10 Common Job Interview Blunders

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Did you know that five out of six Americans will be looking for a new job position this year? That's according to a recent survey conducted by job-placement firm Manpower. If you're planning to look for a new gig, then you might want to pay attention to some advice Executive Search Consultant Kathryn Ullrich has offered to TheCareerPioneer.com readers. 

Ullrich is the author of Getting to the Top: Strategies for Career Success (Silicon Valley Press, 2010), and also serves as associate … [Read more...]

Manage Your Career Path With These Personal Branding Tips


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Personal branding is for anyone who wants to achieve certain goals in life and in career. Do you want to stand out from the crowd? Advance your career and in your industry? Harness your inner passion and core values to get ahead and stand for something? Gain the respect of those around you? If you answered 'yes' to any one of those questions, then the personal branding process is for you. While there are varying descriptions and definitions for what personal branding is, I personally … [Read more...]

11 Smart Career Tips for 2011

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By Kathyrn Ullrich Andy Warhol said, “Being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art.” As a passionate executive recruiter, I couldn’t agree more, particularly when it comes to professionals being good in managing their careers. Here, for the New Year, are 11 career tips for 2011: 1.  Look out for #1. Take responsibility for your own career development. Many large organizations have scaled back on training and development—a common outcome of the economic downturn—and small … [Read more...]

2011: Year of the Unstuck | Year In Review



Now that 2010 is coming to a close, you're probably coming across a lot of material over the Internet and elsewhere touting New Year's resolutions and goal-setting (or better yet, goal-achieving.) That's great and all. But quite honestly -- as I reflect over the past year and all the things I managed to accomplish in the last three hundred and sixty-something days -- I personally think I'd find relief in reading a piece that encourages me to do more along the lines of "slow down," "take the … [Read more...]

Life’s a Blizzard

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In the Northeast corridor of the U.S., we've been battling major weather conditions. In the Washington, DC metro area alone, we've seen as much as four feet of snow and thousands of people are currently without power. Meanwhile, wind gusts are reaching speeds of up to 50 miles per hour, sweeping blankets of snow everywhere. As I sat inside my home, all warm and cozy, I couldn't help but compare how life is much like this blizzard. Such as life, weather conditions can suddenly take a turn … [Read more...]

Get What You Can, While You Can!

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Yesterday, I attended the funeral of Ms. Amanda Lloyd -- my husband's grandmother. As funerals would go, it began and ended with a mostly somber and reflective undertone. Even though she reached 90 years of age, and had suffered from several medical issues in most recent years, it was still difficult to see her be laid to rest and to say "farewell," particularly among immediate family members. We had to travel about three hours to attend the funeral. As the day ended, my husband and I, along … [Read more...]

Achieve Your Career Dreams: How to Get Past the Talking Stage and Move Into The Doing Stage

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Don’t you just hate conversations when someone you know or an acquaintance blabs on and on about what they want to do. But when you prod a little, you discover they haven’t made any effort or taken any steps that resemble a course of action? Don’t you hate it even more when the person who’s doing the blabbing is you? We live in a world that gives more credit to people who are doing “big” things. Which, in my opinion, has fostered a generation that are big talkers, rather than big … [Read more...]

Could Your Career Use a Dose of Wishful Thinking?

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Remember what happened when as a kid, you spotted a shooting star or the brightest one appearing in the night sky? What did you immediately do? Did you make a wish? Can you recall how devoted you were to that wish, often thinking of it weeks and weeks after the star had long disappeared? You imagined your wish as a future possibility. It was always crystal clear in your mind. And no one or nothing could deter you from believing that your wish would one day come true. Maybe you’ve matured … [Read more...]

“What do you do well?” And Other Simple Questions To Discover Work You Love

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Since graduating from high school, throughout college, and up until about a year ago, I went back and forth in my mind trying to determine what my true career path was. Along the way, I considered pursuing jobs in social work, education, public relations, theatre, film & television, sales and journalism -- without a doubt, an eclectic group of industries had crossed my mind. The one profession that continued to resurface was writing and journalism. It made sense. After all, I enjoyed the … [Read more...]

Are You Driving Your Destiny? Or Is Something (Or Someone) Else?

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Growing up in Southwest Georgia, my family primarily used a riding lawnmower to cut the grass. Our yard was pretty large, and although my older brothers had at times mowed the lawn with a push mower, it was an obvious relief when they were old enough to use the riding version. As I grew older, my dad also allowed me to drive it in order to cut the grass. It was actually pretty fun and I enjoyed navigating up and down the yard, and maneuvering through bushes and underneath low tree … [Read more...]

Loose Lips Sink Great Ideas: Flesh out your new venture before announcing it to the world

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One of my life-long goals is to write a book. There. I said it. I put it out into the world. There’s no turning back now. Have you done something similar to this lately (or ever)? Have you confided in someone (or several people), telling them of a future plan, project, or goal that you’ve wanted to accomplish, but have simply been too hesitant to jump into with full speed? Did you tell them irrationally, without any forethought or planning? Or did you take deliberate steps to announce your … [Read more...]

News

First Annual Power 30 Under 30 Awards, Washington, DC Photo Credit: http://power30under30.com Photographer, Kat Goduco

### Apex Society selects professional development blogger, journalist as awards finalist The 2010 Power 30 Under 30 Awards™ honors 30 young professionals in their chosen fields WASHINGTON, DC (October 7, 2010) — Emily Ann Brown, a Washington, D.C.-based journalist and the founder and key contributor of TheCareerPioneer.com, announced today that she was selected as a finalist for the Apex Society's annual Power 30 Under 30™ Awards. The Power 30 Under 30™ Awards honors 30 outstanding … [Read more...]

About

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Who in the world is Emily Brown? Welcome to The Career Pioneer dot com. I show professionals how to change careers, launch businesses, avoid stress and burnout, and gain more clarity on life. The short version My name is Emily Ann Brown. But you've probably figured that out by now. I work fulltime as a journalist. But in my free time (much of my free time, quite honestly) I blog about revolutionary ways to take your passion and ideas and make it reality. I'm going to jump right to the … [Read more...]