KAREN RUSKIN: “Ask them questions: what they’re doing in the office? What these projects are that they’re working on. And be able to share your interest in being a part of that --- your interest in being their teammate. Take on extra responsibilities of what they’re working on, if they’re willing to allow that.”

She also says people have to dress for the job they want. If a supervisor wears a suit and tie every day, so should anyone who wants to be a supervisor.

And, Dr. Ruskin says employers notice people who create ideas.

KAREN RUSKIN: “Show your worth and why you’re needed, and why you’re a necessity, in this company by coming up with new concepts and then showing them.”

She says presentations are important. Gather people for a meeting on new ideas. Dr. Ruskin says supervisors often see employees in a new and leading role when they are presenting material in front of a group.

However, Karen Ruskin also has a warning for the Iranian man. She says fifteen years is a long time.

KAREN RUSKIN: “There is the possibility that you might need to consider that you’ve been there for so long that you are not able to be seen through the eyes of higher level. That you are seen in one way and unless you are in a different company that may be the only opportunity for you to be seen in a different light.”

Lastly, we spoke about a forty-five year old man from Japan. He asked how to deal with friends who ask for loans. The man wrote that he had suffered ruined relationships as a result of lending money. But he says it is hard to say no when a friend requests financial help.