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.
A Goof-off Day: Just What This Career Coach Recommends
March 22nd was National Goof-off Day. While the origin is unknown to me, I definitely see the value in such a day. I don’t mean a day to go skiing, get caught up on household repairs, or take the kids to an amusement park. My definition of a goof-off day is a day that does…
Resume Help: Stick to the Facts
Today’s candidate, Harold, presented a five-page, long-winded resume that was so full of fluff that one could hardly discern the value he offers. The resume is loaded with errors and language that makes little sense. Suppose we remove all the errors and then edit that language so that one could read the document with greater…
Do I Really Want The Job?
Dear Debra: In my third interview for a customer service manager position, the interviewer (who runs the branch) asked me if I really wanted the job. He said, “I want to be sure that you really want this job” It’s like he wanted me to convince him. In my mind, the fact that I am…
Men vs. Women: Who is More Competitive at Work?
During my career, I have reported to, worked with, supervised, and competed with both men and women. Having experienced the full spectrum of personality types, I have encountered extremely competitive men and women. The prevailing thought seems to be that men are competitive in the sense that they take greater risks and compete for high-reward…
Should Recent College Grads Care about Finding out what’s on Their Record?
Thank you to Michael Klazema for his guest post on "Should Recent College Grads Care about Finding out what’s on Their Record?" So you just graduated from college and you’re launching headfirst into the job search, ambition burning in your belly and plenty of prospects on your mind. You fill out dozens, if not hundreds…
Excluded from a Client Meeting
Dear Deb: My boss announced at the weekly department meeting that one of our top clients is coming for a visit. He said that all account executives should come to the conference room and introduce themselves. They are serving coffee and pastries. Then he tells me and another person that he knows we are swamped…
Turning Lemons into Lemonade: Overcoming a Bad Performance Review
There are times when an employee nervously enters the performance review anticipating bad news; he has seen the signs. Other times, employees are completely blind-sided and shocked to receive a poor or below-satisfactory evaluation. Either way, it stings. Before you get defensive and catapult a situation from bad to worse, take a deep breath and…
Resume Help: Results Sell!
Today we are examining the resume of an accomplished technical project manager. He has led multi-million dollar software implementations for the Department of Defense and led the development of a back-end system that processes two to three million financial transactions daily. He’s the kind of manager that would be an asset to any employer. However,…
How to Present Yourself for High-paying Jobs
Dear Deb: Is it OK to list my salary requirements in my cover letter? I am a consultant seeking positions and the minimum salary that I a willing to entertain is $120,000. I really don’t want to waste my time interviewing only to find out that the salary offered is much lower than I will…
Build Your Professional Brand in Three Steps
What is your professional brand? Are you the finance guy, the consulting guru, the turnaround CEO, or the hedge fund manager who retired at 30? If you can narrow down your career to three words, I would say you are winning. For the rest of us, however, we may have a number of skills that…