And playing the role of Matt Bud

And playing the role of Matt Bud Cover Image

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...


Mar 15, 2022

By Matt Bud, The FENG

The reason you weren’t chosen

The reason you weren’t chosen Cover Image

You would think that at this point in our lives our BS detectors would be well tuned. Unfortunately, when it comes to being rejected for a “work opportunity,” the “reasons why” we are given are more often than not taken as some kind of absolute truth.I am often asked by candidates for assi...


Apr 03, 2022

By Matt Bud, The FENG

War stories

War stories Cover Image

Anyone who has been working as long as most of us in The FENG must have their favorite personal war stories. The question is really how best to use those stories in interviewing and resume writing.I often hear these stories from members and marvel that they frequently don’t appear at all o...


Apr 07, 2022

By Matt Bud, The FENG

Unasked questions

Unasked questions Cover Image

People rarely ask or even want to know why the sky is blue or why the sun comes up in the east and not the west. And, when you are sitting in an interview, these are not questions you need to have answers for.The difficult thing to determine when the rubber finally meets the road is what n...


Aug 08, 2022

By Matt Bud, The FENG

Fending off “silly” questions

Fending off “silly” questions Cover Image

Here you are (minding your own business) interviewing for a highly desirable “work opportunity” and all of a sudden, out of nowhere, a question is raised about your knowledge of a specific topic.If the issue being raised was on the position description, shame on you. I have to assume that ...


Oct 27, 2022

By Matt Bud, The FENG

Ensuring a productive interview

Ensuring a productive interview Cover Image

I think you will find as you are out and about interviewing, that there are always at least two difficult questions that an interviewer would like to ask you. And, not much will happen during an interview unless you get them out of the way.While the “elephant sitting in the room” varies by...


Aug 21, 2022

By Matt Bud, The FENG

True confessions

True confessions Cover Image

While confession may be good for the soul, it is deadly when it comes to job search. The dreaded question: What is your greatest weakness?This is one of those questions we could easily do without. And, they often catch us by surprise.Enron aside, the problem is that most senior financial f...


Nov 10, 2022

By Matt Bud, The FENG

Throwing up on the customer

Throwing up on the customer Cover Image

I hope you will all forgive me for the rather melodramatic subject of tonight’s editorial. Now that I have encouraged you to talk, my fear is that you will talk too much.Personal selling is a grand profession. Unlike many of the products that can be sold through mass marketing, personal se...


Nov 01, 2022

By Matt Bud, The FENG

The original 2 for 1 sale

The original 2 for 1 sale Cover Image

Every once in a while, The Wall Street Journal publishes a cartoon worthy of discussion.Many years ago, the “Pepper … And Salt” cartoon showed a job seeker, obviously older, explaining his credentials to the interviewer with the following words: “Don’t think of me as a 54-year-old job appl...


Nov 17, 2022

By Matt Bud, The FENG

Trick questions

Trick questions Cover Image

Now that the job market may be slowing down again, I thought we should turn our attention to the favorite trick questions that interviewers like to ask. In the spirit of sharing our knowledge and experience, I would ask those of you who have your favorites to send them in, hopefully with a...


Jan 23, 2023

By Matt Bud, The FENG

Dummy up

Dummy up Cover Image

Most of the postings in our evening newsletter do not reveal the name of the client. There is a reason for this. The search firm wants to keep it a secret. (Duh!)There are several reasons why they tend to do this. Their first fear is that you might call their client. Now I know that none o...


Jan 24, 2023

By Matt Bud, The FENG

The dreaded telephone interview

The dreaded telephone interview Cover Image

If going on an interview wasn’t stressful enough, having a telephone interview is even worse. (Try to get them to schedule a Zoom interview instead. It’s much better.)More and more these days, companies are doing a telephone screening of candidates before they go to the time and expense of...


Jan 26, 2023

By Matt Bud, The FENG

First, get the job offer

First, get the job offer Cover Image

I often have been heard to joke that when I was in the Advertising business I worked with people who lied even when it wasn’t necessary. Their reason was simple. They didn’t want to get out of practice.In much the same way, you as a job applicant need to “stay the course” even when you may...


Mar 09, 2023

By Matt Bud, The FENG

Telephone sales

Telephone sales Cover Image

If getting up in front of a large group and doing your elevator pitch isn’t bad enough, giving it over the phone is worse. At least in front of a group, large or small, you have some visual feedback as to whether or not it is going over well.Add to this that many folks call you from cell p...


Apr 12, 2023

By Matt Bud, The FENG

The excuse you can’t cure

The excuse you can’t cure Cover Image

The world of job search is filled with a lot of cruel jokes.I have often argued that when the answer is no with respect to your candidacy, the best thing you can probably do is stop listening. The reason is that just about everything that follows will either not be entirely true or will be...


Jun 07, 2023

By Matt Bud, The FENG

Spilling your guts

Spilling your guts Cover Image

With all of the flap these days about integrity, I am concerned that members of The FENG, being honest financial types, will again fall into their natural propensity to tell too much about things that are no one’s business.I hope that I can trust you to blather on about all of your technic...


Aug 17, 2023

By Matt Bud, The FENG

Always take the high road

Always take the high road Cover Image

America is a great place, isn’t it? Everything is always someone else’s fault. I guess this is why Americans are so quick to sue. After all, we can’t take the blame for that which has happened to us. There were significant mitigating factors. Primarily due to, partially offset by. I’m sure...


Aug 01, 2023

By Matt Bud, The FENG

Phone interviews

Phone interviews Cover Image

Probably one of the most difficult interviews to pull off well is a telephone interview. (I much prefer Zoom!)Let’s start off with the idea that the lack of face-to-face contact prevents you from seeing if the words and ideas you are presenting are playing well. A live audience, or a Zoom ...


Sep 27, 2023

By Matt Bud, The FENG

Hidden customer objections

Hidden customer objections Cover Image

It is a sad fact of interviewing that often times those sitting on the other side of the table hesitate asking questions that you would gladly answer. The kinds of questions I am talking about are things that might be grounds for a lawsuit because they skirt the edge of age discrimination ...


Oct 10, 2023

By Matt Bud, The FENG

Handling compensation negotiations

Handling compensation negotiations Cover Image

Money makes the world go around, or so they say. If this is the case, can there be any more delicate subject to bring up with a potential employer than your potential salary?There was a comment I heard on “Streets of San Francisco” many years ago that is applicable here: “First liar never ...


Oct 18, 2023

By Matt Bud, The FENG

What happened?

What happened? Cover Image

One of the most difficult questions one is almost required to answer is why we left our last job.Being a little bit of a wise guy, my inclination is to say “They stopped paying me.” Or, in the alternate, “When they changed the locks on my office and had security escort me out to the street...


Nov 19, 2023

By Matt Bud, The FENG