November 2014

Opinions are mixed about whether or not having a photo on your resume or CV is helpful to your job search efforts. It depends on who is asked. Those who come from a human resource perspective will tell you yes. I do not think it is a good idea and, to be clear, I suggest it can actually be counterproductive to your efforts. Human Resources, those usually the first to receive and process your resume, will always prefer you attach a photo as part of your resume. But know too their job is not to look for reasons to count you in, but rather to look for reasons to disqualify you. Yeah, okay blah, blah, blah, of course they’ll say they evaluate you according to your qualifications but that’s garbage. Hiring managers are qualified to judge your qualifications, not HR; they

In the recruitment industry or market we recognize two distinct cycles, employee-driven and company- driven market trends. Put simply, when the economy is doing well it is more employee driven. In other words, as it was before 2008, when there were, in many respects, more jobs than there were qualified employees to fill them. This meant that companies had to offer more and employees could negotiate for better conditions. However, as it is now, it is the opposite and there are more applicants than there are good jobs. This means companies have the upper hand; they can dictate terms to people resulting in lower salaries and less favorable terms. It’s nothing complex, but simply an issue of supply and demand as it relates to the employment market. With this in mind, what you may have been able to negotiate for

So many people are nervous about the prospect of interviewing. Most of us hate putting ourselves through it and I don’t know anyone who likes to interview. One’s ability to interview effectively comes down to one primary factor – your own level of self-confidence. Fear and indecision is palpable, our basic animal instincts sense fear. Recognizing it, overcoming it, controlling it requires courage, which Hemingway referred to as “grace under pressure”. Though, for most people this takes time and concerted effort to develop. Regardless, there are a few things I suggest you should recognize on your road to building, re-building and galvanizing your own confidence level. There is another aspect to consider that few people want to address honestly – and that is, the manay of those who conduct interviews have no idea what they are doing, they’re following a script