EDITORIALS

From time to time, someone tells me that networking as an approach is falling into disfavor. (If it does, we will have to change the name of our networking group, and I am at a loss as to how to come up with another name!)When people talk about networking in this way, the networking that t...

I have at this point in my chairmanship of The FENG listened to a fairly significant number of 90-second announcements.I try to listen patiently and assess how best to help and make suggestions for improvements in the delivery of this vital communication.The time frame presents a formidabl...

The definition of networking I use is: Networking is a process by which you can create meaningful business contacts and relationships to further your career and enhance your professional life.On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the most difficult, networking is a 5. Building friendships is a...

I don’t know what it is about returning emails and phone calls. I get them by the truck load and still do my best to return them all. (Sometimes it does take a few days.)Perhaps I have a high level of curiosity, but I have found that you can never tell who has contacted you or what they ha...

There was this very amusing comedy routine that I heard many years ago. During part of it, the comedian pointed out that when operating on a patient under local anesthetic, surgeons are not allowed to say “oops.” (I know what I mean when I say oops. What did he mean?)In much the same way, ...

I know we don’t mean to do it, but as financial types who come to our decisions the hard way (usually the long scenic route), we often react to information being presented to us by others in a dismissive, “oh, I knew that” manner.I suppose there was a time in my life when I actually though...

The words we use when referring to others are important in that they affect our thinking and ability to problem solve.I don’t know if any of you have noticed, but I usually refer to “members of the search community” or to “search professionals.” I sometimes refer to them as “recruiters.” A...

The world of job search can be an uncharted place.I can’t think of any activity that is so specific to one’s background, while at the same time one that we generally don’t practice a whole lot until the crisis is upon us.Over most of our careers for us stable financial types, practicing th...

I realize that on days when the newsletter thins, there is the temptation to “click and shoot” all of the remotely possible postings that appear.Please don’t.One of the core values of The FENG is that we don’t respond to postings unless we are a good fit. Very simply put, if you wouldn’t h...

It is always difficult to explain why you trust someone.In our daily encounters out in the world we come across all kinds of folks. Most of the individuals we do business with on a daily basis don’t have to be our friends, and the nature of the exchanges we have with them don’t even requir...

I sometimes wish I didn’t publish job leads at all. I know this is shocking for someone who is sending out a newsletter full of job leads, but it is the truth.Our newsletter contains a wealth of information as do our membership directories. For those of you determined to never learn anythi...

One of the most difficult questions one is almost required to answer is why we left our last job.Being a little bit of a wise guy, my inclination is to say “They stopped paying me.” Or, in the alternate, “When they changed the locks on my office and had security escort me out to the street...

When it comes to deciding if someone is a fit for a particular position, industry experience and candidates current locations are often the first criteria that employers consider when weeding out applicants. After these first two issues appear to be satisfactory, the next point of focus is...

With the holiday season coming up fast, it is perhaps the time to repeat the simple advice that now is the time to be making phone calls and trying to schedule meetings.One of the great misunderstandings about networking is that things slow down during the holidays. Nothing could be furthe...

This is probably just a lucky guess on my part, but I have the very real sense that the high technology tools we have to conduct a job search are here to stay. (To quote Larry King, “High technology, what will they think of next?”)Friends, Al Gore invented the Internet a long time ago. And...

Ever the wise sailor, I always (well, almost always) check the weather forecast before heading down to the boat to go out for the day.This may or may not be a valuable activity. My wife jokes that in her next life she wants to be a weather forecaster. They never have to be right and they s...

Many years ago I spent an evening out with an old friend of mine who previously had been in the search business.He is a very special friend. We first met in 1977 when I was Business Manager for CBS College Publishing and we have been close friends ever since. Since he lived nearby, our fam...

Every once in a while I get an assignment for The FECG that draws more than its fair share of attention.I think our all time high several years ago was an assignment that drew 225 responses. However, even when you get an assignment that draws more than say 40 responses, it can get a little...

Based on the email cover notes I see, I’m not sure we have all made the transition from messages sent in envelopes to those sent by email.Personally, I have always found electronic files to be maddening, especially very highly developed Excel spreadsheets. Adopting naming conventions so th...

People who know that my wife and I are into sailing often ask us what we most enjoy making for dinner when we are on the boat. My standard response is reservations.The hard part is, of course, picking the restaurant. Are we in the mood for Mexican food, Pizza, French, Italian, or Chinese? ...

Much as I hate using cliché phrases as the one above, I don’t really know if there is a better one to describe the process of self-examination that is required when faced with looking for another “work opportunity.”(I call them work opportunities instead of jobs, because they don’t general...