Work, success, and meaning at every stage of your career
In my experience, it’s rare to find people who are willing to risk being that open with each other. “Feedback” is a euphemism for many things, but almost never for anything positive. If you have something good to say, you never preface it with, “Do you mind if I give you some feedback?”
Recruiters are on your side. They’re out to help you, not exploit you, and they can be powerful allies during your job search process. But while you make yourself available to them and answer their questions promptly, it’s important to remember that you aren’t paying them—they’re working for their employer clients, not you. It’s their job to help their clients fill open positions as efficiently as possible, so when they have to choose between the needs of a client and a candidate, the candidate is likely to take second place. Generally, recruiters are diplomatic, respectful, kind, and pleasant to interact with.
But sometimes—there’s no harm in admitting it—they’ll tell a few white lies.
This is a guest post by Jessica Johnson Have you ever wasted an hour searching for an email or a Word document you know you saved on your computer – but it just won’t turn up? Or maybe you’ve gone to print out a file, only to discover that you’re out of ink and you … Continue reading Guest Post: Everything In Its Place: Creating Calm in Your Office Space
The solution, the authors posit, is to become a soloist. If you’re lucky (and very good at what you do), the authors say, you’ll be able to distance yourself from all the time-sucking meetings and mind-numbing office protocol and simply work on interesting projects – alone, or with a small, talented group of people you don’t hate.
Leaving college and entering the world of work can be pretty intimidating if you’ve never had a full-time job before. There’s a minefield of things you might not be used to; feeling like you fit in can take some time. Complicating matters is the fact that young graduates don’t have a great reputation; the stereotype is that they have come out of college know it all and that this entitles them to their dream career. How can you come across as confident – but not over-confident?
Slacking seems to be hard wired into the human brain. If I pull alone, I pull as hard as I can; after all, who else is there to pull? But once we add a team into the mix, I can relax a little, knowing that my team will share the load.
The first week that you started looking for a new position, hiring managers may not have even noticed that you were technically unemployed. And they certainly (hopefully) had the common sense not to hold this against you. But if you’ve been on the market for a few months—or years—now, things might be a bit different.
As with all things in life, being successful at work is a much smoother process when you ask for guidance from someone who has already been successful. The wisdom and experience of a mentor is an invaluable tool for anyone who wants to avoid making rookie mistakes while climbing the professional ladder.
Crowds of hopeful jobseekers have increased dramatically at the same time that employers have been cutting back, making the competition at job fair events tougher than ever. If you’ve attended an event over the past few years, you know that it doesn’t feel very productive. But is it still worth your time to attend?
Q: I read every job search advice blog I lay my eyes on, and I know the rules backward and forward: I’ve learned everything under the sun about professional cover letters, sending thank you notes, and making eye contact during interviews. At this point I could practically teach a course. But I still don’t have a … Continue reading Guest Post: I’ve Done Everything Right and I’m Still Not Working: Q and A for Frustrated Job Seekers
Your Work, Your Way 