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Free Webinar: Creating a Killer Resume

Free Webinar: Creating a Killer Resume

A good résumé can make all the difference in your job search. It either gets you in the door for an interview, or it fails to capture the screener's attention and falls through the cracks.

I know firsthand that experience alone won't carry you through the job search process. You have to place your qualifications in context and illustrate your unique skills if you are going to outline a successful argument.[

In a free webinar this Thursday at 6 p.m. ET on BigMarker.Com, I'll outline some strategies for creating a résumé which flows well, is visually appealing, and has great content, to help you get the job you want.

BigMarker.Com is a new webinar service, and this will be the first event I am hosting there. My DimDim account recently expired, and that service was being  phased out after DimDim was acquired by SalesForce.Com. I've been looking at other possibilities for hosting my webinars and for using for client coaching meetings held online. I would love it if you could attend and give feedback about the user experience. Some features that you would expect from a regular paid webinar service aren't yet available on BigMarker. I have also looked at GoToWebinar, WebEx, FuzeMeeting and FreeScreenSharing (a service by the same people as FreeConferenceCall.Com.)

I will be recording the webinar and if all goes well, will make it available afterward as part of an upcoming members area of my site. At the end of the webinar, I will be giving a sign-up link to attendees who would like to get more résumé resources via e-mail, and announcing a special on résumé coaching services for those who sign up through the special link.

Sign up now for the webinar, and tell your friends, too. It's free, so you really have nothing to lose. I hope you'll attend and that we'll connect on the webinar!

The Adjunct Job Search With Sharon Thomas DeLay

The Adjunct Job Search With Sharon Thomas DeLay

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Adjunct teaching positions occupy an interesting space in the higher ed job market. As such, the advice you might get about how to identify potential opportunities, and how to make a case for your candidacy is likely to be different than advice you might get when looking for tenure-track faculty posts or administrative roles.

Add in the reality that many administrators look toward adjunct roles to get teaching experience, that experienced faculty who are not in tenured positions are likely to be competing for the same jobs, and that persons with industry experience are sought after in some disciplines, and the adjunct search can be mysterious and confounding.

In this week's episode, Higher Ed Career Coach Sean Cook will talk with Sharon Thomas DeLay, the founder and president of Adjunct Solutions, LLC. She has over 15 years professional experience as it relates to education, training and human resources.

Adjunct Solutions is a niche staffing agency focused on building a candidate pool of pre-qualified, experienced, and enthusiastic adjunct faculty and other higher education professionals.

We'll discuss the nuances of the adjunct job search, and get perspectives from Sharon about how candidates can put their best foot forward in the job search, and how institutions can benefit from working with a staffing agency to fill open positions.

Please join us at 11 am ET on Friday, September 16. If you are interested in seeking adjunct positions, please call in to (347) 989-0055 with questions, or send them to @hiedcareercoach via Twitter or sean@higheredcareercoach.com before or during the podcast.

Incivility in the Workplace

Incivility in the Workplace

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Rajashi Ghosh (Photo provided.)

Incivility in the workplace can take many forms, from verbal abuse and harassment, to manipulation to acts of violence. 1.4 million employees experience it each year.

It has tremendous costs, as well. According to Dr. Rajashi Ghosh, an Assistant Professor of Human Resource Development  for the School of Education at Drexel University, incivility costs the U.S. economy $23.8 billion each year. And academic environments are not immune.

On this week’s podcast, I will air an interview with Dr. Ghosh , who was the author of a recent article on the “incivility spiral” in mentoring relationships, which was published in a special issue of Advances in Developing Human Resources, which she also co-edited. In this article, Ghosh examined how different acts of incivility between mentors and mentees can devolve into negative relationships.

With mentoring programs being one of the popular ways that we seek to develop up-and-coming professionals, Ghosh recommends that institutions (and their Human Resource Officers) provide structured approaches, including codes of conduct for mentors and mentees, better orientations for both sides of the relationship about roles, boundaries, and conduct, formal processes for reporting inappropriate behavior, and better follow-up from HR and management.

Drexel will host a Human Resource Development Symposium September 17, “HRD’s Role in Addressing Workplace Incivility and Violence. Online registration is now closed, but if you are interested in attending e-mail Dr. Ghosh at  rg429@drexel.edu expressing your interest in being on the waitlist.

We’ll also talk about my upcoming webinar on Creating a Killer Résumé on BigMarker, a new free webinar service, Hiring for Hope events, and I’ll take your comments and questions on dealing with incivility in the workplace.

Toxic Work Environments: Erasing Negativity in the Workplace

Toxic Work Environments: Erasing Negativity in the Workplace

Retro MicrophoneWhen people around you at work are being negative, it’s tempting to join in, but the result could be a toxic work environment thats difficult to climb out of. What can you do to keep from being dragged down into that dark place? And what should you do to remove negativity from your life and the workplace?

We’ve probably all had those moments when co-workers gripe and moan about things they don’t like in their work environments, but there’s something different and kind of insidious about work environments where negativity is tolerated. They can eat at you, and leave you with some undesirable options: join in and get dragged down, or avoid joining in and possibly become marginalized.

Friday at 11 am ET, I will be talking with Sally Marks, author of Erase Negativityand Embrace the Magic Within, about ways that people can avoid negativity and toxic communication at work. Please join me and call in with your questions and comments about dealing with toxic work environments and overcoming negativity. The Guest Call-in number is (347) 989-0055, and Skype users can also call in via the Skype “S” Click-to-Talk Button from the Episode page, once the show is live.

Listen to internet radio with Sean Cook on Blog Talk Radio
Establishing Positive Relationships at Work

Establishing Positive Relationships at Work

bigstockphoto_Networking_5773746-e1310616363877Developing positive relationships is one of the biggest challenges professionals face when starting a new role or moving into a new work environment. When you are new, you don’t know what norms have been established, who will be helpful (or who won’t), and you’ll likely find yourself wondering when to share information and perspectives, when to keep your mouth shut, and how to evaluate potential relationships.
Since many new faculty and staff are beginning to test the potentially treacherous waters as “new fish” in the ponds of academia, the timing seemed right to get some tips and perspectives on how to establish positive working relationships and keep from being eaten alive.
Andy Curran, an associate professor at the University of Cincinnati’s Clermont College, encourages new staff to make themselves available, ask for advice from senior employees, and avoid being confrontational. He credits his ability to get along with others for his success in getting promotions and tenure during his 11 year career.
Getting information and perspectives from new colleagues may require some trial and error, so Joe O’Connell, Coordinator of New Student Programs at Arizona State University tries to tailor his conversations with people to their likes and dislikes. “For example,” O’ Connell explains, “if someone likes short, direct e-mails, then send them short, direct e-mails. They will be more receptive to your communications.”
Marlene Caroselli, a corporate trainer, keynoter, and author of 61 books, teaches a course on developing relationships at work. She advises new staff to  “invite collaborative, cooperative dialogue. “This may be difficult,” she says, ” But it almost always works. Invite the person who is overly critical of your plan to join you in making it better. It’s natural to be defensive, but we’re asking you to put defenses and fences aside. Instead, form a partnership with your biggest critic and work together to strengthen your plan.”
Dr. Laurel Clark, President of the College of MetaPhysics, tells people to be “self-reflective” in their approaches to conflict. “Instead of blaming a co-worker for a conflict, look to see the part that you play in it and how YOU can cause change,” implores Clark. “If only one person changes, (and that person can always be YOU), then the dynamics of the relationship change even if the other person doesn’t.”
On the Higher Ed Career Coach show this Friday at 11 am, we’ll talk with some experts and professionals about how to navigate the treacherous waters of academic work environments when you are the “new fish” in the pond. Our scheduled guests include Dr. Pam Straker, the speaker, author and workplace strategist behind NoMoreWorkPlaceDrama.Com; Jane Bluestein, author of  Becoming a Win-Win Teacher: Survival Strategies for the Beginning Educator (Amazon aff. link), Dr. Laurel Smith, President of the School of Metaphysics in Missouri, and Joseph O’ Connell, the Coordinator of New Student Orientation at Arizona State University.

Please join us and call in with your tips, questions and comments at 11 am ET this Friday, August 26, tweet them to @hiedcareercoach or e-mail sean@higheredcareercoach.com The call-in number is (347) 989-0055. I’ll be tweeting additional quotes and advice from our guests on Friday as well.