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A Graceful Exit

sad eggDuring a job search – possibly many times in succession – you’ll almost certainly face the rejection and disappointment of being passed over for a job. Heck, ‘disappointment’ sometimes doesn’t even come close to describing how that feels. If you’ve been through interviews where you felt like you and the other people just clicked, if you’ve started to imagine working in that job, if you’ve started to picture a long-term future with that company, it can feel like you’ve just been crushed. Compound that many times over if you’re unemployed, already feeling down, and really need the job. Read More

I, Robot

Wall-E as the ATS botAs if today’s job applicants didn’t have enough to worry about. You’ve got the quality of your applications, making sure your resume is up to snuff. You’ve got the hiring managers who are doing their best to screen out as many people as possible before interviewing anyone. You’ve got competition from other job seekers – possibly hundreds of them.

There’s another adversary you might be hearing a lot about. Artificial intelligence. Spoiler alert: it’s not your adversary. Read More

Fake it ‘til You Make it

thumbs up confidenceWe all know people who just never seem to doubt themselves, who can walk into any room or any conversation with sure-footed ease. The truth is that nobody is really always sure of themselves. Even the people who exude confidence outwardly are often just putting a brave face on, when they feel differently inside.

Make no mistake: when you’re interviewing, you must project confidence, optimism, and positivity. Those are qualities that are desirable in any future employee, so that’s what an interviewer is going to be looking for. Read More

Bridge the Gap

bridge over a gap employment historyAlmost everyone, at some point in their career, will experience a period of unemployment. For some, it’s an intentional thing – a break to upgrade education, parental leave, or some time out of work to care for a loved one. For others, it’s the last thing they ever would have wanted. Perhaps their company downsized or shut down and their job was affected. Or worse, they were fired.

Have you ever experienced this? Losing a job unexpectedly, whatever the circumstances, is in fact one of the most stressful experiences a person will ever have. Worst of all, at the exact moment you need to project competence and confidence, those very things have been shaken to their core. And the longer you’re on the hunt for your next job, the more you may find your self-confidence slipping.  Read More

History Lesson

typewriter typing work experience

‘Career History’, ‘Work Experience’, or ‘Professional Experience’ … whatever you call it, the section that gives me an overview of your work experience is hands-down the most critical part of your resume. It’s where I’m going to spend the most time reading, and it’s likely going to be the single most important factor in determining whether you get a chance to interview or not. Below,  I’ll share what I’m looking for when I’m reading this section, so that you can look at yours through the same lens. A better ‘Experience’ section will translate to more interviews.

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Ghosted

ghosted candidate standing on city street

I’ve heard hundreds of stories about people who’ve gone to multiple interviews, met hiring managers and team members, gotten their hopes up about what seemed like a slam dunk … only to be ‘ghosted’. No word back, not a phone call or even an email, despite polite messages requesting an update. What are you supposed to do when you’re ghosted? Read More

Con Job: Recognizing and avoiding job scams

job scam scammerI’ll never understand how someone can sleep at night when they spend their time taking advantage of other people. Even more so, when the people they target are already vulnerable. There’s a particularly vile brand of scammer who targets people looking for a job; people who in many cases are already vulnerable and lacking confidence, and sometimes already feeling a financial pinch. Let’s take a closer look at job scams to see how they work, and how you can protect yourself.

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Know When to Hold ‘Em

gambler looking at cards - Should I change jobs?The focus of most of my blogs is what happens between your last day at your last job, and your first day at your next one. Sometimes when you’re employed, though, you wonder ‘should I change jobs?’ Let’s look at four of the most common reasons people quit, and what (in most cases) I would recommend you do for each one. Read More

Smooth Operator

speedbumps to avoid when working with a recruiter

As a candidate working with a recruiter, it’s to your benefit to help them be as efficient as possible. There are aspects of this that you can’t control. The suitability of your experience and qualifications for the job I’m hiring for, for example. It’s either a good fit, or it’s not. There’s one thing you can control, though. That factor is: friction. Read More