http://blog.nwjobs.com/careercenterblog/ en Copyright 2012 Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:07:39 -0800 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=4.21-en http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://www.nwjobs.com/art/blogs/careercenter_paul_spot.jpg http://blog.nwjobs.com/careercenterblog/ Groundhog Day is once again upon us, and you know what that means for the average worker: 6 to 10 more weeks of tax preparation, of course. (Unlike the choices of a certain Keystone State rodent, this is one prediction... http://blog.nwjobs.com/careercenterblog/2012/02/midwinter-tax-deduction-reminders-for-job-seekers.html http://blog.nwjobs.com/careercenterblog/2012/02/midwinter-tax-deduction-reminders-for-job-seekers.html Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:02:00 PST Nothing like a snowstorm to bring a smile to children's faces, fill the air with the smell of fresh-baked cookies and ... summon the two-headed demon of work-life balance and gender-role conflict. So it was in my house last month,... http://blog.nwjobs.com/careercenterblog/2012/02/weather-sick-days-leave-working-parents-snowed-under.html http://blog.nwjobs.com/careercenterblog/2012/02/weather-sick-days-leave-working-parents-snowed-under.html Wed, 01 Feb 2012 02:02:00 PST 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... http://blog.nwjobs.com/careercenterblog/2012/01/using-verbal-jujitsu-to-overcome-interview-objections.html http://blog.nwjobs.com/careercenterblog/2012/01/using-verbal-jujitsu-to-overcome-interview-objections.html Tue, 31 Jan 2012 02:02:00 PST In Christopher Nolan's hyper-cerebral 2010 film "Inception," a gang of nefarious agents go to great lengths to plant subliminal ideas in the heads of powerful people to make them feel as if they created the ideas on their own. After... http://blog.nwjobs.com/careercenterblog/2012/01/the-stealth-search-are-job-applications-for-suckers.html http://blog.nwjobs.com/careercenterblog/2012/01/the-stealth-search-are-job-applications-for-suckers.html Mon, 30 Jan 2012 06:06:00 PST If the Great Recession has taught us anything, it is that no one is irreplaceable. A tailspinning economy and shrinking revenues can spark a panic among management, leaving even the most loyal and talented employees vulnerable to the chopping block.... http://blog.nwjobs.com/careercenterblog/2012/01/five-simple-ways-to-avoid-the-layoff-axe.html http://blog.nwjobs.com/careercenterblog/2012/01/five-simple-ways-to-avoid-the-layoff-axe.html Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:11:00 PST Recently, glassdoor.com released its Top 25 Oddball Interview Questions of 2011. It's a worthy read and a good self-test. Statistically, the chances are low that you would get one of these fringe questions -- but what if you did? In... http://blog.nwjobs.com/careercenterblog/2012/01/elephants-aliens-and-other-interview-tests-of-character.html http://blog.nwjobs.com/careercenterblog/2012/01/elephants-aliens-and-other-interview-tests-of-character.html Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:02:00 PST 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... http://blog.nwjobs.com/careercenterblog/2012/01/networking-is-wonderful---but-wont-get-you-the-job.html http://blog.nwjobs.com/careercenterblog/2012/01/networking-is-wonderful---but-wont-get-you-the-job.html Tue, 24 Jan 2012 02:02:00 PST Last November, talk-show host Jimmy Kimmel struck a nerve with many people when he announced his second annual National Unfriend Day, which encouraged people to delete certain "friends" from their Facebook pages who are not really their friends. You know... http://blog.nwjobs.com/careercenterblog/2012/01/time-to-clean-out-unproductive-networking-contacts.html http://blog.nwjobs.com/careercenterblog/2012/01/time-to-clean-out-unproductive-networking-contacts.html Mon, 23 Jan 2012 11:11:00 PST For many of the long-time unemployed, the idea of starting and running their own business is a tantalizing dream of self-reliance. (Wouldn't you love to be your own boss this week and declare your own snow days?) Some of these... http://blog.nwjobs.com/careercenterblog/2012/01/time-running-out-on-esds-entrepreneurial-training-program.html http://blog.nwjobs.com/careercenterblog/2012/01/time-running-out-on-esds-entrepreneurial-training-program.html Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:12:00 PST I'm a slob. This is not conjecture or self-deprecation, it's a personality trait. Ask my mother. When I was a teenager she referred to my room as a pigsty. She'll tell anyone I'm a slob. I actually think she exaggerates,... http://blog.nwjobs.com/careercenterblog/2012/01/five-organizational-tips-from-a-self-confessed-slob.html http://blog.nwjobs.com/careercenterblog/2012/01/five-organizational-tips-from-a-self-confessed-slob.html Wed, 18 Jan 2012 02:02:00 PST 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... http://blog.nwjobs.com/careercenterblog/2012/01/the-dangers-of-stalking-a-single-organization.html http://blog.nwjobs.com/careercenterblog/2012/01/the-dangers-of-stalking-a-single-organization.html Tue, 17 Jan 2012 02:02:00 PST In October 1984, during a televised debate with Democratic presidential challenger Walter Mondale, President Ronald Reagan gave one of the more succinct defenses of older workers ever given by a politician. When asked about whether his advanced age (he was... http://blog.nwjobs.com/careercenterblog/2012/01/how-to-overcome-the-over-the-hill-bias.html http://blog.nwjobs.com/careercenterblog/2012/01/how-to-overcome-the-over-the-hill-bias.html Mon, 16 Jan 2012 05:05:00 PST 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,... http://blog.nwjobs.com/careercenterblog/2012/01/employers-candidates-playing-hide-and-seek.html http://blog.nwjobs.com/careercenterblog/2012/01/employers-candidates-playing-hide-and-seek.html Tue, 10 Jan 2012 02:02:00 PST I know a lot of people who are in the midst of dispiriting and anxiety-ridden job searches. Whenever I talk to one of these job-hunting friends, I hear the same questions over and over: Am I at all appealing to... http://blog.nwjobs.com/careercenterblog/2012/01/job-seekers-no-need-to-highlight-that-work-gap.html http://blog.nwjobs.com/careercenterblog/2012/01/job-seekers-no-need-to-highlight-that-work-gap.html Mon, 09 Jan 2012 02:02:00 PST One of my favorite scenes in the excellent AMC television drama "Mad Men," about the pressure-cooker life of ad executives in the early 1960s, comes from an episode called "The Suitcase." While working late, young copywriter Peggy Olson, the first... http://blog.nwjobs.com/careercenterblog/2012/01/sweetening-the-deal-with-creative-compensation.html http://blog.nwjobs.com/careercenterblog/2012/01/sweetening-the-deal-with-creative-compensation.html Mon, 09 Jan 2012 00:12:00 PST