Thoughts on Career Development, Communication Strategies, Job Search, Ruminations and more
Feb 08 2010
Recently while providing feedback to job seekers about their resumes at a local job search preparation event, I was surprised by the overall quality of information delivered by many of those in attendance. It seemed that many candidates I spoke with were trying, often successfully, to convey not just what they did on their jobs, [...]
Jan 25 2010
Like millions of others, I spent some time this past weekend watching the NFL playoffs. Congrats to the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts, who will battle it out in the Super Bowl. Although I’m not the world’s biggest sports fan, I do enjoy watching teams try to execute their offensive and defensive strategies [...]
Oct 19 2009
Recently I attended a very large, and very crowded free outdoor 3-day music festival in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. Moving between six stages of exceptional talent proved to be an arduous and exhausting experience; that thankfully wouldn’t diminish the inspiration and invigoration fueled by the great music.
But I was thinking that it might have [...]
Oct 05 2009
Opinions about what belongs in a good resume are a little like belly buttons – everybody’s got one! Myself included. Career development specialists, employers, human resource professionals, corporate recruiters and head-hunters, hiring managers, department heads, and every successful job seeker, all believe they know the secrets that go into creating resumes that get results. And [...]
Sep 21 2009
Throughout the country, state-provided resources for job seekers are drying up. Staff shortages, mandatory layoffs and furlough days that close facilities all impact the employment offices’ ability to provide comprehensive one-on-one services. It wasn’t that long ago that if you were out of work, you could have gone to your local unemployment office, talked to [...]
May 19 2009
There are an awful lot of things that get in the way of our success, whether the objective is looking for and finding work, or any other personally important endeavor. Fear of rejection and failure in the job search are among the most cited concerns voiced by job seekers. “What if I don’t get the [...]
Apr 06 2009
One of the questions I get asked most often is: “Do I need to customize my resume for each job that I apply for?”
Unless you are applying for only one specific kind of job with little variance to the functions you want to perform (and even then so), the answer is Yes, you do need [...]
Feb 23 2009
In school, were you the one who always had a better/different way of doing things? When the teacher was explaining that 2 + 2 = 4, were you the one who said the same result could be achieved by adding 3 +1? Or by subtracting 1 from 5?
If you’re still looking at things a bit [...]
Jan 26 2009
An Objective statement on your resume, and reiterated in your cover letter is a concise way for you to communicate your career goals. Too often Objective statements are written as flowery batches of verbiage that convey little or nothing about the job seeker’s real aspirations. Once upon a time it was OK to use a [...]
Dec 29 2008
Look, I know the economy sucks right now. People are getting laid off in record numbers and you begin to wonder whether looking for a job is worth the effort.
Your frustrations mount because there are bills to be paid, you’ve got personal and familial responsibilities, and the outlook is less than optimistic.
Well, I get it! [...]
Dec 01 2008
With the unemployment rate rising, it is apparent that more people are completing for fewer jobs. And as employers are receiving more resumes than they have positions to fill, they can’t always spend the time coding, classifying and filing all the resumes they receive – electronic or paper – for present or future consideration.
Even though [...]
Nov 16 2008
There’s no question that one’s skills, experience and qualifications should be the primary consideration by an employer when selecting a candidate for hiring. But one of the most important skill sets any applicant can bring to a job is far less recognizable from interviewing alone. The qualities one brings for being able to deal with [...]
Aug 25 2008
Recently I got a call from a client whose resume I worked on about 4 years ago. In that time her responsibilities grew and became quite varied, particularly compared to what she thought she would be doing. So while her work had progressed, she never received a promotion or a more advanced job [...]