Over the years, I have worked with hundreds of key executives – CEOs, Partners, COOs, Presidents, Senior Vice Presidents, and so on. Top business professionals like these present unique challenges to the Career Consultant, because they face unique challenges in their own transitions! Specializing in working with this clientele, I have identified 10 distinct issues that senior executives usually confront with when conducting...

These are tough times to be sure. Just as a new President is about to be elected, the U.S. is experiencing the worst economy since the Great Depression. The stock market recently had the largest one-day drop in history. The shockwaves of the “credit crunch” are reverberating across the country and around the globe. Governments are being forced to bail-out entire industries and invest directly into financial institutions to...

Over the past year, we’ve received a number of phone calls from parents of recent college graduates. This is unusual for two reasons: (1) we don’t usually work with clients in their twenties; and (2) these parents are seriously concerned about their children’s ability to start careers. Indeed, many parents are now paying our career coaching fees, to ensure that their kids will have every advantage in the transition from sch...

Of all the subjects we cover in career management and job search, the one that seems to cause clients the most anxiety is INTERVIEWING. To ease my clients’ concerns, I often simplify the topic by reducing it to a handful of basic elements. When you boil it all down, job interviews are made-up of only five statements from the interviewer, which include four questions and one sentence. Sure, you’ll be asked more than five que...

In considering the self-employment option, there are two main questions to ask yourself: Is self-employment potentially right for you? If so, which of the four paths to business ownership would be best for you?You have two main career paths: Self Employment vs. “Getting a Job” Is Business Ownership Right for You? Three questions to help you discover an answer: Why are you exploring entrepreneurial alternatives at...

In today’s challenging economy, many people feel that they have lost a sense of control over their careers. Widespread corporate layoffs and downsizings have made the job market a tenuous environment in which to build a solid future. As a result, a growing percentage of my career consulting clients are turning to entrepreneurship as a viable alternative.Indeed, one of the best ways to gain more control over your career is b...

IntroductionLet’s assume that you’ve done your strategic networking, gotten some names and numbers, leveraged recruiters, and gotten referred to the right people in the right places. Now it’s time to learn some important details about the interviewing process.What follows is an outline of the different types of interviews, how they work, and what you can expect during each of these interview situations. At some companies, y...

Most people already know that they need a list of Professional References. But you might be asking, “Why do I need Letters of Recommendation at this point in my career?”The answer is simple. You don’t NEED them … but you should WANT them. Why? Because when you find yourself in a competitive interviewing situation (and what interviewing situation is NOT competitive?), the letters of recommendation can really “give you an edg...

As a Career Consultant, I work with clients on all the tools and techniques that are needed to succeed in the job search – including interviewing skills. One thing I have noticed over the years is that candidates often get “trapped” in certain interview questions that are designed to make them say something negative or self-defeating (which generally leads to rejection). Indeed, job-seekers are not even aware of how negativ...

In the not-too-distant past, ascending the corporate ladder assured management professionals of a bigger office, a stronger compensation package and a more secure future. But today, executives are being told: Don’t get too comfortable in that corner office, and don’t buy that fancy new car or boat you’ve always dreamed of – because your job is just as vulnerable as everyone else’s. Evidence suggests that the higher up the l...