Job Hunt
New paths to a great job
Of course I have to open this post with something about how stupid college is. Colleges are finally responding to the problem they charge tons of money and then graduates are unemployable and in debt. Colleges are responding by becoming job preparation centers. And Frank Bruni, opinion editor for the New York Times, says this is a …
Read More...Get your dream job now: Four-day seminar with Penelope Trunk
This seminar will help you get the job you thought was out of reach. It could be a position two levels up or something totally new. I’ll show you how to figure out your best next job and get it.
Join me for four days of live video sessions with chat: April 15-18 at 9pm-10pm est. …
How to be enchanting
So much of the world is based on how much people like you. For example, when you are in a job interview, there are three or four other candidates. All are qualified, because no one interviews people who cannot do the job—that would be a total waste of time. This means that interviews are about …
Read More...New strategies to get a new job
When you see someone who has a career you want, it’s a safe bet that they spent the majority of their career clearly defining themselves and then differentiating themselves from all the other people who defined themselves the same way.
Self-knowledge is a huge career tool, but most people find it onerous and try to skip …
Shortcuts to Common New Year’s Resolutions
One reason I have achieved so much in my own career is that I've taken shortcuts. For example, I played professional beach volleyball without learning how to play indoor sixes very well—I can really only play doubles, which is what people play on the sand. But it allowed me to skip a lot of years …
Read More...December is a great time for your career
I know you're thinking that the workplace is dead between Thanksgiving and Christmas, but actually, December is a great time for careers. Here are five reasons why:
1. Job hunting is great in December.
January is the biggest month for hiring, but December is the second-best month for a job hunt. This is …
How to find a job you’ll love
My homeschool blog is mentioned in the New York Times. It’s a small mention, but it’s a big deal for me, because lately I’ve been obsessed with how people learn, and what makes a successful adult. It’s appropriate that the Times would link the day I wrote about what my day is like trying to …
Read More...When It’s OK to Take a Pay Cut
The farmer is separating his farm from his parents’ farm. To say this has been a summer full of drama would be a total understatement. I would say that the drama has gone from his larger family, to our little family, and now, to the economics of the farm.
This is probably where the drama should …
How to look like things are great
Look at this picture. I love this picture. I am carefree, pulled together, and a little bit like a farmer but not too much.
I keep thinking I want to put this picture online. And then I think, I can't. I'm too sad. I need a picture of me moping.
This feeling reminds me of when …
Why problem employees don’t get fired
We finally got a dog. Sparky. His original name was Prince. But I decided you can't have a prince on a farm. So we changed the name. Sparky is five years old, so he was probably pretty used to the name Prince, but name changing, is of course, normal in our family. (After all, I’m …
Read More...Advice to Wisconsin protesters (and everyone else): Instead of protesting change, adjust your own career
My favorite place for pizza in Madison is Ian's. My kids go there in the summer for macaroni and cheese pizza. They order it because it sounds so fun, but then they don't eat it.
Ian's is located right on the Wisconsin State Capitol, where 70,000 people are protesting that Governor Walker is repealing almost all …
Trend: Choosing a temp job over a full-time job
This is a guest post from Ali Brown.
Two months ago, I wasn’t satisfied with my job. I was a communications/administrative assistant. I’d been with the company almost two years, and it was clear there were no opportunities for advancement.
So, just weeks after turning 26 years old, I took a temp job.
I’m not a risk …
Young people don’t fear the bad job market
It's easy to conclude that this job market is terrible for everyone, even young people. But I don't buy it. I think it's very bad if you are old, and not so bad if you are young. And that we get a skewed view of the stress level out there because older people tend to …
Read More...Why hunting for a great job hurts your career
One of the hardest things about being unemployed is worrying that you will not end up in a good job. People want to be picky, but that's a mistake. You should take any job. It really doesn't matter. You're better off taking any job and then start trading up.
Here's why:
1) Structure leads to achievement
People who …
Forget the job hunt. Have a baby instead.
Here's an idea for what women should do if they’re unemployed: Have a baby. Your first reaction is probably that this is a throwback to the 1950s. But it's not. This is the most up-to-date career advice you're going to get for dealing with a down-in-the-dumps job market.
Here's why a stint of unemployment is a …
How to deal with unemployment in the face of holiday cheer
The end of December is one of the hardest times of the year to be unemployed. The peer pressure for good cheer is outrageous, the financial pressure of gifts is huge even for those with a steady paycheck, and the constant catchup with friends and family means everyone will ask, “how are you doing?”
Here are …
Announcing: Brazen Careerist Top 50 Places to Work
My company, Brazen Careerist, partnered with PayScale to come up with a list of the Top 50 Employers for Gen Y. The list is based on what we at Brazen Careerist know about Gen Y and the new workplace, and what PayScale knows about slicing and dicing workplace data.
To me, the most interesting thing about …
4 Lies about social media
Everyone knows that the best way to get a job is to leverage your network. And almost everyone knows that social media is a great way to build your network.
But many of you are making lots of social media mistakes. I know because so many people tell me that social media is a waste of …
6 Tips for doing a long-distance job hunt
Here is my advice about job hunting long-distance: Forget it. It’s not going to work for most of you, and you’ll need to relocate before you get the job. But for a few of you, there’s hope for a long-distance job hunt will work. So, here’s some advice if you must make it work:
1. Pitch …
Hatemail: Email I get that I hate
People always ask me to answer questions on my blog. So I am sort of going to answer questions. Questions I hate (that I have edited to save people from the trauma I probably caused David Dellifield):
Email number one: The obnoxious reference check
[Name redacted] is applying for a position at our company and listed you …

Don't do what you love
Don't go to grad school
Blueprint for a Woman's life
Living up to your potential is BS
Choose sex over money
The Farmer
Melissa
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