Category Archives: Interview

November 17, 2011 · 10:40 am

Umm, how do you spell that?

I was reading resumes the other day (that’s a shocker, isn’t it?) when I came across something that stopped me cold and left me shaking my head.

It was the resume of a pretty high level guy in a very serious, very technical industry and guess what his email address was?  danghard@gmail.ca!

Are you kidding me?  Can you imagine a corporate recruiter or a hiring manager typing that into their email message asking to get together for an interview?  Really?

It’s all well and good to have a cutesy email address in high school or maybe even university but not when it’s time to look for a job.  The following are examples of addresses that will probably not lead you to the kind of opportunities that you are looking for.

  • frillyundies@msn.ge
  • bobdoesvegas@ live.ca
  • thebestengineerever@pe.com

I’m a pretty out of the box thinker but let’s face it, your email address is part of your identity and an important part of the impression you leave when someone glances at your resume.

Do you want to get called for a career opportunity or a dinner date?

If your alter ego (or your nightlife) really depends on a catchy addy, then maybe you could think about adopting a conventional email address for your day job.

Just make sure you keep them straight.  Hiring managers are easily confused and you would not want to run the risk of losing a job at Xerox because you confirmed your final interview time with your nakedmarketingcoordinator email address.

 
*of course, I have changed the email domain names to protect the not-so-innocent.

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Filed under Interview, Job Search, Resume

July 28, 2011 · 11:05 am

You are not Wolverine. These things take time.

Wolverine is a comic book hero-mutant who has, among his superhero attributes, a special healing factor that causes him to recover from anything that hurts him. This is really handy when he is fighting bad guys with the X-men or the Avengers.

We would do well to remember that we are not superheroes. Transitions, whether of our own choice or chosen by someone or something else, always take longer than we think they should.

It takes time to recover from the sadness of being dumped in a corporate layoff. 

It takes time to feel good after finding out that you did not get the job that was a perfect fit.

It takes time to regain momentum on a job search when you are really busy satisfying a boss you can’t stand.

Can you spare 15 minutes today?  Try.  It will be worth it.

  • Sit down with a beverage, a pen and a piece of paper.
  • Write down three things you are proud to tell people about from your career.
  • Next add three things that you have achieved in your non-work life.
  • Finally, if I asked three of your friends or colleagues about your best attributes, what would they say?  Add those words to your list.

Sit back and take a look.  Good, eh?  You have a lot going for you.  Take a deep breath and enjoy it for a moment.

Now, get back out there and slay those career villains!

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Filed under career change, Interview, Job Search