Dante, in his famous “Inferno,” described the 9 circles of the netherworld in great detail. But there were no résumés in Dante’s time. Had there been, he undoubtedly would have reserved a special version of Hades, as follows: Like Dante’s Inferno, Résumé Purgatory is a funnel-shaped structure that extends down, down, down to the very center of the earth. The funnel is like a winding staircase of circles, each getting smalle...

If you’re hiring salespeople, you know that how you interview them is crucial. If you’re like most interviewers, your major concern is what questions to ask. But after you’ve asked a great question, how do you follow-up?Increasingly, in today’s world, more and more importance is being placed on asking the applicant to give specific examples, and this is certainly a classic and extremely effective method of following up. But...

One major reason we write anything is not only to inform, to entertain, to share, to express, to sell, to lead, to teach, to communicate - but also TO PERSUADE. Here are 7 tips based on what I have noticed over the years in what I believe is persuasive writing.1. Start by identifying the inner needs - especially the emotional inner needs - of your audience.We persuade when we connect with emotions. Maybe you're topic is gar...

When you write your resume (with or without advice and professional help), who is your target audience? Who are you trying to satisfy?First of all, you’re not writing your resume to satisfy yourself. For that matter, you’re not writing it to satisfy any “expert” – the author of the resume book you just read, or the recruiter you’re working with, or your career guidance counselor, or your cousin Fred who is a human resources...

Make no mistake about it, writing an effective resume has to be a highly individualized matter, since no two people are alike. Nevertheless, it is such a constricted and standardized format, that we resume writers find ourselves adopting certain phrases or words that each of us tends to prefer and that in fact help our clients get jobs. Every resume writer has his or her own list. Here is mine:1. “$3,000,000” (vs. “$3M”) –...

5 different managerial personality styles — and the upsides and downsides of each.The General – If you’re a General, you’ve got the most traditional management style there is. An office is like the military, and you are the senior officer in charge. You are the General Patton of the business world. You are in charge of everything. You are a complete and thorough autocrat. Your word goes. If anyone doesn’t do what you want t...