Career Advice Blog

Career Tips, Insights and Career Advice by Paul Freiberger

How to Find the Right Moment to Ask for A Raise

Bay-Area-Salary-Negotiation

A client told me he was considering asking for a raise. My concern was that his company was struggling and his position was not secure. These are difficult economic times, but not all sectors are suffering equally and not all businesses, even in downtrodden industries, are doing badly. If you ...

When is the time to speak up to the boss?

Speaking up to your boss. tips from a Bay Area career counselor.

You know that your boss isn't 100 percent correct 100 percent of the time. But how do you let the boss know he made a mistake, without harming your standing at the company.Case in point: Netflix alienated customers and investors with decisions to increase prices a couple of ...

How to Write a Legal Resume and Make Your Case

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What does a lawyer’s resume look like? In most respects, an attorney's resume is no different from an executive resume or any other six-figure resume of any other professional. It should clearly outline your accomplishments, experience, education and skills. It should look crisp and contemporary. It should be ...

How to Make a Post-Pandemic Career Change

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A great work disruption is taking place and if you're thinking about changing careers, you're not alone. Switching vocations and starting a job search has transformed from a rare occurrence to a four (or more) times in a lifetime necessity. And today 41% of the global workforce are considering leaving ...

Job Search Strategy: Four Big Questions to Start the Search

Bay Area Job Search Experts

Considering Consulting with a Bay Area Job Search Expert?Unless you have a personal connection to a wish-granting genie, the best job search strategy doesn’t work well as a spur-of-the-moment undertaking. If for some reason you’re wishing for career help and not for pots of gold and superpowers ...

How to Adjust When the Job Search Seems Hopeless

Bay Area Career Counseling

Career Coaching Expert Recommendations to Build Confidence, Overcome Rejection. The Job Market Will Respond.You’re not alone. Everyone taking on an executive job search winds up in this windless sea at one time or another. Don’t criticize yourself or blame other people. The stasis may not really be ...

Ready to Ask for a Raise? Don’t Sell Yourself Short. Attend the Shimmering Careers Webinar

Are You Considering Salary Negotiation with Your Bay Area Employer?What if you could make more money and get better benefits? Would you look for a new job? Not always. There’s more to a job than salary. But what if you could make more money without changing jobs? Who ...

Sales and Relationships: Qualities for the Successful Sales Resume and Your Best Resume

How to Write a Resume for Sales Professional Career

I work with sales people in many industries. At the mention of the word “sales” many think of nothing more than a monetary transaction or the process of trading a product or service for money. I’ve learned that salespeople deserve deeper thinking. While the transaction is a part of ...

The Best Professional Resumes Include Mentoring as a Core Skill

Bay Area career coaching and career planning advice

Mentoring is a Core Competency That Belongs on Your Best Professional Resume. Today, mentorship still plays a vital role in today's corporate environment, but its importance is often underrated or poorly understood. Increasingly, companies value mentoring programs and realize that mentoring is a skill that can help business.  A ...

How to Take the Giant Step in Your Career May Surprise You

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Thinking Big Begins with Big, Important Baby Steps For many people, the mental picture of changing careers is a picture of abrupt change. It’s dramatic. One day you’re a mortgage banker working the commercial loan desk. The next day, you’re chatting with customers at your newly opened ...

Tips for Mastering Career Change

Career Decision

How to Make the Leap Today, the average American worker will change careers three times. Career longevity is no longer the norm. Meanwhile, the notion that a change in career is perfectly acceptable, even admirable, is supported by the publicity afforded a long list of well-known career-changers. Arnold Schwarzenegger goes ...

Tips to Cook Up Your Recipe for Dramatic Career Change

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Guest post by Ashley LipmanCareer change is rarely simple. While the fantasy of what a new career entails can make the change seem awfully easy, the reality is often different, and how different fantasy and reality are depends on the person making the change and on the career option that ...

You’re Hired! And then Along Comes Another Offer

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Can you and should you back out of a job offer?If you’ve accepted a job offer, what should you do if other opportunities then present themselves?I’m a firm believer in keeping your job options open until the day that you actually start work. Things can fall ...

Getting Off to a Great Start in Your New Job:

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Onboarding Tips to a Successful New Career“Congratulations on the new job!” Life will all be smooth sailing from now on. Won’t it?Actually, starting a new job is not all unicorns and rainbows. Mixed emotions are often the order of the day.There’s a deserved sense of ...

6 Things You Should Do On the First Day of A New Job (and Every Day After That)

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No matter the type of company, there are certain fundamental things you need to get right in the workplace to ensure success:1) Show up. As writer Regina Brett once said, “Most of life is showing up.” You can argue with the how much of life is showing up, but ...

Information Station

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Make Informational Interviews Help Your Job SearchResearch and networking complement each other in your job search. One under-used strategy takes advantage of that overlap and should be part of every applicant’s arsenal: the informational interview.Despite its value, the informational interview has become the poor relation in the family ...

Career Development Lessons from the Royal Rumble

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The Duke and Duchess Offer Job Search Strategy to We CommonersYou may feel that you don’t have much in common with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex – those crazy kids, Harry and Meghan, who’ve decided to “step back” from their roles as “senior members” of Britain’s royal ...

Yes, There are Benefits While Working or Job Searching from Home

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With the coronavirus pandemic forcing most of us to work or job search from home, it’s only natural to long for the things that we lose by staying in: the office camaraderie, the dedicated uncluttered workplace, the lack of distraction, the stimulating lunches with coworkers and colleagues, and the ...

How to Succeed in Your New Job: Group Anthropology Matters

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When I started a new job and a new career at McKinsey years ago, I was worried and uncertain about how to find my way. Day One was overwhelming. Lots of the early days were. Add a crushing great economic recession that was taking place and it was a recipe ...

Managing Without Authority: Becoming a Manager without the Manager Title

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It’s a workplace scenario that you may have experienced. Your boss, who’s constantly overwhelmed by work, asks you to assume direct supervision of an ad hoc team to tackle an urgent and unexpected need.Even though you’re not a manager by title, or even experience, you’re ...

Managing to Thrive: How Good Management Matters in the Changing Job Market

Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash

Has Covid changed things in the job market?Yes, that market has changed, and on its face, that’s a question that barely needs to be asked. It’s beyond obvious that the job market is different than it was before the pandemic, but I have a slightly different take ...

I (don’t) Have a Dream (job)

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In the first part of my job interview course, The Expert Guide to Job Interviews, part of my focus is on figuring out your overarching career goals as a fundamental first step in interview preparation. The basic idea is simple, though it’s often neglected: It really helps to have ...

The Manager’s Adaptability Edge: An Overlooked but Essential Trait

Photo by Michael Held on Unsplash

This week LinkedIn published the results of a survey from a company post that asked readers about the “trait you value in a manager.” The winner was “Clear Communication” and coming in second was “Empathy.” However, one key trait was missing from the poll that is an essential quality for ...

Find a Green Job and Help the Planet

Photo by Noah Buscher on Unsplash

Creating a Sustainable Career PathAs a career coach, I’ve seen a trend. More new grads are coming to me for advice on finding green jobs. It’s not just new grads. Many seasoned professionals are also exploring transitions to greener jobs.I’m delighted to help anyone excited about ...

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