How to remedy a hole in your work history.
Many of us have had periods in our work history when we were not employed. That might be due to going back to school, raising children, illness or job loss. While it might not seem like an issue from the job-seeker’s perspective, it can send up red flags to employers. Gaps in your employment history without explanation make potential employers question those periods before having the chance to meet you.

Here’s how to handle an employment lapse:

More employers are continuing to do more with less, which is not necessarily great news for job seekers. If you’ve been looking for a job for a while, you probably realize that the traditional job market is still tight. The good news, though, is that growth of online workers (consisting of independent workers, freelancers, and contractors who work remotely) actually doubled in the first quarter of 2012.

Are you a veteran searching for a new job? Have you been unemployed long-term and can’t seem to find any opportunities using your skills? Listen up: freelancing might be your solution. Find out the four reasons why.

I tweeted recently that every speaker needs a 3-minute and a 20-minute version of her speech. To that I would add that every speaker needs to know how to give a minute-long response, in answer to a question, for example, or for responding to the media.

So how do you all of these well? What are the pitfalls to avoid?

These schools awarded at least 10 college and graduate degrees to America’s leading executives.

According to a U.S. News analysis of the Fortune 500 CEOs list—the magazine’s annual ranking of American corporations based on gross revenue, which was released on May 7—some chief executives don’t hold college degrees. And many of the CEOs who do hold academic degrees choose not to mention them among their achievements in their corporate biographies.

Giving speeches at industry events is a time-tested way to get noticed by headhunters, but Twitter has made it more of a gamble. Luckily, you have other options.

In my travels, I’ve discovered that LinkedIn now has 135 million members, all over the world, and that professionals are joining at an ongoing rate of 2 per second. That’s right, do the math – it comes out to around 170,000 every 24 hours.

It’s a perfectly timed phenomenon. It combines two critical elements:
•The astonishing capability of social media to create a one-to-one personal connection with virtually anyone
•The demands on most businesses – even small businesses – to operate nationally and, yes, globally

Think about it in terms of job search and hiring, one of LinkedIn’s most popular uses. Even in this era, almost 50% of people say they got their job through personal connections and networking.

You’re on LinkedIn, of course. But do you use it? Do you connect with people regularly, do you worry about your profile, is it part of your routine? Engagement with LinkedIn seems to be part generational, part whether you’re marketing-oriented or not. Despite LinkedIn’s penetration of the professional market, there are still a lot of skeptics who don’t believe it will help them enough to warrant spending time on it. read »

The phone call you’ve waited for has finally come! You’ve been invited in for a job interview. Now your nerves are on edge. You know what to wear but you may not know what questions to ask or avoid, or if you’ll even have an opportunity to speak up other than to answer questions fired at you. Don’t worry. There will be time for you to voice your concerns and inquiries. Remember, you’re vying for the job you want. Take an active role in asking questions by being prepared ahead of time

Are you frustrated when you receive no response after you send out resumes, no follow-up calls to hear how you did on interviews, no replies when you are trying to gather more information about a prospective employer? Well, you are not alone.The truth is this has always been the case. The employment decision making process often moves slowly. As a result, getting back to you happens slowly too. However, if you are proactive and creative, you can get people to return your calls. Here are some tips that work