How and why to frame an answer : talking about your skills at interview Picture this: You’ve at a job interview and the person across the table asks you to list the top three skills you possess that give you the leading edge. Could you do it? Now imagine that they ask you to give specific examples of those skills in action. This is about the time that many people start Read More
The Value of an Executive Resume Writer
It's not the mechanics of getting out a piece of paper and asking a few questions, any more than your job is to have a meeting. A few days ago a resume writing colleague was at a loss for words when a potential client queried why a resume for an executive would be more expensive than say, a resume for a graduate. "After all," the person asked, "the process is the same Read More
Getting ahead in business: 7 life lessons for young people
Recently, I was asked to think about the top seven life lessons that young people getting established in their career should know about getting ahead in business. . I came up with eight... here's what I said: . 1. Never be afraid to talk to people. If there is one thing that holds people back in their careers, it is when they take a passive approach—either to their Read More
How To Find a Career That Will Make You Happy
I'm pleased to welcome a guest writer this week, Monica Gomez. Please see her bio at the conclusion of this article. It's not surprising to hear people complain about their jobs. Many people dread going to work each day. And, while the reasons for this can be numerous, it doesn't have to be that way. According to Forbes.com, about 70 percent of employees hate their jobs. Read More
Are you getting screened out due to your own “stinkin’ thinkin’?
Henry Ford said: "Whether you think you can, or think you can't, you're right". He was right. Two people generally decide on who gets an interview and later, a job offer. The first obviously, is the employer; the second is you. How you think, how you approach opportunities, and how you communicate can be a barrier or can be the entry to employment. Negative self-talk Read More
Escaping the bear cave
Reminiscing about past jobs can give you a warm glow, particularly when you're feeling less-than-happy in your current role. It is not at all uncommon to romanticise successes, remember happier times, and wish for a more comfortable existence than is currently being offered. Some people even take the next step, attempting to return to their old stomping grounds by Read More
Lateral Moves: Do you really have to leave your job?
Looking for a new job is a typical reaction when you acknowledge your unhappiness with your current role. In these difficult times where competition is high, you may want to ask yourself "Is this what I really want?" What if there was a way to move forward without leaving behind job security and embarking on a stressful job search? Lateral Moves shows you how this may work Read More
When it’s time to change your job search strategy
You've tried everything you can to get a job over the past year. Your hopes have been raised, they've been dashed, raised again and dashed again. The couple of interviews you've scored, they've told you you are over-qualified or under-qualified or you've failed to connect in some way. Whatever you've been told, it hasn't been what you wanted to hear; those three Read More
An Interview with Mary E. Clark, Director of Professional Recruitment Australia
It's probably fair to say that most jobseekers have a story or two to tell about recruiters and those stories are not always complimentary! Primarily it's through the frustration jobseekers feel; the lack of control in the process, the "brick wall" they experience and the conviction that if they could just get in front of the employer themselves, they could nail the Read More
The Fairytales of Resume Writing Dispelled
Let’s face it. Styles change. Times change. Expectations change. Fairytales change... not so much A fairytale may be a cautionary tale at its inception, but over the years fairytales take on a legend-like status and despite wide ranging cultural, technological, commercial and lifestyle changes, these fairytales remain stubbornly at the forefront of our minds, entrenched Read More
Resistance to Change: The Enemy of a Successful Job Search Part 2
Last week we followed Richard. A Chief Operating Officer made redundant from his company, Richard is highly talented; a great leader who would be an asset to any company. There was just one thing wrong. Richard was resistant to change. Put simply, he never trusted himself to step outside his comfort zone and frankly, never wanted to, due to his uncompromising beliefs. Read More
Resistance to Change: The Enemy of a Successful Job Search: Part 1
There's nothing like being comfortable. An easy chair, a warm fire, your favourite wine, a great book and the dog snoozing at your feet. Circumstances like job search though, compel you to step outside your comfort zone, and for those who resist change, it can be a bumpy ride. Richard is a Chief Operating Officer for a multinational company. I should say Richard was a Read More
Prepare Yourself and Protect Yourself: Workplace Whispers
Not everyone in your workplace is your friend. And don't you forget it. Searching for a job is a stressful experience. It's filled with high expectations, frustration and dashed hopes. Sometimes you're bursting to confide in the people you work with because they're your friends. Aren't they? Pam thought so. Pam is a senior-level executive who made the wrong choice the Read More
Changing Careers: Are you up for it?
Careers can evolve and progress over decades or they can move rapidly---prompted by life-changing circumstances such as retrenchment, a personal revelation, or the ill-health of a family member. If change is being forced upon you or you have decided to take the plunge and follow your "bliss" be prepared to become more agile---in your thinking, in the way you approach your Read More
You have been “Let Go”. Will it Make You or Break You?
Meet Linda. Seemingly out of the blue, Linda was retrenched. Just last year she was given a bonus and now she's packing her desk. Linda's angry, hurt and confused. She analyses every conversation and comes to the conclusion she was, without a doubt, badly done by. As she talks to friends and former colleagues about her retrenchment, her voice takes on an angry tone and Read More
Heating up your job search. Five ways to dismiss those winter blues
As the wind howls down the cold city streets reminding you of the folly of not wearing fleecy undergarments, you can always count on your humorous friend to cheerfully remark "Is it cold enough for you?" as you take refuge inside the warm coffee shop where you're meeting for a spot of networking. Yes, winter is a miserable, bone-aching and often depressing time and it is Read More
Recruiters: Brick Walls or “Holders of the Secrets”?
Recruiters appear to be at the top of most jobseekers’ hit lists. Most people I have come across are certainly soured by the recruiter/jobseeker relationship, united in their criticisms that search consultants are the impenetrable brick wall to job search success; the self-serving, commission-focused obstructionist front line preventing a love match between the candidate Read More
Career Sabotage: It’s as simple as scratching an itch
From: Jane E. Recruiter, Human Resources Date: Thursday 6 May 2010 12.19pm To: John Smith Subject: Your Application for Job No. 12345 Dear John, Thank you for applying for the position of Operations Manager at XYZ Corporation. (Job No. 12345). Your application was very impressive, however there were other applicants with experience more suited to the Read More
Your Resume: Let it all hang out? Forget it!
Some time ago, a client shared her story while we were developing her resume. She told me about her life at the hands of her abusive spouse and how, after years of suffering, she fled the family home to a shelter leaving behind all their possessions and with her children in tow. Years later, she had regained her confidence, had settled into a new life and she had secured a Read More
Cinderella 2014. The Internet isn’t the Solution
Cinderella 2014: Taking a break from hearth cleaning at home, Cinderella scours searchforaprincess.com when she spies the perfect role advertised at Prince Charming Inc. Seems the CEO, Prince Charming, is looking for a Princess to co-manage his kingdom. The successful candidate need have no actual experience in kingdom management, but must possess a demure smile, the Read More
Of Plans and Pylons: What is your job search strategy?
Has there been a freeway, bridge or major construction where someone wakes one morning and thinks: "That would be a good idea, I'll build a bridge! Fred? Hand me a steel pylon!" No major decisions should ever be contemplated without a plan. Many jobseekers make the mistake of failing to plan. They ride on a wave, spill from job-to-job, make the same mistakes and Read More
If It’s Not You and It’s Not True, You’re Fooling Yourself
#careercollective "Be yourself; everyone else is already taken" Oscar Wilde "Thanks so much!" said Jim as he prepared to leave my office with his new resume. "Oh there's just one thing", he whispered conspiratorially. "I guess I had better get a wife and three kids before my interview! Ha!" Stunned, I stood there processing the fact that I'd been lied to as Jim took off Read More
Of Mums, Dads and Kids, Oldies and Sickies. Explaining Absences in Your Resume
You know in your heart it absolutely looks awful. I'm taking about that gap in your resume where you just can't easily explain your absence. Did I say "gap"? The more you look at it you see a great yawning chasm with nothing to link the dates before "the event" and after. "The Event" of which I speak can be any extended leave of absence that you feel uncomfortable in Read More
Resumes: Two Phrases to Turn Robotic to Robust
Cutting and pasting your current job description into the experience section of your resume speaks volumes about your slap dash, throw-it-all-together-in-a-minute approach and attitude. Is that really the impression you want to give? The key problem with job descriptions (apart from the fact they are mind-numbingly boring to read and full of fluffy, nonsensical Read More
Interview Paralysis
The other day I was sent the Word of the Day by a friend. It was Anatidaephobia. Before you race to Google it, I'll save you the time. Anatidaephobia is defined as a pervasive, irrational fear that one is being watched by a duck. (I vowed to get that into a sentence or a conversation some time in the future and as it turns out, this is it). Seeing there is a word for Read More
