How To

Studies indicate the language often used to describe female professionals weakens their appeal to hiring managers. What can you do to level the playing field? Do job references describe men and women in different terms? In subtle ways executives routinely use different terms to refer to men and women in recommendations, negatively affecting job candidates … Read More

2011 brings new tools and Web sites to end your personal brand schizophrenia and take more control of the message you’re sending. Expect to encounter these five personal branding trends in 2011 and be prepared to take advantage of the opportunities they offer and combat the obstacles they might present. 1. Anywhere Hiring As companies … Read More

Test your thank-you letter to determine whether it would pass muster with our panel of hiring professionals. A well-crafted thank-you note following a successful job interview could be the tipping point that pushes you into the job candidate finalist category. “The thank-you note remains one of the most overlooked marketing tools of the job search,” … Read More

The new year is the perfect time to reflect on milestones, refresh the accomplishments and performance numbers and put it all down in your resume, should you need one in 2011. Something felt wrong. The business development executive was concerned about the viability of his company. He and his career development coach, Chris Westfall, thought … Read More

While much of the job search moves online, some recruiters find nothing replaces the reliable telephone. When a recruiter calls, it’s a good idea to answer the telephone. That might have been obvious advice 10 to 20 years ago, but today the job search has become so reliant on the Internet, e-mail and cell phones … Read More

Using color, though not on your resume, to stand out in your next job search will catch a hiring manager’s eye and separate you from the other candidates. Make your resume into your personal brand. Read More

Inappropriate interview questions and how to respond (diplomatically). He was in his early 50s, and he looked every bit of it. The questions on the job application went right to his age. After stewing over the form and discarding his first draft, he filled out a second copy. Then, he sat and waited for his … Read More

Before you say it or write it, think about the listener and reader. How do they want to hear it and read it? The starting point for all communication is becoming aware of the intended audience and approaching them on an appropriate level. So many times, people get themselves into difficult situations because they did … Read More

Don’t reduce the font size and increase the margin on your resume to shrink it to two pages. How long should you resume be? Three-page resumes are certainly not extinct, but they should be rare. Professional resume writers urge their clients to first try to trim their resumes down to a maximum of two pages. … Read More