Metrics of Success: How to improve your Career Opportunities

The other day, while conducting a mock interview workshop, I asked the interviewee what compensation he was looking for. He proceeded to say that he needed at least six figures because he has two kids in college and alimony payments in addition to his mortgage payments. Now you might think that this is a reasonable

How Case Studies Can Help You Land Your Next Career Position

For most of the past three years, I have had the great opportunity to work with John Hall in teaching his Advanced Career Strategies and Advanced Career Transition classes. One of the tools taught in the class and that I have adopted for my private practice is the use of case studies as a marketing tool

Interviewing: Do You Think You Are Prepared, or Do You Know You Are Prepared?

My mentor and good friend John Hall likes to share that In the January 3rd 2011 issue of Fortune Magazine, Geoff Colvin talks about how Chief Justice John Roberts prepared for oral arguments he would meticulously write down hundreds of questions that he thought he could conceivably be asked, pondered and refined the answers in

Does Restructuring to Cut Costs Really Work?

  Over the past several years, the news has been filled with huge layoffs by companies trying to cut costs. Is this a strategy that really helps a company? Every day, in the course of networking, I have the opportunity to talk with, not only people who are in transition because of cost cutting efforts,

What Does Jeremy Lin’s Story Tell Us About Perceived Liabilities?

  This is a blog I posted last year, during Linasity, but was accidently deleted. The ideas about perceived liabilities are still relevant, so I am re-posting. Perceived liabilities are what we or others perceive will keep us from being the best person for the job. The problem is that these perceptions are often based on

Strategies to Successfully Hunt in the Hidden Job Market

Last week I discussed the best way to get around the salary question for online applications is to stop relying on online applications and pursue the hidden job market. This makes sense not only to get around the salary question, and the general road block of HR, but also because 80% of the truly open

Best Resources for Researching Target Companies

Most job seekers take a reactive rather than a proactive approach to their job search. Their focus is on submitting resumes online to jobs that they see posted. This may be the easiest approach, but it is far from effective or efficient. One of the most essential components of a strategic job search plan is

BBQ Networking

This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend a BBQ networking event hosted by my friend Wayne Yoshida. The idea is simple. You are always attending various types of networking events where you have a short time to connect with a large number of new people. Wayne’s inspiration, which was from reading the book

How Can I Effectively Leverage Twitter When All I See Is Noise?

One of the most common questions I get about using Twitter as part of a job search strategy is, “How can I get through all the noise?” It is a very good question, with actually a quite simple answer. However, in order to get to the answer, it is very important to understand that to

How Do You Quantify Your Ideal Job?

Are you in transition? Are you considering a Career Change? Are you trying to determine the path for your career? How do you find the right job? Can you afford to “choose” the right job? Many professionals choose jobs that come to them, rather than proactively managing their career and working their ideal jobs. Too