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.
Humanize your job search to drive real results
Is your cover letter addressed “To Whom It May Concern”? Does your LinkedIn profile read like a list of skills rather than a description of you? When you meet with potential hiring managers, are you stiff, formal, and “just the facts”? If you said yes to any of these, you are doing it wrong. I know this is what you have been taught, but it is not the way to influence a decision. You see, when you are a job seeker, you are promoting yourself and there is a human being at the other end of your message. People do not always respond to facts. Facts and data do not always convince people. If they did, swaths of people would not believe that the earth is flat! People are emotional creatures; oftentimes, they make decisions based on feelings rather than empirical evidence. Sometimes they make decisions in conjunction with evidence, but a “gut reaction” almost always wins….
Ask Deb: Help! I hate my new job!
I recently started a new job within my industry. I was so excited by the opportunity and I left a job I liked to pursue it. I am sad to say that, 6 weeks in, I have come to realize that this was a colossal mistake. I absolutely hate it. The culture is toxic, my manager is an extreme micromanager, and the job itself is nothing like what I was led to believe. The executive leadership is abysmal, and is focused on maintaining the status quo rather than fixing any part of this broken system. I feel like there is no way that I can possibly succeed in this role.…
Bad advice from your college’s career center
The problem with college career centers is that there is a significant disconnect between the advice they tend to dispense and the business climate's reality. In fact, most people who work in college career centers have never worked in a corporate environment. Without direct experience in the corporate workforce, how can they properly advise students, especially undergraduates, on transferring their skills and knowledge to that environment? Here is some of the bad advice regularly dispensed to students. You have my permission to ignore all of it….
Seven things you do that your boss hates
When you’re in a white-collar, corporate job, your role, at a high level, is to make things easier for your boss. That’s why she hired you—to solve problems and take the burden off of her. However, too many people either don’t realize this or forget that this is the case, and they do things—intentionally or otherwise—that make things more difficult for their boss. Here are the top 7 offenses, as reported by managers….
When interviewers behave badly
When I first began writing my blog, there was a concern that lingered in the back of my mind that I would run out of topics to address. However, human behavior is both bizarre and fascinating, and always provides me examples to which I can speak. A few years ago, I wrote about some of the most outrageous interviewer behavior to which I had ever been privy. Guess what? It’s back….
Managing your incompetent boss
Last week, I talked about the reasons why your incompetent boss is allowed to continue to hold a management position, and by extension, authority over you. So many people responded to me saying “Yeah, my boss is incompetent. What do I do about it?” So that’s what I’m going to school you on this week. The first thing you need to remember is that you can only change yourself and control how you react in various situations, and that is what we will focus on….
Why your boss is incompetent
At some point or another, most of us have worked for a bad boss. In fact, incompetence can seem like a rather prevalent managerial trait! High-performing leaders and their teams are the drivers of results, yet subpar performers are still tolerated. Why don’t companies replace ineffective leaders with talented people who will inspire teams, eliminating boredom and drudgery, and stimulating innovation and productivity?
Job seekers and hiring companies are equal players
An unspoken truth in the job search process is that candidates and hiring companies are on equal footing. I know you may feel like the hiring companies hold all the cards, but the reality is that it is exceptionally difficult for them to recruit and retain good people. Employers do not hold all the cards. This is a two-way street….
Five keys to success when searching for a job during the pandemic
I have probably received more questions on the topic of conducting a job search in the current climate than I have on anything else in 2020. When the restrictions were first enacted, many people decided to go into a self-imposed holding pattern and shelve their job searches. However, ongoing restrictions and contraction in the job market render this a nonviable option. So how do you search for a job amid the pandemic? Here are five strategies that can help you succeed….
Why disagreements can be good for business
Conflict is a natural and inevitable part of every relationship, including the relationships you have with your coworkers and team members. It is not a bad thing; it is a very human thing. You won’t always agree with your team, but great teams are good at disagreeing. Here is how you use that to your advantage….