Welcome to “The Edge”
During my 30 years in the recruiting industry, I played a role in hundreds of successful career transitions. The lessons I learned during that time serve as an important building block for career coaching. Blending the two disciplines gives me a unique perspective into what it takes to navigate job and career changes. I hope you find a few “golden nuggets” that give you an edge that leads you down the path to a more meaningful and rewarding career.
To make sure you never miss getting “The Edge”, sign up in the footer.
7 Tips to Increase Your Chances of Getting Noticed on LinkedIn
Ever wondered what makes some LinkedIn profiles shine brighter than others? Here are 7 easy hacks for optimizing your profile so it gets noticed by recruiters and brand yourself as someone worth knowing. Click the link below to learn more about taking control of your career narrative and unlock the full potential of your LinkedIn profile!
LinkedIn Profile Headlines that Get You Noticed
Your headline is the first thing people will see when the land on your LinkedIn profile. Along with the subheading, you have three-four lines of text to work with. Why not use them entice readers to know more about you?
10 of the Most Overlooked and Powerful Job Search Strategies
Before becoming a career coach, I spent 25 years as a recruiter. During that time, I gained a wealth of powerful, real-world insight into what it takes for job seekers to rise to the top. To my surprise, many people were unaware of many of those strategies. Here are 10 of the most overlooked and impactful.
The 31 Best LinkedIn Profile Tips for Job Seekers
What are the most important tools for a job seeker? You probably said your resume and your network. But what about the platform that combines them? LinkedIn allows you to share your experience, skills, and qualifications with future employers, while also allowing you to build and interact with your network and grow your brand as a professional.
Here are 31 expert-backed LinkedIn tips for job seekers—from creating a profile that will help you land your next job or get noticed by recruiters to establishing yourself as an expert in your field.
10 Absolutely Ingenious Ways to Use LinkedIn Career Explorer
If you wonder, “What is LinkedIn Career Explorer?” you wouldn’t be alone.
Here are the ten fresh approaches to using LinkedIn Career Explorer.
8 Tips for Laid Off Workers & Those Who Fear It
If you’ve been laid off, your mind may play tricks on you. You may question your worth or feel like you have nothing to offer. This is untrue. Layoff decisions are driven by an organization's bottom line: cost savings. Your experiences, education, and qualities make you a worthy candidate. Getting “let go” from an employer doesn’t change this fact.
The Importance of Reawakening Dormant Ties
We tend to underestimate the importance of “weak ties” — our relationships with people we don’t know well or don’t see very often.
Ignoring this outer circle of our network is a major miscalculation. The problem with our trusted advisers and circle of usual suspects isn't that they don’t want to help. It’s just that they’re likely to have the same information and perspective that we already do.
What To Do When You’re Laid Off
Just Been Laid Off? Here’s Some Important Advice.
If you’ve just been laid off or are concerned that your number might come up soon, here’s some excellent advice (inspired by a LinkedIn post by Sarah Johnston, a coaching colleague).
Modern Resume Strategies
Your resume should engage the reader, position yourself as the perfect fit, and make your most critical points effectively. And in a dynamic, ever-changing job market, your resume needs to be constantly evolving. It’s essential to keep up with modern resume strategies so that you stay relevant in the market.
Why You Should Stop Responding to So Many Job Postings
As a career coach, I continually hear from my clients and others about their frustrations with applying for jobs online. I don’t blame them.
It’s like dropping your resume into a black hole. Or better yet, it’s like buying a lottery ticket to pay your mortgage. You know the odds are stacked against you, but you keep doing it anyway.
Don’t Believe Everything You Read in a Job Posting
Ever wonder why many job postings include a long laundry list of requirements?
That’s because they’re often cut and pasted from the employer’s internal job description. And that can be a problem for job seekers because there’s a good chance the one you’re reading is outdated and doesn’t reflect changes made to the role over time, is poorly written, or missing some key information.
That’s why when you’re interviewing, it’s important to ask the interviewer to confirm the details of the role.
5 Tips for Evaluating Company Culture in Job Interviews (with sample questions for getting the information you need)
There are several things you should consider when evaluating whether a job is a good match for you. Sure, you need to determine if the compensation package meets your expectations, if it’s the right next career step, and if your future manager is someone you think you’d mesh well with.
Here are five tips to help you understand and evaluate a company’s culture before you accept an offer—even if you’re interviewing remotely.
Still Wondering if Cover Letters are Necessary? The Data Might Surprise You.
Are cover letters worth the trouble? Do they make a difference? The data may surprise you!
LinkedIn Premium: Is It Worth It?
LinkedIn has never been the shiniest object among its social media peers. However, it’s arguably one of the most useful websites for career and business development activities such as recruiting talent, applying for jobs, generating leads, getting clients, and networking. If you’ve been wondering whether it would be worth it to invest in a premium account, this post might help you decide.
Possibly the Most Overlooked Trait You're Failing to Get Across in Job Interviews
When it comes to job interviews, we often focus on showcasing our skills, experience, and qualifications. While these are undeniably crucial aspects of the process, there's something in the background that quietly, but profoundly, influences interview outcomes: trustworthiness.
Trustworthiness, while not always in the spotlight, operates as a subtle undercurrent during interviews. It's a quality that interviewers instinctively seek in candidates, even if they aren’t consciously aware of it or explicitly express it.
Curious to learn how trustworthiness can enhance your interview game? The author of this Harvard Business Review article shares her thoughts.
28 Proven Tips for Boosting Your Presence on LinkedIn
Want to boost your presence and visibility on LinkedIn? Here are 28 quick tips on how to boost your content, avoid common pitfalls, and fully leverage its power as a professional branding tool.
10 Excellent Tips for Boosting Your LinkedIn Presence
LinkedIn can be a great channel for building your professional brand and even establishing yourself as an influential thought leader within your niche. But to maximize the benefits of the platform, you need to understand how it works, what generates the best response, and how you can utilize its various tools for optimal effect.
How Having a Professional Mission Statement Can Help You Land You a Better Job
Don’t underestimate the power and the value of a professional mission statement. It might be the deciding factor that triggers a job offer, promotion, or referral.
10 Interview Questions You’ll Get for Management Roles
Getting ready to interview for a management position? Make sure you prepare in advance to tell meaningful, compelling stories that highlight the ways in which you've brought value to previous employers. Here are some ideas for how to get started.
How to Respond When Asked About Your Strengths and Weaknesses
Ever had an interviewer ask you about your strengths and weaknesses? Ever wonder why?
It’s baffling to me. During my 30 years as a recruiter, I never asked anyone that question because it doesn’t elicit any helpful information. Nonetheless, it seems to persist.
If it comes up in a job interview, what’s the best way to respond? Here’s what I recommend to my career coaching clients.