It’s tough not to be inspired by the Olympic athletes. I have been keeping a running list of topics that seem like perfect “career” messages for job seekers. Without fail, they are the type of messages that have to do with “keeping your head in the game,” “persevering despite all obstacles,” “overcoming significant challenges” and “fortitude, endurance and courage.”Have you considered how many athletes are at the Olympics w...

• What do you do when you’re really, really, really discouraged about your unsuccessful job search? • How do you overcome the negative aspects of job search? It breaks my heart when I hear from a job seeker who reaches out to me after hunting unsuccessfully for a job for months – even a year or more. More often than not, it is clear to me why the person’s job hunt has gone on for so long. Either the resume and job searc...

I can’t tell you how many studies I’ve seen quoted that detail how many people are unhappy with their current jobs and will jump at the first chance to find something new once there are opportunities. Does that describe you? You’re looking to jump ship at the next opportunity?If you are lucky, opportunity will come knocking. Maybe you have a well-developed and strong network, a great LinkedIn profile (that makes it easy for...

One piece of advice I share with all of my clients – don’t look for a job, look for a company. If you are looking only specifically for a job (focusing only on job boards or posted listings), you are missing out on potential opportunities that are never advertised. Seeking an organization and broadening your target will help you be more competitive in this environment.Some recent research from the Michigan State University...

In the “old days,” job seekers could put together some basic information (a resume, a cover letter and a pitch) and, with a little luck, land an opportunity. Now, not so much. People like to see optimized materials (a *good* resume isn’t good enough), a LinkedIn profile is a must, social (online) resumes are more and more common and an online presence is assumed. Not to mention use of Twitter and Facebook, both of which fue...

With so much great advice about how to use the holidays to network, I thought it would be appropriate to revisit an important, but overlooked topic to help job seekers stand a head above the rest at this busy and fun time of the year.Networking is great. Meeting a lot of new people is terrific. However, knowing what to do once you’ve made a contact is just as important as finding the contact. How can you hook your contacts?...

I hear from so many people who are in the midst of trying to make a career change. Sometimes, the change is very slight – a writer who wants to use her expertise to write about a different subject. Other times, there is a more drastic goal – a mortgage broker who wants to use transferable skills to get into the insurance business. No matter what the goal, this is a tough time to bridge to a career change. (I’ve written a...

I am so excited to share news from a client who just landed a great job. In and of itself, a client landing a job isn’t extraordinary – that is the point of hiring me to help, after all! What is special about this client is that she was in a transitional search. She was finding that there were not a lot of opportunities in her field, so she needed to make a change. She was looking for jobs doing things she had not done bef...

Are you doing what you SHOULD be doing? Does you job fill you with excitement and passion? (Not THAT kind!) Do you REALLY enjoy your work, or is it just a means to an end? When job seekers contact me and don’t know what they want to do next, I tell them I can’t help them. Actually, that’s not exactly what I tell them. I do explain that I only work with people who know their next target job. I don’t write “general resumes...

There’s no shortage of information about how difficult the job market is right now. Over and over, job seekers look for ways to “stand out,” to be one in a crowd, to grab (and keep) the attention of the hiring manager.You might be surprised to know that it may not be as difficult as you think to stand out in a crowded market. Some ideas for your consideration:- Know what you have to offer. You would be surprised (or maybe n...