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I got a Masters degree today (+). I am, however, not yet employed (-). Here’s an attempt to reconcile those two things.

That’s a video of me ice skating in about 2007. As you can see, I’m a total goddamn wreck. I embedded that video above because (a) it’s moderately funny and (b) short and (c) somewhat encapsulates how I feel at… Continue Reading

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Brief thought exercise: why are people generally more receptive to “let’s hop on a call” or “let’s schedule a meeting” then a three-line e-mail that explains the situation?

I’ve wondered this constantly in different jobs I’ve had, and even aspects of the job search. You can write a pretty short, to-the-point e-mail that explains your situation or a project’s situation and one of the first series of responses… Continue Reading

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Brief thought exercise: where’s the line in a job interview between being casual/funny/personable and the definition of professionalism?

Feel like this has happened to me a couple of times in the last six-seven months: I’m at a job interview, and it’s one of those situations where you meet with 3-5 people in a given day, for about 30… Continue Reading

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Brief thought exercise: when you really think about it, isn’t the hiring process set up in a way that completely disregards the idea of learning?

I’m finishing grad school right now and have been on a series of different interviews over the past few months, so this is just something I’ve observed that’s a little curious. By no means am I an expert on any… Continue Reading

Laszlo Bock and Google’s resume advice is good, but it isn’t the be-all and the end-all

This article from Thomas Friedman that ran in Sunday’s New York Times — “How To Get A Job At Google, Part 2” — has drawn a bunch of attention (if you’re curious, Part 1 of the same article is here). Part 2… Continue Reading

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Here are five things I’ve learned trying to get a job out of graduate school in 2014

I went to graduate school back in August of 2012. My career focus to that point had primarily been content (writing, editing, social), but what had begun to interest me was the idea of organizations and how they develop. At the point… Continue Reading

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Say it with me now: your products and processes are great, but your people do matter

Here’s a new academic working paper, summarized here, that basically says if you hire a “star” — a great performer,then — your department will be 26 percent more productive. Now, there’s a huge caveat to this study: it focused on… Continue Reading

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Brief thought exercise: is your job what you think you do, tell people you do, or actually do?

A couple of weeks ago, I was on this “business trip” (quotes indicate that it was for work, but admittedly a part-time job) and struck up a conversation with a couple of seemingly like-minded individuals at a hotel bar on Saturday evening… Continue Reading