Sorry for the late reply! I think GlassDoor.com does a great job of giving you an inside look at a company's culture. And of course, you have to do a Google search on their name and then add words like 'bad,' 'stinks' and other derogatory terms. This will show you who is talking negatively about them. The goal is to do the homework – which is clear you are doing by your knowledge of places to look. That alone gets you more realistic about the company and will help you pick up on the fact if they are a good place to work.

I hope that helps!

By asking yourself “what impresses you about the company,” and “what about their business practice is vital to success,” are two great questions. I think these questions will make you really sit down and think about the company you want to apply at and if you could see yourself doing the job or not. As you mentioned, I think the interview bucket list is a great way to have people start networking for you. In addition, it never hurts to do some research on the companies you are applying at so you can compare and contrast them and see where your ideal job could potentially be.

In that light, there was another tech who I thought was great as well. She was my ‘go-to’ person as well as my being hers. I have heard customers rave about the two fo us – about how great we were compared to the other techs!

She was a contractor and I an employee. After a while the customers were continually asking for her (I was on assignment elsewhere). Management was recieving positive feedback about her as well am me. Sounds great right?

Here’s the kicker. Management didn’t like us recieving all the praise. Considering they couldn’t do much with me (haven’t done anything wrong) they instead found a way to fire my co-worker/friend. To this day I still hear customers complain that our management fired a great tech that they depended on. Now that she is gone, management’s focus is on me.

I know I’m not the only one in this situation. Several other employees now have lawyers to defend themselves from our employer. One lawyer told me that I could have as many as three cases against my employer if I decide to persue.

Here’s the thing: if you want to stay in your area, then stay. Location is so important. At the end of the day, we must love where we live. Otherwise the best job in the world won’t sustain us. I once spent a year living in San Jose – 3K+ miles from my home in NH. It paid well (extremely well) but I was unhappy. I left it as soon as I could.

Now, to find a job in the location requires two important, strategic steps. First, you must determine what you are the ‘go-to person’ for and create a career identity that represents it. Everyone you network with should be able to determine quickly and easily what makes you unique. This is hard because people are always fearful of missing out on opportunities if they brand themselves as one thing. But this is just like any other selling of a service, you will find and land more opportunities if you create a niche brand for yourself. Just make sure it’s something they want!

Next, you need to do things that validate you as the ‘go-to person.’ I have some of my clients write articles or blog posts for their association or local business journal. I have others put together short trainings or talks and offer to do them at business events. By doing this, you prove to people that you are the expert you claim to be. Honestly, in my experience, this is one of THE BEST ways to get unsolicited requests for job interviews. A person reads/hears you and then contacts you to learn more about how that would work for their organization. From there, a networking relationship is built and job opportunities present themselves.

And of course, if you decide you want your own career strategist to work with you on this – be sure to check out our Private Career Network. We are helping job seekers complete the above on a regular basis.

Good luck!