Too many people have taken an offer because it meets one important criterion, such as increased compensation or shorter commute, without looking at the totality of the job. A happy work-life means that most of the aspects of the job that are important to you are met.

In marketing, we talk about the “value proposition” and what do you bring, what do you stand for? Very few people, I think, do the hard work of figuring that out for themselves. When you have that value proposition and you know exactly what it is, everything you do becomes a lot easier.

Questions for this addition of Ask The Career Coach.

1) How do I deal with the shame of being fired from my job because of performance?

2) You are late for your job interview: What excuse do you give?

3) How do I avoid being rejected for a job due to being overqualified?

2) What interview questions are job candidates consistently least prepared to answer?

3) What should you say to an interviewer if your are late?

I highly advise you to have your own support network while going through a job search. These people (and yes, it may not be the same person for all needs) can listen to your frustrations, act as guides when you need advice as well as your emotional support through this grueling process.

With 30-40 openings, the in-house recruiter may have anywhere from 300 on the low side to many thousands of candidates in the pipeline. To speed up the process so as to be able to interact with new applicants in a more timely manner, many companies are using technology at the first point of contact.

Five tips to get your LinkedIn profile noticed by recruiters and hiring managers.