I announced last week that I'll be running a poll on my sidebar each week. I’m aiming for a new one every Tuesday.
The poll is a fun way for me to think about career topics. A new format always gets me going. But it's also fun because even after writing about careers for ten years, [...]

I know that we have a bad economy, so bad that we have a not-yet-President who is running the country from the Chicago Hilton so that the markets don't implode while Bush gives pardons for cronies.
But can we just take a minute for a reality check? It's not really bad for people who are young. [...]

I noticed in the New York Times Book Review last week, there was a nice review of Jim Krusoe's new book, Girl Factory. I was happy to see that, because Jim Krusoe was my first—and most influential—writing teacher.
Jim teaches creative writing at Santa Monica College, (and his faculty page reveals so much about him). [...]

A lot of times we think we know what we're doing in the job hunt, and then someone surprises us with information we didn't think of. My latest bunch of surprises came from the book, What Does Somebody Have to Do to Get a Job Around Here? by Cynthia Shapiro, who I have interviewed before, [...]

The jobs that are the most fun are where our learning curve is high but we can still achieve results. Usually the list of requirements for a job like this is a little beyond your experience. So how do you get one?
First of all, realize that the people who write job descriptions actually have little [...]

There is a lot of hoop-la over the recession. Or coming recession. Or statistical but maybe-not-really recession. But the truth is that the job market is just fine, especially for the post-Baby-Boomer set.
The health of today's job market is not so much a function of economic indicators as it is a function of demographic [...]

A lot of people worry that they can't get another job because they don't have time to find one. This is why hunting for a job from your cube is totally standard. It used to be that people stayed in their jobs 40 years, and a job hunt was an earth-shattering event, and there was [...]

Getting hired even when you're not qualified is one of the most important skills to have if you want to keep your work life interesting. Because if you are always taking jobs you're qualified for, then your learning curve is really flat, and your work life is really boring.
So here are three ways to get [...]

People ask me this question a lot: If it's such a good job market for young people then why can't I find a good job?
The answer is that there are tons of really bad jobs being offered. For all the talk of flexibility in the workplace, very few companies are actually offering engaging jobs with [...]

Every once in a while I'll publish job-hunt questions people ask me a lot. And it's that time again. But today I'm publishing a question that stumped me:
"Why don't interviewers get back to me after the interview? I go to the interview, I feel like we click, and the hiring manager or human resource representative [...]

One of the biggest workplace changes that will take place in the next few years is the way people are hired. So how do you get ready for the changes? Be a good candidate for one thing. But also, be conscious of how employers will start shifting to meet the good candidates, because you want [...]

By Ryan Healy - Video resumes are the hot new topic in recruiting these days. It seems that everyone has an opinion. And job listing sites like CareerBuilder have even launched video resume services.
At first glance a video resume seems like a natural step in the recruiting process. But here are five reasons [...]

When you are trying to figure out your next career move, the company match is more important than job match. This is because the people who are happiest at work are doing what they do best, every day.
You can be a janitor and use your strengths, and you can be an associate at one of [...]

Companies are having a hard time recruiting and retaining young talent, and as a result are accommodating what would have once been considered extreme demands. "The scales have tipped in favor of knowledge workers, creating a seller's market for the next 5 to 10 years," writes to Stan Smith, National Director of Next Generation Initiatives [...]

Is it okay to look for a new job while I'm at my current job?
Yes. You have to be able to look for a job while you have a job or it's indentured servitude. Most people in their twenties change jobs every two years. At any given moment 70% of the workforce is job hunting, [...]

By Ryan Healy - During my senior year at Penn State, the Nittany Lions knocked off the highly (over) rated Ohio State Buckeyes. It was one of the best football games of my college years. A mob of students rushed down the bleachers, the field became a flood of blue and white.
But unfortunately, rushing [...]

I loved Ryan's post about helicopter parents because, like many changes generation Y brings to the workplace, helicopter parents force me to see how much the dynamics of the workplace have changed and how what's appropriate at work today is different than what was appropriate only two or three years ago.
The hardest parts about writing [...]

By Ryan Healy — Recently, I have seen a slew of articles about helicopter parents. Parents of millennials are becoming very involved in the job search process. These parents feel they have the right to call their child's company to discuss benefits and relocation packages and even negotiate salary. I think this [...]

Most of us will change careers at least three times in our lives. And most of us will be nervous at one point or another in the process.
Invariably, you're giving up the known to pursue the unknown. So, even if you hate your current career, it's still scary to give it up.
I have a lot [...]

I am always coming across new ideas for being more effective when you look for a job. Here are some I've collected:
1. Don't answer the phone when it wakes you up.
I know people get giddy for interview call backs like they get giddy for good-date callbacks. But the combination of giddy for phone calls, and [...]