Soft Skills Get the Green Light at B-Schools

The April 7 issue of BusinessWeek reminds job seekers that “soft skills”  are important and valued in the workplace.   (Note:  my search for a link to this story reveals that an expanded version appeared online.)

Business schools, including MIT, Carnegie Mellon, Emory, the University of Virginia and Babson College are offering management communications classes to teach “soft skills,” such [...]

Counter-intuitive Advice: Talk to People Who “Can’t Help You”

“You don’t know enough to know what it is you don’t know.”

Does that describe you?  I bet that it does about some things.  Hopefully, there are areas about which you can confidently say you know a lot, but for most of us, especially in our high tech, ever changing world, there is always more to [...]

Tips to Control Job Hunt Overwhelm

Photo by tsgentuso (used by permission)

The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex, overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.” – Mark Twain, in The Success Principles, by Jack Canfield

It seems obvious – you can’t be successful [...]

Discover Your Value Propositon – The Elevator Pitch, Part II

In a previous post, I outlined the importance of writing your value proposition or “elevator pitch.”  To recap, this is a short (30-second), prepared speech that addresses the questions, “Who are you?” and “What do you have to offer?”

In Part One, I suggested writing down your top five work and personal accomplishments. 

Now, think about what you want to [...]

Should You Have a Board of Advisors?

Recently, Marci Alboher’s Shifting Career’s article in the New York Times hosted a guest author on the topic of a personal board of advisors:

A personal board of directors is simply a collection of people who know you, are interested in your well-being, and have useful points of view. You consult with them on a regular [...]

Don’t Flush Your Interview Down the Toilet…Top Interviewing Blunders

A recent survey of hiring managers compiles the Ten Wackiest Job Interview Mistakes. 

Suffice to say that it isn’t a good idea to allude to your plans to go out drinking after the appointment, flush the toilet during a phone interview or explain that you were fired for beating up your last boss.  (Another pet peeve I’ve seen [...]

Connect the Dots Resume Writing

Initially, readers may give your resume a 7- to 10-second glance.  Really.  (When I started this work over 10 years ago, we use to say it was 20 seconds.)

You have a very small window of opportunity to make an impression.  It is your job to connect the dots between what you offer and what the employer [...]

Discovering Your Value Proposition – The Elevator Pitch, Part I

Photo by pink_emme_bat

Have you written your elevator pitch?  Otherwise known as your value proposition or a personal infomercial, this is a brief (some say 2-minutes, I like 30 seconds) introduction to you with a focus on what you have to offer.  This technique is used all of the time in sales and marketing, and since your [...]

Build Your Networking Base as a Connector

In her recent Shifting Gears column in The New York Times, How We Introduce, and What It Means, Marci Alboher discusses different types of connectors.  She references wikipedia’s definition:

Connectors are people in a community who know large numbers of people and who are in the habit of making introductions. A connector is essentially the social [...]

Enhance Your Linkedin Profile for Job Seeking

In light of the fact that linkedin has become a source of choice for people who love to hire passive job seekers (those who may not actually be seeking a new job), I thought it would be a good idea to remind readers to pay attention to your linkedin profile!

First, a note on visibility….

If you [...]