Career Marketplace Blog

In this article published by USA Today College, Dr. Susan Davis-Ali and Patrick O’Brien debate the question, Great Career Success Debate: How do I handle an interview question I don’t know how to answer?

Read an excerpt for the article below. Read Full Article

Susan’s take:

Fake it till you make it. In other words, give it your best shot.

Interviewers are drawn to people with confidence, so demonstrate as much confidence as you can even if you’re not feeling confident on the inside about your answer.

Sometimes an interviewer will ask you a question that he’s pretty sure you don’t know the answer to just to see how you’ll think on your feet. He wants to see if he can make you sweat and squirm. Don’t do either. Make a split-second decision on how you want to answer the question, then go for it boldly.

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In this article from The Daily Muse, Jenny Foss writes, Unemployed? The Right (and Wrong) Way to Brand Yourself.

Read an excerpt of Foss’ article below. Read Full Article

I recently came in contact with a former technology executive turned job seeker. He was navigating a lengthy, frustrating job hunt, and not surprisingly, he was mad, depressed, and growing somewhat panicked.

I knew this about him before we’d even talked, because he’d been all over a couple of the LinkedIn Groups I follow, lambasting the world for not realizing how amazing he is.

But interestingly, when I actually talked to him—for as loud as he was coming across via social media—he didn’t seem at all confident in what he had to offer. He wasn’t clear on his target market. And he certainly wasn’t going out of his way to earn favor with the influential technology players in his city.

Instead, the unemployed job seeker was branding himself, all over the Internet, as a difficult, indignant guy who hated recruiters and hiring managers.

That’d be a prime example of how not to brand yourself when you’re unemployed.

So what does the other end of the spectrum look like? As terrifying as it may be when you’re out of work, this is no time to run for the hills or come undone. Instead, consider these key strategies to help you brand yourself well.

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In this article from Simply Hired’s Simply Blog, Tess Pajaron lists, 8 Inspiring Ways to Salvage a Negative First Impression on Your Job Interview.

Read an excerpt of Pajaron’s article below. Read Full Article

Let’s face it. The process of proving your worth against a pool of other candidates is an overwhelming task. While you know you have enormous potential and would be a great fit for the position, you don’t know what your competition is saying or doing to get their foot in the door.

You prepare, buy a new outfit so you can feel your best and walk into the room to face your potential future bosses with confidence. Suddenly, you freeze and everything you remembered about being on top of your game goes out the window. Now, you are left with the sad realization that your first impression in the interview for the job of your dreams was less than fantastic.

Many people struggle with the first few minutes of an interview. The nerves you experience alone are enough to throw off your natural talent and ability to present yourself well.

Fortunately, not all hope is lost. Here are eight ways you can redeem yourself from a negative first impression on your job interview. This can well be applied on face-to-face interviews as well as phone or Skype interviews.

Read more on the Simply Hired Blog

In this article from the Wall Street Journal, Dennis Nishi tells job seekers, Job Offer? Check It Out.

Read an excerpt of Nishi’s article below. Read Full Article

While working as a financial consultant in Miami, William Kaiser was offered a full-time job in the compliance department of one of his bank clients. The pay was fine but Mr. Kaiser had other potential concerns.

“As a consultant, you might not be working for a full 12 months. There’s always an attraction to be in a full-time opportunity—if it’s a good fit,” says Mr. Kaiser, who started prodding his professional network for inside information about the workplace culture at the bank.

That’s when he found out about the spate of turnovers in the department that he would be working in. The bank also had past issues with its compliance practices that might not have been fully resolved. Mr. Kaiser graciously declined the offer.

In this tough job market, not everybody has the luxury of turning down work. But settling for a job that you could end up hating poses risks that can negatively affect your career. It can, for example, visibly taint your attitude toward work and co-workers, or typecast you into a job role that can be hard to break when you’re ready to move.

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In this article for the Huffington Post, Carolyn Thompson explains how colleges are helping students clean up for their Social Media image prior to their job search.

Read an excerpt of Thompson’s article, Google Yourself: Colleges Help Students Scrub Online Footprints, below. Read Full Article

Samantha Grossman wasn’t always thrilled with the impression that emerged when people Googled her name.

“It wasn’t anything too horrible,” she said. “I just have a common name. There would be pictures, college partying pictures, that weren’t of me, things I wouldn’t want associated with me.”

So before she graduated from Syracuse University last spring, the school provided her with a tool that allowed her to put her best Web foot forward. Now when people Google her, they go straight to a positive image – professional photo, cum laude degree and credentials – that she credits with helping her land a digital advertising job in New York.

“I wanted to make sure people would find the actual me and not these other people,” she said.

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In this article for Simply Hired’s, Simply Blog, Annie Favreau  lists, The 5 Worst Career Change Mistakes and How to Avoid Them.

Read an excerpt from Favreau’s article below. Read Full Article

Are you ready to take your career in a new direction? Maybe you’re unsatisfied in your current role. Maybe you’ve been off of the job market for a while. Maybe you’re simply ready to find a job that’s a better fit for who you are.

Whatever your reasons, changing careers can be incredibly rewarding. But big transitions aren’t always easy. Before striking out on a new path, you’ve got to learn how to avoid these five common career change mistakes, so you can make a successful switch.

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With the Spring job fair just days away, it’s important to know how to make a great impression with employers.

In this video from the Wall Street Journal, Kelly Eggers reveals 10 Dumb Things Said During Job Interviews. Learn how you can prepare for the job interview and why you should avoid oversharing.

10 Dumb Things Said During Job Interviews

In this video from the Wall Street Journal, Job Hunting: When Parents Run the Show, learn how parents can help and hurt their child’s job search.

Job Hunting: When Parents Run the Show

In this video for the Wall Street Journal’s Lunch Break, Clare Ansberry reports, Dropouts Fall Behind in Job Recovery. Watch the video to learn why High School Dropouts may be hired less.

WSJ Video: Dropouts Fall Behind in Job Recovery.

In her article for U.S. News & World Report, Alison Green explains, How to Kill a Job Offer at the Last Minute.

Mistakes Green describes in this article include:

• Refusing to answer until you’ve heard from other employers
• Not responding to the offer right away
• Making over-the-top-salary demands

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