Author: Michael Mayher

The term “Fake” seems to be in vogue lately. We see it applied in a lot of ways, most notably with regards to news and current events – it’s everywhere you look. Applied in this manner, it used to be otherwise called propaganda and disinformation, but perhaps I see it on both sides, from job seeking candidates as well as from the companies and hiring managers. To varying degrees, it’s always been happening but I recognize it more than ever the last few years. It is one thing to put your best face forward, but quite another to mislead, obfuscate, hide or conceal information. For example: it is now well-known that gaps in employment on a resume can be unhelpful and viewed negatively by HR and hiring managers. I personally think most gaps can be adequately explained away due to the

I encounter it increasingly too often; highly intelligent and educated people who demonstrate a seriously deficient ability to navigate common tasks. I am referring to the chore of interviewing for a new job. To be clear, few people like to interview, it is something we do as part of a process of evaluation while being compared and judged against others who are seeking the same job. Unfortunately, many people have only themselves to blame for failing to make it beyond the first interview, unintentionally sabotaging their own efforts. We need to look no further than the virtual collapse of soft skills in many people. For 25 years I have recruited and placed professionals of all types, but a large percentage of my work during the last few years has been in the legal market -- lawyers. As you can imagine, lawyers

It’s one thing to possess confidence built on merit, accomplishment and perseverance. But quite another, according to mere baseless expectations … just, because. Perhaps, I can’t say for sure, it is a result of things attained too easily, rewards presented frivolously to make someone feel good about themselves. But I do know that the phenomenon of self-entitlement is an obstacle to companies and even more so to job seekers with an over-inflated view of their own abilities. Ironically, it seems the younger the person the more entitlement they feel – which to my experienced eye, seems a little backward. A growing problem, and one I hear about almost every time I speak with senior-level managers, is the unrealistic demands of young job applicants, who’ve done little more than complete their university studies. True, some business sectors have shortages and as a result

No matter how bullet-proof and perfect you think your resume may be – if you’re invited to interviews but failing to reach the next step, there is likely a very good reason as to why and it is a most important aspect many people overlook. But first, accept the fact that once you find yourself seated opposite a hiring manager in an interview, your resume has served its purpose and it’s from that point forward, up to you to propel yourself to the next stage and beyond – it’s yours to win or lose. Here’s a question: “Why should someone hire you”? Can you readily answer this question, do it with confidence – and mean it? If you can’t, then quite possibly you’re just going through the motions and this may be a big reason you’re not getting anywhere or seeing the

There are clear signs the job markets are heating up again. Regardless, don’t think that means getting hired is any easier; companies are still screening and scrutinizing candidates more than ever. And so should you be also, screening and evaluating the people and companies for which you might work for. Often, at our own peril, we ignore our instincts when we sense something’s amiss. Or, we acknowledge it but dismiss our concerns for whatever reason(s). The same holds true when we interview for a job, only to realize after the fact in hindsight we’ve made a mistake. Something just didn’t seem right but you failed to address it and by the time you realize it – it’s too late. A question if I may - if there was information, that of which you became aware and which would prevent you from accepting

The primary intent of my articles, blog, presentations, lectures and handbook is an attempt to provide people with the nearly lost skills for how to search, seek, effectively interview and, as a result, win a job of their choice in order to enhance one’s career prospects. Sadly, most people, as a result of internet dependence, have become in large part clueless about this necessary activity. No one likes to interview; it’s not something for which a normal person would choose to engage. Increasingly over the years I find myself not only coaching people about how to navigate these processes, but I find I must instruct them on the most trivial and basic interactive and communication skills. Many people think the job market and companies are unfair, when in reality, far too many people are so naïve about how to conduct themselves

It is well-known or should be that by itself a good resume isn’t enough to get you a job. The human element is still the most critical deciding factor affecting who gets hired and who does not. Interpersonal communication skills or Soft Skills as they’ve come to be known are critical to your efforts. Sadly, a growing number of people, especially those under the age of 35, are more likely to be lacking in this area at a time when senior company managers have rightly begun to recognize this deficit with respect to their hiring processes. Those over 35 are losing them with increased reliance on convenient technologies that have generally speaking, become necessities. With 25 years of experience recruiting and placing many different kinds of people, I don’t care how much money you have spent for your college degree, or how

For whatever reason, perhaps the available jobs in your local vicinity are either not suitable or there may be few available. Let’s say, hypothetically, there is a job you are considering, you like them and they like you. They are willing to pay more money, but there is a two hour or longer one-way commute on a clear weather and good traffic day. However, it is a good job and the kind for which you have been looking, so you think beyond the commute issue, instead considering the good things and benefits for you and your family. I’ve witnessed this sort of situation and, most often, accepting these circumstances is rationalized by focusing on the good or because of need, although I do warn candidates of the negatives to which they should give more credence. Everything starts out well, but often

One of the most basic, and a very important thing you can do to aid your efforts towards a successful outcome, is the manner by which you finish the interview. I mean each interview, every time, with everyone you meet, anytime throughout your career. How you close the interview says a lot about you, your abilities, and your level of interest and conveys a measure of professionalism many people overlook. So there you are, being interviewed and the time arrives when they ask, “So, do you have any questions?” You should, of course, have some as a result of your time spent with the hiring official with whom you’re meeting. But before you conclude, there is one final question you will make a part of your interview ritual for the rest of your career - no joke, from this time forward.

The concept of change scares the hell out of some people. Many of us like our routines, and we don’t like unplanned or unanticipated surprises, or anything that upsets the status quo. But change does and will happen. Actually, I have observed that the people who attempt to exert the most effort to control all aspects of their lives, and the lives of everyone around them, are much more easily freaked out, than if they just stepped back and took on their problems as they occur, like the rest of us. These are sometimes the same people who automatically assume that change always portends something negative, and rarely do they consider change may actually portend something better. As a result, we get the very outcomes we expect whether we mean to or not, good or bad, our perceptions will make