Archive for the 'Q&A' Category


How much should I say about getting fired?

Monday, January 30th, 2012

In the January 31, 2012 Ask The Headhunter Newsletter, a reader asks what to say in a job interview — if he got fired previously for doing something wrong: I was fired for a minor policy violation. How much should I tell prospective employers about it? Everyone I’ve spoken to has agreed that my indiscretion did [...]


Playing With Headhunters

Monday, January 23rd, 2012

In the January 24, 2012 Ask The Headhunter Newsletter, a reader gets calls from two different headhunters — who want to “submit” him for what seems to be the same job. How many headhunters should he work with? A headhunter called yesterday about an interesting position. She is not ready to reveal her client until [...]


Open Mic: What’s your problem?

Monday, January 16th, 2012

Special Edition I periodically do webinars and teleconferences for professionals, where I make a brief presentation — then we have an “open microphone.” Anyone may ask any question about job hunting or hiring, and I do my best to provide useful advice on the spot. I love doing such events because I don’t have to [...]


Get Hired: No resume, no interview, no joke

Monday, January 9th, 2012

In the January 10, 2012 Ask The Headhunter Newsletter, a long-time reader ruminates about how stupid the recruiting and hiring process seems to have become. Employers aren’t really looking for talent — they’re shopping for mediocrity, using lists of keywords: I’m a career changer and I’m finding it very hard to get past the recruiting agency [...]


When should you bring up money?

Monday, December 12th, 2011

In the December 13, 2011 Ask The Headhunter Newsletter, a long-time reader asks whether it’s okay to discuss salary range with a headhunter before taking time out of a busy work schedule to interview: I’m a long-time reader. This is my second-time question — the last one was in 2004! I’ve just been headhunted for a [...]


How Employers Can Help You Get Hired

Monday, December 5th, 2011

In the December 6, 2011 Ask The Headhunter Newsletter, a reader who helps seniors find jobs shares an “interview invitation” one of his clients received. It’s a landmark! Why don’t more employers do this? Join me below to discuss other ways employers can help you get hired. I’m a training and placement specialist and a [...]


You’ll never get hired if you’re self-employed

Monday, November 28th, 2011

In the November 29, 2011 Ask The Headhunter Newsletter, a reader who’s run a business for years wants to know whether it’s true that the self-employed are unemployable. I was on a discussion forum today where the consensus is that you’ll never get hired if you’ve been self-employed. Is that true? I have had my [...]


Jumping Employment Gaps

Monday, November 21st, 2011

In the November 22, 2011 Ask The Headhunter Newsletter, a successful executive who took time off then worked as a consultant says headhunters won’t touch him. What’s up? I was an executive with a financial services software company for 20 years. I joined when it was a start-up. After the company was sold, I took a [...]


The employer that rejected me made a mistake!

Monday, October 24th, 2011

In the October 25, 2011 Ask The Headhunter Newsletter, a job candidate explains that an employer made a mistake when it hired another applicant. He wants advice about how to help the employer rectify the mistake. Don’t laugh — it’s easy to get caught in this trap of frustration. I recently made a lateral move [...]


How to manage gang-up interviews

Monday, October 17th, 2011

In the October 18, 2011 Ask The Headhunter Newsletter, a manager indicts “panel” interviews and says he’d never consent to one — or conduct one. Are panel interviews a bad idea? I was taken aback recently when my HR department scheduled me as a part of a panel interview. When I queried our hiring team, they [...]