Do you know where your resume has been presented?Do you know who presented your resume?Are you driving, or being taken for a ride?Often, people think that the more their resume gets shown to a company, the better their chances of being considered. That can be true if done right, but often can backfire if handled poorly.Unfortunately, many people handle it poorly. What should you, and what should you not do? Here are some po...

Why use a recruiter when I’m getting plenty of resumes from my ads and job postings?In times of economic downturn companies often decide that one way to “save” money is by eliminating fees to recruiters when looking for new employees.Why shouldn’t they? After all, they post an ad online, or in the paper, and there’s a much larger stream of applicants than they’ve had in the past.“Why pay a 20% to 30% fee when I seem to be a...

One comment I hear often from people over 50 is that it’s very tough for them to get a new job because of their age.When they aren’t getting a new job in the timeframe they hoped, the assumption is that some form of age discrimination is taking place.That kind of thinking is reinforced by ads for “Just For Men” hair coloring, news stories I’ve seen of people getting plastic surgery to look younger for job interviews, or fre...

Not long ago, I received an email from someone asking: “I am in the midst of a horrible job hunt and have been for a while. Do you know of any online groups or support forums that can help me keep a schedule or talk about issues? I live in a small town and the local groups are more geared towards factory workers rather than professionals.” Good question! Most larger metropolitan areas have a number of networking group...

Riding the roller coaster of emotions in a job search can be emotionally draining! Even the most even keeled personality can often feel like the ups and downs of a search are affecting the positive attitude they are trying to maintain in the process.Why?Obviously because a job search is so personal!Even professional sales people, who are used to handling frequent rejection in their jobs, are often deeply affected by inevita...

As a recruiter, I was just talking to a client, a Director at a mid-size company, about a couple of positions he’s trying to fill and specifics of what he wants to see in a good candidate.I wish many of the people in my job search classes could have listened in on the conversation because he clearly answered what many job seekers want to know...“What do hiring managers really want?”Certainly, in both of the open positions h...

There have been a few articles I’ve seen using the Olympics to make a point related to a job search. However, I believe there’s one point that’s been fascinating to me but lost in many of the other discussions.One of the most amazing things to me as I watch these elite athletes compete for a hunk of precious metal, is how some perform at their peak when it matters most, and how others fail!Think about that...in any sport yo...

Most people understand the importance of networking when looking for a job, however, few do it effectively.People tell me their networking conversations or meetings are awkward and rarely produce anything meaningful. When I dig a little deeper, I often find that they expect their networking contacts to somehow just know what to do. Most people would love to help you, but have no idea how they can. It’s up to you to help the...

I’ve often said: “Show your resume to 10 people and you will get 10 different, and often conflicting opinions!”A ‘good’ resume is very subjective to the reader. Everyone has preferences as to what’s appropriate and what’s not. There is no such thing as a ‘perfect’ resume and it should always be a work in progress...tweaking, tuning, and tailoring it to each position you apply to and for each circumstance. It’s a good idea t...

In this job market, it seems many job seekers have moved to Egypt...to the State of De-Nile! They believe they can simply apply to job after job online, and through that process they will get a job. Although most of them instinctively know what the reality of that process is in today’s market, few change how they pursue that new position. Hopefully, by making today’s reality clear in this article, in black & white, some...