Do you have any idea how much the world of work has changed over the last few generations? It really is a bit mind-boggling when you think about it. It really wasn’t until around the Second World War where the idea of a career started to take hold. Before then, yet well into the first…
Conventional wisdom suggests that the best and the brightest will have the opportunity to work wherever they want. Good for them! Unfortunately, not all workers will have those same options. The reality for many workers is that they need to find positions that are within relatively easy commute distances to where they are employed. Even…
All over the country things are starting to open up. Coronavirus cases have dropped dramatically thanks to those who have gotten vaccinated and followed recommended health protocols. But so many employers – in almost all job categories – are complaining they can’t find qualified applicants, and blame the worker shortage on extended unemployment benefits…
Last time out, we went over the core technical aspects of preparing for an online video interview. Hopefully since then, you’ve gotten more familiar with your chosen video sharing software. Now, let’s take a look at the human, physical side of the equation. It’s important to understand how you are seen on screen during this…
As discussed in the last post, where your interview takes place presents considerations beyond your ability to succinctly answer questions. This is also true for interviews that take place over video chat or the phone. Though in-person interviewing will eventually return in greater numbers, this past year has clearly demonstrated the need for job…
Here’s a topic most job seekers give very little thought to: Where you interview. Would your interview be the same in a private office, as opposed to a conference room, a lunch room or restaurant, or how about a hotel or via telephone or video chat? While the questions you could be asked might be…
When you are working, there is a lot of structure to your day. You generally know how long it will take you to get out of bed and out of the house, the length of your commute, and what you might be doing on your job. But when you are looking for work, constructive time…
Without minimizing the importance of being able to answer tough interview questions with concise answers, today’s column is about the other Q’s and A’s: Qualifications and Accomplishments. Qualifications and Accomplishments are the resume headings misused most frequently during job search document preparation. This happens primarily because the information revealed by both these and other headings…
What happens when the conveyance you depend on for getting to work or looking for work is not functioning? Do you have a contingency plan for such situations? Have you given thought to how you would get around if your personal vehicle or local transit system wasn’t running? Last week in the San Francisco area,…
Patience is a virtue, and a necessity! The hardest part of any job search is the waiting. After dutifully contacting numerous employers with openings well suited to your skills and experience, you hear … nothing. Nada. Zip. Bupkis! No calls, no emails, no smoke signals. You have followed every instruction, sent every required document, without…
These days, it’s more important than ever to talk with the people in your network and ask them about openings where they work. In doing so, your next job may be closer than you think because increasingly employers are sourcing appropriate candidates through the networks of their current employees. And more and more employers are…
Recently, I read an article from Bloomberg Business Week about how many employers believe it to be more important for prospective hires to have a strong cultural match with a company’s existing staff, than it is for applicants to just have strong skills. Really? I guess I didn’t get the memo on this edict. When…
Happy New Year! The phrase “The Coast Is Clear” was frequently used to advise seamen that the fog had lifted and the shore could be seen from out at sea, or that the oceans and shipping lanes were clear for smooth venturing onto open water. Metaphorically, and on dry land, it also implies that it…
An old friend got in touch recently to ask about some people in my contacts list on one of my social networks. She was digging through other friends lists as well in an effort to find familiar names from our common past. Her interest, as it turns out, was to make a late stage career…
If you’re looking for a job, In addition to all the online social and real interpersonal networking, job boards, posting sites and direct applications, are you still attending job fairs? Are these events still worth your job search time? For a great many job seekers, the answer is, “Yes”! Attending job fairs is still a…
Last time out I wrote about the importance of clarity in work communication and its effects on job survival. While at the gigantic Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas earlier this month, I was continuously reminded of the importance of clarity in brevity, particularly when it comes to what we often refer to as…
Recently, I was reviewing resumes, cover letters and doing some interview preparation for job seekers at a job fair. Although the age of the participants skewed a bit older than most of these events, the employment hopefuls were as diversified in their skills, experience and positions of interest, as would be expected. But one of…
There was a time not too long ago when job seekers routinely sent out their job search documents to unknown recipients. More times than not job announcements instructed job seekers to send their resumes and cover letters to blind addresses – Post Office boxes or routing numbers in care of the newspaper that ran the…
Unless you’re devoid of any feelings, one of the toughest things to hear from someone is that they lost their job. This is a hard thing to hear from anyone, particularly if you know the person well, and know that they have committed themselves for a long time to that gig. And even if you…
In my last entry, we talked about Marilyn and how her efforts to find a new job were thwarted when she turned the focus of her interviews to her needs rather than those of the job and the employer. This time out I want to reiterate and expound further that you should not ignore your…
