The Ask The Headhunter Newsletter Readers’ Forum gets some doozies… I was laid off 4 weeks ago in a reduction in force. Last week my former boss called to ask if I would come back — with a 20% cut in salary. I am really torn since I liked my job and the people I [...]

In the Q&A section of the September 1, 2009 Ask The Headhunter Newsletter we’re talking about how to convince an employer to hire you (or even just to interview you) when your resume reveals you have “jumped around a lot.” I’ve offered some perspective and suggestions to the reader who asked the question in the [...]

A reader asks: How should I respond when an employer asks for my social security number on an application form or in an interview, before I have agreed to the job? The advice I offer about this makes some people shiver… You want me to mess with a form??? Yah, it’s a piece of paper. The company hasn’t yet invested any time [...]

And people ask me what’s wrong with America’s Employment System. One of the biggest problems is that most job interviews suck. There’s a book called 501+ Great Interview Questions for Employers and the Best Answers for Prospective Employees. And just today Cheezhead re-published Monster.com’s “list of 100 interview questions that candidates should always be prepared [...]

In the previous post, we’re discussing how to commandeer a job interview so you can actually help an employer see how you’ll do the job. If the employer has a brain, you’ll get the job. On that thread, readers Bonnie and Janet point out an interesting “policy” that many HR departments have. They don’t want [...]

In the August 25, 2009 edition of the newsletter, I discuss A Killer Interview Strategy. (Don’t get the newsletter? Sign up. Sorry, it’s not archived. This special “rollover” feature from the blog is for newsletter subscribers… a place to discuss what’s in the newsletter and your ideas about it.) You advise “doing the job in [...]

It’s a question that comes up a lot, but we’ve never discussed it here. In today’s newsletter, in the Readers’ Forum, a reader asks: I’ve been quite successful in my field (Information Technology) and I’m trying to move up the corporate ladder. I read conflicting things about MBA degrees. Should I get one? Will it [...]

I continue to enjoy Mike Urbonas‘s blog because the guy has an eye for bureaucracy masquerading as expertise. Got a problem landing the job you want? It’s probably because you’re listening to bad advice. Got a problem filling a key job in your organization? Make an executive decision, and start a war with the Human Resources [...]

I’ve covered TheLadders many times here. But no matter what aspect of this racket I look into, the next experience always reveals a bigger scam. It seems TheLadders latest racket is with Google… Today a public radio station contacted me about appearing on a show they’re doing. I always ask media folks how they found me. [...]

Line ‘em up and shoot ‘em. That’s the approach some companies take to interviewing job candidates. Some employers like to put job candidates through “stress interviews.” They set up a panel of interviewers who lob rapid-fire questions—like tomatoes—at the candidate. They watch to see how the candidate deals with the stress. I think this is [...]