Already again on the heels a new year, and I keep hearing discussions, seeing commercials, and reading social media referencing new resolutions for next year.   For me, I have stopped trying to conquer New Year resolutions, knowing they are not realistic. We set ourselves up for failure by stating what we choose as resolutions without a way to realize our goals. The commitment wasn’t there yet it always felt like failure when I gave up a day, or a week into the new year.   In a recent discussion that touched on resolutions, the suggestion was made to work on beginning a new habit or ..read more

 Refreshed after a long, fun weekend I am hoping job seekers will jump back on the band wagon and recommit to working daily on their job search. If what you are doing isn’t working…change what you are doing. Einstein’s definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. I’ve been focusing on this quote for the last few weeks as I work to improve my efficiency while expanding my customer service. I am trying to take notice of how I do things, in what order and what the results are. If certain processes or routines are taking too much time, I am wor ..read more

Monday’s PMA This weekend and even this morning catching up with friends on Twitter, the topic of conversation varied but all focused on change. Change taking place in our personal lives and around the world in our professional lives every day. Talking with many on the changes in their lives, some were all for it while others were trying to control it, but all were noticing it. When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.  ~Victor Frankl It is much easier to accept change and work with it than to avoid, deny, or fight change, but it usually t ..read more

If you are one of the lucky few that have been offered an interview lately, you have already done a few things right. To continue moving in the right direction you will need to demonstrate during the interview, your value to their company. Below you’ll find tips on how to prepare for your next interview so it will be your last. Do your homework and prepare if you want to stand out  at your next interview. Research the company before the interview. Start by Googling the company, the industry and their competitors to learn the current trends, issues, and activities. Study their website, the ..read more

I am just in the first chapters of Pamela Slim’s Escape from Cubicle Nation, a frank and interesting look at the trappings of living your career in an unfulfilling corporate job and finding your way to entrepreneurial freedom. At this point what is really being focused on is the importance of your happiness in what you do. Pamela describes how many job seekers or those interested in going it alone, feel guilty because they seemingly have the perfect job. They often feel selfish complaining or looking to leave when so many others don’t have jobs and would kill for yours. This idea really h ..read more

Tuesday’s Tip The phone interview is often a precursor to the traditional face-to-face interview. It is an important part of the weeding out process. With companies looking for ways to cut back, the phone interview works well to save companies money and time. In order to really nail the phone interview you must prepare for it – just as you should for the traditional, in person interview. Preparation for the interview includes reviewing the job description and website. Use Google to research the company to find out what is going on in the company and in the industry. Also, look into what compet ..read more

Wednesday’s Q&A Question: Should a resume be one page or two? Answer: It depends….its true! The so called rule of all resumes must be one page just isn’t true. With people changing jobs more frequently and achieving more goals, a resume should sometimes be two pages. I usually tell clients, if your background warrants a two page resume than we should oblige. A few things to consider in determining this are the number of jobs, amount of experience, and type of positions you’ve had during your career. New graduates usually have just one page, but I’ve written two page resumes for new graduat ..read more

If you’ve been working daily really hard on your career search and you are feeling a bit burned out, take a few days or week and don’t search at all. Instead of another week of contacts, researching companies and career opportunities, attending networking events, following up on resume submissions and interviews, take a break and do nothing for yourself. This week, focus on other job seekers and how you can help them. This week or at least for a couple of days, put your job search plans on hold and do for others. Find someone who is also searching for a new job and find out about their needs ..read more

Friday’s Free for All Little humor to help start your weekend off right! First off, I don’t claim to have a good voice but I love music – all music. I can’t help but sing, tap, or do something when I hear music. My youngest daughter is the same way. I remember her at 9 or 10 months old, she’d be in the high-chair kicking her legs or bobbin her head to whatever music I had on the radio as I fixed her lunch. So, this past week, I was driving her (now 13 years old) to a friend’s house and we were shamelessly belting  out an old tune, one you might know…”I love Rock n Roll” by Joan Jett. And ..read more

How can I find networking events in my area and what should I bring and expect. Answer:  This question comes from a recent client who had always progressed into new positions by getting noticed and being asked to move up the ladder or to other organizations. Now, as many Americans are discovering, he needs a different strategy now. My client was not comfortable with the idea of going someplace to “network” and wasn’t even sure where to begin. So we went through Google together and hit on 261,000 results with “Business Networking in Troy, MI”. Going down the list there were local BNI, LBN ..read more