Six Sloppy Speech Habits You may look good on paper or in your suit, but if you’re looking to nail your big interview, looks aren’t everything. How you sound is often more important. But many job seekers let careless speech habits sink their chances of landing that plum job. Here are six common language mistakes
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Good (And Bad) Writing Skills Stand Out On The Job For 12 years, Janice Weinrick has been asking job applicants to answer some of her questions in writing. Weinrick, vice president of real estate operations for the Centre City Development Corp in San Diego, interviews a lot of job candidates. She knows that not all
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The More (Contacts), the Merrier An effective contact strategy takes research, initiative and accuracy, all important ingredients of a successful job search. Research is required to assemble your contact list. Initiative is essential to place calls and visit every single person on that list. Accuracy is necessary to ensure the correct spelling and pronunciation of
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Employers value job candidates with a history of achieving their objectives Have you been looking for a way to distinguish yourself from competitors in your search for a new job? An effective approach is to prove you are a goal-oriented employee. It always is a good idea to sell yourself as a goal-oriented individual because
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Get real about working in retirement Retirement planning is fraught with uncertainty, but one outcome is sure: When we baby boomers wrap up our careers, we’re not going to retire to a rocker on the back porch. No, we’re going to have a working retirement. How can I be so certain? Because this is what
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Trends in responding to on line employment postings Back in the olden days (5 years ago or so), the common way to reply to jobs on career Web sites was to e-mail employers your resume as the main initial contact method. Nowadays a lot of employers have integrated applications on their Web site and require
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Age bias charges difficult to prove, but awareness key Q: I am in my 50s with more than 20 years of experience with the same company. I was laid off over a year ago with approximately 20 other employees. On two occasions before I left, my boss commented that I must be ready to retire
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50-somethings deal with down-sizing By the Numbers 1.7 – million workers aged 55 and older lost their jobs between January 2001 and December 2003 1.2 – million workers aged 55 and older lost their jobs between January 1999 and December 2001 52 – percent of displaced workers aged 55 and older found other jobs in
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The Goal Standard Have you been looking for a way to distinguish yourself from competitors in your search for a new job? An effective approach is to prove you are a goal-oriented employee. It always is a good idea to sell yourself as a goal-oriented individual because employers are goal-oriented themselves. One of their goals
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Using voice mail to make a great first impression with Recruiters. Job seekers know there is more to a job search than want ads and e-mails. But when it comes time to make that phone call, are you really prepared? You might think leaving a message isn’t a big deal, but it really is. Look
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Over 50 & job-hunting Grandparents Elizabeth Hendrickson (l.), with granddaughters Jillian and Emily Mustillo, and Cheryl Danzy, with grandson Khalil Christian (r.), take advantage of child-care facility at New York Life. Fellow employee Mel Feinberg uses company gym. Nobody will say it to your face – but if you’re job-hunting and you’re over 50, beware.
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Career Marketing 201 As an executive recruiter and search consultant, I review more than 10,000 resumes each year. Many simply blend into the background, but others truly stand out. What makes a resume compelling? What is it that makes me say, “I get it! I understand what this person is all about!” and then pick
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Young techies reboot careers as work goes elsewhere As an eager freshman in the fall of 2001, Andrew Mo’s career trajectory seemed preordained: He’d learn C++ and Java languages while earning a computer science degree at Stanford University, then land a Silicon Valley technology job. Mo, 22 and a native of Shanghai, graduated last month
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Online resumes turn risky The big benefit of posting your resume on the Internet is that anyone, anywhere can access it and offer you a job. The big drawback? Anyone, anywhere can access it and offer you a job. Increasingly, online resumes are being accessed not just by legitimate employers but by offshore criminals out
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Experts urge go-slow approach on career change Meka Payne dreams of becoming a real estate agent to help solve her money problems. Experts advise her not to jump all at once into a field with highly variable pay, however, advice that can apply to others considering a career change. Networking and volunteering are excellent ways
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