Career Links: February 2012
The old saying goes, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step," and it's possible for the journey to a new job or profession to begin by clicking on a single hyperlink. Career-oriented self-education, in the age of the Internet, is free, easy, and can be done in just minutes a day.
Show your career a little love before Valentine's Day and read these 4 stories related to career and workplace issues.
Forget Networking. Be a Connector | Entrepreneur
Alina Tugend writes about a class of people who seem to be a cut above ordinary networkers - "connectors," who reach out for reasons that stretch beyond simple self-interest. Connectors use a genuine love of meeting people and making friends to engage and assist one another, and non-extroverts can take heart, as Tugend says connectors are made, not born.
How to Prioritize When Everything Is Important | Lifehacker
Former certified project manager Alan Henry uses skills from his old profession to help readers figure out how to proceed when faced with a bevy of assignments with no obvious way to prioritize them.
7 Job Search Rules to Break | Monster.com
Larry Buhl busts seven myths of job searching, which until recently were common wisdom among applicants. He asserts that recruiters and hiring managers are being far less hard-and-fast when it comes to some of the old "rules," such as: don't call, be vague about salary, or don't contact the company again if it rejects you.
Here's what he has to say about the myth of "use the interview to talk all about you" :
"You may have heard that you should spend your interview time wowing your interviewers with your skills rather than asking about the company’s problems, challenges or what a typical day would be like. But if you don’t ask penetrating questions, you’ll miss out on valuable information -- like how you might be a good solution to the company’s problems and whether you would even want to work there."
Surprise! How to Handle an Unexpected Job Offer | Forbes.com
Getting a call out of the blue and being recruited into a new position is everyone's dream come true, right? Well, not necessarily. Jessica Taylor, a Phoenix-based communications professional and an ASU alumna, discusses things that a surprise recruit might want to ask themself before jumping ship.
One of the things to consider, she says, is how happy you are in your current position.
"Take some time to reflect on how you felt about your current job before the new offer came along. Are you generally happy? Are you challenged and learning new things? Or are you getting ready for a change in a few months anyway?
"Also think about how the new job relates to your overall career plans. Is it really a good fit, or are you just tempted by the thought of something new? Think about how you’ll feel about the new opportunity a year from now—once the excitement wears off."