Thoughts on Career Development, Communication Strategies, Job Search, Ruminations and more
Aug 23 2010
I’ve admitted in this space on multiple occasions that I don’t have a crystal ball and have no idea what the future will really hold. Thinking about the economy, the ongoing high unemployment rate, wars, natural disasters, it is hard to stay optimistic. But over the past few weeks, my outlook on things seemed to [...]
Aug 09 2010
Not if you’re getting your education from vocational schools, according to a new study recently released from the US Government Accounting Office. Having received a number of complaints, the Feds investigated a number of private vocational schools, often referred to as “career colleges,” for making false claims and using deceptive recruiting practices.
Generally, the claims brought [...]
Jul 12 2010
Recently my client Jessica and I were discussing salaries and raises. Her primary question wasn’t IF she should ask for a raise, but if under her current circumstances was Now a good time? Although Jessica’s situation may be somewhat unique – everyone’s situation is a bit different – I thought there was some good information [...]
May 03 2010
What are you going to do if your job search does not produce the results you want? Motivated by the need to make money to pay bills, maybe you’ll decide to put some effort into finding contract or consulting work. You know you have marketable skills, so why not give freelancing or [...]
Apr 05 2010
The concept of up-selling (trying to sell the customer more than just what they asked for), has been around for a long while. Whether it’s the waitress asking, “Do you want fries with that?”, or the appliance vendor asking if you want the matching stand for the plasma TV, offering more to the customer than [...]
Jan 11 2010
Visiting with friends during the holidays, and someone asked me if I thought it was too late for him to switch careers. As it was nearing midnight, I cracked wise, “Yes, it is too late, and there’s not much you can do about it tonight!” But it seems he was genuinely concerned about wanting to [...]
Nov 16 2009
In meeting with a group of recent and soon-to-be college graduates, I fielded a lot of questions about internships. Psych, Poli-Sci, Media & Communications majors, among others, shared equal interest in how to find, and get accepted into programs that would provide them a chance to gain experience and exposure to their chosen fields.
Their [...]
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 [...]
Jun 01 2009
The gentleman sitting next to me on a recent cross-country flight was in a talkative mood, so after learning that he was a small business owner, I got him to discuss his hiring practices. He proudly told me that in addition to recent college graduates, and experienced professionals, he regularly hires applicants from disadvantaged and [...]
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 [...]
Mar 09 2009
Recently I met with a small business owner and we discussed recruiting for his growing business. When I asked him if he did any of his recruiting online and if he looked at resumes posted on job search sites, he answered with a very enthusiastic “Yes!”. He told me he has been successful in filling [...]
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 [...]
Feb 09 2009
Whether you are a new graduate looking for your first major gig, or an experienced professional who has been laid off, open and honest communication with your network of family, friends and industry peers is your best bet for making headway in your job search.
It is not uncommon to feel withdrawn when you’re out of [...]
Dec 15 2008
My conversation with a young cab driver the other day went something like this:
Hank: If you weren’t driving this cab, what you rather be doing?
Cabbie: I’m not sure. I’ve thought about doing a lot of different things. I only graduated high school last year and needed to find work, and this is what I got?
H: [...]