How to Network Effectively – A Simple Framework to Take Action

How to Network Effectively

When I wrote about How to Network without Using Small Talk , I received a lot of email responses and interest.  I am not surprised to hear that most found networking uncomfortable.  I am glad to hear these networking articles are making it a little less intimidating.   I wanted to continue on this journey with you and demystify how to network effectively.   ...  read more

How to Prepare for a Graduate School Interview – 4 Tips

how to prepare for a graduate school interview

Learning tips early on how to prepare for a graduate school interview will give you an advantage.  Applying to graduate school is a stressful and busy process. From choosing the programs you’re interested in to polishing your resume, securing references, and writing essays, there’s just a great deal to keep track of. But in the whole process, one of the trickiest steps is going through interviews with admissions officers. ...  read more

Negotiating Job Offer – What 70% of People Fail to Do

salary negotiations

In part 1 of our talk with Executive Author, Jane Lin, we discussed the Best Secret to Finding Your Dream Job.  Assuming you have a job offer, now what?  Should you negotiate?

We will have on average seven jobs in our life time.  Knowing how to negotiate job offers and initial salary at each new job can means the difference in ten of thousands of dollars in pay and give you a chance to impress our employer before we even start! ...  read more

Changing Careers – How to Interview Effectively

changing careers

 Changing careers is not easy for some. However, once you master effective interviewing when changing careers, the path to success becomes a lot clearer.

I had a chance to interview one of our Executive Authors, Helena Light, who is a master at changing careers. In eight years at one bank, she had four different careers: ...  read more

Should I Negotiate Salary: How I Almost Made a $6,000 Mistake

should I negotiate salary

“Should I negotiate my salary?” This is a question we will ask ourselves every time we get a job offer, especially for a job we want.    I recently had to go through this decision-making process, and I want to share my thoughts and what I learned with you.    

I think many of us can identify with the reasons why we don’t want to negotiate.  What many of us don’t think about are some of the great reasons we should always negotiate.  I hope this story will help you better answer the question, “Should I negotiate salary?” on your next job offer.   I look forward to your comments. ...  read more

Soft Skills – How Nadia Handled Her Sudden Layoff

candid-conversations

Being laid off is inevitable.  Almost everyone will experience it once in their career.  It is how you handle the layoff that will determine your career progression afterwards.  This is why it is so important to listen to this candid conversation I had with one of our Executive Authors, Nadia Drew...  read more

Example of Networking Emails that Worked

networking email example

Since I have written a few networking emails in the last few months, I wanted to share these examples with you to help you with your networking efforts.   Below are two examples, each with a different networking purpose.

Example 1: Existing contact – asking for help (scoop on a company X)

Context: This person is in my network (Lisa) but I haven’t spoken to her in five years.  Last time, I spoke with her, I helped her with some career advice.  We have a mutual friend in common (Cindy) who are good friends with both of us. ...  read more