Blog

Eleven people applied for the Recruiting Coordinator position at Southwestern Illinois College (SWIC). As part of the four-person hiring committee, I reviewed all the résumés to help find the strongest candidates.  Two were immediately disqualified for targeting the wrong position in their cover letters. Of the nine résumés that remained: 8 were not professionally written. […]

In any managerial space, there’s going to be talk about change. Sometimes this is recognizing the fear of it that many people hold, but more often, the common wisdom is that organizations need to evolve or die. Organizations set up entire departments for the purpose of facilitating change – as well as buying books, putting […]

The words you write for your clients and the words you speak will affect their lives, and the lives of their families for years. That’s what sets you apart as a professional résumé writer and career coach from the wannabees and rip-off “artists.” It is, or should be, part of your brand. It should drive […]

Throughout the year as Santa’s head career coach and employment specialist along with the Grinch who serves as the North Pole’s Chief Motivational Officer (CMO), we manage hiring, talent management, training, onboarding, and more for Santa, the Elves, Flying Reindeer, Toy Making Operations, Cooking Making & Baking Operations, Gift Wrapping Operations, and much more.  Operations […]

It’s often said that we’re the average of the five people we spend the most time with. While not based on science, there is some social truth to the influence of those we surround ourselves with, especially as entrepreneurs, career coaches, and résumé writers who impact others’ lives.  Let’s face it, while we excel at […]

Margaret Phares, PARWCC’s Executive Director, and I had a conversation in a recently taped segment for PARWCC’s LinkedIn Live Series.  Margaret asked me a series of questions that ultimately brought us back to discussing the formation of PARWCC in 1990.  We examined the differences and similarities of the job search and hiring processes between then […]

Alvin has been involved in a lot of different engineering projects throughout his career. His original résumé mentioned quite a few of them in various levels of detail across four pages. The bulk of the detail captured his involvement with international projects that happened earlier in his career. More recently, Alvin has been in consulting […]

“ré•su•mé (rézumei, rezuméi) n. a summary. A curriculum vitae [F.]”  — New Webster’s Dictionary and Thesaurus of the English Language résumé n. a powerful, nearly magical document endowed with special powers that got someone else a job but is governed by arcane rules about which everyone has different opinions. —The lexicon of the layman, too […]

Keeping up with the times, I reimagined and updated the Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC) program, including the videos, written materials, and case studies. Of course, I included some legacy videos beloved by the more than 2,700 CPCC participants and credentialed CPCCs from more than 40 countries worldwide who have already engaged in the CPCC program. […]

Two months to go in 2024!  Did that make the hair on the back of your neck stand up!? With 61 days to go until the new year, we’ve got a great opportunity to reflect and set ourselves up for success in 2025.  Our clients have performance reviews to prepare for and résumé to update, […]

It’s not the furious winds or the raging sea that matters.  What matters is the set of the sail and mastery of the sailor at the helm. Whether one is fired from a job, diagnosed with cancer, or forced to evacuate a hurricane, it’s always our emotional state of mind – our attitude – that […]

Ready for the end of the year? Take some time to reflect and plan ahead using the step-by-step guide in the blog below. Set clear goals, refine your marketing, and optimize your service offerings while ensuring a balanced work-life schedule. Meet Marian, our Member Spotlight for November! She has over 10 years of experience and […]