How To

At current rates of unemployment, being without a job bears less stigma. It’s called “candidate forgiveness,” and companies are in the mood to practice it. Where do you find the silver lining in the darkest economic cloud since the Great Depression? It’s hard to think of positives. Supposedly, the roads are less crowded as fewer … Read More

Follow-up strategies to help tip the scale in your favor. Thank-you letters are so boring. You feel compelled to write one because the career books, career counselors, and HR managers tell you that’s what you are supposed to do. If you don’t do it, then you failed to show professional courtesy. If you do send … Read More

As the economy warms up, more of your contacts are on the move — and going places that could be right for you. How do you tighten a network that’s gone slack? People have a bad habit of letting their networks go stale when they land new positions. They’ll certainly stay in touch during the … Read More

Questions you should ask and qualifications you should seek in a professional resume writer. Competition is fierce. This time around, you’re not going to cheap out. You have to spend money to make money. So you’re going to do it right: You’re going to invest in a deluxe coaching package. That way, you’ll be ready … Read More

Here’s how to avoid putting a negative spin on your work glitches and how to stop hiring managers from wondering what you really did with your time. You’re a sales manager. Your sales have dropped 5 percent over the past 18 months. That’s obviously a negative fact that will come up in an interview. How … Read More

Attention to detail and small tweaks can get you back on track. You’ve taken all the right steps. You’ve come up with your personal brand, made business cards, customized your resume, wrote cover letters, accumulated recommendations, compiled a portfolio/blog/website, completed your social media profiles, and set up your professional, brand-compatible e-mail account. You’ve networked, applied … Read More

I was a recruiter for more than 15 years, so job seekers often ask me for advice on how to make working with recruiters a beneficial experience. Read More

By highlighting every line in his resume with a bullet point, Kevin Kennedy made sure none of his accomplishments stood out. Enter certified professional resume writer with some fresh ammo. Kevin Kennedy’s old resume was difficult to read. He had some great material buried deep beneath a two-page pile of verbiage that included more than … Read More

A Denver job seeker hits the gym to get in shape for a job search, then tones up his resume and cover letter. In early 2009 Greg Anderson found himself out of a job for the first time in 13 years. The operations pro quickly set about to optimize his job search and discovered an … Read More