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One of the most common challenges that my clients encounter is the disappointment of not getting the job they really wanted. You probably know what that’s like. You've pinned your hopes on that one job, and then you get that dreaded rejection email (usually an automated one these days). For some people, especially those who are unemployed, this disappointment can be crushing.

Job hunting can feel like a waste of time and effort, and you may not be sure what to do next.  I have some suggestions for you.

First, you need to get in the right mindset. Decide ahead of time how you are going to respond when the rejection and disappointment happens. Part of any job search is not getting some of the jobs that you want. It’s going to happen, regardless of who ...

Whether you love them or hate them, chances are you will come in contact with a recruiter while job hunting. As a former recruiter and hiring manager myself, I know that it's often a complicated relationship between job seekers and recruiters. I read dozens of posts on LinkedIn from frustrated job seekers who bash recruiters, and from frustrated recruiters who bad-mouth job seekers.

In my opinion, there is simply a lack of understanding on both sides. This article will help you better understand the role that recruiters play, and how you can work with them in a positive and constructive way during your search.

Three Basic Rules for Interacting with Recruiters:

1.There's More Than One Type of Recruiter. Working with an agency recruiter will give you a different experience than an in-house recruiter who ...

This is the second part of an article about “Leveraging Your Network.” The first part explained how to identify who's in your network and how they’re connected to your target companies. This article will discuss how to engage your network in your job search.

Once you’ve developed your targeted list of connections, where do you go from there? You might be wondering how to approach those contacts, what to say to them, and most importantly, how to turn those connections into actual job leads.

Networking is about being part of a mutually beneficial relationship. Therefore, instead of directly asking your contacts to help you find a job, ask them for these three things: Advice, Insights, and Recommendations –  which create the memorable acronym A.I.R. Whenever you're networking, remind yourself that you just need to get ...

Teaching job seekers how to identify and leverage their network is one of the cornerstones of my coaching:  determining who's already in their network and how to leverage those relationships. While networking is critical to a successful job search, it is often one of the most challenging parts for people. Those who are shy or introverted may not feel comfortable reaching out to their contacts. Others may not know how to ask their network for professional support, or worry might look pushy or that they’re expecting favors.

Because networking is such a big topic, it warrants two articles. This article will discuss how to identify who's in your network and how they’re connected to your target companies and positions. In the second part, we'll discuss how to ask those in your network to refer you for a specific position.

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Maybe you're looking for work because you lost your job due to COVID, or maybe you have a job but are looking for something better. Whatever your situation, read on to learn three clear and practical strategies for turning your interviews into job offers.

Address the elephant in the room. In the case of job hunting, the “elephant” is any career weakness or challenge you feel you need to overcome in order to get the position. It could be a gap on your resume from when you were unemployed or took time off. Or maybe you have short job tenures. Maybe you are older and feel like you're facing age discrimination. Whatever your elephant is, I have an unconventional strategy for you: acknowledge it instead of trying to cover it up.

When I'm coaching someone who has a ...

One of the most common questions I’m asked by clients is how to job search discreetly so that only select, trusted people know their intentions. If there’s any benefit to being unemployed, it’s that you don’t have to tiptoe around the fact that you’re actively looking. There’s nothing to hide!

However, most people I work with are employed, so it makes sense that they don’t want their current manager to know. If they have a presence on LinkedIn and other social media platforms, it can be particularly challenging to keep a job search quiet.

Here are six tips for launching a confidential, but effective job search: 

Change your privacy settings on LinkedIn. Your job search strategy probably includes connecting on LinkedIn with hiring managers and recruiters at ...

 

It's estimated that at least half of all available jobs are not posted online. That's why they're hidden!  Read on for 10 great tips to turbocharge your job search and uncover amazing job opportunities that you won't see online.

Target the Company, Not Just the Job. In addition to targeting specific jobs that you see online, it’s equally important to target specific companies. This way, you can uncover positions that companies may not have advertised for a variety of reasons. Compile a list of companies that you are interested in and that would value someone with your skills and experience. Then check to see if anyone within your network works there, or knows people who do, and ask for introductions. For the best outcome, aim for a 50/50 approach between targeting companies and jobs.

Visit the Company ...

You don't need a college degree to get a good job. Yes, you read that right. It’s okay if you don't have a degree – and you might not need to get one.  It used to be true that not having a degree would hurt your job prospects. However, the world has changed so much just in the last few years.

Even before the pandemic started, college was becoming overrated and too expensive. Today, many people struggle to just break even and pay off the education that they invested in. Is a degree worth it if it takes 20 years to pay off? And is college really the only path for your career?

Thanks in part to the pandemic, remote learning is more common than ever, as well as more affordable and more accessible. I don’t believe that ...

I get a lot of questions from job seekers about breaking into a new industry. This is a common goal among professionals who like the skill set they’re using, but feel bored, maxed out, or even pigeonholed. For example, you might be a sales professional interested in changing from healthcare sales to tech sales. Or you may be a project manager in telecom who’s looking for a project management role in software.

These types of industry transitions are what I call  “career pivots” that often take two to three months to achieve. These are quite different from full-blown career changes, which are more time- and resource-intensive.

Here are some specific strategies for entering a new industry and shaking up your career:

Identify your transferable skills. What knowledge and skills ...

COVID-19 has changed the career landscape in countless ways. Many people lost their jobs, left the workforce to take care of their children, or resigned because of issues with vaccine mandates. As a result, the pandemic has made job-hopping more normalized and more acceptable. More than ever, people are changing jobs when they need to, regardless of their length of employment. However, those who move from job to job after short stints (less than a year) may still be viewed as job hoppers.

While there’s no official definition of job hopping, I describe it as a repeated pattern of leaving a position after less than a year. I’m currently working with a client who took a job that turned out to be quite different than expected, and now, less than eight months later, she's changing again. Sometimes a brief work ...