Career Center Blog | What hiring managers are really looking for

To get a good job, you need the right skills, education and experience. But that's not all; employers are also looking for other, fuzzier qualities. Here are some of the biggies, in no particular order: Judgment. When interviewers ask, "Tell

Career Center Blog | Cookie-cutter resumes don't cut it anymore

Job hunters obsess about resumes. And for good reason. There's so much to get right -- functional versus chronological, objective statements (pro and con), keywords, templates, references, font size, white space, action verbs, employment gaps, placement and style of bullets,

Career Center Blog | Do you feel lucky? Well, do you? If not, learn how

If you've been job hunting for any length of time, you undoubtedly understand the importance of compelling cover letters, snazzy resumes, knock-'em-dead interviews, the all-important thank-you note and -- of course -- networking. However, if you've been pounding the pavement

Career Center Blog | 5 resume tips for job hoppers

Here's a depressing truth: When hiring managers consider a resume, the first thing they look for is a reason to eliminate it. And yes, even today, when staying at a firm long enough to earn a gold watch is practically

Career Center Blog | How to run your own job interview

It happens all the time. Job interviewers are unprepared. Or inexperienced. Or untrained. Or have poor social skills. In fact, many interviewers will appear to have never glanced at your resume. You may even arrive to find that they have

Career Center Blog | How to love a job you hate

Sure, the economy is getting better -- slowly. The key word here is "slowly." Getting a job can still be tough. Therefore, if you happen to already have a job, you should feel lucky. Right? Right. In theory. But what

Career Center Blog | Resume buzzwords to avoid like the plague

"Goal-oriented." "Innovative." "Self-starter." "Dynamic." Are your eyes glazing over? Of course they are. Resume buzzwords are a turn-off for you as well as for potential employers. Buzzwords make your resume blend in rather than stand out. They are tired and

Career Center Blog | Are you too "overqualified" to get a job?

The bad news: Employers are often suspicious of applicants with too many qualifications. They fear you'll want too much money. Or that you're slumming until something better comes along. Or that you'll resent being supervised by a younger or less-experienced

Career Center Blog | Three ways volunteering can help land your dream job

We've all heard them before -- the long list of steps that job seekers are supposed to take in order to get their resume looked at, much less get themselves in front of a hiring manager. Often those tips are

Career Center Blog | 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

Career Center Blog | 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.

Career Center Blog | 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,

Career Center Blog | 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

Career Center Blog | 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