Start Working Before You Get Hired

 

What if there were a way to *prove* to any sane employer that you alone were the one to hire?

Would learning how to do that interest you? I thought so.

I call this the “start-working-before-you-get-hired” job-hunting method. You can learn to do it in the next two minutes. And start getting more job leads today. Continue reading

Can You Actually Fail A Personality Quiz?

Q. I didn’t get a job that I interviewed for. The employer told me that I had “failed” the personality quiz. How is that possible? Does this mean that I have no personality?

A. “Fail” is a pretty strong word when it comes to taking a personality quiz. In fact, it is so strong that it makes me wonder about the professionalism of the potential employer that administered the personality quiz to you.

There is no pass/fail in a personality quiz; especially an employment personality quiz. There are simply factors that are important to the employer that either are, or are not, present in your personality. Continue reading

How to Choose Your Ideal Career

They say that most people do complete and total career changes at least once often twice in their lifetimes. Very few people chose the ideal perfect career for themselves when they’re in high school and blissfully happily work those same jobs for the rest of their lives. With the way that technology and everything else changes so fast, I think it’s ridiculous to expect to stay in one job from the time you leave school until you retire. Even staying in the same company can be a huge challenge. So how will you pick your first career? Your next major career change? Continue reading

Do Dream Jobs Really Exist?

More than four out of ten thirtysomething professionals want to change careers, but feel trapped and don’t believe that they will, a new study shows.

More thirtysomethings than ever before are feeling disillusioned with their careers and openly acknowledge that they’d like to move into something more rewarding and fulfilling. They admit to a number of factors that prevent them from doing so ? a third of people said that a potential drop in salary going into a new career would stop them from changing, a quarter said that they lack the confidence to change and a further quarter admitted to having no clear direction. Continue reading

How To Find A Telecommute Job

The answer may be easier than you think, but there’s a catch.

The truth is that you find a telecommute job just like you find any other job- with research, persistence and a bit of job search savvy.

The caveat? Ever wonder why more companies don’t advertise telecommute jobs? In this competitive job market you’d think more of them would see the benefits of hiring telecommuters. Well, many of them do, they just don’t advertise their telecommute positions. The sad fact is that when they do, they are inundated with responses from applicants who aren’t remotely qualified for the position. There seems to be a persistent rumor circulating that the desire to work at home somehow qualifies a person to perform a job. This has really turned employers off to posting telecommute positions for the world to see. Continue reading

Dont Quit Your Day Job! Convincing Your Boss To Let You Telecommute, Part 1 of 2

Are you desperately trying to find a telecommute job so that you can quit your current one? Hold on! Your job just might have the potential to be done from home.

With the right approach, a little research and a good proposal, many employees are selling the idea of telecommuting to their employers.

In this first segment, we focus on the steps you should take in order to determine whether or not your job is a candidate for telecommuting. Continue reading

Dont Quit Your Day Job! Convincing Your Boss To Let You Telecommute (Part 2 of 2)

Ok, so you’ve determined that you have the right skills and qualities to do your job effectively from home. You’re sure that your job is well suited to telecommuting. Now you just need your boss to agree that this is a great idea, but how?

The best approach is to make a proposal. A proposal is a very effective way to sell the idea to your employer because it can be used to highlight the benefits, and presents your request in an organized, professional manner. A well-written proposal can also show that you can work well on your own (a very important point, since you will be largely unsupervised). Continue reading

The Telecommuting Tightrope

For many of us, telecommuting seems like the ideal situation. You wake up, shuffle over to your home office, work at your own pace. You take a break when it suits you, you end your day when you’re ready to. You can rearrange your work schedule to fit around your personal life. Continue reading

Turning the Table: Questions for Your Interviewer

(DES MOINES, Iowa ? January 26, 2005) The fateful final question of all interviewers may carry more weight than you would think. Upon hearing “Now, do you have any questions,” you are given a chance to show the quality of your character and interest in the company. No matter how well the interview went, passively responding to this question with a shake of the head and a polite smile will only communicate to the employer that you are not interested in inquiring about the job, the company, and your place within their organization. Your approach to this Question & Answer time will directly impact the interviewer’s assessment of you and the interview. Continue reading