
10 Workplace Habits that Bother the Brits—Our British friends are known for keeping a stiff upper lip in the face of grave adversity. However, there are some little (and often nasty) things that their coworkers do that really bother them.
Don’t ‘Bare Arms’ in My Workplace, Warns Judge—You’ve heard of the “fashion police,” but now a judge is critiquing what attorneys wear in his courtroom. And the dress code he prefers may not be considered fashion-forward.
Summer Intern Gets Fired over Fake Pilot Names—This summer, we wrote a few stories revolving around news stations. In this tale, a government intern got axed, and a station had to issue apologies, after reports of fake—and offensive—names of pilots were aired after a plane crash.
Guess Who Made ‘America’s 15 Most Surprising Six-Figure Jobs’ List?—Forbes recently posted what it considers America’s 15 most surprising six-figure job positions. Guess who made the list?
Don’t Tell Michelle! Why Workers Really Stand Up at Work—Most Americans have to sit all day at work, and they despise it. A recent survey found that employees hate sitting, yet 86 percent do it all day, every day. But what motivates them to stand up? Don’t tell Michelle!
Show Me Your Shoes, Say Recruiters—Applicants may be thinking “show me the money,” but recruiters are thinking “show me your shoes”! The Great American Shoe Survey just reported that a large percentage of hiring managers check out applicants’ footwear as a reflection of their appropriateness for a job.
Blog Confessions Get Reporter Fired—Here’s a story that’s beginning to sound familiar, an employee, a news reporter in this case, was fired for a personal post on her blog. Read about what happened.
Airline Faces Weighty Problems with New Hiring Policies— GoAir had decided that to save on fuel, it will hire only flight attendants who are female and, therefore, weigh an average of 40 pounds less than males. Reports say that the airline is refusing applications from males, even though they could weigh the same as a woman.
I’ve heard that about shoes making a big difference with interviewers, and I understand why, but I also wonder if it isn’t a big discriminatory. Is it fair to rule out applicants who might not be able to afford pricey shoes?