why it's okay to be a nontraditional candidate

Over the last few months of my active job search, I’ve been labeled a “non-traditional candidate.”

At first, this was driving me crazy.

I cringed when I would hear the recruiters and interviewers say it. They’d say things like:

“Dana, you have a lot of great experience, but we would classify you as a non-traditional candidate for this position.”

So I’d ask for a definition, and hear the following:

“Well, you haven’t actually had experience with business-to-business.”

Hmmm. Business-to-business, also called B-to-B or B2B, is a type of transaction that exists between businesses, such as one involving a manufacturer and wholesaler and a retailer.

So I supposed that in some worlds, I don’t look like a B2B employee.

But instead of worrying that I was a “non-traditional candidate” with no B2B experience, I decided to own the phrase. Continue reading Own It: Why I’m Glad I’m A Non-Traditional Candidate

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Today I’m recycling.

On April 8, 1988 my father, Jack, wrote me this letter. It was my 18th birthday and I was preparing for my first year at Penn State University.

In light of all the issues and chaos around us, I wanted share this letter in hopes it may serve as a guide for any parent who wishes to leave a lasting legacy for their child.  I have all the notes and letters my parents ever wrote.  They are the best gifts I have ever received.

Here it goes:

Continue reading At 18

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Everybody is family, by Dana Eikenberg

If you’re not in sports, you may not know that at the start of July, women’s basketball coaches across the country hit the road for recruiting. I did this for years, and it’s never easy. And I know many of my former coaching colleagues and current clients can’t help but remembering Pat Summitt as they hit the road.

Here are a few lessons from Pat Summitt’s legacy that stay with me, and I hope they’ll stay with you, too, whether you’re on the road or in an office. Continue reading Everybody is Family: Remembering Pat Summitt

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Dana Eikenberg's loving boxer Cruz

Every day I learn something new when I feed my dog, Cruz.

Cruz is my 10-year-old boxer, who is in the intermediate stages with Degenerative Myelopathy (DM). DM is a degeneration of the “white matter of the spinal cord and the peripheral nerves. Thankfully, it’s not painful, but he suffers daily with a loss of coordination, wobbling when walking, and knuckling of his back paws.

Everyday Cruz teaches me about being committed to a passion.

That passion is Continue reading The Peanut Butter Experiment

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capture your own lightning (Dana Eikenberg)

Over the last quarter of my life, I have been a college basketball coach.  Honestly, it has brought some of the greatest joys, as well as some of the most devastating blows, to my life.

It has been an honor to be a small part of a game that teaches life lessons to so many. To have witnessed individuals who truly understood what sacrifice, grit, and work ethic mean has been inspirational to me and to watch them be successful Continue reading Intensity and Beyond

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dana eikenberg loves donuts

Happy National Donut Day! If there is one item that I would love to eat every day, it’s a donut. A vanilla long john, old-fashioned Boston creme, or a chocolate glazed,  just to name a few.

I don’t, of course, but at least I can dream and how cool would that be.

Kindly enough, Dunkin’ Donuts was giving away a free “classic” donut with a purchase of a beverage this morning, so I felt obligated to get mine.

Donuts make people happy.  Have you ever witnessed Continue reading Why I Love Donuts

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