Briefcase Coach's Career Briefs: Job Search Newsletter

Dear Reader:

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with family and friends. I have much to be grateful for and my job and my business are high on my list. I get to work with amazing clients who trust me and my team to help tell their stories. I also get the opportunity to help other job seekers through content in my newsletter, blog articles and on social media.

Over the past year, I have had the great honor of working with LinkedIn Learning to create a course on writing an executive resume. I believe one of the keys to a successful job search is a strong resume that tells the job seekers story while relating it to key metrics in the target job posting. In this course, I outline a strategy for critically thinking about oneself, ones strengths and ones unique value proposition in order to write a compelling and winning resume. I am excited to invite my newsletter subscribers to take the course for free. There is an opportunity to leave a review after completing the course. I value you and would love your input.

I hope that you enjoy this month’s newsletter.

As always, I am rooting for you,

Sarah

Interviewing

What to wear to an executive interview

Believe it or not, one of the most panicked questions that we get from interview coaching clients is, "what do I wear to the interview?!" We addressed this in depth in our latest guide, "What to Wear to an Executive Interview." We asked hiring managers and personal stylists to give their best advice on men's and women's attire to impress. We also provide examples (and links!) of some of our favorite looks to help you feel comfortable and confident.

Interview Humor

I am a big fan of Strange Planet's comics. As someone who has interviewed many candidates during my time as a recruiter and then coaching candidates in interview strategy, I found this series very funny. Nathan Pyle, creator of Strange Planet puts a humorous spin on some of the go-to interview questions.

Salary & Benefits

New Salary Transparency Laws and Wide Pay Ranges

As the new salary transparency laws take hold, companies navigate the best way to navigate job postings. Some are turning to listing the position with a WIDE range of salary, some posting differences upward of $150,000. What are the potential downfalls to this strategy? Inc.com warns against several in this article.

Benefits of Salary Transparency

Otta is an online platform for matching Tech companies (both large and small) and job seekers. Using aggregate data from companies and job seekers, applicants are presented with a curated list of open jobs that match their targets. With the information they collect, they are able to hone in on some really interesting statistics about the job market. Recently on Twitter, Otta discussed their position on salary transparency. Benefits they have seen with transparency include existing employee trust resulting in increased productivity as well as an increase in applications submitted for open roles.

Career Moves

Is technology the cause of layoffs in the tech industry?

Technology is the employee of the future. We see it in grocery stores, customer service operators, manufacturing plants... I even saw a robot delivering Amazon packages recently. As the Tech industry is being hit hard with layoffs, an internal Amazon memo gives light to why they may be downsizing their workforce. The memo revealed how recruiters may soon be replaced by AI software that Amazon has been developing. (Thanks to Recruiting Brainfood for the original share)

5 steps to a career change

Need a change but you aren't sure where to go or how to get there? Global Career & Leadership Coach, Kathy Caprino presents a comprehensive guide to navigating a career change. I highly recommend reading if you are feeling stuck and unsure of what's next. I love her step #3--visualizing a compelling future.

Productivity

There's an alternative to multitasking

"People don't just cook anymore -- they're cooking, texting, talking on the phone, watching YouTube and uploading photos of the awesome meal they just made." I am a serial multitasker. Even if not physically doing three things at one time, I am often thinking about something while doing another while preparing for something else. Paolo Cardino, a product designer and acclaimed critical thinker, presents a compelling argument for "monotasking" in his TED talk and the effect it can have on one's productivity.

The myth of multitasking

Education

The Great Recession of 2008's impact on higher education's future

'People in the higher education industry call it “the enrollment cliff.”' This is a fascinating article about the impact of the Great Recession on the future of college enrollment and therefore college and universities themselves. Especially smaller schools that need enrollment numbers and tuition income to survive and thrive.

Holiday Gift Giving

Unique gift ideas for your coworkers or team members

I love giving gifts. Especially gifts that are meaningful to the person receiving the gift. Something they will enjoy and use. Finding the perfect gift for co-workers or team members can be challenging. To help, I curated a list of my FAVORITE co-worker gift ideas. A lot of the suggestions on my list are niche or from specialty local shops.

Can you do me a favor?

I’m on a mission to help job seekers land amazing jobs. Would you consider doing one of the following:

• Forward or use the referral link below to share this newsletter with your job-searching friends or post about it on social media. This small act really helps!

• Reach out to us about featuring your executive job posting in our newsletter. We are looking for hiring managers, founders, and search firms to talk on video about their ideal candidates.

• Consider sharing my company name with your HR leadership. We are a great “white-glove” boutique option for executive outplacement

• Recommend me as a paid speaker for your company events on networking, job searching, or leveraging LinkedIn

• Recommend my services to high performers wanting to work one-on-one with an executive resume writer / or experienced interview coach

In Case You Missed It...

Top five articles from our past two newsletters: