“Weird” resumes designed to attract attention do – BUT that kind of attention you don’t need! HR professionals & hiring managers will consign the resume on pink paper or the one accompanied by an audiotape of the candidate singing his favorite songs to the lugger bucket with a notation of “creepy!”

If you’re an HR pro or hiring manager, remember that how you treat a candidate reflects on your entire organization. An actively interested candidate can turn into an actively disinterested candidate when not treated honestly & courteously. Unreturned phone calls, failure to make decisions in a timely manner or not being forthcoming as to why a decision is postponed can turn a positive relationship sour. You don't need aggrieved former candidates roaming the industry telling colleagues horror stories about the way you treated them. Candidates, the same thing goes for you

If you see a resume that interests you today or if you hear about a job that intrigues you today, then act on it today for tomorrow is too late!

Always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always TELL THE TRUTH!!!

Pay attention to details because they matter. A misspelled word in a resume is enough to sink an otherwise excellent candidate in many companies. After all, if you’re not careful with your own important matters, how can a company be confident that you will be careful with theirs?

Before you use anyone’s name as a reference, go to that person and ask them, “If I use your name as a reference, what exactly will you say about me?” You’ll be surprised at some of the answers.

When negotiating compensation, it’s better to come to a fair agreement rather than the best agreement you can. Don’t try and take out of your new employer’s hide the pay and benefits your soon-to-be former employer didn’t give you.

If you post a resume online, you’re telling the world (including your boss!) that you don’t care who knows that you’re floating a resume & looking for a new job.

E-mail, voicemail, & the fax machine are boons to communication, but nothing is a substitute for an actual conversation with a human being.

Your effort to find a new job or fill a position shouldn’t result in you becoming a candidate for the Darwin Awards (call me & I’ll tell you what they are). Get good advice.

Roughly speaking, you can expect to be actively on the job market one month for every $10K in annual compensation.

Counter-offers are the work of the devil. A candidate who accepts one shouldn’t expect to remain with the company too long. After all, now that you’ve got the mark of Cain on your forehead, why should you expect the company to trust you? Once you’ve flashed your intent to leave, don’t look back.

Think in terms of what’s ahead of you, not just what’s behind you.

There are worse things in the world than being fired. Membership in the “Royal Order of the Boot” can be advantageous. Getting up off the canvas & getting back into the fray is a sign of character.

The only job security you have is that which you make for yourself.

We are in an era of modified industrial free agency. Candidates frequently view new jobs as not an end in itself but, rather, a stepping-stone to something else somewhere else. Even in capital intense manufacturing facilities, employees tend more and more to be highly mobile and independent.

In an era of low unemployment & high demand, job seekers often look at an opportunity the same way they would look at a bus. If you miss this one it’s no big deal since there’s another one coming along in 5 minutes.

Success today requires a unique combination of strong skills in three areas; technical, business and interpersonal or “people” skills. You have to work equally hard to develop and maintain capability in each area.

In a tight job market, companies need to be focused less on the “perfect” candidate & more on creative solutions to getting the work done that needs to be done.