When I create a resume for a client who’s a senior manager or executive, we talk about two main areas: (1) what he/she has accomplished as a leader; and (2) what the team or organization has achieved under his/her leadership. Why? Because solo performance is seldom, if ever, a true core value proposition at that level.Apple might have needed Steve Jobs to rejuvenate it and send it soaring as a company again, but he didn’t d...

You probably don’t think you’re really indispensable–most people don’t. However, the uncertainties you might face at work and in your journey to overall career success could prompt you to decide you’d better find a way to become indispensable if you want to make sure you can keep your job. The question is, of course, how do you become (nearly) indispensable?Here’s a key thought: “No one person is indispensable, but all peop...

Do you think that conducting a successful job search means acting as a high-achieving “team of one”? Wrong! In fact, not even close.Of course, there are times when going it alone makes good sense or in some cases is necessary. However, rarely, if ever, will you find that’s the case with your job search.Who’s Rooting for Your Career Success?It nearly always helps your job search to have people who believe in your potential,...

When you look at today’s political and cultural chaos–dissension, name-calling, rigid opinions, and more–you might think it has become the new normal and is unavoidable. Unfortunately, that defeatist outlook plays right into the hands of those individuals and groups that profit from it in some way. (If nothing else, they seem to get a sense of power from it.)If you take a different look at it–from the standpoint of your wor...

If you’ve ever been a job seeker, you know employers don’t design their recruiting practices to make your life easier! While it might not be realistic to expect them to put your interests above their own, why should it be unrealistic to expect them to treat potential employees with respect and make the recruiting/hiring process straightforward for both parties?A New Hoop for Job Seekers to Jump ThroughIt’s been a while sinc...

If you had to decide between going through an interview for a job you really want or having a tooth pulled, which would you choose? I wouldn’t be surprised if you opted for the tooth removal! At least it would be over with quickly, and you’d start feeling better soon.With the job interview, though, not only do you have to get through the period before the interview, but also you need to endure the interview itself and, hope...

If anyone has ever had a career that progressed without a hitch from start to finish, I’ve certainly never heard of it. (Note: If you’re the exception to that, more power to you!) Sometimes you run into a speed-bump or even a significant roadblock on your journey to career success, and you might wonder two things:1.Why me?2.Now what do I do?I have to say that in cases like this, I’m inclined to follow the advice about takin...

What do conflict and office politics have to do with your career success? Possibly a lot! And sticking your head in the sand (as the ostrich myth suggests) will not make these issues go away.Office politics might well have elements of conflict embedded, but they aren’t always about confrontation and overtly disruptive behavior within the work environment (sometimes they’re much more subtle than that). Conflict, on the other...

Fourth of July in the USA celebrates one kind of freedom, but that’s certainly not the only way freedom can be defined. How would you define it? That might be very different from someone else’s definition. The same could be said for career freedom.So let’s explore a little about some definitions of freedom and how you might apply them to your career situation.Common Definitions of FreedomAccording to Merriam-Webster, the co...

Decisions that could change your life can be difficult to make, and that’s particularly true of career decisions. In some respects, you have no way of knowing all the possible outcomes of a given career choice at the outset and won’t know exactly how it will shape up until it’s a done deal (hindsight being 20-20, as the saying goes).I seriously doubt whether anyone can give you a definitive prediction ahead of time as to ho...