Blog
Debra Wheatman, President of Careers Done Write, provides expert insight to the job search process that puts your career in gear with tips for interviewing, networking, job search strategies and how to create a winning resume and cover letter.
The Burgeoning Issue of Fake Candidates
Just ten years ago, AI seemed like a far-off, futuristic theory. Now, it is a ubiquitous reality. Almost every press release, business journal, and job posting references AI or emphasizes the importance of being knowledgeable about leveraging it. As any job seeker knows, AI is being used extensively in the recruitment space, with companies using it for screening, interviewing, and onboarding candidates. This technology has also given rise to the phenomenon of the fake job candidate. What was previously limited to embellished resumes or inflated experience has evolved into sophisticated forms of deception, including identity theft, interview impersonation, falsified credentials, and rampant scams. This can create significant financial, security, and reputational risks that extend far beyond merely making a bad hire….
Eight Trends that Will Shape the Workforce in the New Year
The 2026 job market is poised for transformation. As companies adapt to rapid shifts in technology, changing employee expectations, and external factors such as globalization, the new year is set to break the old rules. Some trends we will see will be evolutionary. Others will be revolutionary. Regardless, these dramatic changes will fundamentally reshape the way companies hire and source talent, and how people actually work….
Top Hiring Trends of 2025
The end of the year is here, and it’s time for my annual retrospective. External factors such as technological acceleration, shifting worker expectations, and economic uncertainty shaped the job market in 2025. In sharp contrast to 2021 and 2022, hiring became much more selective. Some would say that the process became absurd, with protracted interviews, projects, presentations, and assessments. Candidates waited, sometimes for months, to hear whether they had secured the job. Employers still wanted to attract and retain talent in this challenging market, and those that embraced more flexible talent strategies were better positioned to compete for that top talent….
AI Is Coming for Your Job
Almost daily, the world takes another step toward artificial general intelligence. The most powerful AI models can do an astonishing array of tasks, from writing detailed reports to creating videos on demand. Your company’s CEO is comparison shopping right now. You cost many thousands of dollars plus healthcare, vacation days, and that annoying habit of having opinions. AI costs less than your annual coffee budget and never complains about needing a day off….
The Virtual Interview Overreach: When Privacy Takes a Backseat to Transparency
Job interviews are inherently awkward and vulnerable situations. Sitting down in front of a stranger and basically saying, “My financial stability is in your hands,” never gets any less stressful, no matter how many jobs you apply for. These days, most initial interviews are being conducted via video conference. This medium can make the whole interview process more nerve-racking because it can be difficult to read body language when you’re not in the same room as the interviewer….
It’s Time to End Unpaid Internships
Internships should be learning experiences designed to expose students to a company’s people, products, and processes. They are intended, ostensibly, to give students a taste of what it’s like to be a part of the workforce. Well, a key part of being in the workforce is being compensated! Labor should always have dignity, which requires a decent wage payment. I am not against volunteerism; that’s great. However, organizations that have resources and ask people to work in real jobs for no money should be ashamed of themselves. Exchanging labor for “experience” only on a resume is the definition of exploitation....
An Open Letter to Gen Z and Those Who Employ Them
Dear GenZ:
I see you in the headlines. They’re saying that you’re “challenging” and “difficult” to work with. They say you’re lazy and don’t take direction well. You lack work ethic, and you have attitudes, And you’re getting fired at a rate higher than your counterparts from other generations....
Hustle Culture: Cultural Hegemony in Action
In the early 20th century, Italian philosopher Antonio Gramsci was dissatisfied with the failures of the revolution in European countries and sought to explain why the revolution wasn’t taking place in these advanced capitalist countries. He developed the concept of cultural hegemony as an explanation. This concept posits that through the institutions of society—schools, media, religious organizations—the ruling class enforces its moral, political, and social values onto the rest of society. Through hegemony, the apparatus of the state keeps its subjects repressed and suppresses revolution and dissent without the use of violence or force.
#TLDR: The group that maintains control over the institutions controls the rest of society....
What You Need to Know About the Class of 2024
This year’s class faces a tougher job market than last year’s grads, with only a small percentage graduating with employment already lined up. Nonetheless, they’re inevitably going to be your colleagues, peers, and direct reports. Here is what they want from their employers….
Bullies, Mean Girls, and Remaining Professional When Things Get Personal
Bullies from high school often grow up to become bullies in the workplace (as well as outside of work), resulting in many of us finding ourselves in situations that are unfortunately similar to our dark days of adolescence. The worst part – these bullies are much stronger and vindictive. Workplace bullying takes many forms; it includes behavior that intimidates, offends, degrades, or humiliates an employee, possibly in front of coworkers and clients….