Do you, or have you ever had, a “dream job”? Do you have any friends, former classmates or colleagues who describe their job as a dream? Do you believe them?

Negotiating a Flexible Schedule? An Expert Shows You How

I heard negotiation expert Katie Donovan interviewed for an 85 Broads webinar and thought my readers would benefit from her advice. Katie’s company, Equal Pay Negotiations, LLC, specializes in helping women negotiate for equal pay, benefits and promotions and Katie frequently addresses the topic of flexible schedules. Following is my Q&A with Katie on this important topic.

How to Handle Resume Gaps

I love getting questions from readers—and here’s a very practical one that I’m not sure I’ve addressed on this blog before.

Changing Course, Moving Up, Starting Out, Telling Your StoryAllison ChestonJune 19, 2013Back to Work, Career Change, Career Development, Career Management, Executive Careers, millennial careers, Networking, Resumes, Social Media Management, Work-Life, Career PlanningComment

The Perils of Working From Home

The fallout from Marissa Mayer’s decision to ban working from home for Yahoo employees, at least for now, has shone a light on the working from home conundrum. Many people who view working from home as a company benefit and one which makes their job actually doable, also realize that working from home can be both a blessing and a curse.

Changing Course, Moving Up, Telling Your StoryAllison ChestonMay 16, 2013Career Development, Career Management, College to Career, Internships, millennial careers, Self-Employment, Work-Life, Career PlanningComment

Let Me Interview You About Your Interesting Career

Do you do work that you find deeply engaging? Are you proud of what you do and want to share it with others?

Don’t Just Find a Job—Find a Career

Recently a career industry colleague who works with Millenials asked me a question very relevant to our times. She asked, “How do you get college graduates to think not in terms of finding a job, but finding a career?”

Changing Course, Moving Up, Starting Out, Telling Your StoryAllison ChestonSeptember 4, 2012Career Development, Career Management, Colby College, College Debt, College Loans, College to Career, Internships, Interviewing, millennial careers, Networking, Roger Woolsey, Work-Life, Career PlanningComment

Look Ahead in Your Job Hunt, Not Behind You

In a tough economy, I often hear job-seekers worry about “the competition” – with so many people looking for jobs, it’s harder to be the chosen one. I believe that your biggest competition is yourself—the fear that goes on inside your head, the lack of confidence that stops you from doing your best work — promoting yourself for the qualities you bring to the table.

Yes, Your Grammar Matters to Your Career

I loved the recent blog post by a tech CEO who says he won’t hire people who have bad grammar. As they say, you only have one chance to make a first impression, and those impressions are what count when you’re hunting for a job.

Moving Up, Changing Course, Starting Out, Telling Your StoryAllison ChestonAugust 28, 2012Back to Work, Career Change, Career Development, Career Management, College to Career, grammar, Internships, Interviewing, millennial careers, Work-Life, writing, Business Writing, Career PlanningComment

Internships Really Do Lead to Full-Time Jobs: One Intern’s Story

Everyone knows how valuable internships are to long-term career planning and ideation. Employers are reluctant to hire college grads who haven’t had work experience because by graduation time, the majority of students have had at least one internship.

Starting OutAllison ChestonAugust 1, 2012Boston University, Career Development, Career Management, College to Career, Internships, Interviewing, millennial careers, Negotiation, Networking, Northeastern, Social Media Management, Work-Life, Career PlanningComment

Why Hire A Millenial?

So you’re a hiring manager faced with the task of motivating millenials while enhancing the work experience of other generations—all while improving the profitability of the company. Not an easy task, but not impossible either.

Changing Course, Moving Up, Starting Out, Telling Your StoryAllison ChestonJuly 16, 2012Career Change, Career Development, Career Management, College to Career, Executive Careers, Hiring Gen Y's, Hiring Millenials, Internships, millennial careers, Social Media Management, Work-Life, Career PlanningComment

The False Start

It used to be that, just five or six years ago, you could graduate from college pretty much assured you’d have a job. Of course all that has changed since 2008 and the recession, with close to half of new college grads unable to find a job.

Starting OutAllison ChestonMay 2, 2012Career Development, Career Management, College Debt, College to Career, millennial careers, Networking, new college grads, Work-Life, Career Discovery, Career Planning, College Grad UnemploymentComment

Networking Oblivion

Are you a good networker, even a great one? Do you invest plenty of time in LinkedIn, steadily building your contacts and sharing posts and other information with the group? Are you a faithful tweeter? Do you tend to see the possibilities in people, wanting to meet them instead of worrying about wasting your time?

Allison ChestonOctober 26, 2011tagged Back to Work, Career Change, Career Development, Career Management, College to Career, Executive Careers, Internships, Interviewing, millennial careers, Networking, Social Media Management, Work-Life, Career PlanningComment

How Communication Skills Can Get You the Job

I recently read two blog posts about the importance of communicating effectively in order to advance your career. On their resumes, most people offer that they have “excellent communication skills”—an exaggeration on the part of most people and also a very subjective thing to gauge.

Changing Course, Moving Up, Starting Out, Telling Your StoryAllison ChestonJuly 7, 2011Work-LifeComment