Every week I check dozens of “career” blogs and other online publications, looking for things that will help you find a job, get promoted, develop your skills, and keep everything in perspective and balance. Here’s the pick of the lot for this week. I’m pointing you to items about finding the ideal mentor, how to not get hired, coaching, teams, and stupid things you can post on Facebook.

From the Nashville Tennessean: Ideal mentors encourage, offer fresh perspective
“Look for someone (within your company or outside) whom you can trust and who you believe trusts you — because trust is the cornerstone of any relationship. A good mentor is someone who guides you while helping you discover your strengths. He or she encourages you to be the best of who you are. Mentors can offer a fresh perspective and facilitate alternative thinking.”

Wally’s Comment: This is a good short article about choosing a mentor. Mentors can be a powerful influence on your career. Connecting with a good one can make that a good influence.

From the Orlando Sentinel: 10 Things that Scream, “Don’t Hire Me!”
“Not sure if you’re unknowingly blowing your chances at scoring your dream job? Here are 10 red flags to be wary of during your next job hunt.”

Wally’s Comment: Wonder why you’re interviewing but not getting hired? You’ll find some possibilities in this article.

From HR Thoughts: Coaching Works
“Leadership coaching is one of the best professional decisions I made for myself. I started working with a leadership coach while a member of an executive team strategically preparing for company growth. I continued the coaching relationship after changing employers and focused on my leadership. For me, coaching has been invaluable.”

Wally’s Comment: Quality coaching can make a big difference in your career. Your company may provide coaching. Your boss may do a little. But you can also hire a coach for the specific issues you want to work on.

From 45 Things: 5 Ways to Put the “I” in Team
“Is there a middle ground? I think so. What makes teams useful is when you understand they can be helpful in getting work done, but they can also be a bottleneck. You need to understand that while you can reap the rewards of being on a team, you also need to watch out for yourself and your own career interests. ”

Wally’s Comment: This is a great post because it discusses something important that’s often not even mentioned. Read this to get some ideas about how teams can affect your career.

From Career Diva: 25 Stupid Things You Should Keep To Yourself
“This is just a small sampling of what people on Facebook have been saying about themselves since an annoying movement called “25 Things About Me” started on the social networking site. Basically you’re asked by a friend on Facebook to write 25 things about yourself that a lot of people may not know.”

And

“People are trying so hard to be witty and out do their friends, that they’re disclosing information that could come back to haunt them. Almost every hiring manager I talk to lately says one of the first things they do is Google an applicant’s name. I’ve written about this in the past in my MSNBC.com column.”

Wally’s Comment: Eve the Career Diva always has good advice and this is some of the best. Be sure to read the comments, especially the first one from HikingStick.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 12th, 2009 at 9:35 am and is filed under Tools and Strategies for Success. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.