Here are the topics George and I discuss during this episode: the difference between retained search firms and contingency search firms (this is an important distinction and one of the first questions you should ask a recruiter who reaches out to you), myths about executive recruiting, how the role of the executive recruiter has changed in the face of COVID, the proper role of recruiters in your job search, & ways to cultivate long-term relationships with recruiters as a career management strategy

I’m working with a lot of clients right now who were laid off as a result of COVID. Many others were already job searching when COVID hit. For many of these clients and, I suspect, many of you – you are fighting feelings of despair and frustration as you look for a job right now. What I want to offer you today are some persistence strategies to keep you going in the midst of the most challenging job search environment in, maybe, ever.

Today we’re discussing those of you who will be interviewing for jobs, where questions about why you were let go during COVID, or how you spent your time during COVID, might well be asked.

Today we’re focusing on the idea of career reinvention. We’ll discuss the pros and cons and then which steps may be helpful in this process once you make the decision that this is the right move for you.

Those of you who were fortunate to keep your jobs during quarantine may have already returned to work or will be returning soon. You may feel a lot of uncertainty around that, like who still works there? How have my co-workers been affected by quarantine? How will the company be different? I’m certainly no expert on the health aspects of the workplace, so I want to focus on some best practices you can personally adopt as you return to work. Here are the 5 top qualities you have the opportunity to demonstrate, or develop, as you return to work.

Many employees would assume that their boss knows exactly what they are already doing, minute by minute. They figure if the boss gave them this responsibility, they should be able to manage it in addition to what they are already doing – otherwise, why would the boss have assigned it? WRONG. Of course, your boss has at least a general idea of what you’re doing, but it is a mistake to assume she knows how full your plate is. Today we’ll be talking about the factors you need to consider when the boss puts a new responsibility on your plate.

Lee Hecht Harrison surveyed 277 human resource managers to find out what was missing from the job candidates they receive application materials from. Today, we’ll cover their responses and what this means for you as a job applicant.

Today, we’ll cover my top five ways to quickly become branded as “unprofessional.” I’ve described them as you might talk about someone who is unprofessional and given you some of my real-world experiences with unprofessional behavior.

I came across an article on LiveCareer entitled “14 Skills and Values Employers Seek in Jobseekers,” and I wanted to share it with you. Today we’ll walk through these 14 skills and talk a bit about each.

Today, we’ll talk about how you can have difficult work conversations in a way that doesn’t leave one or both parties feeling like you’ve been run over and left for road kill. The purpose of this exercise is to move the relationship forward, not to convince the other person that you’re right and they are wrong. There is no upside to having a winner and a loser. Be willing to be wrong…or at least not right.

Today’s guest is Jeanne Bohen, and we’re discussing transferable skills. Especially in today’s job search climate, being able to pivot by identifying and capitalizing on your transferable skills has never been more important. We discuss what transferable skills are, why they are so important, and a process you can go through to identify your transferable skills. We also talk about the importance of proactively developing transferable skills as part of your career development plan.

A few years back I coined the term “ARFO” – Always Ready for Opportunity. It is the idea that you should always be prepared to have conversations about job opportunities…and that there are certain steps you want to take to be prepared for those conversations. Today we’ll talk about the importance of ARFO in the time of COVID.

Sometimes, you are free to shout your professional availability from the roof top. Other times, your job search needs to be covert, because you don’t want your current employer finding out what you’re up to. Here are five tips for utilizing LinkedIn for a discreet job search.

Today’s guest is AmyK Hutchens, and we’re talking about “How to Handle Tough Career Conversation.” AmyK covers how to handle three particularly challenging career conversations: the job interview, dealing with a difficult co-worker, & asking for a raise. AmyK also provides you with her three top tips for handling any tough career conversation you may face.

Today we’ll be talking about the questions that can be useful during a first meeting with a boss. This is your chance to determine what your boss’s expectations of you are, what criteria he will use to measure your success, and what is most important to your boss. This is also the perfect time to clarify job responsibilities, as well as things like work hours, dress code, and expense reporting. For the boss, this is an opportunity to understand how to motivate and communicate with the new hire.

The holidays are a time for family, rest, good food…a time to unplug from the hustle and grind that, for many of us, defines our work life the rest of the year. In the midst of that family time and relaxation, you have an opportunity to reflect and journal on your professional life. Review 2021 and set intentions for 2022. Here are six simple ways to help your career during the holidays.

You’ve heard this statistic: as much as 85% of jobs are obtained through the “hidden” job market. “Hidden,” meaning these jobs aren’t advertised. The vast majority of these “hidden” jobs are obtained through networking. Here’s what many people do wrong in networking…and how you can avoid these traps.

Okay…let me correct that title a bit. It very well MIGHT be your resume. Here’s how I know: In consults with prospective clients, I ask them if they are currently in a job search or just at the starting blocks. If they tell me they have been job searching, I ask them for these metrics: # of applications, # of interviews, & # of job offers. This information is invaluable because it gives me tremendous insight into where their problems might lie. Today, we will talk over some examples of how I use these metrics to help clients with job searching.

For the uninitiated, ghosting means that someone has stopped responding to all communication from you. I got a lot of the information for this episode from an online article by Shireen Jaffer at Minutes. There are a few reasons why a company or recruiter might ghost you that have nothing to do with you. We’ll cover those, what you may have done, and what you can do to avoid this in the future.

Today’s guest is Bruce Tulgan of Rainmaker Thinking. Today we talk about how to be indispensable at work. Bruce defines indispensability: to whom should you seek to be indispensable, and how to be indispensable while maintaining a work/life balance (or, as I like to call it, work/life blend). Bruce talks about his extensive research in this area, and the key takeaways you can use to become indispensable at work.