When I was asked to prepare a list of top 5 tips for job seekers for the materials for ASIS’s May 18 Career Transition event, at first I couldn’t decide where to start. Should I list 5 resume tips? Cover letter tips? Ack! There are so many “basic” tips out there that limiting ideas to “top 5” is actually a daunting task. Of course, I was able to take a step back and asked myself what tips job seekers usually don’t hear. Fro...

One of the reasons writing can be so hard is that we often dive into the writing part without a lot of thought to the strategy and purpose of our message. By giving yourself a slower start and working a bit on the overall picture of what you want to accomplish in your writing, you will likely finish with a much better message! Tip 1: It is all about ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! Actually, that is a joke. It is not all about you. When...

Anyone who’s ever been on the receiving end of a pink slip knows that leaving your job and losing your job are two very different experiences. Jean Chatzky, financial journalist, author, and money coach, has built her career on “making money make sense.” Here are Jean’s top insights about what to do immediately after losing your job: Be Prepared. Hopefully you’ve already stashed away emergency funds that will cover your e...

Twitter is a great tool for coaches like me. I can give off the cuff bits of advice and insight in just a few seconds to all my followers on Twitter, fans on Facebook, and contacts on LinkedIn. As a general rule, I tweet about 3 times per day Monday through Thursday. Sometimes you’ll even see a tweet on a Friday or a Saturday if I come across something really good. The only problem is, well, I’m limited in space and sometim...

Have you ever started a new job that was supposed to be great only to discover that while the work was fine, the place was just awful? Perhaps the budget for marketing was nil. Maybe the boss gave no direction…or too much direction! Did they move from downtown to uptown within a couple months? Wouldn’t it have been nice to know some of these things before you accepted the job offer? Here are some questions you can ask, alon...

Do you ever find you get so caught up in your list of things to do that you don’t seem to get anything done? Kimberly has a four pronged strategy to help you manage your daily tasks and long range projects. The first step, the daily to-do priority technique, acts as a foundation for the remaining steps - managing other’s expectations, staying focused and factoring in real life. Each step works well in conjunction with the n...

After attending the Resume Writing Academy's E-Summit on Writing LinkedIn Profiles http://www.resumewritingacademy.com/esummit-writing-profiles.php, I am sharing a few key ideas that will help you make your LinkedIn profile and overall presence more appealing to recruiters, potential business partners, and customers. Most people filled out their LinkedIn profile several months or years ago and haven't touched it since. So o...

As a job search expert, I am sometimes expected to have ‘all the answers’ for my client. The good news is I often do know exactly what my clients need to help them be successful in their search. On the other hand, having research to reference in my profession is always a plus. That is why I was particularly excited when I came across this research report:2010 Resume Survey by Eric Hilden, Career Placement Officer The Center...

When a friend is telling you a story about something, do you find yourself thinking about your own experiences that closely relate? Does the following excerpt of a conversation sound typical to you:Jane: Whew. I had a tough day. This project is killing me.Mark: Ugh. I know what you mean. I was trying to reach Jane for some info I needed and she told me she’d get it to me Wednesday! Jane: Well this project just isn’t going...

In September, I had the pleasure of attending (and speaking at) the National Resume Writer¡¦s Association¡¦s annual professional development conference in Fort Worth, Texas. There were several really good sessions that gave me new tools to bring back to my clients and one of the "biggies" that I am sharing with you was the 2 hour panel discussion featuring hiring managers from four major industries. In this article, you wil...