Job Search Community

Is Luck a Reality That Should Be Acknowledged?

AlexandraLevit — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:00:00 GMT

On his blog, Seth Godin responded to a reader who believes luck and randomness is just as critical to success as hard work and effort. Seth says: “Without a doubt, luck is involved. I don't think anyone would tell you otherwise. The choice one needs to make, though is this: either you believe that luck is dominant, in which case, why bother with effort? Or you believe that luck is random, in which case it can be eliminated from your thinking and you can focus on all the stuff you can control. I don't...(read more)

How to Apply for a Federal Job

AlexandraLevit — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 12:00:00 GMT

You’ve heard me mention Steven Rothberg and his incredibly useful employment information website at CollegeRecruiter.com before, and this week Heather Eager wrote a terrific post on a topic I never considered – how to get a federal job. I never realized this, but the process of applying to work for the government is totally different than what you go through to work in the private sector. For one thing, federal guidelines require that you provide very specific information in an OF-612 form or “federal...(read more)

Recruitment Spotlight: How to Check References

AlexandraLevit — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 12:00:00 GMT

Most people have to check references in some shape or form, whether it’s for a candidate or a babysitter. I don’t know about you, but until I wrote Success for Hire I never really knew how to do it. Here's what I learned: While you can e-mail a reference initially, connect either in person or by phone with at least one reference for each person you’re thinking of hiring. While reference letters or e-mails can be helpful, speaking with a person allows for a better interpretation of tone, and for the...(read more)

Increase Your Productivity With Custom Search Engines

AlexandraLevit — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 12:00:00 GMT

I knew something like this was coming, and leave it to Google to be the pioneers. It’s Custom Search – the ability to create a personalized search engine tailored to your needs. Using Google, you can now create a tool that will allow you to search a specific group of websites, blogs, or topics. My friend Cody McKibben, a blogger for Thrilling Heroics and Brazen Careerist , uses Custom Search to increase his efficiency and decrease the time it takes to find answers and write up blog posts. If you...(read more)

Don’t Quit Your Day Job: Juggle and Be Merry

AlexandraLevit — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 12:00:00 GMT

Juggling multiple jobs is becoming more and more common, as people seek work that will provide an additional paycheck or personal satisfaction that is lacking in Job #1. Over at Stepcase Lifehack , Thursday Bram, a writer who has done this herself, has these insights to share: Keep firm dividers between your different jobs. Even if you are the boss on your second job — you’re working for yourself — you have an obligation to keep that work separate from your day job. Focus on what’s in front of you....(read more)

Recruitment Spotlight: 7 Things Not to Do When Conducting a Job Interview

AlexandraLevit — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 12:00:00 GMT

Following up on last week’s interview post based on my new book Success for Hire , here’s what not to do if you want your interviewing exercises to result in strong and lasting hires! DON’T let first impressions get the better of you. Sometimes, you might meet a candidate whom you decide you want to hire immediately, and will ignore evidence brought forth in the interview that contradicts that opinion. This is known as the “halo effect.” DON’T put too much stock in “name brands.” Just because a candidate...(read more)

Free eBook: Gradspot Guide to Life After College

AlexandraLevit — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 12:00:00 GMT

I recently had the chance to chat with Chris and Stuart, two enterprising twenty-somethings who founded Gradspot , which they hope will become the premiere online destination for life after college. They are super-impressive young professionals, having graduated from Harvard and Emory respectively and boasting work experience in the finance, technology, and publishing industries. The backbone of Gradspot is made up of Survival Guides organized into five categories: Apartment, Career, Lifestyle, Money,...(read more)

New Online Advocacy Org Provides Relief for Strapped Young Professionals

AlexandraLevit — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 12:00:00 GMT

I’m pleased to share with you the formation of a new online advocacy organization called Qvisory that is dedicated to helping young adults with their money, work, and health concerns . Qvisory was the brainchild of Andy Stern at the Service Employees’ Union , and has been supported by the Rockefeller Foundation . In conjunction with its launch, Qvisory also just released a report, Young People: Living on the Edge . The results show that young people are facing tremendous and growing financial stress....(read more)

Recruitment Spotlight: 8 Musts for Conducting a Job Interview

AlexandraLevit — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 12:00:00 GMT

My new book, Success for Hire (ASTD Press) features employee recruitment and retention practices that a lot of people think they know but in reality, don’t put into practice. One of those practices is effective in-person interviewing, which can ensure that you hire the right candidate the first time around. The next time you speak with a job candidate: DO look for candidates who are different from you and will add variety to your team. Recognize that human beings have the tendency to gravitate to...(read more)

Management Consulting and Finance: Still Desirable for College Grads?

AlexandraLevit — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 12:00:00 GMT

My friend and 30/20 Vision radio show co-host Lindsey Pollak and I had the opportunity to contribute to Marci Alboher’s New York Times career coach roundtable on management consulting and investment banking as careers for soon-to-be college grads. Here was the question, as well as highlights from our responses: “I will be graduating from an Ivy League college this year, and had planned to apply for jobs in investment banking and finance this fall. However, in light of the recent market/economy downturn...(read more)

Hiring Managers Slow to Accept Online Degrees

AlexandraLevit — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 12:00:00 GMT

Well now, this is kind of scary… While employers and hiring managers are seeing more job applicants with online degrees these days, they’re not exactly clamoring to hire them. According to Vault.com’s 2008 Online Degrees Survey , while 49% of those who make hiring decisions have encountered applicants with online degrees, a 15 percentage point increase from this same survey three years ago, only 19% have actually hired a candidate who only possessed an online degree. “A candidate with an online degree...(read more)

Would You Work With Your Spouse?

AlexandraLevit — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 12:00:00 GMT

I’ve encountered a lot of couples where one person has left his or her job to support the career of the other. Typically, one spouse is an accomplished entrepreneur, so the other pitches in to help grow the business – often in a subordinate role. I’m wondering how many of you would do this if you had the chance. It would never work for my husband and me. We are both equally driven to succeed in our respective careers (he’s a tenure-track psychology professor at the University of Illinois and I’m...(read more)

Recruitment Spotlight: Don’t You Wish You Had a Summer Intern?

AlexandraLevit — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:00:00 GMT

Around this time of the summer, a lot of people start grumbling that they should have hired a summer intern. If you’re one of them, maybe it’s time to think ahead. The current generation of college students (aka Millennials ) are eager to learn and supremely motivated to increase their skill sets. You don’t necessarily have to pay them a lot, but you do have to show them respect and offer them challenging and engaging work. For instance, IBM's Extreme Blue internship program makes sure that interns...(read more)

Your Brave New Career as a Nurse Consultant

AlexandraLevit — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 12:00:00 GMT

I just received an e-mail from Pat Viro, a reader who has a job in an interesting new field known as “nurse consulting.” You’ve probably heard of the growing need for health professionals to care for a quickly expanding number of senior citizens. This demographic shift has been well documented. For example, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics , every eight seconds an American baby boomer (those born between 1946 and 1964) turns fifty. By 2030, one in every five Americans will be a senior...(read more)

Career Lessons from a Hollywood Producer

AlexandraLevit — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:00:00 GMT

There are a lot of books out there on how to achieve job satisfaction and get ahead in the business world, but few are from the viewpoint of someone with a front row seat in the always-elusive entertainment industry. That’s what I found interesting about Danielle Weinstock’s Can This Elephant Curtsy on Cue?. A Hollywood producer, Danielle has worked on thirty television shows or feature films such as Weeds, 24, The Agency, White Fang, Crossing Jordan, and Fantasy Island. She also wrote the documentary...(read more)

8 Ways to Save Money Today

AlexandraLevit — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 12:00:00 GMT

I’ve been getting a lot of e-mails from desperate folks who are short on cash and are hoping against hope that they can get a raise at work. But just in case they can’t, over at Brazen Careerist , Alex Fisher has some great ideas for saving money during the current economic downturn. Among my favorites: Replace your light bulbs with CFLs: For the time when you legitimately need the lights on, you should be using light bulbs that don’t waste the majority of their energy on heat instead of light. Compact...(read more)

4 Day Work Week is a Reality in Utah

AlexandraLevit — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 12:00:00 GMT

According to USA Today , this summer Utah will become what experts say is the first state to institute a mandatory four-day work week for most state employees. Gov. Jon Huntsman, a first-term Republican, says he's making the change to reduce the state's carbon footprint, increase energy efficiency, improve customer service and provide workers more flexibility. The change will apply to about 17,000 employees, roughly 80% of the state workforce, Huntsman says. Public universities, the state court system,...(read more)

Living in Peace in the Present Moment

AlexandraLevit — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 12:00:00 GMT

Have you ever noticed that when you spend too much time dwelling on the past, you get depressed about how certain situations played out and what you could have done differently? And when you are always looking ahead to the future, you get anxious about the unknown? Although I find it hard to do, I am going to try and listen to the career advice I’ve been given by a few friends and colleagues – to try to live in the present moment as often as I can. I want to take time to reflect on the speaking engagement...(read more)

Surviving Your Company’s Merger

AlexandraLevit — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 12:00:00 GMT

In his bestsellers Brand Warfare and Career Warfare , author David D'Alessandro offered sharp advice for building a brand and building a career. His new book, Executive Warfare is the advanced class for the truly ambitious. The book covers what it takes to rise to the top-and to do the even harder thing, which is survive there. In anticipation of the book’s release, David provided some exclusive suggestions to Water Cooler Wisdom readers regarding on how can survive a merger: David says: “Mergers...(read more)

Should You – and Can You – Get a Temp Job?

AlexandraLevit — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:00:00 GMT

I’ll be honest. I always thought that going to a temp agency was a waste of time. This perception comes from the fact that when I was in college in the late 90s, I visited a few firms, filled out reams of paperwork, took a few computer tests, did several interviews, and never got a single job out of the process. According to CareerBuilder’s Kate Lorenz , though, there is a time and a place for seeking a temp job, and in this economy, you might be well-served with this approach. A temp position can...(read more)

Inconsistency: Accept It and Move On

AlexandraLevit — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:00:00 GMT

I love the show Jon and Kate Plus 8 . For those of you who might not be familiar with it, it’s a reality program on TLC that follows thirtysomething Pennsylvania parents Jon and Kate as they raise seven year-old twins and four year-old sextuplets. I like watching it because it provides harmless entertainment while I’m feeding the baby, and reminds me of how easy it is to take care of just ONE baby. I’ve now seen about 30 episodes (don’t snipe – they’re only 20 minutes long) and something has been...(read more)

4 Tips for Avoiding Fan Worship

AlexandraLevit — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 12:00:00 GMT

My friend Pam Slim over at Escape from Cubicle Nation has a great post on how to tread the fine line between expressing admiration for someone and fan worship. Straight from the ECN blog are 4 “fan traps” to avoid. I’ve been known to do some of these things in my interactions with bestselling authors, and people who haven’t yet broken into publishing have done them with me. Also included for your reference are helpful alternatives. Y ou are the best and I worship you! There’s nothing wrong with telling...(read more)

Qualities of Good Presidents and Good Employees

AlexandraLevit — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:00:00 GMT

I love this post from Michael McKinney at Leading Blog . It’s based on a new book from Alvin Felzenberg, The Leaders We Deserved (and a Few We Didn't): Rethinking the Presidential Rating Game . Felzenberg devised six criteria to best describe various U.S. presidents’ contribution to history. Based on this exercise, he presents a list of what we should look for in presidential candidates. Sense of Purpose. Nearly all presidents who earned a rating of great or near great articulated specific goals...(read more)

Career Lessons from Bill Gates

AlexandraLevit — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 12:00:00 GMT

So Bill Gates is preparing to retire as CEO of Microsoft . Gates and his childhood friend Paul Allen founded Microsoft on April 4, 1975, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to make and sell BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800, an early computer that was sold to hobbyists. Gates dropped out of Harvard University in his third year to focus on Microsoft, and the rest, as they say, his history. For an upcoming Forbes article, I was asked to consider lessons that can be learned from Gates’ amazing career,...(read more)

Easing Commuter Shock: The New In-Demand Perk?

AlexandraLevit — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:00:00 GMT

I was recently interviewed for Yahoo! Hot Jobs for a story on how the continuing upward pressure on gas prices is forcing many workers to change how they get to their jobs and to seek added benefits that offset commuting costs. In a recent survey by the staffing firm Robert Half International (RHI), almost half of U.S. professionals (44%) said higher gas prices are affecting their commutes, up from 34% two years ago. The top three changes cited by the group are increased carpooling, driving a more...(read more)