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.
When job interviews go weird
There is a theory out there that postulates that traditional job interviews don’t give hiring managers or recruiters an accurate read on a candidate’s likely performance in a certain role, largely because interviews can be too brief, formulaic, formal, or riddled with bias. Some organizations are taking a scientific approach to interviewing in which…
Embrace different work styles
I’ve previously written about how managers who hire people who remind them of themselves (“mini-me” syndrome) do themselves and their organizations a disservice. Diversity, in all its forms, makes for innovative, creative thought, and improves productivity. A topic related to hiring a mini-me is the common management practice of assuming that there is only…
Know Your Audience
Your high school English teacher taught you several valuable things: how to write a five-paragraph essay, how to discern meaning from complex texts, and the importance of knowing your audience. This last part—the part about knowing your audience – is critical when you’re writing a resume, giving a presentation, developing a marketing strategy, or…
How to deal with the annual self-appraisal
It’s the fourth quarter of the year. That means that salespeople are scrambling to get deals signed, finance people are getting ready to close out the year, and that the dreaded self-appraisal is upon us. The self-appraisal is a common performance management practice. Ostensibly, an employee’s self-appraisal and rating should give the manager valuable…
Tell the story of you
Humans are a social species, and language is at the crux of all human interaction. We use language to tell stories, which, in turn, share knowledge. Stories tell audiences about events in a way that the audience has an emotional reaction to them—sadness, anger, joy, inspiration, indignation, confusion. A story creates an exchange between…
Tales from the trenches…HR and Management Incompetency Edition
This is my second installment of a new series called “Tales from the trenches,” in which I share a particularly fascinating (and usually rife with stupidity) story I’ve heard. I do not work in a large corporate environment, but many of my clients do. This means that although I am not involved in the…
It’s a shame: Social media & the job seeker
In my work as a career coach, I talk to a lot of people. A lot. When I’m working with job seekers, I often counsel them to review their social media accounts and think critically about the content within the context of “would this be appropriate in a professional setting.” Of course, personal social…
10 Characteristics of a Good Leader
A leader can make the difference between success and failure. A good leader has a futuristic vision and knows how to turn ideas into real-world success stories. Unfortunately, there are many managers out there who are poor leaders. This is largely because of the time-honored practice of promoting people into management solely on the…
7 Keys to LinkedIn Success
If you’re in the market for a new job, or if you are at all concerned about your professional brand (and you should be), you need to have a presence on LinkedIn. Maybe you set your LinkedIn profile up years ago and then promptly forgot about it. Or, perhaps you copied and pasted your…
Top ten mistakes you don’t know you’re making when applying online
The resume black hole. The abyss. The void. The applicant tracking system (ATS) creates all kinds of stress and irritation for job seekers. Candidates almost universally loathe the experience. The ATS requires them to copy and paste sections from their resume into tiny boxes and answer questions that could be easily discussed in a…