I have strived to make INTERVIEWING my niche – my area of expertise. I am a SME – “a Subject Matter Expert” on the subject of job interviewing.
My background is diverse in that I have worked in a variety of environments ranging from Fortune 500 companies to startups, as well as non-profit and academia. I’ve worked in High Tech and Manufacturing, Aerospace, and Biotechnology.
As a Human Resources Manager for many years, I interviewed thousands of people and watched them make major mistakes – and lose the job to someone else. Although I wanted to help them, I couldn’t because I was on the other side of the desk. After I received my Master’s degree in Career Counseling, I made a decision to change what I did because I wanted to help people. My work has been extremely rewarding because of the wonderful emails I receive telling me about the differences I have made in the lives of others – helping them get the jobs and careers they wanted.
My clients range from attorneys to administrative assistants and everyone in-between: FBI agents, law enforcement, fire, police and other public agencies, project managers, public relations professionals, product managers, salespeople, accounting and finance people at all levels, high-tech IT experts, teachers, pre-med students and grads, health care professionals, and even beauty queens.
For me, what counts in my work is the caring and connection I make with people. I really want them to succeed, so I will do whatever it takes to help them, and that includes follow-up emails for as long it takes. We practice, we talk strategy and focus, and together we come up with ideas to set them apart from the other candidates.
I love to tell a good business story. I’ve been doing so in various ways most of my career. Since 2011, I’ve focused my marketing communications expertise on helping businesses and senior executives tell their stories with passion and authenticity.
My passion– is teaching executives how to own and control their personal brand –stems from my observation that as my talented, senior-level friends and colleagues approached mid-career, their concerns about job security intensified.
Many worried that if they lost their job, they might never find their way back into the workforce.
Indeed, that was my own fear when I was separated from my stable working situation — new management at my steady business client of twenty years changed to a retained, single-vendor for all their marketing communications, laid off all their internal marketing communications staff, and stopped sending me projects.
During my own search for a way to use my communication talent in another venue, I learned that ranking highly on LinkedIn is not a matter of luck. I learned about the levers that control the search algorithm and discovered the strategies which, when executed with skill, resulted in my being found for other opportunities.
I helped many newly-unemployed friends get savvy about LinkedIn before I realized that executive LinkedIn coaching was my ideal next career. It combines my ability to understand and explain technology with my talent for telling business stories with authenticity, tact, and power. And, it had the benefit of restoring my friends’ and clients’ confidence and sense of control.
I believe that your personal brand –well articulated on LinkedIn – is your best protection against business changes beyond your control. I’m excited to bring my LinkedIn expertise to a wider audience through my book, LinkedIn for the Savvy Executive, and through corporate training and speaking engagements.
Dr. Karen Gurney was born, raised, and lives in Cleveland Ohio with her husband, two Goldendoodles, and a Papillon. As a Clevelander, she grew up living with the decline and rebirth of a city that displaced countless professionals and families. This fostered her interest in urban economics, workforce development, and job markets resulting in her unique market-based strategies.
Karen has 20 years of combined experience in executive search consulting, career coaching, and human resources. As the Director of Strategic Development of Career IQ, she leverages a Doctorate in Economic and Workforce Development and a Masters in Business Administration. Dr. Gurney’s work has been featured on major U.S. news networks and she currently has eight online classes that teach career and business strategies in over 100 countries assisting over 8,000 students in their career pursuits.
Brenda Bernstein, award-winning Certified Executive Resume Master, Certified Master Resume Writer, and accomplished editor and LinkedIn trainer, holds an English degree from Yale University and a J.D. from the NYU School of Law.
Her signature presentations on How to Write a KILLER LinkedIn Profile have been attended by thousands of job seekers and other professionals seeking to establish a professional image on LinkedIn.
Over her 15 years as Owner and Senior Editor at The Essay Expert, Brenda has coached hundreds of students and professionals to write resumes, essays, and other materials that result in sought-after job interviews and, admission to top schools.
She has written three highly-acclaimed books: How to Write a KILLER LinkedIn Profile, How to Write a WINNING Resume, and How to Write a STELLAR Executive Resume.
Website: http://theessayexpert.com/ and www.killerlinkedinprofile.com Blog: http://theessayexpert.com/blog/
Clark Finnical is the author of “Job Hunting Secrets (from someone who’s been there)” and Linkedin Strategies to Take Your Career to The Next Level.
Clark worked in the corporate world for 30 years. And he knows firsthand what it’s like to look for a job. He’s done five successful searches himself. Clark is passionate about dispelling myths that put a job seeker at a disadvantage. He shares his career advice in frequent articles for LinkedIn.
He also volunteers as a career coach.
Chris Westfall is the national elevator pitch champion, author, entrepreneur and professional speaker. Working with top-tier corporate clients and colleges, he is an award-winning MBA instructor at the Business Leadership Center at SMU.
He is a past winner of the “Communicator of the Year” award at the top-rated MBA program for developing strong business communications skills (according to The Princeton Review). He is a featured keynote speaker at Hewlett Packard (HP), the largest technology company in the world, where he helps international sales executives with advanced leadership strategies.
A former technology sales executive, Westfall has lead sales teams and marketing efforts around the globe – with surprising results. Known as the “Sales Accelerator”, he helps companies and individuals to harness the power of communication to make a difference. Having risen through the ranks in Fortune 100 technology companies (Verizon and AT&T), he led international branding efforts at a division of Unilever, before moving into executive sales. As a technology leader, he built sales teams from scratch while managing marquee partnerships with Hilton, Hyatt, MGMMirage and Starwood.
A native of Chicago, Westfall received his undergraduate degree from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX. As a spokesperson and on-camera personality, he has worked in broadcast for some of the largest companies in the world. He holds a Masters in Business Administration from Texas Christian University, where he graduated with honors. He resides in Dallas with his wife and two daughters and is an avid supporter of the performing and visual arts.
Curtis L. Jenkins is President of C.L. Jenkins & Associates an author of “The Only Job Search Book you will ever need!” Curtis is also a Project Management Professional where he serves as the Director, of Governance and Enterprise Program Management Office (EPMO) for Solenis, LLC.
C.L. Jenkins & Associates, Inc is a management consulting firm focused on helping small businesses through Advisory Board Services (working on the business) and Strategic Consulting (Working in the business).
Curtis’ career spans over 20 years as a Project Management leader in Mergers & Acquisitions, Global Information Technology Projects, and Management Consulting in the specialty chemical, transportation, financial services, telecommunications, utilities and manufacturing industries.
Curtis has a B.A. from Temple University and a master’s degree in the Management of Technology from the University of Pennsylvania.
Curtis’ personal vision is to “Change his World One Person at a Time through meaningful and impactful engagements creating a positive experience at every encounter.” As such, Curtis thrives on self-improvement and believes in giving his time, talent and tools to share with others who yearn for prosperity.
In his spare time, Curtis enjoys his family and friends. Curtis loves to travel, play golf, and spends each day learning something fascinating and new.
Rae A. Stonehouse is a Canadian-born author & speaker. His professional career as a Registered Nurse working predominantly in psychiatry/mental health, has spanned four decades.
Rae has embraced the principle of CANI (Constant and Never-ending Improvement) as promoted by thought leaders such as Tony Robbins and brings that philosophy to each of his publications and presentations.
Rae has dedicated the latter segment of his journey through life to overcome his personal inhibitions. As a 20+ year member of Toastmasters International he has systematically built his self-confidence and communicating ability. He is passionate about sharing his lessons with his readers and listeners. His publications thus far are of the self-help, self-improvement genre and systematically offer valuable sage advice on a specific topic.
His writing style can be described as being conversational. As an author Rae strives to have a one-to-one conversation with each of his readers, very much like having your own personal self-development coach. Rae is known for having a wry sense of humor that features in his publications.
A bit of self-promotion, if you don’t mind. My book is a great resource but so am I.
My culinary expertise is limited to boiling water and operating a toaster oven but my client was just hired as an Executive Chef at a golf club that hosts PGA events. He had the experiences, I documented them.
My client (a recent college grad) was told by the GE Leadership Program (their multi-year rotational programs for emerging leaders) that her résumé was the best they had ever received.
The large biotech compliance company that hired my client told her they had never seen a resume look more professional than hers. “The layout was absolutely perfect, the bullet points spot on, and the info it contained just right.” She tells me they see LOTS of resumes but took time to GUSH about hers.
Al Smith, “the HIRED! guy,” is author of the job search manual “HIRED! Every Employment Method” and co-author of “HIRED! Paths to Employment in the Social Media Era,” which was an Amazon Best Seller and Amazon #1 Top Rated by Readers in all three of its categories.
Al has been an executive for seven companies and has in excess of 35 years of management, sales, marketing, training and coaching experience. He has been a hiring manager since his early twenties. Al’s track record of success as a multiple award-winner in five diverse industries, speaks to his innate ability to transfer skills to changing landscapes. This is evident with the adaptation of his sales training methods to help candidates with their most difficult “sales” experience: Job Transition.
National trainer for three companies in two industries, Al has learned from the insightful techniques of Miller-Heiman, Xerox, American Management Association, Kimberly-Clark, Systema and others. He has morphed those taught and life tested experiences combined with with an innovative, proprietary methodology that is interspersed with self-deprecating humor to make many of his points hit home.
Mr. Smith has been heard internationally via webinars, coaching classes, seminars and live speaking engagements. He has helped in excess of 1,000 people with their job search during the past four years. Al believes that every candidate is unique and should learn every method for finding a job because no single method is right for everyone. One size does not fit all.
Al is widely recognized for his creative presentations and ability to communicate complex material in readily understandable terms. Einstein once said, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t know it well enough.” If correct, few know how to help those in job transition secure new employment better than Al Smith.