CAUGHT Q: Dear Dr. Culp, I was fired in my last job for being caught in a compromising position with a subordinate. The company pointed out to me that the policies and procedures manual expressly states that this … Continue reading → Continue Reading →
WORK HISTORY Q: Dear Dr. Culp, My wife would like to go to work. She doesn't think that anyone will hire her, because she doesn't have a work history. She is 52 years old and she applied at … Continue reading → Continue Reading →
RETIREMENT Q: Dear Dr. Culp, I'm planning to retire some time in the New Year and I want to give my employer more notice than people in entry-level jobs do. In the past, when people in my position … Continue reading → Continue Reading →
COVER LETTER Q: Dear Dr. Culp, My cover letter is bland. I don't know how to fix it, because I've read books about them and I've filled mine with accomplishments. Some of them I even lifted off my … Continue reading → Continue Reading →
OPERATIONS Q: Dear Dr. Culp, I've been working in a business that allows me to do what I love - baking and decorating cakes. Meanwhile, I've been making cakes here and there for special occasions, such as weddings, … Continue reading → Continue Reading →
EXPERTISE Q: Dear Mildred, I'm a Bilingual Spanish Teacher focusing on being a Tutor for kids or Adults... teaching Spanish for I'm well-versed in this subject. I responded to an Ad that says, 'Need a Bilingual Spanish Teaching Staff", … Continue reading → Continue Reading →
PERSON TO FIT THE JOB Q: Mildred, I'm the president of an international chemical company in a major city. We specialize in the manufacture of truck-washing products. I'm looking for someone to work this market. The job involves … Continue reading → Continue Reading →
NEEDY Q: Dear Dr. Culp, I really need a mentor, because I'm not good at job hunting, but I don't know how to find one. Do I just go up to a person I like and ask if … Continue reading → Continue Reading →
BEHIND THE SCENES Q: Dear Dr. Culp, I accepted a part-time job with a promise of full-time when business picked up. It lasted four days. When I called about my paycheck, the owner refused to pay me and … Continue reading → Continue Reading →
BATTLE PLAN Q: Dear Dr. Culp, I shake and stumble in interviews when employers ask for my qualifications and degrees. Despite the fact that I have all of the qualifications, or at least I believe that I do, … Continue reading → Continue Reading →
BLOCKED Q: Dear Dr. Culp, I have a severe anxiety and panic disorder that stops me from getting out there in the world. Medication, therapy and counseling haven't done the trick. Call me: Anxious A: Dear Anxious, I've had … Continue reading → Continue Reading →
SALARY RANGE Q: Dear Dr. Culp, In the past six years I've earned $16/hour to over $110,000/year. This confuses employers, because, at 58, I'm competing with lesser design talent. It's almost as if interviewers are embarrassed for me … Continue reading → Continue Reading →
REASSESSMENT Q: Dear Dr. Culp, I'm looking for anything to get me a job - online professor (no experience, just a bachelor's degree), writer/editor/copywriter or entry-level speech writer. I've been actively searching for a job for over a … Continue reading → Continue Reading →
ETHICS Q: Dear Dr. Culp, After 25 years of managing celebrity homes exceeding 30,000 sq. ft., I was unemployed for two years while being told I was qualified by agencies. They weren't presenting my resume. I turned things … Continue reading → Continue Reading →
PRE-EMPLOYMENT Q: Dear Dr. Culp, Have failure rates on pre-employment assessment tests been reported? What about demographic breakdown? I think I'm getting discriminated against. The test for a major healthcare system had a ten-minute "do as many math/deduction questions … Continue reading → Continue Reading →
ARTICLES Q: Dear Dr. Culp, I read one of your other columns about opportunities in agriculture. How can I get leads for jobs in my field? Scouting A: Dear Scouting, Jot down sources and companies that might be of … Continue reading → Continue Reading →
RELOCATION Q: Dear Dr. Culp, I moved from a large city to a small town elsewhere in the region. In the city I could easily live off the $25 per hour I earned as a leasing agent or … Continue reading → Continue Reading →
TRUMPED-UP CHARGE Q: Hi Dr. Culp, I still consider myself a recent graduate (2008). However, I was recently told that I had a red flag since I'd only held one industry job out of college, albeit at the … Continue reading → Continue Reading →
YIKES! Q: Dear Dr. Culp, I keep missing out on jobs. In one case, a less experienced person was hired at two-thirds the salary. In another, after extensive phone interviews, I was told I was the leading candidate … Continue reading → Continue Reading →
CONTROL Q: Dear Dr. Culp, I've done a lot of contract work in my profession, with many employers and bad managers. I'm not one to remain silent if a person around me is at risk and I might … Continue reading → Continue Reading →
CAN'T BEAT 'EM? JOIN 'EM! Q: Dear Mildred, In interviews, employers let me know I'm qualified. Then two things generally happen. The employer either does the math and figures out that I'm 50-something or the sweet young thing … Continue reading → Continue Reading →
DISARM 'EM Q: Dear Dr. Culp, In the past six years I've been out of work twice. It took 3,000+ resumes over more than a year to find a job after the first loss. Now I'm still unemployed … Continue reading → Continue Reading →
METHOD Q: Dear Dr. Culp, I'm a recent law school graduate who's passed the bar. I applied for a collections job, no experience required. The monthly bonuses would reduce debt. A receptionist took me into a conference room and … Continue reading → Continue Reading →
PREVIOUS EMPLOYER Q: Dear Dr. Culp, How do I answer the interviewer who asks, "Can I ask your last employer about your work performance?" I left my last job because of conflicts with my employer. If the interviewer calls … Continue reading → Continue Reading →
SEASONING Q: Hello, Mildred. What are your best ideas for an over-50 person seeking employment? It seems that companies prefer younger (cheaper?) workers. Or is it your experience that over-50s are perceived to be old-school, traditional, "used-up?" Casting … Continue reading → Continue Reading →