EDITORIALS

One of the very important issues facing us as an organization is the “care and feeding” of our many friends in the search community.While studies have shown that only about 15% of the jobs in this country are handled by recruiters, to me they are still an important audience for us to treat...

If there is any one thing that is consistent among senior executives who are in the job market for the first time in many years, it is their inability to distinguish between good and bad advice.The simple story is that if you hear it from me, Marty Latman or Bruce Lynn it is good advice. I...

For those of you who I have not convinced about the value of networking, I thought I would share my own thoughts about something I have observed about the world and why I think it is so.During my various job campaigns since I started working in 1971, I always noticed a decided lack of publ...

During every recession, there are typically specific industries that experience more declines than others. One of the truths about the job market is that in any piece of time, one or more industries are usually singled out “for punishment” and lots of folks in those industries lose their j...

My wife and I go cruising on our sailboat every summer for about two weeks. During that time it is near certainty that there will be at least two full days where we won’t be able to get off the boat most of the day because it is raining too hard. Of course, I always have email to do. Somet...

One of the most annoying things about us financial types (at least to non-financial types) is the long-winded and seemingly endless explanations we provide when discussing complicated situations.Although we are mistakenly thought to always “cut to the chase” or go right to “the bottom line...

For my birthday one year, my daughter bought me a book: “A Voyage for Madmen” by Peter Nichols. The book is about the first Golden Globe race from Falmouth, England which began on April 22, 1969. Nine men set off on a race around the world. Ten months later, only one of them made it back. ...

With just about everyone in the ENTIRE world running around like their hair was on fire, I personally wouldn’t fault you if you too were feeling that way. Whether we are watching the news or reading the newspaper, it is impossible at the moment to find any escape from what is going on WORL...

A long time ago I received an email from one of our members comparing and contrasting the job leads he was getting from various sources.The quick story is that he was a subscriber to two paid services in addition to our newsletter. What I found disappointing was his closing comment which b...

As many of you know, in 1991 and 1992, I was unemployed. (Yes, two long years!)Hard to say exactly why it took so long to find another job, but suffice to say that it was a recession and after 9 years in the Advertising business (which was in the dumper) and no recent experience in Publish...

I was working on an assignment for The FECG a few weeks ago that generated a larger than normal response. I must tell you how disappointed I was with the number of members who failed to provide a meaningful cover letter with their resume. (Just so you know, assignments marketed by The FECG...

I never cease to be amazed how time stands still with respect to old friends.Several years ago one of my fraternity brothers was digging through some old photos in his basement and found a box from college. This prompted him to go to our national organization and get an email list. And so,...

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 ...

Some time ago a member wrote to me lamenting that although he was responding to a great number of opportunities, no one was contacting him about his credentials.It is a sad fact of life that the way job search works with regard to posted jobs is that it is atypical if anyone even acknowled...

One of the worst feelings you can have when you are networking is that you are drawing down favors from everyone you contact and you honestly have no way of repaying their many courtesies. Unfortunately, this is not your imagination.True networking is, of course, a give and take. Hopefully...

I am often asked how one should budget one’s time when conducting a job search. The easy answer is that it depends.I would suggest to you that the primary element of your search is, of course, networking, networking and more networking. The reason I say this is, it works best.That said, ju...

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...

Job descriptions, especially the ones that go on for pages and pages, have to make you smile.That said, with my many years of experience in the Advertising business, I am a big fan of long copy. Long copy sells. In the context of position descriptions posted in our newsletter I believe it ...

Stop me if I am wrong, but I guess many folks find job search a painful process. Perhaps it is the lack of a steady paycheck, or the uncertainty, or the rejection. Just like beating your head against a wall, it sure feels good when you can stop. (Is this why we are having so much fun or wh...

I know we live in a world of email, text messages and Twitter, but I often times wonder if others realize what their messages look like on the receiving end?I have to assume that many of the people who write to me are very busy, too busy to take a minute and read their communications and s...

Since 1997 when I first became Chairman of The FENG, I have probably reviewed well over 250,000 resumes. (Gosh, I’m exhausted just thinking about it.)I would tell you that the biggest problem I see in resumes is the incredible clutter. Although some of the resumes I get are 3 or 4 pages, m...