Career Management in 10 minutes or less

You can forge the direction of your career with short, strategic conversations. We often only think about our careers once a year as a new year resolution or a performance review.  Yet we know that frequent feedback, sharing information and asking for help are the keys to growing and developing our careers. If you keepContinue reading “Career Management in 10 minutes or less”

8 Tips to Become a High Potential Employee

How do people get the best projects? How do they get the opportunities and promotions? How can you be a “high potential employee?” Many organizations identify people who have the potential, ability, and aspiration for successive leadership positions within the organization. Often, these people are given opportunities that focus their development as part of aContinue reading “8 Tips to Become a High Potential Employee”

Your References – Care and Feeding

Many of us set a goal for new employment this time of year. Along with updating the resume, online profiles and reconnecting with people, make an appointment with yourself to consider your reference strategy. My what? My references are my former employers, right? Not necessarily.  Yes, potential employers traditionally want past bosses, but they oftenContinue reading “Your References – Care and Feeding”

Mid-Level Contentment – Is There a Problem?

“I love my job. I’m excited to get up and come to work every morning! Yet, I’m being pressure to move into management. I’ve taken the management courses and don’t want to do the administrative chores required in those roles. What should I do?” Career management is a continuous cycle of assessment, exploration, planning andContinue reading “Mid-Level Contentment – Is There a Problem?”

Cash or Cachet?

You find a great job opportunity but discover the salary is lower than you expected. Several years ago, I was thrilled when I could tell people I worked for The Washington Post because I no longer had to explain who, where or what they did. Then I moved briefly to a very large organization thatContinue reading “Cash or Cachet?”

Strategies for Extended Unemployment

What are they thinking?! Why are companies shunning people who have been out of work six months or more? Unemployment biases stem from employers desire to avoid making hiring mistakes. This avoidance leads to making assumptions that may or may not be based in fact. Four assumptions I’ve heard are: “If others don’t hire you,Continue reading “Strategies for Extended Unemployment”

After the Interview – Your Next Step

The interview is over and you can take a deep breath.  The people who just interviewed you spent their time and efforts to determine if you are the best fit for the role. Do you appreciate this? Then let them know. After the interview most of us immediately begin to replay in our heads whatContinue reading “After the Interview – Your Next Step”

The Black Hole of Job Boards

The odds of getting a job by simply applying to online boards are slim.  It does happen happen occasionally. But the biggest complaint I hear is, “I’ve submitted hundreds of applications and never heard a thing.” Well, maybe not” hundreds.” Job boards or Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) are designed to screen out, not in.  NowContinue reading “The Black Hole of Job Boards”

Two Key Questions for Your Next Job

“Why are you interested in this job?”  This is a standard interviewer’s question, or should be. The hiring manager is wise to ask about your motivations to determine if you’ll be a good fit with the team and organization. In looking for your next job, your first step is having a good idea of whyContinue reading “Two Key Questions for Your Next Job”

How do I Become an Expert?

Organizations depend on people who have “deep smarts”—business-critical expertise, built up through years of experience, which helps them make wise, swift decisions about both strategy and tactics. These mavens may be technical wizards, risk managers, top salespeople or operations troubleshooters, but they are all the “go-to” people for a given type of knowledge in theirContinue reading “How do I Become an Expert?”