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Archive of posts tagged Communication

Asking for job search help effectively

Following is a recent LinkedIn exchange I had with a complete stranger. Information has been changed to protect identities (well, except mine): The initial connection:  Dawn, I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn. – Albert I’ve gotten over people using the “generic” LI invite. Most people don’t know or think to […]

How current is that job search advice? | Responding to the dinosaurs.

Yesterday, I shared a university career center assessment of a cutting-edge, targeted, focused, differentiating career-marketing document I created for a soon-to-graduate student client. You can read more detail about the document here. To refresh your memory, here is the feedback my client received, (copied exactly as forwarded): “Your resume is very colorful and creative, however, […]

How current is that job search advice? | Beware the dinosaur.

I recently worked with a soon-to-graduate, elementary school teacher. She came as a referral from a close friend of hers. When working with students, I’m careful to explain my approach to resume creation and the reality of Job Search 2012. I go on to share, frequently, my techniques will not align with what they have […]

Chasing job search butterflies

Every summer in Southeastern North Carolina, we experience a proliferation of yellow butterflies. {My ex (the organic farmer) called them cabbage lopers butterflies. I’m not sure that’s the correct species; for our purposes, yellow butterflies suffices.} They are everywhere. I can look out the window sometimes and count twenty or thirty dancing around the yard […]

It’s your life. It’s your career. Stop apologizing.

Three times this week, (and it’s only Wednesday), I’ve had clients say to me, “If only I’d …”, or “How am I going to explain this gap in employment?”, “What will ‘they’ think, when they see …?” and other, self-deprecating comments about their career and the choices they’ve made in their lives. To which I […]

Jobseekers: How are you making connections?

I found this email in my inbox this morning*: Subject: Please contact me if you would like to be my Job Recruiter Greetings Recruiters, My name is John Doe and I am looking for a Sales Manager/Director position in “Some” County, Idaho. Please email me at johndoe4hire@geemail.com or call me at 555-555-5555 Thank you and […]

You don’t know me. You need to help me.

A few weeks ago I received an invitation to connect on LinkedIn. It read: “What advice do you have for me as a teacher who is transitioning into technology? Please connect with me on LinkedIn. Touch a life and make a world of difference. Thank you [name withheld]” I did not recognize the name. I […]

How are you asking for feedback?

And what are you getting? And for that matter, what are you giving when asked? In the past few months, I’ve had two people hand me a product (virtually or in person) with no context or reference to their attachment or affiliation, what I was viewing or why I would be interested. The only guidance […]

Serendipity of simple conversations: A networking story

On July 29th, 2010, I glanced at my left hand and noticed, to my horror, the main stone, a marquis-cut sapphire, in my engagement ring was gone. The day was my 11th wedding anniversary. (Gotta love the irony.) My husband and I checked into replacing the stone, but opted to put the purchase on hold […]

Are you positive about your job search?

Career Collective post: Once a month, a group of career professionals blog on a subject topical and timely for a job seeker. We’ll post our thoughts on our own blog and link to the post of our colleagues on the same topic. This month’s topic: Mid-year job search checkup Responses from others contributors linked at […]