Month: July 2012

7 Habits of Highly Effective Job Seekers

“7 Habits of Highly Effective People” is a classic and highly recommended book, for anyone looking for an increased sense of purpose, efficiency and effectiveness.  The principles in the book apply in the workplace, at home, in school and to job search.   Each of the seven habits has very direct applications and relevancy to job search: Read More

Avoiding Pre-Interview Faux Pas

Imagine this: A friend is picking you up for an outing, but shows up 20 minutes early. You’re not ready. Maybe you’re busy with something else. But your friend has arrived and you feel compelled to drop everything and rush to get ready. That’s how an interviewer feels if you show up 20 minutes early for an interview. Showing up way too early is just one of a number of pre-interview “ooops” that are easy to avoid. Read More

Don’t Ignore Smaller Companies in Your Job Search

Job seekers often focus their efforts on large firms with name recognition and, in the process, ignore smaller younger companies. However, by doing so, they are eliminating some good options. While looking for a job, you want to broaden your horizons and target a wide range of employers in your field of interest, regardless of size. Read More

Debugging Your E-mail Communication

Communication can make or break a job search.  With so many emails being exchanged during a job search, we rarely take a step back to think about the effectiveness of our email communications.   Given the importance of clear and effective communication, it’s well worth every job seeker’s effort to think about their email usage and debug any glitches in this common form of communication. Read More

What Does Your Resume Convey in 6 Seconds?

Today our guest blogger is Matt Youngquist. Matt is the President of Career Horizons, serving Northwest individuals and organizations dealing with the unique challenges of job hunting and employment transition.  Matt is a recognized expert in the field of career coaching, job hunting, and professional employment counseling.  You can follow him on Twitter @mattyoungquist.

Resume angst.  It’s a very real thing and the majority of job hunters I meet seem to suffer from it.  There just aren’t many people you’ll meet who will stand behind their resume 100% and say “I think my resume is terrific, sums up my qualifications beautifully, and is a piece I’m highly confident in sending out to potential employers.” Read More

Transition from Being a Big Company Employee to Working at a Startup (Part 2 of 2)

A couple of weeks ago, I attended a talk by Bryan Starbuck (on Twitter @BryanStarbuck), a serial tech startup entrepreneur and a former Microsoft Engineering Manager, about how to transition from a big company (Microsoft, Google, Amazon, etc.) employee to a career at startups.  Bryan provided great insights and practical advice for people interested in this process.  I’d like to share with you a summary of this talk and the main takeaways. Read More

Tips for Navigating a Career Transition

Today our guest blogger is Amy Nicole. Amy is a freelance writer for Incepture, a Florida based staffing agency serving Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville and Miami.  You can follow Incepture on Twitter @incepture.

In February 2009, I received my pink slip.

I had just started my job five months prior, uprooting my life in Florida to move to the unknown land of Washington, DC. Read More