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 It is not uncommon to feel withdrawn when you’re out…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Where will the jobs of tomorrow be? What industries will be hot, and sustaining 5, 10, 15, 25, 50 years from now? Most people doing a job search right now aren’t overly concerned with what will be the hot gigs of the next 20 to 50 years. And employers are mostly concerned with finding and…
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 title. Now…
You can take this title in a variety of ways, and likely you’d be right. But the issue of the moment lies in the details of what you have previously told your current employer. Picture this: You’ve been on the job for a few years, built effective relationships, trust and a good record of productivity…
Well, you can, but it’ll cost you! Possibly big time! That cell phone in your pocket or purse, excellent tool that it is, can cost you a job! Especially if it goes off at an inopportune time like an interview, or even while waiting for that all-important meeting. Do I really need to remind you…
Got a call recently from a former associate who told me he was being laid off at the end of the month. At the time of his call, he had 2 weeks remaining on the job, and he was just starting to reach out to his network. Because he works for a nonprofit organization, I…
One of the themes that will get expressed frequently in this space is the importance of being concise and brief. Among the biggest mistakes job seekers make is giving too much information, in resumes, interviews, and networking. Sometimes this comes from nervousness, sometimes from a lack of language skills, but more often, from our pride…
If you’re one of the lucky few that found an internship in your field of choice, further congratulations are in order. Play your cards right, and that internship could lead to a decent position and your career is on track. But not everyone knows what they want to do after they get their diploma. There…
The economy is taking a nose dive. Housing prices are dropping and default rates increasing. Employers are getting nervous. Should they hire or fire? Where will it all lead? Recession? Inflation? Damned if I know! I’m no economist, to be sure! But I do know that good things can happen during times of an economic…
So the nation’s economy is in a slump. Should employers be expanding their workforces or chopping them down? In a recession, unemployment rises. Though we may not be in an official recession yet, the unemployment figures are on the rise. Competition for good jobs will also go up! This makes it all the more imperative…
