The Power of Not Very Powerful People

We know from networking training that people love to be asked for advice; it makes them feel important and seen. The problem is we often focus only on who we consider powerful, and they get asked a lot. It’s the connected, but not powerful, people who may have the best leads. Talk to everyone.

How to Follow up When the Company Doesn’t Make it Easy

Nicole wrote WorkSource to complain about how hard it is to follow up:

“Some companies make it impossible for you to do a follow up call after you submit your resume. Either they keep their company name private, they won’t take your call unless they have already called you. Is there any way to avoid this – it’s so frustrating!”

Telling a Difficult Story

Many jobseekers have a back story that makes it challenging to compete for jobs. If you’re one of them, having been fired from a former job, having personal or financial problems, or having a criminal background, the idea of handling the story in an interview is probably keeping you up at night.

Your Job Search “Campaign” Part Two

It’s election time here in Jacksonville; our local mayoral and city council races are in full swing. It strikes me that your job search is a little like a race. Maybe there’s something you can learn from a well-run campaign.

First, a well-run campaign seeks out the best advice it can get. Candidates get help with organizing, messaging, and reaching out to voters and donors. The best candidates also talk to experts on issues and get candid feedback on their appearance and speaking skills.

What Color is your Power Suit?

We humans react strongly to color. Color theory is an important element of any design, and it played a part in the clothes you’re wearing right now. In this recent political season, you can bet that many stylists spent many hours helping candidates send the right message through style and color. If you can’t afford your own personal stylist, here are some general tips on color in the interview.

Fidgeting and Your Career: Calm = Power

There’s little doubt that when a person stands quietly, with relaxed posture, she seems more confident. Humans rely on hundreds of non-verbal signals when we’re communicating: smiles, involuntary grimaces and your eyes tell much more than what you say with words. We associate fidgeting with nervousness, and nervousness with unfavorable traits like dishonesty, guilt, or lack of self control.

Why Didn’t I get the Offer?

You may have experienced what you consider to be a great interview – I mean a GREAT interview. You waited; maybe you even decided not to pursue other opportunities because this job and the chemistry in the interview felt so right. But the call didn’t come. It can be frustrating.