While it's definitely not in the top echelon of tips one often hears regarding the job search process, many experts recommend that job hunters set up a regular reading regimen as part of their efforts -- and that they ingest a healthy amount of news, information, and written material on a daily basis during the course of their search. The alleged benefits of this approach? For starters, some would tout the fact that it keeps [...]
This morning, when advising a client around their job hunting efforts, I suggested he go home and complete a few activities I'd recommended such as updating his resume, enhancing his LinkedIn profile, and building out a list of all of the people he knew as a foundation for launching a systematic networking effort. Not only did I provide him with detailed documentation about how to go about each step, but also stressed that if he [...]
I believe it was Yogi Berra who famously once remarked "Baseball is 90% mental; the other half is physical." When it comes to the job hunting challenge, I couldn't have said it better myself. While there's certainly a ton of "physical" work involved in the process, such as making calls, doing research, meeting people for coffee, and the like, the bigger hurdle (in my opinion) is the mental one. Successful job hunting largely involves getting [...]
Okay, I've sitting on this article for a while and have decided there's probably NO good time to run it -- so I might as well just throw it out there this week and get it over with, in light of some of the scary stuff that's been happening on Wall Street lately, as well as my desire to explore the topic of career management from all possible angles. (Editor's Note: If you're in a [...]
"What motivates you more, fear or hope?" If you're a professional currently starting up a job hunt (or can think back to when this was the case), which of these statements would likely have a greater motivational impact on you? "If you buckle down, get focused, and work really hard at selling yourself, you might find your next job sooner than most people." "If you DON'T buckle down, get serious, and work really hard at [...]
"What has this period of transition (if you're a job seeker) taught you about yourself?" Yesterday morning, at a networking event I was hosting, I challenged a group of transitioning professionals to think hard about what they've learned during their weeks or months of unemployment -- both about the process of job hunting, in general, as well as about themselves. My own personal belief is that the deepest insights (good or bad) we have about [...]
Remember my "burning question" from last week? Asking people "who should be teaching who" in today's job market, in terms of the different age groups and their views of the workforce? Well, as it turns out, one of my clients in the Baby Boom generation had the courage to forward this article along to his 30-year-old son for comment -- and has given me permission to post his son's remarks, below. While hardly a representative [...]
"Do older workers have more to teach younger workers about career success and satisfaction -- or have times changed, and is it now the other way around?" The other day, when having coffee with a client of mine in his late fifties, we got to talking about how much the job market has changed in recent decades and how a lot of the "old rules" no longer seem to apply as much in terms of [...]
"How responsible are you for your current career situation?" One of my best friends got married several years ago, and I still remember the wedding toast made by her father, a man of very few words but a fellow who was nonetheless highly respected by everybody who knew him. Following the ceremony, he took the microphone and simply said: "Life is all about choices -- may the two of you make some great ones together!" [...]
"Is there truly such a thing as a great resume -- or are there only great candidates?" Some may disagree, but I think this simple question has a lot of important layers bundled up in it, as well as some profound implications for today's job hunters -- many of whom continue to hold (in my opinion) an unhealthy and unrealistic view of the role that resumes play in the job search process. So again, I'm [...]