Are the End of Year Holidays Good for Job Hunting?

Nothing Like the Holidays

It’s the end of the year, and common wisdom says that people have packed up shop and that it’s a lousy week for job hunting.

Maybe.

But as John Greathouse notes on his blog, “Conventional wisdom isn’t.”

The next two weeks will be a time when people’s schedules – if they’re not in company shutdown mode – will be unpacked, thoughts will be directed to things apart from work, and folks will be relaxed.… Read the rest

When Do You Recommend with Reservations?

Chick-fil-A

The email from the prospective applicant family asked my thoughts regarding my son’s grade school.

It could have just as easily been about a place to work or somebody referencing an employee.

It brought to mind a simple question.

When do you shift from “highly recommend” to a more nuanced “recommend with reservations?

Just as the most qualified candidate may not be the best candidate for a job (“He had lots of great skills and experiences.Read the rest

When Job Opportunities Knock: Do You Take the Unexpected?

“When a great adventure is offered, you don’t refuse it,” trailblazing aviator Amelia Earhart suggested.

The same can be said about that unexpected job opportunity that surfaces; the one that you didn’t foresee, is off the planned career arc and yet you find intriguing.

Take it or punt? Kick the heart-racing-intrigue down the road until you’re “ready” or take a flyer and pursue it.… Read the rest

[Life Back West] July 2012 – “Misfit Toys”

If you live in a certain City by the bay, sooner or later little surprises you.

Avengers (comics)

Annoy you? Yes. Delight you? Often. Alarm, disappoint, thrill, and endear? Always.

It’s those differences that make the place so special. Take away those difference and ultimately it leads to one destination; the land of boring, common, even mediocre.

Some workplaces are just like that City.… Read the rest

Career Quandry: Should You Take the “Interim” Job?

Your boss has been hired to take another job and will be leaving the company. Or perhaps your boss has been whacked and that’s the reason the job is now vacant.

Either way that box in the organization chart that used have a name is empty.

Do you raise your hand and volunteer to take the job on an interim basis, or do you wait to see if you get tapped – and decide then if you want “interim” next to your name?… Read the rest

Is Your Goose Cooked if a Headhunter’s Been Hired for Your Job?

You’ve been promoted to a job on an interim basis and perhaps promised a strong shot at that role on a permanent basis.

Your company has just hired a search firm to handle the “permanent” placement.

Are you at risk?

Maybe.

Or maybe not.

That’s the situation that Yahoo interim CEO Ross Levinshohn finds himself in with the news reported by Kara Swisher that blue chip executive search firm Spencer Stuart has been hired by the board to handle the firm’s CEO search.… Read the rest