Hire Ground | Job-search help for returning veterans

It's already Memorial Day, so summer has unofficially arrived, at least in terms of summer vacations, if not weather. While many of us have scattered to various locations (I happen to be deep in the Methow Valley right now), we

Hire Ground | Turnaround coming for 'boomerang' generation?

For the last few years, the long-running joke about recent college grads was that they were first of the new "boomerang generation" -- well-educated young adults who had earned six-figure educations but were landing right back where they started at

Hire Ground | Recruiter blacklisting: A cautionary tale

Although I'm not a headhunter or a placement agency, I try to help my clients by referring them to hiring managers or companies when I see there might be an opportunity. In one instance, an aerospace company was looking for

Hire Ground | Blacklisting: Why they're never going to hire you

Candidates need to be careful before sending blind resumes to job postings online. If the company's boundaries are crossed, the candidate can become blacklisted and lose the chance of ever being considered for employment with that company. Blacklisting is very

Hire Ground | If we have something in common, I might hire you

Last week, three of my clients found full-time employment. The key for them was reaching out to people (via LinkedIn) with whom they had something in common -- they had either gone to the same school or worked for the

Hire Ground | Jump start your career search in 2011

Are you ready to take advantage of New Year's energy to find rewarding employment? Read the tips below to get a jump-start on the competition and find meaningful work. Look inside first. You don't want just any job, do you?

Hire Ground | Confidence still rising for 2011 job growth

All relationships -- even the ones that seem destined for long-term commitment -- have their bumpy days, where everything seems to fall apart. Friday was one of those days for the on-again/off-again romance between private-sector employers and the nation's workforce.

Hire Ground | Good news/bad news/good news about holiday networking

Like the last two holiday seasons, this new one -- still in it's infancy -- looks like it will come packaged in the now-familiar mixed bag of economic indicators. On one hand, there is optimism for a healthier economy in

Hire Ground | Seattle ranks high on managerial hiring index

A few days ago, we saw a dramatic example of change, with Republicans picking up a whopping 64 seats in the midterm elections to take back control of the House of Representatives. Here in this Washington -- in the Seattle

Hire Ground | Setting your course for a jobs recovery in 2011

With the midterm election looming, there has been a disproportionate amount of focus on the past in recent weeks. The relentless and misleading campaign ads both for and against Patty Murray and Dino Rossi have saturated the airwaves with endless

Hire Ground | Advanced resume screening techniques you should know about

In my resume search optimization seminar, I discuss four common algorithms that applicant tracking systems (ATS) use to sort through resumes. Knowing what the ATS is looking for and optimizing your resume with this in mind is crucial if you

Hire Ground | If the job listing says 'no calls, please,' should I call anyway?

Many candidates in my career search optimization seminar ask me, "Can I call a recruiter about an opening even when the job listing specifically says 'no phone calls please'?" The answer is "Yes," and several of my clients have gotten

Hire Ground | Networking events to help you ride out the storm

While assembling a list of job search events this past week, I've kept one eye on the breathless coverage of Hurricane Earl as it freaked out half of the Eastern Seaboard and thought about how the media so dearly loves

Hire Ground | More behind-the-scenes hiring tips and jobseeker mistakes

LeMaster Daniels is a 100-year-old CPA firm with offices across Washington and Idaho employing more than 300 professionals in the fields of taxes, audits, business valuation, litigation, cost reimbursement, corporate accounting and more. With the acquisition of Prospera Wealth Management,

Hire Ground | UW, Virginia Mason are hiring, but competition is fierce

While the health care industry is definitely hiring, competition is fierce and out of hundreds of applicants, only a handful are getting interviews. Understanding how companies function and communicating your value in accordance with their needs can greatly increase your

Hire Ground | How to turn informational meetings into opportunities

In my last post, I suggested that you use flattery to get the attention of someone who might be useful in your job search. Once you've gotten this person to meet with you, you need to know how to turn

Hire Ground | Reaching a hiring manager: Flattery is the key when you have to do a "cold call"

Yesterday I spoke at the Washington State Bar Association's monthly Job Seeker Group. An attorney came up to me and asked how he should approach hiring managers when he finds an opening on a company's website. Approaching a cold lead

Hire Ground | Avoiding the 'job-hopper' label on your resume

It's a fact of modern life that the typical American worker will change jobs often over the course of their careers. In a Bureau of Labor Statistics study of the careers of baby-boomers over the last 25 years, the average

Hire Ground | Pleasure or pain: What motivates your hiring manager?

In my last post, I talked about how you can build a deeper rapport with the hiring manager during a job interview by identifying and matching his or her communication style (visual, auditory or kinesthetic). Here's another communication technique you

Hire Ground | Are you speaking the hiring manager's language?

Many hiring managers hire people who are just like themselves. They choose people with similar mannerisms, appearance, intelligence and culture. Some go as far as hiring people from the same educational background, experiences, gender, race or religion. When you look

Hire Ground | How to get hired at WhitePages.com

Like many companies in the Seattle area, WhitePages.com receives hundreds of applications for each job description. How do they select the best candidates? We've heard that 85 percent of hiring happens through word-of-mouth marketing. Can knowing someone at WhitePages get

Hire Ground | Who's Hiring? MicroGreen Polymers

Over the last few weeks, I've written about economic indicators pointing toward a coming surge in high-tech jobs and growth in the construction and manufacturing sectors. While most of these reports talked about statewide job increases, they were light on