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What is the secret to getting ahead at work?

Why do some people get promoted over others?

I’ve managed, trained and promoted dozens of people in my career. In fact, my first management position was when I was just 19. No doubt, it's frustrating and de-motivating when you don’t get picked for the job, especially when the person who did get the promotion has been with the company less time or has less experience. This happens! It’s happened to me.

First, we need to clear up a big misconception about what it takes to get promoted. A lot of people think that getting promoted is about doing really well in the current role. If you're a star performer and get a perfect score on your reviews, you'll surely get promoted. Well, maybe. ...

It's a new year and for many...that means a new career or job search. If that's you, you're in good company. This is one of the most popular times to job search. As I coach whose worked with 200+ clients, I see job seekers with various levels of knowledge and comfort when it comes to how to navigate the modern job search. I see the differences between those are successful and those who just complain and bad mouth recruiters all day and wonder why they aren't employed.

If you are planning to change jobs this year, consider what's changed in the last few years.

The 2019 job search is...

Digital. We all know how much online job boards have the changed the search process. But the onset of this technology doesn't give you carte blanche ...

It used to be the standard advice that you should stay with one employer as long as you can and be happy that you have a job. I know this because I work with mid and late career job seekers, people who grew up in world where it was normal to stay somewhere for 20 or 30 years and retire. We all know that those days are long gone, but is that a bad thing?

If you want to stay current in your skills, make more money and be happier with your career, then no, it's not a bad thing. Believe it or not, there are significant benefits to changing jobs more frequently. And by frequently, I mean about every five to seven years. I don't mean every one to two years. That’s a little quick and then you are going to look ...

You hear a lot about the mid-life crisis. When you reach the midpoint of any journey, It’s natural to feel some restless and to want to re-evaluate your progress. Is this direction still working for me? Do I different priorities now than I did when I was younger?

These feeling of uncertainty extends to our careers as well, resulting in a mid-career crisis for many in their 40s and 50s. As a career coach, I work extensively with mid and late career professionals and this is a common concern.

Reality often sets in that you’re not 25 anymore, but your competition is.  You’re not early career, but you’re not ready to retire either. Where does that leave you? You still need to be seen as relevant and competitive, but you don’t know how to ...

Do you struggle with how to “sell” yourself to employers? Do job interviews make you nervous? This is a common struggle those who are looking for a better job. However, I believe that the best interview is the authentic interview. Rather than selling yourself, you need to just be yourself. Confidence and authenticity are key to positioning yourself for the job that you deserve.

First, we have to acknowledge that most interview questions are complete garbage. Truly, they are.

Where do you see yourself in five years?” (Is anyone going to answer that honestly and do they even know??)

Or, how about this one: “If you were an animal, what would you be?” (This is a REAL interview question!)

Most interviewers are not trained in interviewing. They are busy with ...

So many people avoid negotiating their salary and take whatever is offered because that's the most comfortable thing to do. But that’s not the best approach. I encourage you to go beyond what is comfortable to help you realize the benefits of speaking up and asking for what you deserve. I've coached several people through successful negotiations using the tips below. It's very effective, and I'm excited to share it with you here!

The first step in approaching a salary negotiation, or a raise in your current role, is research. You have to know what the job is worth. This is what helps to give you confidence in the discussion. This is where job seekers are at disadvantage. Companies, and larger ones in particular, can purchase access to salary surveys. This means they participate by sharing the salaries they pay and ...

We spend a large portion of our lives at work often seeing our coworkers more than our own families. I’m sure you’ve heard that saying before and for many people it’s true. In fact, It’s been estimated that you will spend about 90,000 hours of your life working, or roughly 1/3 of your life. That’s assuming that you work 40 hours a week from age 20 to 65 with 2 weeks of vacation a year. So you can imagine, working long hours—as we’re known to do here in the U.S— coupled with long commutes often an hour or more each way, and feelings of unfulfillment, underappreciation, etc. is a recipe for career burnout. And worse than that, depression. And career burnout = life burnout. If you hate your job, you’ll hate your life.

When we experience chronic stress from our jobs, it bleeds into ...

You might be wondering why I’m telling you in the title of this article to stop networking. Isn't that what every job seeker is supposed to do all day long??

Networking has become synonymous with just handing out business cards and hoping someone will give you a job, and this is why so many people hate it and avoid it. This is a very powerless way to approach a job search. I want to put the power back in your hands and reveal what it means to make true connections and how it can make all the difference in your career. So if you’ve ever been told to network but don’t know what that means, this article is for you.

The most successful job seekers view networking as an opportunity to connect with others to ...

There comes a time in almost every career when you have to change directions. You have to take a step back or sideways in order to take a step forward. Maybe you have reached a ceiling in your current position and you’re no longer growing. Or, maybe you’ve simply lost your passion for what you’re doing and want to do something completely different.  Or maybe you are like a lot of people that I work with, and you settled for a career that was never really a good match for you to begin with. If so, that’s okay. It happens. You might even have the desire to start your own business. It doesn’t matter what the change is, what matters is how you approach it.

Step One: The Why

There are a lot of barriers that prevent ...

One of the most common challenges that my clients encounter is the disappointment of not getting a job that they really wanted. You get that dreaded rejection email, usually an automated one these days, and you're devastated. You've pinned your hopes on that one job and it doesn't work out. For some people, especially those who are unemployed, this is a major source of disappointment. It’s crushing.

Here’s what I coach clients to do in situations like this. Decide ahead of time how you are going to respond when the disappointment happens. Part of any job search is not getting chosen for some of the jobs. It’s going to happen. Nobody, not even me, gets hired for 100% of the jobs they apply to. So if you know that something is going to happen, you can get control of the ...