The Seattle Times Company representing the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
NWjobs | NWautos | NWhomes | NWapartments | NWsource | Classifieds | seattlepi.com | seattletimes.com
The Seattle Times Company representing the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
NWjobs | NWautos | NWhomes | NWapartments | NWsource | Classifieds | seattlepi.com | seattletimes.com
surveys - Take Our Poll Q: A female engineer says she dresses for work in slacks with no makeup. When she goes on interviews, she dresses up in a suit, and wears her contacts and light makeup "to look...
By Nick Corcodilos Syndicated columnist Q: I'm in a real quandary. I started a new job two weeks ago, and I just got a call from another company to which I had sent my résumé about a job I...
Nowadays, all kinds of workers get recruited on the phone. It can help to have a personal policy about how to handle recruiters. What's your policy? ( surveys) Q: Only executives and specialized workers used to get calls from...
By Etan Horowitz The Orlando Sentinel DANIEL ACKER / BLOOMBERG NEWS As more people get laid off, switch careers or worry about losing their jobs, networking sites have become vital tools in a job search. ORLANDO, Fla. — When...
With job cuts expected to continue, more workers are ramping up their networking efforts. Experts say if you think you don't have time to build relationships in these bleak times, think again.
By Nick Corcodilos Syndicated columnist Q: Four years ago, three co-workers and I bought the software development firm we worked for, but business has slowed down and the company is failing. I am seeking another job using the 10...
A company has recruited you. You show up for the interview, only to find that the personnel department wants you to fill out several forms and to take an employ ( surveys) Q: A company has recruited you. You...
By Nick Corcodilos Syndicated columnist Q: How can I circumvent the human resource (HR) departments of cities, counties, states or the federal government? I have degrees in political science and public administration. During an internship with the HR department...
You've got an offer, but do you want the job? ( surveys) Q: You finally got the offer. It's a good one, and you're happy with the terms. The problem is, you're suddenly wondering, do I really want to...
By Nick Corcodilos Syndicated columnist Q: I'm looking at a great job with a great company. However, I'm in the early stages of pregnancy, and I'm concerned about how to handle it. I know it's illegal to discriminate against...
surveys - Take Our Poll Q: I'm a headhunter who tells people that the best resume is NO resume. Yet companies demand resumes all the time. So what's your guess about how I am able to present candidates to...
polls - Take Our Poll Q: You want to take a step up into management. Your real strength is not your past experience, but your ability to learn quickly and get things done. What's the best way to stand...
More applicants are popping off quick and casual text-message thank-you notes - which can lead to instant rejection.
By Nick Corcodilos Syndicated columnist Q: I am speaking both as a frustrated hiring manager and as a job hunter. I've always said to the potential employer, "I want this job. It sounds interesting and challenging." The key phrase...
By Nick Corcodilos Syndicated columnist Q: Shouldn't a job hunter do whatever is necessary to win an offer? In an earlier column, you advised against divulging past salary in an interview because it might prejudice an employer's offer. I...
How do I get the hiring manager's attention? I know that a local company has new positions in the works, but I can't get anyone to talk to me. Is my only alternative to send a resume and hope it is seen by the district manager?
By Nick Corcodilos Syndicated columnist Q: How can I negotiate vacation time when I get a job offer? One thing that has kept me from seeking other employment is that I don't want to lose the four weeks of...
You're a manager and you've identified 10 possible candidates for a position in your department. It's time to interview them. What should you do next?
By Nick Corcodilos Syndicated columnist Q: How do I find good small companies to work for? Much of my career has been spent in Fortune 500 companies in several big cities. Now it's time to make a change, but...
Your current boss and buddies at work might be your best references, but if you let them know you're interviewing elsewhere, that could jeopardize your current job.
Q: I'm a dedicated, loyal employee, and I would do anything for my employer. Why, then, do I lose my job every few years and have a hard time landing a new one? Nick's reply: Your question is impossible...
Q: I realize that headhunters work for the employer, but my past experience has been that a good one will pick up an individual with good...
Q: I have 10 years of experience, but I'm confused about what it takes to get a good job nowadays. Companies seem to be incredibly picky...
At first glance, Dr. Renee Gilbert doesn't seem like the sort of person who should teach a seminar called "The Art of Schmoozing." She speaks in a quiet voice, and stray sentences trail off to a shy whisper.
In fact, the 48-year-old Seattle psychologist concedes that she was "the kind of person who sat by herself at parties." But in front of this class she manages to exude wit and charm as she jokes, smiles and coaxes students to respond to her questions. Not a born schmoozer herself, she said she relies instead on willpower and practice. Gilbert, therefore, turns out to be the perfect role model for the 18 men and women who took her class to polish their schmoozing skills.
Think the glad-handing Old Boys hold a monopoly on networking? Think again. Today's networking landscape is dotted with mixers aimed at career women looking to swap tips, leads, war stories and everything in between.
The Seattle-area economy might be running strong, but nervous faces weren't hard to find in a crowd of well-dressed job seekers in Bellevue. They were waiting for the doors to open at a recent job fair at Meydenbauer Center.
A few years ago, Kathy met Henry in a social setting. At the time, Henry had a small business that sounded relatively intriguing to Kathy. Out of habit, Kathy made a point of getting Henry's contact information at the end of the evening even though she was content in her job.
You've heard of those brain teaser questions that may well come between you and a job someday. No matter how much you may prepare yourself for a job interview, you may never be completely ready when that interviewer asks you why manhole covers are round.
Despite the etiquette, formality, and inevitable fear factor, job interviews can actually be enjoyable as well as extremely informative. In an interview, where you and the prospective employer begin a mutual relationship based on observation and communication, you have just as much power as the interviewer.
Jack Goldberg knows the job market from the inside out. His Kirkland-based firm, Personnel Management Systems, not only helps other companies recruit, screen and hire employees, but he has had to do that himself recently. His company now has 20 employees.
When an employer calls to say, "We'd like discuss your qualifications a bit," what they are really saying is, "we want to know more about your skills and verify your resume before we offer you an interview." Human Resources refer to this interview as the Screening Interview.
There's no instant replay when you go through an interview. One secret I've learned is that your verbal messages are enhanced by body language, facial expressions, voice intonations and props. So make your words, physical presence and voice work aid you in landing the job.
It's a forgotten art: handwritten thank-you notes. Not an e-mail, nor a typed letter, but an actual note card with sincere thoughts scribed on a page. Colleen Kill, a regional sales manager for Amgen, who's hired hundreds of people during her career, offers some key advice.
News flash: 63% of people hired in the last year found their job through contacts. In a CEO survey we conducted in 2002, 90% of top executives said networking was important to their career rise and 68% listed networking as very important. No one said it didn't matter.
Answering an interviewer's questions can be trickier than you may think. To see how you'd perform, select the correct answer, then review the explanation and tips that follow to better prepare yourself for your next interview.
"Nothing is worse than having someone show up for an interview and not know a single thing about our company or how they'd perform the job-that's a fatal mistake too many people make," noted Executive VP Sue Carroll of Westar Insurance Managers.
At some point in every interview the employer will ask, "Do you have any questions?" A top manager shared this insight: "I judge candidates by the questions they ask. That's what's most revealing to me.
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