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.
Are you hiring for cultural fit? You might want to rethink that.
Companies that love to brag about their distinct and defining cultures often cite culture as a significant recruiting tool. In turn, their hiring managers often regard the nebulous “cultural fit” as the most essential factor in evaluating candidates. But is this a good way to hire? Not always. What tends to happen is that…
Everything you love to hate about performance reviews
The performance review. Universally reviled by all involved, this annual exercise is one that causes managers and employees to recoil in horror. Managers hate writing performance reviews and holding meetings. Employees dread the annual discussion of what could be done better. While some companies have, in recent years, moved to eliminate the formal, annual…
Are you managing by the clock, or are you managing for results?
So, I recently fell into the black hole of Quora, the Q&A site. I was in the Chief Executive Officers sub-Quora (I’m not really sure what it’s called, but you get the idea), and there were a variety of riffs on this theme: “My Employees Only Work Normal Business Hours—What Do I Do About…
Top ten pieces of old, outdated career advice that you should ignore
Over the last 30 years, the job market has fundamentally changed. The advent of the internet and the ensuing Information Age, along with a complete revision of the postwar employment contract has placed the onus of managing one’s career on the individual, rather than on the company. But with this responsibility comes a heightened…
Lazy hiring to the extreme
If you follow my blog, you know that one of my pet peeves is #LazyRecruiting and its cousin #LazyHiring. Lazy hiring/recruiting is rampant in any job market. When it’s an employer’s market, it takes the form of hiring companies kicking back, and having job seekers do all the work. In a candidate’s market, like…
Sexist Comments—Your Submissions
I recently asked my social media followers to tell me about times in which they encountered or were the recipients of sexist language and comments in the workplace. As suspected, the archaic sentiments surrounding gender roles and stereotypes are alive and well. Here is a sample of the feedback I received. Shortly after graduating…
Your resume is a turn-off and here's why
Is your resume a turn-off to employers? Chances are that it is. 75% of HR professionals say that they routinely receive resumes that are not on point. That is significant. Are you committing any of these Crimes Against Employability with your resume? You don’t tailor your resume for the job opening. Seven seconds. That’s how…
Millennials and Gen Z are Changing the Culture of the Workplace
In the bygone era, prior to the late 1980s, life in corporate America was good. It was comfortable. Predictable. Secure. All you had to do was go to college (or not), get a job, work your way up, and then, 40 years later, retire with a full pension. By 1988, “downsizing” had come into favor…
The worst answers to common interview questions
Interviewing can be a harrowing experience for candidates, but fortunately, most hiring managers and recruiters will give people a pass on being nervous. What is unforgivable, however, is coming to an interview totally and completely unprepared. If you’re planning on winging it or faking it until you make it, you run the risk of being…
“PB2 tastes exactly like peanut butter” and other lies we tell ourselves
Peanut butter. Smooth and creamy. Rich and chunky. Paired with apple slices, smeared on bread, or turned into any multitude of confections, peanut butter is delicious. Turn to the nutrition facts on the label and it’s obvious why it’s so good—it’s packed with calories and fat. Enter PB2, a dehydrated, powdered peanut butter. You can…