Career Quotes

If you keep your blog focused--you can develop a reputation as an expert in your specialty, thus attracting the attention of prospective employers--maybe. [2013] - Richard N. Bolles

The three top online universities are the University of Phoenix, Kaplan University, and Capella University. [2013] - Richard N. Bolles

In general, the people who get hired are those who mix speaking and listening fifty-fifty in the interview. [2013] - Richard N. Bolles

The twenty-second to two-minute rule: When it is your turn to speak or answer a question, you should plan not to speak any longer than two minutes at a time, if you want to make the best impression. In fact, a good answer to an employer's question sometimes only takes twenty seconds to give (but not less than that). [2013] - Richard N. Bolles

You will probably want to ask questions one and two out loud. You will observe quietly the answer to question three. You will be prepared to make the case for questions four and five, when the appropriate time in the interview arises. [2013] - Richard N. Bolles

Don't use the word "problems," as most employers prefer synonyms that sound gentler to their ears, such as "challenges" or "needs". [2013] - Richard N. Bolles

Some employers play despicable tricks on job-hunters, whereby they invite you in for an interview despite the fact that they have already hired someone for the position in question, and they know from the beginning that they have absolutely no intention of hiring you. [2013] - Richard N. Bolles

Always write a thank-you note the same evening as the interview, and mail it at the latest by early next morning. You may also e-mail it. [2013] - Richard N. Bolles

Be sure your resume is nicely laid out or formatted, using a decent-sized font, size 12 or even 14, etc. [2013] - Richard N. Bolles

The number of interviews employers need to conduct to find a hire, stays pretty constant--around 5.4. [2013] - Richard N. Bolles

If employers post their vacancy on a job-board such as Career-Builder.com or Monster.com, they have to look through 219 resumes from job-hunters who respond. The number of resumes comes down to 116 on social media sites such as LinkedIn or Facebook, 33 on their own website, 32 if the employee finds them, and 10 through referrals. [2013] - Richard N. Bolles

The employer prejudice that is getting increasing scrutiny now is age. Millions of baby boomers (the 76 million people born 1946-1964) are beginning to enter the so-called "retirement years." A lot of them are not going to find generous pensions waiting, but are going to have to keep working long. They will think you're too old for them to hire. Prejudices are often not about age but about money. Given all your years of experience, many of them think you will expect a high salary. Or you may cost them too much if age does bring with it more medical problems, and they are mandated to have a medical plan. [2013] - Richard N. Bolles

Whoever mentions a salary figure first, generally loses salary negotiation, at the end. [2013] - Richard N. Bolles

In researching salaries, you should also take note of the fact that most governmental agencies have civil service positions paralleling those in private industry--and government job descriptions and pay ranges are available to the public. [2013] - Richard N. Bolles

Fringe benefits such as life insurance, health benefits or health plans, vacation or holiday plans, and retirement programs typically add anywhere from 15 to 28 percent to many workers' salaries. [2013] - Richard N. Bolles

Career wellbeing is arguably the most essential of the five elements. If you don't have the opportunity to regularly do something you enjoy —— even if it's more of a passion or interest than something you get paid to do —— the odds of your having high wellbeing in other areas diminish rapidly. People with high Career Wellbeing are more than twice as likely to be thriving in their lives overall. [2010] - Tom Rath

Our wellbeing actually recovers more rapidly from the death of a spouse than it does from a sustained period of unemployment. Being laid off from a job in the last year did not result in any significant long-term changes. The key is to avoid sustained periods of unemployment (more than a year) when you are actively looking for a job but unable to find one. In addition to the obvious loss of income from prolonged unemployment, the lack of regular social contract and the daily boredom might be even more detrimental to your wellbeing. [2010] - Tom Rath

People looking for a new job should be as concerned about who their manager will be as they are about their job title, their benefits, the company's reputation, or even the pay. [2010] - Tom Rath

Career wellbeing is one of the major differentiators that helps us live into our 90s. Men who lived to see 95 did not retire until they were 80 years old on average. [2010] - Tom Rath

It takes ten thousand hours of practice to 'master' a skill, whether it be playing the violin or learning a new language. Broken down, that's about forty hours a week for five years. [2009] - Liz Miller