If you are looking for work you, no doubt, have heard of THE HIDDEN JOB MARKET. You may have even heard TOO MUCH of it. I know that in working with my clients in Delaware and Maryland, I include the Hidden Job Market in nearly every vocational counseling session… Why? Here is a recent success story that illustrates just WHY THE HIDDEN JOB MARKET IS CRUCIAL TO JOB SEARCH:I have been working with a career electrician for s...

I am just coming from a career fair, here in Delaware and saw or heard many of the scenarios outlined below. A few I added from other career fair experiences, but not many! This is no commentary on Delawareans or those seeking to work in Delaware – I commonly see and hear many of these egregious examples at job fairs I attend across the region.If you don’t want to be hired by attending a career fair:Bring your child/child...

Looking for work can be difficult in the best of times… These are not the best of times. Advice about résumé writing abounds and experts offer astoundingly different opinions. How is a job seeker to know which advice to follow? The bottom line: No one way is the right way for everyone. For the job seeker, it is best to read as much as you can about how to write a résumé and how to job search. If you are looking for...

Many job seekers miss the one step that can land them an interview and the job they are applying for. Sure, they send in their resume or application. They may even send additional information requested. But many of the unemployed simply fail to follow up with the employers to whom they apply. Why follow up?1. Consideration. Care to guess how often an online resume or application is not received or mis-routed to the wrong pe...

Many job seekers miss the one step that can land them an interview and the job they are applying for. Sure, they send in their resume or application. They may even send additional information requested. But many of the unemployed simply fail to follow up with the employers to whom they apply. Why follow up? Read on:1. Consideration. Care to guess how often an online resume or application is not received or misrouted to...

A 53 year old female client, Rhonda, was just offered her dream job. Not too surprising until you hear that the job she was offered was with the FBI. She thought she was wasting her time, she informs: The FBI only hired young (male) college students.She had an associate’s degree in administrative science (read secretary) earned 30 years ago and experience in administrative and IT positions. Most recently, she worked in...

Research done by the Career Center in 2009 has shown that 60 per cent of job openings in the U.S. are filled not through advertising and recruiter companies but through word-of-mouth or networking. And that is quite understandable: to hire someone via recommendation is both much safer for employers, as they have a reliable reference, and easier, as they save considerable effort in advertising the position and sorting throug...

Overall, working from home can be a positive and rewarding experience for you, your family, and your employer, if you follow a few simple tips:1. Understand your employer’s expectations. Will your job requirements and duties be the same at home as in an office environment? How much support will you receive as a home office worker. Some companies have very stringent guidelines about what equipment and support will be provi...

Are you considering asking for a raise, but are fearful about the outcome? It may be time to ask for a raise if it has been a year or more since you received a raise or you have done exceptionally good work in the past 6 months. Do not ask for a raise unless you this is the case. If you are uncertain about your standing with your company, you may want to read, “Am I Being Leveraged Out Of A Job?” Good employers want to...

How do you cope with unemployment a during the holidays? Like any loss, a job loss results in grief. Inevitably you must mourn the loss of the job and all that it provided: Security, money, self-esteem, status, identity, etc. I like this model for dealing with loss that is similar to the traditional Kubler-Ross Model, but provides 7 stages for moving BEYOND the grief. In Part I an overview of the grieving process as it rela...