Unfortunately, many career experts and bloggers wield a powerful sword that pokes holes in job search strategy and touts sweeping simplicity.While the ultimate goal of a job search plan is one that you can use to smoothly navigate transition, plotting that map requires meaningful effort and thought work.Imbibe the latest article on job search, and you’ll read phrases dripping in adjectives like “simple” and “quick” and dire...

Congratulations! You’ve made it past the first few hurdles of getting your resume in front of a recruiter or hiring manager. They may have vetted you through LinkedIn and Google, and possibly you’ve passed the pre-screen interview. Now they are requesting references before moving you through the hiring process.1. Prepare the people on your reference list. First and foremost, get their permission. It is very important that y...

If you took a chance on starting your own company or moving to a different industry or handling a project outside your normal skill set—and failed or were fired—you have to focus on recovery, both in life and in your resume. In the course of my own career, I have found myself working at incompatible companies and I have made major changes in career goals. I know failure is hard.How do you handle failure on your resume?First...

There are many unknowns we come across when searching for a new role. This fact underlies feelings of both the anxiety associated with change and the excitement of a new adventure. With every change there is an element of risk and potential for growth.To lessen the anxiety and risk, while optimizing growth potential and reward, it's a good idea to gain control of perspective by managing our job hunt expectations. Consider t...

In a previous article I provided six must-do tips for a stand-out job interview that gets you an offer. Here's the rest of the story! 1. Give lots of specific examples. Use the SOAR format: Situation, Obstacles, Actions, Results. Quantify results where possible. How well, how fast, how inexpensively did you get the work done? Offer 'evidence' of the quality of your work, naming specific impacts. Were your methods ado...

So, it’s a tougher economic climate out there than it was a few years ago.What are you doing to stir up conversations with prospective employers? Are you reading the trade journals, business journals and such to see whose career is advancing, whose company is growing or where new shoots of growth and opportunity are appearing?From there, you can send a meaningful note to the specific person or company (sleuth around to find...

Most people come to me with a resume already written. It may be 15 or 20 years old—unused while they built their career in a single company—or it may be their first attempt at a resume. In any case, they have put words on paper to describe their careers. These are the “before” resumes. What do I do that makes them “after” resumes?First, most “before” resumes do not stress accomplishments. They are task oriented: “I did this...

Preparing for job interviews? Let's assume you need no advice about grooming, being punctual or turning off your cell phone. Beyond those basics, here are the main things you need to do: 1. Study up, don't just wing it. Prepare well in advance, as soon as you start your job search. Review typical interview questions you find on the internet, as well as questions you can anticipate by looking at job postings, and...

1. Your Resume Should be Written as a StoryWhat does this mean, really, to write a story? Does it mean something like: ‘Once upon a time I was a receptionist at a telecom company before finding my breakthrough sales role that led to my rise to senior management?’Well, yes, sort of.But what really makes a story sing are the obstacles, winding roads, storms and even battles that you encounter along the way to success. So, whi...

There are many factors that affect your job search, such as demand for your talent, how you execute your search, how you brand yourself, and the amount of effort you dedicate to the search. Some of these Whispering Gossip 3d Characters Having Secrets And Blabfactors are beyond your control. Today we’ll share six secrets of successful job seekers. These are things you have the power to perfect to improve your job search.1 –...