1. Ask us how long we have lived in the area. Do not ask us where we are REALLY from. Do not ask us what our nationality is when you mean ethnicity.  Aside from EEO issues in the US, these questions show  that you have already put us in a box as "other" and we are tired of hearing it.  Also, for Asian orphans, this can be a painful question. Some do not know. One woman I met was abandoned in Saigon as a toddler speaking Chinese in 1968. …

In our line of work, underemployed and unemployed friends and relatives seek out our advice.  Usually a resume rewrite, LinkedIn account, and updated resume on a job board will get them further in a hour than 6 months of blindly applying for jobs. For my two nephews, this helped them land in 3 weeks in a down market.  "Uncle Bert, people were calling me the next day." Way to go Patrick and Aaron!

I have a…

1. Cold Calls. If you are cold calling me from any company that rhymes with Blobert Blaf or similar companies, call me from your mobile because I can see your company on my caller ID.  Expect me to still blow you off, but call me in 6 months to show me you made it. We may talk then.…