Career Center Blog | How to earn respect at the office

Last month, I discussed how employers can build a culture of respect. But how can employees earn respect at work? Someone I was coaching told me one of her development goals was to "earn the respect of more people at

Career Center Blog | Are you the office jerk? Here's how to tell

At some point in our careers, we've all had to deal with people who act like jerks at the office. But what if the office jerk is actually you? I had a client who was having difficulty moving upward in

Career Center Blog | Now's the time to get back to job-hunting basics

OK, so the stock market is posting record highs. Even more important, unemployment statistics are looking -- for the first time in a long time -- not that bad. This is good news if you are looking for work. So

Career Center Blog | The importance of building a culture of respect

Earning respect isn't always easy. Nor should respect be something only subordinates are forced to give managers. To better compete in this global economy, a key strategic objective of executive teams and human resources managers should be creating a culture

Career Center Blog | How to talk yourself into a job

Last week, we discussed how to "run" a job interview (in the event your job interviewer is unprepared, inexperienced or untrained). Most of the time, though, interviewers are reasonably competent and you will not need to manage your job interviews.

Career Center Blog | Called out by the boss? How to handle it

Scenario 1: You're staring at your boss during your performance review and can't believe the criticism you're receiving. Scenario 2: You've just presented an idea during a staff meeting and your boss criticizes it in front of the entire department.

Career Center Blog | Can flexible work hours help your love life?

One of the most sought-after perks cited by job seekers is the ability to control their hours at work. Decent pay and quality health care are always high on the list, of course, but flexibility in their daily schedule is

Career Center Blog | Why you need to become a decent public speaker

You're at a funeral. Whom would you rather be: the person giving the eulogy or the person lying in the casket? If -- like a lot of us -- you say you fear public speaking more than you fear death,

Career Center Blog | Female flirting: how it can hurt AND help your career

To flirt or not to flirt at work? There aren't many studies on this topic, and the few that exist show conflicting information. What the results do show is the need for women to tread carefully when it comes to

Career Center Blog | Finding a mentor is easier than you think

In my previous post, I discussed how the use of mentors can help thaw the "Seattle freeze" when it comes to networking and getting to know people in the area. Finding career mentors isn't always easy, however, and asking someone

Career Center Blog | Thaw out the 'Seattle freeze' with mentoring

January is National Mentoring Month, so I decided to look at how mentoring others could help us thaw the "Seattle freeze" reputation we've so infamously earned. Julia Sommerfeld gave examples of our not-so-nice freeze-out attitude toward people who weren't born

Career Center Blog | New job? 9 things not to do your first week

You just landed a job -- finally! -- and you've got the jitters. Of course you do. It's not easy being a newbie. All those traumatic first-day-of-school memories come flooding back. What to do? I mean, beyond working really hard? I find it really

Career Center Blog | Better listening skills could mean more promotions

I recently evaluated the difference in listening skills between my 7-year-old niece and a grown adult. My niece won. She told me exactly what I said in a previous conversation, while the other adult could barely remember the topic we

Career Center Blog | The 'Seattle freeze': change, adapt or surrender?

While "going viral" may be an overstatement -- especially in an age where a goofy Korean music video has now been watched more than 360 million times on YouTube -- I was nonetheless blown away by the number of comments

Career Center Blog | 5 theories behind Seattle's chilly networking reputation

Are Seattleites a friendly and welcoming group of people, on average? Or are we in total denial and really just a bunch of insecure, xenophobic snobs? Having bumped into quite a few people lately who recently relocated to Seattle from

Career Center Blog | Your role in restoring compassion to the job market

There's an old quote about many drops of water coming together to form a mighty stream -- a sentiment which, if we all play our cards right, may turn out to have a surprisingly positive impact on the modern job

Career Center Blog | Finding work is a family affair

"Matt, I hate to admit it, but I'm having a problem on the home front. I've been searching for a job for a number of months now, and my wife won't get off my back. She constantly tells me I'm

Career Center Blog | Congrats, new grads: It's back-to-school time

Whenever we get two days in a row of perfect sunny weather in early spring, as we just did this weekend, I think back more than 20 years ago when I was just finishing up with college, studying for my

Career Center Blog | Five simple ways to avoid the layoff axe

If the Great Recession has taught us anything, it is that no one is irreplaceable. A tailspinning economy and shrinking revenues can spark a panic among management, leaving even the most loyal and talented employees vulnerable to the chopping block.

Career Center Blog | Fight through the flakiness

Flakiness is a wonderful quality in a pie crust -- but as we all know, it's an incredibly annoying trait when it comes to human beings. If you're a job hunter, it's inevitable that you'll encounter flaky behavior as

Career Center Blog | Your competition is hibernating

I love this time of year. I don't mean the stress of the holiday season; I'm talking about the best time to job search. In the past two years, more of my clients have found jobs between Thanksgiving and

Career Center Blog | A divisive decade helped unite job seekers

I don't have to ask you what you were doing this morning 10 years ago today; I already know the answer. Like everyone, you were trying to go about a typical Tuesday, only you probably spent most of it either

Career Center Blog | How to nurture your network contacts

Don't you hate it when a friend who hasn't spoken to you in years suddenly resurfaces in your life only to ask for a favor? Nothing sours a relationship like being inconsiderate of other people's time. Now think about the

Career Center Blog | Just because we know each other doesn't mean you're entitled to my contacts

It's amazing how many professionals in transition today don't understand the basic etiquette of introductions and building relationships. Their philosophy is, "I need access to one of your contacts and since we just met, you should introduce that person to

Career Center Blog | I had a great phone screen, but the HR person isn't responding

A Hire Ground reader sent me an e-mail about a human resources person not responding after she had a great phone screen. Maybe you can relate? "About a week ago, I posted my resume to the website of a large

Career Center Blog | What to do after a job rejection -- it's not what you think

Two of my clients recently landed jobs after they had gotten the "Thanks, but no thanks" reply. Both had done a great job in their interviews, but in each case there were other qualified candidates who better matched the hiring

Career Center Blog | Why you should build relationships, not networks

In my last post, "Philosophies to building long-lasting relationships," I interviewed Carol Olsby, a global human resources expert who emphasizes that genuine long-term relationships are essential to professional career success. Here, we'll get deeper into the heart of what everyone

Career Center Blog | Philosophies to building long-lasting relationships

Here's a New Year's quiz for you: What's the most essential ingredient for success as a professional in transition and for career-minded individuals? Answer: Long-term genuine relationships. As a student of relationships, I decided to interview someone I admire, Carol

Career Center Blog | Make your Boxing Day list of year-end thanks

I've always liked the idea of Boxing Day. For those unfamiliar with obscure holiday customs of the former British Empire, Dec. 26th traditionally has been a day off for the laboring classes, during which the wealthy provided charitable gifts for

Career Center Blog | What do recruiters want from me?

I recently interviewed executive recruiter Erin Holland-Collins on why some candidates remain unemployed for extended periods. (See my previous post, Is there a reason I'm still unemployed?) Here are some of Erin's additional thoughts about what turns recruiters off, as

Career Center Blog | Is there a reason I'm still unemployed?

When I presented my career seminars this year, I noted that many professionals had been unemployed for quite some time. I heard repeatedly that, "Employers aren't responding to my application," or "Even though I'm getting interviews (phone or in-person), I

Career Center Blog | A headhunter's advice on changing, advancing careers

Since well before the Obama campaign co-opted it in 2008, "change" has been the watchword in the employment arena. Most workers will change not only their jobs several times over their lifetimes but also their careers, either by choice or

Career Center Blog | How to turn informational meetings into opportunities

In my last post, I suggested that you use flattery to get the attention of someone who might be useful in your job search. Once you've gotten this person to meet with you, you need to know how to turn