EDITORIALS

I know that many of our members are faced with the unpleasant truth that they have been out of work for a significant period of time. Having been out of work myself for almost two years, I know that this unpleasant question of “Why have you been out so long?” gets asked. Like anything else...

I sometimes get the feeling from the format of emails I get and the strange formatting of resumes I see that there are those who believe computers are just a passing phase in our society.I don’t know how to break this to those of you who have been reluctant to “get with the program,” one o...

I have often noted to my friends who aren’t into boating that the difference between a power boater and a sail boater is that power boaters usually use their boats to go somewhere, whereas sail boaters are already there once they step onto their boat.In our goal driven, management by objec...

Ah, the great age of sail! For many hundreds of years, men built great numbers of wooden sailing vessels for commercial purposes and for the making of war.The truth, as hinted at by the saying above is that there was very little that was actually romantic or desirable about a life at sea. ...

Although by and large, the one thing we make more often than anything else for dinner on our boat is reservations, there are times when the fog giant descends upon us and if there is nothing else to eat, we make fog sandwiches.To make fog sandwiches, of course, you need fog. To this one sh...

There is a memorable scene in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in which Paul Newman is challenged for control of the Hole in the Wall Gang. They agree that the best way to settle their disagreement is with a knife fight. Paul suggests that before they get started that they should decide ...

Over the years, I used to keep only a handful of CD’s in my car and I played them over and over again. I supposed I shouldn’t admit this to a wide audience, but one of my favorite music categories is sea shanties. (It goes along with my hobby of sailing). When I had cassette tapes, I actua...

Being successful at getting meetings with potential decision makers who don’t have a job right now, but who might make one for you after they meet you, is why networking is the most successful approach to finding a job. Frankly, this is how most business is really done at our level.If you ...

Last week I processed a batch of new members. It was actually a three week batch as I was on vacation for two weeks.I realize that new members are not totally indicative of how everyone is doing their resume, but I have to tell you that their resumes aren’t all that different from the ones...

One of the comments I have heard from time to time is that the new job that someone just found isn’t as exciting as the one they lost. It seems at times that most of our members find themselves in a downward spiral as they change jobs. The companies are smaller and often the pay packages a...

Since not all of the members of The FENG are sailors, I really need to start this editorial with the idea that you can’t sail directly into the eye of the wind. In fact, you generally have to be about 45 degrees off the wind to make any headway. However, this is only a real nuisance at tho...

To quote George Bernard Shaw: “The biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”With respect to our power to communicate, we live in a remarkable period of time. I normally respond to 50-100 unique emails every day. I have been doing this for many years and yet...

In my continuing “joys of sailing” series, I thought I would talk about docks around Long Island Sound. Although one can drag anchor, one rarely drags dock. (A little sailing joke for you.)Sure, it is a rather arcane topic, but hopefully it is one that you can use to amaze and astound your...

Since we have so many new members each year, I thought I would write something tonight about the mission of The FENG and how we accomplish our objectives for one another.Sailors are a naturally friendly lot. (Yes, another sailing analogy!) As one of the other couples my wife and I met at a...

It has only been since about the time of the American Revolution that sailors have had the technology available to find their exact location on the face of the earth. Although determining your latitude was possible (those are the lines that run around the middle of the earth like the equat...

There is no more powerful tool than a sharp pencil. (The only equally powerful tool is The FENG’s Member Directory Search feature.)I long ago declared war on unnecessary words. Why? Because they are unnecessary. Duh!The normal space allotment for a resume is two pages. Okay, if you have to...

For those of you who are sailing fans and/or history buffs and saw the movie Master & Commander: The Far Side of The World, there was a scene where Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany were having a heated argument about the merits of flogging. The comment made by the captain was that the go...

Let’s be honest, even though the unemployment figures suggest a strong job market, things are still challenging for members of our “well experienced” membership. This always being the case, many of our members consider opportunities that are well below their previous levels of responsibili...

Have you ever wondered who is that guy/gal in the mirror? I’m sure we all stare at that familiar face from time to time, but the real question is who are you and what do you do best?You would think that if you just took a few minutes and read your own resume, you could solve this one, but ...

I suppose that feeling sorry for yourself feels pretty good. The problem is that it doesn’t do you any good and doesn’t benefit you in any way, shape or form.In this era of long job searches, it is easy to fall into this pattern of self abuse. Frankly, I don’t encourage it.While the light ...

I am frequently disappointed by the lack of attention to detail by the many members who write to me. There are so many things that are easy to do, that no one seems to do.Let me start with my primary concern – the lack of outgoing signatures. Incredibly, some emails I get aren’t even signe...