If you are ready to get more of what you want out of your career and life, then take control. It’s time to be accountable for your actions. Here are some simple tips that can help turn things around. 1. Write down everything. Stop trying to remember everything as if it is all equal, hoping it comes to mind exactly when you need it. Writing down everything you need to do allows you to prioritize. But then it has to...

News reports indicate a big decline in unemployment and a steady increase in jobs. This news could be interpreted by many people to mean that getting the job of their dreams will be easy. There are also many “help wanted” signs displayed in windows and on job boards. These clues could imply to some that employers are becoming more desperate and that keeping a job is easy. Don’t let the numbers give you fal...

When I started my business, my goal was to help others find rewarding work and, through that process, help build better workplaces. The mission hasn’t changed, although along the way the path has been adjusted to keep up with the times. Listening to different perspectives In pursuit of that mission, I started a networking group in 2001. The group was born from the concept that more brains working together are be...

There are many reasons behind why people stay stuck or prolong an unsuccessful job search process. If you have been unemployed or stuck in an undesirable role for an extended period of time, it’s probably time to evaluate why your circumstances have not changed. Blaming external factors won’t change anything, but changing your approach will. For many people, that’s a tough nut to crack. Outside assistance...

You’ve waited for months to finally get invited to the interview for your dream job, and tomorrow the big day will have arrived. Excitement and enthusiasm about the role can add a lot and sometimes even push a candidate to the top of the choices. But if you’ve not prepared sufficiently, neither excitement nor enthusiasm will take the place of carefully thought-out responses to interview questions. In the past...

When I was a kid, it seemed like the school year was endless and summer took forever to arrive. As an adult, time has measurably sped up and June comes too quickly. It used to be common for me to discount an idea and not give it another thought because it would take ten years to accomplish it. In hindsight, ten years goes by pretty fast, and I wish I had made some better choices. Now the years fly by, and there never seems...

You’ve talked about starting a business, getting a new job or maybe buying a home. For longer than you care to remember, you have wanted to accomplish something major that will improve your life, but nothing has happened. What’s stopping you? Without going into any possible psychological reasons we sabotage ourselves, we can look at some very simple and highly probable reasons things haven’t moved forwa...

Most people would agree that when you have bills, need to earn a living and aren’t working, it doesn’t feel good. Unemployment creates anxiety, stress and fear. It undermines our self-confidence and depletes our self-esteem. Why then wouldn’t someone do whatever it takes to change their situation? The answer to this question gets pretty complicated. As I work with clients to examine why they remain unem...

Sometimes it is hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel or it is difficult to create strategies for executing change on your own. Getting the help from a mentor, professional coach or therapist can make a huge difference in the outcomes you want. When you have difficulty navigating past or through issues, there are many reasons to request assistance. Depending on the issue, you may need help from a mentor, coach or t...

Nonresponsiveness is my pet peeve, closely followed by the failure to use media/technology appropriately. Both behaviors create obstructions to effective communication. Why is it that we don’t take more care when we are trying to convey a message? It’s understandable that people may choose to ignore communications from unknown sources or simply delete them as spam. What isn’t clear to me is why it seems...