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100+ Career Blogs ALL Professionals MUST Read

Whether you are seeking career advice or job opportunities, developing your personal brand, taking the next step in your career or simply just want to keep track of news and updates from the career industry, Career Rocketeer has compiled and presents to you the ultimate, definitive list of career blogs and show you what do you need for starting a blog, what you should be reading, including those of authors, bloggers, coaches and experts in the world of personal branding and marketing, career and job searching, networking, social media, resume writing and more.

Career Search

Accelerating Momentum – Joan Schramm – http://blog.achieve-momentum.com/
Adventures of the Job Search Ninja – Todd Bavol – http://www.integritycareertransitions.com/blog
Alison Doyle – Alison Doyle – http://alisondoyle.typepad.com/
Another Point of View – Kay Stout – http://www.kaystout.net/
Back on the Career Track – Carol Fishman Cohen – http://shine.yahoo.com/blog/Z2MKDE5UQ7YUKK4IHQLOD5RKBQ/
The Big Time – Spherion.com – http://www.spherion.com/careerblog/
Build the Career You Deserve – Kevin Kermes – http://www.kevinkermes.com/blog/
Career by Choice – Megan Fitzgerald – http://www.careerbychoiceblog.com/
Career Change Examiner – Allison Cheston – http://www.examiner.com/x-3845-NY-Career-Change-Examiner
CareerDiva – Eve Tahmincioglu – http://www.careerdiva.net/
Careerealism – JT O’Donnell – http://www.careerealism.com/
Career Goddess Blog – Susan Guarneri – http://blog.careergoddess.com/blog/
Career Hub – Louise Fletcher – http://www.careerhubblog.com/main/
Career Jockey – Jorge Lázaro Díaz – http://www.careerjockey.org/
The Career Makeover Coach – Tai Goodwin – http://careermakeovercoach.com/
Career Renegade Blog – Jonathan Fields – http://www.careerrenegade.com/blog
Career Success – Andy Robinson – http://careersuccess.typepad.com/
Career Transitions – Katharine Brooks – http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/career-transitions
Career Trend's Blog – Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter – http://careertrend.wordpress.com/
Cheezhead – Joel Cheesman – http://www.cheezhead.com/
CIO Job Search – Mark Cummuta – http://advice.cio.com/blogs/cio_job_search_a_real_life_chronicle
Circle Blog – JobCircle.com – http://jobcircle.com/blog
CollegeRecruiter.com Employer's Blog – Steven Rothberg – http://www.collegerecruiter.com/employersblog
Courting Your Career – Shawn Graham – http://courtingyourcareer.wordpress.com/
Elite Resumes – Martin Buckland – http://aneliteresume.com/blog/
EmploymentDigest – Bill Vick – http://www.employmentdigest.net/
Future Perfect: Career Transition and Management Strategies – Dorothy Dalton – http://dorothydalton.blogspot.com/
Gayle's Blog – Gayle Howard – http://www.topmargin.com/blog
Grad to Great Blog – Anne Brown – http://gradtogreat.com/blog
Gradversity – Trevor Wilson – http://www.gradversity.com/
Great Resumes Fast – Jessica Holbrook – http://greatresumesfast.wordpress.com/
Health Careers Blog – Andrea Santiago – http://healthcareers.about.com/b/
Hire Educated – David Sandusky – http://hireeducated.wordpress.com/
Interview Angel Blog – Brent Peterson – http://www.interviewangel.com/blog/default.asp
JibberJobber Blog – Jason Alba – http://www.jibberjobber.com/blog
Jobacle Blog – Jobacle.com – http://www.jobacle.com/blog
Job Market Success – Clare Whitmell- http://www.jobmarketsuccess.com/
JobMob – Jacob Share – http://jobmob.co.il/
JT & Dale Talk Jobs – JTandDale.com – http://www.jtanddale.com/
Lindsey Pollak – Lindsey Pollak – http://www.lindseypollak.com/blog
Kaleidoblog – Susan Strayer – http://susanstrayer.typepad.com/blog/kaleidoblog
Marketing Headhunter – Harry Joiner – http://www.marketingheadhunter.com/
Monster Blog – Monster.com – http://monster.typepad.com/
Netshare – Kathy Simmons – http://blog.netshare.com/
Penelope Trunk's Brazen Careerist – Penelope Trunk – http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/
Pongo Blog – Pongo Resume – http://www.pongoresume.com/blogs/1/pongo.cfm
reCareered – Phil Rosenberg – http://recareered.blogspot.com/
ResumeBear Blog – ResumeBear.com – http://www.resumebear.com/blog
ResumesDoneWrite – Debra Wheatman – http://resumesdonewrite.blogspot.com/
ResumePower Blog – ResumePower.com – http://www.resumepower.com/blog
Resume to Referral Blog – Teena Rose – http://www.resumetoreferral.com/blog/
The Risesmart Blog – Risesmart.com – http://www.risesmart.com/risesmart/blog
Six Figures Blog – Kelly Magowan – http://blog.sixfigures.com.au/
Spin Strategy – Tim Tyrell-Smith – http://blog.spinstrategy.com/
Sweet Careers – Grace Kutney – http://sweetcareers.blogspot.com/
The Talent Buzz – Jason Buss – http://thetalentbuzz.com/
VisualCV Blog – VisualCV.com – http://blog.visualcv.com/
What Would Dad Say – GL Hoffman – http://blogs.jobdig.com/wwds
The Wise Job Search – Harry Urshel – http://www.thewisejobsearch.com/
Work Bloom – WorkBloom.net – http://www.workbloom.net/
The Work Buzz – CareerBuilder.com – http://www.theworkbuzz.com/
Workforce50 – Gene Burnard – http://blog.workforce50.com/
YourOnRamp – Catherine Cliffard – http://www.youronramp.com/blogs/career

Leadership, Management & Career Development

45 Things – Anita Bruzzese – http://www.45things.com/blog.php
All Things Workplace – Steve Roesler – http://www.allthingsworkplace.com/
Ask a Manager – Alison Green – http://askamanager.blogspot.com/
Ask a Millenial – Adrienne Waldo – http://askamillennial.blogspot.com/
Career Adventure – Kristi Daeda – http://www.kristidaeda.com/
CFO Coach – Cindy Kraft – http://www.cfo-coach.com/
Coach'm Up Boni – Boni Candelario – http://coachmup.com/
Cube Rules – Scot Herrick – http://cuberules.com/
Employee Evolution – Ryan Healy – http://www.employerevolution.com/
The Enlightened Manager Blog – Cheri Baker – http://blog.emergenceconsulting.net/
Escape from Cubicle Nation – Pam Slim – http://www.escapefromcubiclenation.com/
Great Leadership – Dan McCarthy – http://www.greatleadershipbydan.com/
Great on the Job – Jodi Glickman – http://www.greatonthejob.com/
Hello, my name is BLOG! – Scott Ginsberg – http://www.hellomynameisscott.blogspot.com/
How to Change the World – Guy Kawasaki – http://blog.guykawasaki.com/
Human Race Horses – Michael VanDervort – http://humanracehorses.blogspot.com/
Human Resources Blog – Susan Heathfield – http://humanresources.about.com/b
Jason Seiden's Blog – Jason Seiden – http://jasonseiden.com/
Julia Ann Erickson – Julia Ann Erickson – http://www.julieannerickson.blogspot.com/
Keith Ferrazzi – Keith Ferrazzi – http://www.keithferrazzi.com/blog
Kirsten Grant – Kirsten Grant – http://kirstengrant.blogspot.com/
Leading Blog – LeadershipNow – http://www.leadershipnow.com/leadingblog
Less Ordinary Living – Philip Bolton – http://www.lessordinaryliving.com/
Life@Work – Heather Mundell – http://dbcs.typepad.com/
Midlife's a Trip – Karen Batchelor – http://www.midlifesatrip.com/
Movin' On Up – Express Employment Professionals – http://blog.expresspersonnel.com/
People Potential Blog – Nancy Branton – http://www.nancybranton.typepad.com/
Phil Gerbyshak – Phil Gerbyshak – http://www.philgerbyshak.com/
Professional Studio 365 – Emily Bennington – http://professionalstudio365.com/
The Smart Networking Blog – Liz Lynch – http://blog.networkingexcellence.com/
Threshold Consulting – Walter Akana – http://www.threshold-consulting.com/
TalentCulture – Meghan Biro – http://www.talentculture.com/
Tim Ferriss – Tim Ferriss – http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog
Tom Peters! – Tom Peters – http://www.tompeters.com/
UWork Blog – Terry Del Percio – http://www.workintegrity.wordpress.com/
Water Cooler Wisdom – Alexandra Levit – http://alexandralevit.typepad.com/
Work Coach Cafe – Ronnie Ann Himmel – http://www.workcoachcafe.com/
Working Girl – Karen Burns – http://www.karenburnsworkinggirl.com/?page_id=688
Young and Successful – Jennifer Kushell – http://youngandsuccessful.com/

Marketing, Social Media & PR

The Buzz 101 – Maria Elena Duron – http://thebuzz101.blogspot.com/
Chris Brogan – Chris Brogran – http://www.chrisbrogan.com/
Debbie Weil – Debbie Weil – http://www.debbieweil.com/blog
Duct Tape Marketing – John Jantsh – http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/blog
Get Fresh Minds – Katie Konrath – http://www.getfreshminds.com/
Lindsay Olson – Lindsay Olson – http://lindsayolson.com/
New Sales Economy Blog – Chad A. Levitt – http://newsaleseconomy.com/
Personal PR – Tiffany Monhollon – http://tiffanymonhollon.com/blog
PR Sarah Evans – Sarah Evans – http://prsarahevans.com/
Resourceful Marketer – Monica O’Brien – http://www.monicaobrien.com/
Shoestring Branding – Mario Sanchez-Carrion – http://www.shoestringbranding.com/
Marketing Coach – Charles Brown – http://webmarketingcoach.blogspot.com/

Personal Branding & Entrepreneurship

Become a Young Successful Entrepreneur – Jun Loayza – http://www.junloayza.com/
Brand Camp University – Hajj Flemings – http://www.brandcamp.us/
The Branding Gavel – Yinka Olaito – http://yinkaolaito.com/
Brand You Image – Diana Jennings – http://www.dianajennings.com/
Brand Yourself – Pete Kistler – http://blog.brand-yourself.com/
Career Brander – Ian Levine – http://careerbrander.wordpress.com/
Career Rocketeer – Chris Perry – http://www.careerrocketeer.com/
Empowering Young Entrepreneurs – Bradley Will – http://www.bradleywill.com/
The Engaging Brand Blog – Anna Farmery – http://theengagingbrand.typepad.com/
Executive Brand Coach – Phyllis Shabad – http://www.executivebrandcoach.com/
Executive PowerBrand – Deb Dib – http://www.executivepowerbrand.com/blog_index.html
Executive Resume Branding Blog – Meg Guiseppi – http://executiveresumebranding.com/
Hajj Flemings – Hajj Flemings – http://www.hajjflemings.com/blog
Mark Montoya – Mark Montoya – http://markmontoya.com/OnlinePersonalBrandingSpecialist/
Personal Branding Blog -Dan Schawbel – http://personalbrandingblog/
The Personal Branding Blog – Rob Cuesta – http://robcuesta.typepad.com/
The Personal Branding Blog – William Arruda – http://www.thepersonalbrandingblog.com/
Rachel Gogos – Rachel Gogos – http://www.rachelgogos.com/
The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur – Mike Michalowicz – http://www.toiletpaperentrepreneur.com/blog/
Your Career By Design – Mary Rosenbaum – http://yourcareerbydesign.com/page/1

The easiest way to take advantage of the insights and updates from all of these blogs is to use an RSS Reader, such as Bloglines, NewsGator or Google Reader. Unfortunately, while I use Google Reader, because it is simple and integrated into my other Google accounts, I have yet to figure out an easy way to add multiple blog feeds at one time; however, if you know of a way, please feel free to share it with us as a comment to this post.

Author:

Chris Perry, MBA is similar to Beyond Beards brand and marketing "generator," a career search and personal branding expert and the founder of Career Rocketeer and Launchpad.

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Finding a Culture for Success

If youâ€™ve ever found yourself in a company that doesnâ€™t value your skills, then youâ€™ll appreciate the discussion on finding the right corporate culture for the skills and talents you bring to an organization. In this post, weâ€™ll take a quick look at how you can overcome a very common barrier for moving your career to the next level.

A big issue for many working professionals is in finding a good fit for success within a company. Fit is usually broken up into two factors: job and organization. Job fit is fairly easy for the company and the individual to figure out; that is, you have the skills for the job or either the company feels they can teach you what you need to know. Organization or culture fit is much more difficult. It is essentially the alignment of beliefs and values of you and the company. Yes, the company has their own set of values. Why? Because companies are usually run by people and these people have values.

When companies interview candidates for hire, one would hope that they are asking questions that will assess both fits. Unfortunately, many companies donâ€™t know what their values are. Itâ€™s fairly safe to say that many people that get involved in the interview process donâ€™t fully understand their own companyâ€™s culture. Assessing whether you will fit or not is too difficult for most interviewers and usually doesnâ€™t happen. The problem is that the interviewer will assess you with their own values. If there is a gross mismatch, they wonâ€™t recommend you. Even if there is a match, the interviewerâ€™s values may not be the same as those in higher levels of the organization. This is important if you want to move up in an organization.

Defining your values. It is useful for you to have a good understanding of why you work. Sure, we all work for the money. But do you work for increasing technical challenge, higher levels of authority, or high visibility? One thing most highly educated professionals value is graduate degrees. I know you are saying to yourself, of course they do. Theyâ€™ve spent a lot of time and effort into obtaining the degrees so they want to get a good return on it. The advanced degree is a tool for supporting the desire to do higher level tasks.

Other values that professionals seek are affiliation, autonomy, intellectual challenge, managing people, power, influence, prestige, recognition, security, variety and so on. If you want to achieve higher levels of success within someone elseâ€™s organization, you have to know your values and how you will use them. For example, I have a highly technical background. No matter what position you put me in, I will use analytical methods to resolve issues and perform my work. Now, consider putting me in a management position. Will my analytical skills be necessary? Maybe, but I will use them anyhow because itâ€™s who I am. I canâ€™t turn that off.

To know what type of environment that you would thrive in, you must first understand what you value. If your values are not present in your environment, you wonâ€™t be happy. Youâ€™ll become restless and will make a change. Sometimes this change is a conscious move to another company or it can be a subtle transformation to self-defeating behavior that drives a wedge between you and the company, forcing them to remove you.

Aligning your values. As mentioned earlier, ascertaining the values of a company from an interview is a big challenge. So maybe it isnâ€™t the best place to look. You should consider your career goals to define the location for a values assessment. Letâ€™s say you just completed your MBA and are looking to leave your current company to find a middle management position in another company. How do you determine if management will value your MBA? The best way is to evaluate their backgrounds. If management doesnâ€™t have graduate degrees but possess many years of work experience, they most likely wonâ€™t see much value in your advanced degree.

At all levels of management, values are different, but most managers strive to be similar to the managers at the highest levels of the organization. Henry Mintzberg defined the Ten Managerial Roles in 1973, outlining the typical behavior for CEOs. Later on, Pavett and Lau (1983) performed similar studies of lower and middle level managers and found that they emulated the higher level managers. One might think that managers desiring to be part of the executive groups will mimic their behavior so that they resonate with them and will increase their chances of being accepted into the group.

One of my clients struggled with achieving even the smallest levels of success in his organization because of a misalignment of values. My client held three advanced degrees, mostly because he wanted to differentiate himself from his competition. Unfortunately, with such high levels of education, he differentiated himself from his management. He appeared more as a threat to them. Management is about competitive advantage, to some extent. Those that sit at or near the top wonâ€™t value things that they donâ€™t have. No one would intentionally rule themselves out of the competition. Therefore, to align your strengths and skills with an organization, you need to align them with the values of higher level management. If they value what you have, you will be more successful. If they donâ€™t value it, youâ€™ll have a difficult time becoming extremely successful. After all, people donâ€™t like to change, especially if they value security.

Reaching your career goals in someone elseâ€™s organization is a difficult task. We often find ourselves in groups that donâ€™t appreciate our unique skills and abilities. Of course, we donâ€™t know what kind of culture we are in until we are neck deep in it. At that point, it can be painful and waste a lot of time trying to get out of the company and into a new one. You are better off taking the time to align your values with those that will be promoting you to higher levels. You can do that by aligning your values with their values.

Author:

Todd Rhoad, MSEE, MBA is Director at BT Consulting, a career consulting firm in Altanta, and author of â€œBlitz The Ladderâ€ and the soon to be released â€œMBA Ownerâ€™s Manual.â€ Todd can be reached at todd.rhoad@blitzteamconsulting.com.

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30+ Strong Action Verbs to Spice Up Your Resume

If you use the phrases â€œresponsible for, duties included, or worked with…â€ you are selling yourself, your experience and your resume short. These passive terms do absolutely nothing for communicating the value and benefits you offer an employer.

These phrases are boring and repetitive because most every job seeker uses them. Hiring managers need words that jump off the page and captivate them. Here are a few examples of my favorite action words:

Accelerated
Authored
Captivated
Captured
Championed

Consolidated
Critiqued
Directed
Diversified
Diverted
Doubled
Enforced
Enhanced
Exceeded
Pioneered
Forged
Formalized
Formulated
Generated
Influenced
Initiated
Integrated
Intensified
Leveraged
Masterminded
Maximized
Mentored
Optimized
Orchestrated
Re-engineered
Spearheaded
Structured
Proliferated
Recaptured
Rejuvenated

…And the list could go on. Donâ€™t like these? Use the synonym feature in Microsoft Word or go to thesaurus.com. Be strategic in your action verb choice and choose strong words that convey ACTION and RESULTS to begin every sentence. These words are a key component in creating a powerful and captivating resume.

For more great resources and resume samples visit Great Resumes Fast or to request a free resume analysis send your resume via e-mail to info@greatresumesfast.com.

Author:

Jessica Holbrook is an expert resume writer, career and personal branding strategist, author, speaker and President/CEO of Great Resumes Fast. She creates high-impact, best-in-class, resumes and cover letters that win interviews. For a free resume analysis visit http://www.greatresumesfast.com/ or for a free phone consultation call 1.800.991.5187.

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Why Invest in a Professionally Written Resume?

In a perfect world, interview candidates would be selected based on their strength and experiences. In reality, this isnâ€™t how the process works. Typically, a recruiter chooses the short list of candidates from a pile of resumes. The trick is to be on the short list.

The Rise of the Machines!

Donâ€™t assume your resume will be read just because you sent it through. Resume tracking software used by HR departments is a unique technology. This filtering system allows HR recruiters to set certain keyword parameters, about 30,000 keywords in all, to find the most qualified candidates for their searches. A great way to pass this first test is to partner with a Certified Professional Resume Writer who is trained on how to effectively keyword optimize your resume. Without it, your resume may never be seen by a human.

The Human Eye!

You made it. Your resume is finally in the hands of a human. Better make sure the next 10 seconds matter. Yep, you guessed it; candidates are selected or discarded in about 10 seconds. If your resume doesnâ€™t capture the recruiterâ€™s attention immediately, all of your years of hard work and education are wasted.

It has always been my belief that resumes get chosen, not candidates. To make matters worse, most people struggle to put themselves down on paper effectively. Thatâ€™s where certified writers flourish. Resume writers are experts in presenting professionals in a concise and meaningful way. Countless studies have proven that professionally written resumes get more interviews, and, if it shortens your job search by even one day, a professional resume will pay for itself.

Hiring managers need to eat!

Bam â€“ just like that itâ€™s down to 3 candidates. Awesome! You better make sure you have given the hiring manager something they can sink their teeth into.

One of the most important elements to a winning resume is its ability to provide value. There is no better value, at least for hiring managers, than quantifiable key achievements. This may be the single most important reason to invest in a professionally written resume. This is also what separates you from the competition.

Examples of well-written key achievements:

Successfully avoided client service level agreement (SLA) penalties of $100K by implementing and executing configuration management and quality assurance processes that resulted in the highest level (99-100%) audit score ratings.
Substantially increased overall customer service by 35% through a 100% delivery on commitments and by proactively solving the customer’s business issues instead of merely delivering on a project.
Oversaw an $800M budget that included development, management, adjustments, and management presentation. Year-end closed with less than 2% variance.

What does your resume say about you?

Guest Expert:

Edward McGoldrick, The Resume Professor, has the answers. He will school you in how to develop the most effective resume and land that perfect job.

McGoldrick has more than 10 years of progressive responsibility helping over 20,000 people find employment. Leveraging extensive knowledge and experience in staffing and professional resume writing, he is focused on providing top notch, results-oriented career services.

Prior to founding Resume Professors, McGoldrick served as a director with Spherion, a Fortune 500 staffing firm, leading the strategic and operational growth for the southeast region of the United States. He led this region through start-up, survival, turnaround and growth modes for over four years. McGoldrick also held the position of executive recruiter with Kforce where he earned several sales awards including Rookie of the Year. He also placed in the top 5% in sales every year throughout his six year tenure with the company.

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