“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”
Category Archives: Career Management
Accomplishments: Meaning in the Mundane
The key to every self-performance appraisal, resume,and interview is capturing our accomplishments. Many of us don’t feel we have any because we just come in and do our jobs. Others of us believe that our good work will get noticed by others and we don’t have to remind them. We are carefully taught not toContinue reading “Accomplishments: Meaning in the Mundane”
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?”
Key Job Search Strategy – Volunteer!
The Corporation for National and Community Service has released new research,“Volunteering as a Pathway to Employment,” which provides the most compelling empirical research to date establishing an association between volunteering and employment in the United States. The results of this study suggest a statistically significant and highly stable association between volunteering and employment. Volunteers haveContinue reading “Key Job Search Strategy – Volunteer!”
Update Your References This Week
The first week of May is a great time to re-connect with people and enhance your career. You don’t need to be in a job search at the moment to touch base with key people in your work-life. A key element of effective career management is that we don’t wait until we’re in job huntContinue reading “Update Your References This Week”
Don’t Fret a Furlough – 5 Ways To Take Advantage of It
The main thing we don’t like about looming sequestration furloughs is that it is unpaid time off. While many of us will just enjoy sleeping late and relaxing, you can also use that day(s) to your advantage. Here are 5 things for your to-do list: 1) If you’ve been putting off learning how to doContinue reading “Don’t Fret a Furlough – 5 Ways To Take Advantage of It”
Getting the Most from a Professional Conference
By R. Anne Hull, President, Hull Strategies, LLC I love going to conferences! I’ve added two certifications, gotten a job, provided valuable knowledge and expertise to projects and made some life-long professional colleagues and mentors from attending professional conferences. I’ve also wasted time, money and energy at a few. So now I look at theseContinue reading “Getting the Most from a Professional Conference”
Adaptability & Flexibilty are Top Workplace Skills
The international staffing agency Randstad issued a report in August detailing the results of their ongoing surveys that are part of the Randstad Engagement Index. In this report, respondents show increased optimism and security in their jobs. Among the many data points I’m intrigued by the skills needed for continued success. Respondents rated “flexibility” andContinue reading “Adaptability & Flexibilty are Top Workplace Skills”
Thankful For Work?
Work conversations often fall into two categories – people complain about their job or complain that they don’t have a job. I suppose we get more sympathy when we complain. I wonder why we don’t talk more about the things that go well for us. Not boasting, just being thankful. As we approach the ThanksgivingContinue reading “Thankful For Work?”
5 Actions for Career Management
“Career Management” makes some managers nervous; they might lose key staff or have to spend precious time training and mentoring people. It raises expectations for many people that they will be promoted sooner, or that another round of lay-offs is coming. And for others, its just another bunch of buzzwords – a “key retention tool.”Continue reading “5 Actions for Career Management”