Before you press ‘send,’ keep the following in mind:-- DO decide whether you need to send out an email at all. A general rule of thumb? If it takes you longer than 10 minutes to type it out, it’s probably too long for an email, and other modes of communication (conference call, memo, meetings) may be required. Plus, most people just don’t have time for your long emails, anyway.-- DO remember that there are just some thin...
There's nothing like looking for a job day after day, month after month, to get someone running for the medication. Hopefully you haven’t had to endure this little test of sanity, but if you don’t believe me, try it for yourself - an endless job search can seriously drive you crazy. Not to mention that it can frustrate and depress the heck out of you, especially when those darn recruiters and hiring managers won’t return...
Ready to jump ship? Sick of your job and want a new one? Time for graduate school or a trip abroad? You’re not the only one who feels that way. Between 50-80% of all college graduates leave their first job within three years of landing it, (Holton, Ed. The New Professional. Petersen’s Guides, 1991.), and the rest of us only stick it out at a job for about five years, on average. What does this mean to you? Plenty of j...
Why is selling ourselves – whether it’s to a prospective employer or client - so tough? Whether you’re looking for a job, a promotion at work, or additional clients for your business, you’ve probably experienced the joy of trying to sell your expertise, your services, or your resume and ‘hireability’ to someone else – and it can be brutal. Personally, I enjoy trying to drum up business in a tight market as much as the nex...
Have you ever noticed how easy it is to ruin a good thing? If you’ve ever spilled coffee on a new shirt, added just a bit too much salt to a recipe, or thought that anchovies would make a great pizza topping (sorry, I hate anchovies), you’ve experienced the speed at which a good thing can become bad. In fact, this good-to-bad transition can happen so quickly, you’re not even sure what happened – all you know is that you’r...
Networking is probably one of the toughest and most important aspects of the job search..not to mention our careers and overall professional development. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the most hated, misunderstood and, consequently, poorly practiced areas of the job search, too, which is probably why many of us dread networking altogether. Still, like it or not, we simply must do it. It’s too difficult to land a job, an...
Find me someone who has ever held a job, and I’ll find you someone who’s hated his boss. Call it karma, feng shui, or just the way of the world, but everyone seems to have had a boss they’ve disliked. Really disliked. Even bosses have hated their bosses. Why the hate? For starters, as you’ve read thus far, the little things can get in the way of love. I, for one, find it hard to love the boss who clips his toenails in...
Got a fever? Take some aspirin. Sore throat? Perhaps some bed rest will help.Looking for a job but still haven’t found one? The remedy for this one is considerably trickier.I’ll tell you one remedy that doesn’t work: Panic and beat yourself up for not getting millions (or even one) job offer. And the remedy where you spend a lot of time hoping, wishing, thinking, and praying that you’ll just somehow, magically land a j...
After attending many a business lunch, corporate event, dinner outing, and more under the guise of “work fun,” (raise your hand if you think that’s an oxymoron ) I feel compelled to write the following, rather obvious statement: Your Fork is not a Shovel. And while we’re on the subject, I might also mention that your knife is not a saw and that your napkin should not be waved around like you’re heading off to a bullfight l...