Wear little or no cologne or perfume. What smells good to you may not smell good to the interviewer.
December 18, 2012
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Stories by Richard M. Knappen
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Don’t mess up a job interview with a shabby appearance
Be the next great American entrepeneurs
Starting with two bicycles and $100 in capital in 1907, James E. Casey went on to build United Parcel Service.
December 7, 2012
Effort is not enough
While older workers are less likely to be laid off than younger workers, they arre about half as likely to be rehired.
November 26, 2012
How Would Your Close Friends Describe You?
Why would a company ask questions specifically designed to probe a potential employee’s honesty? The answer is that employers are experiencing a great deal of employee theft. The U.S. Department of Commerce estimates that employee …
October 26, 2012
Tell Your Story, and Tell It Well
Not sure you have any examples, stories, or incidents that are applicable? Nonsense. Everything that has happened to you in your professional life is a story.
October 18, 2012
Look at Your Interview From the Employer’s Point of View
The manager is interested in your attendance record. Do you frequently call-in sick, arrive late, leave early?
October 4, 2012
As if Job Interviews Weren’t Tough Enough
Many employers require candidates to take tests.
September 3, 2012
A Blooper Reel of Résumé and Interview Blunders
Here are some résumé, application, and interview blunders which employers have shared with me. They would be amusing if they weren’t so tragic, and so avoidable: We received a résumé written in long-hand on three-ring …
August 20, 2012
Your Future Job May Not Exist … Yet
Does advancing technology hurt jobs prospects for the long term? Although in the short term advancing technology does indeed make some jobs obsolete, the additional productivity then leads to reduced costs. In turn, this enhances …
August 9, 2012
Latest Import from China: Jobs
According to a survey by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), more than a third of U.S.-based manufacturing executives at companies with sales greater than $1-billion are planning to bring production back to the USA from …
August 6, 2012
Toxic Beliefs That Lead To Personal Failure
In his book As a Man Thinketh, philosopher James Allen says that one is what one thinks, with character being the complete sum of all one’s thoughts. And upon analysis, one wonders how those thoughts …
July 9, 2012
Be Your Toughest Critic
How did your last job interview go? Did you receive a job offer? No? Could it be something that happened in the job interview process? Sometimes we need to think through the job interview and …
July 2, 2012
Time to Assess Your Work/Life Balance?
Does your life seem like drudgery? Do you feel tired and burned out? Are you easily upset or angry? Or is your life filled with happiness and positive thoughts? Are you excited at the prospect …
June 12, 2012
Old Guys (and Girls) Rule
Older employees outperform younger workers. So why aren’t they hired more often?
May 21, 2012
A Job is Your Destination But Do you Know How to Get There?
If we know where we are going, we are more likely to get there. A job search is the same. If one has a written goal, a direction, the possibility of achieving that goal is …
April 19, 2012
Welcome to the New Age of the Job Search
In these tough economic times, one needs to expand the thinking; one needs to become flexible to changes in the ways in which a job search is conducted, and to open one’s mind to new …
April 9, 2012
Do It Now! Do It Right
A positive work ethic includes how one feels about one’s job, career or vocation. It also is reflective of one’s attitude toward responsibility and self-respect. This attitude involves behavior, respect, communication, interaction, integrity, and how …
March 20, 2012
The Building Blocks of Success
What is success? It is what you want to achieve. It is to be the best at whatever you want for yourself; to set a goal for yourself, and constantly strive toward its attainment; to …
February 23, 2012
Stay on Target!
We are in the “Information Age,” and Wow!! that has helped the job search candidate, such as you. It is much easier these days to compile research information on industries, companies and decision makers than …
February 6, 2012
A Raise? During a Recession?
If you are known as a person who gets things done, one who takes on additional responsibility outside of your job descriptions with a positive “can-do” attitude; if you are one who others look to …
February 6, 2012
Confidence Is Contagious.
You have been answering job openings on the internet job boards for several weeks or months. So has everyone else. You have answered dozens of openings, and have had very little, if any, communication from …
February 5, 2012
Merry Christmas, and Happy New Job
Is the holiday season, Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day, a bad time to do a job search? A common misconception holds that the holiday season is a time for the job search candidate to take …
December 22, 2011
Myth Busters: Job Search Edition
I have been in the employment industry for several years, and over the years I have come to realize that there is a vast difference between what most people believe works in a job search …
December 5, 2011
What Kind of Leader Are You?
Thrust into a leadership position? Need to make important decisions quickly? Are others looking to you for inspiration, focus, motivation, mentoring, coaching, guidance? You make decisions, and others follow? Are you a leader? A group …
November 10, 2011
Be pleasant. Be positive. Be upbeat.
Hurrah! You have been called for a job interview. A generalist from the human resources department performed an initial interview with you over the telephone, and now you have been invited to come to the …
September 30, 2011
What is the Toughest Interview Question You’ve Ever Heard?
Interviews are the screening process that companies use to determine whom to hire. Are there other considerations other than the job interview? Yes. However, effective interviewing is vitally important to success in your job search. …
August 30, 2011
Résumé Questions Answered: Should I Include My GPA?
With graduation just completed at many colleges and universities, and new graduates preparing to jump into the job market, a question that often arises is: “Should I show my GPA on my résumé?” If there …
August 22, 2011
Profit Is Not a Dirty Word
Perhaps the most misunderstood and most vilified concept in the private sector business world is profit. For many uninformed people, the word “profit” brings visions of vicious robber barons or greedy tycoons bent on stealing …
August 5, 2011
The “Experienced Only” Problem
If you have been searching for a new job you have probably run across phrases such as the following, which I’ve taken directly from published job openings: Minimum of 10 years EXPERIENCE in property management, …
July 25, 2011
The Land of the Rude
A survey entitled “Land of the Rude: Americans in a New Survey Say Lack of Respect is Getting Worse,” by author Samantha DuPont for Public Agenda, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, reports that most Americans surveyed …
June 21, 2011
Big Job Creation By Small Business
Politicians talk about it. Business executives talk about it. The unemployed and underemployed certainly talk about it. What is it? It is job creation. And job creation typically comes from small, profitable companies. According to …
June 7, 2011
There are More Job Listings for Accountants than for Historians
Why spend years of your life, thousands of dollars, and tons of effort only to graduate from college and not be able to support yourself adequately for the rest of your adult life? How sad. …
May 30, 2011
Whether Traditional or Social, Networking Is Still the King
In these days of modern technology, job search candidates are looking toward Twitter, My Space, Linkedin, and similar sites for job leads. Have they helped? Yes they have. Does that mean that traditional job search …
May 13, 2011
They Offered You a Job. Now What?
As the economy recovers, job search candidates are finding that they have a new and exciting challenge on their personal horizon: a job offer that requires their evaluation, and an answer for the potential new …
April 26, 2011
They Were True Leaders. Are you?
Have you ever worked for a manager whose management style was so positive you wanted to go out of your way to do a good job for him/her? If that manager was able to generate …
April 14, 2011
Don’t Just Answer Questions. Ask Them.
You are near the end of a job interview. You have almost completed an hour-long conversation with the “Ultimate Decision-Maker,” the president and chief executive officer, who turns to you and asks, “Now, what questions …
April 7, 2011
Affirm Yourself
Everyone engages in self talk. For most folks, self talk is negative talk conducted over a lifetime, which only adds to our self doubt. In his excellent book The 25 Sales Habits of Highly Successful …
March 15, 2011
3,800 Résumés …and More Arriving Daily
The human resources director of a local San Diego company placed an opening on one of the internet job sites. The ad was placed for a three-week period. After approximately two and a half weeks, …
March 5, 2011
Signs Point to Recovery and Recovery Means New Jobs
Leading economists are saying that the “Great Recession” of the last three years may be coming to a close, and that business, hiring, and the economy should be better in the coming year. Let’s look …
February 7, 2011
The Seven-Second Job Interview
Your first impression takes an average of just seven seconds, according to author and lecturer Lydia Ramsey. A study recently completed by the University of Toledo psychology professor Frank Bernieri maintains you have 30 seconds …
January 21, 2011
[email protected] Is Not an Appropriate Job Search Address
Conducting a job search should involve doing it correctly. Listed below are some easily avoidable job search mistakes you must avoid making as you look for a new position. Making a Bad First Impression Start …
January 6, 2011