Invincible Career - Claim your power and regain your freedom

Do you have an enemy at work? Okay, maybe that’s too strong of a word. 😂 How about people who make your life harder than it needs to be, react to everything you do with some negativity, and generally make you wish they weren’t in your life? I often talk about using a pull to draw you toward better opportunities in your career. * Growth opportunities * Professional challenges * New jobs that offer...

Have you experienced one of those one-way video interviews during a job search? It can feel a little intimidating to talk into your laptop camera, knowing it’s recorded and you’re not speaking live with another human being. I recently helped my son prepare for one of these interviews. We focused on three main strategies to ensure his readiness. * Analyzing the job description * Talking with curren...

“I’m putting in long hours and working harder than ever. Why am I not getting promoted?” Do you know how many times I’ve heard that complaint? Sure, working harder than your peers can get you promoted during the early years of your career. But you will soon find that what got you where you are today won’t get you where you want to be tomorrow. Most people play checkers with their careers. They hop...

In this episode, I share an overview of my upcoming course. Play the audio to hear my description of each of the steps below. 10 Steps to Prepare for a Successful Job Interview * Research your target employer * Identify their biggest problems * Map your expertise * Tune your resume, LinkedIn, etc. * Find your inside champions and connections * Prepare and rehearse * Setting the stage * How to crus...

No one ever said the job market was fair. That’s even more true in the current economy which has been plagued with layoff after layoff. Now, in this race for a new job, some candidates are clearly driving race cars, while others are struggling to make it around the job search track with an underpowered engine or even a flat tire. Why is that? Let me play with this metaphor for a bit, starting with...

In this podcast episode, I share a sneak peek at my recent Invincible Career Job Search workshop I hosted on April 1st. In the previous podcast episode , when I shared a preview of the workshop, I talked quite a bit about the Connecting strategy . In this episode, I discuss positioning (e.g., LinkedIn, resume, cover letter) a little more and then dive into the Broadcasting strategy . If you want o...

In this episode, I share an overview of the presentation materials to give you a sense of the 2-hour workshop I’ll be hosting on April 1st. So, make sure to play the audio since I’m not including 2 hours of text material in this newsletter article. ➡️ “ Find a Better Job Using 3 Essential Job Search Strategies ” The price for the workshop goes up again next week. So, if you're interested in joinin...

This is one of the worst job markets I’ve experienced in quite some time. It seems like new layoffs are being announced every day. In this podcast episode, I talk more about what’s going on, how to tell if a layoff might be coming, what to do about it, and how to get back into the game after one happens. I’ve linked some of my past articles you might find useful if you’re concerned about a layoff...

The most successful people in your industry and profession may not be better than you. They also may not be more intelligent, talented, or hardworking than you. However, I bet they are great at something most of us usually are not: Promoting themselves. Of course, self-promotion isn’t enough. You do need a baseline of competence in your job. However, I think we’ve all noticed that management will...

This year, I spent  hundreds of hours  researching and writing newsletter articles — and recording podcast episodes — to share with you. I listed the top 10 below. If you found my advice and articles helpful this year and would like to support my continued writing and podcasting next year, please consider upgrading to a premium membership that also grants you access to: * My private Invincible Car...

Why do some people hear about opportunities before you do ? * Are they that much smarter than you? * Are they liked more than you? * Are they better than you? Before you get angry with me, let me say it’s probably none of the above. When this happens, it’s usually because: * More people know who they are. * More people see their work. * People think about them. But why are more people thinking of...

“Staying employed at the same company for over two years on average is going to make you earn less over your lifetime by about 50% or more.” — Cameron Keng You may be underpaid if you’ve stayed with your current employer for longer than two years. Consider the following chart. On average, people who change jobs see bigger increases in their income. Haven’t you noticed this in your career? When you...

Let me start by saying I’m using a metaphor here. I haven’t hunted since I was a teenager in the Midwest. I love animals, so please don’t take my talk of “hunting” literally and miss the advice I’m trying to share in this article. Human beings have been acquiring food to survive for millions of years. We’ve used a combination of active/direct and passive/indirect methods to find the animals and pl...

Have you ever worked for a showboat ? That’s the kind of leader who wants all the attention. They lead from the top down and expect everyone to get in line behind their vision of the future. They’re not usually open to hearing new ideas from the organization below them. Showboat leaders are incredibly charismatic figures. So, it’s not surprising that they rise to the top. * They have a grand visio...

My guest for this episode is Tim Yeo ( @timyeo on Twitter ). Tim coaches introverts to have impact and influence without pretending to be extroverts at The Quiet Achiever . He is currently Design Director @ IBM, helping Enterprise clients transform their businesses with enterprise scale at startup speed. In IBM, Tim focuses on DesignOps for the Customer Transformation design practice in Australia....

My next live fireside chat with Q&A will be on Monday, June 26th. Join us to talk about careers, job searches, job interviews, offer negotiation, professional growth, and more! I want to thank the folks who gave me feedback about how to keep improving this newsletter. I’ve already incorporated some of it and made changes. One excellent piece of feedback from Michelle was to be more inclusive with...

I hosted another live fireside chat via Zoom last month. In this podcast episode, I share some of the questions and answers we discussed. As usual, people sent me questions ahead of time. But in this session, we also covered questions raised during the Zoom. For example: * “What is there to write about (related to my profession)?” * “Do I even want a career anymore? Do I want to do something for m...

I hosted a live fireside chat via Zoom last month, and I’ve already shared the first half of the Q&A. This is part 2 . People sent me questions ahead of time; then I shared my answers with the attendees. We had some more detailed discussions later. For example: * “How to adjust to a new controlling boss?” * “How do I persuade my colleagues to take action on one of my initiatives?” * “What question...

I hosted a live fireside chat via Zoom last month. People sent me questions ahead of time, then I shared my answers with the attendees. We had some more detailed discussions later. For example: * “What can I do to stand out amongst hundreds of other applicants?” * “Should I change my resume?” * “What are some strategies to network more effectively with professionals at my level or higher and what...

Invincible Career® is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. He frowned and said, "That's a stupid idea. It will never work."  "How do you know? We haven't even tested it yet!"  He leaned back in his chair with a slightly smug look on his face. "I've been working on this product for five years. We've tested hundreds of...

Invincible Career® is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. "It used to be so easy for me to get a new job. I didn't even have to look or try. People came to me! But, now? Now I'm struggling to get to the final round and I haven't received any offers in over a year? Something has changed…" — My new client My  coaching...

This year, I spent  hundreds of hours  researching and writing newsletter articles — and recording podcast episodes — to share with you. I listed the top 10 below, and I’ve also categorized most of the other articles and episodes for easier browsing. If you found my advice and articles helpful this year and would like to support my continued writing and podcasting next year, please consider upgrad...

Do you have a colleague or friend who might be interested in the advice I publish in this newsletter? Feel free to share it with them! Did you know the average American hasn’t made a new friend in five years ? As we grow older, we make fewer friends than we did as children and young adults during school, college, etc. It’s probably not surprising that many of our friends come from our work experie...

A storm is coming… * The economy is not in great shape, and we are probably entering a recession . * Companies have been instituting hiring freezes since the summer.   * Startups and larger corporations have been laying off thousands of people this year.  The last few years have been an employee’s market . Hiring was booming, especially after the recovery from the quarantine months of the pandemic...

Do this today Take a moment and assess the balance of how much you are giving to your job vs. how much it is giving back to you in return. Is it equitable? Are you receiving more than you are giving? Or is your job taking more than it is investing back in you? I can’t stand it when bad things happen to good people . I’m sure you’ve experienced some pretty bad things in your professional life. You...