EDITORIALS

I’m not sure why people tend to lose their common sense when it comes to job search, but they do. Were it not for this tendency, the organizations that feed on the unemployed wouldn’t exist. And try as we might to put them out of business, new miscreants arise out their ashes.I fully under...

Since 1997 when I began as Chairman of The FENG, I have been listening to 90-second announcements at our meetings live and on Zoom. My best guess is that I have heard at least 10,000 of them over the years. I guess you could say I can speak with some authority on this subject. (And no, my ...

I often get the feeling from talking with members about their job search, that many of you are reluctant to use our Member Directory Search feature to full advantage as part of your job search. I only wish I understood why.The FENG membership directory is honestly the pot of gold at the en...

During the interviewing process we frequently get asked questions for which there is no good answer. I have my favorites of course, but having been out of work myself for almost 2 years back in 1991, the one I will address tonight is “Why have you been out of work so long?” (What a silly q...

Job leads can be a tremendous resource for you, even if you aren’t interested in them.I know it sounds silly, but although most job leads aren’t going to interest you for one reason or another, it can still pay to read them. The most obvious problem with specific job leads is that they are...

When jobs are winding down, it can be very difficult to “keep it all together.”I’m sure we have all been there. During that final period of time, whether it is 3 weeks, 3 months, or even longer, as “the forces of evil” overwhelm the organization you have worked so hard to make profitable, ...

Several years ago, I got a note from one of our members of long standing complaining about the value of the leads in our newsletter. It was a well written message that cited chapter and verse about his experiences, and I read it with great interest.Consistent with the experience of most of...

A few times each month I get a good news announcement from one of our members that begins with: “Please stop the newsletter, I am starting a new job on Monday.”It is at these times I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. Starting a new job on Monday and already this individual is ready to di...

Although you wouldn’t know it from the influence it had on his thinking, one of the little known facts is that Charles Darwin actually didn’t spend all that much time in the Galapagos Islands.The Galapagos Islands cover a rectangle of about 125 miles from North to South and about 175 miles...

One of the more difficult aspects of job search is the need to “play a role” that is not necessarily in keeping with our mental picture of ourselves.The question of “Who am I anyway?” comes up on a daily basis. If we are no longer employed or even if we are, the position description or the...

No matter what the crisis, it is a natural human instinct to try to put your life back together again.When it comes to the end of a long job search, the instinct is no different. Understand that you have been in crisis. And the crisis probably didn’t begin at the exact moment you lost your...

One of those things about being on a boat that isn’t well understood by those of you who spend most of your time on dry land is what I call the sploosh syndrome. As a backyard mechanic, I have dropped nuts and bolts on the ground from time to time while working on my car, and though they m...

One of the worst and rudest questions any job seeker is asked is what the minimum salary is that they would accept.Although there is a file out on our website filled with tough interview questions, this one ranks up at the top of ones I would avoid answering directly at all costs. Hard to ...

You finally found a company that REALLY had interest in you. And the job actually was in your wheelhouse and financially rewarding. They interviewed you on Zoom, and then had you come into the office to meet EVERYONE.And then, BOOM. They offered the job to someone else.Let’s assume the bes...

The story goes that my grandmother had a marble statue. When it came time to break up house keeping she decided that this was something she would sell. She thought it would be a good idea to clean it up a bit, but in the process managed to knock off one of the fingers on the hand of the ma...

In one of my recent editorials, I “beat the drum” about being overly specific on your resume. Generally speaking, one must be very careful about the use of “jargon” on a resume. Arcane and sometimes what we assume are well known computer programs like SAP are not so well known by those rea...

As I mention from time to time, The FENG is a NETWORKING group. It isn’t a job board.Just as Kermit the Frog found out that it isn’t easy being green, no one ever said it was going to be easy being a member of The FENG.Membership in our little society comes with a price. Sure, your cash co...

If job search is one thing, it is stressful. The uncertainty, the very idea that others are sitting in judgment on your credentials without you there to defend yourself, can all work to cause you to overreact to situations.My first job out of the Army in 1971 was in retailing at B. Altman ...

The FENG, as our name implies, is a networking group. I know some of you may be fooled from time to time by the fact that we publish job leads, but please don’t be confused.The sharing of job leads is an act of friendship, plain and simple. As much as we make every attempt to make the job ...

When it comes to writing, there is no more powerful tool than a sharp pencil.I long ago declared war on unnecessary words. Why? Because they are unnecessary.The normal space allotment for a resume is two pages. Okay, if you have to go to three, I might be able to live with it, but generall...

It is an old saw that “You never get a second chance to make a good first impression.”Although I write about email from time to time, it hasn’t really improved what I am getting from all of you, but I know change comes slowly to us financial types. In an effort to bring the point home a li...