In the Business of You

I’ve been a hiring manager now for nearly 40 years. During that time I’ve seen the majority of employees make the same mistake – they don’t invest in themselves from a career perspective. And, not doing so can significantly extend the amount of time it takes to find a new job, whether you are currently employed and looking, or in a job transition. The best time, of course, to make this critical investment in your career is while you are employed. Seems like common sense, doesn’t it? Yet, the VAST majority of employees fail to do so. The result of NOT investing in yourself while you are employed is that your resume may contain lots of bullet points about what you did, but little to nothing about what you actually accomplished and substantiation regarding why these accomplishments were considered to be outstanding in the eyes of the employer. There are two main premises regarding how employers/hiring managers look at existing/potential new employees: Why do I look/am I...

(Photo source: Fotolia) I learned a very long time ago that the vast majority of people do business with people, not companies. In most organizations, the degree of success obtained can often be directly linked back to the strength of the relationships developed between provider and client. Remember that old saying, “Price is only an issue in the perceived absence of value”? I’ll often go to my local hardware store vs. a big box home improvement retailer because ALL of the employees of the neighborhood establishment seem to know “everything about everything” and are very willing to take all of the time necessary to explain how to use a specific tool or walk a customer, step-by-step, through the process of making a repair (using the part or tool being purchased). The large DIY stores advertise they have this same expertise, but often the actual delivery falls short of that claim. Job seekers frequently make this same mistake. For example, I've reviewed thousands of resu...