by Karen Alphonse | Dec 3, 2013 | Uncategorized
Q: How do good leaders operate? What strategies do they apply as they run their day-to-day businesses? A: Leadership may be as much the result of introspection as it is the result of successful execution. Self-knowledge triggers the kind of action that makes strong...
by Karen Alphonse | Nov 19, 2013 | Advice, Featured, Job Seekers
Q: During my current job search, I have networked with several people, and these are my concerns: The trend seems to be positions with term limits or temporary positions; I am not excited about the opportunities I see, and Hiring directors at nonprofits have a...
by Karen Alphonse | Nov 12, 2013 | Advice, Featured, Job Seekers, Management
Q: How does the gender gap affect working women today? Have any strides been made since the Women’s Liberation movement to make women’s workforce issues a matter of public debate? A: Women have certainly made strides in terms of their visibility and the variety of...
by Karen Alphonse | Nov 5, 2013 | Advice, Featured, Management
Q: We hear so much about “leadership” these days. How do you define it? A: While I do not know how to define leadership in all of its scope, I can offer the working pieces that comprise its foundation: a set of attributes allowing one person to assume decision-making...
by Karen Alphonse | Oct 29, 2013 | Advice, Featured, Job Seekers
Q: I am definitely overqualified for my present role. I hold an advanced education degree and have been in the workforce for more than 25 years. I took this job two years ago to keep myself productive. Now, I regret the choice. My immediate supervisor is a lifer...
by Karen Alphonse | Oct 22, 2013 | Advice, Featured, Job Seekers
Q: I have heard so many different suggestions of what to include on my resume. What do you suggest? A: Focus on accomplishments, money and mission. By accomplishments, I mean anything that pushed your organization ahead and for which you can honestly claim...
by Karen Alphonse | Oct 15, 2013 | Advice, Featured, Job Seekers
Q: I have been in the workplace for the past 30 years, and I have many leadership skills. I was laid off during a downsizing after 15 years with that organization, and it has been more than three years since I my last paycheck. It is also difficult finding a job...
by Karen Alphonse | Oct 8, 2013 | Advice, Featured, Management, Recruiters
Q: I am part of the senior leadership team at a national not-for-profit. We are hiring a new executive director, and I was asked to review references for the two finalists. Most of the references were superb. However, there was a reference for one of the candidates...
by Karen Alphonse | Oct 1, 2013 | Advice, Featured, Job Seekers
Q: What do recruiters look for in cover letters and resumes that will give an applicant a significant edge over others? A: Kristina DeLuca has an interesting blog seeking responses to this very question. To her blog, many respondents advise showcasing the following...
by Karen Alphonse | Sep 24, 2013 | Advice, Featured, Management
Q: How do you put a diversity plan in place? A: The discussion about how to implement a winning diversity strategy is as intriguing as it is ongoing. I read a recent thread on this topic on LinkedIn where there were comments about identifying specific goals, figuring...
by Karen Alphonse | Sep 17, 2013 | Advice, Featured, Job Seekers
Q: I am older than 50, and I am having a difficult time accepting repeat rejections during my job search. It is frustrating and difficult to find meaningful work. What is an older employee to do in this economy? A: Your issue is well documented. A New York Times...
by Karen Alphonse | Sep 10, 2013 | Advice, Featured, Management, Recruiters
Q: I am a board member at a $10M non-profit in the North East. Our current Executive Director is coming up for review, and we are struggling with how to ask her to leave. The organization’s finances are in a pitiful state, morale is low, and, apparently, some key...
by Karen Alphonse | Aug 27, 2013 | Advice, Featured, Management
Q: We updated our fundraising department with new software that allows us annually to reach thousands of targeted prospects. Our current Development Director does not know how to work the software, and she is a bit of a technophobe. Already, we see gaps between how...
by Karen Alphonse | Aug 19, 2013 | Advice, Featured, Job Seekers
Question: I hear what you need to get a senior-level job these days is an “Executive Profile,” not a resume. A friend described the profile as a detailed document describing the information usually contained on a resume and more. Can you elaborate? Answer: We have...
by Karen Alphonse | Aug 13, 2013 | Advice, Featured, Job Seekers
Q: After applying for a new, professional job for quite some time, I finally have an offer from a well-known, regional insurance company. However, the offer is making me angry. I will be hired on a contract basis for the first year and am expected to generate at...
by Karen Alphonse | Aug 6, 2013 | Advice, Featured, Job Seekers
Q: I have been crushed by the lack of response to my resume. My more than 33-year career has been as a corporate executive, an entrepreneur and an adjunct professor, so I am very taken back at the seeming lack of interest. After circulating the current version of my...
by Karen Alphonse | Jul 30, 2013 | Advice, Featured, Job Seekers
Q: I have been a professor for the past 15 years and would like to serve the not-for-profit sector in a leadership capacity. I have tried everything from applying online and following up on job board posts to responding to newspaper ads. Nothing has even resulted in...
by Karen Alphonse | Jul 23, 2013 | Advice, Featured, Job Seekers
Q: I live and work in South Carolina and want to relocate to the North East for family reasons. My spouse and I have family in New Hampshire, and, for the sake of our two children, we would like to find solid positions in that general area. I feel as though my...
by Karen Alphonse | Jul 16, 2013 | Advice, Featured, Job Seekers
Question: I am finding that in my current role, there seems to be a glass ceiling regardless of having earned three promotions during my tenure. Complicating this issue is that I live in a state with a poor reputation for education which concerns us for our two sons....
by Karen Alphonse | Jul 9, 2013 | Advice, Featured, Job Seekers
Question: I have been in the financial services sector for the past fifteen years working for a number of big name companies operating mostly out of New York City. I would like to take on a not-for-profit leadership role that taps my three core strengths of client...
