In the Business of You

Over the last month, I have had conversations with a number of job seekers – ranging in age from the mid-20’s to mid 50’s – who asked me basically the same question, “Where do I go from here”. Most of the individuals were in transition, with two in positions that they did not like and from which they were planning an exit strategy to some “greener grass”. To a person, these folks were having difficulty deciding just what they wanted to do in their next job/career. I asked each of them to go through the following simple exercise to help determine a possible career direction: • Create a list of “What you love to do/are passionate about doing” and “What you would rather not do”. Come back the next day and add to your list…Doing this over the course of three days should provide you with more than enough information about yourself to go to the next step. • Determine which positions/job types would allow you to do as much of what you love and as little of what you don’t love as pos...

Differentiating yourself from the other candidates for your “dream job” has a lot to do with communicating to the HR recruiter, resume screener, interviewer(s) and hiring manager “how” you applied your skills, talents and experience to produce exceptional results. That’s right… exceptional results . Hiring managers are mostly concerned with how well you would perform on their team, in their department or group. Will you be “the one”… the hire who will evoke a “Wow, bringing in that new person was a terrific decision!” from the hiring manager’s peers and boss? Hiring managers rely heavily on your ability to prove to them that you actually performed in the past as well as you claim you have…and this is where you have the opportunity to stand above the crowd - by focusing on specific examples of your accomplishments (What you did, How you did it and the Outcome or Results of your actions). Your prospective new boss does not care to read or listen to generic information about you th...

As a hiring manager for over 30 years in both large and small companies, I have interviewed hundreds of candidates and reviewed many thousands of resumes. One of the most important things to keep in mind in any job search is that YOU , the job seeker – whether you are in transition, looking for that first job or employed and seeking the “greener grass” – are the CEO of your job search. YOU are the product  being sold to the prospective employer and YOU are accountable for all actions taken (or not taken). Over the last couple of years I have presented a program called, “Using Tools & Resources to Tell Your Story Effectively and Stand Apart from the Competition” to a number of Job Seekers groups in Northeast Ohio . I have also provided one-on-one consultations to nearly 300 people regarding their job search strategies. This “In the Business of You” blog is a way to stay in touch with the growing number of people in my job seekers network and a place to post the latest an...