We’ve all been there. The feeling of dread and worry, sweating bullets because we’re underprepared. And after weeks and months of hunting for the right job, this is no place that you want to be.   When it comes to setting the stage for landing your dream job, you have to make sure that you are tending to every detail. Putting together a seamless resume is a very important part of the process. It is true that you are likely to find yourself filed directly into the stack of forgotten candidates if you do not have a resume that quickly catches the eye of your potential hiring manager. However, it is also true that the stand out candidates have also made sure to submit a unique cover letter along with their resume.   When an employer sits down to sift through [...]

You know you’ve got someone who can plead your case, who can testify to the long hours that you’ve pulled at the office for a dozen years. There must be someone who has seen you at your best or taken note of how quickly you learned that new program last year. Throughout your career, you have been performing and others have been watching, so one question remains. How do you determine which of those observers will bring you greater advantage in your new job search?   Developing a solid list of references to accompany your resume is a very important task that some might underestimate. Sure, they know they need to jot a few names down, to take out their phone and look up a few quick phone numbers and email addresses for contact purposes. However, there are many out there [...]

"I'll do it tomorrow." "Let's just save it for later." "I need to take care of this other stuff first."   When it comes to excuses, we've all got a pretty good list going for ourselves. Although we aim to be proactive in our career development, we allow our resume to sit and collect dust. It becomes outdated and, therefore, unable to represent us well when we need it in a pinch.   The resume that you present to potential employers leaves a lasting impact. The words and the formatting that you choose make the difference between interviews and wastebaskets, call backs and radio silence. This is not an area of your job search that needs to lie dormant but needs consistent TLC, whether you are currently "looking" for a new job or not.   So, what's the trick? How do you resurrect [...]

  A fork in the road is never easy to deal with when it comes to your career. We are all faced with decisions along the way that redefine our future, and many of you may be walking this journey right now. Whether by choice or by force, you are changing jobs – maybe even changing careers altogether – and you’ve got to figure out how your skills will transfer from one place to the other.   What you did at your old job may not jive well with what you think you’ll be doing at this new prospective company. However, that does not mean that one of these things is not like the other. The trick that you need to master when looking for your next job is how to use a new language to describe the same talent that [...]

We’re all full of questions when it comes to striking the right balance in an interview. We know that we need to talk about ourselves but talk about the company, too. We want to put our strongest assets and finest accomplishments on display, but we need to prove, also, that we’ve done our research on the details of the potential job.   So, when it comes to talking yourself up, when have you maxed out? How much is too much? What cues should you be watching for? These are all questions that we’ve asked ourselves, and it’s time to find clarification on the correct answers.   The company of interest wants to hear more about what you can do for them than about your knowledge of their company. After all, they can google their company details, as well. They already know [...]