My 6-year old plays the drums. Okay, not real drums ... Rock Band drums. He's pretty good. But sometimes, the songs get the better of him. Yesterday was one of those days. He kept getting knocked out, and it was finally too much for him: he burst into tears and walked away, ready to give up. My husband helped him take a deep breath, and they try again. He did. And guess what? He nailed it, and was the happiest kid on earth. I wish you could have seen his face!

Week in, week out, people ask me this same question. The simple answer is not one people want to hear. But you know me: straight talk. I don’t play games with people in their search for a new job. So here is the simple answer:  You can’t find a recruiter to find you a job. That is not how the business works. However, recruiters can be an invaluable part of your job search … as you run across the recruiters who have jobs you might be right for.

Are you stuck in your hunt for a new job? You probably just need to reset your goals. Take a break and write down what you want, and don't want in your next job. Start with what you don't want (that's always easier) and then write down what you do want. Stop thinking about the job you or other people in your life think you should be going for, and think about what you really want out of your career.
 

Job hunters, listen up! It is that time of year when most job seekers take time off, hunkering down for the holidays, thinking that "nobody is hiring right now." That is precisely the wrong approach. Let me tell you why. There is simply no better time of year for job networking than right now. You have a 70-80% chance of finding your next job through people you know, so it is time to hit the streets. Go to every single holiday party you can (yes, even the “ugly sweater” ones!) Let me give you a few good reasons to get merry this Christmas season: 

"A small house will hold a hundred friends" - African Proverb

If you turn on the TV or read the newspaper, you will be tempted to think "The sky is falling, so forget about looking for a new job." I will not minimize the challenges we are facing as a country right now. However, I want to underscore this: companies are still hiring! Where one company falls, another steps up to fill the gaps in the marketplace. That is what our country does, and it does it well. Are things tough? You bet! Do you need to work a little harder to get a job in this economy? Of course! However, I want you to listen: companies are hiring.

Honestly, the biggest barrier anyone faces when hunting for a new job is this: fear. Fear of failure. Fear of not finding a job. Fear of bombing an interview. If you want to knock fear out of the way, step 1 is to actually write down what you are afraid of. Then ask yourself "So what?" A wise man said to me when he saw me paralyzed with fear "What is the worst thing that could happen?" "Failure," I said.

If you are in higher education, I just found out about a great new site for academic job seekers and their spouses (really neat services for dual career couples): http://www.hercjobs.org

Are you stuck in your hunt for a new job? You probably just need to reset your goals. Take a break and write down what you want, and don't want in your next job. Start with what you don't want (that's always easier) and then write down what you do want. Stop thinking about the job you or other people in your life think you should be going for, and think about what you really want out of your career.

I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season, filled with laughter and good friends and family.

Many of you are taking this time off to work on updating your resume. It is a classic new year's resolution. So, I thought I may as well offer you some resume writing tips. First, know that your resume is designed to get you an interview, not to get you a job. What that means is this: give them a taste of what you have to offer, and entice them to call you to get the nitty-gritty detail. Unless you already have a one-page resume, less is usually more.