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.
Ten Keys to Successful Communications
Everything in life is about communication and messaging. How are you going to present your new idea? How are you going to position your background so that it is relatable to the role for which you’re interviewing? How will you articulate your differing perspective to a potential client? We all want the communication “magic bullet.”…
Yes, the pay gap is real
I’ve been reading many articles and seeing various reports in which so-called “experts” assert that the gender pay gap is a myth. This is a commonly repeated theme, and it seems that those who purvey this falsehood believe that if they keep promoting it, it will eventually become true. Unfortunately for them, there is ample…
Technology can help with your personal goals
There are countless articles out there that vilify the pervasiveness of technology in our lives. Modern technologies, it seems, has succeeded in eroding the barrier between work and personal life. Contemporary workers are always “on,” attached by wireless umbilical cords to their various devices. You can respond to your boss’s email via your car’s voice…
AI, Automation, and Your Job
Science fiction writers have long imagined a world in which machines not only complement human knowledge but can supersede human limitations. In the 1960s, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry presented us with a sentient computer that would talk to members of the Enterprise crew. In the 1980s, Terminator creator James Cameron introduced us to a…
Becoming Self-Aware
In my job as a career coach and advisor, I have had the opportunity to speak with literally thousands of people from all over the world, with different experiences and backgrounds, who have different end goals. Some clients come to me to rework a résumé or build out a social media plan. Others seek counsel…
Words, words, words
Undergraduates who have chosen to major in the liberal arts will inevitably be faced with the question, “What are you going to do with THAT?” I am sympathetic to them because when I was a non-STEM, non-business major, that same exact question was posed to me. In an age in which it seems that STEM…
Does your team play in concert with one another?
Google the words “team, build, work,” and you will get an infinite number of results for pages filled with inspirational, motivational quotes, and uplifting stories of how to build an effective team. You also know the reality of many of the teams on which we work--one person takes the lead, one person’s ideas are rejected,…
STEM isn’t the end all, be all after all.
Over the last decade or so, science, technology, engineering, and math (or STEM) studies have been sold to students not just the key to career success, but as the only way to be competitive in the 21st Century. The result of this has been that public education, already restricted to teaching that which is tested,…
Personal Branding and Content
You know that I’m all about content, and all about using content as a way to define, promote, and grow your personal brand. But do you think of things like the presentations you give, that thirty-second elevator pitch, or your answer to that often-asked interview question, “So, tell me about yourself” as “content”? Probably not.…
I’m returning to work after eight years. What should I put on my resume?
Last week, I discussed the challenges of deciding to remove yourself from the workforce, and how it should be a carefully considered decision. A follow-up to that is another question I get frequently, which goes like this: I’ve been home with my kids for the last eight years, and now I’m ready to go…