I guess the desire to shorten just about everything is part of human nature. I once worked with a guy named Harry and the boss insisted on calling him Har. I suppose he could have called him H, but maybe that was TOO short.When I was in college, everyone was talking about the ATGSB. For th...

I once wrote an editorial I called: Your resume stands aloneIf I must say so myself, it was one of my better missives. It highlighted the simple fact that unless your resume sings your praises properly, you honestly don’t stand a chance. A resume needs to be complete, as in no missing jobs...

Many of the inventions of the modern world are either the best things or the worst things to ever happen to us.It is a true fact (as opposed to a false fact) that we are now able to do a lot more communicating with each other than ever before. Personally, I stand amazed that I send out our...

I am always mildly amused at this time of year by most of the holiday cards and holiday emails I receive.My personal favorite in the mass emailing category was one I received a few years ago that was addressed to me not by name but began instead “My Dearest Friend.” No, I am not kidding. I...

The story I hear more often than not is how perfect someone was for a particular posting and their amazement that they didn’t get a call.Of course, there are a lot of possible reasons why someone doesn’t get a response. It could be they applied too late. It could be that there were require...

The title of this editorial is actually: “The consummate professional in an electronic world,” but I thought that was a little long.As senior financial professionals, we tend to stay in our jobs a long time. Up until I was 46, I only had 3 jobs. Who you are and what you are tends to be kno...

Should I ever retire to do stand up comedy, I can assure you that I have more than enough material to keep any audience in stitches for hours.As Chairman of The FENG for the past 26 years, I have to tell you that I always thought that things would improve, but now I know (sadly) that they ...

I don’t know about you, but the people who write to me and the people I call (when they’re not there) frequently drive me crazy.Let me start you off with the idea that I am a big fan of FULL outgoing signatures. A full outgoing signature includes your “greeting to use,” your physical addre...

One of those things about being on a boat that isn’t well understood by those of you who spend most of your time on dry land is what I call the sploosh syndrome. As a backyard mechanic, I have dropped nuts and bolts on the ground from time to time while working on my car, and though they m...

To tell you the truth, I almost never read cover letters first. Perhaps you remember the joke about the doctor who told his patient to take a warm bath and 4 aspirin. When he called the next day, the patient informed him that he could barely get the warm bath down.It is much the same case ...

I’m sure all of you have been to weddings and other kinds of gatherings where the host for the event has the need to say a few words. Not being great public speakers, these opportunities can be very painful or at times very funny, even when the host doesn’t intend for them to be.One of my ...

As you all can probably imagine, I get a lot of email and phone calls every day.A previous editorial of mine titled “Say what?” focused on the content of your message. Tonight’s editorial is a little more on the mechanical side and touches on providing sufficient information to the person ...

Sad to say, the typical email cover notes I see bear a strong resemblance to classic kidnap notes.You know the ones I mean. Randomly selected letters and words cut from magazines and newspapers and pasted together on a piece of paper to communicate a demand for money.Perhaps this is a litt...

I guess there has indeed been a total breakdown of law and order. Not only are many people ignoring their email, they are also apparently ignoring their phone calls and text messages.I don’t often make cold calls to support our consulting practice. Most of our clients in The FECG are actua...

I am fast coming to the conclusion that most people don’t understand the purpose of a cover letter. Either that or I am greatly confused.My little window on the world is The FECG, the consulting practice that I share with Bruce Lynn. With any luck, a few times a month, alumni members of Th...

When we review candidates for assignments being handled by The FECG, we try to do our dead level best to “push the envelope” on your behalf and try to find some way to visualize your credentials as fitting the assignment currently in hand. After all, you responded. It could be you are righ...

One of my favorite commercials of all time was Verizon’s cell phone commercial. I actually didn’t like it, but because it is so well known I use it as a point of humor when talking to those I call and who call me when their cell phone connection fades in and out.Honestly folks, if you have...

The world today is filled with more opportunities to communicate than ever before. From email at your desk station to email by smart phone, to texting, to telephone calls. Every time you reach out and touch someone, all they know about you is what you send them. As one of my friends used t...

I never cease to be amazed at the extremes job seekers go to hide. It is almost as if they would prefer NOT being selected for a job interview.Call me silly, but I make every attempt to make it easy for others to contact me. I know it isn’t the default, but I have even been known to use an...

Many of us pride ourselves on being brief. Being a financial person in part is defined as being factual and to the point. Any member of our profession who had a tendency to rattle on would be viewed as a little odd, don’t you think?Many of you may be aware of Calvin Coolidge and his reputa...

I’m a pretty organized guy. If I weren’t, it would be impossible to get all the things done in a day that I try to accomplish. (Sometimes I have even gotten all my email up to date!)Still, a few times a day I get an email from someone with incomplete information.A few years ago I wrote to ...