Category: Complete Index

Avoiding “Unemployment Discrimination”

Are employers discriminating by refusing to consider unemployed people for open positions? It’s unclear whether this practice is illegal and how widespread it may be.  It does happen and it’s important to understand why.

Employers are trying to hire the best and brightest people with the sharpest, most up to date skills. All things being equal, they are likely to favor an applicant with recent experience over one who has been off the job for some time. Read More

Job Search Lessons From Dating

You find a job that looks interesting, you go to the interview looking your best to see if the job is a good fit, you go home and wait by the phone for the call back… Sound familiar? Maybe like a first date? If you think about it, the process of getting a job is very much like dating. For both dating and job searching, there are the do’s and don’ts. Not surprisingly, there are many parallels between them.

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Job Search Secrets from a Google Recruiter

Google regularly tops the list of the top companies to work for and the most admired companies. They are also known for attracting and selecting top talent and a work environment that empowers employees to pursue their passion.

In a recent CBS Money Watch article, Robert Pagliarini interviewed a recruiting expert at Google, Bryan Power, to gain insights into what top companies are looking for in job candidates.  Bryan Power has worked at Google for over 6 years and is now a People Operations Manager at Google, where he manages recruiters for the North and South American sales organizations,

We boiled down this 40 minutes long interview to give you a quick summary of the job search secrets according to an expert in recruitment and staffing management. Read More

Why Years of Experience Don’t Matter

Yes, you read the headline correctly. Years of experience do not get people hired. Why? Because experience does not equal success or future value. For example, I can claim 30+ years experience as a runner. Does that make me a candidate for the next Olympics? Could I be a track coach? Am I even a good runner?  No. Just because I have been doing something for a long time does not mean I am good at it.

Which is more impressive: Read More

What Have You Been Up To Since Your Last Job?

A common situation many job seekers face is having an employment gap on their resume.   A gap could be due to either being out of work, or taking a job that does not require your qualifications and education and does not align with your career development.  While having a period of time during which you were not working is nothing to be ashamed of, you need to be prepared to confidently discuss it, if it comes up in an interview.

If you have had a lengthy job search, answering that you have been looking for another job is not going to impress the interviewer. Read More

Don’t Let Your Appearance Hurt Your Job Search

We may not think about the impressions we make with our appearance very often.  Most people are pretty set in the way they dress, the way they wear their hair, and their taste in fashion.  But during a job search, you meet new people more often and are reguarly creating a first impressions.  Are your looks holding you back? Now may be a good time to take a deeper look. Read More