Phoenix Staff Blog

“Why would you jump out of a perfectly good airplane?” That’s the most common question I receive when I tell people that my son and…

Hate your current job and can’t figure out how to make a move? Sometimes, it’s due to circumstances, and other times, it comes down to…

In 1996, a trip up Mt. Everest became the basis for one of my all-time favorite books, “Into Thin Air” by Jon Krakauer. I was…

You Know You Have a Bald Spot Back Here, Right? When I was a sophomore in college, I wasn’t particularly concerned about my hair, but…

Employees are being laid off by the thousands; at the same time, employers still want employees to be loyal and advertise their interest in hiring…

If you are hiring, you might be feeling confident that, based on market conditions, you can hire people quickly. You may also think that you…

As a recruiter, I hate it when the person I assumed would land the role doesn’t get it. Early in my career, it was far…

  Probably dating myself a bit and potentially even alienating people.  Red rover, red rover was a game that we used to play on the…

Why are you looking for a new role? What happened with the last role you were in to prompt a move? Why the gap in…

In sales, you leave a lot of voicemails and send a lot of emails. Many of them go unanswered. When they are ‘cold’ reach-outs, it…

Occupational hazards exist within recruiting. Here are a few: You will upset people when you do not follow up. This one is deserved. To avoid…

One of the best ways to stand out as a job applicant is to interview well. It is important that you have intentional, meaningful answers…

To land a job, you need to be ready to brag about yourself, to tout your abilities and to interview with confidence. Problem is, you…

During a conversation with someone the other day about interviewing and resume writing, it came up that “everyone inflates the truth” in both. I thought…

In a continuation of conversations with leaders during the Covid-19 pandemic, I had a great opportunity to share time with JJ Gottsch, COO of Ryan…

It’s an early morning and you’re sitting in an office, ready to interview for a help desk position at an accounting firm. You’ve polished your…

Despite increased efforts to bridge the gap between what is being taught in our schools and Universities, the needs of the job market are still…

In an airplane, there is an instrument panel – of the instruments, the “attitude indicator” is arguably the most important you have as a pilot. …

You’ve taken the first step in looking for a job – you’ve carefully crafted (or recrafted) your resume, and fired it off to three, five,…

“That’s a really great question, I’m glad you asked.”   How many times have you had someone say this to you? How many times have…

One of our lead recruiters here at Phoenix Staff recently attended a full day of motivational seminars that included former President and COO of Microsoft,…

It may be cliché to say that techies need to get out from behind the monitor and walk out into the light, but seriously, you…

Part of the process to obtaining a new role involves writing and refining a resume, and I often have several conversations, emails and editorial rounds…

Have you ever heard a friend bad mouth a mutual friend and thought, “Wow, I wonder what he says behind MY back?” Keep this in…

My opinion, is that you might be better off kinda, I don’t know, avoiding qualifying words, like um, you know, filler words. They may, sort…

When I was growing up my Dad would always recommend that I find a “stable” job I could retire from. “Go to work at big…

“I had it on my old laptop… maybe I emailed it to myself? I think I had my mom edit it once, maybe she still…

Being unemployed can have many affects on a person. You may be feeling depressed, embarrassed, defeated, and overwhelmed, or you may be relieved, jubilant, and…

It makes for an impressive networking conversation that you made an iPhone app that monitors and tweets your home brewing process, 3D print bottle caps,…

My first job in high school was, like most kids that age, in a retail store. I worked in the stock room of a shoe…

Whether it’s as part of your work day, or personal life, aggressive, controlling, and eternally grumpy people will cross your path. Knowing how to deal…

At some point in time, most companies need to add structure or implement policies that will be counter to the intended or “original” culture. In Phoenix alone,…

It used to be that I would get asked a lot about promotions and, when conducting interviews, “what’s the next move I should make so…

For a long time, the rule of thumb regarding out-of-town addresses on resumes was to toss them into the “maybe but probably not” pile. Employers…

Two phone calls (of many) today with two entirely different outcomes. One was with a candidate who did something that I recommend every candidate do.…

My son asked me the other day, “Dad, why does DirecTV offer a lower price for ‘new customers only'”? Great question and since we watch…

These are the things I knew I would be when I grew up – well, at least between the ages of 6 and 11 I…

If you have never run a marathon before and you are setting this as part of your “New Year / New You” goal, good on…

It is frustrating to think that in a time when technology has made so many amazing advancements, that your resume is still an important part…

I spoke with someone today who made a comment that I have heard often in the past few months, “Had I focused on their resume,…

  My friend Joe recently wrote an article about chasing 2 rabbits.  Great post and relevant to a conversation I had with someone at lunch…

I remember an email conversation I had back in 1999 – just a short while after I started in this industry.  The guy who emailed…

Who can tell me how many interviews are being conducted every minute of every day? I don’t know the answer, just curious if anyone does.…

We all started somewhere. Me? First ‘paid’ gig was at a shoe store in a shopping mall stocking the back room – fortunately not touching…

After recently reading Daniel Pink’s, “To Sell is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others”, I was specifically drawn to the story about the car sales…

14 years since launching Phoenix Staff, I’ve come to some realizations. Many that made sense then and that I wish I had remained true to,…

Since I am not a psychiatrist I don’t know what these personality traits are called, why they exist, how they can be altered or if…

It’s interesting to think about the stages of life we go through as it relates to something like this and the various reactions we have…

I remember a conversation with an employee at Park Central Mall in downtown Phoenix some 13 years ago. I don’t recall the specifics of that…

Recruiters get a lot of questions related to their candidate’s overall job search. One came my way the other day that hadn’t been presented to…

I was meeting with someone the other day who was an admitted terrible speller.  He gave me the title to this blog as a matter…

And other actual questions you should never ask in an interview A very good friend of mine recently let me know that he was interviewing…

As someone who has been in the recruiting industry for more than 20 years, this is something that I have heard hundreds of times. There…

At Phoenix Staff we spend a lot of time here talking about how you can present yourself in the most favorable light, about putting your…

A resume is not a novel and does not need to be more than two pages. Some will say one page is best; I disagree.…

Know Who You Interviewed With of the simplest and best interviewing techniques you can learn and master include learning the names of the people in the…

Treat It Like Any Other Job Interview Professional lives and business operations are drastically changing and adapting in unprecedented ways in light of the current…

Rear-end collisions are the most common accidents. In an even narrower way, the more common type is when merging into traffic and anticipating what the…

Grocery stores and retail – that was my life from 15 years old when I had my first “non-ditch-digging/lawn mowing/snow shoveling job” until 1998. Working…

Resumes are the source of questions: Will my recruiter read my whole resume, or just skim it? Should I include all my certifications? I went…