Category: Job Search

Military Spouse Appreciation Day

by candacemoody

The Friday before Mother’s Day (in 2014, May 9) is the day set aside to officially recognize the role of military spouses. President Ronald Reagan started the tradition of Military Spouse Appreciation Day in 1984, and the date was standardized by the Secretary of Defense. This post is my gift to my fellow military spouses. My husband served for over 20 years in the U.S. Navy, and I know how challenging it is to find and keep meaningful employment when you follow your spouse across the country – or the world – when he or she transfers to a new duty station.

Confident Career Strategies

by candacemoody

Stewart says that the first step in preparing for an interview is to conduct a thorough inventory of your skills and accomplishments. A sort of personal SWOT analysis: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses in a competitive market can help you prepare to answer tough questions in the interview. These are internal qualities, whereas Opportunities and Threats are environmental qualities. What outside factors might influence the market for your skills? Is your programming language of choice being phased out? Are you an early adopter of some technique or technology? Being aware of industry trends helps you position yourself within a larger context.

Guest Post: Grad School Increases your Marketability

by candacemoody

The Bachelor’s degree may have slowed down as a a way for a candidate to stand out. With over 30% of adults now holding a Bachelor’s degree, ‘standing-out’ with respect to education may require job applicants to have more sophisticated training. This may be true both at the beginning of a career and as you climb in an organization. In some job environments, experience can only take you so far. To be considered for executive level positions, you may need an advanced degree.

This is Not How It’s Done

by candacemoody

I was shocked to read about the emails sent by a woman who includes in her email signature “2013 International Association of Business Communicators communicator of the year.” Her name is Kelly Blazek, and she runs a 7,300-subscriber JobBank newsletter based in Cleveland, Ohio. She’s supposed to be helpful (and a great communicator) but after her condescending and downright nasty emails to young careerists became public, she’s doing a lot of damage control. What was she thinking?

What’s in a Name?

by candacemoody

But names do matter. Your name is linked to first impressions from a very early age. A survey of 30,000 teachers revealed that 49 percent make assumptions about kids based on their names, and that they perceived some names as trouble makers (hint: don’t name your rambunctious boy Jack.)

Guest Post: How to Land the Job without Looking Desperate

by candacemoody

An unfortunate paradox pervades the job market: the longer an average person has been out of work, the more likely she becomes to lowering her standards, widening her range of options, ignoring employer red flags, and behaving in ways that don’t benefit her long term interests. This is perfectly natural, and in most cases, it’s a logical and intelligent response to a serious problem.