I coached someone in transition recently who felt real anxiety about these four words: ‘tell me about yourself.’ She was a very smart person, analytical, team-oriented, ‘let’s get it right the first time’ kind of a systems thinker. For a lot of employers I know, she would be a great hire. Yet this seemingly small […]
Read MoreWhat Are Your Hobbies? We help facilitate local interviewing skills workshops offered to folks enrolled at the local ‘One-Stop.’ (If you are looking for work, and have not visited your local One Stop – in our area called Employment Source – they offer solid resources and some very helpful, professional assistance. And, it’s free to […]
Read MoreDo you envision your job search as a game, such as the complex challenge of a World of Warcraft video game? If you choose that mindset, you will be a far more effective job seeker. It’s a given that effective job seeking is an entertaining enterprise. Nearly every day you talk with someone new. Every […]
Read MoreHappy New Year? Not if you’re 1. unhappy in your job, and want to make a change, or 2. know you need work experience linked to your major, and don’t know yet how to find it, or 3. are between gigs, and are looking for a job during the holidays – never pleasant. So how […]
Read MoreDoes ‘assessing your career plan’ sound boring, or like you’re back in ninth grade? Maybe you already know exactly what it is you want in your next job, the kind of work, the kind of company, where in the world you want to be. If you are, pass on this first step.
If you really aren’t sure, though, this is not boring, and if you use the tools available today, it’s more of an adventure now than it might have been in ninth grade. One other initial consideration: you can be 16 or 60, and need a career planning assessment. I talked to a woman this week who has had a good job with a company for a few years, doesn’t like the direction of the company, wants to do ‘something different.’ She has children in their 30’s, and she’s assessing her career plan.
Read Moreand by Sylvia Good It’s the holidays! And you are looking for a job! Of course you’re not happy about your circumstance, and find the whole situation a bit of a pain. ‘When will I get back to work?’ ‘When will I find another good gig?’ ‘When is this being out of work going to […]
Read MoreWhat do YOU do with the salary question? In today’s job market, it’s huge. Well I found a LinkedIn group discussion with nearly 700 comments. The person who posed the question does an excellent job of articulating the issues, and firing back further questions. I think this discussion addresses the issue in such detail that […]
Read MoreToday, great interview preparation includes a special extra step for people with chutzpah (Look it up: www.dictionary.com ). If you want that next great job, listen to the link I’m about to make between practice interviewing and a video camera. I’m in a Toastmasters club where we practice giving speeches, we practice communication techniques, and […]
Read MoreMy daughter is a teacher, and as a teacher, she lives by a simple motto, ‘what gets monitored gets done.’ Something about identifying the skills, reading or writing or math or social skills, whatever it is that needs advancing, if you monitor them, they arrive. They ‘get done.’ Apply this thinking to momentum. A truism […]
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