Career Expert Blogs

Get Started On Your "Plan C"

By: Sital Ruparelia

February 16, 2012

When I'm working with clients who want to make a career move, I usually ask what they want to do in terms of a Plan A, Plan B and Plan C. What's Plan A? – The answer is often similar to what they were doing before, give or take 10%. What's Plan B? – This is often something slightly different. Maybe a similar role, but in another sector. Maybe a slight variation of a role they've done in the past. What's Plan C? – This is usually *that thing* they really want to do. The thing they'd do if they knew they couldn't fail. The thing they already do when no one is looking. For some people, their Plan C is a business start up. For others it's work that allows them to express their creativity.

By: Alexandra Levit

January 31, 2012

One of the most common job seeker dilemmas I hear about these days is how to position a layoff with prospective employers. My advice – pure and simple – is to mention it directly. Since the subject of how you left your last job will inevitably come up in the context of discussing your recent work experience, I don't think you can really hide the true story without coming across as insincere or even dishonest.

Nor should you. Consider how many people have been laid off nationwide in the last eighteen months. It's a lot – and there could be any number of reasons for your termination, including a company bankruptcy or budget cuts.

These circumstances have nothing to do with your job performance, and there's nothing you could've done to prevent or circumvent the outcome.

By: Alison Green

January 5, 2012

A reader writes: I have a supervisor who has taken it upon herself to go into my work email and send our main manager emails that she feels are a problem without my knowledge.

Example: When a bid goes out of my office, it is the duty of the person bidding to copy me on the email so I may find out how long the material required is going to take to ship. Pretty simple, right? Well, it didn’t happen and I found out from another employee. I processed the request and sent it to our main manager and cc’d the supervisor as a FYI since we just talked about it in last week’s meeting. Well, I received an email right back that he already knew about it because my supervisor had forwarded out of my email minutes before and didn’t even tell me!...

By: Tim Murphy

December 22, 2011

One night when I was bartending in college, I witnessed one of the greatest traits an employee can posses.

A fellow employee and I were rushing to prep for fumigators to spray down the bar (yep, it was that kind of bar), and we had no idea what needed to be done; we’d received zero instruction from the owners and it was 2:30 a.m. I decided turning off the pilot lights on the stove would be a good idea, so I asked my fellow employee if he knew how to do that. His response? “No, but I’m sure I can figure it out.” We both went downstairs and followed the gas line from the stove until we found an on/off lever for the gas. We pulled the lever and off went the burners.

Hardly brain surgery, I know, but there’s a great lesson here...

By: Therese Schwenkler

December 19, 2011

A serious condition is sweeping across the nation. Are you one of the thousands of 20-somethings affected?

Dubbed “shoulditis” by medical professionals, this condition is not a joke. Nearly 90 percent of cases have been found to result in severe and sometimes fatal damage to one’s inborn potential, ultimately leading to the slow and silent death of, well, the soul.

If you experience any of the following warning signs, seek help immediately:

The compulsive and incessant feeling that you should have it all figured out, despite the confusion swirling around in your head...

By: Jessica Holbrook Hernandez

December 16, 2011

Sometimes job searches can wear on a person’s motivation to keep moving forward, especially if the search has lasted for weeks or months. While qualifications, as well as resumes and cover letters make a huge difference in whether you’ll be hired, your attitude also matters.

If you’re getting tired of looking for jobs, your positive demeanor could turn negative in the wrong environment (i.e., the interview). To maintain a positive attitude throughout your search, it’s a good idea to consider engaging in the following activities during the process...

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