In the Business of You

Tough question…but, it shouldn't be. Although there is no “one and only” expert when it comes to the nuts and bolts of putting together a strong and effective job search strategy, there are a whole lot of folks out there giving advice that ranges from “not really accurate” to horribly wrong. The frustrating part for job seekers is that they often hear presentations by or have one-on-one discussions with people (describing themselves as career experts) who may speak about similar topics, but provide sometimes wildly different advice. Unfortunately, this wide range of advice/opinions not only confuses the job seeker, but often adds significantly to their already high levels of confusion, frustration, anxiety, and diminishing feeling of self-confidence and self-worth. For example, during a recent networking event co-sponsored by my company, one of the attendees (who has been in transition for several months) told me that she had attended a presentation at a local job seekers g...

If a company tells you that they brew the best beer in the world, but have minimal sales and no awards to show for their efforts, how believable is their claim of having an outstanding product? We can all say whatever we wish about our abilities and achievements, but, as the saying goes, “the proof is in the pudding”. And thus is the challenge for today’s job seekers…making believers out of skeptical hiring managers. This is actually not that difficult to accomplish, but it does take a significant investment of a candidate’s time, which is something that the vast majority of job seekers are still NOT willing to do. This means that those candidates who do elect to put in the time and effort necessary to develop a truly “killer” resume and memorable interview discussions, can very quickly distance themselves from a large percentage of those competing for the same job opening. Here are some tips that should help your actions (accomplishments) speak for themselves: • Telling me wh...