For those of us who were around in the Eighties, or who are avid students of history, the phrase "trust but verify" is one that has special significance. It's a translation of a Russian proverb that was famously uttered by President Ronald Reagan as part of a nuclear treaty negotiation with the USSR, suggesting that both sides would generally assume the other had good intentions with regard to reducing nuclear arms -- but that inspections [...]
Despite some peoples' notions to the contrary, nobody is born with a price tag on their back or is "owed" a certain amount of compensation from the job market. The amount of money any given professional can command is based on society's determination of the value of certain occupations and the solutions they provide - combined with the supply/demand of candidates in any given field and how easily a company thinks they can replace an [...]
Call me crazy, but when I think back to how job searches were conducted in the prior millennium, the common wisdom was that applicants would really need to step up and "sell themselves" effectively in order to get hired. What does this mean? It means that they'd have to fight for the job they wanted. They'd have to boldly trumpet their strengths and be ready to neutralize their weaknesses. They'd need to radiate hope, and [...]
So you've busted your butt, spent months marketing yourself to potential employers, and finally convinced one that they can't live without you and to extend a job offer your way. Now what? Should you take their offer at face value, without looking back, or route a counteroffer their way to see if they can sweeten the pot a little? While I've written quite a bit about this topic in years past (see some relevant articles [...]
Several months ago, I came across an article that I've been meaning to write about ever since -- given that it deals with a common issue in today's job market, involving situations when hiring managers actively mislead employees about the role they're considering or the culture/morale within an organization. In this case, however, somebody decided to actually do something about it. See the article below, where a top executive at the Gates Foundation decided to [...]
As we all know, most job advertisements tend to be pretty dull, given that they basically follow the age-old "hey, here's why we're an awesome company" and "we've got this role we need to fill" and "here's the 143 specific skills and qualifications you must have to be considered for it" type of formula. The other day, however, I came across a published listing (I'll leave the company name anonymous) that contained some pretty unusual [...]
What's the sound of one hand clapping? Where's Waldo? If the no. 2 pencil is the most popular type of pencil, then why is it still considered number two? These are all questions that have mystified people for generations -- and if you've been looking for a new job lately, there's another question you'd probably agree should be added to the above list. It's the question of how job candidates should handle the "Salary History" [...]
A few weeks back, I had the pleasure of being a guest on KUOW's "The Conversation" radio show, hosted by Ross Reynolds, where I was asked to share my top tips on how people should go about asking for a raise. While it wasn't the longest segment in the history of the known world (radio shows tend to move pretty fast!) I'd invite you to give the piece a listen here, if interested. Perhaps even [...]
Last week, I had the pleasure of being contacted by a Seattle Times reporter who was writing an article on the topic of "asking for raises" and wondering what advice I'd share with people who were thinking about approaching their boss to ask for a pay increase. It was an interesting exchange, and since the article in question won't actually be out for a while yet, I thought I'd write up a few thoughts on [...]
The other day, a client of mine called me up to report the news that after several months of searching, he finally had a viable job offer in hand -- and that a local high-tech firm had invited him to come join their team in an account management capacity. Needless to say, he was quite excited by this turn of events. It always feels good to be "wanted" by an employer, after all, and the [...]