December 2013

There are many people out there who claim to be consultants -- I’m one of them. However, the term, which is very loosely defined, basically suggests that whoever is using the title has expertise about that which they claim as their professional niche. And for a fee they can, for an agreed-upon span of time, provide their clients with this expertise. It is not for me to judge who and who is not a real consultant because, you see, that’s the beauty of a free market and capitalism. If a consultant provides a worthy service for a price the market will bear and can build a satisfactory reputation to match, they will do okay. If they don’t, they won’t. As companies cut costs and increase what is outsourced, it can be a lucrative, albeit crowded and highly competitive niche. For those who

It seems you can’t have the New Year without New Year’s Resolutions, they just go together. Among the resolutions people make and pledge to do is to find a new job. And like most resolutions the discipline to stay true to their stated goal fades sometime in the weeks and months that follow. But if, indeed, you do seek to find a new job opportunity, just like anything you aim to achieve, intent alone will not get the job done, it requires sustained and focused effort. If perhaps you are already looking or soon considering putting some energy behind this kind of effort, what’s your plan and how will you turn your resolution into a reality? Anyone who reads this blog knows I strongly suggest you not restrict your efforts or pin your hopes primarily to online-advertised jobs. Think about it,

In Poker, overplaying your hand is when a player has an initially strong hand, takes the initiative but fails to recognize the point at which his hand has lost its strength. The same thing can happen to you if you have a job offer and you want to hold out for something better, or biding your time until you have something better. Or the luxury of having more than one job offer to choose from – or, using one to leverage the other. There are those who can occasionally pull this off, but I find it is rare and more often and likely a timing issue than actual cleverness. Trying to game the system more often backfires and the perpetrator ends up losing on both counts. It may be a bold strategy when playing cards, although it is often a

When you first meet a business person, who is easier to speak with, lower and mid-level managers or top management executives? In anticipation of an interview or an initial business meeting, most people have some level of anxiety beforehand as they consider many what if scenarios they might encounter. This is understandable and often the more senior the individual(s) the more nervous most of us become. Some people falsely view themselves as unworthy or below or of inferior status, as if they are out of their own league compared with more lofty people of position. The bottom line is they automatically sense inequity resulting in higher anxiety. This just adds to the pressure already felt about making a good impression, and your confidence level is clearly one aspect of what you want to convey. I am not going to dismissively suggest you

Why do some people do it, no one likes a brown nose and interviewers recognize when someone’s trying to curry favor. They also know when someone is trying to anticipate and say what they think the interviewer wants to hear. Thereby, they are working harder to pretend to be something or someone they are not, rather than putting effort where it belongs, demonstrating their qualifications and suitability as an individual. There are many reasons as to why people do this, for example, some may think they need to endear themselves to the hiring manager because, after all, how you fit or don’t fit into the company culture has a lot of bearing. In addition to your qualifications, no question, they consider the combination of both factors together. There is also another group who will attempt to sidle up to the hiring

I can go on and on with advice and I do, every week. Of the many things I suggest, there are three things people fail to do that are critical to one’s interview success. As a result, many people doom their own chances right from the start and later scratch their heads wondering what went wrong. These three seemingly obvious measures are not mere window dressing for appearances; they are integral steps without which you’re barely going through the motions. The interview process is, in many ways, a ritualistic event; styles and methods can vary but hiring officials are watching for and expecting certain rudimentary steps, a checklist of sorts. The three components to which I am referring, that you ignore at your own risk  are one each before, during and at the end of the interview. They need to be

Ironically, the catchphrase “Question Authority”, came into vogue in the 1960s and early ‘70s. It was meant as an idealistic challenge to what the young generation of that period considered an inflexible and rigid societal status quo, which needed to be shaken loose. The ironic part is that these are the same people who now run the very system they once criticized and are more critical about dissent than their predecessors in power – or so it seems. I recognize that this is a blog about employment-related matters and not politics. However, in all aspects of our lives during the last few years, non-conformity, dissent or simple disagreement, questioning or challenging a process or a function increasingly evokes condemnation – and this trend also extends to the job market. Take the interview process, for example, sadly I encounter a lot of