Archive: September 2012
How low can't you go? Earn the freelancer pay you want
A friend of mine tells me this story recently: She's a freelance graphic designer, or maybe it's more accurate to say she's an aspiring freelancer. She's worked as a full-time staffer as well as done some freelance side projects. After...
Negotiation nuances: talking money before the interview
Cold sweats. Anxiety attacks. Incoherence. What do these three things have in common? They're all behaviors you might witness the moment you corner a job candidate and ask: "How much money are you looking for in your next assignment?" In...
Leave no questions unanswered in your application
You've filled in all the online application boxes, wrote a customized cover letter, submitted work samples and sent in references. You even managed to toss in a few LinkedIn recommendations for good measure. It may seem like your job application...
First be good at what you do and the passion will follow
Follow your dreams? Just child's play. Discover your true calling? An impossible fantasy. Work your way up the company ladder? Sucker! While never stated quite this bluntly, these are some of the harsh admonitions that author Cal Newport aims at...
It's election season: leave those political buttons at home
It's that season again, the time when campaign signs litter the medians like trash after a windstorm, fresh bumper stickers scream out sound-bite ideologies, the politicians are calling you with prerecorded messages, and your cubicle neighbor can't stop railing, "Wait...
Hard-sell job-search behavior: not wise in Seattle
As the PEMCO commercials endlessly remind us, here in Seattle we're not like everybody else; we're a little different. This statement applies not only to the way we go about networking, as discussed in my posting a few weeks back,...
Legislation may give hope to job-seeking ex-cons
When people are convicted of a crime and have paid their debt by serving jail time, there is a reasonable expectation that they can re-enter society and rebuild their lives once they are released. The reality for many ex-convicts, however,...
Get out of that cow-print robe: Top 10 tips for working well from home
I hear it all the time from people I know who either work from home or want to: "It's so great to be able to just roll out of bed and go right to work in your pajamas." Um, no,...
The perils of job-search burnout
This may be a heretical thing for a career counselor to say, but I seem to be one of the few professionals in my field who actually doesn't believe that "looking for a job is a full-time job." Necessarily. Obviously,...
Perennial 'Parachute' still guides job seekers at 42
Few mass-produced books have shorter lifespans than guidebooks. Whether the subject is world travel, local restaurants or advice on how to find a good job, most of these manuals can help you immediately, but they become obsolete within months of...
Workers want flexibility so badly, we're willing to sacrifice salary
A new survey just released by Mom Corps, a national flexible staffing firm, shows what many of us know anecdotally: Flexible work options are so important to many workers that they are willing to sacrifice a chunk of salary to...
Pivoting your way to career change
If you're like most job seekers, chances are you're looking for positions similar to those you've held within companies and industries you're already highly familiar with. If you're contemplating a career change, however, it might require some significantly different thinking...
Karen Burns is the author of The Amazing Adventures of Working Girl, a career guide based on her 59 jobs over 40 years in 22 cities.
Lisa Quast is a certified career coach, mentor, business consultant, former corporate executive and author based in the Seattle area.
Randy Woods writes about job-search tools, networking techniques and other tips to help you land your dream job.
Former contributors
Matt Youngquist is the president of Career Horizons, a career counseling firm.
Natalie Singer is a Seattle writer, editor and small-business owner.
Michelle Goodman is the author of "My So-Called Freelance Life" and "The Anti 9-to-5 Guide."
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