http://weddles.com WEDDLE's RSS en-us http://www.weddles.com/RSS/Content/2010_comeasyouarent.html http://www.weddles.com/RSS/Content/2010_comeasyouarent.html For years now, we've had a "come as you are" job market. Basically, you looked for a new job with the skills you had in your old job. All you had to do, therefore, was update your resume, ship it out to a bunch of employers, do a little networking around the edges and before long, you would have a couple of opportunities from which to choose. It was a simple, straight forward process, and unfortunately, it no longer works. Fri, 16 Jul 2010 9:01:00 EST http://www.weddles.com/RSS/Content/2010_Petraeus.html http://www.weddles.com/RSS/Content/2010_Petraeus.html In 2005, General David Petraeus was an executive in transition. Having fallen out of favor with the civilian leadership in the Department of Defense, he was reassigned to lead the Army’s mid level leadership school in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. For a combat commander, that wasn’t a lateral move, it was a steep step backwards. What the General did next, however, provides a rich case study of how to recover from a career setback. Fri, 2 Jul 2010 9:00:00 EST http://www.weddles.com/RSS/Content/2010_thesecret.html http://www.weddles.com/RSS/Content/2010_thesecret.htm If you’ve been in the world of work for more than 15 minutes, you know just how uncommunicative a resume is. No matter how much information you cram into that document, it simply cannot convey the character, dedication or capability you offer to an employer. You can, however, remedy this situation, but you’ll have to accept a counter intuitive idea to do so. Thur, 29 June 2010 7:25:00 EST http://www.weddles.com/RSS/Content/2010_perfectstranger.html http://www.weddles.com/RSS/Content/2010_perfectstranger.html Think about it this way. A person you’ve never met—a connection through a friend of a follower—emails you out of the blue to request that you send a copy of their resume to your HR Department. They explain that they are applying for a job with your employer and would like some help. It’s a simple request, so would you do it? Mon, 14 Jun 2010 09:04:00 EST http://www.weddles.com/RSS/Content/2010_fairfillment.html http://www.weddles.com/RSS/Content/2010_fairfillment.html The CEO of BP recently released video of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico which indicates that the environmental damage is much greater than previously known. According to news reports, this information was in his possession for some time, but he chose not to provide it to the public. His act may not have been illegal, but it set a new low for ethics at work. And, it is the polar opposite of an emerging standard I call "fairfillment." Mon, 24 May 2010 09:04:00 EST http://www.weddles.com/RSS/Content/2010_americanidol.html http://www.weddles.com/RSS/Content/2010_americanidol.html Whatever the judges on American Idol may say, all Americans are created equal in terms of talent. That’s right, every single one of us is a person of talent. We may celebrate the sounds of Taylor Hicks or Kelly Clarkson, but that doesn't mean they're talented and everyone else isn't.. Fri, 7 May 2010 10:05:00 EST http://www.weddles.com/RSS/Content/2010_TheCareerActivistRepublic.html http://www.weddles.com/RSS/Content/2010_TheCareerActivistRepublic.html The common understanding of talent limits it to exceptional people who engage in exceptional activities. According to this view, only a very few individuals have talent, and their talent is expressed in only the most rarified of fields and feats. Mon, 19 Apr 2010 16:11:00 EST http://www.weddles.com/RSS/Content/2010_TheNewRulesoftheGame.html http://www.weddles.com/RSS/Content/2010_TheNewRulesoftheGame.html Finding a new job is a very serious game these days, and it’s been made all the more difficult by a change in the rules. Historically, employers hired qualified candidates to fill their openings. Now, they don’t. The key to success, therefore, is to understand what employers are looking for and to position yourself in the job market as just that kind of person. Sat, 3 Apr 2010 10:19:00 EST http://www.weddles.com/RSS/Content/2010_application2step http://www.weddles.com/RSS/Content/2010_application2step Ask almost anyone in the workplace today, and they will tell you they are doing a good job. While they might acknowledge that their work isn't perfect, they take pride in what they do and the contribution they believe they are making to their employer. So, why do so many of us get hit with what seems like a layoff out-of-the-blue? What's behind the pink slip so many of us never saw coming? The answer lies in the changing definition of security. Tue, 23 Mar 2010 8:09:00 EST http://www.weddles.com/RSS/Content/5050.html http://www.weddles.com/RSS/Content/5050.html The conventional wisdom is that searching for a job is, itself, a full time job. That was good advice in the 20th Century. Today, it's a formula for long term unemployment. If you spend all of your time looking for a new position, you can't get to the other task that's required to be successful in the job market. What's that? Revitalizing your career. Fri, 5 Mar 2010 11:30:00 EST http://www.weddles.com/RSS/Content/artone.html http://www.weddles.com/RSS/Content/artone.html We've all heard of the alpha male and female. The dictionary defines them as the dominant person in a group, the one everybody emulates and follows. The term was originally coined to describe behavior in wolf and dog packs, but for most of the 20th Century, it also accurately depicted the way we interacted in our career. Fri, 29 Jun 2009 12:29:00 EST http://www.weddles.com/RSS/Content/arttwo.html http://www.weddles.com/RSS/Content/arttwo.html If you're looking for a job, you're probably doing so with two strikes against you. I realize that's a harsh statement, but sadly, it's almost certainly true. Why? Because most of the people in the job market today conducted their last job search prior to December, 2007, the date today's Great Recession began. Mon, 03 Aug 2009 10:21:00 EST http://www.weddles.com/RSS/Content/artthree.html http://www.weddles.com/RSS/Content/artthree.html Back in the day, accomplishments at work were only accomplishments if they were acknowledged by a supervisor. That reality had at least two downsides for you. First, it limited the definition of an accomplishment to whatever made sense to your supervisor, whether or not it made any sense at all for you. And second, your accomplishments were only recognized if your supervisor bothered to do so, and sadly, not all supervisors have good human relations skills. Tue, 11 Aug 2009 6:17:00 EST http://www.weddles.com/RSS/Content/artfour.html http://www.weddles.com/RSS/Content/artfour.html Job security has joined the pay phone and carbon paper. It's no longer a part of the world of work. Employers may promise it, but they can't deliver it. The global marketplace is just too dynamic, too unpredictable. Wed, 29 Jul 2009 18:14:00 EST http://www.weddles.com/RSS/Content/carsecur.html http://www.weddles.com/RSS/Content/carsecur.html A recent poll of U.S. workers found that the one thing we most want from our employers is job security. While that's completely understandable in today's crazy world of work, I'm afraid we're more likely to get a visit from our fairy godmother. Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:59:00 EST http://www.weddles.com/RSS/Content/vciocars.html http://www.weddles.com/RSS/Content/vciocars.html We're all familiar with bubbles. There was the dot.com bubble in the 1990s and the housing bubble in the early years of this century. They were overheated investments that ultimately fell flat. In our careers, however, we've done exactly the opposite. Most of us have invested little or nothing in our careers, and the resulting vacuum is strangling our future. That sucking sound we hear is our future imploding. Thu, 03 Sep 2009 10:11:00 EST http://www.weddles.com/RSS/Content/tjmvc22.html http://www.weddles.com/RSS/Content/tjmvc22.html Billions of words have been written about job search tools and tactics in this job market of our discontent. Job board dos and don'ts. Twitter. Facebook. Building a personal brand. Improving your “findability.” It's all good advice, but none of it will work if your career is sick. To put it in another and admittedly blunter way, don't bother looking for a job if you have a wimpy career. Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:15:00 EST http://www.weddles.com/RSS/Content/htdwfail.html http://www.weddles.com/RSS/Content/htdwfail.html Most of us go into a job search thinking we may be a little rusty, but confident that, basically, we know what to do. Then you do it, and the galling indifference and humiliating rejection begin. Employers don't acknowledge your resume submissions, executive search and staffing firms don't return your calls, and recruiters act as if you are damaged goods. It's hard not to feel as if you're a failure. Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:02:00 EST http://www.weddles.com/RSS/Content/tocoltu.html http://www.weddles.com/RSS/Content/tocoltu.html A lot of us have been unemployed for a very long time. The conventional explanation for this situation is that layoffs have forced more workers to compete for fewer positions. While that's true, it is not the only reason—nor the most important one—that so many people remain out of work for so long. Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:34:00 EST http://www.weddles.com/RSS/Content/twwwhk.html http://www.weddles.com/RSS/Content/twwwhk.html The positive growth turned in by the American economy in the third quarter of this year suggests that maybe, just maybe this Great Recession is now in our rear view mirror. As it fades away, of course, the tales will begin about what we did during this terrible time. While recounting those legends is surely important, so too is sharing the insights we've acquired from our experience. Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:49:00 EST