April 18, 2013
By Aaron Gouveia, Salary.com contributing writer.
Original source can be found here.
Look out! The monotony of daily office life may be creeping into your workplace. At any moment a terrible tedium can consume your workday.
Don’t just go through the motions; avoid becoming an office zombie today!
April 8, 2013
By Kristina Burroughs, Recruiter for the Center for Shared Services
Original source can be found here.
Feel like you are constantly failing? You’re not alone. From our first steps to our final breaths, every person is continually making mistakes.
In this article, Kristina Burroughs summarizes three hard lessons to be learned from the book Failing Forward that can help you manage your mistakes.
April 4, 2013
By Ritika Trikha of Careerbliss.com
Original source can be found here.
Katniss Everdeen dodges danger and outwits her opponents. Can Katniss’ survival techniques help you survive today’s job market? Career blogger Ritika Trikha thinks so.
April 1, 2013
By Roger Custer, Executive Director of America’s Future Foundation
Original source can be found here.
So you have the basics of email etiquette down. You use the bcc and cc correctly; you spellcheck before sending; and call if the issue is sensitive. Then you may be ready to delve deeper into proper email etiquette.
Just like using the correct utensil when fine dining, there are small yet important details to consider when sending or forwarding an email. In this short commentary, Roger Custer outlines five of the most common email mistakes to watch out for.
March 25, 2013
By Claire Kittle, Executive Director of Talent Market
Original source can be found here.
Love the Liberty Movement? Ready to commit to a career, but are you not sure how to find the right freedom-fighting spot for you?
Claire Kittle has colorful advice for you!
The Four Words You Will Never Say Again in Business: That’s Not My JobMarch 22, 2013
Original source can be found here.
By Judd Weiss, author of Hustlebear.com
The occasionally crude, often seen, and always genuine Judd Weiss of Hustlebear.com gives us today’s advice. By providing a few poignant case studies, Judd reminds us that in order to avoid career stagnation we should never say, “That’s not my job.”
*Warning: The content in the article was not created by the Institute for Humane Studies. Be warned that this article contains possibly offensive language and metaphors. The Institute for Humane Studies is not responsible for the content of this blog post.*
March 20, 2013
by Scott Hamilton, Partner at the Westminster Connection LLP
Original source can be here.
Get choked up every time you utter a word to more than 3 people? Do you feel like you are wearing American Eagle’s Skinny Skinny Jeans as soon as you step in front of a room?
Then this quick article from America’s Future Foundation will provide you with the basics for overcoming your fears.
Go make that presentation today and you may sit in the corner office tomorrow!
March 18, 2013
By Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer of Facebook
Original source can be found here.
What would you do if you weren’t afraid? Would you join the circus, ask for that promotion, or apply to your dream job? Sheryl Sandberg claims that a failure to face fear is what often bars people (women in particular) from fulfilling their dreams.
In this concise excerpt of Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead, Sheryl explains 3 of her secrets to success.
March 8, 2013
“A date is a job interview that lasts all night. The only difference between a date and a job interview is that there are not many job interviews where there’s a chance you’ll end up naked at the end of it.”
-Jerry Seinfeld
The wonderful Claire Kittle of Talent Market explains the ins and outs of the résumé and cover letter in this classic Liberty Guide article. This is a must-read for anyone who wants to avoid being a job market George Costanza.
Find the original article here.
Also, don’t forget to check out Talent Market’s article on job seeking tips!
February 27, 2013
by Eric Alston and Isaac Morehouse
Original source can be found here.
Do you love writing papers, but you aren’t quite ready to scale the ivory tower of academia? Then a policy job may be the best fit for you! In this recent article, Eric Alston and Isaac Morehouse provide a couple guidelines to consider when deciding where to go to school for your policy degree.
February 25, 2013
by Liz Hine, Recruiter at the Center for Shared Services
Original source can be found here.
Need help landing that big promotion? A mentor may be your best bet. Liz Hine gives a quick rundown on how to find the best mentor for your professional development.
February 21, 2013
by Tucker Max, author of “I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell”
Original source can be found here.
Considering law school? Then, don’t miss this scathing critique by Tucker Max in the Huffington Post. Drawing from droll and painful experience, he lays out 6 wrong reasons people use to justify their law degree dreams.
February 15, 2013
by Amy Gallo, Contributing Editor at Harvard Business Review
Original source can be found here.
You have an interview. Congratulations! How can you rock the interview? We all know to dress appropriately, but what about the finer points of an interview?
In this article, Amy Gallo gives a brief overview of how to interview well. Look for the do’s and don’t of an interview as well as two case studies to illustrate the points of the article.
February 15, 2013
by Kristina Burroughs, Recruiter at Center for Shared Services
Original source can be found here.
A big part of the job search includes looking for an opening that is a “good fit”. In this short article, Kristina Burroughs gives a few guidelines to consider when deciding your next step.
February 15, 2013
by Roger Custer, Executive Director at America’s Future Foundation
Original source can be found here.
When networking, you often need to quickly stand out in a crowd. Is there a way to distinguish yourself in every conversation? Roger Custer thinks so. In this article, he claims that listening will actually make you stand out more than talking.
Here are 5 quick tips on how to use listening to your advantage, loosely based on Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People.”
February 8, 2013
by Peter Redpath, Federalist Society
Original source can be found here.
You know that people do not like to simply receive a business card instead of conversation and that “fashionably late” is a party rule, not a networking tool. However, there is a lot more to learn about networking.
In this short article, Peter Redpath of America’s Future Foundation brings you the 5 basics of networking.
February 7, 2013
by Logan Hill, Bloomberg Businessweek
Original source can be found here.
Can you lose the job even if you’re the most skilled applicant? If you’re a poor cultural fit, you may not land the position. Logan Hill examines a recent trend in hiring that places vacation and hobby choices above more traditional hiring values. It may be time start rock climbing or “Put a Bird on It”.
February 6, 2013
by Ethan Bronner, National Legal Affairs Correspondent at NY Times
Original source can be found here.
Yearning to unleash your inner Atticus Finch by going to law school? You may wish to reconsider. Rising tuition, debt and a broken “escalator to upward mobility” have all led to a record decline in law school applications.
February 5, 2012
Resources researched by the Liberty Guide team.
Whether you’re in your first real job or a seasoned professional, chances are your job requires quite a bit of writing. Here at Liberty Guide, we understand how important it is to have good writing skills and to continuously improve on it.
February 4, 2013
by George Anders, on LinkedIn
Original source can be found here.
Often it can seem that the only way to lead is to take over the room as if you were Donald Trump or LBJ. However, new research suggests a calmer, diplomatic approach may actually be the key to a successful business leader.
In this brief article, George Anders of Forbes magazine explains 7 methods that effective leaders use to communicate effectively.
February 1, 2013
by Claire Suddath, Staff Writer at Bloomberg Businessweek
Original source can be found here.
How should you approach the last bastion of haggling; salary negotiation? Claire Suddath gives a basic overview in this article for Bloomberg Businessweek.
January 31, 2013
by Peter Redpath, Vice President & Director of the Student Division at the Federalist Society
Original source can be found here.
In job hunting, it is often imperative to have a strong network. However, it can be hard to keep your entire nebulous network together and it can be hard to keep from fall out of touch with people who could be key contacts.
To help you keep your contacts current and involved in your professional development, Peter Redpath of America’s Future Foundation has created an acronym! EOFE or Every Other Friday Email. Check out this article to see how it works!
January 25, 2013
by George Anders, on LinkedIn
Original source can be found here.
It’s easy to size up people’s personalities. A rich vocabulary lets us distinguish between introverts and extroverts, optimists and pessimists, and so on. When the conversation turns to corporate cultures, however, often we are at a loss for words. Our own company’s culture is familiar but hard to articulate; other organizations’ habits are as mysterious as they are powerful.
What we don’t know about business cultures can hurt us. Wave goodbye to a familiar, highly idiosyncratic culture (such as General Electric or Nike) and jump into a bewildering alternative — and we risk a gear-grinding failure. When academic researchers ask people why a new job didn’t work out, the top factors revolve around culture clashes. By contrast, finding the right cultural fit greatly improves your chances of a smooth transition and fulfilling work in the years to come.
January 23, 2013
by Peter Redpath, Federalist Society
Original source can be found here.
Not enough of you are networking through LinkedIn. Think about it. Why do people sign up for LinkedIn when pretty much everyone is already on Facebook? Because they want to remember yet another password?
People are on LinkedIn for one of two reasons. They either are unemployed and looking for work or they’re worried that one day they’re going to be unemployed and looking for work. Basically, they’ve joined the LinkedIn for insurance purposes so they can have all of their professional connections listed in one convenient place should an emergency arise.
January 17, 2013
by Roger Custer, America’s Future Foundation
Original source can be found here.
Happy New Year! Learning is a life-long pursuit, even when you don’t get a report card with letter grades. When you join the professional world, you can distinguish yourself by continuing your education. Always seek knowledge in your chosen field and keep up with the best practices. In the legal field, this is required. But for most of us, it is not required and thus a way to distinguish yourself.
January 15, 2013
by Peter Redpath, Vice President and Director of the Student Division at Federalist Society
Original source can be found here.
If you’re attending receptions, especially as an unemployed job seeker, portray confidence. Who wants an unconfident lawyer, policy analyst, etc. after all? The first question that everyone knows you’re asked in DC is almost always “What do you do?” I’ve noticed that a lot of people hate that about DC and job seekers, in particular, go into their shells like turtles when asked this question.
January 14, 2013
by Phyllis Korkki, The New York Times
Original source can be found here.
With companies sometimes receiving hundreds of applications for a single job, it is becoming more common for hiring managers to conduct initial screening interviews over the phone. This saves them considerable time and money — especially if a candidate lives out of town.
January 11, 2013
by Claire Kittle, Talent Market
Original source can be found here.
Whew! Last month’s tip about providing requested salary information inspired a lot of great feedback! It’s going to take several months to get to all the great ideas, but let me start with the most common question I received: how does one determine an appropriate salary range?
January 10, 2013
by Ella Peterson, Student’s for Liberty
Original source can be found here.
Far too often, advocates of liberty fail to make effective arguments in their writing. As Alexander McCobin discussed in a previous post, libertarians often forget that “When trying to persuade others to believe in liberty, the way we present arguments is as important as the substance of the arguments themselves.” This can be especially problematic when we write articles, blogs, and class papers, that will be read by those who do not share our views.
January 9, 2013
by Lauren Weber and Leslie Kwoh, Wall Street Journal
Original source can be found here.
John Nottingham says he was planning to hire a new design manager eventually. But when he heard a talented fellow alumnus of his design school was looking for a job, he wasted no time: He created an opening and hired the man right away.
January 8, 2013
by Investopedia, Forbes Contributor
Original source can be found here.
“I am always surprised how some interviewees tend to trail off towards the end of an interview instead of finishing strong and leaving a lasting impression,” says Zachary Rose, CEO and founder of Green Education Services, a green jobs training firm in New York City. Whether you’re a senior preparing for campus recruiting or a recent graduate still hunting for a job, here are the top questions experts recommend asking at the end of a job interview to leave a great final impression on hiring managers and establish yourself as a top candidate.
January 7, 2013
by Peter Redpath, Vice President and Director of the Student Division at Federalist Society
Original source can be found here.
Networking. It’s such a dirty word. And with good reason—a lot of people are doing it the wrong way! I first learned how networking isn’t done during my first day in a Capitol Hill office when an oil lobbyist shook my hand and slid his business card into my palm, saying, “Hi there, Peter! Mind if I call you Pete?” My first thought was “Wow, apparently some stereotypes do exist for a reason.” And my second one was, “Actually, I do mind. I bet this guy thinks he’s a really smooth networker.” That isn’t what I’d call networking; it’s what I would call “not-working.” If you’re still reading after the pun, allow me to give you a number of networking tips that I hope you will find useful.
December 19, 2012
by Claire Kittle, Talent Market
Original source can be found here.
I often work with candidates who want to move to a specific city, but they don’t want to relocate until they have landed a job.
And therein lies the rub.
In any market, and especially in a down market, securing a position in another location is very challenging.
December 17, 2012
by Alanna Ream, Manager of Educational Programs and Admissions at the Charles Koch Institute
Original source can be found here.
We’ve all been there. You find a job description that sounds incredibly exciting, but you wait days to submit a job application in order to put the finishing touches on your resume, agonizing over the language. While candidates spend hours pouring over each and every line and tweaking each and every word, it’s not uncommon for a hiring manager to spend just a few moments looking at a resume before deciding if they’d like to interview a candidate. Because of this, it’s helpful for candidates to understand what really stands out!
So, what can you do to make sure your resume lands you an interview?
December 14, 2012
by Claire Kittle, Talent Market
Original source can be found here.
Both have values that have been overinflated by society.
Oh, I jest. Well, a little. I’m not saying graduate degrees aren’t valuable; they are often quite useful, depending on the career field.
December 13, 2012
by Jessica Hagy, Forbes Contributor
Original source can be found here.
Not sure what to be when you grow up (whenever that is)? Fret no more. We can figure this out together. Let’s get started.
1. Ignore the future, deal with the present.
The question, “What should I be when I grow up?” is wrong. Ask instead, “What is next today?” People become fat one bite at a time, and we become adults one hour at a time, so what we do today matters.
December 12, 2012
by Kristina Burroughs, Recruiter at Center for Shared Services
Original source can be found here.
One of the most important things you can do in narrowing down your job search starts with a series of questions that only you can answer. The first step is defining what success practically looks like so that you move closer to achieving the goals you established.
There are very few people in the world who knew what they were going to do with their life at an early age. In fact, the Wall Street Journal just reported that the average American worker will change careers seven times in a lifetime! How is that for certainty and stability?
December 6, 2012
by Bob Bonsall, Marketing Communications Manager at IHS/Blogger at MNSHO
Original source can be found here.
Somehow, despite all my worst efforts, I’ve ended up supervising quite a few people over the past several years, as well as observing more than a few more come through this and other companies I’ve worked at. Between this and my own personal experiences (read: “the horrible mistakes I made and all the advice I never listened to just like you will not listen to me”) I’ve come to realize there are certain common traits that separate the people who will continue to advance and thrive from the people who will simply drift from one meaningless job to the next, only to inevitably end up complaining that the world isn’t fair. In order to empower you and prevent you, dear readers, from becoming one of those benighted souls, I offer these insights I have gleaned from my years on both sides of the managerial fence.
December 5, 2012
by Christine F. Della Monaca, Monster Staff Writer
Original source can be found here.
You’re interviewing for a job tomorrow, and you think you’ve done all the interview preparation you need to do. You’ve practiced your answers to a multitude of common interview questions and have thought up some questions to ask the interviewer. Your interview suit is pressed and ready. But what do you bring to the interview?
December 4, 2012
by Steven Strausbaugh, Young Americans for Liberty
Original source can be found here.
As I write this, I am on the job hunt. If you’re looking for work or internships in liberty right now, keep reading. I consider myself very interested in the liberty movement and want a job working to advance those principles. I figured I’d share some options that I’ve found to be solid for liberty-minded people such as myself.
December 3, 2012
by Claire Kittle, Talent Market
Original source can be found here.
Last week at the SPN annual meeting in Cleveland, I had the distinct pleasure of talking briefly with the Generation Liberty Fellows about job seeking. I thought it might be valuable to share with you what I told the Fellows about the three common blunders young job seekers make and how to avoid them.
November 27, 2012
By Heather Dugan, Salary.com contributing writer
Original source can be found here.
Spotting the mistakes of others is easy: The cringe-inducing Facebook status message. The ill-advised “after hours” tweet. Using Foursquare to check-in at an establishment of questionable repute. While social media provides a multitude of opportunities, the flip side is indelicate revelations are always just a click away.
We know, we know…YOU would never do that. But there are other social media blunders that are far less egregious you might be committing. And those mistakes could be holding back your job search or attempts at advancement.
November 19, 2012
by Claire Kittle, Talent Market
Original Source can be found here.
If my candidates are any indication, talking about salary is one of the most dreaded conversations one can have — second only to perhaps “the birds and the bees” discussion with your child.
The question I get most frequently is, “How do I respond when an organization asks for my salary requirements?”
Fear not, my friends, I’ve put together some advice to make the process painless.
November 14, 2012
by Claire Kittle, Talent Market
Original Source can be found here.
My mother was an English teacher. Growing up in our house involved lots of mini-grammar lessons, Oxford commas, and endless streams of red ink on papers. It might sound torturous for a kid, but even then I realized how valuable the guidance was.
This is probably why I cringe when I receive a cover letter or résumé with an error. Or two. Or three.
The errors that could have been avoided by using Spell-Check are the ones that drive me to drink. Is it possible there are computers on earth not equipped with this handy-dandy feature? Surely not. So if a person has Spell-Check but isn’t using it, what’s the major malfunction?