I sat down with my new client, a young woman in her late twenties, explaining that for our first meeting I would be interviewing her about her life – her background and education from early days, her work history in detail, her interests, and her relationships. I hoped that she would be as candid as possible so that I could be most helpful. She nodded and we got started. Leslie told me how she had struggled with ADHD her whole life and how much it had impacted her school record and follow-on college choice, her employment history, and personal decisions. She became emotional when she talked a ..read more

I sat down with my new client, a young woman in her late twenties, explaining that for our first meeting I would be interviewing her about her life – her background and education from early days, her work history in detail, her interests, and her relationships. I hoped that she would be as candid as possible so that I could be most helpful. She nodded and we got started. Leslie told me how she had struggled with ADHD her whole life and how much it had impacted her school record and follow-on college choice, her employment history, and personal decisions. She became emotional when she talked a ..read more

Many of my clients struggle with their mental health, a learning disability, or both, issues that go beyond the usual job search stressors. And in today’s rolling post-Covid environment, it’s more the norm than not. I have frequently debated with clients whether to disclose a challenge upfront, and generally feel that if the issue is evident to employers, whether directly or reflected by resume gaps or performance issues, it can be advantageous to share it. Recently I worked with a client with severe dyslexia who was applying for government jobs both under, and outside of, Schedule A, a speci ..read more

Twenty years ago, Karen D. parlayed an early interest in art and photography into a career in retail merchandising. Organized and collaborative, she excelled in project management and enjoyed a close relationship with product development teams -- setting price points, negotiating with factories, and working with warehouses to prioritize shipments. Over time she climbed the ladder at some of the most iconic mid-priced fashion retail companies in the U.S. When Karen lost her job in a downsizing at the end of 2018, she took some time off to be with her toddler daughter. But when she looked up, a ..read more

Michel Thibodeau 2021   So much about giving a great interview hinges on the level of confidence you bring. You come into the room energized and focused, your skill stories flow easily, and you click well with the interviewer. All is right with the world. Over the course of my 16 years guiding young adults and established executives to discover, develop, and change their careers, I’ve found the following six confidence-building activities really make the difference between getting hired and not. Here they are, in no particular order:  1.     Remind your ..read more

A number of years ago I wrote a post about the fallacy of the “dream job.” I’ve always argued that the hope of getting a job that ticks every box and fulfills your dreams is unrealistic at best and damaging at worst. It’s a fallacy that has kept many young adults stuck in the assumption that they must identify and single-mindedly pursue their “passions” and “dreams” to the detriment of actually getting started in a career. So I was struck to read an opinion piece about how Covid has offered the employed and employable workforce in the US the rare chance to entertain the question of whether it ..read more

Happy almost Fall! Here in New York it already feels like it as the temperature has dropped and the days have shortened. I don’t know about you, but I always regard Fall as a time of new beginnings with that “back to school” feel. It feels like the New Year and in the Hebrew calendar it is in fact the New Year with the High Holidays having begun last week. Starting this past Spring with the job market surging, my clients began receiving multiple offers, providing them the leverage to drive their salaries higher and negotiate other details of their jobs to better fit their ideal. We continue t ..read more

Photo by Suzanne O’Brien 2021 In my practice guiding clients through launching and changing careers, I've noticed a trend. Candidates are neglecting to apply to jobs that don't fulfill their exact requirements. I noticed this happening both during the darkest days of Covid and also now as the job market picks up, and I think it’s a big mistake. I believe that candidates should be less picky in the early stages of a search, assuming they have around 70% of the requirements stated in a job posting. It's so hard to evaluate a job based on the description that is often dashed off casually before ..read more

Assuming your company has weathered the pandemic or has even benefited from it, now may be just the right time to ask for a raise. You may be overdue for an increase, your responsibilities may have increased, or you may have achieved a milestone to be celebrated. If any of this holds true for you, the rules around asking for a raise haven’t changed so much as they’ve been slightly altered. In addition to my own experience advising clients on negotiating salary, I’ve collected some of the best information out there for those looking for guidance on how to ask. I spoke with Kathryn Valentine, F ..read more

It has never been a better time to volunteer your time. Not only is there record homelessness, highly visible to city dwellers like myself, but ordinary working people from all walks of life are having their lives turned upside down due to work shutdowns and other Covid-19 events outside their control. And there are loads of young adults, recent grads and current college students, living under their parents’ roofs rent-free, with time on their hands as they make their job search their full-time work. Here’s why this is a great time to pitch in, which you can easily do from the comfort and sec ..read more