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

How to Return to My Old Employer

contact old employer

Q: I was wondering what may be the best way to approach acknowledging to a previous employer, that you made a mistake leaving your previous job. A year ago, I left a well paying consulting position with a large technology company to pursue another job. Unfortunately, the new job has not met my expectations and I now regret my decision to leave my previous employer. ...  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

Secret to Networking Well – Follow 1 Simple Rule

Business networking is essential to your job success as well as during any of your job search.

  • For job seekers, we all know that the best job openings are those that we can find through our network before it hits the open market.  So the stronger your network the more likely you will come across hidden gems in job opportunities.
  • If you already have a job, then networking can help you find a good mentor, land the next customer, find a good vendor, establish a beneficial partnership, etc..

So whether you have a job or not, you should be constantly expanding and building your network so you can tap into it to support your career success.   While most of you probably know networking is important, few actually know how to network well.   In my blog, you can read about the 5 business networking tips anyone can follow to give you some specific tips.  In this article, I want to share 1 simple rule that can help you network well no matter what your situation is...  read more

How to Network without Using Small Talk – 5 Tips

Most people agree that networking is critical to business and career success.  You can find unadvertised job openings and business partners through your network.  Knowing networking is important is one thing, knowing how to do it is another.   This may be in part due to stereotypes about networking.  A recent conversation I had with a colleague highlights this stereotype. ...  read more

How to Use Linkedin Effectively – 5 Tips for Your Career

linkedin

Being able to use Linkedin effectively for networking and building your brand is a critical skill to further your career in today’s market.    Of the most widely recognized social media platforms, LinkedIn is arguably the most utilitarian. Most of the people who use Linkedin have a primarily business purpose behind their presence within the platform, and updates about what they had for dinner are noticeably absent. ...  read more

How to Turn Down a Job Offer – 5 Tips and An Example

“How to turn down a job offer” may seem like a strange topic to discuss given our current job market.  However, to succeed like an executive means there will be times when you will get more than one job offer at the same time, even in today’s economy.  In that case, it’s important to know how to turn down a job offer gracefully. ...  read more