Yesterday I found myself in a tough situation that I have never been in before. I made the decision to handle the situation a certain way and then I talked to two friends about it. One of my friends was full of advice; giving me ideas on what I should do next and what I had already done that I shouldn’t have. The other friend just listened. Unconditionally. And although she didn’t say as much as the first friend, she was re...

Almost every job seeker I meet has some sort of “special circumstance” that they feel needs to be addressed in their resume. For some, it’s accounting for the dotcom they worked for that went bust after 9 months or the year they took off from work to care for an aging parent or newborn.For others it’s that “what the heck was I thinking when I took that job” faux pas or the “my boss was a raging lunatic and I had to get out...

Last month I had an absolutely delightful networking meeting with someone I met through a professional association. What made the meeting so memorable was that the person I was networking with did everything right. She followed every rule of networking including:1. Being flexible with the meeting time and location and asking me what was convenient for me.2. Telling me that she didn’t want to take up too much of my time but...

Does it feel like your last interview was during the Reagan administration? You are not alone. If it’s been a long time since your last interview, here are some tips for starting off on the right foot.1. Create an interview strategy. Prepare for interviews by going through the following exercise to reflect on past work accomplishments: Ask yourself what challenges you have faced in each of your positions, what actions you t...

This past weekend I attended my high school reunion. It was great to see old friends, but one of the things that struck me was how many people I never got to know in high school. For many, the high school years are often tough ones, defined by insecurities and confusion. Kids often create their own social hierarchies in order to survive. Most teens aren’t mature enough to understand the nuances of networking effectively and...

There is a lot of buzz among career and human resources professionals about Gen Y (people born between the early 1980s and early 1990s). Companies are very interested in learning more about what it takes to recruit and retain the Gen Y’s and it will become increasingly important for them to know how to communicate with young job seekers.There are several career bloggers and authors that help companies better understand and...

A job search is like a journey and sometimes it’s easy to take a wrong turn and neglect some of the important strategies that contribute to a productive and efficient search. Below are some of the most common mistakes I see among job seekers and some tips for getting your search back on track.Mistake #1: You don’t have an accomplishment-focused resume. Job seekers often create resumes that are no more than a laundry list of...

Savvy professionals continuously manage their careers by creating visibility in their professional communities and creating authentic relationships with people who could be in a position to help them if they ever find themselves in a job search. Develop a networking strategy where you give more than you get and see how quickly people start giving back to you in the form of advice, leads, and general job search tips. Below a...

Over the past year I have noticed a growing trend towards more panel or group interviews and it is becoming increasingly common for job seekers to meet with panels of three or more decision makers in one interview. Many job seekers approach panel interviews with trepidation. But with a bit of preparation, the panel interview can be a very efficient and rewarding process. Here are a few tips on how to survive a panel intervi...

While many resumes adequately explain a job seeker's job responsibilities, few elaborate on the accomplishments within those responsibilities. And let's face it. Many people perform similar jobs with similar competencies. What makes each person unique is the success he or she brought to those positions, not the day to day tasks that hundreds of others may be trained to do. Consider these typical resume statements from job s...