Resumes:
After getting our attitude right and our thoughts together, it is time to begin our job search campaign. The first step is preparing a resume. In this posting we will be looking at the purpose of a resume. We will also look at what a resume should look like, and how to make a resume more effective when submitted online.
The purpose of a resume is to get a job interview. A resume is like a calling card, it should be something that is easy to read, and addresses the needs of the job. For this reason when submitting a resume it is wise to make sure it addresses the needs of the prospective employer. However, make sure to be honest on the resume. We often hear of high profile individuals who are humiliated and lose their jobs due to lying on their resumes. Remember the bible tells us that our sins will find us out.
Highlighting items on a resume means insuring that qualifications the prospective employer is looking for are prominently displayed on the resume. In addition, many resumes filed online go through preliminary screening by an automated system. Employers program this system to look for certain key words in the resume. Job seekers can find these key words in the job description so it is wise to insure your resume contains these words so it passes the initial automated screening process and someone with a pulse reviews it.
The ideal resume is one page long so be brief. Using bullet points to highlight accomplishments and job duties makes the resume easier to read. This also makes it easier to move key accomplishments and duties to the top of the list when these pertain to the job or contain some of the key words found in the job description.
In a market where applicants file resumes online, a resume soon becomes one of hundreds or thousands. The key to having a resume turn into an interview is getting it noticed. Insuring the resume addresses the job requirements in an honest manner as well as making it easy to read is important but following up after filing a resume makes it even more noticeable. This step is not going to be easy but will be well worth it. We know the company we have applied with and will need to conduct some research to find the hiring manager for the position we are seeking. After doing this, we can forward a copy of our resume and a cover letter to this person.
In the cover letter, the first paragraph states the job applied for and that we have already applied online but that we wanted to make sure they received a copy of our resume. The second paragraph states our qualifications for the position. The last paragraph establishes a time when we will contact the hiring manager to set up an interview. Since most applicants do not take the time to follow up on resumes they submit this step will set your resume apart from most of the others, increasing the chance of getting an interview.
As a final thought, it is not necessary lose a job before writing a resume. Employed and unemployed workers should have a resume ready and update it when changes occur. This will make it possible to take advantage of opportunities that come up as well as saving time if we suddenly become unemployed. Remember, our prayers are with you and feel free to contact me at dalewsr34@gmail.com for more information, prayer, or encouragement.
Commentary:
Economic recovery! If this is an economic recovery, count me out.
Friday May 22, 2009 is a great example of why we should not judge economic recovery on the stock market. On this day the market began on an upswing spurred by better than expected earnings by Sears. Sears is one stock listed on the market and is hardly an indicator of how the total U.S. economy is going. Fortunately, sanity returned later in the day when the market began looking at the costs of borrowing by the government.
This demonstrates the volatility of the market when the positive results of one retailer can create a market upswing only to have the market drop later in the day over concerns about government borrowing. However, unfortunately many so called economic experts speak of pending recovery based solely on market upswings. This is a phony economic recovery when what we need is real economic recovery.
Real economic recovery occurs with growth in the gross domestic product (GDP) and job creation. Since our economy is currently experiencing GDP retraction and the continued loss of jobs, we are hardly in a period of economic recovery. What we need is an infusion of capital on Main Street through tax cuts to spur economic activity and job creation. The question I have for the so-called experts is why is that so hard to understand?
Remembering our fallen heroes:
On this Memorial Day many of us will have the day off work and take advantage of the time to be with family and friends. It is great to have this downtime with friends and family but let us not forget the true reason for this holiday.
I value the privilege through this blog to teach, comment, and motivate others using the written word. The founders of our nation valued this privilege as well and made freedom of speech a right in our nation but freedom of speech is not free.
Through our nations history we have confronted numerous enemies who wanted to take our basic rights away from us including the freedom of speech. In the course of protecting our rights, many have given their lives on the battlefield so on this Memorial Day, we need to take a moment to remember these fallen heroes. Also, remember their families for they have also paid a high price for our freedoms.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
You May Have Lost Your Job, but You Still Have a Job to Do
Perhaps the most important thing when we lose our jobs is to maintain a good attitude. Okay that is easier said than done when you are worried about how to pay the mortgage, car payment, and of course feed the family. It is normal to feel worried about these things however, we may have lost our jobs but we still have an important job to do, find a new job.
It is okay to take a week off when we lose our jobs in order to get our thoughts together. During this week, you should file for unemployment and apply for temporary work to get some cash coming in. I also recommend depositing any severance money received into savings as you may need it later on.
After our week of grieving, you need to start your new job. I recommend getting up at the time you were accustomed to when you were working. That is unless you worked night shift or graveyard, in which case I recommend getting up at 6 AM. You should also maintain your normal routine such as showering, eating breakfast, exercising, or anything else you were accustomed to doing when working.
It is now time to get to work. Your duties now include conducting research to find job leads, applying for jobs, following up on applications, interviewing, following up on interviews, and finally finding that new job. During the next few weeks I will be giving guidance on how to be more effective in each of these duties.
I recommend using a planner of some kind to schedule time for each of these duties. Ideally, you should spend as much, or more, looking for work as you did when working. Writing these items on a planner also lets you see that you are doing something positive each day towards finding employment.
Finally, you need to find a coach, cheerleader, and supervisor who you can trust. This may be a spouse, relative, close friend or former co-worker. Since your new job does not have a supervisor, you need to seek out someone who will keep you motivated, accountable, and positive during this challenging time in your life. The only thing that will keep you from finding a new job is if you quit your new job. This is one job that you cannot afford to quit so find someone to talk you out of quitting should you ever consider it.
I hope these few words will give you some encouragement. I am praying for each of you that your job search will be productive. I am also looking forward to sharing some tips in the next few weeks that will make you more effective and give you an edge during your job search. May God bless each one of you.
Commentary
This week I heard an economist that was excited about the jobless recovery we were experiencing. His recovery was because Wall Street was up over the month of April. The fallacy in his opinion is that Wall Street is not Main Street.
What the economy needs is a sustainable recovery. However, you cannot have a sustainable recovery without jobs. Sustainable economic recovery only happens with increased economic activity. Wall Street may be increasing but Main Street is not, leading to the continued loss of jobs and shrinking of the GDP.
Unemployed people do not have money to spend. As the economy continues to lose jobs there are fewer people with money to spend. As economic activity continues to decline, more jobs will be lost. This vicious cycle will only stop when the government stops its present policy of bailouts and nationalizing of industries like the auto industry and cuts it’s spending and taxes putting more money in the hands of individuals and businesses. This additional money will start increasing economic activity causing businesses to begin hiring back people they have laid-off.
What we need is a recovery on Main Street!!
It is okay to take a week off when we lose our jobs in order to get our thoughts together. During this week, you should file for unemployment and apply for temporary work to get some cash coming in. I also recommend depositing any severance money received into savings as you may need it later on.
After our week of grieving, you need to start your new job. I recommend getting up at the time you were accustomed to when you were working. That is unless you worked night shift or graveyard, in which case I recommend getting up at 6 AM. You should also maintain your normal routine such as showering, eating breakfast, exercising, or anything else you were accustomed to doing when working.
It is now time to get to work. Your duties now include conducting research to find job leads, applying for jobs, following up on applications, interviewing, following up on interviews, and finally finding that new job. During the next few weeks I will be giving guidance on how to be more effective in each of these duties.
I recommend using a planner of some kind to schedule time for each of these duties. Ideally, you should spend as much, or more, looking for work as you did when working. Writing these items on a planner also lets you see that you are doing something positive each day towards finding employment.
Finally, you need to find a coach, cheerleader, and supervisor who you can trust. This may be a spouse, relative, close friend or former co-worker. Since your new job does not have a supervisor, you need to seek out someone who will keep you motivated, accountable, and positive during this challenging time in your life. The only thing that will keep you from finding a new job is if you quit your new job. This is one job that you cannot afford to quit so find someone to talk you out of quitting should you ever consider it.
I hope these few words will give you some encouragement. I am praying for each of you that your job search will be productive. I am also looking forward to sharing some tips in the next few weeks that will make you more effective and give you an edge during your job search. May God bless each one of you.
Commentary
This week I heard an economist that was excited about the jobless recovery we were experiencing. His recovery was because Wall Street was up over the month of April. The fallacy in his opinion is that Wall Street is not Main Street.
What the economy needs is a sustainable recovery. However, you cannot have a sustainable recovery without jobs. Sustainable economic recovery only happens with increased economic activity. Wall Street may be increasing but Main Street is not, leading to the continued loss of jobs and shrinking of the GDP.
Unemployed people do not have money to spend. As the economy continues to lose jobs there are fewer people with money to spend. As economic activity continues to decline, more jobs will be lost. This vicious cycle will only stop when the government stops its present policy of bailouts and nationalizing of industries like the auto industry and cuts it’s spending and taxes putting more money in the hands of individuals and businesses. This additional money will start increasing economic activity causing businesses to begin hiring back people they have laid-off.
What we need is a recovery on Main Street!!
Sunday, May 3, 2009
A Change of Plans
As a Christian I have learned that I must follow Gods will in my life. When I initially started the commonsensenomics and commonsensenomics 101 blogs, I intended to teach about economics from a commonsense approach. However, I never realized things in our country would change so rapidly. As I see it, our country is quickly moving from a free market country with freedom of choice, speech, and ownership of property to a socialist state where we must turn to government for help.
What the media gives us is either gloom and doom or syrupy praise over how The President or his wife looks. The American people are sick of hearing doom and gloom. They also do not want a fashion report on what The President or his wife is wearing. They are looking for answers and encouragement. That is why I am going to discontinue Commonsensenomics 101 and use Commonsensenomics as a place where people can receive encouragement in these tough times. I will also be offering practical things we can do to find a job if we are currently out of work or improve our financial position.
To start I want to give some encouragement to those currently out of work. Even though I still have a job, I have not been in the job market for 16 years. I also understand that if things do get worse, I could find myself suddenly thrown into the job market. For that reason, I attended a job search seminar held at my church yesterday.
I have attended job fairs and conventions in the past and discovered that these were not designed to hire people but were networking opportunities. This seminar was different because it gave practical advice on writing a resume, cover letter, interviewing etc. The main thing I learned from this seminar is that since I was in the job market, things have changed. It may be easy to apply online but your application or resume is one of thousands of others. This seminar taught us how to differentiate ourselves from the others.
The individuals who put on the seminar were experts involved in hiring employees for companies. This experience means they know what hirers are looking for in an applicant and how we can make ourselves stand out from the crowd. That is why I will be spending the next few weeks sharing some of the techniques covered in the seminar. My word to you is do not give up hope for you can find a job even in these economic times. All you need is some coaching on how to stand out from the crowd.
I then plan to move on to helping individuals improve their financial position. Many employed individuals are strangling in debt. To make matters worse they face the prospect of downsizing in their jobs. This leads to many sleepless nights. The good news is that with good financial coaching, debt reduction is possible for many.
I am currently in training to learn more about how to reduce debt and just as we should do with any knowledge we acquire, we should share it. Therefore, I plan to share the information with those who follow this blog. Therefore, if you know someone out of work or struggling with his or her finances, I encourage you to invite them to follow this blog.
Times may be tough but Americans have always had a dynamic spirit that has always helped them through rough times. Contrary to popular belief, that spirit is still alive as evidenced by the tea parties of April 15. With some encouragement, I believe we can revive that spirit in spite of who is in charge in Washington.
What the media gives us is either gloom and doom or syrupy praise over how The President or his wife looks. The American people are sick of hearing doom and gloom. They also do not want a fashion report on what The President or his wife is wearing. They are looking for answers and encouragement. That is why I am going to discontinue Commonsensenomics 101 and use Commonsensenomics as a place where people can receive encouragement in these tough times. I will also be offering practical things we can do to find a job if we are currently out of work or improve our financial position.
To start I want to give some encouragement to those currently out of work. Even though I still have a job, I have not been in the job market for 16 years. I also understand that if things do get worse, I could find myself suddenly thrown into the job market. For that reason, I attended a job search seminar held at my church yesterday.
I have attended job fairs and conventions in the past and discovered that these were not designed to hire people but were networking opportunities. This seminar was different because it gave practical advice on writing a resume, cover letter, interviewing etc. The main thing I learned from this seminar is that since I was in the job market, things have changed. It may be easy to apply online but your application or resume is one of thousands of others. This seminar taught us how to differentiate ourselves from the others.
The individuals who put on the seminar were experts involved in hiring employees for companies. This experience means they know what hirers are looking for in an applicant and how we can make ourselves stand out from the crowd. That is why I will be spending the next few weeks sharing some of the techniques covered in the seminar. My word to you is do not give up hope for you can find a job even in these economic times. All you need is some coaching on how to stand out from the crowd.
I then plan to move on to helping individuals improve their financial position. Many employed individuals are strangling in debt. To make matters worse they face the prospect of downsizing in their jobs. This leads to many sleepless nights. The good news is that with good financial coaching, debt reduction is possible for many.
I am currently in training to learn more about how to reduce debt and just as we should do with any knowledge we acquire, we should share it. Therefore, I plan to share the information with those who follow this blog. Therefore, if you know someone out of work or struggling with his or her finances, I encourage you to invite them to follow this blog.
Times may be tough but Americans have always had a dynamic spirit that has always helped them through rough times. Contrary to popular belief, that spirit is still alive as evidenced by the tea parties of April 15. With some encouragement, I believe we can revive that spirit in spite of who is in charge in Washington.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)