Archive: Matt Youngquist
Pre-interview research: 5 great tools to try
Knowledge is power. And given the competitive climate in today's job market, it pays to dig up as much information as possible on companies before you interview with them. For starters, arming yourself with solid corporate data will set you...
Help your contacts help you: set clear career goals
The other day, I had the pleasure of sitting down with a senior executive in town who wanted to get together for lunch. He wasn't looking for a new job, though; he told me that he keeps running into people...
One simple way to increase your response rate
A woman came in the other day to meet with me. She seemed distressed and said she really needed to talk with a career coach to address a serious job-search problem she was having. When I asked her what challenge...
When it comes to resume success, keywords are king
While nearly every expert continues to debate the recipe for creating a great resume, there's one rule of thumb that is almost universally agreed upon. In today's world, for your documents to make the cut in most organizations, you need...
The 'Seattle freeze': change, adapt or surrender?
While "going viral" may be an overstatement -- especially in an age where a goofy Korean music video has now been watched more than 360 million times on YouTube -- I was nonetheless blown away by the number of comments...
Negotiation nuances: talking money after the offer
In last week's post, I shared some recommendations on how job candidates should respond to salary questions during interviews. This week, I'll discuss some strategies to use when a viable job offer is on the table. First, a few disclaimers:...
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...
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,...
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,...
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...
Your LinkedIn profile says more about you than you think
I had the privilege of speaking to about 900 folks at the University of Washington last week as part of a panel discussion on "personal branding" and the strategies professionals can follow to set themselves apart from the crowd. All...
5 theories behind Seattle's chilly networking reputation
Are Seattleites a friendly and welcoming group of people, on average? Or are we in total denial and really just a bunch of insecure, xenophobic snobs? Having bumped into quite a few people lately who recently relocated to Seattle from...
8 job-search tips from the other side of the desk
Several days ago, I had the pleasure of hosting an event where three local hiring managers agreed to share their thoughts on the job-hunting process with a group of my clients going through career transition. These three individuals -- a...
Unfocused networking: the hidden job-search killer
It's one of the most ironic twists of the networking scene these days: While so many people (employed and unemployed alike) seem perfectly willing to lend advice, assistance and support to their fellow human beings, few job seekers go about...
Informational interviewing: how, and what, to ask
For years, colleges and career counselors have suggested to job seekers (especially those changing careers and/or just entering the workforce) that a key step in their efforts should be to reach out to a handful of appropriate local professionals and...
Your role in restoring compassion to the job market
There's an old quote about many drops of water coming together to form a mighty stream -- a sentiment which, if we all play our cards right, may turn out to have a surprisingly positive impact on the modern job...
Is all fair in love, war and job hunting?
While many experts can advise people about the best ways to write a resume or interview more effectively, there's one career-related topic that you and only you will be able to address: your personal career morality. For better or worse,...
Finding work is a family affair
"Matt, I hate to admit it, but I'm having a problem on the home front. I've been searching for a job for a number of months now, and my wife won't get off my back. She constantly tells me I'm...
Job-search creativity: fabulous or fatal?
In my previous post, I showcased three examples of unemployed folks who came up with unorthodox ways to promote their qualifications beyond the standard "respond to ads, talk to recruiters, network with your friends" regimen most job seekers today tend...
Three 'hall of fame' examples of job-search creativity
At a time when almost every resume in existence seems to trumpet "creative problem-solving" skills, the question remains: Why does there seem to be so LITTLE creativity applied in the average person's job-search routine? I'm not asking this question rhetorically....
Remedies for interview rambling
If you've ever taken a public speaking or presentation skills class, you've probably heard the time-tested advice: "Tell them what you're going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you've told them." This advice applies to interviewing,...
Facing, and conquering, relocation realities
I'll give it to you straight. By and large, employers hate, hate, hate relocating people. Given their druthers, they'll almost always hire a local candidate over a person they'd have to recruit from out of the area -- especially in...
Job-offer negotiating leverage: signs to watch for
While employment conditions in other parts of the country still seem to be a mixed bag, I've been pleased to witness a surge of hiring in the Seattle market. In fact, I've run into numerous local professionals who have landed...
Upgrading your skills on a shoestring budget
If you're among the ranks of the unemployed at the moment, ask yourself this question: Are you becoming MORE or LESS marketable with each passing day? Most out-of-work professionals would probably say the latter, in my experience. Once you've lost...
Contact info: New rules for the modern job market
If you're a passing sports fan of almost any stripe, you've probably heard the name John Wooden. Coach Wooden, arguably the most revered sports coach in history, led the UCLA men's basketball team to 10 national championships in a 12-year...
Interviewing success: a riddle to ponder
Eons ago, in the decade known as the '90s, I was lucky enough to learn the career-counseling trade at the hands of an incredibly wise mentor. This individual came from a blue-chip sales and marketing background, and he drew heavily...
Job seekers: high-five those helping hands
Used in its most common form, the phrase "human resources" strikes many folks as a cold, capitalistic and rather demeaning way to refer to the living, breathing souls who make up the workforce within any organization. If you're in the...
Internships: gateways to career success
Internships. For many of us, this word conjures up a classic episode from "Seinfeld" where Kramer, a character who needs no introduction, has the brilliant idea of hiring an intern from NYU to fetch his laundry, do his chores and...
Employers want to hire your bright future, not your past
Envision yourself standing beside a train track, watching an engine come rumbling down the line from hundreds of yards away. Or, perhaps more appropriately for the season, picture yourself at a Mariners game at Safeco Field, listening to the iconic...
Quitting your job: Avoid knee-jerk decisions
Was it The Kinks or The Clash who sang "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" Ah, it was the Clash. Once again, Wikipedia to the rescue. Now that the timeless melody of that song is stuck in your head,...
When it comes to career options, choices abound
Data steward. Customer advocate. Personalization specialist. Testimonial specialist. Lifecycle solutions business analyst. Incentive design analyst. Suitability review associate. Enterprise talent acquisition coordinator. Before the turn of the millennium, it seemed as if most professionals could be classified in terms of...
Brainstorming new career options: my favorite trick
In the old days -- I mean the REALLY old days -- it probably wasn't all that complicated to figure out what to be when you grew up. You were likely either born into a family profession, such as farming,...
Seattle Job Sector Survey observations, part 2
This week, I'm bringing you the second installment of the topic I kicked off last week: namely, a breakdown of some of the interesting results unearthed by the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce in its recent Job Sector Survey. If...
The Seattle job scene: hard facts and armchair observations
While all of us have a vested interest in paying attention to the health of our local economy, I personally find most economic and labor reports painfully difficult to read. The other day, however, I stumbled across a recent report...
5 job-hunting concepts that have outlived their usefulness
While I'm far from a credentialed historian, I've been studying the process of job hunting for a great many years now. My perception is that up until the year 2000 or so, the landscape didn't change much. While there were...
Credit scores are one thing ... but 'career scores'?
First, they came for the movies. Then they came for the restaurants. Then they came for the attorneys, professors and doctors. What are you going to do when they come for you? Are you ready to have a number slapped...
Job hunters: Get the word out, early and often
Who do you think is more likely to find a job faster: a great job candidate with an average network, or an average job candidate with a great network? Based on what I've witnessed for the past 20 years, I'd...
Career consciousness among the younger generation
When I was in high school, I don't recall average students (including myself) giving all that much thought to what they wanted to be when they grew up. Sure, there were a few bright kids who seemed hell-bent on becoming...
Recruiters: Why, oh why, aren't they more into me?
The Bermuda Triangle and Sasquatch. Now those are real mysteries. As for how the modern recruiting and staffing world operates, that topic isn't quite so enigmatic -- although many job hunters continue to seem utterly baffled by it. Over the...
If referrals were snakes, many job hunters would be bitten
There's an old saying about networking for a job in Seattle: "If you're not sick of the taste of coffee, you're not doing it right." Amid all the schmoozing, caffeine and random chatting that tends to take place in most...
Use verbal jujitsu to overcome interview objections
Superman had Kryptonite. Achilles had his heel. And Bill Gates somehow managed to get ahead and be marginally successful (ha ha) in business without having a college degree. My point? Everybody has weaknesses and vulnerabilities. And if you're seeking work...
Networking gets you a shot, not the job
Growing up in Alaska, I distinctly remember a summer in high school when I was looking for the chance to earn some extra money. At that time, a friend of the family said to me, "I know of a construction...
The dangers of stalking a single organization
If only I had a buck for every time I had a person tell me, "I'd kill to work for the Gates Foundation" or "I'd give my left arm to get hired at REI" or "My dream is to work...
Employers, candidates playing hide-and-seek
Picture, if you will, a world in which every employer with a hiring need was instantly matched up with a job hunter able to offer the perfect solution. Sounds like a nice place, doesn't it? Unfortunately, in the real world,...
Job hunters, resolve to impress yourself
If you were living around 4,000 years ago, in the vicinity of ancient Babylonia, your New Year's resolution would have been to return all of the farm equipment you'd borrowed over the course of the year. Apparently this was all...
Be the Santa of intangibles -- all year long
When it comes to giving gifts to your friends and loved ones, surprising them with an iPad, kitchen gadget or gift card to their favorite restaurant might be the safest bet. But when it comes to giving back in some...
Cover letters: Go big or go home
Long, boring cover letters: time of death, 2011. While there's still some dispute about the exact role that cover letters play in the modern job-search process, the prevailing wisdom is that the good old-fashioned cover-letter format, as we've known...
Fight through the flakiness
Flakiness is a wonderful quality in a pie crust -- but as we all know, it's an incredibly annoying trait when it comes to human beings. If you're a job hunter, it's inevitable that you'll encounter flaky behavior as...
The one-word key to rapid career change
It should come as no secret that many Americans are actively thinking about changing careers -- either because they've fallen out of love with their current career path after many years, or for the more practical reason of trying...
Rank and file: Manage your networking connections
While I don't have an exact statistic in hand, I think it's safe to say that the "average" business professional likely meets at least a few hundred people each year, in passing. And for those folks who work in the...
Networking events: They're not for everyone
Everywhere you look, you'll find networking events. In the Seattle area alone, you could spend every night of the week at mixers, meetups, job fairs, speed-networking seminars and all manner of relationship-building pow-wows taking place on both sides of the...
The diminishing returns of resume tweaking
Guy Kawasaki. Ever heard of him? He's an influential venture capitalist and thought leader operating out of the Bay Area who authors one of the top blogs in the country. Several years back, he wrote a blog I'll never forget....
Lack of jobs isn't the No. 1 problem
Jobs, jobs, jobs. As we head into the 2012 election year, it's an absolute certainty that the dominant theme in every local, statewide and national political race is going to be which candidates have the best ideas and/or track record...
New challenges, new opportunities
Excited and scared. With any major change in our lives, and each new venture we embark on, it's inevitable that we're going to tangle to some degree with these competing emotions. How do I know this to be true? I've...
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."
Paul Anderson helps professionals in transition find their desired employment.
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