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.
Resign the Right Way
We are in the midst of the hottest candidate market in history. This has been colloquially termed “The Great Resignation.” Over the last 12 months, I have come to realize that many people don’t know how to resign or what the best approach is. The best way to resign is to do so briefly and directly. Mr. Nixon had a massive scandal and a public relations crisis hanging over his head. But his actual resignation was brilliant. In fewer words than the limits of a Tweet, he resigned from the most powerful job in the world. If the President of the United States can resign his position without going into gory details of his reasoning, so can you. My top-line advice for resigning is to keep it simple, but here are some more specific tips….
Practical Advice for New Grads
It’s that time of year again—colleges and universities are unleashing thousands of new graduates, many of whom will be entering the workforce. I recently wrote about what Gen Z wants out of their careers. Because college career counseling centers often dispense outdated, impractical, bad advice, I thought it wise to revisit the topic of What New Grads Need to Know….
How to Know if the Hiring Manager Is a Jerk
Having a great boss can create an environment in which people don’t only grow in their roles but expand. Having a bad boss can ruin everything and make you dread going to work. Bad bosses cause stress, anxiety, uncertainty, and the Sunday blues. Low engagement is a problem across virtually every organization, primarily due to bad management. Bad managers run the gamut from those who don’t delegate work to those who are outright toxic human beings; bad managers exist in 100% of companies….
Ask Deb: What Do I Do About My Boss’s Habit of Blaming Me?
Hi Deb:
We have a new VP who came into our organization about 6 months ago. He is building out a large team, bringing in people from his network, and shaking things up. He is the kind of guy that my grandfather would have said “talks out of both sides of his mouth.” When I’ve tried to bring up these issues, he just talks and talks and talks without saying anything. What do you suggest I do about being constantly thrown under the bus here?….
It’s Graduation Time. What Does Gen Z Want in a Career?
Gen Z-ers want meaningful careers, not just jobs. As an employer, building awareness of what candidates look for in the ideal position is key to connecting with the applicants. If you’ve been out to any campus recruiting events, you’re well aware that as a group, Gen Z is focused on values first and specific roles second. Having a better understanding of the needs and values of these recent grads can help bridge the gap in employer recruiting while improving the chances of making good hiring decisions….
Your Job Description to Plain English Pocket Translation Guide
We put people first. We are a profit-first organization.
Is the scope of this project reasonable? How much money are we going to make on this?
We need motivated team players. We provide no training or guidance so you’ll need to ask your colleagues how to get things done.
The ideal candidate is a skilled multi-tasker. We expect this person to do anything and everything….
Data Literacy: What It Is and Why It’s Important
At this point in history, the Information Age is still in its infancy. The very idea of work and what that means is being challenged and redefined. Work itself is transforming from an outcome or result into a process. As the evolution continues, having a good grasp of data will be vital for survival. Understanding data and turning it into something useful will not just be a “nice to have;” it will be a critical imperative. Without the skills and tools to understand it, data is useless….
I Can’t Fill My Open Positions Because No One Wants to Work!
No one wants to work. I have all these open positions that I am unable to fill. My recruiting team can’t find me any qualified candidates. I know that this is supposedly a “candidate’s market,” but I think that candidates should be storming the gates to interview here. My head recruiter suggested that part of the problem might be that I didn’t bother to do any salary benchmarking, and I’m offering 30% below market for the industry. She can’t be right about that. I used hard data, such as my opinions and feelings, to develop the compensation budgets….
Tales From the Trenches: The 3 Strangest Things I Heard About This Week
I talk to a lot of people, and I hear a lot of stories. They range from boring to bizarre and give me great insight into the human condition. Whenever I hear strange stories, I wonder, “Why would anyone do that?” I don’t ever have the answer, but I find the behavior fascinating. Here are the top 3 strange and inappropriate tales I heard this week….
Dear Hiring Companies, It’s You
Back in June, I wrote you a breakup letter. I told you that it wasn’t you, that it was me. It’s almost a year later, and I think I need to revisit that. Because you see, it really is you, not me. This last year has shown me that you don’t hold all the cards. I’m a key player in this game, and guess what? You need me more than I need you. I figured out that without employees, you hiring companies can’t get anything done. If this last year has taught me anything, it’s that we have more power than we realized….