Friday, October 1, 2010

Happy Homecoming!

Give Yourself A Resume Makeover
Susan Adams, 09.16.10, 4:20 PM ET
I've just discovered the toughest thing about putting together a résumé. To write a really good one, you have to figure out what's special about yourself. What is your personal brand?
I'm a journalist with 30 years of experience. So what? How are my skills different from those of countless other 50-something media folk toiling in the editorial trenches?
It had been 10 years since I'd fixed up my résumé, past time for an update. I wrote an article back in December that surveyed some of the latest thinking on topics like video résumés and keywords, but readers and friends have been asking for more basic advice. So I decided to do a résumé fix-up story, using myself as a guinea pig.
My first step was to find a couple of sources who have worked extensively with professionals in my field. I turned to James Borland, a New York career coach affiliated with the Five O'Clock Club, who has done outplacement for clients at The New York Times, Newsday and Time magazine. I vetted Borland's advice with Eileen Wolkstein, a veteran coach I greatly respect and whom I've quoted numerous times.
Borland started out by confirming my suspicion that it makes sense to seek help from a coach who's worked with others in your field. If you're going for a job in financial services, for instance, use someone who's critiqued lots of Wall Street résumés. Do not let a coach write your résumé, however; you have to do it yourself. "An H.R. person or a recruiter will immediately pick it up if a résumé has been written for someone," Borland says. "All they have to do is spend five minutes with the person, and they can tell the words on the page are not words the candidate would use."
Both Borland and Wolkstein agree that your résumé should not be a mere list of jobs you've had, followed by brisk summaries of the work you did and your college and graduate degrees. That was problem No. 1 with my old version. It wasn't a marketing document. "Your résumé should entice the reader to want to see you," he says. "It should be designed to sell you as an interesting person to talk to."
Wolkstein agrees. She also thinks a résumé should tell a story about the résumé-writer, a story that captures the reader and makes one want to know more.
Borland told me I had to figure out three reasons someone should hire me, and put that at the top of the page in the form of a summary. That was another element my old version lacked. I just had the word "Experience" underneath my name and contact info, and under that, my current job title and responsibilities.

Borland criticized my old version as too dense. Break up the Forbes section into bullet points, he advised. Pick four to six accomplishments during my tenure, and pull them out, using details and active verbs. I took a stab at that, and Wolkstein pushed me further. I had used the words "write," "edit" and "create" too many times. I felt mortified, given that I make my living as an editor, when she suggested, "What about other verbs?"
At least Borland liked the fact that I'd mentioned a couple of cover stories I'd written that piqued his interest, including a piece on South Africa's first black billionaire. That line did what both Borland and Wolkstein wanted me to do: It invited the reader to be interested in me, and it sold me as someone who could produce a substantial piece of work on an intriguing topic.
Borland also exhorted me to describe the reach of the media companies I'd worked for. My old résumé simply said, "Senior Editor, Forbes." He insisted I include the circulation (900,000 for the magazine, and Forbes.com reaches 18 million people a month). I should do the same with the other places I'd worked.
Still, when I showed Wolkstein my rewritten draft, she pronounced it "essentially good," but not quite there yet. "What is your place in the world of journalism that makes you special?" she challenged me. Which brought me back to Borland's point: I should write a marketing document. I'm still working on it.
Something New Called Focus 2!
Focus 2 is a new program here with Career Services! We are very excited about it.
It helps you decide what your major should be!
OR if you have a job you want it tells you what major would be best!
FOCUS-2 is a self-guided, online career and education planning tool for use by college students.  It will enable you to assess your interests, values, skills, personality, and aspirations as they relate to careers and college majors.  FOCUS-2 is designed to help you choose the best major for you and explore occupations that match your profile.  Students who use FOCUS-2 make better decisions about their goals and plans and learn how to manage their careers.
Be sure to check it out today!

Etiquette Tip of the Week:
Ogden Nash said, "I don't mind eels, except at meals."

If you are at a dinner party in someone's home and you are served something you do not like, do not say anything. This might sound wasteful, but cut it up (whatever IT is), push it around the plate and pretend you are enjoying it, while keeping up with the lively conversation at the table. Telling people you find their food distasteful is like telling them their baby is ugly.

Thank your hosts for a lovely evening before you leave.  There's always fast food on the way home.
As you know, it’s polite to give credit where credit is due. Thus these tips are from www.cultureandmanners.com

Events for the Week:
10/1
Mentor Blitz

10-7
Union
10/4
Nursing Resume Workshop

10:15-11:05
306 Marston



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