If Your Resume Isn't Opening Doors, Get Some Professional Help Is It Worth the Money? Job searching sure is expensive. After all, it costs money to dry clean your interview suit, fill up your tank and drive to each and every job interview. And at a time when you’re counting every nickel and dime, you don’t want to spend any more cash than necessary. But if you’ve been job searching for some time without success, it may not be what you’re saying, but how you’re coming across on paper. That’s where a resume writer comes in. Resume writers are not just professional writers, but they’re experts... view article details

From the Wording to the Format, Think Hard About What Goes on Your Resume The Importance of a Plan Developing a resume, especially when it’s your own, can be a nail-biting experience. Most people do not have to use a resume except every few years so getting the resume ready is not like writing an email – something that is done every day. There are so many different aspects to a great resume -- content, wording, style, format, design -- but most importantly, strategy. The strategy part is where most people miss the boat and fall in the water. Most job seekers do not consider the audience and... view article details

"Soft" Skills & Emotional Intelligence Will Help Get You Hired & Promoted Skills: Hard vs Soft As your career progresses one of your goals is to ensure that your "hard" skills -- tangible, teachable skills and abilities that allow you to perform your job -- are up to snuff. But in your effort to hone your hard skills, don't ignore your "soft" skills. Soft skills, sometimes called "people skills" or "emotional intelligence," are less tangible qualities that determine how you manage your own behavior, as well as interact with and get along with others. While soft skills are more difficult to ... view article details

In light of recent news that there are more job openings than unemployed workers, is now the time to find a new job? The U.S. recently hit a record number of job openings in August, 7,136,000 to be precise, according to data released by the Labor Department. It’s hard to know if it’s the right time to make the switch. Leaving a job is a bit like a rocky breakup. Maybe your current organization has a lot of positive qualities: it stuck by you during some difficult personal times, it financed you, it brought you to a few cool events, and/or it helped you grow. But, those qualities may not be eno... view article details

Never mind the federal omnibus spending bill—tough economic times call for personal stimulus plans. The recent downturn has caused many to seek online business degrees in order to achieve their education goals, fulfill new career objectives and increase earning potential. Nothing raises that earnings potential bar more than an MBA degree (even when earned through a part-time program). According to Salary.com’s Salary Wizard, the median salary for a portfolio manager is $107,614, while a marketing director’s is $140,768. While the cost of an MBA can range from $80,000 to $130,000 for a two-year... view article details

One of the most important and generous benefits a company can offer is tuition reimbursement, a contractual arrangement between employer and employee that outlines specific terms under which the employer may pay for the employee's continuing education. Today, tuition reimbursement benefits are also called tuition assistance, and vary greatly from company to company. It generally takes a solid, well-established company to be able to offer what could amount to $10,000 per semester or more for eligible employees. So don't look for too many startups to include tuition assistance as a regular part... view article details

Understand your pay scale better What is a Pay Scale? A pay scale is a system that determines how much an employee in a certain profession is paid as a wage or salary, based on one or more factors such as the employee's level within the employer's organization, the length of time that the employee has been employed, and the difficulty of the specific work performed. A pay scale shows the range of salary an employee should expect at progressing stages in their career. Pay scales help employees to have an appropriate estimation of their future wage level. The... view article details

Career Coach & Author Jack Chapman Tackles All of Your Salary and Negotiation Questions We've been listening to your questions and the vast majority of them revolve around salary. This week's mailbag query is no different. How much money? You want to know how much a company is going to pay you and they want to know how much you're going to accept. And more and more often lately---especially with the advent of automated job application forms---companies want the answer to that question sooner than later. Prevailing wisdom consists of putting off talk of salary for as long as possible, but wh... view article details

Think Ahead While there are no ways to guarantee that a negotiation will succeed, there’s one way that will pretty much ensure that a negotiation will fail, and that’s to go in without any kind of plan.Common errors include entering a negotiation without doing research of your value on the market, not role-playing the conversation in advance to make sure your selling points are on target (and preparing for pushback on those selling points), and the least effective technique: barging into your boss’ office randomly and deciding to demand a raise or promotion.I recently came across a ve... view article details

Awkward But Necessary It may be one of the hardest conversations you’ll have to have with your boss.Asking for a recommendation can certainly be stressful, awkward, and a bit unpleasant. After all, you never know what your boss’ reaction might be to the news that you’re essentially looking to leave the company. But if you’re in the market for a new job, you’ll inevitably need a referral from your current jefe.Here’s how to ask your boss for a recommendation.4. Be Realistic If you’ve been showing up to work day in and day out and being a model employee, asking for a recommenda... view article details