Career Management Alliance Blog

Here’s something interesting: the way you respond to specific situations tends to be the way you respond across the board. This is nothing mysterious; it simply reveals some of our character traits underlying our behavior. The goal here is to be aware of your behavior patterns during your career transition. For example: if some of your friends you frequently hang out with make plans to get together without you, what is your first reaction? Do you feel rejected, do you get angry, or do you simply wonder what they’re up to and assume they were just about to ask you? Continue Reading »

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Courtesy of Springwise.com Long gone are the days when “online” was synonymous with social isolation. In fact, we’re now witnessing the opposite: technology is driving people to connect and meet up with others in the “real world”. This mass mingling makes for an interesting trend, begging to be turned into new services for consumers. Here are five such services: 1. MEETUP EVERYWHERE — Meetup’s new service, Meetup Everywhere, is an open and free platform that helps people build communities based on a common interest. Organisers can map offline gatherings and share announcements and updates through Facebook and Twitter accounts. One recent initiative: ReadyMade magazine partnering with Etsy.com to encourage DIY crafters to host local “craft-ups”. Continue Reading »

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Your green career is a journey, not just a destination. Rather than thinking of your green career as a single destination, think of each step you take as an integral part of your journey. This week find out how to plan and celebrate the successes of your journey.

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Earlier this year I attended a "Fearless Living" workshop presented by life coach and author Rhonda Britten. She also has penned a book by the same name. I've experienced amazing insights and positive shifts in my life as a result of the book, workshop, and partnering with another participant. Once a week my "powerful partner" and I talk on the phone about our journey toward living fearlessly, including sharing our experiences of facing our fears and our insights from completing the fearbuster exercises at the end of each chapter in the book. I'm currently reading the book, "Change Your Life in 30 Days: A Journey to Finding Your True Self" also written by Rhonda Britten. It's amazing! I'm now on day 9 and am already seeing positive changes. The book guides you on a thirty-day, step-by-step journey to help you understand the changes you need to make in order to live an extraordinary life. It includes practical insights and exercises to help break the myths that keep you locked in fear and unable to be your true self. Continue Reading »

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Office politics, that hated beast, is a dynamic that most people in the workplace can't avoid. Wherever people gather - office, church, even a camping club - relationships are formed and power struggles ensue. Everyone brings his or her personal Continue Reading »

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border="0" alt="Top Notch Executive Resumes"> Hiring decision-makers surveyed for the book, Top Notch Executive Resumes identified this as one of their Top 30 Executive Resume Pet Peeves: Resume does not list phone number, only an e-mail address, or has inappropriate e-mail address. In the age of electronic submission, many candidates seem to think decision-makers will want to communicate by e-mail only, but a phone number on your resume is an absolute must. Be sure to include a daytime phone number as that’s when recruiters are most likely to call you. The recruiting process often moves too rapidly for e-mail; recruiters prefer to call — and expect you either to answer or call back without delay. Without a phone number, “I can’t call you,” said recruiter Alice Hanson, “and most jobs I have on my desk need to be filed in 24-48 hours. I find a good candidate and can’t connect — it drives me wild.” If employers can’t reach you very quickly, they’ll move on to the next person. They still want to see e-mail addresses listed as an alternate contact method, however, and recruiters note a surprising number of candidates who fail to provide sufficient contact information. Continue Reading »

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Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last few decades, you know that keeping our natural environment and resources clean, available and safe are top issues on the radar. Not sure how to green up your business? You don’t have to go big – even little steps add up to big savings for you and a positive effect on the environment. Try any or all of these tips for starters.

• Eliminate water waste: Always close taps tightly after use and call the plumber for stubborn leaks. One drop of water wasted per second wastes 10,000 litres per year.
• Go with the (low) flow: Replace high water use toilets with low-flow models to save on your water bill and reduce use.
• ReCycle: Use paper with the max available recycled content for internal projects or memos.

Consumers want to support green businesses. Spread the word about your green activities via your web page, advertising collateral, Twitter, or other social media outlet. Tune in next time when we’ll talk about furniture and supplies. Several franchise opportunities are “green businesses”. Request info to learn about green franchises.

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66.0% of senior-level professionals are uncomfortable with cold calling and networking. Graham Management Group’s recent survey, OUTLOOK 2010: Competitive Career Intelligence for Six-Figure Canadians, found that 69.4% of senior-level professionals feel that they do not have adequate connections or exposure within their industry. Adding to the concern, a full two-thirds of those surveyed expressed that they are uncomfortable with cold calling and networking to create career opportunities. Continue Reading »

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Mai writes: About 3 years ago, I was fired from a major retail chain for being an accomplice to theft. Recently I re-applied to this company, and they have invited me for an interview. Since they will find out that I am former employee and that I was fired, could I possibly write them a statement explaining the circumstances as to why I was fired and that I would like a second chance to prove that I’ve changed? Continue Reading »

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I was honored to join two of my fellow Career Thought Leaders, Wendy Enelow and Jan Melnik, on a blog radio show hosted by Deborah Shane last week. My area of specialty ... reputation management. Of the many interesting questions Deborah asked me, here’s one that I consider very important.

What common liabilities are you seeing in executive job seekers that is making it harder for them?

Since I play in the senior finance executive space, my response was from that perspective ... Continue Reading »

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