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.
Does your audience hate your content?
I’ve written previously that personal branding is an exercise in content marketing. Key to this effort is ensuring that your content is timely, relevant, and interesting to your audience. We all think that we do this well, yet more than 90% of all content--whether b2b, b2c, or b2p--gets ignored. There are a few reasons this…
Defining Career Success
Each year, publications such as U.S. News & World Reports publish lists of the “best” colleges and universities in the U.S. Families are looking at significant investment in higher education, so it makes sense that they would want their children to have the best possible educational experience. As news of rising college costs continues…
Don’t bake cookies for the office.
I recently worked with a mid-career attorney, who, after ten years at the same firm, wanted to make a switch over to the corporate sector. During our conversation, she casually mentioned that, on a weekly basis, she bakes cookies for the office. As you can imagine, I was horrified. I asked her why on earth…
Productivity Versus Being Busy
Super busy. Crazy busy. Overloaded. A to-do list that’s a mile long. Busyness has become a cult in Western culture. Maybe that’s because humans are hardwired with a bias toward action. Maybe it’s because it feels satisfying to cross items off that to-do list. Or maybe it’s because we operate under a self-imposed feeling that…
Other Places to Find Me
Hello, everyone. I hope that 2017 has been treating all of you well. In my last post, I touched on a few bits of career advice for the new year. One of those points was to expand your network. I have been taking my own advice and have been published on two other mediums that…
2016: A Year in Review
As the year draws to a close, I have been reflecting on what I think are the key things that every professional needs to know about managing his or her career. It’s difficult to condense an entire year’s worth of advice into one short article, but here are my top level Most Important Things to…
You were laid off. Stop saying you were fired.
Being involuntarily separated from your employer can be devastating. Not only are there worries about finances, but there are concerns about how quickly you can find a new job, and how to position the separation. If you’ve been hit with a layoff—as has been the case for many productive, valuable employees since the early 1990s—I…
Submitting a Bill after an Interview
Hi Deb: I’m currently employed, and have been interviewing for a few months. A friend of mine just told me that he submits a bill for his travel expenses to his interviewer after the interview is complete. He will bill the interviewing company for his mass transit ticket, parking, mileage, and any other expenses associated…
Don’t Lowball Yourself
There is much advice on how to deal with a lowball offer from a prospective employer. We talk about how to avoid being on the receiving end of a lowball offer, and how to negotiate your way out of one. But what we don’t talk about all that often is how candidates sometimes lowball themselves.…
Help! I’ve Been Fired!
One of the questions I frequently field pertains to how a job seeker should position himself when he’s involuntarily left his previous position. Many people think that being involuntarily severed from a previous employer leaves them with an indelible mark and that they are forever stained. This simply is not true. Many, if not most…