EDITORIALS

Several years ago I read a book sent to me by one of our Associate members, Rich Guha. The title of the book was How to Get What You Most Want in Life. At 103 pages, even the busiest of our members honestly has the time to read this rare volume. I can assure you it is worth the time. If yo...

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 have written many times about the fact that when the answer is no, you don’t get much honest information.There are two approaches that are typically used. The first is what I call “The excuse you can’t cure.” If you only had a CPA, and you don’t, there isn’t much that you can say. The se...

I have to tell you that I come away from most conversations with members of The FENG considerably impressed with the wealth of talent in our organization. Perhaps it is just me, but the experience that most of our members bring to the party is truly amazing.The only problem that our member...

They say that misery loves company. I hope all of you know that this has never been what The FENG was all about.While it is true that most of us are in that vast and over crowded arena called “middle age” and that the focus of our organization is job search related, what we share as an org...

In 1969 I was drafted into the U.S. Army.It was of course a difficult time. But, my approach to life has always been to see the humor in every situation, and I must say the Army gave me many opportunities.One of the most amazing things I was given during basic training was a little device ...

It sure is a disappointment to find out you aren’t perfect.I don’t know about you, but I have always enjoyed the fact that typically the spreadsheets of my life tick and tie. I guess it goes with the territory of being a senior financial executive. Most things in our lives are measurable o...

I continue to be amazed and astounded how many emails I get every day that aren’t signed and/or that make only vague references to what they are about.“Thank you for adding Joe to our membership” isn’t really all that helpful unless I know who you are and who Joe is.I am fortunate in that ...

One thing there is a lot of in this world is advice. What makes matters worse, a lot of it is conflicting advice.Just as it is difficult to work when you have your nose to the grindstone AND your shoulder to the wheel all at the same time, one person’s advice can often be in TOTAL conflict...

It is important to understand that all job leads are not created equal. In fact, the very idea of a job lead is that something very specific is being sought. Often times the primary issues are repeated in a lead in paragraph and referred to as “must haves.” The question is often how seriou...

Anyone who wants to jump in here and correct me is more than welcome to do so, but I have come to the conclusion that there are a lot of misconceptions about the value of social media in your job search.Let me be clear that I strongly recommend you have as complete a LinkedIn profile as yo...

As many of you know, one of my weekly occupations is reviewing new member applications.I try to keep in mind that for the most part I am seeing resumes that have just been completed out of whole cloth. In effect, these are the first result of days of writing and rewriting. Unfortunately, m...

Seeing difficult times as times of opportunity I suppose is a skill in and of itself.It is far too easy to see a job search as full of trials and tribulations. Of course, it is a difficult time, but it is also a time when if you are going to go through a change, it is a good time to sit an...

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...

Rising tidesIn chatting with members over the many years I have Chaired The FENG, one hope frequently voiced has been a wish that as the economy improves there would be more jobs. The basic theory is that a rising tide floats all boats. If I wait long enough, it won’t be all that difficult...

So, you’ve started a new job. Congratulations. Now you only have to survive the first 90 days and then the first year. After that, your tenure will be more related to the business than to personalities.The first thing I would suggest you do is get a copy of John Lucht’s book “Insights for ...

I once worked for a division president who wouldn’t hire anyone who didn’t have a hobby. His theory was that your brain couldn’t be active and productive if you didn’t have something to think about other than work.While he admired those with “fire in their belly,” he was a man with hobbies...

I would like to see if we can increase the number of Good News Announcements and job leads that come our way.The two most important things that I hope that all of you are making every effort to share are Good News Announcements and job leads.Good News Announcements let your fellow members ...

In the days of wooden ships and iron men, the determination of longitude was thought to be an impossibility. The simple solution was creating a clock that was accurate enough to keep track of what time it was in Greenwich, England. If you knew what time it was at a fixed point and you knew...

If only each of us had a crystal ball (highly polished of course) that we could call upon over the course of our lives. The problem is that we don’t.I once heard a very nice presentation on how to get a good start in a new job. Parachuting in at the top is always difficult, and the speaker...

It is not unusual, and is perhaps typical, that members of The FENG would like to change industries. I wish I could tell you that this is easy. Unfortunately, I think the phrase “easier said than done” is applicable here.Of course, someone telling me that a project is impossible is always ...