5T Approach for Career Conversations

In my March blog, I gave you 9 tips for starting career conversations.  Some of the most important career enhancing conversations are about getting meaningful feedback – observations of the impact of what you’re doing both successfully and things that could be done better. Do others share the same opinion of you and your workContinue reading “5T Approach for Career Conversations”

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”

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”

What’s Your Professional Development Strategy?

The most frequent responses I get to this question is #1 Strategy: keep getting a paycheck and hope to get promoted;#2 Strategy for Free Agents: Keep current contract(s) or get new clients. I consider these non-strategies. Too many people approach learning something work-related as a task they have to do to keep their jobs orContinue reading “What’s Your Professional Development Strategy?”

3 Reasons + 5 tips to Update Your Resume

Here are 3 reasons why September is a good time to update your resume: Its nearly time for your annual performance review and you want to position yourself or a raise. One of your contacts approaches you with a great job opportunity and needs your resume, now! You learn that your job is in theContinue reading “3 Reasons + 5 tips to Update Your Resume”

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”

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?”

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”

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”