Know What Job You Want Read Job Applications Carefully An interesting response to the preference question on job applications has been “Brenda Brown” or “Fred Smith.” Some job seekers misread the word preference and think it is asking for references, i.e., people who know you and will say nice things about you. Unfortunately, this is
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Ten Tips to Successful Interviewing 1. Have three succinct, well developed, dart to the bull’s-eye bullet point answers for each of these major questions: a. Why this industry? b. Why our firm? c. Why you? These three questions will make or break you, as simple as that. If you sound iffy about any of them,
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Be snotty: Confident specialists usually successful Published January 25, 2007 in issue 0604 of the HooK. Linda Chernoff has the conversational skills of a socialite and team-building talents of a top executive. Her résumé could start with her prized “people skills,” but instead she focuses herself more narrowly: event planner. Good move. The best way
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Changing careers is a matter of passion When the time is right to change your career path, you’ll know it. A nagging feeling will grab you from the inside, one that seems like boredom or frustration with your current job, but runs much deeper. This is not your average drag-your-feet-in-the-morning type of feeling. It has
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JOB HUNTING COSTS: WHAT YOU CAN AND CAN’T DEDUCT Did you know you may be able to deduct certain costs associated with looking for a new job? It’s a fact, says the Massachusetts Society of CPAs. What’s more, even if you don’t find a job or if you get terrific offers but decide to stay
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How to impress, in 45 seconds Think of a resume as a personal advertisement in which you’re trying to sell yourself to a prospective match. A resume should stand out to a hiring manager who’s looking for the right person for a company. This is especially important in a competitive job market. Recruiting experts say
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Her job hunters’ website is full-time job Getting laid off in 1994 was the best thing that could have happened to Susan Joyce. But losing their jobs had tragic consequences for some of her colleagues. “I knew one man who killed his wife, then committed suicide, when we were let go,” said Joyce, who lives
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Losing Your Job Without Losing Your Shirt Nobody is immune from sudden job loss anymore, and everyone should be prepared for the possibility. If your finances are in order, you’ll be better able to avoid being plunged into unmanageable debt caused by job loss and will be less likely to accept a job you’ll end
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ASCII Resumes: Learn How to Convert Your File ASCIITextDigital Inspiration points us to ASCII-o-Matic, a cool tool that lets you convert a 60×50 pixel JPEG image into ASCII art. I wish there was a similar tool for converting a Word-formatted resume into a nice-looking ASCII file. ASCII resumes are necessary if you need to email
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The challenge of changing careers If you inherited $5 million, what job would you choose to do?” That’s what Marlena Lechner, director of the Job Search Network at Jewish Family Service of Bergen County, in Teaneck, often asks clients. In Lechner’s experience, most people are “in search of meaning and in search of being more
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Key words are indeed key with online resumes On almost every day of the year the career Web site Monster.com has more than 40,000 resumes posted in its database. Figuring out where the resumes go, how they get there and what makes the difference between getting picked up by an employer and being left in
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Little Known Interview Tips That Put You Over The Top In part one of this series, we reviewed several uncommon interview preparation strategies that got us safely to the interviewer’s door, well prepared to tackle the challenges that lay ahead. This article addresses small but effective strategies to employ from the point of office entry
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Over 40 And Considering A Career Change? Making a career change no matter what your age is can be hard, but when your 40, making a career change can lead to sleepless nights and stressful days. As you get older you have more responsibilities to consider. Not only is your age a factor, but your
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Does It All Come Down to the Resume? I got a call from Hanah Cho the other day. Hanah covers workplace issues for the Baltimore Sun and she was wondering, what are really the most important things to know about a resume. Sure, there’s a ridiculous amount of resume advice out there, including in my
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For Interviews, Appearance and Attitude Are Crucial One snowy morning several years ago, Alan De Back was filling in for the receptionist. The usual greeter, who had a long commute, was running late. Just then a job candidate arrived. “Without even saying ‘hello’ or ‘good morning,’ he barked, ‘Get Mr. XYZ for me. Where’s the
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