Starting Out, Telling Your StoryAllison ChestonNovember 19, 2022Mental Health, Learning Disabilities, Neurodiversity, InterviewingComment

Six Essential Confidence Boosters to Nail that Interview

Changing Course, Moving Up, Starting Out, Telling Your StoryAllison ChestonDecember 3, 2021Interviewing, Behavioral Interviewing, Job Search, Career PreparationComment

Get the Job Before You Reject the Job

Changing Course, Starting OutAllison ChestonMay 5, 2021Job Search, College to Career, Interviewing, Negotiation, Compensation Comments

Your Post-College Job Search May Take Longer Than You Think

Last winter I had five college senior clients all seeking their first job, some with great trepidation. Of the five, I was least concerned about an outgoing, socially adept and directed Trinity College psych major who knew for sure she wanted to go into advertising. Sadie Cooper had been very strategic throughout her college summers and had several internships under her belt, including one in advertising. She and I both assumed she would graduate with a good job. Here is the story of Sadie’s career twists and turns and, ultimately, happy ending.

Starting Out, Telling Your StoryAllison ChestonMay 2, 2019Job Search, College to Career, Interviewing, NetworkingComment

5 Things College Seniors Can Do to Secure That Post-Grad Job

Today my clients include five college seniors I’m helping to secure a post-graduate job. While they have been doing all the right things since January, it is taking time to get responses. For all you college seniors out there, here’s the advice I’m sharing with my clients in real time:

The Messy Middle of Your Job Search

In my practice working with executives at all levels and millennials starting their careers I’ve noticed that everyone, regardless of experience, finds the middle of their search stressful and difficult.

Want More Interviews? Build Your Career Brand in 4 Steps

So you want a job that pays you to do your best work. You want to be appreciated for your experience, your special abilities and your creativity. You want to work for an organization that aligns with your personal values, a place you can feel proud to call home.

Graduating from College and No Job In Sight

Dear Ms. Cheston,

I am graduating from college this May with a B.S. in Public Health from Syracuse University, but I’m no longer sure I want to go into this field. While I’ve taken some business courses as well, I don’t know what to look for in a job, and when I apply to jobs online, I never receive a call back. As I move closer to graduation, I am nervous that I don’t have a job lined up for after graduation. Please help! I’m getting desperate.

Anxiety and Your Job Search: Getting the Treatment You Need

A client of mine, an engineer with a PhD from a top school, had an easy time getting interviews. But during every meeting he became nervous and hesitant, stuttering and sweating as he was asked to respond to the most basic interview questions.

5 Ways to Develop Yourself as a Leader Early in Your Career

Leadership is one of those terms that is so ubiquitous it’s hard to define. Everyone aspires to be a leader, feels pressure to be a leader, is building their leadership capabilities. Every company is looking for leaders. Sure there are natural leaders, those with charisma to burn whose disciples will follow them anywhere. But leadership is not just the purview of those with rare talents; most people can become leaders if they take an interest and a methodical approach.

Looking for a Job With Meaning? Here Are Four Ways to Find It

Are you a 20-something seeking work with meaning? Are you willing to trade great mentoring and a dynamic work environment for a lower salary? If that’s the case, you are trending with your generation. And while making less money is not to be treated lightly, research shows that people who feel personally fulfilled at work are happier than those who work exclusively for the money.

Get That Summer Internship (Or Job) Now!

You know how important it is to have internshi ps during your college years. And if you haven’t already lined something up, there is still a bit of time—provided you’re not completely consumed with studying for finals at the expense of conducting a search!

Why Getting Nervous Makes You Happier

You’ve been asked to make a presentation at work, or you’re a consultant who delivers speeches and workshops to generate interest in your work. You have some time to prepare—and you’re anxious. Depending on how you regard public speaking, you may be extremely nervous. And probably a bit excited, too. How can you best use your anxiety to your advantage?

But Should It Go on Your Resume?

You’ve heard it before: Ask 10 people to look at your resume and you’ll get 10 different opinions. So what’s a self-respecting job seeker in the throes of unemployment angst supposed to do?

Five Things to Do in College to Set You Up for a Great Career

There is an argument raging in this country right now about whether it is the duty of colleges and universities to make young people job-ready. Traditionalists argue that colleges should teach students how to think and help them develop a strong knowledge base, and that career preparation is the purview of career centers and employers. Many others, including President Obama, feel that colleges should take more responsibility for their graduates’ ability to get jobs. They argue that an ivory tower attitude doesn’t work anymore, given the cost of a college education today.

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