EDITORIALS

I hope you don’t mind if I take a few minutes tonight to explain the best approach to contacting other members of our now vast organization.The best approach to contacting just about anyone, including other members, is to first send a letter of introduction with a copy of your resume. I kn...

Several years ago The Wall Street Journal had an article about the many steps people take when applying for jobs to conceal their age.I understand where this comes from. Ageism, as with all forms of prejudice, comes from ignorance.If you think about all of the ways of earning a living, it ...

I try to take a few minutes of your time every year at this holiday season to remind you what a gold mine this time of year is to your networking efforts.Whether you are working or not working. Whether you are looking for a job or very happy where you are, this is the time of year when you...

In 1991 when I was last out of work I was at a point in my life where I didn’t want to move.Although born in Chicago and raised in northern Indiana, I had lived in Connecticut for almost 20 years and I liked it here. My wife’s parents lived nearby and I had a daughter and son in high schoo...

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 ...

Every once in a while, The Wall Street Journal publishes a cartoon worthy of discussion.Many years ago, the “Pepper … And Salt” cartoon showed a job seeker, obviously older, explaining his credentials to the interviewer with the following words: “Don’t think of me as a 54-year-old job appl...

There are some who would argue that in this day and age of email, texting and Tweeting, the world has become a more impersonal place than in those halcyon days of yesteryear.Please say it isn’t so. In this electronic age, it has become SO easy to be personal, that I can’t for the life of m...

Up until the age of 46 I didn’t spend a single day unemployed. From the time I got out of the Army in 1971 until 1991 I only changed jobs twice. It doesn’t give you a lot of time to think about your career or to consider that you might be doing other things.During the two years I was out o...

For those of you who have been there, I’m sure you recognize the Disney way of concluding a conversation. It is kind of cute, don’t you think? And, in the context of Disney, it sets you up for what you should be experiencing.The more common phrase in the United States, of course, is “Have ...

Let’s face it, sooner or later you are bound to have a bad day. The odds of having 365 perfect days in a row just aren’t high. It’s sort of a reverse thing to the odds of your winning the lottery. Sure, someone wins it every day, but it never seems to be me. (I guess it would help if I bou...

While confession may be good for the soul, it is deadly when it comes to job search. The dreaded question: What is your greatest weakness?This is one of those questions we could easily do without. And, they often catch us by surprise.Enron aside, the problem is that most senior financial f...

“Must have industry experience” often appears on position descriptions in this newsletter as well as ones one might see in the newspaper or on the various job boards that exist in the nether world of the Internet.The question is whether to respond or not to respond when the requirement is ...

There are an awful lot of people in this world who lie from time to time, some more frequently than others. And, not all of them are politicians.Others may have a different definition, but having an accounting background, I believe that anything that is said that isn’t the WHOLE truth is s...

One of the greatest disappointments you may discover during your job search is that old friends don’t call you back.When I began my job search back in 1991 and in the years since, I have often struggled to explain this syndrome to my many friends. My purpose is not to make excuses for anyo...

It has been said that everything you really need to know, you learned in kindergarten.Several years ago, I had the great pleasure of going trick or treating with my grandson. It is one of those things you obviously can’t do at my age unless you have grandchildren living nearby, and I am so...

There was an article in The Wall Street Journal today titled: “The Best Jobs Aren’t Posted, But You Can Still Find Them”As a member of The FENG, I hope it won’t take you more than a “New York Minute” to guess how you find them.There are 3 proven ways. Wait for it … : Networking, networking...

There is this great place right at the top of each resume that I find is not generally very well used.Right after your name, address, telephone numbers and email address, there is nothing more appropriate to appear than a summary.A summary, précis, or synopsis appearing in this location ca...

I hope you will all forgive me for the rather melodramatic subject of tonight’s editorial. Now that I have encouraged you to talk, my fear is that you will talk too much.Personal selling is a grand profession. Unlike many of the products that can be sold through mass marketing, personal se...

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...

Here you are (minding your own business) interviewing for a highly desirable “work opportunity” and all of a sudden, out of nowhere, a question is raised about your knowledge of a specific topic.If the issue being raised was on the position description, shame on you. I have to assume that ...