Career management

How Innumeracy Can Destroy Your Career

Lisa Schneider on May 21, 2013

If you Google “literacy foundation,” you’ll find over 26 million results. All of those on the first page are dedicated to actual efforts to promote literacy.

If, however, you Google “numeracy foundation,” there are barely 3.5 million results. The first page is filled with curriculum-based results, rather than organized charitable efforts to help people actually understand math. Thinking that perhaps few people use the word “numeracy,” I checked “math literacy.” This gave me a healthy 28 million results. I had hope — briefly — until I noticed that not one single result on the first page was an organized effort to promote such.

I mention this because I am afraid innumeracy is going to bring us down. Read More →

Confessions of a Job Hopper

Danny Flamberg on March 20, 2013

Very few us of are one-dimensional. Most of us have a spectrum of skills and interests which can be ordered, emphasized and monetized in different ways at different times. So far, I’ve had seven careers ranging from educator to government worker to journalist, consultant, publicist, Internet entrepreneur, and ad man. Who knows what will be next?

Job change is personal growth. But change needs to be carefully considered and actively chosen. I use three criteria for assessing new opportunities. Read More →

The Surprising Story Behind February’s Positive Job Numbers

Allison Hemming on March 11, 2013

February’s BLS Jobs Report landed on Friday, and the numbers were surprisingly positive. A healthy 236,000 jobs were added to the private sector, a whopping 71,000 more jobs than expected. While you might think this would be cause for celebration, the reaction among major news outlets was decidedly mixed. The Gray Lady — followed by scores of other outlets – unleashed a frenzy of upbeat articles, each presenting a rosy outlook for the still-wobbly economy. NPR was more measured in its coverage, being bold enough to give some airtime to the falling participation rate (this number measures the amount of employable adults actively engaged in the labor market). It also balanced Friday’s good news with coverage of the continuing challenges faced by the long-term unemployed. Naturally, The Wall Street Journal did what the Wall Street Journal does best: rain on everyone’s parade.

In short, the numbers are more promising than many observers expected, but change is still to come. Here’s what the situation looks like from our spot in the jobs space. Read More →

Just Say No: Declutter Your Career With These Three Product Management Rules

Lisa Schneider on March 4, 2013

“Perfection is attained, not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”
-Antoine de St. Exupery

As a product manager, my job is as much about deciding what features don’t make it into a product as it about what features do. Sometimes it’s more about what not to put in, or — dare I say it aloud — what to take out. Stakeholders will bristle when their pet feature is headed for the chopping block, but product managers have to press on, because the simplest and most elegant solutions are often the most powerful. The same goes for your career.

Example: At a previous website (unnamed to protect the well-intentioned), everyone had an opinion as to what the content engagement efforts should look like: Most Popular. Most Recent. Most Commented. Most Shared. More Like This. Your Cat Would Like This. I inherited an article page that had seven of these modules crammed into a pretty tight circle around the main edit well (this was in the days when “above the fold” ruled, but that’s another post altogether). It was too much, too cluttered, and too unclear what we were asking the user to do next. Instead of driving more engagement, it drove — wait for it — a 60%+ bounce rate.

You, too, are a product manager. It may not be your actual job title, but you are the architect and manager of your career. And the last thing you want is a 60% bounce rate on your professional endeavors. Here are three rules of product management that can help you remove the noise from your career narrative and engage the user in a smart, effective way. Read More →

Day 12 | Come Together: Choosing the Right Recruiter for Your Job Search

Allison Hemming on February 12, 2013

Remember back on Day 8 when I told you to do less job board surfing and more networking? Remember when I told you to budget 80% of your job hunting time for networking? You should be spending a solid chunk of that 80% finding, connecting to, and meeting recruiters. It’s a great use of your networking time and the payoff can be huge as you get more people advocating on your behalf. Learning how to work with recruiters is crucial, because love ‘em or hate ‘em, by the time you reach mid-career (and earlier if you work in Digital), you’re going to work with a headhunter or an external recruiter.

But not all recruiters are created equal. Choosing the right one can jump start your job search. Choosing the wrong one can derail your job search indefinitely. Read More →

28 Days to a New Job: Week One Checklist

The Hired Guns on February 8, 2013

Week One of our month-long series dedicated to helping you land a bright, shiny new gig is over. It’s only been seven days, but if you’ve been following along and doing your homework, then you’ve already made a lot of progress. You’ve decided you can’t get anything else out of your current job. You’ve had an honest discussion with yourself what jobs you’re really qualified for and where you should be looking. You’ve also spent some serious time on your toolkit. The Core Four (resume, LinkedIn profile, references, and cover letter) are looking good.

Good news: the hard part is over! Everything you’ve worked on thus far will pay huge dividends once you start applying (spoiler alert: next week is all about honing your job application strategy). We’ve got a lot more exciting material for you, but first, let’s just run through a quick list to make sure all your bases are covered. Read More →

Day 7 | Make a Great First Impression: How to Write an Effective Cover Letter

Ryan Galloway on February 7, 2013

This could have been avoided with a good cover letter

Here’s a question: when does a job interview begin?

The answer isn’t “with the handshake” or “when you arrive at reception.” The interview process begins the second a recruiter or hiring manager receives their first piece of correspondence from you. In almost all cases, the first thing they see is your cover letter. The cover letter is the first test, and if you haven’t taken the time to prepare one that’s tight, compelling, and good at selling your skills, you’re already blowing it. Read More →

Day 5 | How to be an All-Star: Rocking Your LinkedIn Profile

Ryan Galloway on February 5, 2013

You need a great LinkedIn profile. There’s no getting around that in 2013. It’s not just another social networking outlet. It’s not “professional Facebook.” It’s the digital face of your job search, and that alone makes it an absolutely necessary component in your job search toolkit. There are 200 million professionals and 2.6 million companies on LinkedIn. Over 5 billion professionally-oriented searches were conducted there in 2012. If you’re not maximizing your profile’s effectiveness, you’re missing out on one of the best – and one of the easiest – ways to up your job search game. Read More →

Day 2 | Less is More: How to Go from Being a Long Shot to a Sure Shot

Allison Hemming on February 2, 2013

In this economy, just showing up no longer counts. Jobs are no longer doled out to the deserving. Instead, they’re given to those that are the most qualified, the best prepared, and who prove that they want it the most.

This is my way of telling you not to start the job hunting process unless you’re willing to make it your relentless pursuit to end up in a hiring manager’s short list — the top three candidates of all the people who applied for a given job — every single time.

Tall order? Maybe. Achievable? Absolutely.

So what can you do today that will make an immediate and positive impact on your job hunt? Start refining the jobs you’re going to apply for. Read More →

28 Days to a New Job: How it Works

Ryan Galloway on February 1, 2013

The day has come, folks. Every day in February — the next 28 days — we’ll be bringing you tips and lessons designed to completely prepare you for a killer job hunt. If you want to follow along (and you definitely want to follow along), here’s how:

Read each day’s post. If there’s suggested homework — there usually will be — take a crack at it. When you’re done, let us know you finished by posting a comment on our Facebook page or tweeting using our hashtag #NewJob28Days. Tell us how you did. Share what you learned and what you struggled with. Ask us questions. We’re here to help.

Next up: Ally kicks it off with “Should I Stay or Should I Go: Making the Decision to Find a New Gig.”

POV: Weisstuch and Livingston on the Future of Women in Marketing

The Hired Guns on January 31, 2013

Julie Livingston

Mad Men’s ratings may be higher than ever, but we all know the role of professional women has come a long way since the 60s. We recently sat down with Melissa Weisstuch, Associate Director of Marketing Communications at Somnia Anesthesia and Julie Livingston, Senior Director of Client Development at CarrotNewYork to learn more about the current state of women in marketing. Both Melissa and Julie are members of New York Women in Communications (NYWICI), a 1,500 member organization for communications and marketing professionals. They were kind enough to give us their takes on the dynamic world of marketing, public relations, and communications. Read More →

28 Days. 28 Lessons. One New Job.

Ryan Galloway on January 28, 2013

Last February: 7th Avenue at 23rd Street

On the surface, there’s not much to like about February. It’s 28 cold, grey, dreary days filled with excuses to stay indoors and count the days until spring. Sure, it could go down like that. Or you could use every one of those 28 days to get yourself in gear and finally score that job you’ve been eyeballing since it was t-shirt weather.

This February, instead of hurrying home from work to hunker down with a toddy and re-watch your Arrested Development DVDs for the ninth time, The Hired Guns invite you to invest that time in finding a new job. And not just any new job — the right job. We know you’ve been thinking about it, and next month we’re going to help you. Every single day. Read More →

Why Working Parents Should Be Networking More in 2013 and How to Make it Happen

Jan Brown on January 22, 2013

Photo by van city 197

Working parents, I invite you to add another resolution to your list this year: do more networking. While networking is important for everyone’s career, I’m aiming this post specifically toward working moms and dads. Why? Because it’s something we often let slip. We working parents are often so focused on being efficient at work so we can get home to little Oliver or Sophie as early as possible that networking get pushed to the back burner.

Adding a little bit more networking to your routine, however, — or simply having a networking mindset — can add a lot to your career and personal happiness this year. Read More →

What is a Career in User Experience Really About?

Mark Hurst on January 17, 2013

This piece originally appeared on CreativeGood.com and is reprinted here with their kind permission.

In this new year it feels right to say something big, something about the meaning of life, and one’s career, and everything. I guess it’s been on my mind since last month, when I finished teaching a graduate class in user research. (It was here in New York, in SVA’s MFA in Interaction Design. Great program.) The class gave me a chance to get to know some very talented young designers, most of whom are just beginning their journey into the user experience field.

My main message to the class was that good user research isn’t a matter of learning the steps of some trendy methods, as though one were just following a cookbook. Instead, good UX work requires a genuine interest in observing, listening to, and learning from other people: primarily the customers themselves, but also the organization that owns the product. That observation, and that listening, must stem from a genuine human interest in people. Read More →

The Recovery is Here, Part II: Holiday Parties and Taxi Cab Economics

Allison Hemming on November 29, 2012

Photo from dkb827.tumblr.com.

Over the last several months, the conversation at The Hired Guns HQ has revolved around the feeling that the economy is finally rebounding. We’re getting more good news by the day. From improved housing stats to the Fed announcing in its most recent Beige Book that — wait for it — there are modest hiring shortages, particularly in high tech.

After a recession like the one we’ve just experienced, it’s like crawling out of a mineshaft after five years to find yourself staring at the sun: can a recovery really be true? While I am an optimist, I am also inherently skeptical and feel the need for constant gut checks. One thing I do is constantly talk to real people — especially job seekers — about how they’re feeling about the economy. Perhaps my best barometer for what’s in the air, as unscientific as it is, is what I call “The Taxi Cab Index.” Read More →

Introducing Boots to Bytes: A Digital Re-Skilling Program for Returned Veterans in NYC

Allison Hemming on November 15, 2012

Monday was Veteran’s Day. Today, unemployment for post-9/11 veterans still sits at a staggering 10%. That’s a pretty grim employment picture to return to after serving your country. Not only do you risk your life, but you also risk your retirement. It doesn’t seem quite fair, does it?

Returning servicemen have two really hard battles to win when it comes to job hunting. First, vets have to figure out how to translate their military skills to what’s needed in Corporate America, but in many fields — digital in particular — those needs are constantly evolving. Maintaining relevancy, by which I mean “applying your work experience to what’s needed in a new job,” is a challenging task for even the most seasoned of job seekers, so imagine what it’s like for a returning vet. I’ll give you a hint: darn near impossible. Read More →

Revive NYC While Networking Your Way Into a New Job

Allison Hemming on November 7, 2012

Occupy Sandy Distribution Center at St. Jacobi Church in Sunset Park

Like many offices in Silicon Alley and lower Manhattan, The Hired Guns was closed all last week due to Hurricane #Sandy. The good news is that even through rain, dark of night, and a near total lack of connectivity, our clients kept calling and emailing. We were lucky, because as a team we could work completely remotely (those of us who had power or didn’t have trees falling on our houses, that is). We were also very, very busy. Read More →

Salary Negotiation Isn’t Just About the Money

Jim Hopkinson on October 29, 2012

Let’s be clear. If I took a poll of all the students I’ve worked with and asked them why they signed up for my How to Negotiate Your Salary Like an FBI Agent class, the number one reason would be: “I want to make more money.” But when I talk to them after the course and ask them what they took away from it, they tell me so much more. Read More →

The Debates Are Rigged. Your Job Interviews Can Be, Too.

Allison Hemming on October 17, 2012

Stan Honda / AFP / Getty Images

Yesterday, we tweeted that you should watch the #debates from a hiring perspective. @dbenk replied: “Well, yeah, that’s what we’re doing, right?”

Totally right. Americans are in the process of hiring the next president. And instead of being the job hunter, we get to play the role of the hiring manager. But I had an epiphany during last night’s debate: in America, presidential candidates definitely have it easier than job candidates.

A Must-Have You Probably Don’t Have
In a debate, the candidates get to stop answering questions and then turn to the audience and offer their closing remarks. They’re saying, in essence: “Here’s why you should hire me.” In the real world of getting hired, most candidates never do this. And that’s a mistake that I’d like to correct. Read More →

How the VP Debates Can Make You Better In Job Interviews

Joel Schwartzberg on October 12, 2012

AP Photo Pool/Michael Reynolds

Last week, I wrote about what the first presidential debate can teach public speakers. This time around, I decided to switch gears a bit and consider the vice presidential debate with an eye toward those in Guns-land who are currently (or hoping to be) interviewing for gigs. Because I found myself traveling home via NJ Transit during the debate itself, I was forced to follow the whole thing on Twitter using a CNN hash tag. But being left to my devices gave me a great perspective on what TV audiences found most affecting, effective, distracting, and annoying – much of it focusing on Joe Biden and Paul Ryan’s presentational styles. When it was all said and done, I came away with four themes interviewees can learn from. Read More →

The Recovery is Here, Part I: Here’s How We Know

Allison Hemming on October 11, 2012

In the first of a three-part series, The Hired Guns’ Top Gun Allison Hemming discusses the signs of recovery and the new rules of the road.

Working in the talent and hiring business means you have no choice but to learn to read the economy’s tea leaves. Just before the dark days of 2008, we were the scary canary squawking about the imminent doom headed our way. You might say that it wasn’t well-received. I got hate mail by the score. Nobody wanted to hear it, but that didn’t make it any less true. No one knew how long that disastrous roller-coaster ride would last. And no one expected it to get remotely as bad as it did. We all went through rough patches and almost no one’s career got through unscathed.

But just as we felt the weight of the recession before others, we’re now beginning to see a genuine recovery taking shape. As we noted last week, the September jobs report looked good. On the surface, it’s clear that unemployment is starting to edge down and the private sector is hiring. But what looks like simple green shoots is actually much more complex and vastly more exciting. Read More →

What You Can Learn About Public Speaking from the Presidential Debates

Joel Schwartzberg on October 4, 2012

Whatever else you thought about the performances turned in by President Obama and Governor Romney’s during Wednesday night’s presidential debate (as well as that of Jim Lehrer, who had the nerve to keep interrupting them with questions!), the occasion was generally a study in good public speaking tactics. Though President Obama and Governor Romney shared a number of similar presentational techniques, the two did take some divergent approaches. Here’s a quick review of things they did right and not-so-right, as well as a few key takeaways that can help make you a better public speaker. Read More →

There’s Still Time! Submit Your #Presentastrophe and Win a Free Seat at This Week’s Academy Course

The Hired Guns on October 1, 2012

Last Friday, we sounded the call for your worst presentation horror stories. While we certainly don’t take any pleasure in your pain (okay, maybe one of us does), we do want you to keep submitting them! The winner of our #presentastrophe contest gets to be the Guest of Honor (and Guests of Honor attend for free) at Joel Schwartzberg’s Nail That Presentation! class this Wednesday, October 3. Submit your #presentastrophe by midnight tonight for a chance to win! You can leave it in the comments below or tweet @TheHiredGuns if you can fit your tale into a tweet-sized nugget of presentation horror.

Tomorrow, we’ll ask Joel to pick the winner and we’ll post it, along with the best of the rest, here on the blog.

Share Your #presentastrophe, Win A Seat At Our Public Speaking Class

The Hired Guns on September 28, 2012

You know that dream where you have to give a presentation and you’re woefully unprepared? The one where everyone laughs at you? The one that makes you wake up in a cold sweat?

Of course you know that dream. We all do.

That’s where Joel Schwartzberg comes in. Joel, our resident Hall of Fame public speaker, is hosting a class on that very subject this Wednesday, October 3 at The Hired Guns Hive. He’ll rework your sentences, polish your posture, and give you some invaluable tips to warm up, calm down, and get focused before a speaking engagement. Better still, you can go for free. Tell us about your worst #presentastrophe. The Gun who shares the most dire presentation moment will be given a free seat at Joel’s upcoming seminar.

Tweet your story to @TheHiredGuns using #presentastrophe or leave your tale of public speaking woe in the comments below. We’ll round them up, have Joel pick his favorite, and announce our winner on the blog next week. We’ll also share the best of the rest with the Guns’ very sympathetic audience.

What We’re Reading: A Google VP Steps Out, A New Take on Job Vacancies, and #CoffeeMugMurder

The Hired Guns on September 28, 2012

Happy Friday, Guns. Here’s a look back at the week that was:

Google parted ways this week with Dave Girouard, VP of their burgeoning Enterprise business. Girouard will head up UpStart.com, a crowdfunding site that helps young professionals and recent grads start their own businesses. via Wired.com
There are 20,000 real estate brokers in New York City. The Gray Lady talks to three new agents about what made them want to join such a crowded field. via NYT
In the brave new world of the 21st Century, your current skills are never enough. via NYT
With 3 million open jobs in the US, why is unemployment so high? It’s easy to point to a lack of skills in the available workforce, but Wharton School professor Peter Cappelli blames the employers themselves. via PBS
There’s still time to sign up for Joel Schwartzberg’s public speaking class this Wednesday! via The Hired Guns Academy
Nancy Grace is the #QueenOfHashtags via Gawker

More Than Hot Air: The Presidential Debates, Public Speaking, and Presenting Your Personal Brand

Joel Schwartzberg on September 27, 2012

Joel Scwhartzberg is the Michael Jordan of public speaking. Sure, that’s a cliche that gets thrown around a lot these days (“My uncle is pretty much the Michael Jordan of dishwasher repair”), but in this case the comparison is apt. He won the U.S. National Championship in after-dinner speaking. He won the Massachusetts State Championship in persuasive speaking. He was ranked among the top ten public speakers overall in the US. The man is in the National Forensic Association’s Hall of Fame for his public speaking.

Let that sink in for a moment.

We asked Joel to share his thoughts on the upcoming presidential debates (the first of which occurs the night of his Guns Academy class) and what the Guns’ audience can learn from them. Below is the first of several posts on the debates and career management.

The upcoming presidential debates aren’t real debates at all, of course, but a series of well-rehearsed, carefully-worded, tiny speeches written by committee. (So much for candid truths). But while not much new can be learned at this point about Obama and Romney’s policy positions, a lot can be learned from their public speaking styles. Read More →

What the NFL Referee Debacle Can Teach Us About Salary Negotiation

Jim Hopkinson on September 27, 2012

via Gawker.com

The first three weeks of the 2012 NFL Season brought lots of excitement, with rookie Robert Griffin III tossing bombs, the Arizona Cardinals starting 3-0, and receiver Calvin Johnson already hauling in 9 touchdowns.

But none of that compares to the largest underlying theme of the season: the dismal job performance of replacement NFL referees, some of whom were fired from the Lingerie Football League (yes, that’s a thing and no, we’re not linking to it) for incompetence. The replacements botched call after call on national TV while the league negotiated a new contract for their regular full-time officials.

As the league finally reaches an agreement to end the embarrassment, what can we learn from their negotiation? Read More →

Why It Takes Moxie To Be In Digital

Sheryl Victor Levy on September 19, 2012

I recently spoke at Moxie Camp, a women’s leadership conference and I can say — and I think many of my digital colleagues would agree — it takes moxie to be in Digital. A lot of it. When I think of having moxie, it’s about having the courage to go into uncharted territory; being comfortable with having to say, “Let me get back to you on that,” and having serious get-up-and-go. Dictionary.com’s definitions for “moxie” are: “vigor; verve; pep; courage and aggressiveness; nerve, skill; know-how.”

Yep. That’s what I’m saying.

You’re paid to be an expert in “All Things D.” From digital strategy to CRM; from social media to product development. It’s a broad term, which has its advantages and disadvantages.

I can speak from personal experience as someone who works in an agency setting, but Ferris Bueller said it best (I paraphrase, obviously): “Digital moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” Read More →

Larry Smith: On Tomorrow’s Class, Knowing Yourself, and Keeping it Simple

The Hired Guns on September 18, 2012

We sat down with Larry Smith, our coach for tomorrow’s What’s Your Story? course, to talk about work, life, and presenting it all in just six words.

What is a Six-Word Memoir®?
Ernest Hemingway was once challenged to write a story in only six words. As the legend goes, he wrote: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” In November 2006, at the online storytelling community I founded called SMITH Magazine, we gave the six-word story a personal twist, calling it a “Six-Word Memoir.” (And partnering with a little-know company called Twitter for what was supposed to be just a one-month contest to win an iPod). The idea is as simple as it sounds: tell the story of your life in exactly six words. Those six words can be an attempt to sum up your whole life — think of it as the title of your autobiography or epitaph on your tombstone, as Mario Batali did when he wrote, “Brought it to a boil often” — or one aspect of your personal life (“According to Facebook we broke up”) or professional life (“I tell amazing stories in PowerPoint”).

How does it help professionals refine their personal brand?
The parameters of just six words help you get to the essence of who you are and what you do best. Ever notice that the higher up you get on the ladder, the shorter your emails and meetings can be? Being brief, precise and very much in tight control of your own personal story is a boon for anyone in any part of their life — from your online dating profile to your resume. Read More →

Six-word CVs, Four New Classes, and One Chance to Win.

The Hired Guns on September 14, 2012

As impossible as it may seem, summer’s already over. It’s time to put away the board shorts and flip flops and start thinking seriously about honing your professional skills. But unlike your kids, your fall schedule has something to look forward to. This fall, The Hired Guns Academy offers four distinct courses to help you take the next step in your career.

First off is What’s Your Story? Master the Art of the Elevator Pitch and Harness the Power of Short-Storytelling. On Wednesday, September 19, Larry Smith, founder of SMITH magazine and author of It All Changed in an Instant: More Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure, helps you hone your “elevator pitch” and teaches you how to make it “flex” depending on the audience you’re speaking to and the stage of your career you’re in, so people remember your name and what you do best. Sign up here.

But wait – there’s more (yes, we just went there.) We want you to take a crack at crafting your own six-word CV. Make them funny, make them heart-wrenching, make them suit-and-tie serious — just make sure they sell you in just six words. Tweet them @TheHiredGuns using #6wordCV, email them to us at hired.guns.editorial@gmail.com, or just leave them in the comments below. The best six-word CV, as determined by our eminently qualified and highly vetted panel of celebrity judges, wins free admission to Larry’s September 19 class. We’ll share the best submissions on our blog, but only the best six words will win. Read More →

Are Low Wages and Temp Jobs the Future of Work? Not Quite.

Beth Temple on September 10, 2012

Back in the day, there was a cartoon character whose catch phrase was ‘now waaaaayyyy a minute’ when things didn’t sound quite right. That is instinctively what I thought as soon as I read a recent article in Forbes predicting a future in which stable careers are replaced by low wage temp work. While I do believe that permanency in employment is decreasing (and I wrote about it back in 2008), I think the Forbes author chose the cautionary tale route versus the “let’s get prepared for it” one. If you read me regularly, you’ll know I believe that when it comes to your career, have no fear. Read More →

THG in the News: AOL Jobs Quotes Our Outlook for a Sunny September

The Hired Guns on September 7, 2012

When The Guns tweet, the web listens. Just this morning, AOL Jobs quoted The Hired Guns’ optimistic outlook for September hiring:

Unemployed workers looking for more evidence of a pickup in hiring this month might take some inspiration from The Hired Guns, a New York City-based employment agency focused on the high tech and creative fields.

Via Twitter on Friday, the firm said that it expects hiring in September “will be strong based on the brisk biz we’ve been seeing.” Read More →

Extreme Truth, and Why You Can’t Escape It

Bruce Kasanoff on September 4, 2012

If you’ve been following the fall of Jonah Lehrer, the bestselling author and New Yorker writer and serial fabulist who got caught making up Bob Dylan quotes, you might think his tale has properly sensitized you to the perils of stretching the truth.

Not even close. Read More →

THG @ SXSW 2013: The Future of Corporate Alumni Networking

Allison Hemming on August 21, 2012

SXSW voting is upon us and we need your help! The Guns’ panel, “Corporate Alums: Why Big Companies Invest in Ex-Employees” is up for voting over at SXSW.com and we’d really appreciate your support. Our panel, headed up by yours truly, is all about the increasing role that corporate alumni relations is playing and will play in the future of professional networking. My fellow panelists are amazing (and humbling) and head up the corporate alumni networks at companies like Morgan Stanley and IBM. Find out more after the jump. Read More →

Seven Smart and Savvy Ways to Start Your New Job Off Right

Danny Flamberg on June 11, 2012

Congratulations on starting a new job. You’ve got a new outfit, a new attitude, and a new paycheck. Be sure you start things off right by being conscious of your surroundings and by managing your expectations. It’s not easy being the new guy. You’re psyched. They’re psyched. But nobody knows what’s really coming next. You radiated energy and intention in all those interviews. They did too. Everyone was on their best behavior. Now you’ll see them in their native habitat.

Some of your coworkers will maintain the facade longer than others, but soon you’ll get a glimpse (or a massive dose) of reality. Nobody ever really knows what they’re getting into until they are in place and fully present, with all their political and emotional sensors on high alert.

To ensure you get off to a smart, savvy, and successful start, focus on these seven factors. Read More →

Monster to Mentor: 5 Tips for Becoming a Great Manager

Mandy Gresh on May 30, 2012

Our newest blogger, Mandy Gresh, is a coach and strategist devoted to helping others hone their plans for their career. Which parts of your current job are the most important for your future? Why is it so important to think like an entrepreneur? And how do you know when it’s time to head out on your own? These are the kinds of questions she’ll be helping us answer….

Becoming a manager is a little like becoming a parent. Although you can do a lot to prep for the job (reading books, observing others, coming up with lots of mental notes, thinking about best practices), it’s not until the day you actually have a staff that you get a clue what it’s really about.

I’m speaking from experience, on the management side at least. At 26 years old I was handed a team in a foreign country, with my manager in New York. The truth is that I was a nightmare to work for: micromanaging, with a very top-down style; only telling people things on a need-to-know basis; keeping track of when people arrived and left…. in other words, the exact person you don’t want to work for. Read More →

Don’t Get Fooled Again: Be Ready to Freelance

Allison Hemming on May 15, 2012

We’re not all the way out of the woods yet with this up-and-down, on-again-off-again economic recovery. But the news is a little bit better each day. We’re feeling the tide turn here at The Hired Guns, which is a good sign, but it’s been a long slog for us, and I’m sure for many of you. So whether or not things are headed up and up from here, let’s collectively make a pact that “we won’t get fooled again.” What I mean is, let’s act now on the lessons we’ve learned, so that whatever the economy does in the future, we won’t be blindsided next time.

1. We are all Hired Guns now.
You are the master of your own career. It’s no secret that company loyalty is dead. Along with it died the notion that someone else was going to take care of us. For the last 50 years employees have outsourced career ownership to their bosses; the trade seemed fair when security was on offer. Without that available, there’s a trade imbalance between employees and companies, which is why everything is out of whack. Read More →

How Do You Respond to a Job Rejection?

The Hired Guns on May 7, 2012

Nobody likes emails that basically say “thanks but no thanks.” But what do you do when you get them? Do you just trash them, or do you write back?

Chances are that whatever you’re doing is a lot better than Ask A Manager’s examples of what NOT to write, such as “You’re making a mistake; I’d be a great candidate.” Or the equally pushy “I’d think I’m at least worth an interview.” Read More →

Meet the Mentors: Laura Lubman Hamburg, Communications Pro

The Hired Guns on May 3, 2012

When both her kids were in their teens, Laura Lubman Hamburg left a major job working in communications at IBM. She’s now the head of her own communications agency, with an eye toward later working full-time in a new career. Here’s a taste of what she’ll have to say about re-entering the workforce and similar hot topics as part of next week’s Hired Guns panel for working mothers .

Do you have any advice for working women who are about to be moms? What should they be doing NOW if they plan on going back to work later?
People will ask if you plan on coming back immediately. Say yes, even if you aren’t sure. You may decide to stay home for a while. You may go back right away. Don’t play your hand. You want to have the option, not them.

Before you take maternity leave, transfer all email contacts to your home computer. Be sure to put them in a “@company.com” format, not in the internal-address format. Bulk up your Linkedin profile with recommendations, if you can do so without being obvious. Follow your industry news, and if you see something, send a few key emails mentioning it. Read More →

Meet the Mentors: Jacqui Stafford, Fashion and Style Maven

The Hired Guns on May 3, 2012

Next up in our series of interviews with the accomplished women who will be sharing their expert advice and ideas in next Tuesday’s mentorship panel for working mothers is Jacqui Stafford. You may recognize Jacqui from one of her many appearances on TV, or have read the style and beauty advice she’s given in the pages of Vogue, Town & Country, Cosmopolitan, and many other magazines. She’s also the mother of a four-year-old adopted daughter.

Do you have any style or fashion advice for working women who are about to be moms?
Look for uncomplicated, fuss-free separates that don’t require much thought in the morning. Go for coordinating colors that make getting dressed really easy. Punch up your “wow!” factor with statement necklaces, scarves, and a great bag rather than over-trendy clothes. Read More →

What Freelancers Can Teach Traditional Workers

The Hired Guns on April 16, 2012

Roughly a third of all American workers are contractors, temporary workers, self-employed, or some other kind of independent, or “contingent,” worker. And that rate seems to be going up with every year.

Even though it’s a smart bet to think that you might be on your own at some point in your career, lots of us act as if we’ll always be doing more or less what we’re doing now. But if and when you suddenly find yourself out of work — or your job description changes rapidly — it can be a major challenge to try to figure out at that point how to get your career moving again.

The consultant and writer Alexandra Levit, an old hand at working for herself and dealing with the challenges of being a contingent worker, has some advice to help traditional workers get comfortable with doing what it takes to be their own boss. It’s mainly about building skills: Read More →

The Hired Guns Academy Announces Its New Series of Panels on Mentorship

Allison Hemming on April 12, 2012

When you’re a Hired Gun, it’s you who needs to manage your own career. But that doesn’t mean that you need to do it all alone. A network of like-minded peers can be invaluable when it comes to navigating today’s confusing world of work. That’s why we’re so happy that we have that very kind of network right here at The Hired Guns, one made up of outstanding executives who have survived and thrived throughout their careers.

The idea sharing in our community is unbridled. In the last year, we’ve been unlocking it with our blog, and now we want to unlock it further with our new series of mentorship panels. Here we’ll tackle head-on all the most important aspects of career management by looking to the best and brightest people we know. Read More →

Allison Hemming on Training for the Job Market of Tomorrow

The Hired Guns on April 3, 2012

For an article in the Phoenix Focus’s “Career Trends” issue, Ashley Milne-Tyte spoke with Allison Hemming about shrinking companies and how they’ll change hiring and self-employment in the future: Read More →

Why Googling Yourself Will Help Get You Hired

Kenneth Hein on March 20, 2012

Google yourself right now. Do you like what you see? You better!

The Internet is like a mirror. Take a good look into it. Why? Because the image it portrays is the one that your potential next employer is looking at.

So, do you have a neglected LinkedIn profile, a half-baked presence on Quora, and a resume on Monster that’s from 2009? Not good. Read More →

Why I Went Out on My Own

Beth Temple on March 15, 2012

There seems to be a series of confessionals going on — one from an ex-employee of Goldman Sachs and another from Google and likely more to come — so I thought it might be the right time for me to join in. This is not a rant. I hope it might be an inspiration. Read More →

Asking “Can’t We Just … ?” Won’t Get You What You Need from the Digital Team

Lisa Schneider on February 1, 2012

I hear the phrase “Can’t we just . . . ” around the office a lot. Actually, I should correct that. I used to hear that phrase a lot.

Now I have a Post-it on my computer with those words in a circle with a line through it, and I’ve pointed to it enough times that I hear it less often.

Here’s what used to happen when people said that: I’d take a deep breath. Downward glance to compose myself. Pause-filling smile. Another pause filler, maybe sip my tea, or save my doc, or anything to buy a few more seconds to still my beating heart. Read More →

Quiz: Do You Have What It Takes to Be Incompetent Over the Long Haul?

Todd Tarpley on January 23, 2012

Anyone can be incompetent for a few weeks or even months without suffering serious repercussions. The dysfunction of most organizations provides cover for even the most glaring managerial incompetence — for a while. But the fact is, only a gifted few can be ineffective for their entire careers and continue to fail upwards.

Do you have what it takes? Take our quiz and find out!

Bullet Points: Just Say No

The Hired Guns on January 9, 2012

A New Kind of New Year’s Resolution: Saying No
—Jocelyn K. Glei, The 99 Percent
“A while back, a colleague approached me with an idea. She wanted me to be a part of a professional development event…. She recommended biweekly check-in calls for the next eight months, leading up to the event. ‘Have you organized an event like this before?’ I asked. ‘Can you actually get the participants? Why don’t you test the demand first?’ When none materialized, I realized I’d saved myself nearly half a week’s work … by insisting the event had to be ‘real’ before we invested in it.”
—Dorie Clark, Five Things You Should Stop Doing in 2012
Stop Spending Time on Job Boards and Pick Up the Phone to Find a New Job
—Alan Henry, Lifehacker
Worried about keeping a New Year’s resolution through the month, let alone all of 2012? A recent study showed “that the people with the best self-control, paradoxically, are the ones who use their willpower less often. Instead of fending off one urge after another, these people set up their lives to minimize temptations. They play offense, not defense, using their willpower in advance so that they avoid crises, conserve their energy and outsource as much self-control as they can. ”
—John Tierney, Be It Resolved
Tired of meeting people and not getting much done because of it? Business Insider has 10 ways to get out of “grabbing coffee sometime,” including having that meeting in your office and limiting it to just 22 minutes:

Transitioning to Digital

Lisa Schneider on November 30, 2011

We’d like to welcome to the blog Lisa Schneider, who works in the digital part of her organization but who brings to it knowledge honed from a past working in print. She’ll be writing about just that sort of move, whether it’s about how to transfer current skills to a digital area, manage digital employees, or get a purely digital career off the ground in organizations that might not be completely up to speed themselves. She’s here to help you keep up, so that you and your career stay relevant. And in such a rapidly changing field, we suspect that you’re likely to have your own questions. Please feel to either put them in the comments below or to ask them via Twitter.

Having successfully made the transition from print to digital over a decade ago, I’m sometimes approached for advice on how to make that leap today. People who’ve been happy to leave it to the tech department until now are realizing that they ignore digital platforms at their own peril, since even non-techs must show an understanding of and facility in this area just to keep up: editors are creating or optimizing content for multiple platforms, marketers must master getting their message out via number of channels to show a reasonable return on investment, salespeople are asked to sell multimedia packages, and the list goes on. Read More →

An All-in-One Public Speaking Tip: Pump Up the Volume

Joel Schwartzberg on November 28, 2011

This Wednesday, November 30, the top public speaking coach and presentation expert Joel Schwartzberg will teach a Hired Guns Academy class on how to add strength to your professional talks, appearances, and job interviews. Below, he gives a quick tip to ensure that your messages come through loud and clear.

Many public speakers present too softly, but I’ve rarely met one who’s too loud. Even when I implore students to speak “too loudly,” almost all of them end up speaking with perfect or near-perfect volume.

Now that we know there’s little risk of being too loud, consider what increased volume will do for you as a speaker: it prevents you from speaking too quickly, from mumbling, and from meandering off point. It gives you time to think and create thoughts. It grabs audience attention and holds it. And it increases the likelihood you’ll end your sentences with periods instead of question marks — a strong indication of a confident speaker. If you’re on a microphone, make sure it’s adjusted to your “loud” public speaking level, not your “soft” talking level.

All this, from one little tip of turning up the volume — why not give it a try? A lot of voice goes a long way.

More presentation advice from Joel:

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