EDITORIALS

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 ...

You might wonder what natural laws have to do with job search, but there is honestly a strong connection.The “mass” in this formula is you and your many talents not currently being applied to accounting and finance matters. The “acceleration” is a measure of how active you are in your job ...

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 published job market isn’t ever as strong as we would like it to be. That said, with 34,000+ members, I would hope we could generate more job leads for our newsletter. A few suggestions follow below.If I may paraphrase Yogi Berra, our politicians have messed up right field so bad I don...

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...