Practically every time I turn on the news these days I hear about how “bad” the economy is. I am not sure if the economy is officially “bad” unless you are in the mortgage business but it is most certainly a time of change. There have been lots of notable mergers and acquisitions recently which are good for my business because as soon as employees get a whiff of major changes in management they hurry to update their resumes...

I recently found a new hairdresser whom I adore and who I think is going to become a huge success in the beauty industry. His name is Darrel and he started a new career as a hairdresser only a few years ago. Prior to that he was in the U.S. Army and then he spent time as a computer programmer. When he decided to switch careers and get into the "hair business" he graduated from beauty school and got a job at Jackson Ruiz Sal...

A good friend and former co-worker of mine recently asked me to be one of his references for a CEO position for which he is being considered. Naturally I said yes. I know him well and can extol his virtues with ease so I didn’t give a second thought to what kinds of things I might say about him when asked. But then my friend amazed me. He sent me detailed notes about his potential employer, the position, short and long term...

I am always amazed at the animosity that many job seekers have toward recruiters. In some cases it’s justified because there are some slimy recruiters out there simply because there are no certifications or specialized education required to become a recruiter. Anyone can call themselves a recruiter and some of the folks who do are not particularly talented or professional. With that said there are some amazing recruiters ou...

Are you a college student with a MySpace or Facebook page? Are you an adult with a blog? Do you Twitter? If so you need to understand how a hiring manager could view your online brand based upon the information you post on the Internet. It has become commonplace for recruiters and HR professionals alike to Google the names of individuals they plan to interview. Also many companies (example: Big Four Accounting/Consulting fi...

It's not news that many people around the U.S. have been laid off and many more are concerned about job security. I was talking to my friend Scott Ingram about this situation the other day and Scott mentioned a great piece of advice that he gives to folks who have lost jobs: when you aren’t actively job searching use the time you used to spend working to volunteer for a cause that is meaningful to you. Keeping busy while me...

Last year I started working with a client whom I will call "C". C is a very successful senior level sales executive who is now in his mid 40s. Like many other people, C has reached that point in his career when he is taking stock of what he really wants to do. He is a great pharmaceutical sales guy - momentum and talent have helped him to navigate a lucrative career and to stay with the same company through a couple of merg...

Recently I have been pondering the question of whether or not it’s really necessary to get together in-person just to chat (no urgent agenda) with known business contacts/partners? My networking-expert-friends who just read that first sentence are probably cringing right at this very moment. Let me explain my question a little better and then maybe some of you will have answers for me:I understand that in order to build rel...

Every once in awhile someone tells me what they want done with their resume and I just shake my head in wonder. I am referring to folks who think that with a little sleight of hand they can fool recruiters into thinking that their work experience, employers, or education are something other than what their resume says it is. The truth? You are nuts if you think you can really fool recruiters.Here are some examples:Example A...

There are many schools of thought about salary negotiations and it appears that a great many of them involve game playing, duplicity, and tiptoeing around an actual number. I recently read a post by a blogger who gave what I thought was pretty bad advice about forcing the hiring manager or recruiter to give a range or a number before answering the question, "What salary are you looking for?" Obviously everyone wants to get...