The Holidays are not a career development wasteland. In fact, December & January are a powerful time for career development. There are 3 time periods, or natural phases that take place during the Holidays and each phase has its own inherent opportunities. They are:

1. The Social Phase

2. The Reflective Phase

3. The New Beginnings Phase

How can you make the most of the Holidays? I will look at each of these in turn over the next day or two.

I have a book that I bought, apparently in London judging by the price sticker on the back, many years ago. I don’t remember doing so, but I have read this book, cover to cover, several times and it has a permanent place on my shelf. Back in the 18th century, there was an English Lord, diplomat, and politician by the name of Lord Chesterfield (yes, that’s where that word comes from). He had a son who he sent away to be educated from an early age. Rather than neglect, he had a very specific educa…

Heather Hamilton at Microsoft has a superb blog.

Any long-time readers here and my clients will know that I am a strong advocate of the hand-written post-interview thank-you note.

In my opinion, Heather has nailed the subject with her recent post:
Heather’s “Marketing and Finance at Microsoft” Blog : Post-interview ‘Thank You’ notes

Back in the 18th and 19th centuries, once the printing press had become more common, there was a self-publishing phenomenon. Books, yes, but from what I understand a great deal of pamphlets, or what we might understand as articles, white papers, and booklets. For political purposes. For scientific glory. For vanity. For scandal.

Great titles like "The Migratory Habits of the Peruvian Mudhatch, Modestly Proposed by a Gentleman."

The means of publishing had become accessible enough that people were …

Steven at The Asia Pacific Headhunter writes a worthwhile post on breaking through to the $100k+ level. The Asia Pacific Headhunter: How to Land a 100K Job: Part One

I know. I know. I am one of thousands to review David Allen’s almost cult-like book. In case you aren’t savvy, the system is referred to as GTD. Let me say that there are at least two levels of value in GTD. The first is his comprehensive system for productivity. The second is the ideas he plants regarding next actions, projects and other key elements of time management. You can gain value in the second category just by reading the book. You can’t however just read the book for the first ca…