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4 steps to get you noticed for that next career opportunity!
In person, over the phone, on paper and electronically, you literally have just seconds to make a positive impression. A thoughtful shift in how you present yourself at the start could go a long way toward swaying results in your direction later on: In your cover: Address the letter to specific hiring managers, in human resources as well as within your functional specialty. If you’re unsure who that would be, call the company, or research contacts on LinkedIn.com. Be sure to confirm the gender of each contact, as many women now have men’s names. And always check that you’re spelling their...
read moreAre you a fraud?
I’ve worked as a career counselor since 1993, logging over 25,000 hours of client time, and there are still days when I feel like a phony. A client can ask for advice, and I can give my opinion based on observing the results of others I’ve supported, but I can’t predict how things will turn out. Each person is unique, each situation is different, and my work doesn’t operate with formulaic precision. Wikipedia defines Imposter Syndrome as, ”…a concept describing high-achieving individuals who are marked by an inability to internalize their accomplishments and a persistent fear of being...
read moreThe Power To Explore Career Growth
Recently I interviewed two professionals working at Colorado State University about their strategies for maintaining thriving careers. They’ve both worked at the institution for over 10 years, and while they like the stability an organization like CSU can offer, they’re also driven to keep their work interesting and expanding. This ties to the concept of wanting a level of certainty in our lives, such as having a predictable source of income and knowing our jobs well enough to do them successfully, while also desiring an element of uncertainty around, “What can I do next?” Achieving a...
read moreThe Secret To Career Confidence
“If you build it, they will come.” This quote from the movie Field of Dreams has application beyond the ball field. Recently a client asked for help re-entering a career he’d left during the recession. Having been out of the industry for a while, and being over 50, he was concerned that the switch would be tough if not impossible. But he was motivated to give it his best effort, so before applying to any positions, he put himself through some preparation paces: First he created an inventory of accomplishments relevant to his former line of work. This single step can deliver a huge boost in...
read moreInternship tips for a better future.
Our son JP is a junior in college, and hopes to land a computer science internship next summer. In this kind of situation, having a mother as a career counselor can be a blessing and a curse. “I can just sign up with the college’s internship system and see how it goes,” he informed me. Yet I know from experience that your first professional gig can have a huge impact on the rest of your career: what you start out doing can lead you down a long road of doing the same thing, whether you like it or not. Since computer programmers exist in nearly every sector, JP could be writing code for one...
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