EDITORIALS

Very few among us are professional sales folks. It is for this reason that some of the more subtle elements of interviewing can easily go by us. When you decide to make a purchase, you often have to justify it to others. When you do, you will find yourself repeating things the salesperson ...

Even though the job market seems to be improving, I thought I would repeat a thought I mention to those who ask. Plain and simple, it is always better to be working.The strategy you take early in your career has to be one of growth. Each job you take has to move you up the ladder of succes...

As the sailing season begins here in Connecticut my thoughts more and more turn to sailing stories and how they might apply to job search and the management of your career. (Of course, I think about and read sailing stories all the time, but I digress.)One of the great perils of sailing is...

Over the years I have had more than a few “interesting” discussions with new member applicants. I guess I can talk about them with all of you because they weren’t sponsored or accepted.Although I am in a position where I have to say no now and then, I try to visualize my role as that of “t...

Probably one of the hardest things to do in life is to define who you are. Are you really your resume?Because we tend to be at companies longer than the members of other discipline areas, the reality of what it is we REALLY do best is not always obvious to us.Some time ago when one of my f...

I don’t know about you, but at the age of 74, I still have more than a few miles left on my odometer. The thought of retirement is still something far off into the future. I imagine I will get to that point in my thinking someday, but it isn’t now.When members call me for advice, I always ...

My wife is a speech pathologist by education and early work experience. One of the things that drives her crazy is one-word answers. Her approach in teaching speech has always been to ask questions that create a conversation. The only way to get the kids she was working with to improve the...

Asking for help is hard for many people. I don't know why that is, but I am sure it is just part of human nature.I guess we have been brought up to “do it ourselves.” It is sort of a mark of our independence when we become real adults. I have been told that this is the reason that guys use...

Probably one of the most difficult issues to resolve when competing for an appropriate job opportunity is how much follow up to do.It is a fine line indeed between ensuring that those making the decision know you have real interest and making a real pest of yourself and changing their deci...

We have all heard the old saw: “You never get a second chance to make a good first impression.” There is also this amendment: “Don’t make your first impression your last.”I only wish everyone would be so kind as to repeat these sayings to themselves in all the things they do with regard to...

I am often asked by our members to give them a “formula” for constructing their very own 90-second announcement. If only that were practical.The problem with 90-second announcements is very much related to the very limited time you are allowed. Having been in the advertising business for n...

One of the more amazing things I find myself discussing from time to time is that organizations seem to take on a life of their own. Even when I “drop in” many years later I find very little has changed.As I “drop in” to chapters of The FENG around the country, one of my goals is to find o...

When I was growing up, my father was a plumbing contractor and I had the great experience of working with him weekends and summers from my early teens until I graduated from college.The test we used to determine whether or not we had correctly completed a complicated installation was wheth...

It would be great if we could all see behind us while at the same time looking forward, but it just isn’t possible. And, sometimes just looking forward is hard enough.We have all heard about the “buddy system” that swimmers use. And, of course, having someone “watch your back” is a concept...

Probably one of the hardest things to do during a job search is keeping yourself energized. If you are conducting your job search from home, as most of you are today, it can be even more difficult.The thing to recognize is that conducting a job search is in some respects painful for us fin...

One of the great mysteries in this world is why any two people would network. Yes, I know this sounds like heresy coming from someone who has built his entire life on networking, but it is actually a very good question, and one that members who have not been exposed to “the truth” often as...

For those of you who have had the honor of dealing with legal matters, you know that the phrase “Time is of the essence” is frequently used in contracts. The idea is that if you want to get the deal done, you better move quickly. (In other words, you will need to get off your duff.) The wo...

As you mature and become over qualified for just about everything, it is inevitable that you will be interviewed for a job (of limited income or responsibility) that you would like to have, but fear that you will be deemed too old or having previously earned too much money to be “happy” in...

In certain respects you have to envy actors. Every time they get up on stage they get to assume the role of some new personality or character. Sometimes I wish I could do that. I have often thought about my 90-second announcement and wondered what it would be like to assume the role of som...

While I am sure the correct answer is “about” 90% (90% is a little too precise), there is no denying the fact that showing up is important. If you have an interview and you don’t show up, you can’t possibly get the job. If you expect to get paid, you have to show up for work. And, the list...

I don’t know if your incoming snail mail is anything like ours, but we sure get a ton of unsolicited mail. The procedure we follow in our house is to pile the mail up and pull over a large garbage pail. The rule is, “when in doubt, throw it out.” Hard to believe how much junk mail we get o...