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.
How much notice am I required to give?
Dear Deb: I started a new job about nine months ago. Not to get into too many details, but suffice it to say that it’s horrible. My boss here is a micromanager to the extreme. In addition, the role is not at all what I was lead to believe it would be. I left my…
What is leadership?
It seems such a simple question, yet it still confuses managers, employees, consultants, and journalists. We all know that leaders are necessary. After all, someone must be accountable for driving results. But what happens all too often in companies is that there is a distinct gap between managers and leaders. Some managers are good leaders,…
6 things within your control that are killing your productivity
Many factors that sap workplace productivity are beyond the control of individual employees. For example, you can’t control whether or not you work in an open office environment, or whether your manager schedules excessive meetings. But there are plenty of productivity eliminating moves that you CAN control. Some of these are obvious, but some are…
Put Away the Fire Hose
We’ve all been fire-hosed. Maybe by an instructor, a sales rep, a colleague, or an ad. The presenter gives so much information and detail that you can’t focus, and you tune out. Think about the last time you were in a room with a speaker who had so much material prepared that it was almost…
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…