Guest Post: 7 Smartphone Apps to Help You Find Your Next Job
Current smartphone models are not just made to call and text; they can also act as your personal assistant. And for users in a job search, well, there’s an app for that. Several, in fact.
Tag: Job Search
Getting Unstuck
Once in a great while, I’ll run into someone who asks for advice, but then rejects every offering. “I tried that once; it didn’t work.” “I can’t do that; I have no (insert resource here.)” “I don’t know how to (find, do, spell; insert another verb here) that.” When I come across these people, their responses are usually immediate and firm. I get the impression that I have not been helpful, and I certainly don’t feel good. Worse, I sometimes hear that other advisors, who I know to be smart and helpful, “were no help at all to me.” I’d hate to think that someone was saying that about me.
The Five Floors of a Relationship
The Floor One relationship is usually transactional in nature. We encounter dozens of people a week with whom we exchange simple greetings: the barista at Starbucks, the mailman, the clerk who checks us out at the market. We ask “How are you today” without really expecting much of an answer, and others respond with “Fine, thanks” no matter what they’re really feeling or thinking.
Re-Post: What I Learn About You In A Few Quick Google Searches
You should expect to be Googled and to Google people you’re going to meet. As Broughton mentions in his post, your conversation will be much better much faster if you can say, “I really liked the article you wrote on…” rather than simply commenting on the weather.
Summer Reading List
I love hearing from other bloggers – they offer great suggestions for reposts. Many people (including me) are taking time off this week, so I welcome the chance to offer a repost of a list of great reading for people in a job search. These 50 book suggestions come with short reviews and recaps, and all of them will be available at your local library. Enjoy!
Your Resume’s Job
Specialized careers such as attorney, information technology, or CPA, have their own language and culture. Usually, it takes an attorney to know whether the skills you have are in demand or hard to find. Only an attorney will know whether the firm you worked for has prestige or great leadership or a winning culture. That’s industry insider information that an outsider expert on resumes (like me) probably doesn’t have.
Six Steps to the Perfect Elevator Speech
Everyone understands the concept: pitch yourself and your skills in less than a minute (the time to ride the elevator to the top floor.) Here is career coach Tim Tyrell-Smith’s template, designed to work for a networking meeting introduction.
Informational Interviewing
Effective informational interviewing starts with a specific job target in mind. Once you’ve done your research and know something about your goal and the industry, you can start to seek out professionals that will be willing to meet with you. You can choose to meet with people doing the job or the hiring managers. You may benefit by speaking with both. From the professional in the field, you’ll get perspective on what the job involves on a daily basis, trends in the industry, and how the job matches up with your interests and abilities. From the hiring manager, you’ll learn what companies look for in candidates, how they evaluate skills and education, and what a typical career path might look like.
Introverts and the Job Search
Introverts make up about 25 percent of the general population. If you’re an introvert in a job search, you may feel at times that your job skills are not being valued because your job search skills are holding you back. And you may be right.
Four Tips from Master Resume Writers
I recently attended a webinar delivered by Wendy Enelow and Louise Kursmark, two career coaches with impressive credentials. They delivered a class for other career coaches on the finer points of writing resumes. Even after more than 16 years of experience in writing resumes, I learned a lot. Here are some ideas I think every jobseeker should incorporate into a resume.
