EDITORIALS

Anyone who wants to jump in here and correct me is more than welcome to do so, but I have come to the conclusion that there are a lot of misconceptions about the value of social media in your job search.Let me be clear that I strongly recommend you have as complete a LinkedIn profile as yo...

As many of you know, one of my weekly occupations is reviewing new member applications.I try to keep in mind that for the most part I am seeing resumes that have just been completed out of whole cloth. In effect, these are the first result of days of writing and rewriting. Unfortunately, m...

Seeing difficult times as times of opportunity I suppose is a skill in and of itself.It is far too easy to see a job search as full of trials and tribulations. Of course, it is a difficult time, but it is also a time when if you are going to go through a change, it is a good time to sit an...

I guess there has indeed been a total breakdown of law and order. Not only are many people ignoring their email, they are also apparently ignoring their phone calls and text messages.I don’t often make cold calls to support our consulting practice. Most of our clients in The FECG are actua...

Rising tidesIn chatting with members over the many years I have Chaired The FENG, one hope frequently voiced has been a wish that as the economy improves there would be more jobs. The basic theory is that a rising tide floats all boats. If I wait long enough, it won’t be all that difficult...

So, you’ve started a new job. Congratulations. Now you only have to survive the first 90 days and then the first year. After that, your tenure will be more related to the business than to personalities.The first thing I would suggest you do is get a copy of John Lucht’s book “Insights for ...

I once worked for a division president who wouldn’t hire anyone who didn’t have a hobby. His theory was that your brain couldn’t be active and productive if you didn’t have something to think about other than work.While he admired those with “fire in their belly,” he was a man with hobbies...

I would like to see if we can increase the number of Good News Announcements and job leads that come our way.The two most important things that I hope that all of you are making every effort to share are Good News Announcements and job leads.Good News Announcements let your fellow members ...

In the days of wooden ships and iron men, the determination of longitude was thought to be an impossibility. The simple solution was creating a clock that was accurate enough to keep track of what time it was in Greenwich, England. If you knew what time it was at a fixed point and you knew...

If only each of us had a crystal ball (highly polished of course) that we could call upon over the course of our lives. The problem is that we don’t.I once heard a very nice presentation on how to get a good start in a new job. Parachuting in at the top is always difficult, and the speaker...

It is not unusual, and is perhaps typical, that members of The FENG would like to change industries. I wish I could tell you that this is easy. Unfortunately, I think the phrase “easier said than done” is applicable here.Of course, someone telling me that a project is impossible is always ...

If there is anything that typically jumped out at me when we had our meetings here in Connecticut, it was the need for us financial folks to be completely honest, even in our assessments of ourselves.However, interviews and 90 second announcements are no time for an extensive evaluation of...

The first time I show someone a navigational chart their eyes usually glass over. There are so many detailed pieces of information and so many strange colors and symbols. It can be more than a little overwhelming.Most folks purchase charts in bound books covering specific geographic areas....

It sure is romantic to think about a job offer out of town with a full relocation package as a way to start over again. And, in many ways and for some people, it just may be your ticket to a life of sheer happiness for you and your family.However, for most people I have known over the year...

It is, unfortunately, far too easy to fall into the trap of having a negative conversation with other members.While it is very important to have empathy for others, to get into extended discussions on the state of the world and how everything is hopeless benefits no one. The world is what ...

Many years ago, a college professor of mine related a story about one of his students who wrote a research paper about an experiment she conducted with an elderly stroke victim at a convalescent home near the campus.The basic premise of the experiment was that whenever the patient in quest...

I’m not sure if any of us really want to adapt to changing world conditions in true Darwinian fashion. That would require that only those of us with appropriate features survive to create the next generation.As human beings, we have the unique ability to adapt who we are and what we are to...

Since The FENG has been built by friends introducing friends, I imagine that as an organization we are probably more sensitive to networking abuses than most people. Still, I thought it might be helpful if I took a little time tonight and suggested a few ways to go about this delicate proc...

Unless you buy your mustard in 55-gallon drums, and have some very sharp knives, eating an entire elephant can be a formidable task, not unlike the task facing you at the beginning of a job search.There are so many things to do and all of them appear to be urgent. In addition, they all app...

There is an extended joke I heard quite some time ago about a “gentleman” who was standing in line at an airline ticket counter trying to get on an over booked flight. In a demanding voice he uttered the above words at which point the ticket agent got on the PA system and announced that th...

One of the most challenging aspects of looking for a new “work opportunity” is having enough introspection to know what your special value is to a potential employer. I’m afraid that in most cases, we’re the last ones to know.When we do our 90-second announcements at our chapter meeting in...