Life-long learning is the key to a satisfying career (and probably to a satisfying life, but that might extend beyond the realm of my expertise!) Technology, business practices and even cultural norms are constantly changing and adapting. In order to stay current — or, better yet, ahead of the curve — you need to be able to understand and respond to those changes. Even if you have a PhD, your knowledge of current practices quickly becomes outdated unless you engage in career development and enrichment. Some careers even require you to undergo a certain number of hours of continu...

Interviews are nerve-racking enough, but telephone job interviews, for some reason, really seem to throw job seekers for a loop. Perhaps it’s the lack of visual feedback. Maybe it all boils down to phone anxiety (which I never thought this was a real thing, until my husband informed me otherwise!) Whatever the reason for the nerves, phone interviews are a challenge that job seekers will need to learn to overcome. An increasing number of employers are choosing to conduct their first round of interviews over the phone to save time and money. If you want to improve your phone interview s...

Are you looking for a job? Then you must check out this awesome column by Liz Ryan. She shoots down ten of the most commonly proffered, but worst job tips around. Here’s a look at a few of my favorites: Don’t Wrap It Up Ryan tells readers to ignore anyone who suggests that you don’t need a Summary or Objective at the top of your resume. “Your Summary shows off your writing skills, shows that you know what’s salient in your background, and puts a point on the arrow of your résumé,” says Ryan. So don’t leave it off. Here are some more tips from JobM...

I haven’t shared any job searching link love with you in a while, but there are a few things I’ve found this week that are really “must reads”. We’re in for a rainy weekend, so hopefully you can curl up with a good URL (ah, how times have changed!). How to become America’s next top writer by Julie Kraut, author of the new novel, Slept Away. Julie was a featured guest poster at Lindsey Pollak’s blog and shared her advice for aspiring writers. I especially appreciate her advice to “read as much as you can, and not just from the genre you’re writi...

I’ve written a lot about how to network from the perspective of the job seeker. Today, I’m going to look at the other side of the equation — how to be a good networking resource for those who are looking for a job. If you are currently employed, odds are you have been receiving your fair share of phone calls and emails asking for help. But even if you are blessed with a good job, can you help everyone? Should you? And what’s the best way to help job seekers without spending your whole day on it? Here are five tips to help you help the people in your professional netw...

The Labor Department released unemployment numbers for the month of May on Friday, revealing some good news / bad news for the U.S. economy. 345,000 Americans lost their jobs in May — far fewer than experts had predicted. In January, 741,000 Americans were laid off — more than double May’s numbers. The dramatic slowdown in the rate of job loss is seen as a positive sign that the recession could be coming to an end. On the other hand, with 345,000 more people now looking for a job, plus most of those laid off early in the year still job searching, the unemployment rate cont...

The New York Times recently ran this insightful piece on how the recession has been impacting former Stay at Home moms. According to the article, about 80 percent of the layoffs in the current recession have been men, forcing a number of once full-time moms to head back to the workplace. Author Eilene Zimmerman interviewed a number of career experts around the country, all of whom seemed to concur that one of the biggest challenges for moms reentering the workforce is how to market themselves. That includes creating a résumé that reflects both previous career experience and skills gained ...

I heard a great story last night on my local NPR about job clubs. These networking clubs provide a variety of free (or very low-cost) services to job seekers, from practice interviews to resume-writing clinics to much-needed support. According to the story I heard, the number of job clubs in my town alone has grown from two to 14 in the past year, and the average number of attendees has increased more than 10-fold. If you are looking for a job, experts recommend that you join at least two different clubs, because each one will have its own benefits and dynamic. Some job clubs, for example, ...

Office supply stores Staples and Office Depot are both running job searching specials this month, with free copies of your resume, free faxing and even free business cards. If you are looking for a job, taking advantage of one (or both) of these offers is a great way to save your budget the expense of printing and faxing. Here are the details: At Office Depot, you can print up to 25 single-sided pages for free, and get free faxing to five different domestic numbers, up to 25 pages in total. The special runs through May 30. To find an Office Depot near you, call 1-888-GO-DEPOT. At Staples, you ...

There was a great article in the Wall Street Journal Online earlier this week, with job searching tips aimed at college students. Here’s the advice from their career experts: Use your youth to your advantage Sure, new hires right out of college may be down by as much as 25% this year, but recent college graduates still have some things going for them: “Recent graduates tend to be more flexible than more-established workers. Without the burden of a mortgage, a spouse and children, many graduates are willing to take a less-than-perfect job that is located in a less-desirable city...