I have always loved to network. Yes, it is in my blood somehow. But sometimes even I have to push myself to go to more events.



Last year I made a very mild goal of attending a minimum of two networking events every month. Within 4 months, I had attended enough events to cover my “quota” for the rest of the year.



The thing about going to networking events is that they are magic!



Do you remember when you were a small child and the excitement you felt about your… Continue

This is a very exciting week for me! I recently took on a big challenge and taught myself how to use Adobe’s Dreamweaver software to build my own webpage. I have now officially launched the Career Courageously site.



The process of building a webpage is much more than learning code and picking colors. It actually forces you to crystallize your offers and build a cohesive brand around those offers. It was in this process of… Continue

Back in March, pal Jason Alba wrote a review of the book “Bait and Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream” written by Barbara Ehrenreich. Jason wrote:



“If you are NOT in a job search right now, and either worry about one or… Continue

I went to a networking event this week, sponsored by the FWA. While I’ve attended FWA events previously, this one was particularly interesting to me because one of my “best buddy-pals”, Sydney Firestone, Director in the Forensic & Dispute Services practice of Deloitte & Touche, was one of the speakers. Sydney and I met when we both went back to school “later in life” to complete the… Continue

I really enjoy discovering stories about people who completely change their lives. I admire people who make a plan and stick to it in order to make it happen. That is a fundamental philosophy of this blog…to career courageously through life and to not let people tell you that you can’t do something. As I come across stories like this, I will post them here. We can all learn from each other’s experience.



I found this excellent… Continue

Seth Godin posted a story of an online encounter he had with Forbes. Here is my favorite part of his post. It would make my YEAR if everyone who contacted me online were to do so using this credo. Enjoy!



"Here, it's simple:



You can contact just about anyone you want. The only rule is you need to contact them personally, with respect, and do it months before you need their help! Contact them… Continue

I have, on occasion, felt stuck in a job. It is a haunting and dismal feeling in the deepest pit of your stomach. It makes getting out of bed during the week difficult and getting through a day at work without exploding near impossible. Does this sound vaguely familiar?



I have always found that taking proactive action in my life is the key to getting UNstuck. It helps me get through my current daily grind a little bit easier. By taking action, instead of moping about your situation,… Continue

Seth Godin wrote a post called "Why bother having a resume?” in which he claims that truly extraordinary people do not require the standard job-seeking dossier. His point is that your “presentation” should include other tools to display your talents; these would include an insightful blog, fantastic recommendations from respected individuals, a sophisticated project… Continue

I hesitate to say that I am not an open networker because, to many people, that makes me a completely closed networker and that's not true either. “Open networking” is a term used to describe people who will accept any social network invitation they receive without regard to relationship, approach or justification for the invitation.



Recently I received a call from fellow recruiter / blogger / twitterer Heather Gardner. Among other… Continue

“And you are….? And you are here because…? And you are looking for…?...”



Many years ago there was a funny skit on Saturday Night Live about an absolutely clueless - and very obnoxious, receptionist who did not recognize very recognizable celebrity characters when they arrived at his desk. The receptionist would ask multiple questions like the ones above. The skit would go on and on with the questions and answers becoming more and more ridiculous.



I often feel like that… Continue

In a previous post I disclosed my personal career challenge of not being able to check a box that appropriately fits who I am and what I have to offer. This is very frustrating in a world that really seems to LIKE boxes! Knowing this, we need to be sure to CHECK the boxes when trying to communicate our value.



I have always had this problem, but it became most apparent when I tried to transition… Continue

This is a true story about how NOT to network.



About 3:00 this afternoon I received an email indicating that I had received a recommendation.



I was psyched! Within another few minutes, however, I received a second email from the same person titled “Unemployed”. Ahhh…I see how this works.



Now I’m not picking on the guy, he was a candidate of mine several months ago. He ended up finding a job on his own…the "perfect job" he told me at the time. Hey, it happens.… Continue

I received an email the other day from LinkedIn pal, Larry Megugorac, who is a Business Development/Sales professional, saying:



“I’ve got to hand to you....I cannot figure out how a former Accountant goes into Recruiting.



Obviously being in sales before-hand helped tremendously. I always thought that Accountants were a conservative group. Recruiters only get paid when they make a successful placement right? I thought… Continue

Do you have an inner-geek? Boy, I sure do.



Maybe you don’t have an inner-geek, but you do have an inner-artist or an inner-writer or an inner-athlete. Whatever you have, it is very important that you keep them fed.



Back in 2002, my inner-geek had not been fed in a very long time; that is how I ended up in accounting. It started with a class that my company sent me to which was designed to teach us how to speak to C-level executives. The instructor started the class by… Continue

Have you ever taken on a job or a task because you felt you SHOULD rather than because you wanted to?



I went to a networking event earlier this week, hosted by the Association of Women MBAs (AWM). The session was a presentation by Nancy Monson, a certified Coach whose practice focuses on “individual, team and organizational leadership”.



The title of the presentation was “Living a Life… Continue

How many experiences do you think you share with the hundreds of people you walk past on the street?



Last weekend I went to an annual road show networking event held by my high school’s alumni organization. The school is Emma Willard School, which tags itself as a “Private Independent School for Girls”. I have to say that I feel incredibly privileged to have had the opportunity (and financial aide) to attend such a fine institution at such a… Continue

Do you recall a particular moment in time that caused you to change the entire course of your life? I definitely do.



A long, long time ago, at least three careers ago, I worked for the State of New York. It was my first job out of college and the job was related to my freshly minted bachelor’s degree in Media Communications. It was also a “good” job with the “good” benefits, or so I was told by my entire family who lived in the capital city area of Albany, New York.



I… Continue