Every once in a while we need a re-alignment.  And whether yours come from the chiropractor or is self-inflicted, the process can open you up or drive your attention down a more singular path. I’ve decided that February is going to be my re-alignment month. Why? As a blogger, entrepreneur, marketing coach, author, career strategist, speaker I’ve worn a lot of hats over the last few years.  It’s been an amazing journey full of unexpected surprises, great opportunities and, as you might expect, a few frustrations. But, just like in job search, we have to be ready to push through the frustrations and obstacles in our path to get where we said we wanted to go in life. So what does a realignment mean for me and how can you use the idea to help re-energize the things that are important in your life right now?       ... Read more

In the last few years, you must have noticed all the excitement and uproar about The Secret. To many of us in the career industry, “The Secret” is really no secret at all. It’s the law of attraction. If you’re hoping to achieve your goals, you can use this law to your benefit. First of all, I have to admit that the meteoric rise of the book and then the documentary “The Secret” raised a rollercoaster of emotions in me. On the one hand, I have unconsciously used this law all along. It clearly helped me to achieve many goals. But then, I look at our working world today, and I wonder why some good people who take what seem like good steps don’t achieve their goals. Through my own soul searching and a great struggle with my own faith, I came to realize something. As with most laws, the law of attraction is not a perfect law – but it does increase our chances of success. ... Read more

We all get busy.  And as much as I think you will read everything I write, you just don’t.  At least not right away. So today I’ve compiled a summary of reader favorite posts of 2011.  And If you haven’t read them yet, maybe you should since someone else apparently has. And if you get really interested, you can get nostalgic and read the favorite career advice from 2010. ... Read more

Just about everyone has to deal with sensitive issues about their career. By including a cover letter with your resume, you can address many concerns and gain a distinct advantage over your competition.

• A cover letter shows that you are a proactive professional who takes extra effort to present a complete proposal.
• It displays your respect for the recipient – recruiter and/or employer – by addressing him or her directly.
• It gives you the opportunity to display your personality, character, and ethics as part of your submission.
• It can effectively mitigate a number of career issues by shifting the focus to your value proposition.
• It allows you to concentrate on the future and hone in on how you can address the particular needs of the employer.

... Read more

I’m happy to announce that my book I Want to Work in an Association – Now What??? A Guide to Getting a Job in a Professional Association, Membership Organization, or Society is available!    In the works for nearly a year, this endeavor would not have been possible without the more than 50 association professionals who contributed their knowledge and experiences – THANK YOU. Why did I decide to write this book? Simple – ... Read more

It’s a little like dating. You have found your dream job or organization– but will  they like you back, enough to hire you? If they reject you, does that make you a bad person or a failure? Putting yourself out there by networking, applying, and interviewing for jobs makes you very vulnerable to rejection, the same way that dating does. Some people get so emotionally invested in a particular job it even paralyzes them from applying, in case they get rejected. Well, I’ll give the same advice I would if you were dating. If you put yourself out there and try to meet someone, or go on a blind date, you will have at least some percentage chance of connecting. If you never try, you will have a 100% chance of NOT connecting. Same with jobs. If you don’t apply, you have a 100% chance of not being selected.   ... Read more

Many executives who find themselves displaced from their position, have never needed to apply for a job before. In the past, their success enabled them to be promoted, retained, or recruited into roles without ever having to do an interview. Since this is the very first time that they need to take the plunge, they just don’t know how to articulate their broad experiences and their great value. One day, when coaching an executive client, I substituted the phrase “tell me about your achievements” with “tell me a story about something you did that makes you proud.” That simple change in wording made so much difference to the quality of the information he shared, that I was astounded. ... Read more

Recently, I encountered a client who was adamant about wanting to have his profile loaded with “keywords” so that he could be found on LinkedIn. I had a challenge trying to explain that keywords and key phrases are only one component of a much bigger picture. This year LinkedIn reached a milestone of over 100 million profiles. We now know that most Canadian recruiters looking for executives, managers, and senior-level professionals will go to LinkedIn before ever posting a position. ... Read more

There is a lot of confusion about cover letters. Cover letters are not: * An opportunity to write about your life story and life philosophy * A chance to write about tell your entire career history * A place to explain why you left each of your past employers or to focus in detail about why you are unemployed * An opportunity to talk about how the job you are applying for would benefit you personally * A place to focus on what you’ve learned as opposed to what you achieved * A document you can use with each job you apply to without customization. * Something you can slap together without proofreading. ... Read more

Will your future employer work you to death? How to assess workplace culture before accepting a job offer If you have a young family, an important avocation or hobby, or otherwise just want to leave work at 5pm and not work weekends and evenings, it’s important to find a way to investigate the culture of a future employer before accepting a new job. (In fact, this post could be about any other factor that is important for you to know about before accepting a job, but which might be delicate to ask about directly, like whether the employer has a good culture of respecting people of diverse backgrounds or sexual preferences–i.e. isn’t a bunch of racists or bigots; would accomodate a disability; or would accomodate your religious observances). Of course, if you are simply in need of an income and willing to make some sacrifices, you might set work-life balance (or other similar issues) aside when considering job offers. But for anyone who can make actual choices about which jobs to accept, it’s worth knowing whether your future employer will expect you to work nights and weekends. However, just asking the question can be a toughie. If you ask about work-life balance, will you ruin your chances of being considered for a job? Will you set an impression that you are a slacker, unwilling to work hard? There are a number of ways to find out about an employer’s expectations without directly asking the question. And if you do choose to ask, there are ways to do so without waving a red flag. ... Read more