ISO:Purple Squirrel – Resume Breadth & Depth

Does your resume broadcast breadth or depth of your skills and and experience.  Your years of work experience – do you highlight doing the same thing for a long time (stamina and perseverance) or illustrate being able to use your skills and knowledge in a variety of situations and settings?  Employers read your work historyContinue reading “ISO:Purple Squirrel – Resume Breadth & Depth”

Making Job/Career Decisions

What may seem at the outset a simple decision – take the best offer – a recent study shows that many factors are considered than we see on the surface. The five researchers (Norman Amundson, William Brogen, Maria Iaquinta, Lee Butterfield, and Emily Koert), who wrote this article* conducted in-depth interviews with working adults toContinue reading “Making Job/Career Decisions”

Career Decisions – How Much is Enough?

When do you know you have enough money? Do you always need a higher salary, or an increase in revenue? To some these are moot [aka “dumb”] questions because of the belief that “more is always better.”  Much has been written and espoused on the Scarcity vs Abundance perspectives and their impact on the wayContinue reading “Career Decisions – How Much is Enough?”

Career Path for Hitting the Slide

We have a new term for those who dramatically quit their jobs, thanks to the JetBlue flight attendant, Steven Slater: “Hit the Slide!” With so many people picking up the work of 3-4 or more jobs that have been eliminated, the frustration and stress levels are very high in many organizations.  Who doesn’t want toContinue reading “Career Path for Hitting the Slide”

Recruiters Using Social Networks

In addition to keeping your resume up to date, be sure your online presence is giving you the visibility you need.  The 2009 Jobvite Social Recruitment Survey shows that recruiters are using online methods for finding candidates more than ever. LinkedIn use grew from 80 percent in 2008 to 95 percent of respondents in 2009Continue reading “Recruiters Using Social Networks”

Most Critical Career Skill – Trend Spotting

“In this era of accelerating change, knowledge alone is no longer the key to a prosperous life. Trend Spotting, or Foresight is the critical skill. Knowledge quickly goes out of date, but foresight enables you to navigate change, make good decisions, and take action now to create a better future.” From the World Future Society’sContinue reading “Most Critical Career Skill – Trend Spotting”

Raised by Wolves

That phrase has become an ear-worm for me recently.  It generally refers to someone who has misbehaved in a social or work setting.  I recently read a book about how our bosses sometimes act like they were raised by wolves.  At first I took issue  defending the wolves.  Their system works for them…because they liveContinue reading “Raised by Wolves”

Volunteerism and Career-Building

While you are looking for a job, or while you are working full-time, stay off the couch and do something for others. Volunteering improves your career.  Here are the stats: According to CareerBuilder, 63% of hiring managers said that volunteer work is relevant experience when it comes to evaluating a candidate. And according to aContinue reading “Volunteerism and Career-Building”

Disengaged in the Middle

Managers have an on-going challenge to see that their staff are working to their optimum – doing interesting, challenging and things that engage many of their skills. The recent Gallup Journal  article shows  that the “Frustrating Forties” is a time when we’ve past learning the ropes and often aren’t getting much professional development. Not surprisingly,Continue reading “Disengaged in the Middle”

Are Your Management Skills Up to Date?

I’m not talking about knowing the latest ‘flavor’ of management or the buzzwords. “Retention” is the battle cry once again. Many organizations are now using engagement survey stats for managerial performance measures. Your management skills along with to your technical credibility keep you viewed as a valuable contributor, not just a place holder, by yourContinue reading “Are Your Management Skills Up to Date?”