CIC

As interview coaches, we spend a lot of time telling our clients that networking is the secret weapon of the job search. It’s how they get their foot in the door, understand the shifting reality of their industry, and align themselves with what decision-makers are truly looking for.   I’m here to tell you: we […]

We toss around the word confidence a lot in interview coaching. For many clients, it becomes just another performance goal. The pressure to “perform confidence” can be a huge mental health stressor.  Clients often think confidence means feeling calm, so they may focus on “relaxing”, trying to suppress or transform the physical manifestations of anxiety.  […]

When I first earned my PARWCC interview coaching certification in 2019, it was called the Certified Employment Interview Professional.  It was a classic self-study program: a 122-page online manual and an inspiring one-hour session with Program Director Jay Block before a written exam. It was insightful, practical, and gave me tools I still use today. […]

Clients don’t pay interview coaches to help them get to the next round of interviews.  They hire us to help them WIN. That win is the real ROI of interview coaching. For clients, it’s a new job, a new paycheck, a new future. For us, it’s the glowing testimonial, the referral, the reputation boost that […]

The new PARWCC Interview Institute is launching at the perfect time. AI-enhanced résumés and AI-generated job applications are flooding hiring systems. Interviews are fast becoming the centerpiece of hiring decisions as the most trusted way for employers to validate and evaluate candidates. Now more than ever,  interviews are the high-stakes conversations that make-or-break careers. One […]

All things being equal, hiring decision-makers hire those candidates they come to know, like, and trust. This is a simple philosophical concept that is pretty much a constant throughout the hiring process. It comes down to, “Do I know you and like you well enough to trust that you can perform as expected when hired?”  […]

A Word about Successful Processes A successful process is a series of planned and repeatable steps that consistently achieve a desired outcome, while optimizing resources such as time, cost, and effort, while maintaining quality engagement. Whether it’s making a cup of coffee or seeking a job – successful processes lead to successful outcomes. Below is […]

“Never go to bed the same as you woke up” Jim Rohn made this challenge back in the mid 1990’s.  Thirty years later, in today’s utterly unprecedented society, especially within the professional and workplace landscape, continuous (daily) talent development is no longer just a competitive strategy – it’s a survival one.  Kaizen (“good change” or […]

Don’t laugh. I won a cha-cha contest with Cheryl Philips when I was 12 years old, and that was the extent of my dancing career. But throughout my one short season of dance lessons, I did learn that to be successful – like winning a cha-cha contest – one partner had  to lead  and the […]

I get it. I was one of the first to suggest that, in reality, we are not resume writers or career coaches, but marketing professionals. We are like Madison Avenue marketing pros for job seekers, responsible for packaging and presenting a product (job seekers) in such a way as they win out over the competition. […]

My only goal in life is to be immortal. So far, so good. It’s that time of year. The time of year when most of us are bombarded with advice about, and countless methodologies, to set goals. And before we move on, let’s be upfront and honest. Study after study reveals that a significant percentage […]

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 […]