Each week I’ll feature three posts offering particularly good counsel for those early in their careers. Send along your favorites for consideration.

Job search is a lot like dating—the more work you do at the front end to understand both yourself and your fit in the marketplace, the better the opportunities that will come your way.

For many people September presents a fresh start—like going back to school, it’s a time of renewed motivation and enthusiasm. Three things that help me get restarted are writing,  taking a course and attending a conference  especially in person. There’s nothing more inspiring than being in a shared interest group, with a lot of great speakers. And classes offer unlimited opportunities to network in a friendly setting.

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.

I had a very gratifying moment with a client the other day. He’s been out of work for a long time—about 9 months—and has been struggling with transitioning from his original career in journalism to something more secure and lucrative for the long term.

There’s a lot of confusion among recent college grads about how to acquire the skills employers deem necessary when the only way to get those skills is on the job. Going to college no longer guarantees you a well-paying job, and yet the ROI for a college degree is huge.