Tomorrow will bring its annual round of little ghouls, witches and goblins to your door for treats, but don’t let that scare you away from updating that old LinkedIn profile! I like to link recurring but infrequent tasks to memorable occasions—so if you’re decorating for Halloween, think about redecorating your profile, too! Check in…
So now you understand what networking really is and how it works. What should you do when someone you’ve reached out to is happy to grant you an informational interview? Well, first, celebrate! It’s a great step forward, regardless of whether you ultimately choose that field or not. Second, think about what…
I frequently hear people complain that they’re trying to network but the hiring managers they reach out to never respond. Or that none of the people they’ve reached out to have any job openings. Or that they don’t know anyone in the field they want. Are you guilty of these? The main misconception…
Now that we’ve covered why it’s important to network, let’s dig in on how to do it. The most obvious starting point is networking events. These can be good if you enjoy socializing, but they can also be daunting. If you choose to do some of this sort of networking, prepare for the…
People say it all the time: it’s not what you know, it’s who you know! And to some extent, that’s true. It’s not the whole story, of course. You do still need to have some skills and knowledge to get into a new role. But even with expertise and mad accomplishments in your background,…
You’ve probably seen the advice floating around that you should have a 30-second commercial or elevator pitch ready do go, but what does that even mean? Basically, it’s just a self-introduction, focused on what you can bring to the employer or customer. Some people call this your personal brand (and some people feel a…
You’ve probably heard that who you know is as important to your job-search as what you know, but what if you don’t know anyone in the field you want to go into? Or what if you’re a new professional, or your work experience is from another country? Don’t fret! Today we’ll talk through some…
Last week I wrote about networking, and while that’s always a good thing to do, there are also absolutely things to avoid. First of all, try not to think of networking as a means to an end. Yes, it’s important for your career growth, but if you only focus on what you will get…
In fact, it’s always a good time to network. If the very idea fills you with dread, keep reading. Networking is really just building and maintaining relationships. Shake off any ideas about needing to glad-hand hiring managers or aiming for arbitrary number goals in your process. Also, try to get rid of the idea…
Have you ever felt confused by the salutation to use in a formal communication with a woman you don’t know? Although there are many confounding factors, a woman is Ms. So-and-So in formal situations. This is a comparatively new salutation (certainly not as new as Mx.—more on that on Friday) that came about because of…