If there is any complaint I hear more than any other, it is that those we send messages to about jobs opportunities are not responsive. Sometimes even when a company or recruiter has taken the time to interview one of our members, weeks and weeks later all that is heard is silence.If this ...

As you all know, I get a lot of email. Most of it is actually pretty routine.There are the inevitable members asking me to reset their password for our website or to have their email address changed. Each week I also get a few good news announcements. (I always enjoy being the first to kno...

If losing your job wasn’t bad enough, the reluctance of business associates at your former company, as well as those who serviced your company as attorneys, accountants or recruiters to return your phone calls can be particularly disheartening.Actually, if you gave it some thought, you wou...

One of the less well recognized phobias in this world is the fear of accepting help from others.Perhaps it is primarily a guy thing and it explains why we never used to ask for directions at the gas station, but when it comes to job search it is another one of the many things that “get in ...

Since much of what we do in The FENG is about job search, I thought it might be appropriate to make a few suggestions to everyone about what to do when you do actually find a new job.I’ll be blunt. Job search is primarily filled with uncertainty, highs and lows and activities like making n...

When asked how your job search is going or your job, the best answer is “unbelievable.”Unbelievable can of course mean in reality good or bad. If things are really really bad, they are certainly unbelievable. And if you are pinching yourself to make sure you are awake, they could also be u...

We are fortunate in the financial professions to be blessed with a very high degree of transferable skills.Still, the next job for most of us isn’t going to be all that much different from our last one. While it is certainly possible that we will change industries, it is less likely that w...

I know we don’t mean to do it, but as financial types who come to our decisions the hard way (usually the long scenic route), we often react to information being presented to us by others in a dismissive, “oh, I knew that” manner.I suppose there was a time in my life when I actually though...

One of our very most important audiences are members of the search community who are registered as Friends of The FENG. When you communicate with these folks, briefly, you are expected to behave yourself. Members of The FENG are expected to only respond when reasonably qualified. What does...

Several years ago, a very old friend of mine called my attention to this song by Jimmy Buffet.I’m not sure why it is, but many people never call anyone. In the enigma within a puzzle that is life, they are also always wondering why no one calls them.When I was in college, my grandmother on...

I can never understand why people hesitate in contacting old friends.It has been one of the blessings in my life that over the 20+ years that I have been Chairing this august body, I have been able to reconnect with almost all of the people I worked with since the 1970’s. (Yes, I am that o...

Being successful at getting meetings with potential decision makers who don’t have a job right now, but who might make one for you after they meet you, is why networking is the most successful approach to finding a job. Frankly, this is how most business is really done at our level.If you ...

If there is any topic I discuss more than any other in phone conversations and in face to face meetings with new members and old members alike, it is the process of creating your very own inner circle of friends. All you have to do is talk to friends of yours who have found jobs to see how...

The definition of networking I use is: Networking is a process by which you can create meaningful business contacts and relationships to further your career and enhance your professional life.On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the most difficult, networking is a 5. Building friendships is a...

I was recently reminded of one of my favored approaches to networking that I discovered in the early 90’s. (Sometime in the late-90’s I stopped calling some of the things I was doing “scams” and started calling them “approaches,” which for some reason those in polite society found more acc...

I would be the first one to agree that finding ways to keep in touch with your business contacts during a job search is more art than science. That said the old saw “out of sight, out of mind” applies here.At the end of my two year job search which began in 1991, I had about 1,400 index ca...

It is a sad fact of life that no one ever has enough friends. Men in particular (and our membership is 90% men) seem to have a difficult time making friends.The whole “guy thing” sort of works against us, I suppose. Men are supposed to be strong and never need help from anyone. Remember wh...

As all of you know, The FENG is a circle of friends, not a fee for service. In order to join, someone needs to sponsor you. That act of friendship is how everyone gets started. It is one of those dumb things I came up with at the beginning of time itself that I believe has made our network...

Networking is what The FENG is all about. And, it has a lot of not so obvious twists and turns, one of which I am going to go over tonight.I hope all of you are becoming pros at using our Member Directory Search feature and calling up other members. I hope that those members you are contac...

Sailors are a naturally friendly lot. (Yes, another sailing analogy!) As one of the other couples my wife and I met at a marina pointed out, it would be considered more than a little strange to go to a motel or hotel and start introducing yourself to other people and ask them if they wante...

In our male dominated society called The FENG, one of the biggest challenges I face on a daily basis is getting members to ask for and accept help.I am sure we all know that traditionally guys don’t ask for directions at the gas station. It is much better to drive around and around totally...