Value Your Time in a Job Search
When you’re unemployed, any time spent job searching can feel worthwhile. After all you’re not sitting on the couch eating bon bons, right? Except… Time spent doing activities that aren’t going to yield results can begin to drain your energy and enthusiasm. For that reason, consider carefully how you spend your time in a job search. Online Employment Applications The internet is a vast, necessary resource in searching for a new job or planning a career change. However, the quagmire of the online employment application...
read moreBe the change you want to see in the world
“You can change the culture of your relationship with everyone you work with.” This great quote came from the guys on The Boss Show in their Management vs. Leadership 5 podcast. What a wonderful reminder not to wait for the C-Suite or HR to start making the changes you want to see at work. This hit home for me a few days later (I’m a little slow sometimes). After living in the Pacific NW for 20 years and bemoaning the fact that no one welcomes me when I move into a new neighborhood, I finally wised up and realized that...
read moreHow to Avoid OPP: Online Presence Panic
Heard anything like this lately? 80% of jobs are never advertised. These days recruiters hunt you, not the other way around. If you don’t have an online presence you can forget getting noticed in this job market. Statements like this cause panic in many of my job search clients. Building an online presence is not an overnight task. And yet, much of the job search advice out there is telling you that you must have an online brand to even consider getting hired these days. What’s a job seeker to do? First, don’t panic about...
read moreJob Search and Career Advice from a Cookbook?
Cookbooks are not the first place I turn when looking for career advice, which is why I was pleased to discover so many useful nuggets in Jenny Rosenstrach’s Dinner: A Love Story. I picked up the book while looking for inspiration for the nightly dinner table. After cooking a number of her recipes, I (and my family) can personally vouch for Tony’s Steak and the Turkey Chili. Surprisingly, though, I found multiple tidbits of job search and career advice tucked between the recipes. Here’s just a few of my favorites: There is...
read moreUsing the LinkedIn Alumni Tool for Job Searching
One of the best ways to get your foot in the door at a company is through a connection who is employed there. Employers tend to give employee referrals higher weight when facing a daunting stack of resumes. Spending your time researching current employees is well worth your while, especially if you’re facing a job posting that hundreds of others are going to respond to. LinkedIn has made this easier than ever with their newly redesigned Alumni Tool. You’ve always been able to use a LinkedIn search to find fellow alumni, but now you...
read moreSay This, Not That: Laughter and Amazement
Say This, Not That is a series of posts on interview tips. With these posts I want to take you “inside the recruiter mind,” and tell you how the words you say or your actions are sometimes heard or perceived by the people doing the hiring. Some of my recruiting clients give me specific questions to ask candidates. Sometimes the questions are odd. Sometimes they are silly. Sometimes they are standard interview questions that show up on every interview preparation book/blog post/tip sheet around. What You Say or Do in an...
read moreStart Your Year with the “I Just Lost My Job” Exercise
I hear from many people only after their worst case scenario has come true and they’ve lost their job. Today I spoke with a woman who lost her job of 12 years when the company abruptly closed it’s doors. Although this happened in November, she’s still reeling from the shock. You buy car insurance in case an accident happens, and life insurance to protect you and your family if something went horribly wrong. I’d like you to start thinking today about insuring your career from the ups and downs of your employer....
read moreLinkedIn Endorsements
I’ve been a bit puzzled by the LinkedIn Endorsements feature since it arrived. Reminding me a great deal of a Facebook “Like,” it initially struck me as a rather meaningless way to give someone a thumbs up without any other context. Without the ability to request endorsements (unlike Recommendations, which you can request) I wasn’t sure how they’d show up and populate. After several months, I’m pleased to say Endorsements have grown on me. I’ve learned a lot more about them and would like to share with...
read moreWhy First Impressions Are So Important in a Job Interview
The first 30 seconds of an interview of an interview is a make or break moment: True or False? Common wisdom says True. First impressions can leave lasting impressions in people’s minds and this is often intensified in job interviews. There is no shortage on career advice on making a good first impression: Be on time. No, be early. Dress appropriately, better to be overdressed than under-dressed. Have a firm handshake. Make eye contact. and on and on… The lists of “dos and don’ts” in interviews can grow long and...
read moreSay This, Not That: Job Interview Tips for the Tongue Tied
Say This, Not That is a series of posts on interview tips. With these posts I want to take you “inside the recruiter mind,” and tell you how the words you say in your job interview are sometimes heard by the people doing the hiring. Here’s the interview question: “What’s your greatest weakness?” What You Say in an Interview “I get frustrated with people who make promises and don’t deliver. When they’re late turning in their reports it drives me crazy. I have to keep following up with them...
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