Expert Advice
People always ask for a list like this so here is some age-old advice to help you prepare for your interview. These are extremely basic tenets that apply to almost everyone looking for work. Continue reading this entry »
Had to dig this one out of the archives…
KQED called me up to be the San Francisco Bay Area career hero on the California Report with Scott Shafer. Scott let me use his own career as an example for how to use seemingly irrelevant work experience as an asset, not a liability. We also discussed taking a different approach to networking, and some of the things that employers look for in job candidates.
Check out the podcast; they even included the original take which has plenty more advice for people looking to beat a tough job market. Continue reading this entry »
Here’s an interview I did for a blogger, asking me some popular resume questions on behalf of her fellow graduates-to-be.
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Let’s start with the most common Resume question: Continue reading this entry »
I admit I’ve had a couple of challenging clients recently. It’s easy to write them off but it’s always best to look inward before casting blame.
So, what’s really going on? Continue reading this entry »
As a seasoned professional, you have much to offer but remember to make room for new experiences as well.
An effective resume will balance your strengths (i.e. what you can teach) with your areas for growth (i.e. what you can learn). In regards to the latter, I’m certainly not suggesting you claim ignorance. Rather, consider showing a recently developed interest in a new industry or field.
This is best done by illustrating how you’ve already Continue reading this entry »
Recently, a resume client of mine forwarded a newsletter article from a job board discussing ways to overcome “job gaps” of 3-6 months.
Here’s a snippet from the article, and my subsequent retort as to why we should redefine the criteria for a job gap: Continue reading this entry »
One of the best kept secrets in job-hunting: The government has offered to pay part of your expenses!
You read correctly: Career expenses, including fees incurred for career counseling, professional resume writing, and job-search coaching, are tax-deductible for everyone with only a few exceptions: Continue reading this entry »
What does one have to do to be deemed the World’s Best Resume Writer? lol
Here’s a press release explaining how Cliff won the title: Continue reading this entry »
Truth be told, some hiring managers will never read your cover letter.
I know screeners who delete the cover letter immediately, some who forward it on to others but never read it themselves, and others who print it out only to staple it behind the resume.
But you know what else they tell me? Continue reading this entry »
Networking doesn’t have to be a nightmare. Here are a few pieces of advice to keep the conversations interesting:
Don’t lead with your job title.
Good public speakers never lead with their name or credentials. Similarly, a savvy job-seeker should never lead with her job title. Continue reading this entry »
In the past two days, three job seekers have complained to me about their experience with resume writers:
“This resume doesn’t say anything about me.”
“They left out the most important part.”
“They just didn’t get me.”
The common thread? Each of these three people Continue reading this entry »
I’m getting tons of clients coming to me with this question.
First off, it’s unfair.
Now that that’s out of the way, how can you overcome the stigma?
The key is recognizing and remembering that your work experience Continue reading this entry »
Is a Graduation Date Necessary on a Resume?
Hiring managers love the math of graduation dates. It’s an easy way to figure out your age.
To be clear, you should never list your graduation date, unless Continue reading this entry »
Assuming your LinkedIn profile is completely error-free, always professional, and in line with your current job pursuits, then I suggest including it on the resume. It shows you’re a proactive job-seeker, you’re technically adept, that you know people, and (if you’ve taken the initiative to get some recommendations) that at least some people like you.
I can think of at least 3 things your LinkedIn website offers that a resume does not: Continue reading this entry »
1 or 2 pages?
This concern is valid, especially since lengthy resumes can make an applicant appear arrogant, unfocused, anxious, old, or overqualified.
So how do you know when to stop writing? Continue reading this entry »
After sending out 1000+ resumes with not a single job offer, a job seeker concluded that he needed to lie on his resume. In his case, he felt he was overqualified and therefore needed to dumb down his resume to get some interviews. It’s my estimation that he’s looking in the wrong place Continue reading this entry »
Your negotiating power stems from your ability to demonstrate how your contributions will increase revenue and productivity and/or decrease costs and stress for your employer.
Therefore, the earlier you talk about salary (without having first addressed the employers’ concerns), the worse your negotiating position. Here are some winning answers Continue reading this entry »
Ultimately, the choice is yours as far as who should speak on your behalf. However, here are some guidelines to help you figure out who are the best people to approach when searching for references. Continue reading this entry »
There’s a widespread frustration held by people that their resumes’ cannot adequately describe “the real me”. I’ve challenged this notion with the following comments and suggestions: Continue reading this entry »
A software developer was looking to move further into management but had no idea how to build a resume to support this transition. I told him about some of the things I’ve done in the past to help clients do just that…”
As luck would have it, I’m currently helping a developer transition into management — and he came to me because I helped his friend do the same thing (successfully) just a few months ago. Here’s what we did: Continue reading this entry »
