Monthly Archives: September 2015

Q&A: Job Titles

Q&A: Job Titles
Early this week, I was asked this question by an engineer at Microsoft regarding job titles:
How important are internal titles vs. the industry standard titles?
I am worried about this nuisance of employment titles in background checks if I want to switch companies later in my career. For example, for me is it better to use...
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Getting Referrals – LinkedIn Message Template

Getting Referrals – LinkedIn Message Template
Everyone wants to be referred to a company. But how do you get a referral without making it seem like you are asking for a handout? One great way to get a referral into a company is look at your LinkedIn Network and see who currently works for that company. If you have a friend...
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Job = Life

Job = Life
If you are a typical full-time, working American, you probably spend nearly 70% of your day sleeping or working. The average American (ages 25-54 with children) spends 8.7 hours working each weekday. This doesn't include any commute time either. When more than 2/3 of your day is spent working or sleeping, you really should...
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Interview Fail

Interview Fail
An article on Glassdoor.com had some great advice on how to know when an you are NOT 'winning' an interview. To Summarize:
  1. You’re only getting easy questions.
  2. The interviewer doesn’t ask about your availability to start.
  3. The interviewer doesn’t discuss the rest of the hiring process.
  4. Your interview is shorter than scheduled.
Of course...
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5 Follow-up Emails That Scare Hiring Managers

Came across a great article on Muse.com today, "5 Follow-up Emails That Scare Hiring Managers (and What to Write Instead)". Here is a quick summary of what not to send in your follow-up email:
  1. You Said You’d Get Back to Me on Monday, and It’s Tuesday.
  2. Why Haven’t You Gotten Back to Me?
  3. I’d Really...
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Set up LinkedIn for Networking

When you think of networking, you probably think of networking in the traditional sense--in person, one-on-one. Online networking is helpful too! One of the easiest ways to get started with online networking is to build up your LinkedIn profile so people can find you and you can make new connections. Follow this LinkedIn Beginner's...
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Stop Using Monster for Your Job Search

Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com receive a lot of marketing and hype. Unfortunately, their product hasn't evolved much in the past 10 years, and it's become a breeding ground for staffing agencies and fake sales jobs. Before you upload your resume to those sites and start looking for a new job, you might want to think twice...
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