The Death of the VerbYou and I have both heard the typical line from career counselors, “use power verbs in your resume”. Right? They’ve even given us lists and lists of verbs to begin sentences like:* Managed team of 10 engineers in highly competitive RFP process * Resolved difficult customer service issue for high stakes sale * Safeguarded company position through advanced marketing strategy The problem with all of these...

I previously wrote about the death of the verb and the rise of the Noun, so I won’t explain that here. But if you haven’t read that post, I suggest you do so.I’m often asked, “Well, if I need nouns, how do I know what nouns to use?” Here is a simple list of some great places to begin growing your Keyword list.Use Your BrainI’m not being cheeky by saying that. I think we often overlook our own common sense because the online...

Someone once told me that a corporation was a nasty thing to fall in love with...because it will NEVER love you back. The rules of loyalty in the work force are changing. No one can deny that. However, knowing this doesn’t change the pain of getting laid off or let go. It hurts. It can wound. Each of us reacts in one of two ways, either by getting pissed off and hating the company we used to love, or by blaming oursel...

One of the great powers of social media is that it is very very difficult to not be genuine. Even people who try to put on a face don’t last very long. The whole system is geared towards ruining liers.And that is a good thing.On one hand, you are more likely to trust someone when you can verify who they are from 3 or more social media profiles, blog entries, photos and Google results. More so when you find someone on Linked...

In 2006, I trained my MBA class on how to use LinkedIn.Back then virtually no one was on. And those that were on formed some kind of a tight-knit community. I remember landing in Vietnam on vacation, knowing only my college friend. I used LinkedIn to schedule 10 meetings with local business leaders.Using the network, I arranged a breakfast meeting with the COO of the Mercedes plant, 2 vice presidents of the newly built Ikea...

In 2006, when I still worked at Cisco, I started a little LinkedIn Group, called, “Cisco”. Ok, not very creative or original. I thought it was a good idea at the time to help Cisco folks leverage our mutual LinkedIn networks for career opportunities. HR didn’t like the idea though, which only made me want to do it more :)Today, my group has over 17,000 people, grows by 100 people every week and houses discussions about job...

Inevitably, in every audience I speak to, there are people who find some reason NOT to follow my advice on using social media for their job search.Sometimes these people really want jobs but are overwhelmed.Sometimes they simply don’t want to get a job and change their situation.This post of for the former, not the later.As long as you are willing to adopt NEW ways of doing things, NEW things will happen.So in order to help...

I like to tell my clients that they will be Googled just as surely as it will rain in Portland tonight. The latest survey revealed that 81% of employers WILL Google candidates. Do you know what they will see when they find you?Online reputation management is a critical piece of your job search. There is just no getting around it, no matter what field you are in.Quick story: When I Googled my name a year ago, I was a convict...

I don’t really consider myself an HR person. I like to think I’m a practical technologist. However, I do occasionally attend HR related training. Yesterday was one such occasion and inevitably, I had a shock.The discussion moved from hiring techniques, to LinkedIn photos. Many of the folks in the room would agree with us that LinkedIn photos should be professional. No argument. But someone told us a story that made us cring...