CircleBlog

Career Change – Baby Step Into Your New Future

Posted on 10. Nov, 2009 by Matt Shelly.

Whenever we think about a major change in our lives, the temptation is to see the whole thing as so overwhelming that we just put our plans on the back burner…sometimes forever. When we think about a career change, for example, it is not only the direct change in our line of work which is affected, but perhaps our finances, our family situation and our location as well. The prospect of turning our whole lives upside down feels totally unmanageable and so we just continue to rot away in a job that we hate – the paradox being, of course, that if we do just that, it affects all other areas of our lives anyway!

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What Do You Do If You’re Overqualified?

Posted on 06. Nov, 2009 by Matt Shelly.

Being overqualified for a position can almost be as off-putting for employers as being underqualified. So, what are you supposed to do if you really want the job?

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Job Fairs – Be Prepared

Posted on 03. Nov, 2009 by Matt Shelly.

Job fairs are a great way to scout out new opportunities, as well as to make loads of new contacts. Attending a job fair, however, is essentially like attending a series of first interviews, so it is essential to turn up prepared. Here are a few tips to help you ensure that you get the most from the experience and make the very best impression.

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Is Your Memory For Names Making You Miss Opportunities?

Posted on 26. Oct, 2009 by Matt Shelly.

You’ve studied all the rules and protocols of networking, you’ve worked out a cracking elevator pitch and you stride off confidently to your first networking event only to find that within seconds of being introduced to a new contact you have forgotten his name. Even in social situations, a poor memory for names can be highly embarrassing, but in networking it can mean the loss of big opportunities. It’s a rare person who will approach somebody for a second time having completely forgotten what they are called.

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Recapture Your Childish Curiosity And Rejuvenate Your Career

Posted on 23. Oct, 2009 by Matt Shelly.

Spend any amount of time around young children and what will you hear? Questions. ‘What happens if I press this?’, ‘Where does that come from?’ and the much-repeated ‘Why?’ Although they might sometimes become quite wearing if you are the one who constantly has to answer them, it is through these questions, and the natural curiosity of children, that they learn.

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Matching Expectations With Experience

Posted on 21. Oct, 2009 by Matt Shelly.

The importance of researching not just the companies that you are interested in working for, but the roles or positions that you are seeking, is an issue which I have addressed in a number of my previous posts. In the course of working on my next book, however, it is one which has again come to the forefront of my mind, this time in connection with expectations.

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Living On Less

Posted on 19. Oct, 2009 by Matt Shelly.

For many, in fact for more than 15 million individuals in the US today, living on less is not a matter of choice. While the lucky few (or the prudent few) who now find themselves unemployed may have been able to put aside something for a rainy day, in many more cases the loss of income has been devastating. Unemployment, however, is not the only reason why people might need to scale down their spending. A voluntary change of career might also require an adjustment to spending habits too, even if only temporarily.

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How To Sell Your Expertise…No, I Mean Sell It Literally!

Posted on 08. Oct, 2009 by Matt Shelly.

Regular readers of my blog will often have heard me talk about the value of setting yourself up as an expert in your field or industry. Answering questions on relevant web forums or groups, or posting intelligent comments to the blogs of others can both be great ways to demonstrate your knowledge, but setting up your own professional blog or website is likely to draw far more attention in your direction, especially if you link it to your profiles on business and social networking sites.

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Cash Incentives and Chain Mail? Are These Really The Ways To Find A Job?

Posted on 02. Oct, 2009 by Matt Shelly.

Chain mail, those awful letters or e-mails which either seem to be designed to put the fear of God into people for no apparent reason or to ask for money for some ‘worthy’ (although often bogus) cause, doesn’t normally figure on most people’s list of favorite things. Whether the motivation is fear or pity, however, the fact is that a good number of people do actually forward them on. Taking full advantage of this knowledge, one job seeker started his own chain e-mail, complete with resume and job search objective, to try and make use of his connections.

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Photographs – The Latest Attention-Grabbing Tactic…But Do They Work?

Posted on 01. Oct, 2009 by Matt Shelly.

By Todd Bavol, The Job Search Ninja.
CEO, Integrity Career Transitions

Recruiters are, of course, the first to spot trends in job seeking practices and often it is the more zany and bizarre tactics which stand out most. Recently, however, it is a more subtle means of attracting attention that many employers have begun to notice, [...]

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