Nicholas Lore, founder of the Rockport Institute, is a career development pioneer.He single-handedly transformed the career coaching field, he’s been commended for excellence by 2 US Presidents, and his book "The Pathfinder" is one of the best selling career books in US history. Over the last 29 years he’s helped over 14,000 people to make a change.I was fortunate to spend an hour on the phone with Nick recently, and I pick...

15 years ago today, my dad died. He smoked for years and barely made it to 60 before lung cancer took his life.We miss him terribly. He was one of those people who leave a huge hole when they go. On the day of his funeral, they needed a spillover room in the chapel to fit everyone in. Strangers came up to me, with tears in their eyes, to tell me how much my dad meant to them. And you know the interesting thing? Most of them...

Writing a resume is a chore for most people. I know this because whenever I do an online search for the term ‘how to write a resume’ or ‘writing a resume’, I come across someone tweeting “ARRRGH I hate writing my resume” or “I have been trying to write this stupid resume for weeks. I hate it!!!” Being the intuitive person that I am, I therefore deduce that resume writing is not something more people enjoy. Me? I love...

If you’re looking for a job in this current climate, the bad news is that you have a lot of competition. The good news is that most of them have no idea what they’re doing. I meet a lot of job seekers during the course of my work as a professional resume writer. From executives to entry-level, I see the same mistakes over and over again. And the people making these mistakes have no clue that they could be doing better...

Imagine if employers saw you as not just another job applicant, but as an expert in your field. Think how it would feel to point recruiters to the speech you gave at a prestigious conference or your Masters thesis on your industry. If you’re not a well-know entrepreneur or senior executive, you might think that’s just a pipe dream. But it’s not! No matter what you do for a living, the Internet makes it possible for yo...

Search the web for ‘resume help’ or ‘resume advice’ and you’ll find lots of pearls of wisdom. All of which are true. But all of which are ultimately misleading. Most resume advice articles will tell you to focus on achievements not responsibilities, or to use lots of action-oriented words, or to be sure you communicate your ‘personal brand.’ I’ve written these articles myself and I meant well, I really did! But all of th...

Don’t we all dread buying a car? The hype, the evasions, the glib sales pitch...it all just reeks of desperation. Hiring a new employee can often feel the same way. One resume after another, all filled with hype and smooth sales talk, all with the faint whiff of desperation. By glib sales talk, I mean cliched ‘resume speak.’ The stuff you see on everybody else’s resume. Like this... Accomplished 10-year veteran wit...

Shopping for a new resume is not like shopping for a new car. There’s no ‘blue book’ to tell you what you should be paying and it’s hard to find even a ballpark figure. This results in confusion. As someone who writes a lot of executive resumes, I’ve found that client expectations are all over the map. Some expect a resume to cost $100-$200. Some are expecting something over $1,000. And with this much uncertainty, it ca...

I haven’t blogged for quite a while. That’s not because I ran out of things to say (My husband will confirm that I never run out of things to say) or because I just got lazy and spent the last month eating chocolate and watching reruns of The Golden Girls.I haven’t blogged because our site was being redesigned. Once the blog content had been moved, I had to wait for the new site to go live before adding any new posts. A few...

Question: I am in job search mode, and have decided to take the opportunity to transition into another field. It is a role I have performed in the past but not titled. Advised by professionals/experts in the field, that it is feasible. However, although my targeted resume has gotten to the hiring managers, and even some interviews, I do not get offers because I lack experience. How do I find the right balance? I don’t want...