Career Center Blog | Avoiding the pitfalls of merging freelance and full-time work

During your search for a new job, have you ever had the urge to drop it all and just start your own business? After filling out endless applications, micromanaging your ever-changing resume and practicing your elevator speech into the wee

Career Center Blog | Personal brand plus consulting: a recipe for flex success

The buzz on the parenting and work/life balance front over the past couple weeks has been about whether working women can "have it all." A provocative essay in the most recent issue of The Atlantic magazine written by former State

Career Center Blog | Understand contractor compensation before accepting the role

Congratulations! You've received an offer from a Microsoft vendor. Before you accept, consider two important decisions. First, be careful before signing a non-compete agreement, and second, don't take the first compensation offer. In my last column, I described the basic

Career Center Blog | What you need to know about contracting at Microsoft

If you're a newbie to contracting at companies such as Microsoft, the world of contract positions can be a foreign one. At Microsoft in particular, it helps to know the language before you immerse yourself. The software giant offers plenty

Career Center Blog | Manufacturing, warehousing recovers but demands patience

In the darkest days of the Great Recession, it seemed as if manufacturing in the Puget Sound region was in its death throes. The economy also devastated the container trade at the Port of Seattle, leading to more job stagnation

Career Center Blog | Tips for stay-at-home moms reentering the workforce

A common question I'm hearing in the job-hunting community these days is how stay-at-home moms who want to reenter the workforce can deal with the overwhelming competition in the market and find a job. The biggest challenges most stay-at-home moms

Career Center Blog | Thinking about contracting? Understand the new VMS system first

One of the frequent questions I've been getting in my seminars lately comes from active jobseekers or contract workers who wonder, "why am I getting e-mails from contracting firms asking for exclusive rights to represent me or wanting the last