“I am writing to apply for the Marketing Manager position you have posted on your website. I have 5 years of experience in campaign management and 3 years of experience in content strategy. I also excel at working with others…
What’s Your Story? The Growing Importance of Passion Projects in the Tech Job Hunt
“So…tell me about yourself.” Interviews often start out with this rather ambiguous prompt. How do you tackle it? One approach is to launch into a verbal resume, spouting your past experiences and degrees earned. But a better approach is to…
Creativity at Work Comes from Everywhere but Work
One Sunday morning I was searching around online for something interesting to do that day. I came across a website listing local classes in various topics – yoga, sushi-making, scrapbooking, blogging, and more. Suddenly my eye came across one that…
Is Over-Branding Killing Your Authenticity?
There I stood at the check-out counter, waiting patiently as the cashier scanned my items. After the initial inquiry about my status as a Walgreens card holder, all conversation came to a screeching halt. I glanced lustfully at the bottle…
Preposterous Pitches: The Best of Magic Hat
Many of you know about Magic Hat. The lucky ones among you have had a chance to play it. But for the uninitiated, Magic Hat is my signature improvised, and comedic, pitch game that makes an appearance at almost all…
The Best Advice I’ve Heard on Goal Setting
Sarah had a bit of a problem. The humid summer air had finally given way to crisp mornings and cozy undershirts. Winter lay just around the corner, but Sarah’s old furnace was on the brink. She knew she couldn’t delay…
5 Thoughts That Crush Success
One of my readers, Deborah Smith, recently sent me this great article by Miles Jennings of Recruiter.com (thanks Deborah!). Many of the author’s comments are relevant to what I teach about achieving success with business communication, so I wanted to…
Multitasking is the Most Efficient Way to Half-Ass Everything
Our ability to communicate verbally is degrading due to our ever-increasing reliance on technology. We’re constantly being pulled in a dozen directions to keep up with all the information streams pouring into our lives. As a result, many people and…
Love and Pitching
Since it’s Valentine’s Day, I thought it might be appropriate to say a few words about love – and pitching. There are a number of similarities between how you act with your honey-bunny and how you should be acting with…