Candidate Advice

The Wisdom of Creating Your Own Brain Trust

CEOs have them. So do entrepreneurs. What they have is a small group of people – possibly five or so – that they go to when they need objective advice and strategy. This group is known as a brain trust and you should have one for your career. A brain trust is something akin to having mentors, but...

When Following Your Passion is a Bad Idea

We hear over and over to “follow our passion” when it comes to careers. But this may not be a good idea. After all, our skills and natural abilities must align with our passion in order to be successful within it. For example, if we have no sense of rhythm but still love to dance, do we really...

Having Difficult Conversations….with Your Boss

It’s natural – so work hierarchy goes – for a supervisor to call in a subordinate and have that conversation: You’re performance has been lacking lately. You come in to work late too often. You’ve missed two project deadlines in the last month. And so on. But sometimes it’s the subordinate who...

Embracing the Up, Backwards and Sideways Career

Content No one’s career moves straight up. Most successful people see their share of failure and even simple treading water (no movement up or down). Just a few examples of people who failed on their way up: Walt Disney was fired from a newspaper because he “lacked imagination and had no good...

Is 50 the New 65?

Why There's a Good Chance Your Career Could be Over in Your 50s If you’re nearing 50, older than 50 or plan on being...

Dealing with an Over-talkative Co-Worker

What’s by far the best thing about work? Engaging with colleagues! Several studies have found that the thing just...

When it’s Time to “Settle Down”: No More Job Hopping

When, how and WHY it’s time to stop job-hopping Employers may be open to job-hopping in your early career, but...

How to “Decode” Job Descriptions

How many different job descriptions have you read during your job search? Hundreds? Maybe even thousands? They can seem pretty confusing! Oftentimes, job descriptions are written by a committee, or by someone inexperienced. Others are prepared by...

Understanding Your Value Proposition

When it comes to your job search, your value proposition is critical. What is your value proposition, exactly? It’s that set of skills (soft, technical or industry-specific) that make you better suited for a position. More importantly, they make...

Social Media Job Search Tips for Recent Graduates

Social media has become an integral part of our daily lives. From connecting with family to even applying for jobs, chances are you read or post to at least one social media site every day. But particularly for recent college graduates, your social...