Archive for the 'Selling Yourself' Category

How Come He Has A Job?

There’s nothing like being unemployed to sharpen one’s ability to notice incompetence in others. Many of the professional level job seekers I work with find it difficult to accept how they can’t find work when they encounter rude, unprofessional, unorganized and poorly skilled individuals on a regular basis who are gainfully employed. Many times they […]

Contacts Increase Your Worth

When looking for work most realize professional contacts can help open doors and secure interviews. Guess what else they can do? The contacts you have strong relationships with can help you negotiate a higher salary. Many fail to consider and sell the potential value of the professional relationships they have to prospective employers. Don’t make […]

Timing Matters

When mapping out a strategy for your job search, it’s easy to focus exclusively on what you should be doing and leave out the when. It is important to realize the impact timing can have on how successful your efforts are with a decision maker. I’ll share a story of one of my more embarrassing […]

No Better Than A Miracle Diet Pill

Some job seekers are no better than those companies pushing miracle diet pills. Their product can’t live up to sales claims. They market themselves as having capabilities they know aren’t truly theirs to claim. Potential customers who aren’t desperate and take the time to ask the right questions recognize this truth and save themselves from […]

Interviews Go Beyond The Job Offer

Landing a job is far from the end of the interview process. More people are realizing employment is a continuous effort of proving relevance, selling yourself to greater responsibilities, gaining credibility and building on an already positive impression. Sadly, I’ve met several laid-off professionals who may have been spared the pink slip had they taken […]

Contradictions

I’ve blogged before on candidates contradicting their abilities. Mostly I’ve talked about how applicants’ actions fail to live up to their words. Atention to detail Exceptional communicator with the ability to communicate with people of various backgrounds exceptionally. Excellent ability to manage deadlines. (yet the application was submitted 2 days after the position closed) Today […]

Do You Smell of Febreze?

My friends know I hate Febreze. Why? Because the minute I smell it I know there is something lurking underneath that scent no one wants me to know about. You might as well hang a sign warning me as your guest something in your house is a bio-hazard. Unlike the actors in the commercial, I […]

Information Overload

Job seekers know they may only get one shot at impressing a decision maker. The pressure is intense to make a strong and favorable showing with whatever tool is used at that moment, be it resume, cover letter, networking conversation or interview. Unfortunately, this knowledge has a way of cementing that fact for many. What […]

You May Not Be What You Think You Are…

The trouble with job titles is the functions that go with them often vary by company and industry. Candidates who don’t take this into consideration may have a bumpy ride with their job search efforts. For example, the Human Resource Manager of a 50 employee company who applies to be the Human Resource Manager of […]

Maybe If Your Job Involved Karaoke?

There are few things you can do in this world where people cheer you on and ask for more when you perform badly. Karaoke is about all I can think of at the moment. And it’s hard to say if that would still be the case if those doing the clapping had to pay the […]

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