The concept of fairness may be ingrained in our psyches somewhere, but it often seems to get short shrift in practice. The all-important job search is no exception. Sometimes the lack of fairness seems so blatant that you want to cry (like a small child), “That’s just not fair!” Where’s the problem here? You’re no longer a little child. What might bring out a kind response when you were a ch...

If a professional conference is well done, it can benefit your long-term career success in multiple ways. Of course, the operative term here is “well done.” Not all conferences are of equal quality. Choose Your Conferences Wisely As I’m about to head off to a 3-day careers industry conference in Annapolis, I can’t help reflecting on the many conferences I’ve attended over the years since...

Self-doubt can be a motivation-killer, can stop you from moving forward to the career success you dream of achieving. Why is that, and what can you do to overcome it? Believe in yourself first! Big Goals Require Belief and Determination A towering skyscraper begins as a big hole in the ground. At that point, it takes a fair amount of imagination to visualize what will ultimately occupy that space. Fortunately, the...

You can plan your upcoming job search to the nth degree and think you have all the bases covered, only to get hit by a challenge you never imagined. What do you do when that happens? Personal Challenges in Your Job Search It isn’t only professional/work challenges you could encounter in your job search. (I’ve talked about some of those before.) What can and should you do when a major personal challenge thr...

Wouldn’t it be great if you only needed one interview to get the job of your dreams and the employer offered a salary that was pushing the top end of your target range? Maybe, but if I were you, I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one! That said, what can and should you do to land interviews that genuinely have the potential to lead to a desirable job offer–and then negotiate the best offer you can? Job...

Are you feeling frustrated, stuck, “lost” or otherwise not happy with your current employment situation or future career prospects? If so, the fact that you’re undoubtedly not alone might not make you feel a whole lot better. “Misery loves company” is not a particularly reassuring or uplifting philosophy! Before I get into this topic further, I need to offer a caveat: I am not a therapist, c...

Pride is sometimes viewed as a negative emotion, as in someone having an excess of pride that makes him/her somewhat annoying to be around. However, if you think of taking pride in your work–giving it your absolute best, consistently–that doesn’t sound much like a negative, does it? Pride as a Performance Motivator Whether pride is considered a negative or a positive emotion depends a lot on what the...

According to a recent survey reported on by Express Employment’s Refresh Leadership, only about 7% of respondents say they’re currently where they thought their career path would take them. The article goes on to say, “the vast majority of respondents said their career path has led them somewhere completely different than what they envisioned.” Where would you fit in this range? Maybe you’re...

Sorry, but I don’t believe there’s a proven “easy” path to long-term career success. Most things worth having are worth working for–and do require work, not wishful thinking or a haphazard effort. Your career success falls into that category.I’d actually suspect that most of you “get” this point. You’re not likely to hold your breath waiting for someone to hand you career success on a platter. (At least, I certainly hope yo...

Once upon a time, you probably received only a handful of emails per day, so you could read each one and quickly dispose of those you weren’t interested in. Then the deluge hit! Now you’re likely to miss something important because it’s buried in the flood of irrelevancy.Something similar can happen with your job search. Your submissions for job opportunities can disappear in a sea of competing job seekers. Companies don’t...