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“…I bought my daughter a dress.” A Lesson in Becoming a Moral Compass
By Jeff Cohen, Vice President, Labor Relations at Mt. Sinai Medical Center, upon receiving the HR Hero of the Year Award. Jeff Cohen, Vice President, Labor Relations at Mt. Sinai Medical Center and a recipient of the HR Hero of the Year Award, has… Read more
Five O’Clock Club coach quoted in the New York Daily News
Stop complaining “We love to blame others for our situation,” says Dorothy Doppstadt, a certified career coach with Five O’Clock Club, a national career counseling network. “Take the energy you’ve used to blame, and start doing work.”… Read more
New Year-New Dreams-New Opportunities
The period immediately following New Year’s Day is the typically the highest hiring period during the calendar year as many companies must fill jobs budgeted from the previous year or they chance losing them; or, alternatively, they are gearing up… Read more
“Every man is born as many men and dies as a single one.” Martin Heidegger
by Richard C. Bayer, PhD, COO, The Five O’Clock Club and author of The Good Person Guidebook Anyone can achieve their fullest potential, who we are might be predetermined, but the path we follow is always of our own choosing. We should never… Read more
Are You and Your Employees Gaining Weight?
By Caryl Ehrlich If you or your employees are gaining weight, you may be a part of the problem. Remember the days when you actually put on a hat and coat, waited for an elevator, and found a little grocery store selling crap food in the… Read more
Discovering your passion
by David Madison, PhD, Guild Director Matthew’s hard work at the Five O’Clock Club resulted in his landing a CFO position at a private investment company. He was able to report his success during his 15th session with his teleconference small… Read more
Mindfulness: Thoughts From a Seasoned Coach on Managing Stress
by Dorothy Doppstadt, Certified Five O’Clock Club Career Coach The problems we face cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them. Albert Einstein We live in a pressure cooker world. Whether coaching clients or teaching… Read more
QUOTES TO INSPIRE YOU
Emma: “Just because you believe something, doesn’t make it true.” Henry: “That’s exactly what makes it true.” From the TV show, Once Upon a Time writers: Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz Each morning when I open my eyes I say to… Read more
How We Respond to Life’s Difficulties THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR IN SUCCESS IN LIFE
Books (and their electronic equivalents) have not lost their influence. Members read and re-read those that have affected them, and so do I. Beyond Shakespeare and the Bible, which both taught me a lot about human nature, the most important book… Read more
The Five O’Clock Club donated 700 blankets, which the Salvation Army immediately took to shelters on Staten Island.
Our COO, Richard Bayer (on left) and our Director of IT, Rickey Allen, at The Salvation Army today (Monday, November 5th). The Five O’Clock Club donated 700 blankets, which the Salvation Army immediately took to shelters on Staten Island…. Read more
What is My Purpose in Life: How to Find a Direction
“It may sound surprising when I say, on the basis of my own clinical experience as well as that of my psychological and psychiatric colleagues, ‘that the chief problem of people in the middle decade of the twentieth century is emptiness.’ By that I… Read more
The Job-Search Buddy System
Do you wish you had someone to talk to—fairly often and informally—about the little things? “Here’s what I’m planning to do today in my search? What are you planning to do? Let’s talk tomorrow to make sure we’ve done it.” You and… Read more
Five O’Clock Club Members Report on How They Found New Jobs
In a sluggish economy with anemic employment statistics frequently surfacing in the evening newscasts, it has been easy for many who are unemployed to feel like they are in an almost hopeless situation — that there are too many people pursuing too… Read more
The Virtues of Patience and Persistence
I have come to learn that two of life’s most precious virtues are both patience and persistence. While the two may appear contradictory, they actually are very complementary. And nowhere is this more true than in job search. At the 5OCC we… Read more
Having a Written Plan in Achieving Your Goals
A recent study at Dominican University compared different groups from various professions on their success in achieving certain goals. The degree of their success in achieving these goals (e.g., learning a new skill or increasing their income)… Read more
Crossing the Goal Line
For Giants fans, today is certainly a day of celebration as the Giants won a stunning victory over the New England Patriots in Sunday’s Super Bowl. In anticipation of what I felt would be a closely fought battle between two very strong and… Read more
SUCCESSFUL JOB HUNTERS REPORT Renewable Energy . . . for a new career
When Mary Mooney first joined The Five O’Clock Club,” says Chip Conlin, Senior Five O’Clock Club Career Coach, “she knew the one thing that she did not want to do—and that was to practice law in the traditional way.” While Mary had… Read more
Encouraging News about the NYC Job Market
Following last week’s blog in which I suggested we eliminate the word “recession” from our daily lexicon given the changing nature of work, I had the opportunity to attend a networking event where Jim Brown, principal economist with the New… Read more
Unemployed for a Long Period of Time? Realistic Solutions to a Frustrating Problem
In the tough job market that exists today, it is not unlikely for people to search for jobs for months at a time. As job searches drag on, most people feel their morale and energies slip away. At The Five O’Clock Club, we know how important a… Read more
The Job-Search Buddy System
Do you wish you had someone to talk to—fairly often and informally—about the little things? “Here’s what I’m planning to do today in my search? What are you planning to do? Let’s talk tomorrow to make sure we’ve done it.” You and… Read more
Older Workers Are Getting Hired in a Tough Job Market!
If you listen to some job reports, embarking on a job hunt in today’s market is not only challenging for the average job seeker, but also downright daunting if you are over 50. Those odds, seemingly ranging from slim to none, have many workers 50… Read more
Too Old to Get a New Job? Think again! Older workers rock!!
In September, 2010 the New York Times carried a front-page story titled, “For the Unemployed Over 50, Fears of Never Working Again.” The article featured a 54-year-old job seeker who had been looking unsuccessfully for… Read more
Help Wanted: What to do when ‘dream job’ brings misery
QUESTION: I’m 24 years old and have been working at my first full-time job since earning my master’s degree last year. I was a full-time graduate student with part-time jobs. But I was lucky enough to find a full-time job, and even luckier to… Read more
The Five O’Clock Club now offers lifetime membership
Whether you once paid $49 for membership or became a member because of services provided by your employer, every member of the Five O’Clock Club is a member for life. This means you always have access to the Members Only area of our website, which… Read more
The Shortest Route To A New Job
Instead of wasting your time on job listings, go directly to the source. In his editor’s introduction to this year’s Forbes 400 issue of Forbes magazine, chief product officer Lewis D’Vorkin recounts how he first came to work here. “I grabbed… Read more
The (Not-So-Bad) Road to Happy and Hired: 11 Stress-Busters to Help You Sail Through Your Job Search…and Find Success
Looking for a job is always stressful. Doing so in a post-recession economy alongside millions of laid-off competitors can feel positively soul-crushing. But The Five O’Clock Club says that when you combine stress-busting techniques with smart… Read more
Organizations Are Hiring: Be Smart and Brave — Please Hire My Family
By Kate Wendleton I’m so lucky. My family would never be considered activists, but they have always been blind to race, color, religion, sexual orientation and whatever else there is. I rarely even notice hair color or height! Yes, there was… Read more
Here’s Hope -Don’t Read Anything Else
In the dentist’s office, I came across the November 16th issue of Forbes magazine. I read the article “Early Risers: It’s still bad out there, but, sensing opportunity, companies across America are starting to hire again” by Christopher… Read more
Keeping Yourself Going During a Job Hunt
“I can’t explain myself, I’m afraid, Sir,” said Alice, “because I’m not myself, you see.” “I don’t see,” said the Caterpillar. Lewis Carroll They’re all doing terrific! You’re not. You’re barely hanging on. You used to be a winner, but now you’re… Read more
Emotional Roller Coaster
10 Ways to Confront job-Search Stress by David Madison, Ph.D.Director of the National Guild of Five O’Clock Club Career Coaches “In this world,” Ben Franklin wrote in 1789, “nothing is certain but death and taxes.” That was before the… Read more
A Lesson in Becoming a Moral Compass
My interview with this man was an eye opener. He was completely honest. He referred to the crime 25 years ago as a mistake of his youth. He said that, if he had not taken the other man’s life, he would himself have died that day. It was chilling. He… Read more
The Holiday Job Search: Full Steam Ahead!
by David Madison, Ph.D., Director of the National Guild of Career Coaches of The Five O’Clock Club Nobody likes to job search. Thus, it is so tempting to put off doing the things you need to do to land your next position. Even people who have… Read more
Career Development Advice from a Coach
And Advice From Rocky You may have noticed that many of the articles in our magazine are focused on career development, not job search. That’s because our average job hunter is in the negotiating stage for a new job after regularly attending just… Read more
Practical Philosophy: The Virtue of Thrift
by Richard Bayer, Ph.D. To be thrifty is to be happy and generous! Avoid stinginess and extravagance. Is through the possession of virtues that people achieve genuine happiness –the full flourishing of the individual. The moral virtue of thrift… Read more
Be a Hero to Inner City Students
Take One On As A Summer Intern or Teach Them About Work. by Kate Wendleton When Paul, my elder son, was a freshman in high school, college seemed far away, theoretical, and too serious. He wanted to take advantage of every second—not by… Read more
On Gratitude
by Richard C. Bayer, Ph.D. We should all learn gratitude if we want to be genuinely happy. Gratitude is most certainly a virtue; and a virtue is a positive habit of character that helps one to act in a reasonable and constructive way. The full… Read more
An Open Letter to Five O’Clock Club Members
by Steve Sidorsky Successful job-hunters are always encouraged to return to the Club after landing new jobs or consulting assignments. In lieu of a personal appearance, Steve addressed this letter to Jim Borland, the head of the Five O’Clock Club… Read more
10 Tips for Surviving a Long Search
This is a tough market and many people are having long searches. People who conscientiously work the Five O’Clock Club methodology—and who truly do put in 35 hours a week on job-search—still arrive at the stage of receiving offers within two… Read more
Our Best Advice (from 2002, but relevant anytime)
By: Kate Wendleton and Dale Dauten “Kate & Dale Talk Jobs” is a nationally syndicated newspaper column appearing in The Minneapolis Star-Tribune, The Washington Times, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Houston Chronicle and… Read more
Job-Search Stress
Who has it, and how they control it. -Survey of job hunters reveals surprising reslults W ith last fall’s terrorist attacks, a recession and massive corporate scandals, a common denominator among people facing the challenge of finding a new job… Read more
America The Beautiful
by Richard Bayer, Ph.D. The author, Katharine Lee Bates, was born at Falmouth MA. August 12, 1859, daughter of the Congregational Church pastor. The family moved to Wellesley when she was young and she graduated from the high school there, and from… Read more
A Christmas Story: from homelessness to a vision fulfilled
by David Madison, PhD Ask Mary Margaret Cannon about obstacles—she has quite a story to tell. More than most of us, she has known the trauma of opportunities “falling away through no fault of your own.” Indeed, a series of dramatic… Read more
Dealing with Depression
by Kate Wendleton and Dale Dauten “Kate & Dale Talk Jobs” is a nationally syndicated newspaper column appearing in The Minneapolis Star-Tribune, The New York Post, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Houston Chronicle and approximately… Read more
Unemployed Job Searchers Can Edge Out Employed
Strategy and Time Management are Keys by Richard Bayer, Ph.D. Too many job hunters fall into the trap of believing it’s only the currently employed who get the best job offers quickly and command the highest salaries. Unemployed searchers may… Read more
What Longevity Means to Your Career
by Lydia Bronte, author of The Longevity Factor In every era there have been a few people who lived to be unusually old, but who kept working—and were still good at what they did. We all know that Pablo Picasso and Marc Chagall continued to paint… Read more
Difficult Job Searches – Yield to The Five O’Clock Club Methodology
by David Madison, Ph.D. It’s not uncommon that people with the most difficult job searches end up at The Five O’Clock Club. They might be career changers who are attempting dramatic “course corrections,” or they may simply be seasoned professionals… Read more
Take Parental Messages to Heart
A basic tenet of the Five O’Clock Club is to help other members by sharing experience, expertise and support. This month, the Five O’Clock Club turned the tables and looked at the experience, expertise and support that members have received…. Read more
Messages From Your Parents Helping Through Words and Example
Cindy’s father served as her role model and remained a valuable resource throughout her tenure at International Harvester. Although they worked in different departments, she often sought his input. “It was a big step from the suburbs to a… Read more
Volunteerism: Working for Free Pays Multiple Dividends
by Mary Harmon Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness. This is the judgment. Life’s most urgent question is, what are you doing for others? Martin Luther King,… Read more
Five O’Clock Clubbers Talk About Their Role Models . . . From Winston Churchill to an Executive Mom
by Mary Harmon In The Five O’Clock Club book Targeting the Job You Want, the chapter titled, “A Reminder of Some Basic Career Principles” advises: “Pick a few role models . . . Select the characteristics you like from each . . . ” The Five O’Clock… Read more
Procrastination: An Epidemic by Michele Tulier, Ph.D.
by Michele Tullier, Ph. D. Is there something on your to-do list today that you should have done yesterday? Have you been meaning to get around to changing careers or starting a consulting business? Procrastination is no longer a minor nuisance… Read more
The Forty-Year Plan® . . . It’s (Almost) Never Too Late: How to Create Your Future Five Years at a Time
By David Madison, Ph.D. When my daughter was a month old, I started writing a daily diary to preserve memories of her growing up. She’s now 28 and I haven’t missed a day since. Now well past the l0,000 page mark–and with my daughter living in… Read more
Do Yourself a Favor: Hire My Brother
by Kate Wendleton Everyone has a handicap–something they think will hold them back in their careers. It could be that they feel they are too young or too old, have too little education or too much, are of the wrong race, creed, nationality, sex or… Read more