At the root of failed career changes, bad job choices or an inability to make that next professional step is some level of what I call fuzziness around who we are professionally. Getting a clear and appreciative view of your professional assets is vital, foundational career development work. My friends at VisualCV, a leading online resume-building software provider, invited me to write a guest post. In response, I wrote an in-depth, step-by-step guest article for their blog on what to do if you'…

Targeted Planning

The prospect of making some form of career change is both exhilarating -- and daunting. If you’ve decided to change careers -- and you know exactly the new career you want to pursue -- it’s important not to be stymied by the enormity of the challenges associated with the career-change process. So, how do you get the ball rolling? Drawing from my experience as an executive recruiter, director of an MBA career centre and as career coach, here are some powerful strategies you can e…

Let Your Company Work For You

Does your company do something exceptionally well as a result of industry dynamics? Quality processes. Mission critical systems. Marketing discipline. Customer support. Distribution precision. Don’t take that level of excellence for granted. There may be organizations who look to your employer as a leader in this area and covet that expertise. The expertise you’ve gained from your employer’s unique circumstances may be just the career move strategy you need to empowe…

How To Chart Your Job Search Strategy

Is there a career move in your future? If so, consider the idea of the campaign, and the verb, to campaign. The concept of the campaign might generate for you images of iconic advertising campaigns, historical military campaigns and even memorable political campaigns. Campaigning is about picking a winnable objective and then devising the strategy and tactics to achieve that end. When you campaign, you mobilize your resources towards your end goal. In the r…

Evaluating Your Potential Boss During Career Changes

I came across great career advice the other day, backed up by research. I have unfortunately misplaced the source. The advice was as follows:

When you are choosing whether to align yourself with a job opportunity or not (new job, promotion, project), and in particular when you have some choice, pay careful attention to your prospective boss. And when trying to choose between two similar roles, you are far better off going with the person who you…

Calculating The Best Position For Job Opportunities

Let’s do the math.

• Fewer jobs.

• More applicants.

• Should = some changes in how you go about marketing yourself

Because I have been through a few downturns of hiring cycles, I can tell you from experience how hiring executives think when it comes to either filling an existing role with a new person or opening up a new role. They want either:

• The perfect candidate. One that exactly meets the requirements. No risk in the resume.

• Or, someone who can wear se…