If you are preparing to graduate college in another month or so, you probably have more on your mind that just your finals. Figuring the career world, finding your way through interviews, moving – sometimes back in with parents can all be daunting and stressful. Here are some tips to keep in the back of [...]
Archive | Professional Fridays
RSS feed for this section
Succeeding on the First Day
You survived the interviews, you got the job offer. Now you’re getting ready for your first day. Changing jobs is one of the most stressful events in a person’s life. But if you’re prepared ahead of time, that first day, and subsequently first week, can be easy and smooth. Get a good night’s sleep. Eat [...]
Professional Fridays: How to Ensure You Both Annoy Your Interviewer and Don’t Get the Job
I recently finished interviewing candidates for a number of positions at my current firm, from interns to mid-level managers. While the job market is very competitive now, it’s important to remember that employers are looking for reasons to disqualify you. It makes their job so much simpler if they have fewer people to actually consider. [...]
Professional Fridays: The #1 Best Technique for Acing the Interview
Interviewing is one of the most important aspects of professional development. Without a successful interview, it is not only hard to land a job, but it is also difficult to advance your career. As a college student I am not used to talking about my accomplishments. While I had received tips on interviewing, prior to [...]
Professional Fridays: Your Guide to Being Successfully Unemployed
The Professional Fridays column usually features great information for on-the-job issues. Unfortunately, there are the 10 percent of us who have no job at which to be professional. It’s not all pajamas and ice cream at 3pm. Having been unemployed a couple of times, I know about the issues that no one tells you about. [...]
Professional Fridays: Knowing Your Value
I am not normally one to look for career help from a book. But after watching all the talk around Mika Brzezinski’s book, Knowing Your Value, I thought the topic of salary negotiation was worth reading about. What I found interesting was that much of the book was more of a “what not to do.” [...]
Professional Fridays: How to Know When a Career Shift is Right for Your Future
In a 2005 Stanford University commencement speech, the late Steve Jobs advised the young graduates to ‘find what you love.’ He explained to the audience that our lives are limited, that death would come for each of us. Death is a certain fact. What isn’t certain fact, continued Mr. Jobs, is how we each proceed [...]
Professional Fridays: Using LinkedIn to Get the Job You Want
Years after it started, I am amazed at how many of my friends don’t use LinkedIn, despite it having more than 120 million members in 200 countries. LinkedIn is the number one professional networking site on the web, and not using it can seriously hinder your job hunting prospects. One of the best uses for [...]
Professional Fridays: Staying in Touch with Your Network
In the professional world, time is tight, and business coffees, lunches, and after-work drinks can often seem a daunting task as you try to stay connected to all the people you meet at networking events, business meetings, and happy hours. Perhaps you’ve even finished a summer internship, but know you won’t be looking for a [...]
Professional Fridays: My First Informational Interview
Recently a friend told me about something I’d never heard of before: the informational interview. An informational interview is a job hunting strategy where you meet casually — yet professionally – with prospective employers and learn about job opportunities. It’s a way to earn face time with employers and possibly learn “inside” knowledge about upcoming [...]