When Lisa Cohen moved to New York City in 1984 to work for Vanity Fair magazine, it seemed like a dream job. But the reality didn’t stack up to her expectations. Though the work was sometimes interesting, Cohen found the detailed fact-checks that she was assigned tedious. Still, she stayed in the magazine industry for five years before pursuing a business degree. That’s Cohen’s personal experience with ‘glossy work’. Positions like that Vanity Fair role may appear glamorous, but often have serious downsides, like low pay and dull work.

When most people apply for jobs, they expect the job description to match the job that will be filled. But between the interview and the actual hiring, job duties sometimes evolve. At a time when many people are making career changes and employers are facing uncertainties and struggling to find employees, understanding why jobs change is crucial.

A job description can be pretty different from the job itself. Sometimes this can be because the hiring organization’s needs are evolving, and they are responding to these changes, write Professor Lisa Cohen and PhD candidate Sara Mahabadi in The Conversation. If an organization becomes aware of their evolving needs during the hiring process, it can help to repost the job ad, so they find the candidates that are best aligned with their actual needs.

The Faculty's first ever Director of EDI, Lisa Cohen, joined the McGill Reporter to reflect on the past year and a half of her mandate. She discusses the progress that has been made so far, but admits there is still a long way to go. A major step towards that is the Faculty's new EDI Strategic Plan, which launched earlier this year.

Across programs and subject areas, the Desautels Faculty of Management recognizes the vital role that teaching plays in enriching the student experience and in inspiring the next generation of leaders.

The Distinguished Teaching Award recipients Jiro Kondo and Lisa Cohen were honoured at McGill’s 2021 Management Convocation ceremony for their excellence in teaching.

Congratulations to the following recipients of the 2021 teaching awards!

Romanticizing a career can lead to disillusionment, Professor Lisa Cohen concludes in her recently published study. The employees she interviewed for the study had at least one thing in common: their job was ‘glossy’ and glamorous on the outside, but boring and frustrating behind the scenes. To avoid disappointment, job seekers should conduct careful research into the day-to-day requirements of a potential job, says Cohen.

Congratulations to Lisa Cohen, Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior, for co-editing the special virtual issue of Administrative Science Quarterly in honor of Women’s History Month!