BLOOPERS: What NOT TO DO when writing a Resume or Cover Letter...

I recently stumbled across a blog called, "Dumb stuff I read on resumes" started by a recruiter. He is a bit mean-spirited at times, but when reading some snippets of resumes/cover letters he's posted, it does lead one to say to themselves, "What were they thinking?"Here are a few examples of WHAT NOT TO DO OR WRITE ON YOUR RESUME:

"My hobbies include regular attendance at my local gym and swimming poo" (OK. ick.)

"I have developed a healthy work-life balance" (this from a fellow who had ONE part time job...)

"6/2007 - Present - Supermarket Sales Assistanti as a online shopper .our dept,its called grossory online.i m a shopper,n do all the work in absence of supervisour n manager.managing the dept well.i.e doing paper work,making sure tht we have enough shoppers n drivers 2 make sure the deliverys is on time,allocating vans to drivers n work to shoppers accordingly." (this is not a text message... need I say more?)

"Successfully handled money. Received money from customers.And successfully issued the correct amount of change back to the customers" (we get it. a bit redundant...)

--You may wonder why I request you to this at our behest and this is due an inner feeling in me which tells that you a woman who believes in human bondage, not to re-mention compassion and kindness. I am often told by others in the manifold spheres of my activities that there is a mystic in what I do." (ummm- ahem... errr... ok...a little too much info here.)

"For the past 3 months I have also been living at home with my brother as my parents have gone on holiday for 3 months as a retirement presents. I believe this experience has matured me as a person, as I have had to look after the house, shop and generally do a lot more tasks for myself. This has given me a new outlook on life and what I want to do with my life in the future." (Good boy... and this has to do what with the clerical position you are applying for??)

"wonder, I have no money, but again, although being "loaded" is commonly used as a measure of being successful, this does not apply to my view and it is not a true measure of "success". Personally I'd rather be a poor free man, rather that rich slave. Strangely it may seem, but I've noticed that what I am doing today, others do couple years after.Instead of being a follower I prefer to be a leader. I never fail to do what I believe is right and I don’t care what other people think about me. also easily bored so I prefer chaotic environment, no wonder admin is not quite my cup of tea.I guess I prefer to work with people that can inspire me, both creatively and spiritually (although I am not a religious person). (your cover letter is not a blog... it is meant to help you get a job...)

"interests and hobbies none at present" (huh? no interests or hobbies??)

"I have a wide variety of skills and experience, some of which I have taken for granted and cannot readily recall". (huh?? just put the pen down and walk away)

Well, I can go on and on here, but I think you get the drift. If you think you are adding too much personal information, then you probably are. Keep both the rez and cover letter about the job and you should do just fine.

Until next time.

FACEBOOK & NETWORKING SITES

I admit, at first I thought the idea of Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and other networking sites were, well, silly. It seemed juvenile and strange... not to mention an invasion of privacy. Why would anyone put pictures of family members on a site where virtually EVERYONE could look at them? I didn't get it and poo-poo'ed the idea.

Clients begun sending me "invites" to "connect" on their different sites and boy, are there a lot of them.. Plaxo, LinkedIn, Fast Pitch, Tagged, and Twitter, just to name a few. Not wanting to seem rude to my clients, I finally broke down and started an account with LinkedIn. I found it to be very professional and a great way to have an online bio that perspective clients and colleagues can read to have a better idea of what it is I do.

Finally, after hearing my nieces and nephews talk about Facebook all summer long, I decided to cave and start an account. I did one for business and one for personal. Once I got the hang of it, it was like a giant light went on and suddenly, without warning, I was hooked. The first two weeks I was like a fiend, "connecting" with old friends and family in my personal account--catching up on what everyone had been doing, who was having children, where were they working, who had moved, married, etc. I had to keep checking. It was like a drug. Who was doing and posting what? After about a week and a half, the dazzling draw of it started to wear off. Thank goodness.

I realized a few things in my networking journey so far:

1) You can control your privacy settings, so only your "friends" can see what you posted... not the whole world.

2) With my business account, it is a fantastic way to see what my colleagues are doing, what articles they find useful, clients or projects they are working on, etc.

3) You don't have to invite EVERYONE in your address book (my first mistake when joining-- I invited everyone to join me). Invite who want to hear about.

4) Use these sites sparingly at work--remember, many companies ban the use of these at work due to loss of productivity and the system resource drain. Your job could be in jeopardy if use them without permission (although, c'mon who ever really asks their bosses if they can Facebook while at work?). Save your networking for home.

5) Pick and choose your networking forums. You don't need to join every one. It gets to be too time consuming trying to keep up with more than one or two.

I still check my Facebook everyday. Although maybe just one account or the other, and only about twice a day. Who has the time? I am still catching up from the work I missed while on my Facebook high.

If you are contemplating joining one of these sites, read my 5 tips first and be ready to enjoy yourself. As a former skeptic, it's easy to get hooked.

Until next time...

Erin Kennedy

UNUSUAL JOBS

A special thanks to Laura DiCarlo of Career Directors International (CDI) for sending this over to me. Thought I'd share it with you!

+++++

CareerBuilder.com released a new survey on Unusual (and Fun) Jobs A to Z. They asked 8,700 works and the following are the top entrants, A to Z:

A - Autopsy assistant
B - Bartender at the Liberace mansion
C - Cat nanny
D - Donkey trainer
E - Elf at Santa's workshop
F - FBI fingerprint examiner
G - Grave digger
H - Hurricane hunter
I - Ice sculpture carver
J - Junk mail machine operator
K- Kitty litter box decorator
L - Laser tag referee
M - Magician's assistant
N - Nuclear electrician on a submarine
O - Opera singer
P - Parachute tester
Q - Quality control/taster for chocolate factory
R - Romance specialist
S - Scratcher (scratched backs for patients)
T - Turkey wrangler
U - Undercover vice decoy
V - Video game tester
W - Wallpaper peeler
X - X-ray technician for zoo animals
Y - Yawn counter at a sleep clinic
Z - Zamboni driver

EXECUTIVE MBAs

Considering advancing your education even further? Executive MBA programs are known for turning managers into full-fledged executive and c-level leaders, showing you how to think strategically, motivate staff, and expand business.

In an article in the Wall Street Journal's Career Journal, these are the top 5:

1. Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management
2. University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School
3. The Thunderbird School of Global Management
4. University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business
5. University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler Business School

To read the full article, go to:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122244975223379303.html

Resumes versus CV's-- What's the difference?

I get asked often by clients if they need a CV. Then the next question inevitably is, "What IS a CV?"

A CV is a Curriculum Vitae. It is generally used by college professors, physicians, researchers, lawyers and any profession where lists of information are required. Examples include publications, presentations, conferences, residencies, education, etc. They can even be over 20 pages long in some cases.

Internationally, in some areas of the world resumes are called CVs, but they really are resumes. Other countries require a CV type of a format (lists) from candidates. Those are usually the countries where pictures on resumes are required as well.

If you are planning on staying in the United States and do not plan on going into medicine, law or academia, chances are you will only need a resume.